INDIA

PEOPLE AND ECONOMY

TEXTBOOK IN GEOGRAPHY FOR CLASS XII

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12099 – INDIA PEOPLE AND ECONOMY ISBN 81-7450-734-5
Textbook for Class XII

First Edition ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Foreword
The National Curriculum Framework (NCF), 2005, recommends that
children’s life at school must be linked to their life outside the school. This
principle marks a departure from the legacy of bookish learning which
continues to shape our system and causes a gap between the school, home
and community. The syllabi and textbooks developed on the basis of NCF
signify an attempt to implement this basic idea. They also attempt to
discourage rote learning and the maintenance of sharp boundaries between
different subject areas. We hope these measures will take us significantly
further in the direction of a child-centred system of education outlined in
the National Policy on Education (1986).
The success of this effort depends on the steps that school principals
and teachers will take to encourage children to reflect on their own learning
and to pursue imaginative activities and questions. We must recognise
that, given space, time and freedom, children generate new knowledge by
engaging with the information passed on to them by adults. Treating the
prescribed textbook as the sole basis of examination is one of the key
reasons why other resources and sites of learning are ignored. Inculcating
creativity and initiative is possible if we perceive and treat children as
participants in learning, not as receivers of a fixed body of knowledge.
These aims imply considerable change in school routines and mode of
functioning. Flexibility in the daily time-table is as necessary as rigour in
implementing the annual calendar so that the required number of teaching
days are actually devoted to teaching. The methods used for teaching and
evaluation will also determine how effective this textbook proves for making
children’s life at school a happy experience, rather than a source of stress
or boredom. Syllabus designers have tried to address the problem of
curricular burden by restructuring and reorienting knowledge at different
stages with greater consideration for child psychology and the time available
for teaching. The textbook attempts to enhance this endeavour by giving
higher priority and space to opportunities for contemplation and wondering,
discussion in small groups, and activities requiring hands-on experience.
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)
appreciates the hard work done by the textbook development committee
responsible for this book. We wish to thank the Chairperson of the advisory
committee for textbooks in Social Sciences, at the higher secondary level,
Professor Hari Vasudevan and the Chief Advisor for this book, Professor
M.H. Qureshi for guiding the work of this committee. Several teachers
contributed to the development of this textbook; we are grateful to their
principals for making this possible. We are indebted to the institutions and
organisations which have generously permitted us to draw upon their
resources, material and personnel. We are especially grateful to the members
of the National Monitoring Committee, appointed by the Department of
Secondary and Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development
under the Chairpersonship of Professor Mrinal Miri and Professor G.P.
Deshpande, for their valuable time and contribution. As an organisation
committed to systemic reform and continuous improvement in the quality of
its products, NCERT welcomes comments and suggestions which will enable
us to undertake further revision and refinement.

Director
New Delhi National Council of Educational
20 November 2006 Research and Training

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Rationalised 2023-24
Rationalisation of Content in the Textbooks
In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative to reduce content
load on students. The National Education Policy 2020, also
emphasises reducing the content load and providing opportunities
for experiential learning with creative mindset. In this background,
the NCERT has undertaken the exercise to rationalise the textbooks
across all classes. Learning Outcomes already developed by the
NCERT across classes have been taken into consideration in this
exercise.

Contents of the textbooks have been rationalised in view of the

following:

• Overlapping with similar content included in other subject areas

in the same class
• Similar content included in the lower or higher class in the same
subject
• Difficulty level
• Content, which is easily accessible to students without much
interventions from teachers and can be learned by children
through self-learning or peer-learning
• Content, which is irrelevant in the present context

This present edition, is a reformatted version after carrying out

the changes given above.

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Rationalised 2023-24
Textbook Development Committee
CHAIRPERSON, ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR TEXTBOOKS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES AT
THE HIGHER SECONDARY LEVEL

Hari Vasudevan, Professor, Department of History, University of

Calcutta, Kolkata

CHIEF ADVISOR
M. H. Qureshi, Professor, Centre for the Study of Regional Development,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

MEMBERS
Abdul Shaban, Assistant Professor, Centre for Development Studies,
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai
Archana K. Roy, Lecturer, Department of Geography, B.H.U., Varanasi
B. S. Butola, Professor, Centre for the Study of Regional Development,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Beena Srikumar, PGT, CRPF Public School, Rohini, New Delhi
G. Parimala, Dean, College Development Council, University of Madras,
Chennai
M.S. Jaglan, Reader, Department of Geography, Kurukshetra
University, Kurukshetra
P.K. Malik, Lecturer, Government College, Bahadurgarh, Jhajjar
Sucharita Sen, Associate Professor, Centre for the Study of Regional
Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Sudeshna Bhattacharya, Reader, Department of Geography, Miranda
House, University of Delhi, Delhi
Sutapa Sengupta, Lecturer (Selection Grade), Department of
Geography, St. Mary’s College, Shillong

MEMBER-COORDINATOR
Aparna Pandey, Lecturer, Department of Education in Social Sciences
and Humanities, NCERT, New Delhi

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Acknowledgements
The National Council of Educational Research and Training acknowledges the
contribution of Kalpana Markandeya, Professor, Department of Geography, Osmania
University, Hyderabad, and Pervez Ahmed, Lecturer, P.G. Department of Geography
and Regional Development, University of Kashmir, Kashmir in the development of
this textbook.
Special thanks are due to Savita Sinha, Professor and Head, Department of
Education in Social Sciences and Humanities, for her valuable support at every
stage of preparation of this textbook.
The Council is thankful to the Survey of India for certification of maps given in
the textbook. It also gratefully acknowledges the support of individuals and
organisations as listed below for providing various photographs, illustrations,
cartoons and articles used in this textbook: Zaheen Alam, Lecturer, Dayal Singh
College, New Delhi, for Fig.7.4; Swapnil Sakhare, Mumbai, for Fig. on page 100,
102; Centre for Dalit and Tribal Studies, TISS, Mumbai, for Fig. on page 102; Janhit
Foundation, Meerut for Case Study on page 99; M.S. Jaglan, Reader, Kurukshetra
University, for Fig. 6.1, 6.4, 6.5; R.K. Laxman (The Times of India) for cartoon on
page 99; Shveta Uppal, NCERT, for Fig. 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.10 and 7.7; Kalyan Banerjee,
NCERT, for Figs. on page 15, 41; Directorate of Extension, Ministry of Agriculture
I.A.R.I Campus, New Pusa, New Delhi, for Fig. 3.7, 3.8; The Times of India, New
Delhi, for Fig. 3.2, 7.1 and for news items on page 12, 38, 63, 95, 96, 99; The Hindu
for Fig. 9.1 and for news items on page 101; CCSHAU, Hisar, for Fig. 3.12; The
Economic Times, New Delhi, for news items on page 57, 74, 82; Hindustan, New
Delhi, for news items on page 38, 46, 63, 101; Dainik Jagran, Varanasi, for news
item on page 38; Ministry of Mines, Government of India for Fig. 9.2 and a figure on
page 53; Geological Survey of India for Fig. 5.4; ITDC/Ministry of Tourism,
Government of India for Fig. 7.8; National Disaster Management Division, Ministry
of Home Affairs, Government of India for a figure on page 48; Today for Fig.7.2;
Competition Success Review, Year Book, 2006 for Fig. 7.5 and 7.6; Ministry of
Shipping, Government of India for Fig. 8.3 and on page 86; Down to Earth, CSE,
New Delhi for a figure on page 97.
The Council also acknowledges the contributions of Ishwar Singh, DTP Operator;
Ajay Singh, Copy Editor; and Dinesh Kumar, Computer In-charge, who have helped in
giving final shape to this book. The contribution of the Publication Department,
NCERT is also duly acknowledged.
The Council acknowledges the valuable inputs for analysing syllabi, textbooks
and the content, proposed to be rationalised for this edition by Kulprit Singh, PGT,
Geography, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, Pushpendra Singh, PGT, Geography,
Prudence School, Ashok Vihar, Aparna Pandey, Associate Professor, DESS, NCERT,
Tanu Malik, Assistant Professor, DESS, NCERT.

The following are applicable to all the maps of India used in this textbook
1. © Government of India, Copyright 2006
2. The responsibility for the correctness of internal details rests with the publisher.
3. The territorial waters of India extend into the sea to a distance of twelve nautical miles measured from the
appropriate base line.
4. The administrative headquarters of Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab are at Chandigarh.
5. The interstate boundaries amongst Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya shown on this map are
as interpreted from the “North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act.1971,” but have yet to be verified.
6. The external boundaries and coastlines of India agree with the Record/Master Copy certified by
Survey of India.
7. The state boundaries between Uttaranchal & Uttar Pradesh, Bihar & Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh &
Madhya Pradesh have not been verified by the Governments concerned.
8. The spellings of names in this map, have been taken from various sources.

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Contents

Foreword iii

Rationalisation of Content in the Textbooks v

Unit I
1. Population : Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition 1-14
Unit II
2. Human Settlements 15-20

Unit III
3. Land Resources and Agriculture 21-40
4. Water Resources 41-52
5. Mineral and Energy Resources 53-65
6. Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context 66-74

Unit IV
7. Transport and Communication 75-85
8. International Trade 86-94

Unit V
9. Geographical Perspective on Selected Issues and Problems 95-105

Appendices 106-114

Glossary 115

References 116-117

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School Bhuvan–NCERT an Online web portal

Web based online e-learning Geo spatial portal

School Bhuvan–NCERT (URL: http://
bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in/governance/mhrd_ncert/)
has been launched by NCERT and ISRO in
collaboration to enhance geo spatial skills
among students. This online e-learning portal
includes thematic maps given in Geography
textbooks. This portal enables students to use
Geo-spatial technology for better understanding
of concepts in Geography. Online activities
available on the portal as Level 1, Level 2 and
Level 3 encourage learners from Classes VI to
XII to develop neighbourhood maps and their
attributes on satellite imageries available on
School Bhuvan–NCERT.

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 The people are very important component of a
Unit I country. India is the second most populous
Chapter 1 country after China in the world with its total
population of 1,210 million (2011). India’s
population is larger than the total population
of North America, South America and Australia
put together. More often, it is argued that such
a large population invariably puts pressure
on its limited resources and is also responsible
for many socio-economic problems in the
country.

How do you perceive the idea of India? Is

POPULATION it simply a territory? Does this signify an
amalgam of people? Is it a territory
Distribution, Density, Growth inhabited by people living under certain
institutions of governance?
and Composition
In this chapter, we will discuss the
patterns of distribution, density, growth and
composition of India’s population.

Sources of Population Data

Population data are collected through
Census operation held every 10 years in our
country. The first population Census in India
was conducted in 1872 but its first complete
Census was conducted only in 1881.

Distribution of P
Distribution opula
Population
opulation
Examine Fig. 1.1 and try to describe the
patterns of spatial distribution of population
shown on it. It is clear that India has a highly
uneven pattern of population distribution. The
percentage shares of population of the states
and Union Territories in the country (Appendix)
show that Uttar Pradesh has the highest
population followed by Maharashtra, Bihar and
West Bengal.

Looking at the data in Appendix i, arrange the Indian

States and Union Territories according to their sizes
and population and find out :

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 Fig. 1.1 : India – Distribution of Population

2 India : People and Economy

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States/UTs of large size and large population history of human settlement and development
of transport network. On the other hand, the
States/UTs of large size but small population
urban regions of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,
States/UTs of smaller size but larger population Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai and
Jaipur have high concentration of population
Check from the table (Appendix–iA) that U.P., due to industrial development and
Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra urbanisation drawing a large numbers of
Pradesh along with Tamil Nadu, Madhya
rural-urban migrants.
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Gujarat,
together account for about 76 per cent of the Density of P opula tion
opulation
Popula
total population of the country. On the other
hand, share of population is very small in the Density of population, is expressed as number
states like Jammu & Kashmir (1.04%), of persons per unit area. It helps in getting a
Arunachal Pradesh (0.11%) and Uttarakhand better understanding of the spatial distribution
(0.84%) inspite of theses states having fairly of population in relation to land. The density of
large geographical area. population in India (2011) is 382 persons per
Such an uneven spatial distribution of sq km. There has been a steady increase of more
population in India suggests a close relationship than 200 persons per sq km over the last 50
between population and physical, socio- years as the density of population increased
economic and historical factors. As far as the from 117 persons/ sq km in 1951 to 382
physical factors are concerned, it is clear that persons/sq km in 2011.
climate along with terrain and availability of
The data shown in Appendix (i) give an
water largely determines the pattern of the
population distribution. Consequently, we idea of spatial variation of population densities
observe that the North Indian Plains, deltas and in the country which ranges from as low as 17
Coastal Plains have higher proportion of persons per sq km in Arunachal Pradesh to
population than the interior districts of southern 11,297 persons in the National Capital
and central Indian States, Himalayas, some of Territory of Delhi. Among the northern Indian
the north eastern and the western states. States, Bihar (1102), West Bengal (1029) and
However, development of irrigation (Rajasthan), and Uttar Pradesh (828) have higher densities,
availability of mineral and energy resources while Kerala (859) and Tamil Nadu (555) have
(Jharkhand) and development of transport higher densities among the peninsular Indian
network (Peninsular States) have resulted in states. States like Assam, Gujarat, Andhra
moderate to high concentration of population Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha have
in areas which were previously very thinly moderate densities. The hill states of the
populated. Himalayan region and North eastern states of
Among the socio-economic and historical India (excluding Assam) have relatively low
factors of distribution of population, important densities while the Union Territories (excluding
ones are evolution of settled agriculture and Andaman and Nicobar islands) have very high
agricultural development; pattern of human densities of population (Appendix–i).
settlement; development of transport network, The density of population, as discussed
industrialisation and urbanisation. It is in the earlier paragraph, is a crude measure
observed that the regions falling in the river of human and land relationship. To get a
plains and coastal areas of India have remained better insight into the human-land ratio in
the regions of larger population concentration. terms of pressure of population on total
Even though the uses of natural resources like cultivable land, the physiological and the
land and water in these regions have shown agricultural densities should be found out
the sign of degradation, the concentration of which are significant for a country like India
population remains high because of an early having a large agricultural population.

Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition 3

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 Fig. 1.2 : India – Density of Population

4 India : People and Economy

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 assessing the crude birth and death rates, the
Physiological density = total population / induced components are explained by the
net cultivated area volume of inward and outward movement of
Agricultural density = total agricultural people in any given area. However, in the
population / net cultivable area present chapter, we will only discuss the
natural growth of India’s population.
Agricultural population includes cultivators The decadal and annual growth rates of
and agricultural labourers and their family population in India are both very high and
members.
steadily increasing over time. The annual
growth rate of India’s population is 1.64 per
cent (2011).

With the help of data given in Appendix (ii), Calculate Population Doubling Time
the Physiological and Agricultural densities of Population doubling time is the time taken
population of Indian States and Union Territories. by any population to double itself at its
Compare them with density of population and see how current annual growth rate.
are these different?

