Chapter 6 Rural development class 12th

Commerce
Introduction & Meaning of Rural Development
MEANING OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Rural development refers to continuous and comprehensive socio-economic
process, attempting to improve all aspects of rural life.

PROCESS OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Rural development aims at comprehensive change and improvement of rural
life in all aspects. Some of the areas, which are challenging and need fresh
initiates for development in India include:
 Development in human resources
 Development of infrastructure
 Land reforms
 Alleviation of poverty
 Development of productive resources

Development of Human Resources:

The quality of the human resource needs to be improved through following
measures: Proper attention to literary (specifically on female literacy),
education and skill development; and Better Health facilities for the physical
growth.

Development of infrastructure:
It involves: Improvement in electricity, irrigation, credit, marketing and
transport facilities (including construction of village roads and feeder roads to
nearby highways); Better Health facilities for agriculture research and
extension and information dissemination

Land Reforms:
It includes the following objectives; Elimination of exploitation in hand
relations; Actualisation of the goal of ‘land to the tiller’. Improvement of
socio-economic conditions of rural poor by widening their land base;
Increasing agricultural productivity and production.

Alleviation of Poverty:
As stated earlier, around 30 per cent of total population is still below the
poverty line. So, there is a serious need for taking serious steps for alleviation
of poverty and bringing significant improvement in living conditions of
weaker sections.

Development of the productive resources:

Productive resources helps in generating employment opportunities. In rural
areas, excess burden is on agriculture and in rural and urban areas each
locality should enhance opportunities of employment (particularity other than
farming).

Rural Credit
Growth of rural economy depends on timely infusion of capital, to realize
higher productivity in agriculture and non-agriculture sectors. In agriculture,
farmers are in strong need for credit due to long time gap between crop
sowing and realization of income. Farmers borrow from various sources to
meet initial investment on seeds, fertilizers and other family expenses. So
credit is one of the important factors, which contribute to agriculture
production.

Sources of rural credit

 Non institutional
 Institutional

They are not linked with govt or any private institution

SOURCES OF RURAL CREDIT
 Broadly, there are two sources, from which the farmers can raise loans:
 Non-Institutional Sources
 Institutional Sources
 Non-Institutional Sources
 Non-Institutional sources have been the traditional sources of
agricultural credit in India.

The major non-institutional sources are;

 Money lender
 Relatives
 Trader and commission agents
 Rich landlords

Moneylenders:
From the very beginning, moneylenders have been advancing a major share
of farm credit. The peasants are exploited through exorbitant (very high)
rates of interest. Quite frequently, their accounts are manipulated without
their knowledge.

Relatives :
Cultivators borrow funds from their own relatives in times of crisis. These
loans are a kind of informal loans and carry no interest and are normally
returned after harvest.

Traders and Commission agents:

They provide credit to the peasants on the mortgage of crops at high rates of
interest, on a condition, that the crops will be sold to them at low prices.

Rich Landlords:
Small as well as marginal farmers and tenants, take loans from landlords, for
meeting their financial requirements. Landlords also charge high rates of
interest on such loans and exploit the peasants, particularly small farmers
and tenants.

Institutional sources
 Co-operation credit
 Land development bank
 Commercial bank credit
  Regional rural banks
 The government
 National bank for agriculture and rural development
 Self-helped group bank linkages program for micro finance

Some of the important institutional sources of agricultural credit are:

Co-operative society
Co-operative Credit:
The primary objective of the co-operatives is to liberate the Indian peasantry
from the clutches of moneylenders and to provide them credit at low rates of
interest.

Land Development Banks:

They provide credit to the farmers against the mortgage of their lands. Loans
are provided for permanent improvement of land, purchasing agriculture
implements and for repaying old debts.

Commercial Bank Credit:

Initially, commercial banks played a marginal role in advancing rural credit.
However, after nationalization in 1969, they expanded their branches in rural
areas and started directly financing the farmers.

Regional Rural Banks:

They are opened up in those areas where there are no banking facilities.
Their main objective is to provide credit and other facilities, especially to
small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers, artisans and small
entrepreneurs in rural areas.

The government
The loans provided by the government are known as taccavi loans and are
lent during emergency or distress, like famines, floods, etc. The rate of
interest charged against such loan is as 6 per cent.
NABARD

National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD):

It is the Apex Bank which coordinates the functioning of different financial
institutions, working for expansion of rural credit.
Its objective is to promote health and strength of credit institutions (namely,
cooperatives, commercial banks and regional rural banks).
Besides providing finance to credit institutions, NABARD also provides
financial assistance to the non-farm sector, to promote integrated rural
development and prosperity of backward rural areas.

