Capabilities approach human development – UGC NET Question

The capabilities approach views development as the expansion of people’s real freedoms to lead lives they value,not just growth in income or output. It emphasises what individuals are actually able to do and be,their capabilities,rather than just resources. The stem directly describes this focus,which clearly points to the capabilities approach. Hence Option D is correct.

Option A:
Basic needs approaches focus on minimum consumption and essential services; they do not fully capture Sen’s broader focus on freedoms and capabilities.

Option B:
Trickle down assumes growth benefits will reach the poor indirectly; it does not centre on expanding substantive freedoms and capabilities.

Option C:
Dependency theory analyses core–periphery economic relationships and structural inequality; it is not the freedoms-and-capabilities framework described.

Option D:
“Capabilities” completes “capabilities approach,”the Sen-associated view that development expands substantive freedoms and what people can be/do,matching the stem.