Gr owth of P
Growth opula
Popula tion
opulation The growth rate of population in India over
Growth of population is the change in the the last one century has been caused by annual
number of people living in a particular area birth rate and death rate and rate of migration
between two points of time. Its rate is expressed and thereby shows different trends. There are
in percentage. Population growth has two four distinct phases of growth identified within
components namely; natural and induced. this period:
While the natural growth is analysed by

Table 1.1 : Decadal Growth Rates in India, 1901-2011

Census Total Population Growth Rate*

Years Absolute Number % of Growth

1901 238396327 ------------ ------------
1911 252093390 (+) 13697063 (+) 5.75
1921 251321213 (-) 772117 (-) 0.31
1931 278977238 (+) 27656025 (+) 11.60
1941 318660580 (+) 39683342 (+) 14.22
1951 361088090 (+) 42420485 (+) 13.31
1961 439234771 (+) 77682873 (+) 21.51
1971 548159652 (+) 108924881 (+) 24.80
1981 683329097 (+) 135169445 (+) 24.66
1991 846302688 (+) 162973591 (+) 23.85
2001 1028610328 (+) 182307640 (+) 21.54
2011** 1210193422 (+) 181583094 (+) 17.64
p 2 -p1
* Decadal growth rate: g= ×100
p1
where P1 = population of the base year
P2 = population of the present year
** Source : Census of India, 2011(Provisional)

Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition 5

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 Fig. 1.3 : India – Growth of Population

6 India : People and Economy

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Phase I : The period from 1901-1921 is Tibetans, Bangladeshis, Nepalies
referred to as a period of stagnant and even people from Pakistan
or stationary phase of growth of contributed to the high growth rate.
India’s population, since in this Phase IV : In the post 1981 till present, the
period growth rate was very low, growth rate of country’s population
even recording a negative growth though remained high, has started
rate during 1911-1921. Both the slowing down gradually (Table 1.1).
birth rate and death rate were high A downward trend of crude birth
keeping the rate of increase low rate is held responsible for such a
(Appendix–iii). Poor health and population growth. This was, in
medical services, illiteracy of people turn, affected by an increase in the
at large and inefficient distribution mean age at marriage, improved
system of food and other basic quality of life particularly education
necessities were largely responsible of females in the country.
for a high birth and death rates in The growth rate of population is, however,
this period. still high in the country, and it has been
Phase II : The decades 1921-1951 are projected by World Development Report that
referred to as the period of steady population of India will touch 1,350 million by
population growth. An overall 2025.
improvement in health and The analysis done so far shows the average
sanitation throughout the country growth rate, but the country also has wide
brought down the mortality rate. At variation (Appendix–iv) in growth rates from one
the same time better transport and area to another which is discussed below.
communication system improved R e gional V aria
Varia tion in
ariation
distribution system. The crude P opula tion Gr
opulation owth
Growth
birth rate remained high in this
The growth rate of population during 1991-
period leading to higher growth rate
2001 in Indian States and Union Territories
than the previous phase. This is
shows very obvious pattern.
impressive at the backdrop of Great
The States like Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil
Economic Depression, 1920s and
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Puducherry,
World War II.
and Goa show a low rate of growth not exceeding
Phase III : The decades 1951-1981 are
20 per cent over the decade. Kerala registered
referred to as the period of
the lowest growth rate (9.4) not only in this group
population explosion in India, of states but also in the country as a whole.
which was caused by a rapid fall A continuous belt of states from west to
in the mortality rate but a high east in the north-west, north, and north central
fertility rate of population in the parts of the country has relatively high growth
country. The average annual rate than the southern states. It is in this belt
growth rate was as high as 2.2 per comprising Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan,
cent. It is in this period, after the Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
Independence, that developmental Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, West Bengal,
activities were introduced through Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, the growth
a centralised planning process and rate on the average remained 20-25 per cent.
economy started showing up During 2001-2011, the growth rates of
ensuring the improvement of living almost all States and Union Territories have
condition of people at large. registered a lower figure compared to the
Consequently, there was a high previous decade, namely, 1991-2001. The
natural increase and higher growth percentage decadal growth rates of the six most
rate. Besides, increased populous States, namely, Uttar Pradesh,
international migration bringing in Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra

Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition 7

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Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have all fallen one example which has been designed to look
during 2001-2011 compared to 1991-2001, into the overall development of our large youth
the fall being the lowest for Andhra Pradesh and adolescent population.
(3.5% percentage points) and highest for The National Youth Policy (NYP–2014)
Maharashtra (6.7 percentage points). Tamil launched in February 2014 proposes a holistic
Nadu (3.9 percentage points) and Puducherry ‘vision’ for the youth of India, which is “To
(7.1 percentage points) have registered some empower the youth of the country to achieve
increase during 2001-2011 over the previous their full potential, and through them enable
decade. India to find its rightful place in the community
of nations”. The NYP–2014 has defined ‘youth’as
persons in the age group of 15–29 years.
The Government of India also formulated
With the help of data given in Appendix i and iA, compare the National Policy for Skill Development and
the growth rate of population of different States/UTs Entrepreneurship in 2015 to provide an
between 1991-2001 and 2001-2011. umbrella framework to all skilling activities
being carried out within the country, and to
Take the population growth data of the districts/selected
align these to common standards and link
districts of your respective state for total male and female skilling with demand centres.
population and represent them with the help of It appears from the above discussion that
Composite Bar Graph. the growth rate of population is widely variant
over space and time in the country and also
An important aspect of population growth highlights various social problems related to the
in India is the growth of its adolescents. At growth of population. However, in order to have
present the share of adolescents i.e., up to the a better insight into the growth pattern of
age group of 10-19 years is about 20.9 per cent population it is also necessary to look into the
(2011), among which male adolescents social composition of population.
constitute 52.7 per cent and female adolescents Population Composition
opulation
constitute 47.3 per cent. The adolescent
population, though, regarded as the youthful Population composition is a distinct field of
population having high potentials, but at the study within population geography with a vast
same time they are quite vulnerable if not guided coverage of analysis of age and sex, place of
and channelised properly. There are many residence, ethnic characteristics, tribes,
challenges for the society as far as these language, religion, marital status, literacy and
adolescents are concerned, some of which are education, occupational characteristics, etc. In
lower age at marriage, illiteracy – particularly this section, the composition of Indian
female illiteracy, school dropouts, low intake of population with respect to their rural-urban
nutrients, high rate of maternal mortality of characteristics, language, religion and pattern
adolescent mothers, high rate of HIV and AIDS of occupation will be discussed.
infections, physical and mental disability or Rural – Urban Composition
retardedness, drug abuse and alcoholism, juvenile
delinquency and commitence of crimes, etc. Composition of population by their respective
In view of these, the Government of India places of residence is an important indicator of
has undertaken certain policies to impart social and economic characteristics. This becomes
proper education to the adolescent groups so even more significant for a country where about
that their talents are better channelised and 68.8 per cent of its total population lives in village
properly utilised. The National Youth Policy is (2011).

8 India : People and Economy

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 indicates both development of urban areas in
terms of socio-economic conditions and an
Compare the data given in Appendix (iv) and iv A increased rate of rural-urban migration. The
calculate the percentages of rural population of the rural-urban migration is conspicuous in the case
states in India and represent them cartographically on of urban areas along the main road links and
a map of India. railroads in the North Indian Plains, the
industrial areas around Kolkata, Mumbai,
Do you know that India has 640,867 Bengaluru – Mysuru, Madurai – Coimbatore,
villages according to the Census 2011 out of Ahmedabad – Surat, Delhi – Kanpur and
which 597,608 (93.2 per cent) are inhabited Ludhiana – Jalandhar. In the agriculturally
villages? However, the distribution of rural stagnant parts of the middle and lower Ganga
population is not uniform throughout the Plains, Telengana, non-irrigated Western
country. You might have noted that the states Rajasthan, remote hilly, tribal areas of north-
like Bihar and Sikkim have very high east, along the flood prone areas of Peninsular
percentage of rural population. The states of India and along eastern part of Madhya Pradesh,
Goa and Maharashtra have only little over half the degree of urbanisation has remained low.
of their total population residing in villages.
The Union Territories, on the other hand, Linguistic Composition
have smaller proportion of rural population, India is a land of linguistic diversity. According to
except Dadra and Nagar Haveli (53.38 per cent).
Grierson (Linguistic Survey of India, 1903 – 1928),
The size of villages also varies considerably. It there were 179 languages and as many as 544
is less than 200 persons in the hill states of dialects in the country. In the context of modern
north-eastern India, Western Rajasthan and India, there are about 22 scheduled languages
Rann of Kuchchh and as high as 17 thousand and a number of non-scheduled languages.
persons in the states of Kerala and in parts of
Maharashtra. A thorough examination of the
pattern of distribution of rural population of
India reveals that both at intra-State and inter- See how many languages appear on a Rs 10 note.
State levels, the relative degree of urbanisation Among the scheduled languages, the
and extent of rural-urban migration regulate speakers of Hindi have the highest percentage.
the concentration of rural population. The smallest language groups are Sanskrit,
You have noted that contrary to rural Bodo and Manipuri speakers (2011). However,
population, the proportion of urban population it is noticed that the linguistic regions in the
(31.16 per cent) in India is quite low but it is country do not have a sharp and distinct
showing a much faster rate of growth over the boundary, rather they gradually merge and
decades. The growth rate of urban population overlap in their respective frontier zones.
has accelerated due to enhanced economic
development and improvement in health and Linguistic Classification
hygienic conditions.
The distribution of urban population too, The speakers of major Indian languages
as in the case of total population, has a wide belong to four language families, which have
variation throughout the country (Appendix–iv). their sub-families and branches or groups.
This can be better understood from Table 1.2.
Religious Composition
Compare the data of Appendix (iv) and iv A and identify
the states/UTs with very high and very low proportion of Religion is one of the most dominant forces
urban population. affecting the cultural and political life of the
majority of Indians. Since religion virtually
It is, however, noticed that in almost all the permeates into almost all the aspects of people’s
states and Union Territories, there has been a family and community lives, it is important to
considerable increase of urban population. This study the religious composition in detail.

Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition 9

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 Table 1.2 : Classification of Modern Indian Languages

Family Sub-Family Branch/Group Speech Areas

Austro-Asiatic Mon-Khmer Meghalaya, Nicobar Islands

Austric
(Nishada) Munda West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam,
1.38% Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra
Austro- Nesian Outside India
South-Dravidian Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala

Dravidian Central Dravidian Andhra Pradesh, M.P., Orissa,

(Dravida) Maharashtra
20%
North Dravidian Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal,
Madhya Pradesh

Tibeto - Myanmari Tibeto-Himalayan Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,

Sikkim
Sino-Tibetan
(Kirata) North Assam Arunachal Pradesh
0.85%
Siamese-Chinese Assam- Myanmari Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram,
Tripura, Meghalaya

Indo-Aryan Iranian Outside India

Indo - Dardic Jammu & Kashmir
European
(Aryan) 73% Indo-Aryan Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal
Pradesh, U.P., Rajasthan, Haryana, M.P.,
Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam,
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa.
Source : Ahmed, A. (1999) : Social Geography, Rawat Publication, New Delhi

Table 1.3 : Religious Communities of India, 2011

Look at Table 1.2 and prepare a pie diagram of linguistic Religious Group 2011
composition of India showing the sectoral shares of Population % of
each linguistic group. (in million) Total
Hindus 966.3 79.8
Or
Muslims 172.2 14.2
Christians 27.8 2.3
Prepare a qualitative symbol map of India showing the
distribution of different linguistic groups in the country. Sikhs 20.8 1.7
Buddhists 8.4 0.7
The spatial distribution of religious Jains 4.5 0.4
communities in the country (Appendix–v) shows Other Religions and
that there are certain states and districts having Persuasions (ORP) 7.9 0.7
large numerical strength of one religion, while
Religion Not Stated 2.9 0.2
the same may be very negligibly represented in
other states. Source : Census of India, 2011
Hindus are distributed as a major group in Muslims, the largest religious minority, are
many states (ranging from 70 - 90 per cent and concentrated in Jammu & Kashmir, certain
above) except the districts of states along Indo- districts of West Bengal and Kerala, many
Bangladesh border, Indo-Pak border, Jammu & districts of Uttar Pradesh , in and around Delhi
Kashmir, Hill States of North-East and in scattered and in Lakshadweep. They form majority in
areas of Deccan Plateau and Ganga Plain. Kashmir valley and Lakshadweep.

10 India : People and Economy

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 Standard Census Definition
Religion and Landscape
Main Worker is a person who works for
Formal expression of religions on atleast 183 days ( or six months) in a year.
landscape is manifested through sacred
structures, use of cemetries and Marginal Worker is a person who works for
assemblages of plants and animals, groves less than 183 days ( or six months) in a year.
of trees for religious purposes. Sacred
structures are widely distributed throughout per cent (2011) leaving a vast majority of about
the country. These may range from 60 per cent as non-workers. This indicates an
inconspicuous village shrines to large Hindu economic status in which there is a larger
temples, monumental masjids or ornately proportion of dependent population, further
designed cathedrals in large metropolitan indicating possible existence of large number of
cities. These temples, masjids, gurudwaras, unemployed or under employed people.
monastries and churches differ in size,
form, space – use and density, while
What is work participation rate?
attributing a special dimension to the total
landscape of the area. The proportion of working population, of
the states and Union Territories show a
The Christian population is distributed moderate variation from about 39.6 per cent in
mostly in rural areas of the country. The main Goa to about 49.9 per cent in Daman and Diu.
concentration is observed along the Western The states with larger percentages of workers
coast around Goa, Kerala and also in the hill are Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh,
states of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Arunachal
Chotanagpur area and Hills of Manipur. Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya.
Sikhs are mostly concentrated in relatively Among the Union Territories, Dadra and Nagar
small area of the country, particularly in the Haveli and Daman and Diu have higher
states of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. participation rate. It is understood that, in the
Jains and Buddhists, the smallest religious context of a country like India, the work
groups in India have their concentration only participation rate tends to be higher in the areas
in selected areas of the country. Jains have of lower levels of economic development since
major concentration in the urban areas of number of manual workers are needed to
Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, while the perform the subsistence or near subsistence
economic activities.
Buddhists are concentrated mostly in
The occupational composition (see box)
Maharashtra. The other areas of Buddhist
of India’s population (which actually means
majority are Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh,
engagement of an individual in farming,
Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir, Tripura, and
manufacturing, trade, services or any kind of
Lahul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh.
professional activities) show a large proportion
The other religions of India include
of primary sector workers compared to
Zoroastrians, tribal and other indigenous faiths
secondary and tertiary sectors. About 54.6 per
and beliefs. These groups are concentrated in
cent of total working population are cultivators
small pockets scattered throughout the country.
and agricultural labourers, whereas only 3.8%
of workers are engaged in household industries
Composition of Working Population
and 41.6 % are other workers including non-
The population of India according to their household industries, trade, commerce,
economic status is divided into three groups, construction and repair and other services. As
namely; main workers, marginal workers and far as the occupation of country’s male and
non-workers. female population is concerned, male workers
It is observed that in India, the proportion out-number female workers in all the three
of workers (both main and marginal) is only 39.8 sectors (Fig.1.4 and Table 1.4).
Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition 11

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 Fig. 1.4 : India – Occupational Structure, 2011

Identify some issues in which

India is ahead of or lagging
behind its neighbours.