Self help group bank

Self-Help Group (SHG) Bank Linkage Programme for Micro Finance: SHG has
emerged as the major micro finance programme in the country in recent
years.
Their focus is largely on those rural poor, who have no sustainable access to
the formal banking system.

SHGs promote thrift in small proportions by a minimum contribution from

each member.
From the pooled money, credit is given to the needy members at reasonable
interest rates, which is to be rapid in small installments.

By March 2012, more forty three lakh SHGs had reportedly been credit
linked.

Critical appraisal of rural banking

There are number of problems faced by the agricultural credit structure of
the country. Some of the problems faced in rural banking are:

1. Insufficiency
The volume of rural credit in the country is still insufficient in comparison to
its demand.

2. Inadequate coverage of institutional sources

The institutional credit arrangement continues to be inadequate as compared
to growing needs. They have failed to cover the entire rural farmers of the
country.

3. Inadequate amount of sanction

The amount of loan sanctioned to the farmers is also inadequate. As a result,
farmers often divert such loans for unproductive purposes, which dilute the
very purpose of such loan.

4. Less attention to poor or marginal farmers

Lesser attention has been given on the credit requirements of needy (small
and marginal) farmers. On the other hand, well-to-do farmers are getting
more attention due to better credit worthiness.

5. Growing Overdues
The problem of overdues in agricultural credit continues to be an area of
concern. A he basic reason for growing overdues is the poor repaying
capacity of farmers. As a result, credit agencies are becoming cautious of
granting loan to farmers.

MCQ Type question-

The scheme of micro finance is extended through
1. NABARD
2. Self Help Groups
3. Regional Rural Banks
4. Commercial banks
Answer is a NABARD

Meaning of Agriculture marketing system

Agricultural marketing is a process that involves assembling, storage,
processing, transporation, packaging, grading and distribution of different
agricultural commodities across the country.

Problems faced by the farmers

Manipulation by big traders:
Prior to independence, farmers suffered from faulty weighing and
manipulation of accounts while selling their produce to traders.

Lack of market information:

Farmers were often forced to sell at low price due to lack of required
information on price prevailing in market.

Lack of storage facilities:

They also did not have proper storage facilities to keep back their produce for
selling later at a better price. Even today, more than 10% of goods produced
in farms are wasted due to lack of storage.

Measures to Improve Agriculture Marketing System

Measure to Improve Agricultural Marketing
 Regulated markets
 Infrastructural facilities
 Cooperative marketing
 Different policy instruments

Regulated Markets:
Main aim was to create orderly and transparent marketing conditions.
Regulated markets have been organised with a view to protect the farmers
from the malpractices of sellers and brokers. This policy benefitted farmers
as well as consumers.

Infrastructural Facilities:
The Government aims to provide physical infrastructure facilities like roads,
railways, warehouses, godowns, cold storages and processing units. The
current infrastructure facilities are quite inadequate to meet the growing
demand and need to be improved.

Cooperative Marketing:
The aim of cooperative marketing is to realize fair price for farmer’s products.
Under this, marketing societies are formed by farmers to sell the output
collectively and to take advantage of collective bargaining, in order to obtain
better price.
However, cooperatives have received a setback during the recent past
because of:
 Inadequate coverage of farmer members;
 Lack of appropriate link between marketing and processing
cooperatives;
 Inefficient financial management.

Different policy instruments:

In order to protect the farmers, the government has initiated the following
policies: wheat, rice, maize, cotton, sugarcane, pulses, etc

Minimum Support Prices (MSP): To safeguard the interest of farmers,

government fixes the minimum support prices of 24 agricultural products,
like wheat, rice, maize, cotton, sugarcane, pulses, etc. Such a price may be
regarded as an offer price, at which the Government is willing to buy any
amount of grains from the farmers.
Maintenance of Buffer Stock: The Food Cooperation of India (FCI)
purchases wheat and rice at the procurement prices, to maintain buffer
stock. Buffer stock is created in the years of surplus production and is used
during shortages. It helps to ensure regularity in supply and stability in
prices.

Public Distribution System (PDS): The public distribution system in our

country operates through a network of ration shops and fair price shops. Fair
price shops offer essential commodities like wheat, rice, kerosene, etc. at a
price below the market price, to the weaker sections of the society.

Emerging Alternate Marketing Channels

Origin of Farmers Market: Farmers can increase their share in the price paid
by the consumers, if they directly sell their produce to consumers. As a
result, the concept of “farmers market” was started, to give boost to the
small farmers by providing them provide direct access to the consumers and
eliminating the middlemen. Some examples of these channels are:

 Alliance with National and Multinational Companies: Several nation and

multinational fast food chains are increasingly entering into
contracts/alliances with farmers.
 They encourage the farmers to cultivate farm products (vegetables,
fruits, etc.) of the desired quality.
 They provide them with not only seeds and other inputs, but also
assure procurement of the produce at pre-decided prices.
 Such arrangements help in reducing the price risk of farmers and
expand the market for farm products.

