Individuals, groups and leaders who promote human development operate under strong institutional, structural and political constraints that affect policy options. But experience suggests broad principles for shaping an appropriate agenda for human development. One important finding from several decades of human development experience is that focusing exclusively on economic growth is problematic. While we have good knowledge about how to advance health and education, the causes of growth are much less certain and growth is often elusive. Further, an unbalanced emphasis on growth is often associated with negative environmental consequences and adverse distributional effects. The experience of China, with its impressive growth record, reflects these broader concerns and underlines the importance of balanced approaches that emphasize investments in the non-income aspects of human development.

With reference to the above passage, consider the following statements:
1. In developing countries, a strong institutional framework is the only requirement for human development and policy options.
2. Human development and economic growth are not always positively inter-related.
3. Focusing only on human development should be the goal of economic growth.

Which of the above statements is/are correct ?

The correct option is 2 only.

Let us analyze each statement based strictly on the provided passage to understand why only the second statement is correct:

Statement 1: "In developing countries, a strong institutional framework is the only requirement for human development and policy options."
The passage mentions that "Individuals, groups and leaders who promote human development operate under strong institutional, structural and political constraints that affect policy options." However, it does not state that a strong institutional framework is the only requirement for human development. In fact, it suggests "broad principles for shaping an appropriate agenda" and highlights investments in non-income aspects like health and education. Therefore, this statement is incorrect because it is an overgeneralization and is not supported by the text.

Statement 2: "Human development and economic growth are not always positively inter-related."
The passage states that "focusing exclusively on economic growth is problematic." It adds that "While we have good knowledge about how to advance health and education, the causes of growth are much less certain and growth is often elusive." Furthermore, it mentions that "an unbalanced emphasis on growth is often associated with negative environmental consequences and adverse distributional effects." This demonstrates that economic growth does not automatically lead to positive human development outcomes across all dimensions (such as environment and distribution), confirming that they are not always positively inter-related. Thus, this statement is correct.

Statement 3: "Focusing only on human development should be the goal of economic growth."
The passage argues against focusing exclusively on economic growth and underlines the importance of "balanced approaches that emphasize investments in the non-income aspects of human development." It does not state or imply that the sole goal of economic growth should be focusing only on human development. Therefore, this statement is incorrect as it distorts the passage's call for a balanced approach.

Consequently, only Statement 2 is correct, making 2 only the correct option.