Promoting Gender Sensitivity through the UNDP when it mentioned that, “If development
‘Beti Bachao–Beti Padhao’ Social is not engendered it is endangered” (HDR UNDP
Campaign 1995). Discrimination, in general, and gender
discrimination, in particular, is a crime against
The division of the society into male, female
humanity.
and transgender is believed to be natural
All efforts need to be made to address the
and biological. But, in reality, there are social
denial of opportunities of education, employment,
constructs and roles assigned to individuals
political representation, low wages for similar
which are reinforced by social institutions. types of work, disregard to their entitlement to
Consequently, these biological differences live a dignified life, etc. A society, which fails to
become the basis of social differentiations, acknowledge and take effective measures to
discriminations and exclusions. The remove such discriminations, cannot be treated
exclusion of over half of the population as a civilised one. The Government of India has
becomes a serious handicap to any duly acknowleged the adverse impacts of these
developing and civilised society. It is a global discriminations and launched a nationwide
challenge, which has been acknowledged by campaign called ‘Beti Bachao – Beti Padhao’.
12 India : People and Economy

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 The number of female workers is relatively
Occupational Categories high in primary sector, though in recent years
there has been some improvement in work
The 2011 Census has divided the working
population of India into four major categories : participation of women in secondary and
tertiary sectors.
1. Cultivators
It is important to note that the proportion
2. Agricultural Labourers of workers in agricultural sector in India has
3. Household Industrial Workers shown a decline over the last few decades (58.2%
4. Other Workers. in 2001 to 54.6% in 2011). Consequently, the
participation rate in secondary and tertiary sector
has registered an increase. This indicates a shift
of dependence of workers from farm-
Table 1.4 : Sectoral Composition of workforce in India, 2011 based occupations to non-farm
based ones, indicating a sectoral shift
Categories Population in the economy of the country.
The spatial variation of work
Persons % to Male Female participation rate in different sectors
total
Workers
in the country (Appendix–v and vA)
is very wide. For instance, the states
Primary 26,30,22,473 54.6 16,54,47,075 9,75,75,398 like Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland
have very large shares of cultivators.
Secondary 1,83,36,307 3.8 97,75,635 85,60,672
On the other hand states like Bihar,
Tertiary 20,03,84,531 41.6 15,66,43,220 4,37,41,311 Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal
and Madhya Pradesh have higher proportion of
agricultural labourers. The highly urbanised
areas like Delhi, Chandigarh and Puducherry
have a very large proportion of workers being
Prepare composite bar graphs, one for India and the engaged in other services. This indicates not only
other for your respective states showing the proportion availability of limited farming land, but also large
of male and female workers in agriculture, household scale urbanisation and industrialisation
industries and other sectors, and compare. requiring more workers in non-farm sectors.

EXERCISES
1. Choose the right answers of the followings from the given options.
(i) India’s population as per 2011 census is :
(a) 1028 million (c) 3287 million
(b) 3182 million (d) 1210 million

Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition 13

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 (ii) Which one of the following states has the highest density of population in
India?
(a) West Bengal (c) Uttar Pradesh
(b) Kerala (d) Punjab
(iii) Which one of the following states has the highest proportion of urban
population in India according to 2011 Census?
(a) Tamil Nadu (c) Kerala
(b) Maharashtra (d) Goa
(iv) Which one of the following is the largest linguistic group of India?
(a) Sino – Tibetan (c) Austric
(b) Indo – Aryan (d) Dravidian
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) Very hot and dry and very cold and wet regions of India have low density
of population. In this light, explain the role of climate on the distribution
of population.
(ii) Which states have large rural population in India? Give one reason for
such large rural population.
(iii) Why do some states of India have higher rates of work participation than
others?
(iv) ‘The agricultural sector has the largest share of Indian workers.’ – Explain.
3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Discuss the spatial pattern of density of population in India.
(ii) Give an account of the occupational structure of India’s population.

14 India : People and Economy

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 Human Settlement means cluster of dwellings
Unit II of any type or size where human beings live.
Chapter 2 For this purpose, people may erect houses and
other structures and command some area or
territory as their economic support-base. Thus,
the process of settlement inherently involves
grouping of people and apportioning of territory
as their resource base.
Settlements vary in size and type. They
range from a hamlet to metropolitan cities. With
size, the economic character and social structure
of settlements changes and so do its ecology and
technology. Settlements could be small and
sparsely spaced; they may also be large and
HUMAN closely spaced. The sparsely located small
settlements are called villages, specialising in
SETTLEMENTS agriculture or other primary activities. On the
other hand, there are fewer but larger settlements
which are termed as urban settlements
specialising in secondary and tertiary activities.
The basic differences between rural and urban
settlements are as follows :
• The rural settlements derive their life
support or basic economic needs from
land based primary economic activities,
whereas, urban settlements, depend on
processing of raw materials and
manufacturing of finished goods on the
one hand and a variety of services on the
other.
• Cities act as nodes of economic growth,
provide goods and services not only to
urban dwellers but also to the people of
the rural settlements in their hinterlands
in return for food and raw materials. This
functional relationship between the urban
and rural settlements takes place through
transport and communication network.
• Rural and urban settlements differ in
terms of social relationship, attitude and
outlook. Rural people are less mobile and
therefore, social relations among them are
intimate. In urban areas, on the other
hand, way of life is complex and fast, and
social relations are formal.

T ypes of R ur
Rur al Settlement
ural
Types of the settlement are determined by the
extent of the built-up area and inter-house

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distance. In India compact or clustered village Semi-Clustered Settlements
of a few hundred houses is a rather universal
Semi-clustered or fragmented settlements may
feature, particularly in the northern plains.
result from tendency of clustering in a
However, there are several areas, which have
restricted area of dispersed settlement. More
other forms of rural settlements. There are
often such a pattern may also result from
various factors and conditions responsible for
segregation or fragmentation of a large compact
having different types of rural settlements in
village. In this case, one or more sections of
India. These include: (i) physical features –
the village society choose or is forced to live a
nature of terrain, altitude, climate and
little away from the main cluster or village. In
availability of water (ii) cultural and ethenic
such cases, generally, the land-owning and
factors – social structure, caste and religion
dominant community occupies the central part
(iii) security factors – defence against thefts and
of the main village, whereas people of lower
robberies. Rural settlements in India can
strata of society and menial workers settle on
broadly be put into four types:
the outer flanks of the village. Such settlements
• Clustered, agglomerated or nucleated,
are widespread in the Gujarat plain and some
• Semi-clustered or fragmented,
parts of Rajasthan.
• Hamleted, and
• Dispersed or isolated.

Clustered Settlements
The clustered rural settlement is a compact or
closely built up area of houses. In this type of
village the general living area is distinct and
separated from the surrounding farms, barns
and pastures. The closely built-up area and its

Fig. 2.2 : Semi-clustered settlements

Hamleted Settlements
Sometimes settlement is fragmented into several
units physically separated from each other
bearing a common name. These units are locally
Fig. 2.1 : Clustered Settlements in the North-eastern states called panna, para, palli, nagla, dhani, etc. in
various parts of the country. This segmentation
intervening streets present some recognisable of a large village is often motivated by social
pattern or geometric shape, such as and ethnic factors. Such villages are more
rectangular, radial, linear, etc. Such settlements frequently found in the middle and lower Ganga
are generally found in fertile alluvial plains and plain, Chhattisgarh and lower valleys of the
in the northeastern states. Sometimes, people Himalayas.
live in compact village for security or defence
reasons, such as in the Bundelkhand region of Dispersed Settlements
central India and in Nagaland. In Rajasthan,
scarcity of water has necessitated compact Dispersed or isolated settlement pattern in India
settlement for maximum utilisation of available appears in the form of isolated huts or hamlets
water resources. of few huts in remote jungles, or on small hills

16 India : People and Economy

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 Ancient Towns
There are number of towns in India having
historical background spanning over 2000
years. Most of them developed as religious and
cultural centres. Varanasi is one of the important
towns among these. Prayag (Allahabad),
Pataliputra (Patna), Madurai are some other
examples of ancient towns in the country.

Medieval Towns
Fig. 2.3 : Dispersed settlements in Nagaland About 100 of the existing towns have their roots
with farms or pasture on the slopes. Extreme in the medieval period. Most of them developed
as headquarters of principalities and kingdoms.
dispersion of settlement is often caused by
extremely fragmented nature of the terrain and These are fort towns which came up on the
ruins of ancient towns. Important among them
land resource base of habitable areas. Many
areas of Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Himachal are Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Agra
and Nagpur.
Pradesh and Kerala have this type of settlement.
Modern Towns
Urban Settlements
The British and other Europeans have
Unlike rural settlements, urban settlements developed a number of towns in India.
are generally compact and larger in size. Starting their foothold on coastal locations,
They are engaged in a variety of non- they first developed some trading ports such
agricultural, economic and administrative as Surat, Daman, Goa, Pondicherry, etc. The
functions. As mentioned earlier, cities are British later consolidated their hold around
functionally linked to rural areas around three principal nodes – Mumbai (Bombay),
them. Thus, exchange of goods and services Chennai (Madras), and Kolkata (Calcutta) –
is performed sometimes directly and and built them in the British style. Rapidly
sometimes through a series of market towns
and cities. Thus, cities are connected directly
as well as indirectly with the villages and also
with each other. You can see the definition of
towns in Chapter 10 of the book,
“Fundamentals of Human Geography.”

Evolution of Towns in India

Towns flourished since prehistoric times in
India. Even at the time of Indus valley
civilisation, towns like Harappa and
Mohanjodaro were in existence. The following
period has witnessed evolution of towns. It
continued with periodic ups and downs until
the arrival of Europeans in India in the
eighteenth century. On the basis of their Fig. 2.4 : A view of the modern city
evolution in different periods, Indian towns may
extending their domination either directly or
be classified as: through control over the princely states, they
• Ancient towns, • Medieval towns, and established their administrative centres, hill-
• Modern towns. towns as summer resorts, and added new civil,

Human Settlements 17

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 Table 2.1 : India – Trends of Urbanisation 1901-2011
Year Number of Urban Population % of Total Decennial
Towns/UAs (in Thousands) Population Growth (%)

1901 1,827 25,851.9 10.84 —-

1911 1,815 25,941.6 10.29 0.35
1921 1,949 28,086.2 11.18 8.27
1931 2,072 33,456.0 11.99 19.12
1941 2,250 44,153.3 13.86 31.97
1951 2,843 62,443.7 17.29 41.42
1961 2,365 78,936.6 17.97 26.41
1971 2,590 1,09,114 19.91 38.23
1981 3,378 1,59,463 23.34 46.14
1991 4,689 2,17,611 25.71 36.47
2001 5,161 2,85,355 27.78 31.13
2011* 6,171 3,77,000 31.16 31.08

*Source: Census of India, 2011 http.//www.censusindia.gov.in (Provisional)

administrative and military areas to them. Functional Classification of Towns

Towns based on modern industries also
evolved after 1850. Jamshedpur can be cited Apart from their role as central or nodal places,
as an example. many towns and cities perform specialised
After independence, a large number of towns services. Some towns and cities specialise in
have been developed as administrative certain functions and they are known for
headquarters, e.g., Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, some specific activities, products or services.
Gandhinagar, Dispur, etc., and industrial However, each town performs a number of
centres, such as Durgapur, Bhilai, Sindri, functions. On the basis of dominant or
Barauni. Some old towns also developed as specialised functions, Indian cities and towns
satellite towns around metropolitan cities, such can be broadly classified as follows:
as Ghaziabad, Rohtak, Gurugram around
Delhi. With increasing investment in rural areas, Administrative towns and cities
a large number of medium and small towns
Towns supporting administrative headquarters
have developed all over the country.
of higher order are administrative towns, such
Urbanisation in India as Chandigarh, New Delhi, Bhopal, Shillong,
Guwahati, Imphal, Srinagar, Gandhinagar,
The level of urbanisation is measured in
Jaipur, Chennai, etc.
terms of percentage of urban population to
total population. The level of urbanisation in Industrial towns
India in 2011 was 31.16 per cent, which is
quite low in comparison to developed Industries constitute prime motive force of these
countries. Total urban population has cities, such as Mumbai, Salem, Coimbatore,
increased eleven-fold during the twentieth Modinagar, Jamshedpur, Hugli, Bhilai, etc.
century. Enlargement of urban centres and Transport Cities
emergence of new towns have played a
significant role in the growth of urban They may be ports primarily engaged in export
population and urbanisation in the country. and import activities such as Kandla, Kochchi,
( T a b l e 2. 1 ) . B u t t h e g r o w t h r a t e o f Kozhikode, Vishakhapatnam, etc., or hubs of
urbanisation has slowed down during last inland transport, such as Agra, Dhulia,
two decades. Mughalsarai, Itarsi, Katni, etc.

18 India : People and Economy

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Commercial towns
Towns and cities specialising in trade and
commerce are kept in this class. Kolkata, List the urban agglomerations/cities
Saharanpur, Satna, etc., are some examples. state-wise and see the state-wise
population under this category of cities.
Mining towns
These towns have developed in mineral rich Educational towns
areas such as Raniganj, Jharia, Digboi,
Ankaleshwar, Singrauli, etc. Starting as centres of education, some of the
towns have grown into major campus towns,
Garrisson Cantonment towns such as Roorki, Varanasi, Aligarh, Pilani,
Allahabad, etc.
These towns emerged as garrisson towns such
as Ambala, Jalandhar, Mhow, Babina,
Udhampur, etc. Religious and cultural towns
Varanasi, Mathura, Amritsar, Madurai, Puri,
Smart Cities Mission Ajmer, Pushkar, T irupati, Kurukshetra,
Haridwar, Ujjain came to prominence due to
The objective of the Smart Cities Mission their religious/cultural significance.
is to promote cities that provide core
infrastructure, a clean and sustainable Tourist towns
environment and give a decent quality of
life to its citizens. One of the features of Nainital, Mussoorie, Shimla, Pachmarhi,
Smart Cities is to apply smart solutions to Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udagamandalam (Ooty),
infrastructure and services in order to make Mount Abu are some of the tourist destinations.
them better. For example, making areas The cities are not static in their function. The
less vulnerable to disasters, using fewer functions change due to their dynamic nature.
resources and providing cheaper services. Even specialised cities, as they grow into
The focus is on sustainble and inclusive metropolises become multifunctional wherein
development and the idea is to look at industry, business, administration, transport,
compact areas, create a replicable model, etc., become important. The functions get so
which will act like a lighthouse to other intertwined that the city can not be categorised
aspiring cities. in a particular functional class.

EXERCISES
1. Choose the right answers of the following from the given options.
(i) Which one of the following towns is NOT located on a river bank?
(a) Agra (c) Patna
(b) Bhopal (d) Kolkata

Human Settlements 19

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 (ii) Which one of the following is NOT the part of the definition of a town as
per the census of India?
(a) Population density of 400 persons per sq km.
(b) Presence of municipality, corporation, etc.
(c) More than 75% of the population engaged in primary sector.
(d) Population size of more than 5,000 persons.
(iii) In which one of the following environments does one expect the presence
of dispersed rural settlements?
(a) Alluvial plains of Ganga
(b) Arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan
(c) Lower valleys of Himalayas
(d) Forests and hills in north-east
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) What are garrisson towns? What is their function?
(ii) What are the main factors for the location of villages in desert regions?
3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Discuss the features of different types of rural settlements. What are the
factors responsible for the settlement patterns in different physical
environments?
(ii) Can one imagine the presence of only one-function town? Why do the
cities become multi-functional?

20 India : People and Economy

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 You must have observed that the land around
Unit III you is put to different uses. Some land is
Chapter 3 occupied by rivers, some may have trees and
on some parts roads and buildings have been
built. Different types of lands are suited to
different uses. Human beings thus, use land
as a resource for production as well as residence
and recreation. Thus, the building of your
school, roads on which you travel, parks in
which you play, fields in which crops are grown
and the pastures where animals graze represent
different uses to which land is put.