Diversification of Agricultural Activities

Reason for diversification
Agriculture plays a very important role in the economic development. The
need for diversification arises because:
There is greater risk in depending exclusively on farming for livelihood; and
To provide productive sustainable livelihood options to rural people.

Benefit of Diversification
Much of the agricultural employment activities are concentrated in the Kharif
season. But during the Rabi season, in areas where there are inadequate
irrigation facilities, it becomes difficult to find gainful employment. Therefore,
expansion into other sectors is essential to provide supplementary gainful
employment and in realizing higher levels of income for rural people to
overcome poverty and other tribulations. Hence, there is a need to focus on
allied activities, non-farm employment and other emerging alternatives of
livelihood, though there are many other options available for providing
sustainable livelihoods in rural areas.
 Types of Diversification
 Types of Diversification
 Diversification includes two aspects:
 Diversification of Crop Production;
Diversification of Productive Activities (shift of workforce from agriculture to
other allied activities and non- agriculture sector).
It involves a shift from single-cropping system to multi-cropping system.
Diversification involves a shift in cropping pattern from food grains to cash
crops. Basically, the main aim is to promote shift from s subsistence farming
to commercial farming.
Multi-cropping system reduces the dependence of farmers on one or two
crops as they are engaged in growing a wide variety of crops. It also raises
their income.

Diversification of productive Activities

As agriculture is already overcrowded, a major proportion of the increasing
labour force needs to find alternate employment opportunities in other non-
farm sectors.
Non-farm Activities has several segments. Some segments of non-farm
activities possess dynamic linkage that permit healthy growth, while others
are in subsistence, low productivity propositions.

Those sectors which have the potential but seriously lack infrastructures and
other support, include traditional household-based industries, like pottery,
crafts, handlooms, etc.

Non -farm areas of employment

 Informational technology
 Formation Technology

Information Technology (IT) refers to that of engineering that deals with

the use of computers and telecommunications to retrieve and store and
transmit information.

Information Technology has revolutionized may sectors in the Indian

economy. There is broad agreement that it will play a critical role in achieving
sustainable development and food security in the 21st century.

Animal husbandry

Dairying
NON-FARM AREAS OF EMPLOYMENT
Let us now discuss some of the important non-farm areas of employment.
Animal Husbandry and Dairying
Animal Husbandry
Animal Husbandry (or Livestock farming) is that branch of agriculture, which
is concerned with the breeding, rearing and caring for farm animals.
Under livestock farming, cattles, goats and fowls (duck, goose, etc.) are the
widely held species.

India owns one of the largest livestock populations in the world.

Livestock production provides increased stability in income, food security,

transport, fuel and nutrition for the family, without disrupting other food
producing activities.
Dairying
Dairying is that branch of agriculture which involves breeding, raising and
utilization of dairy animals for the production of milk and the various dairy
products from it.

Dairying is the business of producing, storing and distributing milk and its
products.
Due to the successful implementation of “Operation Flood”, India ranks first
in the world in milk production. India’s milk production increased from 17
million tonnes in 1950-51 to 102.6 million tonnes in 2006 -07 and increased
to 133.7 million tonnes in 2012-13.

Operation Flood (or white Revolution) was started by National Dairy

Development Board (NDDB) in 1970 under the expert guidance of then
chairman, Dr. VergheseKurien. The objective of this programme was to create
a nationwide milk [Link]: milk meat etc…

Horticulture
Horticulture refers to the science or art of cultivating fruits, vegetables, tuber
crops, flowers, medicinal and aromatic plants, spices and plantation crops.
These crops play a vital role in providing food and nutrition, besides
addressing employment concerns. India has adopted horticulture as it is
blessed with a varying climate and soil conditions.

Fisheries
Fisheries refer to the occupation devoted to the catching, processing or
selling of fish and other aquatic animals. Fisheries sector plays an important
role in the socio-economic development of the country.

Sustainable development and organic farming

Meaning of Organic Farming
Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as
crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control. This
method avoids the use of synthetic chemical fertilisers and genetically
modified organisms.

Benefit of organic farming

Organic Farming is beneficial because of following reasons:

Economical Farming:
Organic Farming offers a means to substitute costlier agricultural inputs
(such as HYV seeds, chemical fertilisers, pesticides, etc.) with locally
produced cheaper organic inputs.

