Development and its Multiple Connotations

There are several connotations about development, such as development as growth, development as change or transformation and development as modernization.

1. Growth: In economic terms development means an increase in production capacity and consumption of goods. Secondly, as growth development can be understood as an increased ability to fulfill basic human needs such as food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and education. In the third sense of growth,  development carries connotations of being positive, progressive and natural, beneficial and inevitable. Development here is defined in terms of expansion of possibilities, an increase in individual choices, capabilities and functioning. 
2. Change and Transformation: Development as change and transformation refers to the economic, social, political and cultural processes of change in human societies. 
3. Modernization: Development is also understood as modernization. Often modernisation is seen as a means to development in different realms:
   1. In the economic realm it refers to the processes of industrialization, urbanization and technological transformation of agriculture.
   2. In the political realm, it requires a rationalisation of authority in general and a rationalizing bureaucracy in particular. 
   3. In the social realm it is denoted when individual achievement is given more importance than the social ties, they become weaker as a result.
   4.  In the cultural realm, it is the growth of Science and secularization, along with an expansion of the literate population. 
4. Westernisation, development in this sense becomes a comparative adjective, which is based on the western-centric assumption that there is a process of linear evolution and that other nations must follow the footsteps of western nations towards a homogenous world.
5. An escape from the undignified condition called “underdevelopment” A phenomenon of poverty, low productivity and backwardness. Development acquired a new meaning after World War II, with the lead of American president Harry S. Truman, who publicly expressed the need to embark on a bold new program for making the benefits of scientific advances and industrial progress of his country available for the improvement and growth of “underdeveloped” areas. Discounting old imperialism and exploitation for foreign profit, he announced a program of development based on concepts of democratic fair dealing
6. Evolution: Development in Terms of evolution is closely related to the Sanskrit word Vikas. Here it connotes internal growth seen through various stages of gradual transition. For example, seeds evolve to seedlings, then to plants, to trees and then starts the maturity and aging process of the trees.
7. Gross Domestic Product (GDP):  Development in economic terms is generally associated with GDP since the late 20th Century.  It tries to justify development by considering the improvement in social conditions, by an obsessive focus on industrialization and growth of monetary transactions in the country.
8. Human development Index (HDI): Development here is understood by improvement in the health of people, their level of educational attainment and their standard of living.
9. Increased overall Happiness: Development in terms of Happiness. Gross National Happiness (GNH). Happiness is a major source of motivation. Psychological well-being, good governance, sustainable socio-economic development, cultural preservation, environmental conservation, time use, cultural diversity and resilience are part of the connotation of development too.