Land Use Categories

LAND RESOURCES Land-use records are maintained by land
AND AGRICULTURE revenue department. The land use categories
add up to reporting area, which is somewhat
different from the geographical area. The
Survey of India is responsible for measuring
geographical area of administrative units in
India. Have you ever used a map prepared by
Survey of India? The difference between the two
concepts are that while the former changes
somewhat depending on the estimates of the
land revenue records, the latter does not change
and stays fixed as per Survey of India
measurements. You may be familiar with land
use categories as they are also included in your
Social Science textbook of Class X.

The land-use categories as maintained in

the Land Revenue Records are as follows :
(i) Forests : It is important to note that
area under actual forest cover is
different from area classified as forest.
The latter is the area which the
Government has identified and
demarcated for forest growth. The land
revenue records are consistent with
the latter definition. Thus, there may
be an increase in this category without
any increase in the actual forest cover.
(ii) Barren and Wastelands : The land
which may be classified as a wasteland
such as barren hilly terrains, desert
lands, ravines, etc. normally cannot be
brought under cultivation with the
available technology.

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 (iii) Land put to Non-agricultural Uses: Land-use Changes in India
Land under settlements (rural and Land-use in a region, to a large extent, is
urban), infrastructure (roads, canals, influenced by the nature of economic
etc.), industries, shops, etc., are activities carried out in that region. However,
included in this category. An expansion while economic activities change over time,
in the secondary and tertiary activities land, like many other natural resources, is
would lead to an increase in this fixed in terms of its area. At this stage, one
category of land-use. needs to appreciate three types of changes
(iv) Area under Permanent Pastures and that an economy undergoes, which affect
Grazing Lands : Most of this type land
land-use.
(i) The size of the economy (measured
is owned by the village ‘Panchayat’ or
in terms of value for all the goods and
the Government. Only a small
services produced in the economy)
proportion of this land is privately
grows over time as a result of
owned. The land owned by the village
increasing population, change in
panchayat comes under ‘Common
income levels, available technology
Property Resources’.
and associated factors. As a result, the
(v) Area under Miscellaneous Tree pressure on land will increase with
Crops and Groves (Not included in time and marginal lands would come
Net sown Area) : The land under under use.
orchards and fruit trees are included (ii) Secondly, the composition of the
in this category. Much of this land is economy would undergo a change over
privately owned. time. In other words, the secondary and
the tertiary sectors usually grow much
(vi) Culturable Wasteland : Any land which faster than the primary sector, specifically
is left fallow (uncultivated) for more than the agricultural sector. This type of
five years is included in this category. change is common in developing
It can be brought under cultivation after countries, like India. This process would
improving it through reclamation result in a gradual shift of land from
practices. agricultural uses to non-agricultural
uses. You would observe that such
(vii) Current Fallow:This is the land which
changes are sharp around large urban
is left without cultivation for one or less
areas. The agricultural land is being used
than one agricultural year. Fallowing
for building purposes.
is a cultural practice adopted for giving
(iii) Thirdly, though the contribution of the
the land rest. The land recoups the
agricultural activities reduces over time,
lost fertility through natural processes.
the pressure on land for agricultural
(viii) Fallow other than Current Fallow : activities does not decline. The reasons
This is also a cultivable land which is for continued pressure on agricultural
left uncultivated for more than a year land are:
but less than five years. If the land is (a) In developing countries, the
left uncultivated for more than five share of population dependent
years, it would be categorised as on agriculture usually declines
culturable wasteland. much more slowly compared to
the decline in the sector’s share
(ix) Net Area Sown: The physical extent in GDP.
of land on which crops are sown and (b) The number of people that the
harvested is known as net sown area. agricultural sector has to feed is
increasing day by day.

22 India : People and Economy

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 50
45.5
45 Changes in Shares of Land-use Categories in India: 41.7
Per cent of reporting area

40 1950–51 and 2014–15

35
30
25 23.3

20
17
15 13.4

10 8.7 8
6.9 6.1
5.5 4.9
5 3.2 4 3.6 3.7
2.3 3.3
1.0
0
Forests Area under Barren and Permanent Area Under Culturable Fallow other Current Net Area
non- unculturable pasture Misc. Waste than falow sown
agricultural waste and Tree crops Land Current
use land gazing land and groves fallow

1950-51 2014-15

Fig. 3.1

industrial and services sectors and

expansion of related infrastructural
Compare the changes of land-use between 1950–57 facilities. Also, an expansion of area
and 2014–15. under both urban and rural settlements
has added to the increase. Thus, the area
India has undergone major changes within under non-agricultural uses is
the economy over the past four or five decades, increasing at the expense of wastelands
and this has influenced the land-use changes and agricultural land.
in the country. These changes between (ii) The increase in the share under forest,
1950–51 and 2014–15 have been shown in as explained before, can be accounted
Fig. 3.1. There are two points that you need to for by increase in the demarcated area
remember before you derive some meaning from under forest rather than an actual
this figure. Firstly, the percentages shown in increase in the forest cover in the country.
the figure have been derived with respect to the
(iii) The increase in the current fallow cannot
reporting area. Secondly, since even the
be explained from information
reporting area has been relatively constant over
pertaining to only two points. The trend
the years, a decline in one category usually
of current fallow fluctuates a great deal
leads to an increase in some other category.
over years, depending on the variability
Four categories have undergone increases,
of rainfall and cropping cycles.
while four have registered declines. Share of
area under forest, area under non-agricultural (iv) The increase in net area sown is a recent
uses, current fallow lands and net area sown phenomenon due to use of culturable
have shown an increase. The following waste land for agricultural pupose.
observations can be made about these Before which it was registering a slow
increases: decrease. There are indications that
(i) The rate of increase is the highest in case most of the decline had occurred due to
of area under non-agricultural uses. This the increases in area under non-
is due to the changing structure of agricultural use. (Note : the expansion
Indian economy, which is increasingly of building activity on agricultural land
depending on the contribution from in your village and city).

Land Resources and Agriculture 23

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 The four categories that have registered a particular relevance for the livelihood of the
decline are barren and wasteland, culturable landless and marginal farmers and other
wasteland, area under pastures and tree crops weaker sections since many of them depend on
and fallow lands. income from their livestock due to the fact that
The following explanations can be given they have limited access to land. CPRs also are
for the declining trends: important for women as most of the fodder and
(i) As the pressure on land increased, both fuel collection is done by them in rural areas.
from the agricultural and non- They have to devote long hours in collecting fuel
agricultural sectors, the wastelands and and fodder from a degraded area of CPR.
culturable wastelands have witnessed CPRs can be defined as community’s natural
decline over time. resource, where every member has the right of
(ii) The decline in land under pastures and access and usage with specified obligations,
grazing lands can be explained by without anybody having property rights over
pressure from agricultural land. Illegal them. Community forests, pasture lands, village
encroachment due to expansion of water bodies and other public spaces where a
cultivation on common pasture lands is group larger than a household or family unit
largely responsible for this decline. exercises rights of use and carries responsibility
of management are examples of CPRs.
Agricultural Land Use in India
What is the difference between actual increase and Land resource is more crucial to the livelihood
rate of increase? Work out the actual increase and of the people depending on agriculture:
rate of increases for all the land use categories (i) Agriculture is a purely land based
between 1950–51 and 2014–15 from the data given in activity unlike secondary and tertiary
the Appendix (vi). Explain the results. activities. In other words, contribution
Note for Teacher of land in agricultural output is more
compared to its contribution in the
For calculating actual increase, the difference of the outputs in the other sectors. Thus, lack
land-use categories should be worked out over the two of access to land is directly correlated
periods. with incidence of poverty in rural areas.
For deriving the rate of increase, simple growth rate i.e. (ii) Quality of land has a direct bearing on
(difference of values between the two time points i.e. the productivity of agriculture, which is
value of terminal year minus base year / base year or not true for other activities.
1960-61 value) should be used, e.g. (iii) In rural areas, aside from its value as a
productive factor, land ownership has a
Net sown Area in 2014–15 Net sown Area in 1950–51
Net sown Area in 1950–51
100 social value and serves as a security for
credit, natural hazards or life
contingencies, and also adds to the social
Common Pr
Proper ty R
operty
oper esour
Resour ces
esources status.
Land, according to its ownership can broadly An estimation of the total stock of
be classified under two broad heads – private agricultural land resources (i.e. total cultivable
land and common property resources (CPRs). land) can be arrived at by adding up net sown
While the former is owned by an individual or a area, all fallow lands and culturable wasteland.
group of individuals, the latter is owned by the It may be observed from Table 3.1 that over the
state meant for the use of the community. CPRs years, there has been a marginal decline in the
provide fodder for the livestock and fuel for the available total stock of cultivable land as a
households along with other minor forest percentage to total reporting area. There has been
products like fruits, nuts, fibre, medicinal a greater decline of cultivated land, in spite of a
plants, etc. In rural areas, such land is of corresponding decline of cultivable wasteland.

24 India : People and Economy

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 Table 3.1 : Composition of Total Cultivable Land
Agricultural Land-use As a percentage of As a percentage of
Categories Reporting Area total cultivable land
1950-51 2014-15 1950-51 2014-15

Culturable Waste land 8.0 4.0 13.4 6.8

Fallow other than Current Fallow 6.1 3.6 10.2 6.2
Current Fallow 3.7 4.9 6.2 8.4
Net Area Sown 41.7 45.5 70.0 78.4

Total Cultivable Land 59.5 58.0 100.00 100.00

It is clear from the above discussion that season facilitate the cultivation of temperate and
the scope for bringing in additional land under subtropical crops such as wheat, gram and
net sown area in India is limited. There is, thus, mustard. Zaid is a short duration summer
an urgent need to evolve and adopt land-saving cropping season beginning after harvesting of
technologies. Such technologies can be classified rabi crops. The cultivation of watermelons,
under two heads – those which raise the yield cucumbers, vegetables and fodder crops during
of any particular crop per unit area of land and this season is done on irrigated lands. However,
those which increase the total output per unit this type of distinction in the cropping season
area of land from all crops grown over one does not exist in southern parts of the country.
agricultural year by increasing land-use Here, the temperature is high enough to grow
intensity. The advantage of the latter kind of tropical crops during any period in the year
technology is that along with increasing output provided the soil moisture is available.
from limited land, it also increases the demand Therefore, in this region same crops can be grown
for labour significantly. For a land scarce but thrice in an agricultural year provided there is
labour abundant country like India, a high sufficient soil moisture.
cropping intensity is desirable not only for fuller
utilisation of land resource, but also for Types of Farming
reducing unemployment in the rural economy.
On the basis of main source of moisture for
The cropping intensity (CI) is calculated
crops, the farming can be classified as irrigated
as follows :
and rainfed (barani). There is difference in
GCA the nature of irrigated farming, as well as based
Cropping Intensity in percentage = ×100
NSA on the objective of irrigation, i.e., protective or
productive. The objective of protective irrigation
Cropping Seasons in India is to protect the crops from adverse effects of soil
There are three distinct crop Table 3.2 : Cropping Seasons in India
seasons in the northern and
interior parts of country, namely Cropping Season Major Crops Cultivated
kharif, rabi and zaid. The kharif Northern States Southern States
season largely coincides with
Southwest Monsoon under which Kharif Rice, Cotton, Bajra, Rice, Maize, Ragi,
the cultivation of tropical crops, June-September Maize, Jowar, Tur Jowar, Groundnut
such as rice, cotton, jute, jowar,
bajra and tur is possible. The rabi Rabi Wheat, Gram, Rapeseeds Rice, Maize, Ragi,
October – March and Mustard, Barley Groundnut, Jowar
season begins with the onset of
winter in October-November and Zaid Vegetables, Fruits, Rice, Vegetables,
ends in March-April. The low April–June Fodder Fodder
temperature conditions during this

Land Resources and Agriculture 25

Rationalised 2023-24
moisture deficiency which often means that Rice
irrigation acts as a supplementary source of water Rice is a staple food for the overwhelming
over and above the rainfall. The strategy of this majority of population in India. Though, it is
kind of irrigation is to provide soil moisture to considered to be a crop of tropical humid areas,
maximum possible area. Productive irrigation is it has about 3,000 varieties which are grown in
meant to provide sufficient soil moisture in the different agro-climatic regions. These are
cropping season to achieve high productivity. In successfully grown from sea level to about
such irrigation the water input per unit area of 2,000 m altitude and from humid areas in
cultivated land is higher than protective irrigation. eastern India to dry but irrigated areas of
Rainfed farming is further classified on the basis Punjab, Haryana, western U.P. and northern
of adequacy of soil moisture during cropping Rajasthan. In southern states and West Bengal
season into dryland and wetland farming. In the climatic conditions allow the cultivation of
two or three crops of rice in an agricultural year.
India, the dryland farming is largely confined
In West Bengal farmers grow three crops of rice
to the regions having annual rainfall less than 75
called ‘aus’, ‘aman’ and ‘boro’. But in
cm. These regions grow hardy and drought
Himalayas and northwestern parts of the
resistant crops such as ragi, bajra, moong, gram country, it is grown as a kharif crop during
and guar (fodder crops) and practise various southwest Monsoon season.
measures of soil moisture conservation and rain India contributes 22.07 per cent of rice
water harvesting. In wetland farming, the production in the world and ranked second
rainfall is in excess of soil moisture requirement after China in 2018. About one-fourth of the
of plants during rainy season. Such regions may total cropped area in the country is under rice
face flood and soil erosion hazards. These areas cultivation. West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and
grow various water intensive crops such as rice, Punjab are the leading rice producing states
jute and sugarcane and practise aquaculture in in the country. The yield level of rice is high in
the fresh water bodies. Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana, West Bengal and Kerala. In the first
Foodgrains four of these states almost the entire land under
The importance of foodgrains in Indian rice cultivation is irrigated. Punjab and Haryana
agricultural economy may be gauged from the are not traditional rice growing areas. Rice
fact these crops occupy about two-third of total
cropped area in the country. Foodgrains are
dominant crops in all parts of the country
whether they have subsistence or commercial
agricultural economy. On the basis of the
structure of grain the foodgrains are classified
as cereals and pulses.