Generates income through exports:

It generates income through international exports as demand for organically
grown crops is on a rise.
Provide healthy food. Provides Healthy Food: It provides healthy food as
organically grown food has more nutritional value than food grown through
chemical farming.

Source of employment Source of Employment: Organic farming

generates more employment opportunities as it requires more labor input
than conventional farming.

Challenges of organic farming Organic Farming suffers from following

drawbacks:

Less popular Less Popular: Organic farming needs to be popularized by

creating awareness and willingness on the part of farmers, for adoption of
new technology. There is a serious need for an appropriate policy to promote
organic farming.

Lack of infrastructure and marketing facilities: Organic farming faces

problems of inadequate infrastructure and marketing facilities.

Low Yield:
Organic farming has a lesser yield in the initial years as compared to modern
agricultural farming. As a result, small and marginal farmers find difficult to
adapt to large-scale production.

Shorter food life:

Organic produce has a shorter shelf life as compared to sprayed produce.

Chapter 7 Employment: Growth,

Informalization and other Issues class 12th
Commerce
Introduction
Employment is an activity from which a person earn means of livelihood.
Each and every working person have their contribution to national income in
various economic activities. As no one work only for their own self but also for
those who are dependent on him….

This study of working people gives insight into quality and nature of
employment in the country….

Worker and Employment

A worker is an individual who is involved in some economic activity, to earn a
living.
A worker contribute to the process of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by
rendering his productive activities. Those activities which contribute to the
Gross Domestic Product or gross national product are called economic
activities.
When net earning are added to GDP we get GNP.
A worker is an individual who is involved in some economic activity, to earn a
living.
Some get employment throughout the year; some others get employed for
only a few months in a year.
Those who are paid by an employer for their work as workers

Labor force
All person who are working and though not working, are seeking and are
available for work is known as labor force.
Labour force participation rate
The ratio of labour force to total population is called labour force participation
rate.

Work force
The numbers of person who are actually employed at a particular point of
time is known as work force…

Participation of People in Employment

Working population is calculated by dividing the total number of workers in
India by the population.
The worker population ratio indicates the status of workers in the society and
their working conditions.
This also enables to know the attachment, which a worker has with his job
and the authority possessed by him over other coworkers.
1. Higher proportion of Rural People
2. Employment opportunities
3. Education level

Question. Who is a worker?

A worker is an individual who is involved in some economic activity, to earn a
living.

Question. What is the difference between labor force and work force?
All person who are working and through not working are seeking and are
available for work is known as labor force.

Labor force = person working + person seeking and or available for work.
The numbers of person who are actually employed at a particular point of
time is known as work force…
Unemployed people = labor force -work force

Definition and Types of Employment

So employment is an activity which enables a person to earn means of living.
 Types of employment-
 So there are two types-
 Self employed
 Wage employed
 Self employed
Self – employment
It refers to Workers who own and operate an enterprise to earn their
livelihood are known as self-employed.

Self – employment is a major source of livelihood for both men and women.
In case of self-employment, a person makes uses of his own land, labor,
capital and entrepreneurship, to make a living.
For example, shopkeepers, traders, businessmen, etc.

Wage employed
It refers to when workers sell his labor and earn wages in return then it is said
to be known as wage employment. Under wage employment, worker is
known as employee.
 Regular worker
 Casual worker
 Regular worker

Regular worker
When a worker is engaged by someone or by an enterprise and is paid wages
on a regular basis, then such worker is known as regular salaried employee.
Workers are hired on a permanent basis and also get social security benefits
(like pension, provident fund, etc.)
For example, Professors, teachers, Civil engineer working in the construction
company, etc.

Casual Workers
Workers who are casually engaged and, in return, get remuneration for the
work done, are termed as casual workers.
Casual Workers are not hired on a permanent basis. It means, they do not
have: (I) Regular Income; (ii) Protection or regulation from the government;
(iii) Job Security; and (iv) Social benefits.

Distribution of employment
By gender
Table
Workforce Men Women
Self employed 51 56
Regular worker 20 13
Casual worker 29 31

 Employment is the major source of livelihood for both Men 51% and
Woman 56%.
 Casual worker accounts for the second major source for both Men 29%
and Women 31%.
 In case of regular salary employed Mens are at 20% whereas women
form only 13%. The reason for this could be skill requirement, as
regular salaried job requires skills in higher level of literacy.

By region
Distribution of employed workers by region and enables us to know the
quality of employment and the attachment of workers to their jobs.
Self employment: It is the major source of livelihood in both urban areas
43% and in rural areas 56%, but in case of rural areas self-employed workers
are greater than majority of rural peoples, are engaged in farming on their
own plots of land.

