Assertion:. Growth refer to changes over a period of time.
Reasoning: Development also refer to changes over a period of time.

Both Assertion (A) and reasoning (R) are correct and but R is not the correct explanation of A.

The correct answer is Option 2: Both Assertion (A) and reasoning (R) are correct and but R is not the correct explanation of A.

Assertion:. Growth refer to changes over a period of time. This statement is correct because economic growth refers to an increase in output, income, or GDP over a period of time.
Reasoning: Development also refer to changes over a period of time. This statement is also correct because economic development also takes place gradually over time and includes qualitative improvements in living standards, education, health, etc.

Why R is not the correct explanation of A: While both terms involve the element of "change over time," the fact that development changes over time does not explain why growth does. The two processes have different characteristics—growth is value-neutral (it can be good or bad), whereas development is value-positive (it always implies improvement).

NCERT: " Both growth and development refer to changes over a period of time. The difference is that growth is quantitative and value neutral. It may have a positive or a negative sign. This means that the change may be either positive (showing an increase) or negative (indicating a decrease)."  Both statements are independently correct but not linked in a cause-and-effect manner.