Cereals
The cereals occupy about 54 per cent of total
cropped area in India. The country produces
about 11 per cent cereals of the world and ranks Fig. 3.2 : Rice transplantation in southern parts of India
third in production after China and U.S.A. India cultivation in the irrigated areas of Punjab and
produces a variety of cereals, which are Haryana was introduced in 1970s following the
classified as fine grains (rice, wheat) and coarse Green Revolution. Genetically improved varieties
grains (jowar, bajra, maize, ragi), etc. Account of seed, relatively high usage of fertilizers and
of important cereals has been given in the pesticides and lower levels of susceptibility of
following paragraphs : the crop to pests due to dry climatic conditions

26 India : People and Economy

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Fig. 3.3 : India – Distribution of Rice

Land Resources and Agriculture 27

Rationalised 2023-24
are responsible for higher yield of rice in this Bajra
region. The yield of this crop is very low in rainfed
Bajra is sown in hot and dry climatic conditions
areas of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and
in northwestern and western parts of the
Odisha.
country. It is a hardy crop which resists
frequent dry spells and drought in this region.
Wheat It is cultivated alone as well as part of mixed
Wheat is the second most important cereal crop cropping. This coarse cereal occupies about
in India after rice. India produces about 5.2 per cent of total cropped area in the
12.8 per cent of total wheat production of world country. Leading producers of bajra are the
(2017). It is primarily a crop of temperate zone. states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh,
Hence, its cultivation in India is done during Rajasthan and Haryana. Being a rainfed crop,
winter i.e. rabi season. About 85 per cent of total the yield level of this crop is low in Rajasthan
area under this crop is concentrated in north and fluctuates a lot from year to year. Yield of
and central regions of the country i.e. Indo- this crop has increased during recent years in
Gangetic Plain, Malwa Plateau and Himalayas Haryana and Gujarat due to introduction of
up to 2,700 m altitude. Being a rabi crop, it is drought resistant varieties and expansion of
mostly grown under irrigated conditions. But it irrigation under it.
is a rainfed crop in Himalayan highlands and
parts of Malwa plateau in Madhya Pradesh. Maize
About 14 per cent of the total cropped area Maize is a food as well as fodder crop grown
in the country is under wheat cultivation. Uttar under semi-arid climatic conditions and over
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana inferior soils. This crop occupies only about
and Rajasthan are leading wheat producing 3.6 per cent of total cropped area. Maize
states. The yield level of wheat is very high cultivation is not concentrated in any specific
(above 4,000 k.g. per ha) in Punjab and region. It is sown all over India exceptPunjab
Haryana whereas, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and eastern and north-eastern regions. The
and Bihar have moderate yields. The states like leading producers of maize are the states of
Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra
Jammu and Kashmir growing wheat under Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan and Uttar
rainfed conditions have low yield. Pradesh. Yield level of maize is higher than other
coarse cereals. It is high in southern states and
Jowar declines towards central parts.
The coarse cereals together occupy about
16.50 per cent of total cropped area in the Pulses
country. Among these, jowar or sorghum alone Pulses are a very important ingredient of
accounts for about 5.3 per cent of total vegetarian food as these are rich sources of
cropped area. It is main food crop in semi-arid proteins. These are legume crops which
areas of central and southern India. increase the natural fertility of soils through
Maharashtra alone produces more than half nitrogen fixation. India is a leading producer of
of the total jowar production of the country. pulses in the world. The cultivation of pulses
Other leading producer states of jowar are in the country is largely concentrated in the
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh drylands of Deccan and central plateaus and
and Telangana. It is sown in both kharif and northwestern parts of the country. Pulses
rabi seasons in southern states. But it is a occupy about 11 per cent of the total cropped
kharif crop in northern India where it is mostly area in the country. Being the rainfed crops of
grown as a fodder crop. South of Vindhyachal drylands, the yields of pulses are low and
it is a rainfed crop and its yield level is very fluctuate from year to year. Gram and tur are
low in this region. the main pulses cultivated in India.

28 India : People and Economy

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Fig. 3.4 : India – Distribution of Wheat

Land Resources and Agriculture 29

Rationalised 2023-24
Gram Groundnut
Gram is cultivated in subtropical areas. It is India produces about 18.8 per cent of the total
mostly a rainfed crop cultivated during rabi groundnut production in the world (2018). It is
season in central, western and northwestern parts largely a rainfed kharif crop of drylands. But in
of the country. Just one or two light showers or southern India, it is cultivated during rabi season
irrigations are required to grow this crop as well. It covers about 3.6 per cent of total
successfully. It has been displaced from the cropped area in the country. Gujarat, Rajasthan,
cropping pattern by wheat in Haryana, Punjab Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,
and northern Rajasthan following the green Karnataka and Maharashtra are the leading
revolution. At present, gram covers only about producers. Yield of groundnut is comparatively
2.8 per cent of the total cropped area in the high in Tamil Nadu where it is partly irrigated.
country. Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, But its yield is low in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and and Karnataka.
Rajasthan are the main producers of this pulse
crop. The yield of this crop continues to be low Rapeseed and Mustard
and fluctuates from year to year even in irrigated
Rapeseed and mustard comprise several oilseeds
areas.
as rai, sarson, toria and taramira. These are
subtropical crops cultivated during rabi season
Tur (Arhar)
in north-western and central parts of India.
Tur is the second important pulse crop in the These are frost sensitive crops and their yields
country. It is also known as red gram or pigeon fluctuate from year to year. But with the
pea. It is cultivated over marginal lands and expansion of irrigation and improvement in seed
under rainfed conditions in the dry areas of technology, their yields have improved and
central and southern states of the country. This stabilised to some extent. About two-third of the
crop occupies only about 2 per cent of total cultivated area under these crops is irrigated.
cropped area of India. Maharashtra alone These oilseeds together occupy only about
contributes about one-third of the total 2.5 per cent of total cropped area in the country.
production of tur. Other leading producer states Rajasthan contributes about one-third
are Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and production while other leading producers are
Madhya Pradesh. Per hectare output of this crop Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. Yields of these
is very low and its performance is inconsistent. crops are comparatively high in Haryana and
Rajasthan.

Other Oilseeds
Differentiate between different foodgrains. Mix grains of
various kinds and separate cereals from pulses. Also, Soyabean and sunflower are other important
separate fine from coarse cereals. oilseeds grown in India. Soyabean is mostly
grown in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Oilseeds
The oilseeds are produced for extracting edible
oils. Drylands of Malwa plateau, Marathwada,
Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana, Rayalseema
region of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka
plateau are oilseeds growing regions of India.
These crops together occupy about 14 per cent
of total cropped area in the country.
Groundnut, rapeseed and mustard, soyabean
and sunflower are the main oilseed crops grown Fig. 3.5 : Farmers sowing soyabean seeds in Amravati,
in India. Maharashtra
30 India : People and Economy

Rationalised 2023-24
Fig. 3.6 : India – Distribution of Cotton and Jute

Land Resources and Agriculture 31

Rationalised 2023-24
These two states together produce about 90 per Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana Per
cent of total output of soyabean in the country. hectare output of cotton is high under irrigated
Sunflower cultivation is concentrated in conditions in north-western region of the
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and country. Its yield is very low in Maharashtra
adjoining areas of Maharashtra. It is a minor where it is grown under rainfed conditions.
crop in northern parts of the country where its
yield is high due to irrigation. Jute
Jute is used for making coarse cloth, bags, sacks
Fibre Crops
and decorative items. It is a cash crop in West
These crops provide us fibre for preparing cloth, Bengal and adjoining eastern parts of the
bags, sacks and a number of other items. country. India lost large jute growing areas to
Cotton and jute are two main fibre crops grown East Pakistan (Bangladesh) during partition. At
in India. present, India produces about three-fifth of jute
production of the world. West Bengal accounts
Cotton for about three-fourth of the production in the
country. Bihar and Assam are other jute growing
Cotton is a tropical crop grown in kharif season
areas. Being concentrated only in a few states,
in semi-arid areas of the country. India lost a
this crop accounts for only about 0.5 per cent of
large proportion of cotton growing area to
total cropped area in the country.
Pakistan during partition. However, its acreage
has increased considerably during the last 50
years. India grows both short staple (Indian) Other Crops
cotton as well as long staple (American) cotton Sugarcane, tea and coffee are other important
called ‘narma’ in north-western parts of the crops grown in India.
country. Cotton requires clear sky during
flowering stage. Sugarcane
Sugarcane is a crop of tropical areas. Under
rainfed conditions, it is cultivated in sub-humid
and humid climates. But it is largely an irrigated
crop in India. In Indo-Gangetic plain, its
cultivation is largely concentrated in Uttar
Pradesh. Sugarcane growing area in western
India is spread over Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Fig. 3.7 : Cotton Cultivation

India ranks second in the world in the

production of cotton after China. Cotton
occupies about 4.7 per cent of total cropped
area in the country. There are three cotton
growing areas, i.e. parts of Punjab, Haryana and
northern Rajasthan in north-west, Gujarat and
Maharashtra in the west and plateaus of
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
in south. Leading producers of this crop are Fig. 3.8 : Sugarcane Cultivation

32 India : People and Economy

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Fig. 3.9 : India – Distribution of Sugarcane

Land Resources and Agriculture 33

Rationalised 2023-24
In southern India, it is cultivated in irrigated world after China (2018). Assam accounts for
tracts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana about 53.2 per cent of the total cropped area and
and Andhra Pradesh. contributes more than half of total production of
India was the second largest producer of tea in the country. West Bengal and Tamil Nadu
sugarcane after Brazil in 2018. It accounts for are the other leading producers of tea.
about 19.7 per cent of the world production of
sugarcane. But it occupies only 2.4 per cent of Coffee
total cropped area in the country. Uttar Pradesh
Coffee is a tropical plantation crop. Its seeds
produces about two-fifth of sugarcane of
are roasted, ground and are used for preparing
the country. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil
a beverage. There are three varieties of coffee
Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh are other leading
i.e. arabica, robusta and liberica. India mostly
producers of this crop where yield level of
grows superior quality coffee, arabica, which
sugarcane is high. Its yield is low in northern
is in great demand in International market. But
India.
India produces only about 3.17 per cent coffee
of the world and ranks eighth after Brazil,
Tea
Vietnam, Indonesia, Colombia, Honduras,
Tea is a plantation crop used as beverage. Black Ethiopia and Peru in 2018. Coffee is cultivated
tea leaves are fermented whereas green tea leaves in the highlands of Wester n Ghats in
are unfermented. Tea leaves have rich content of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Karnataka
caffeine and tannin. It is an indigenous crop of alone accounts for more than two-third of total
hills in northern China. It is grown over production of coffee in the country.
undulating topography of hilly areas and well-
drained soils in humid and sub-humid tropics Agricultural Development in India
and sub-tropics. In India, tea plantation started
in 1840s in Brahmaputra valley of Assam which Indian agricultural economy was largely
still is a major tea growing area in the country. subsistence in nature before Independence. It
Later on, its plantation was introduced in the had dismal performance in the first half of
sub-Himalayan region of West Bengal (Darjeeling, twentieth century. This period witnessed severe
Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts). Tea is droughts and famines. During partition about
also cultivated on the lower slopes of Nilgiri and one-third of the irrigated land in undivided
India went to Pakistan. This reduced the
proportion of irrigated area in Independent
India. After Independence, the immediate goal
of the Government was to increase foodgrains
production by (i) switching over from cash
crops to food crops; (ii) intensification of
cropping over already cultivated land; and (iii)
increasing cultivated area by bringing cultivable
and fallow land under plough. Initially, this
strategy helped in increasing foodgrains
production. But agricultural production
stagnated during late –1950s. To overcome this
Fig. 3.10 : Tea Farming problem, Intensive Agricultural District
Cardamom hills in Western Ghats. India is a Programme (IADP) and Intensive Agricultural
leading producer of tea and accounts for about Area Programme (IAAP) were launched. But two
21.22 per cent of total production in the world consecutive droughts during mid-1960s
2018. India’s share in the international market resulted in food crisis in the country.
of tea has declined substantially. It ranks Consequently, foodgrains were imported from
second among tea exporting countries in the other countries.

34 India : People and Economy

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Fig. 3.11 : India – Distribution of Tea and Coffee

Land Resources and Agriculture 35

Rationalised 2023-24
 New seed varieties of wheat (Mexico) and Growth of Agricultural Output and Technology
rice (Philippines) known as high yielding
There has been a significant increase in
varieties (HYVs) were available for cultivation
agricultural output and improvement in
by mid-1960s. India took advantage of this and
technology during the last 50 years.
introduced package technology comprising
• Production and yield of many crops such
HYVs, along with chemical fertilisers in irrigated
areas of Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar as rice and wheat has increased at an
Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Assured impressive rate. Among the other crops,
supply of soil moisture through irrigation was the production of sugarcane, oilseeds and
a basic pre-requisite for the success of this new cotton has also increased appreciably.
agricultural technology. This strategy of • Expansion of irrigation has played a
agricultural development paid dividends crucial role in enhancing agricultural
instantly and increased the foodgrains output in the country. It provided basis
production at very fast rate. This spurt of for introduction of modern agricultural
agricultural growth came to be known as technology, such as high yielding varieties
‘Green Revolution’. This also gave fillip to the of seeds, chemical fertilisers, pesticides and
development of a large number of agro-inputs, farm machinery. The net irrigated area in
agro-processing industries and small-scale the country has also increased.
industries. This strategy of agricultural • Modern agricultural technology has
development made the country self-reliant in diffused very fast in various areas of the
foodgrain production. But Green Revolution country. Consumption of chemical
was initially confined to irrigated areas only. fertilizers has increased by 15 times since
This led to regional disparities in agricultural mid-sixties. Since the high yielding
development in the country till 1970s, after varieties are highly susceptible to pests
which the technology spread to the Eastern and and diseases, the use of pesticides has
Central parts of the country. increased significantly since 1960s.
The Planning Commission of India focused
its attention on the problems of agriculture in Farmer’s Portal of India
rainfed areas in 1980s. It initiated agro-climatic The Farmer’s Portal is a platform for farmers to seek
planning in 1988 to induce regionally balanced any information related to agriculture. Detailed
agricultural development in the country. It also information on farmers’ insurance, agriculture
storage, crops, extension activities, seeds,
emphasised on the need for diversification of pesticides, farm machineries, etc. is provided.
agriculture and harnessing of resources for the Details of fertilizers, market prices, package and
development of dairy farming, poultry, practices, programmes, welfare schemes are also
horticulture, livestock rearing and aquaculture. given. Block level details related to soil fertility,
Initiation of the policy of liberalisation and storage, insurance, training, etc. are available in an
interactive map. Users can also download farm
free market economy in 1990s influenced the friendly handbook, scheme guidelines, etc.
course of development of Indian agriculture. (Source: https://www.india.gov.in/farmers-portal-
india-department-agriculture-and-cooperation)
National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
(NMSA)
National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture is to Pr ob lems of Indian Ag
oblems
Prob ricultur
Agricultur
riculturee
make agriculture more productive, sustainable,
The nature of problems faced by Indian
remunerative and climate resilient by promoting
location specific integrated/composite farming agriculture varies according to agro-ecological
systems and to conserve natural resources through and historical experiences of its different regions.
appropriate soil and moisture conservation Hence, most of the agricultural problems in the
measures. The Government has been promoting country are region specific. Yet, there are some
organic farming in the country through the scheme
problems which are common and range from
such as Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)
and Rashtriya Vikas Yojana (RKVY). physical constraints to institutional hindrances.
A detailed discussion on these problems follows:

36 India : People and Economy

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 Why is agricultural productivity low in
dry regions?