Casual workers: In case of rural areas Casual workers accounts with 35% of
work force. Casual worker in urban areas is 15%.

Regular salaried employees: It is the second major source with 42% of

work force. Urban people have a variety of employment opportunities
because of their educational attainment and skills. However, only 9% of rural
people are engaged as regular salaried employees because of illiteracy and
lack of skills.

By sectors.
In the course of labor force, agriculture and other related activities in
industries and services. In this process workers migrate from rural to urban
areas.
 Primary sector is the main source of employment 48.9% for majority of
workers in India.
 Secondary sector provides employment to only 24.3% workers of
workforce.
 Services sector provides employment to 26.8%.
 Distribution of Rural-Urban Employment in Different Sectors

Employment in Rural areas:

 64.1% of the workforce in rural areas or engaged in primary sector.
 20.4% of rural workers are working in secondary sector.
 15% of rural worker are engaged in Service sector or tertiary sector.

Employment in Urban Areas:

 In case of urban area, Primary sector has just 6.7%. So activities like
agriculture or mining are not the major source of employment in
urban areas.
 The secondary sector gives employment to about 35% of urban
workforce.
 People are mainly engaged in the service sector with 58.3% of urban
workers.
 Distribution of Male-Female Employment in Different Sectors

Growth and Changing Structure of Employment

GDP and employment growth are the indicators of economic development so
according to that, During the period 1950-2010, Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) of India grew positively and was higher than the employment growth.
However, there was always fluctuation in the growth of GDP. During this
period, employment grew at a stable rate of about 2%.
In the late 1990 employment growth started declining and reached at the
level of growth that India had in the early stages of planning.
During these years the gap between the growth of GDP and employment was
widening this trend is termed as jobless growth. Basically Jobless growth
refers to a situation when the economy is able to produce more goods and
services without a proportionate increase in employment opportunities.
- In 1972-73, 74.3% of workforce was engaged in primary sector which
declined to 48.9% in 2011-12. Which shows substantial shift from farm to
non-farm work.
- Secondary and service sectors are showing promising future for Indian
workforce as share of these sectors have increased from 10.9% to 24.3% and
from 14.8% to 26.8% respectively.

Casualization of Workforce
The distribution of workforce in different status indicates that over the last
three decades, people have moved from self-employment and regular
salaried employment to casual wage work.
The movement of workers from regular workers and regular salaried
employees to casual wage workers is known as casualization of workers.
Yet self-employment continues to be the major employment provider.
So according to the trend,
Self-employed shares decline from 61% in 1972-73 to 52% in 2011-12.
Regular salaried employee’s share shows a marginal increase from 15% in
1972-73 to 18% in 2011-12.
Casual workers shares shows an increase from 23% in 1972-73 to 30% in
2011-12.

Informalization of Indian Workforce

All the public enterprises and private establishments which employ 10 or
more hired workers, are called formal sector establishments.
Formal workers enjoy social security benefits and earn more than those in the
informal sector.
The government protects them in various ways through its labor laws and
they can form “Trade Unions” to protect their interests.

Informal or Unrecognised Sector

Informal sector includes all those private enterprises which hire less than 10
workers.
Workers who work in such enterprises are known as informal sector workers.
For example, farmers, agricultural labourers, owners of small enterprises, etc.
In India, over 90 per cent employment is found in the unorganized sector, viz,
small farms, household industries, shops and other self-employment units.
In the formal sector, male workers account for 69 per cent of the workforce.
Workers of this sector live in slums and are squatters (persons who unlawfully
occupy an uninhabited building or unused land).

Informalization
Informalization of workforce refers to a situation whereby the proportion of
workforce in the informal sector to total workforce, increases.

Distribution of Workforce in Formal and Informal Sectors

As the economy grows, more and more workers should become formal sector
workers and the proportion of workers engaged in the informal sector should
decrease. However, the situation in India is very discouraging.
Category Number of workers (in Millions)
Formal sector 24 6 30
Informal sector 306 137 443

Formal Vs Informal: Out of total 396 million workers in the country;

28 million workers are in the formal sector and the remaining 368 million are
employed in the informal sector.
It means, only 7 per cent people are employed in the formal sector and the
rest 93 per cent are in the informal sector.

Male Vs Female
In the formal sector, out of 28 million workers, 23.2 million (83 per cent) are
male workers and only 4.8 million (17 per cent) are women.
In the formal sector, out of 368 million workers, male workers account for
249.8 million (69 per cent) and remaining 118.2 million (31 per cent) are
women.
Question What do you mean by casualization of workforce?
Question What do you mean by Informalization? Explain with the help of
changing structure of employment?

