Identify the correct statements about welfare approach of human development.
(A) It looks at human beings as beneficiaries of all development activities.
(B) It argues for higher government expenditure on education, health, and social amenities.
(C) Its focus is on building human capabilities.
(D) It considers government responsible for increasing levels of human development by maximising expenditure on welfare.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A), (B) and (D) only
The welfare approach sees people as receivers of development. The government spends on education, health and other services, and people only take the benefits. People do not take part in planning or doing the work.
(A) It looks at human beings as beneficiaries of all development activities. — Correct. A beneficiary is a person who receives a benefit. In this approach people are passive receivers of what development brings, not active participants.
(B) It argues for higher government expenditure on education, health, and social amenities. — Correct. Welfare reaches people through government spending. So this approach asks the government to spend more on schools, hospitals and other public services.
(C) Its focus is on building human capabilities. — Incorrect. Building capabilities in health, education and access to resources is the idea of the capability approach of Prof. Amartya Sen. That approach makes people able to act for themselves, while the welfare approach only gives them benefits.
(D) It considers government responsible for increasing levels of human development by maximising expenditure on welfare. — Correct. Since people only receive, the whole duty falls on the government. It raises human development by spending as much as possible on welfare.
NCERT (2026-27):
Table 3.1: Approaches to Human Development |