Constraints of Financial Resources and

Indebtedness
The inputs of modern agriculture are very
expensive. This resource intensive approach has
become unmanageable for marginal and small
farmers as they have very meagre or no saving
to invest in agriculture. To tide over these
Fig. 3.12 : Roto Till Drill—A modern agricultural equipment difficulties, most of such farmers have resorted
to availing credit from various institutions and
moneylenders. Crop failures and low returns
Dependence on Erratic Monsoon from agriculture have forced them to fall in the
Irrigation covers only about 33 per cent of the trap of indebtedness.
cultivated area in India. The crop production
in rest of the cultivated land directly depends
on rain. Poor performance of south-west What are the implications of severe
monsoon also adversely affects the supply of indebtedness? Do you feel that the
canal water for irrigation. On the other hand, recent incidents of farmers’ suicides in
the rainfall in Rajasthan and other drought- different states of the country are the
result of indebtedness?
prone areas is too meagre and highly unreliable.
Even the areas receiving high annual rainfall
Lack of Land Reforms
experience considerable fluctuations. This
makes them vulnerable to both droughts and Indian peasantry had been exploited for a long
floods. Drought is a common phenomenon in time as there had been unequal distribution of
the low rainfall areas, which may also experience land. Among the three revenue systems
occasional floods. The flash floods in drylands operational during British period, i.e.,
of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan in Mahalwari, Ryotwari and Zamindari, the last
2006 and 2017 are examples of this one was most exploitative for the peasants. After
phenomenon. Droughts and floods continue to Independence, land reforms were accorded
be the twin menace in Indian agriculture. priority, but these reforms were not
implemented effectively due to lack of strong
Low productivity political will. Most of the state governments
avoided taking politically tough decisions
The yield of the crops in the country is low in
which went against strong political lobbies of
comparison to the international level. Per
landlords. Lack of implementation of land
hectare output of most of the crops such as
reforms has resulted in continuation of
rice, wheat, cotton and oilseeds in India is
inequitous distribution of cultivable land which
much lower than that of the U.S.A., Russia and
is detrimental to agricultural development.
Japan. Because of the very high pressure on
the land resources, the labour productivity in
Small Farm Size and Fragmentation of
Indian agriculture is also very low in
Landholdings
comparison to international level. The vast
rainfed areas of the country, particularly There are a large number of marginal and small
drylands which mostly grow coarse cereals, farmers in the country. The average size of land
pulses and oilseeds have low yields. holding is shrinking under increasing

Land Resources and Agriculture 37

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 What changes have you noticed in
agricultural sector and cropping
pattern? Discuss in the class.

population pressure. Furthermore, in India, the marginal farmers grow foodgrains, which are
land holdings are mostly fragmented. There are meant for their own family consumption.
some states where consolidation of holding has Modernisation and commercialisation of
not been carried out even once. Even the states agriculture have, however, taken place in the
where it has been carried out once, second irrigated areas.
consolidation is required as land holdings have
fragmented again in the process of division of Vast Underemployment
land among the owners of next generations. The
There is a massive underemployment in the
small size fragmented landholdings are
agricultural sector in India, particularly in the
uneconomic.
unirrigated tracts. In these areas, there is a
seasonal unemployment ranging from 4 to 8
Lack of Commercialisation months. Even in the cropping season, work is
A large number of farmers produce crops for not available throughout as agricultural
self-consumption. These farmers do not have operations are not labour intensive. Hence, the
enough land resources to produce more than people engaged in agriculture do not have the
their requirement. Most of the small and opportunity to work round the year.

38 India : People and Economy

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Degradation of Cultivable Land and duration of fallow has substantially
One of the serious problems that arises out of reduced owing to multiple cropping. This has
faulty strategy of irrigation and agricultural obliterated the process of natural fertilization
development is degradation of land resources. such as nitrogen fixation. Rainfed areas in
This is serious because it may lead to depletion humid and semi-arid tropics also experience
of soil fertility. The situation is particularly degradation of several types like soil erosion
alarming in irrigated areas. A large tract of by water and wind erosion which are often
agricultural land has lost its fertility due to induced by human activities.
alkalisation and salinisation of soils and
waterlogging. Excessive use of chemicals such
as insecticides and pesticides has led to their
concentration in toxic amounts in the soil Prepare a list of agricultural problems in your own
profile. Leguminous crops have been displaced region. How similar or different are these problems
from the cropping pattern in the irrigated areas compared to the problems mentioned in this chapter?

EXERCISES
1. Choose the right answers of the following from the given options.
(i) Which one of the following is NOT a land-use category?
(a) Fallow land (c) Net Area Sown
(b) Marginal land (d) Culturable Wasteland
(ii) What one of the following is the main reason due to which share of forest
has shown an increase in the last forty years?
(a) Extensive and efficient efforts of afforestation
(b) Increase in community forest land
(c) Increase in notified area allocated for forest growth
(d) Better peoples’ participation in managing forest area.
(iii) Which one of the following is the main form of degradation in irrigated
areas?
(a) Gully erosion (c) Salinisation of soils
(b) Wind erosion (d) Siltation of land
(iv) Which one of the following crops is not cultivated under dryland farming?
(a) Ragi (c) Groundnut
(b) Jowar (d) Sugarcane
(v) In which of the following group of countries of the world, HYVs of wheat
and rice were developed?
(a) Japan and Australia (c) Mexico and Philippines
(b) U.S.A. and Japan (d) Mexico and Singapore

Land Resources and Agriculture 39

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 2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) Differentiate between barren and wasteland and culturable wasteland.
(ii) How would you distinguish between net sown area and gross cropped
area?
(iii) Why is the strategy of increasing cropping intensity important in a
country like India?
(iv) How do you measure total cultivable land?
(v) What is the difference between dryland and wetland farming?
3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) What are the different types of environmental problems of land resources
in India?
(ii) What are the important strategies for agricultural development followed
in the post-independence period in India?

40 India : People and Economy

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 Do you think that what exists today will
Unit III continue to be so, or the future is going to be
Chapter 4 different in some respects? It can be said with
some certainty that the societies will witness
demographic transition, geographical shift of
population, technological advancement,
degradation of environment and water scarcity.
Water scarcity is possibly to pose the greatest
challenge on account of its increased demand
coupled with shrinking supplies due to over
utilisation and pollution. Water is a cyclic
resource with abundant supplies on the globe.
Approximately, 71 per cent of the earth’s
surface is covered with it but freshwater
WATER RESOURCES constitutes only about 3 per cent of the total
water. In fact, a very small proportion of
freshwater is effectively available for human use.
The availability of freshwater varies over space
and time. The tensions and disputes on sharing
and control of this scarce resource are becoming
contested issues among communities, regions,
and states. The assessment, efficient use and
conservation of water, therefore, become
necessary to ensure development. In this
chapter, we shall discuss water resources in
India, its geographical distribution, sectoral
utilisation, and methods of its conservation and
management.

Water Resources of India

India accounts for about 2.45 per cent of the
world’s surface area, 4 per cent of the world’s
water resources and about 16 per cent of the
world’s population. The total water available
from precipitation in the country in a year is
about 4,000 cubic km. The availability from
surface water and replenishable groundwater
is 1,869 cubic km. Out of this, only 60 per cent
can be put to beneficial uses. Thus, the total
utilisable water resource in the country is only
1,122 cubic km.

Surface Water Resources

There are four major sources of surface water.
These are rivers, lakes, ponds and tanks. In
the country, there are about 10,360 rivers
and their tributaries longer than 1.6 km each.
The mean annual flow in all the river basins

Rationalised 2023-24
in India is estimated to be 1,869 cubic km. of lagoons and lakes have formed. The States
However, due to topographical, hydrological like Kerala, Odisha and West Bengal have vast
and other constraints, only about 690 cubic surface water resources in these lagoons and
km (32 per cent) of the available surface water lakes. Although, water is generally brackish
can be utilised. Water flow in a river depends in these water bodies, it is used for fishing and
on size of its catchment area or river basin irrigating certain varieties of paddy crops,
and rainfall within its catchment area. You coconut, etc.
have studied in your Class XI textbook “India :
Physical Environment” that precipitation in Water Demand and Utilisation
India has very high spatial variation, and it is
mainly concentrated in Monsoon season. You India has traditionally been an agrarian
also have studied in the textbook that some economy, and about two-third of its
of the rivers in the country like the Ganga, population have been dependent on
the Brahmaputra, and the Indus have huge agriculture. Hence, development of irrigation
catchment areas. Given that precipitation is to increase agricultural production has been
relatively high in the catchment areas of the assigned a very high priority in the Five Year
Ganga, the Brahmaputra and the Barak Plans, and multipurpose river valleys projects,
rivers, these rivers, although account for only like the Bhakra-Nangal, Hirakud, Damodar
about one-third of the total area in the Valley, Nagarjuna Sagar, Indira Gandhi Canal
country, have 60 per cent of the total surface Project, etc., have been taken up. In fact,
water resources. Much of the annual water India’s water demand at present is dominated
flow in south Indian rivers like the Godavari, by irrigational needs.
the Krishna, and the Kaveri has been Agriculture accounts for most of the
harnessed, but it is yet to be done in the surface and groundwater utilisation, it
Brahmaputra and the Ganga basins. accounts for 89 per cent of the surface water
and 92 per cent of the groundwater utilisation.
Groundwater Resources While the share of industrial sector is limited
The total replenishable groundwater to 2 per cent of the surface water utilisation
resources in the country are about 432 cubic and 5 per cent of the ground-water, the share
km. The level of groundwater utilisation is of domestic sector is higher (9 per cent) in
relatively high in the river basins lying in surface water utilisation as compared to
north-western region and parts of south India. groundwater. The share of agricultural sector
The groundwater utilisation is very high in total water utilisation is much higher than
in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, other sectors. However, in future, with
and Tamil Nadu. However, there are States like development, the shares of industrial and
Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Kerala, etc., which utilise domestic sectors in the country are likely to
only a small proportion of their groundwater increase.
potentials. States like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, Tripura and Maharashtra are utilising Demand of Water for Irrigation
their groundwater resources at a moderate rate. In agriculture, water is mainly used for
If the present trend continues, the demands irrigation. Irrigation is needed because of
for water would need the supplies. And such spatio-temporal variability in rainfall in the
situation, will be detrimental to development, country. The large tracts of the country are
and can cause social upheaval and deficient in rainfall and are drought prone.
disruptions. North-western India and Deccan plateau
constitute such areas. Winter and summer
Lagoons and Backwaters
seasons are more or less dry in most part
India has a vast coastline and the coast is very of the country. Hence, it is difficult to
indented in some states. Due to this, a number practise agriculture without assured

42 India : People and Economy

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Fig. 4.1 : India – River Basins

Water Resources 43

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irrigation during dry seasons. Even in the Emerging Water Problems
areas of ample rainfall like West Bengal
The per capita availability of water is dwindling
and Bihar, br eaks in monsoon or its
day-by-day due to increase in population. The
failure creates dry spells detrimental for
available water resources are also getting
agriculture. Water need of certain crops also
polluted with industrial, agricultural and
makes irrigation necessary. For instance,
domestic effluents, and this, in turn, is further
water requirement of rice, sugarcane, jute,
limiting the availability of usable water
etc. is very high which can be met only
resources.
through irrigation.
Provision of irrigation makes multiple Deterioration of Water Quality
cropping possible. It has also been found that
irrigated lands have higher agricultural Water quality refers to purity of water, or water
productivity than unirrigated land. Further, without unwanted foreign substances. Water
the high yielding varieties of crops need gets polluted by foreign matters, such as
regular moisture supply, which is made micro-organisms, chemicals, industrial and
possible only by a developed irrigation other wastes. Such matters deteriorate the
systems. In fact, this is why that green quality of water and render it unfit for human
revolution strategy of agriculture use. When toxic substances enter lakes,
development in the country has largely been streams, rivers, ocean and other water bodies,
successful in Punjab, Haryana and western they get dissolved or lie suspended in water.
Uttar Pradesh. This results in pollution of water, whereby
In Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar quality of water deteriorates affecting aquatic
Pradesh, more than 85 per cent of their net systems. Sometimes, these pollutants also
sown area is under irrigation. Wheat and rice seep down and pollute groundwater. The
are grown mainly with the help of irrigation Ganga and the Yamuna are the two highly
in these states. Of the total net irrigated area polluted rivers in the country.
76.1 per cent in Punjab and 51.3 per cent in
Haryana are irrigated through wells and
tubewells. This shows that these states utilise
large proportion of their groundwater Find out which are the major towns/cities located on
the bank of the Ganga and its tributaries and major
potential which has resulted in groundwater
industries they have.
depletion in these states.
The over-use of groundwater resources
has led to decline in groundwater table in Water Conservation and Management
these states. In fact, over withdrawals in some
Since there is a declining availability of
states, like Rajasthan and Maharashtra, has
freshwater and increasing demand, the need
increased fluoride concentration in
has arisen to conserve and effectively manage
groundwater, and this practice has led to
this precious life giving resource for sustainable
increase in concentration of arsenic in parts
development. Given that water availability from
of West Bengal and Bihar.
sea/ocean, due to high cost of desalinisation,
is considered negligible, India has to take quick
steps and make effective policies and laws, and
adopt effective measures for its conservation.
Intensive irrigation in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar
Pradesh is increasing salinity in the soil and depletion Besides developing water-saving technologies
of groundwater irrigation. Discuss its likely impacts on and methods, attempts are also to be made to
agriculture. prevent the pollution. There is need to

44 India : People and Economy

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 Fig. 4.2 : The Ganga and its Tributaries and Towns Located on them

encourage watershed development, rainwater especially remains very high during the summer
harvesting, water recycling and reuse, and season when flow of water is low.
conjunctive use of water for sustaining water The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
supply in long run. in collaboration with State Pollution Control
Boards has been monitoring water quality of
Prevention of Water Pollution national aquatic resources at 507 stations. The
data obtained from these stations show that
Available water resources are degrading organic and bacterial contamination continues
rapidly. The major rivers of the country to be the main source of pollution in rivers. The
generally retain better water quality in less Yamuna river is the most polluted river in the
densely populated upper stretches in hilly country between Delhi and Etawah. Other
areas. In plains, river water is used intensively severely polluted rivers are: the Sabarmati at
for irrigation, drinking, domestic and industrial Ahmedabad, the Gomti at Lucknow, the Kali,
purposes. The drains carrying agricultural the Adyar, the Cooum (entire stretches), the
(fertilizers and insecticides), domestic (solid and Vaigai at Madurai and the Musi of Hyderabad
liquid wastes), and industrial effluents join the and the Ganga at Kanpur and Varanasi.
rivers. The concentration of pollutants in rivers, Groundwater pollution has occurred due to high

Water Resources 45

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concentrations of heavy/toxic metals, fluoride Recycle and Reuse of Water
and nitrates at different parts of the country.
Another way through which we can improve
The legislative provisions such as the Water
fresh water availability is by recycle and reuse.
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974,
Use of water of lesser quality such as reclaimed
and Environment Protection Act 1986 have
not been implemented effectively. The result wastewater would be an attractive option for
is that in 1997, 251 polluting industries were industries for cooling and fire fighting to
located along the rivers and lakes. The Water reduce their water cost. Similarly, in urban areas
Cess Act, 1977, meant to reduce pollution has water after bathing and washing utensils can
also made marginal impacts. There is a strong be used for gardening. Water used for washing
need to generate public awareness about vehicle can also be used for gardening. This
importance of water and impacts of water would conserve better quality of water for
pollution. The public awareness and action drinking purposes. Currently, recycling of water
can be very effective in reducing the pollutants is practised on a limited scale. However, there
from agricultural activities, domestic and is enormous scope for replenishing water
industrial discharges. through recycling.

Discuss the issues highlighted in the

news items.