Meaning and Sources of unemployment data

So. We can say that unemployment is a situation in which people are willing
to work at the existing rate but do not get work.

Sources of unemployment data

Report of census in India: Population census collects information on the
economic activity of the people.
NSSO collects data through sample surveys and gives annual estimate of
employment and unemployment.
So, Directorate general of employment and training DGET is implementing
employment market information (EMI) schemes over the last 30 years. EMI
provides information about the structure of employment, occupational
compositions and educational profile of employees.

Types of Unemployment
 Disguised unemployment
 Seasonal unemployment
 Open unemployment
 Disguised unemployment:

Disguised unemployment refers to a state in which more people are engaged

in work than are really needed.
For example, if two workers are needed on a piece of land and five workers
are engaged on the same job, then three workers are disguised unemployed.

Seasonal unemployment :
Unemployment that occurs at certain seasons of the year is known as
seasonal unemployment.
In agriculture, work is seasonal and there are no employment opportunities in
the village for all months in the year. So, when there is no work to do on
farms, men go to urban areas and look for jobs. They come back to their
home villages as soon as the rainy season begins.
The period of seasonal unemployment varies from state to state, depending
upon the methods of farming, the condition of soil, the type and number of
crops grown, etc.

Open unemployment :
Open Unemployment refers to that phenomenon in which persons are able
and willing to work at the prevailing wage rate, but fail to get work. It is
called open unemployment because such unemployment can be seen and
counted in terms of the number of unemployed people.

Government Policies and Employment Generation

Direct employment
Indirect employment
Government employs people in various departments for administrative
purposes. It also runs industries, hotels and transport companies and hence
provides employment directly to workers.

Indirect employment
When output of goods and services from government enterprises increases,
then private enterprises which receive raw materials from government
enterprises will also raise their output and hence increase the number of
employment opportunities in the economy For example, when a government
owned steel company increases its output, it will result in direct increase in
employment in that government company. Simultaneously, private
companies, which purchase steel from it, will also increase their output and
thus employment. This is the indirect generation of employment
opportunities by the government initiatives in the economy

Employment Generation programs

Government has implemented many employment generation programme like
National rural employment guarantee act-2005, Prime Minister Rozgar
Yojana, Swarna Jayanti Shahri Rozgar Yojana.
Through which
 Government aims to alleviate poverty through such employment
generation programmes
 All these programme aims at providing employment services in primary
health, education, rural shelter etc.
 These programme also into assist people in buying income and
employment generating assets developing community assets in
construction of houses and sanitation.
Chapter 9 - Environment and sustainable
development class 12th Commerce
Meaning of Environment
Environment is the sum total of external forces which surrounds us.

Function of the environment

Provide resources for production
Provides resources for production: Environment supply renewable and non –
renewable resources.
Renewable resources are those which can be used without the possibility of
the resource becoming depleted or exhausted, like trees, fishes, etc.
Non –renewable resources are those which get exhausted with extraction and
use; like fossil fuel.

Environment assimilates waste

Environment Assimilates Waste: The process of production and consumption
activities generates a lot of wastage, which is absorbed by the environment.

Environment sustain life

Environment sustains life: Some basic necessities of life (sun, soil, water and
air) are part of environment. So, environment sustains life by providing these
essential elements.

Provide aesthetic services

It provides aesthetic services: Environment -includes land, forests, water
bodies, rainfall, air, atmosphere etc. People enjoy the scenic beauty of these
elements (like that of hill stations). Such elements help in improving quality
of life.

The environment is able to perform these functions without any interruption

as long as demand on these functions is within its “Carrying Capacity”.
‘Carrying Capacity’ implies two things;
Resource extraction should remain below the rate of resource regeneration.
Generation of waste should remains within the absorption capacity of the
environment.

Reason for environmental crisis

The various reasons for environmental crisis are summarized as under;
The population explosion and advent of industrial revolution has increased
the demand for environmental resources, but their supply is limited due to
overuse and misuse.

extinction of many resources and continuous rise in population has also

resulted in environmental crisis.
Due to affluent consumption and production standards of the developed
world, the wastes generated are beyond the absorptive capacity of the
environment.
The development process has polluted the atmosphere and waters and there
is decline in air and water quality (70 per cent of surface water in India is
polluted). It has resulted in increased incidence of respiratory and water –
borne diseases.

The intensive and extensive extraction of both renewable and non –

renewable resources has exhausted some of the vital resources. Due to this,
huge amount of money is spent on technology and research to explore new
resources.

Question. What do you mean by environment? Briefly discuss its various

functions.

