What do you mean by sustainable development?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Fulfilling the requirements of present generation without compromising the needs of future generation.
Growth that uses up resources and damages the environment can raise living standards today while leaving the cost to those who come later. Sustainable development rules this out: it is development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs. Both halves count: present needs are met, and the future’s capacity is left intact.
Options (1), (3) and (4) put the generations in the wrong places.
Note: A same/similar question was asked in CUET (UG) in the papers below.
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
| 11-05 S1 12-05 S1* | – | – | – | – |
* A similar question.
NCERT (2025-26): “7.4 Sustainable Development The concept of sustainable development was emphasised by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), which defined it as: ‘Development that meets the need of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs’. Read the definition again. You will notice that the term ‘need’ and the phrase ‘future generations’ in the definition are the catch phrases. The use of the concept ‘needs’ in the definition is linked to distribution of resources. The seminal report —Our Common Future—that gave the above definition explained sustainable development as ‘meeting the basic needs of all and extending to all the opportunity to satisfy their aspirations for a better life’.…” |