46 India : People and Economy

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 compulsory. No building can be constructed
without making structures for water harvesting.
Observe the quantity of water used at your home in Watershed development projects in some
various activities and enlist the ways in which the water areas have been successful in rejuvenating
can be reused and recycled in various activities. environment and economy. However, there are
Class teachers should organise a discussion on recycle
only a few success stories. In majority of cases,
and reuse of water. the programme is still in its nascent stage. There
is a need to generate awareness regarding
Watershed Management benefits of watershed development and
management among people in the country, and
Watershed management basically refers to through this integrated water resource
efficient management and conservation of
management approach water availability can be
surface and groundwater resources. It involves
ensured on sustainable basis.
prevention of runoff and storage and recharge
of groundwater through various methods like Rainwater Harvesting
percolation tanks, recharge wells, etc. However, Rainwater harvesting is a method to capture
in broad sense watershed management includes and store rainwater for various uses. It is also
conservation, regeneration and judicious use of used to recharge groundwater aquifers. It is a
all resources – natural (like land, water, plants low cost and eco-friendly technique for
and animals) and human with in a watershed. preserving every drop of water by guiding the
Watershed management aims at bringing about rain water to borewell, pits and wells. Rainwater
balance between natural resources on the one harvesting increases water availability, checks
hand and society on the other. The success of the declining groundwater table, improves the
watershed development largely depends upon quality of groundwater through dilution of
community participation. contaminants, like fluoride and nitrates,
The Central and State Governments have prevents soil erosion, and flooding and arrests
initiated many watershed development and salt water intrusion in coastal areas if used to
management programmes in the country. recharge aquifers.
Some of these are being implemented by non- Rainwater harvesting has been practised
governmental organisations also. Haryali is through various methods by different
a watershed development project sponsored communities in the country for a long time.
by the Central Government which aims at Traditional rainwater harvesting in rural areas
enabling the rural population to conserve is done by using surface storage bodies, like
water for drinking, irrigation, fisheries and lakes, ponds, irrigation tanks, etc. In Rajasthan,
afforestation. The Project is being executed rainwater harvesting structures locally known
by Gram Panchayats with people’s as Kund or Tanka (a covered underground
participation. tank) are constructed near or in the house or
Neeru-Meeru (Water and You) programme village to store harvested rainwater (see Fig. 4.3
(in Andhra Pradesh) and Arvary Pani Sansad to understand various ways of rainwater
(in Alwar, Rajasthan) have taken up harvesting).
constructions of various water-harvesting There is a wide scope to use rainwater
structures such as percolation tanks, dug out harvesting technique to conserve precious
ponds (Johad), check dams, etc., through water resource. It can be done by harvesting
people’s participation. Tamil Nadu has made rainwater on rooftops and open spaces.
water harvesting structures in the houses Harvesting rainwater also decreases the

Water Resources 47

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 Watershed Development in Ralegan Siddhi, Ahmadnagar, Maharashtra:
A Case Study
Ralegan Siddhi is a small village in the district of Ahmadnagar, Maharashtra. It has become an
example for watershed development throughout the country.
In 1975, this village was caught in a web of poverty and illicit liquor trade. The transformation took place
when a retired army personnel, settled down in the village and took up the task of watershed development.
He convinced villagers about the importance of family planning and voluntary labour; preventing open
grazing, felling trees, and liquor prohibition.
Voluntary labour was necessary to ensure minimum dependence on the government for financial
aids. “It socialised the costs of the projects.” explained the activist. Even those who were working
outside the village contributed to the development by committing a month’s salary every year.
Work began with the percolation tank constructed in the village. In 1975, the tank could not hold
water. The embankment wall leaked. People voluntarily repaired the embankment. The seven wells
below it swelled with water in summer for the first time in the living memory of the people. The people
reposed their faith in him and his visions.
A youth group called Tarun Mandal was formed. The group worked to ban the dowry system, caste
discrimination and untouchability. Liquor distilling units were removed and prohibition imposed. Open
grazing was completely banned with a new emphasis on stall-feeding. The cultivation of water-intensive
crops like sugarcane was banned. Crops such as pulses, oilseeds and certain cash crops with low
water requirements were encouraged.
All elections to local bodies began to be held
on the basis of consensus. “It made the
community leaders complete representatives
of the people.” A system of Nyay Panchayats
(informal courts) were also set up. Since then,
no case has been referred to the police.
A Rs.22 lakh school building was constructed
using only the resources of the village. No
donations were taken. Money, if needed, was
borrowed and paid back. The villagers took pride
in this self-reliance. A new system of sharing
Ralegan Siddhi before mitigation approach
labour grew out of this infusion of pride and
voluntary spirit. People volunteered to help each other in agricultural operation. Landless labourers also
gained employment. Today the village plans to
buy land for them in adjoining villages.
At present, water is adequate; agriculture is
flourishing, though the use of fertilisers and
pesticides is very high. The prosperity also brings
the question of ability of the present generation
to carry on the work after the leader of the
movement who declared that, “The process of
Ralegan’s evolution to an ideal village will not
stop. With changing times, people tend to evolve
new ways. In future, Ralegan might present a
Ralegan Siddhi after mitigation approach
different model to the country.”

What a mitigation approach can do? A success story.

48 India : People and Economy

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 Fig. 4.3 : Various Methods of Rainwater Harvesting

community dependence on groundwater for harvesting is being taken up on massive scale

domestic use. Besides bridging the demand- in many states in the country. Urban areas
supply gap, it can also save energy to pump can specially benefit from rainwater harvesting
groundwater as recharge leads to rise in as water demand has already outstripped
groundwater table. These days rainwater supply in most of the cities and towns.

Water Resources 49

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 Apart from the above mentioned factors, the rivers can be important remedies for solving water
issue desalinisation of water particularly in coastal problem in India (read more about inter linking
areas and brackish water in arid and semi-arid of rivers). However, the most important issue from
areas, transfer of water from water surplus areas the point of view of individual users, household
to water deficit areas through inter-linking of and communities is pricing of water.

Highlights of India’s National Water Policy, 2002

The National Water Policy 2002 stipulates water allocation priorities broadly in the following order:
drinking water; irrigation, hydro-power, navigation, industrial and other uses. The policy stipulates
progressive new approaches to water management. Key features include:
• Irrigation and multi-purpose projects should invariably include drinking water component, wherever
there is no alternative source of drinking water.
• Providing drinking water to all human beings and animals should be the first priority.
• Measures should be taken to limit and regulate the exploitation of groundwater.
• Both surface and groundwater should be regularly monitored for quality. A phased programme
should be undertaken for improving water quality.
• The efficiency of utilisation in all the diverse uses of water should be improved.
• Awareness of water as a scarce resource should be fostered.
• Conservation consciousness should be promoted through education, regulation, incentives and
disincentives.

Source : Government of India (2002), ‘India’s Reform Initiatives in Water Sector’, Ministry for Rural Development, New Delhi

Collect information about National Water Policy, 2012, and Ganga Rejuvenation from the website (www.wrmin.nic.in)
and discuss in the classroom.

Jal Kranti Abhiyan (2015-16)

Water is a recyclable resource but its availability is limited and the gap between supply and demand
will be widening over time. Climate change at the global scale will be creating water stress conditions
in many regions of the world. India has a unique situation of high population growth and rapid economic
development with high water demand. The Jal Kranti Abhiyan launched by the Government of India in
2015–16 with an aim to ensure water security through per capita availability of water in the country.
People in different regions of India had practised the traditional knowledge of water conservation and
management to ensure water availability.

50 India : People and Economy

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The Jal Kranti Abhiyan aims at involving local bodies, NGOs and cititzens, at large, in creating
awareness regarding its objectives. The following activities have been proposed under the Jal Kranti
Abhiyan:
1. Selection of one water stressed village in each 672 districts of the country to create a ‘Jal Gram’.
2. Ídentification of model command area of about 1000 hectares in different parts of the country, for
example, UP, Haryana (North), Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu (South), Rajasthan, Gujarat
(West), Odisha (East), Meghalaya (North-East).
3. Abatement of pollution:
• Water conservation and artificial recharge.
• Reducing groundwater pollution.
• Construction of Arsenic-free wells in selected areas of the country.
4. Creating mass awareness through social media, radio, TV, print media, poster and essay writing
competitions in schools.
Jal Kranti Abhiyan is designed to provide livelihood and food security through water security.

EXERCISES
1. Choose the right answers of the following from the given options.
(i) Which one of the following types describes water as a resource?
(a) Abiotic resource (c) Biotic Resource
(b) Non-renewable Resources (d) Non-cyclic Resource
(ii) Which one of the following south Indian states has the highest
groundwater utilisation (in per cent) of its total ground water potential?
(a) Tamil Nadu (c) Andhra Pradesh
(b) Karnataka (d) Kerala
(iii The highest proportion of the total water used in the country is in which
one of the following sectors?
(a) Irrigation (c) Domestic use
(b) Industries (d) None of the above
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) It is said that the water resources in India have been depleting very fast.
Discuss the factors responsible for depletion of water resources?
(ii) What factors are responsible for the highest groundwater development
in the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Tamil Nadu?

Water Resources 51

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 (iii) Why the share of agricultural sector in total water used in the country is
expected to decline?
(iv) What can be possible impacts of consumption of contaminated/unclean
water on the people?
3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Discuss the availability of water resources in the country and factors
that determine its spatial distribution?
(ii) The depleting water resources may lead to social conflicts and disputes.
Elaborate it with suitable examples?
(iii) What is watershed management? Do you think it can play an important
role in sustainable development?

52 India : People and Economy

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 India is endowed with a rich variety of mineral
Unit III resources due to its varied geological structure.
Chapter 5 Bulk of the valuable minerals are products of
pre-palaezoic age (Refer: Chapter 2 of Class XI,
Textbook: “Fundamentals of Physical
Geography” and are mainly associated with
metamorphic and igneous rocks of the
peninsular India. The vast alluvial plain tract
of north India is devoid of minerals of economic
use. The mineral resources provide the country
with the necessary base for industrial
development. In this chapter, we shall discuss
the availability of various types of mineral and
energy resources in the country.
MINERAL AND
ENERGY A mineral is a natural substance of organic
or inorganic origin with definite chemical and
RESOURCES physical properties.

T ypes of Miner al R
Mineral esour
Resour ces
esources
On the basis of chemical and physical
properties, minerals may be grouped under two
main categories of metallics and non-metallics
which may further be classified as follows :

Fig. 5.1 : Classification of Minerals

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 As, it is clear from the Fig. 5.1 metallic The North-Eastern Plateau Region
minerals are the sources of metals. Iron ore,
This belt covers Chhotanagpur (Jharkhand),
copper, gold produce metal and are included
Odisha Plateau, West Bengal and parts of
in this category. Metallic minerals are further
Chhattisgarh. Have you ever thought about
divided into ferrous and non-ferrous metallic the reason of major iron and steel industry
minerals. Ferrous, as you know, refers to iron. being located in this region? It has variety of
All those minerals which have iron content are minerals viz. iron ore coal, manganese,
ferrous such as iron ore itself and those which bauxite, mica.
do not have iron content are non-ferrous such
as copper, bauxite, etc.
Non-metallic minerals are either organic
in origin such as fossil fuels also known as Find out the specific region where these
mineral fuels which are derived from the minerals are being extracted.
buried animal and plant life such as coal and
petroleum. Other type of non-metallic
The South-Western Plateau Region
minerals are inorganic in origin such as mica,
limestone and graphite, etc. This belt extends over Karnataka, Goa and
Minerals have certain characteristics. contiguous Tamil Nadu uplands and Kerala.
These are unevenly distributed over space. This belt is rich in ferrous metals and bauxite.
There is inverse relationship in quality and It also contains high grade iron ore, manganese
quantity of minerals i.e. good quality minerals and limestone. This belt lacks in coal deposits
are less in quantity as compared to low except Neyveli lignite.
quality minerals. The third main This belt does not have as diversified
characteristic is that all minerals are mineral deposits as the north-eastern belt.
exhaustible over time. These take long to Kerala has deposits of monazite and thorium,
develop geologically and they cannot be bauxite clay. Goa has iron ore deposits.
replenished immediately at the time of need. The North-Western Region
Thus, they have to be conserved and not
misused as they do not have the second crop. This belt extends along Aravali in Rajasthan and
part of Gujarat and minerals are associated with
Distribution of Minerals in India Dharwar system of rocks. Copper, zinc have
been major minerals. Rajasthan is rich in
Most of the metallic minerals in India occur in building stones i.e. sandstone, granite, marble.
the peninsular plateau region in the old Gypsum and Fuller’s earth deposits are also
crystalline rocks. Over 97 per cent of coal extensive. Dolomite and limestone provide raw
reserves occur in the valleys of Damodar, Sone, materials for cement industry. Gujarat is known
Mahanadi and Godavari. Petroleum reserves for its petroleum deposits. You may be knowing
are located in the sedimentary basins of Assam, that Gujarat and Rajasthan both have rich
Gujarat and Mumbai High i.e. off-shore region sources of salt.
in the Arabian Sea. New reserves have been
located in the Krishna-Godavari and Kaveri
basins. Most of the major mineral resources Why and where Dandi March was
occur to the east of a line linking Mangaluru organised by Mahatma Gandhi?
and Kanpur.
Minerals are generally concentrated in The Himalayan belt is another mineral belt
three broad belts in India. There may be some where copper, lead, zinc, cobalt and tungsten
sporadic occurrences here and there in isolated are known to occur. They occur on both the
pockets. These belts are : eastern and western parts. Assam valley has

54 India : People and Economy

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mineral oil deposits. Besides oil resources are
also found in off-shore-areas near Mumbai
Coast (Mumbai High).
In the following pages you will find the
spatial pattern of some of the important
minerals.

Ferrous Mineral
Ferrous minerals such as iron ore,
manganese, chromite, etc., provide a strong
base for the development of metallurgical
industries. Our country is well-placed in
respect of ferrous minerals both in reserves
and production.
Iron Ore
India is endowed with fairly abundant
resources of iron ore. It has the largest reserve
of iron ore in Asia. The two main types of ore
found in our country are haematite and
magnetite. I t h a s g r e a t d e m a n d i n
international market due to its superior Can you find out its reason?
quality. The iron ore mines occur in close
proximity to the coal fields in the north-
eastern plateau region of the country which parts of Shivamogga, Chitradurg and
adds to their advantage. Tum akuru districts. The districts of
About 95 per cent of total reserves of iron Chandrapur, Bhandara and Ratnagiri in
ore is located in the States of Odisha, Maharashtra, Karimnagar and Warangal
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Goa, district of Telangana, Kurnool, Cuddapah and
Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Anantapur districts of Andhra Pradesh, Salem
In Odisha, iron ore occurs in a series of hill and Nilgiris districts of Tamil Nadu are other
ranges in Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj and Jhar. iron mining regions. Goa has also emerged as
The important mines are Gurumahisani, an important producer of iron ore.
Sulaipet, Badampahar (Mayurbhaj), Kiruburu
(Kendujhar) and Bonai (Sundergarh). Similar Manganese
hill ranges, Jharkhand has some of the oldest Manganese is an important raw material for
iron ore mines and most of the iron and steel smelting of iron ore and also used for
plants are located around them. Most of the manufacturing ferro alloys. Manganese
important mines such as Noamundi and Gua deposits are found in almost all geological
are located in Poorbi and Pashchimi formations, however, it is mainly associated with
Singhbhum districts. This belt further extends Dharwar system.
to Durg, Dantewara and Bailadila. Dalli, and Odisha is the leading producer of
Rajhara in Durg are the important mines of Manganese. Major mines in Odisha are
iron ore in the country. In Karnataka, iron ore located in the central part of the iron ore belt
deposits occur in Sandur -Hospet area of of India, particularly in Bonai, Kendujhar,
Ballari district, Baba Budan hills and Sundergarh, Gangpur, Koraput, Kalahandi
Kudremukh in Chikkamagaluru district and and Bolangir.