Global Warming
An increase in the average temperature of earth’s atmosphere and oceans is
known as global warming.

Causes of global warming

Increase in green house gases like water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane in
the atmosphere.

Burning of coal and petroleum product.

Deforestation which increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere.
Methane gas release in animal waste
Increased cattle production which contributes to deforestation, methane
production and use of fossil fuels etc.

Effects of Global Warming

1. Ice is melting worldwide specially at the earth’s poles. It has led to a
steep rise in sea level and coastal flooding.
2. Hurricanes and other tropical storms are likely to become stronger
3. Increased incidence of topical diseases like malaria, dengue,
chikungunya etc.
4. There are thousands of species in danger of becoming an extinct
forever like polar bears.

Ozone Depletion
The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth's stratosphere that
absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation.
Ozone depletion is a major environmental problem because it increases the
amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation that reaches Earth's surface, which
increases the rate of skin cancer, eye cataracts, and genetic and immune
system damage.

Causes of ozone depletion

ozone depletion is caused by the high level of the chlorine and bromine
compounds in the stratosphere.
Chlorofluorocarbon CFCs which is used as cooling substances in AC and
refrigerators.
Bromoflurocarbon which is used in fire extinguisher.
Effect of ozone depletion
phytoplankton
 phytoplankton UV radiation is responsible for skin cancer in human
being.
 UV radiation lower production of phytoplankton, which affect the
aquatic organisms.
 UV radiation can also influence the growth of terrestrial plants .

Montreal Protocol
Montreal protocol is a treaty designed by the members of the union nation to
protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous
substances that are responsible for ozone depletion like CFCs. Under the
montreal protocol, all the signing members agreed to freeze the consumption
and production of Chlorofluorocarbon CFC’s by the year of 2013 and India
signed the Montreal protocol on 17-09-1992.

State of India’s Environment Gangetic

India has abundant natural resources in terms of rich quality of soil, hundreds
of rivers and tributaries, lush green forests, plenty of mineral deposits, etc.
The black soil of the Deccan Plateau is particularly suitable for cultivation of
cotton, leading to concentration of textile industries in this region.
The Indo –Gangetic plains spread from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal
are one of the most fertile, intensively cultivated and densely populated
regions in the world.
India’s forests, though unevenly distributed, provide green cover for a
majority of its population and natural cover for its population and natural
cover for its wildlife.

Challenges to India environment

 Land degradation
 Deforestation
 Soil erosion
 Biodiversity loss
 Air pollution
 Land degaradation
 Vegetation condition

Land Degradation
Land Degradation refers to a decline in the overall quality of soil, water or
vegetation condition, commonly caused by human activities.

In India, land suffers from different types of degradation, mainly because of

unstable use and inappropriate management practices.
Such kind of degradation leads to the loss of invaluable nutrients and lower
food grains production.
Poor land use practices are responsible for the rapid land degradation in
India.
Causes of land Degradation
Some of the factors responsible for land degradation are;
Loss of vegetation due to deforestation.
Overgrazing, i.e., grazing of natural pastures at stocking intensities above the
livestock carrying capacity.
Improper crop rotation.
Improper planning and management of irrigation systems.

Shifting cultivation.
 Deforestation
 Soil erosion

Deforestation refers to cutting, clearing and removal of rainforest, where

land is thereafter converted to a non –forest use.
Deforestation is rising at such a rapid scale that it has totally disturbed the
ecological balance of the country.
The per capita forestland in the country is only 0.08 hectare against the
requirement of 0.47 hectare to meet basic needs.
There are very serious and dangerous consequences of forest depletion, like
chances of more floods, soil erosion, and changes in climate.

Soil Erosion
Soil erosion is the displacement of the upper layer of soil.
Soil erosion takes place when the surface soil is washed away through
excessive rains and floods.
Deforestation is one of the major reason for soil erosion.

As per the estimate, soil is being eroded at a rate of 5.3 billion tons a year,
which is in excess of the recharge capacity. As a result, country loses 0.8
million tons of nitrogen, 1.8 million tons of phosphorous and 26.3 million
tonnes of potassium every year.

The quantity of nutrients lost due to erosion each year ranges from 5.8 to 8.4
million tonnes.
India supports approximately 16 per cent of the world’s human and 20 per
cent of livestock population on a mere 2.5 per cent of the world’s
geographical area. The high density of population and livestock and the
competing uses of land for forestry, agriculture, pastures, human settlements
and industries, exert an enormous pressure on the country’s finite land
resources.

Biodiversity Loss
Biodiversity is defined as the variability among living organisms from all
sources, including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the
ecological complexes of which they are a part.
Conservation and sustainable, use of biodiversity is fundamental to
ecologically sustainable development.
many plant and animal species are severally threatened by the destruction of
their habitat and over –explosion of resources. So, there is an immediate
need for biodiversity conservation.

Air Pollution
Air pollution is the presence of materials in air in such concentration, which
are harmful to man and the environment.
In India, air pollution is widespread in urban areas where vehicles are the
major contributors, and in a few other areas, which have a high concentration
of industries and thermal power plants.
The number of motor vehicles increased from 3 lakh in 1951 to 6.7 crores in
2003 and 14.18 crores in 2011. Personal transport vehicles (two –wheeler
vehicles and cars only) constitute about 80 per cent of the total number of
registered vehicles, thus, contributing significantly to total air pollution load.
India is one of the ten most industrialized nations of the world. However, this
achievement comes with unwanted and unanticipated consequences like
unplanned urbanization, pollution and the risk of accidents. The CPCB
(Central Pollution Control Board) has identified 17 categories of industries
(large and medium scale) as significantly polluting.
Some Ways to Control Air Pollution

Promotion of public transport like use of Delhi Metro instead of private

vehicles. Steps should be taken for effective traffic planning and
management.

Promotion of cleaner fuels in vehicles, like use of CNG instead of petrol and
diesel.
Use of cleaner fuels such as LPG in households to reduce indoor air pollution.

Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is the idea that human societies must live and meet
their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.
The basic aim of sustainable development is to ensure that present
generation should leave stock of “Quality of life” for the next generation,
which is no less than what we have inherited.
Environmentalists have used the term ‘Sustainability’ in an attempt to clarify
the desired balance between economic growth on one hand and
environmental preservation on the other.
The term ‘sustainable development’ has its origin in the International Union
for the Conservation of Natural Resources (IUCN) 1980 World Commission
Strategy report.
According to the commission, sustainable development refers to the
development that meets the need for the present, without compromising the
ability of future generations, to meet their own needs.
Sustainable development is a development, which:
1. Meets the basic needs like energy, water, housing employment, food
etc., of all the people particularly poor people.
2. Ensures growth of agriculture, manufacturing and service sector, to
meet their needs.

How to Achieve Sustainable Development

 Restrict use of renewable resources
 Substitute non-renewable with renewable resources
 Become Input efficient
 Control Pollution
 Control the growth of population
Restrict use of renewable resources
Renewable resources should not be extracted on a sustainable basis it means
rate of extraction should not exceed rate of regeneration.

Substitute Non-Renewable with Renewable Resources

Non-renewable resources rate of depletion should not exceed the rate of
creation of renewable substitutes. technological progress should be input
efficient and not input consuming

Control Pollution-
Inefficiencies arising from pollution should be corrected.

Control the growth of population-

Human population should be controlled to a level which is within the carrying
capacity of the environment.

Strategies of Sustainable Development

 Use of Non- Conventional Source of Energy
 Use of cleanser fuel
 Establishment of mini -hydel plants
 Traditional knowledge and practices
 Use of bio compost
 Control of biopest
 Change in unsatainable patterns of consumption and production
 Use of non -conventional source of energy …

Use of Non-conventional Sources of Energy: India, is hugely dependent on

thermal and hydro power plants to meet its power needs. Both of these have
adverse environmental impacts. Thermal power plants emit large quantities
of carbon dioxide which is a green house gas. It also produces fly ash which,
if not used properly, can cause pollution of water bodies, land and other
components of the environment.
Non conventional sources like Wind power and solar rays are cleaner and
greener energy sources but are not yet been explored on a large scale due to
lack of technological devices.

Use of Cleanser Fuel

LPG, Gobar Gas in Rural Areas: Households in rural areas generally use wood,
dung cake or other biomass as fuel. This practice has several adverse
implications like deforestation, reduction in green cover, wastage of cattle
dung and air pollution. To overcome this problem use of LPG and Gobar gas is
being promoted as they are cleaner fuels and helps in reducing household
pollution to a large extent

Establishment Of Mini -Hydel Plants

In mountainous regions, streams can be found almost everywhere. Mini-hydel
plants use the energy of such streams to move small turbines. The turbines
generate electricity which can be used locally. Such power plants are more or
less environment-friendly as they do not change the land use pattern in areas
where they are located; they generate enough power to meet local demands.
Traditional Knowledge and Practices
Traditionally, Indian people have been close to their environment and
demand for irrigation has been going up year after year. All practices relating
to agriculture system healthcare system, housing, transport etc., used to be
environment friendly. The shift from the traditional system has caused a
large-scale damage to the environment and to our rural heritage. This system
should be adopted to Avoid environmental loss.