Mineral and Energy Resources 55

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 Fig. 5.2 : India – Metallic Minerals (Ferrous)

56 India : People and Economy

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 Karnataka is another major producer and alloyable, malleable and ductile. It is also mixed
here the mines are located in Dharwar, Ballari, with gold to provide strength to jewellery.
Belagavi, North Canara, Chikkmagaluru, The Copper deposits mainly occur in
Shivamogga, Chitradurg and Tumakuru. Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, Balaghat
Maharashtra is also an important producer of district in Madhya Pradesh and Jhunjhunu and
manganese, which is mined in Nagpur, Alwar districts in Rajasthan.
Bhandara and Ratnagiri districts. The Minor producers of Copper are Agnigundala
disadvantage to these mines is that they are in Guntur District (Andhra Pradesh), Chitradurg
located far from steel plants. The manganese
and Hasan districts (Karnataka) and South Arcot
belt of Madhya Pradesh extends in a belt in
district (Tamil Nadu).
Balaghat-Chhindwara-Nimar-Mandla and
Jhabua districts. Non-metallic Minerals
Telangana, Goa, and Jharkhand are other
minor producers of manganese. Among the non-metallic minerals produced in
India, mica is the important one. The other
Non-Ferrous Minerals minerals extracted for local consumption are
limestone, dolomite and phosphate.
India is poorly endowed with non-ferrous
metallic minerals except bauxite. Mica
Mica is mainly used in the electrical and
Bauxite
electronic industries. It can be split into very
Bauxite is the ore, which is used in thin sheets which are tough and flexible. Mica
manufacturing of aluminium. Bauxite is found in India is produced in Jharkhand, Andhra
mainly in tertiary deposits and is associated Pradesh, Telanganga and Rajasthan followed
with laterite rocks occurring extensively either by Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Madhya
on the plateau or hill ranges of peninsular India Pradesh. In Jharkhand, high quality mica is
and also in the coastal tracts of the country. obtained in a belt extending over a distance of
Odisha happens to be the largest producer about 150 km, in length and about 22 km, in
of Bauxite. Kalahandi and Sambalpur are the width in lower Hazaribagh plateau. In Andhra
leading producers. The other two areas which Pradesh, Nellore district produces the best
have been increasing their production are
quality mica. In Rajasthan, mica belt extends
Bolangir and Koraput. The patlands of
for about 320 kms from Jaipur to Bhilwara
Lohardaga in Jharkhand have rich deposits.
and around Udaipur. Mica deposits also occur
Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and
in Mysuru and Hasan districts of Karanataka,
Maharashtra are other major producers.
Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai and
Bhavanagar, and Jamnagar in Gujarat have the
Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu, Alleppey in
major deposits. Chhattisgarh has bauxite
deposits in Amarkantak plateau while Katni- Kerala, Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, Purulia and
Jabalpur area and Balaghat in M.P. have Bankura in West Bengal.
important deposits of bauxite. Kolaba, Thane,
Ratnagiri, Satara, Pune and Kolhapur in Energy Resources
Maharashtra are important producers. Tamil Mineral fuels are essential for generation of
Nadu, Karnataka and Goa are minor producers power, required by agriculture, industry,
of bauxite. transport and other sectors of the economy.
Mineral fuels like coal, petroleum and natural
Copper gas (known as fossil fuels), nuclear energy
Copper is an indispensable metal in the minerals, are the conventional sources of
electrical industry for making wires, electric energy. These conventional sources are
motors, transformers and generators. It is exhaustible resources.

Mineral and Energy Resources 57

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 Fig. 5.3 : India – Minerals (Non-Ferrous)

58 India : People and Economy

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Coal processed in petrochemical industries, such as
fertiliser, synthetic rubber, synthetic fibre,
Coal is a one of the important minerals which
medicines, vaseline, lubricants, wax, soap and
is mainly used in the generation of thermal
cosmetics.
power and smelting of iron ore. Coal occurs in
rock sequences mainly of two geological ages,
namely Gondwana and tertiary deposits.
About 80 per cent of the coal deposits in
Petroleum is referred to as liquid gold
India is of bituminous type and is of non-coking
because of its scarcity and diversified uses.
grade. The most important Gondwana coal
fields of India are located in Damodar Valley.
They lie in Jharkhand-Bengal coal belt and the Crude petroleum occurs in
important coal fields in this region are Raniganj, sedimentary rocks of the tertiary period. Oil
Jharia, Bokaro, Giridih, Karanpura. exploration and production was
Jharia is the largest coal field followed by systematically taken up after the Oil and
Raniganj. The other river valleys associated Natural Gas Commission was set up in
with coal are Godavari, Mahanadi and Sone. 1956. T ill then, Digboi in Assam was the
The most important coal mining centres are only oil producing region but the scenario
Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh (part of Singrauli changed after 1956. In recent years, new
coal field lies in Uttar Pradesh), Korba in oil deposits have been found at the extreme
Chhattisgarh, Talcher and Rampur in Odisha, western and eastern parts of the country.
Chanda–Wardha, Kamptee and Bander in In Assam, Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran
Maharashtra and Singareni in Telangana and are important oil producing areas. The
Pandur in Andhra Pradesh. major oilfields of Gujarat are Ankaleshwar,
Tertiary coals occur in Assam, Arunachal Kalol, Mehsana, Nawagam, Kosamba and
Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland. It is Lunej. Mumbai High which lies 160 km off
extracted from Darangiri, Cherrapunji, Mumbai was discovered in 1973 and
Mewlong and Langrin (Meghalaya); Makum, production commenced in 1976. Oil and
Jaipur and Nazira in upper Assam, Namchik – natural gas have been found in exploratory
Namphuk (Arunachal Pradesh) and Kalakot wells in Krishna-Godavari and Kaveri basin
(Jammu and Kashmir). on the east coast.
Besides, the brown coal or lignite occur in Oil extracted from the wells is crude oil and
the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, contains many impurities. It cannot be used
Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir. directly. It needs to be refined. There are two
types of refineries in India: (a) field-based and
Petroleum (b) market-based. Digboi is an example of field-
based and Barauni is an example of market-
Crude petroleum consists of hydrocarbons of
based refinery.
liquid and gaseous states varying in chemical
composition, colour and specific gravity. It is
Natural Gas
an essential source of energy for all internal
combustion engines in automobiles, railways Natural Gas is found with petroleum deposits
and aircraft. Its numerous by-products are and is released when crude oil is brought to

Mineral and Energy Resources 59

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 Fig. 5.4 : India – Conventional Energy Resources
Activity: Collect information about cross country natural gas pipelines laid by GAIL (India)
under ‘One Nation One Gride’.
60 India : People and Economy

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the surface. It can be used as a domestic and Pradesh. Thorium is mainly obtained from
industrial fuel. It is used as fuel in power monazite and ilmenite in the beach sands along
sector to generate electricity, for heating the coast of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. World’s
purpose in industries, as raw material in richest monazite deposits occur in Palakkad
chemical, petrochemical and fertiliser and Kollam districts of Kerala, near
industries. With the expansion of gas Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and
infrastructure and local city gas distribution Mahanadi river delta in Odisha.
(COD) networks, natural gas is also emerging Atomic Energy Commission was
as a preferred transport fuel (CNG) and established in 1948, progress could be made
cooking fuel (PNG) at homes. India’s major only after the establishment of the Atomic
gas reserves are found in the Mumbai High Energy Institute at Trombay in 1954 which was
and allied fields along the west coast which renamed as the Bhabha Atomic Research
are supplemented by finds in the Cambay Centre in 1967. The important nuclear power
basin. Along the East Coast, new reserves of projects are Tarapur (Maharashtra),
natural gas have been discovered in the Rawatbhata near Kota (Rajasthan), Kalpakkam
Krishna-Godavari basin. (Tamil Nadu), Narora (Uttar Pradesh), Kaiga
(Karnataka) and Kakarapara (Gujarat).
Non-Conventional Energy Sources
Solar Energy
Fossil fuel sources, such as coal, petroleum, Sun rays tapped in photovoltaic cells can be
natural gas and nuclear energy use converted into energy, known as solar energy.
exhaustible raw materials. Sustainable The two effective processes considered to be very
energy resources are only the renewable effective to tap solar energy are photovoltaics
energy sources like solar, wind, hydro- and solar thermal technology. Solar thermal
geothermal and biomass. These energy technology has some relative advantages over
sources are more equitably distributed and all other non-renewable energy sources. It is
environment-friendly. The non-conventional cost competitive, environment friendly and easy
energy sources will provide more sustained, to construct. Solar energy is 7 per cent more
eco-friendly cheaper energy after the initial effective than coal or oil based plants and 10
cost is taken care of. per cent more effective than nuclear plants. It
is generally used more in appliances like
Nuclear Energy Resources
heaters, crop dryers, cookers, etc. The western
Nuclear energy has emerged as a viable source part of India has greater potential for the
in recent times. Important minerals used for the development of solar energy in Gujarat and
generation of nuclear energy are uranium and Rajasthan.
thorium. Uranium deposits occur in the Dharwar
rocks. Geographically, uranium ores are known Wind Energy
to occur in several locations along the Singbhum Wind energy is absolutely pollution free,
Copper belt. It is also found in Udaipur, Alwar inexhaustible source of energy. The mechanism
and Jhunjhunu districts of Rajasthan, Durg of energy conversion from blowing wind is
district of Chhattisgarh, Bhandara district of simple. The kinetic energy of wind, through
Maharashtra and Kullu district of Himachal turbines is converted into electrical energy. The

Mineral and Energy Resources 61

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 Fig. 5.5 : India – Oil Refineries

62 India : People and Economy

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 How are the developed
countries of the world
utilising non-conventional
energy resources? Discuss.

permanent wind systems such the trade winds, energy along the coasts but so far these have
westerlies and seasonal wind like monsoon have not yet been utilised.
been used as source of energy. Besides these,
Geothermal Energy
local winds, land and sea breezes can also be
used to produce electricity. When the magma from the interior of earth,
India, already has started generating wind comes out on the surface, tremendous heat is
energy. In Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra released. This heat energy can successfully be
and Karnataka, favourable conditions for wind tapped and converted to electrical energy. Apart
energy exist. from this, the hot water that gushes out through
Tidal and Wave Energy the geyser wells is also used in the generation
of thermal energy. It is popularly known as
Ocean currents are the store-house of infinite
Geothermal energy. This energy is now
energy. Since the beginning of seventeenth and
considered to be one of the key energy sources
eighteenth century, persistent efforts were made
which can be developed as an alternate source.
to create a more efficient energy system from
The hot springs and geysers are being used
the ceaseless tidal waves and ocean current.
Large tidal waves are known to occur since medieval period. In India, a geothermal
along the west coast of India. Hence, India has energy plant has been commissioned at
great potential for the development of tidal Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh.

Mineral and Energy Resources 63

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 Conservation of Mineral Resources
The first successful (1890) attempt to tap The challenge of sustainable development
the underground heat was made in the city requires integration of quest for economic
of Boise, Idaho (U.S.A.), where a hot water development with environmental concerns.
pipe network was built to give heat to the Traditional methods of resource use result into
surrounding buildings. This plant is still generating enormous quantity of waste as well
working. as create other environmental problems. Hence,
for sustainable development calls for the
protection of resources for the future
Bio-energy generations. There is an urgent need to
conserve the resources. The alternative energy
Bio-energy refers to energy derived from biological sources like solar power, wind, wave,
products which includes agricultural residues, geothermal energy are inexhaustible resource.
municipal, industrial and other wastes. Bio- These should be developed to replace the
energy is a potential source of energy conversion. exhaustible resources. In case of metallic
It can be converted into electrical energy, heat minerals, use of scrap metals will enable
energy or gas for cooking. It will also process the recycling of metals. Use of scrap is specially
waste and garbage and produce energy. This will significant in metals like copper, lead and zinc
improve economic life of rural areas in developing in which India’s reserves are meagre. Use of
countries, reduce environmental pollution, substitutes for scarce metals may also reduce
enhance self-reliance and reduce pressure on fuel their consumption. Export of strategic and
wood. One such project converting municipal scarce minerals must be reduced, so that the
waste into energy is Okhla in Delhi. existing reserve may be used for a longer period.

EXERCISES
1. Choose the right answers of the following from the given options.
(i) In which one of the following States are the major oil fields located?
(a) Assam (c) Rajasthan
(b) Bihar (d) Tamil Nadu
(ii) At which one of the following places was the first atomic power station
started?
(a) Kalpakkam (c) Rana Pratap Sagar
(b) Narora (d) Tarapur
(iii) Which one of the following minerals is known as brown diamond?
(a) Iron (c) Manganese
(b) Lignite (d) Mica

64 India : People and Economy

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 (iv) Which one of the following is non-renewable source of energy?
(a) Hydel (c) Thermal
(b) Solar (d) Wind power
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) Give an account of the distribution of mica in India.
(ii) What is nuclear power? Mention the important nuclear power stations
in India.
(iii) Name non-ferrous metal. Discuss their spatial distribution.
(vi) What are non-conventional sources of energy?
3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Write a detailed note on the Petroleum resources of India.
(ii) Write an essay on hydel power in India.

Mineral and Energy Resources 65

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 The word ‘planning’ is not new to you as it is
Unit III a part of everyday usage. You must have used
Chapter 6 it with reference to preparation for your
examination or visit to a hill station. It involves
the process of thinking, formulation of a
scheme or programme and implementation of
a set of actions to achieve some goal. Though
it is a very broad term, in this chapter, it has
been used with reference to the process of
economic development. It is, thus different
from the traditional hit-and-miss methods by

PLANNING AND On 1 January 2015, the NITI Aayog was

formed. India adopted centralised planning
SUSTAINABLE after Independence, but subsequently, it
graduated into decentralised multi-level
DEVELOPMENT IN planning. The responsibility of plan formulation
was with the Planning Comminssion at the

INDIAN CONTEXT Centre, State and district levels. But on 1

January 2015, the Planning Commision was
replaced by the NITI Aayog.

NITI Aayog has been set up with the objective

of involving the states in economic policy
making for India for providing strategic and
technical advice to the Central and State
governments.

which reforms and reconstruction are often

undertaken. Generally, there are two
approaches to planning, i.e., sectoral planning
and regional planning. Sectoral planning
means formulation and implementation of the
sets of schemes or programmes aimed at
development of various sectors of the
economy, such as agriculture, irrigation,
manufacturing, power, c o n s t r u c t i o n ,
transport, communication, social
infrastructure and services.
There is no uniform economic development
over space in any country. Some areas are more
developed and some lag behind. This uneven
pattern of development over space necessitates
that the planners have a spatial perspective
and draw the plans to reduce regional
imbalance in development. This type of
planning is termed as regional planning.

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Target Area Planning plantation, agriculture, animal husbandry,
poultry, forestry and small-scale and village
The planning process has to take special care
industry.
of those areas which have remained
economically backward. As you know, the
Drought Prone Area Programme
economic development of a region depends
upon its resource base. But sometimes This programme was initiated during the
resource-rich region also remain backward. Fourth Five Year Plan with the objectives of
Economic development requires technology, as providing employment to the people in
well as, investment besides resources. With the drought-prone areas and creating productive
planning experience of about one-and-a-half assets. Initially, this programme laid emphasis
decades, it was realised that regional on the construction of labour-intensive civil
imbalances in economic development were works. But later on, it emphasised on irrigation
getting accentuated. In order to arrest the projects, land development programmes,
accentuation of regional and social disparties, afforestation, grassland development and
the Planning Commission introduced the creation of basic rural infrastructure, such as
‘target area’ and target group approaches to electricity, roads, market, credit and services.
planning. Some of the examples of The National Committee on Development
programmes directed towards the of Backward Areas reviewed the performance
development of target areas are Command of this programme. It has been observed that
Area Development Programme, Drought Prone this programme is largely confined to the
Area Development Programme, Desert development of agriculture and allied sectors
Development Programme, Hill Area with major focus on restoration of ecological
Development Programme. The Small Farmers balance. Since growing population pressure is
Development Agency (SFDA) and Marginal forcing the society to utilise the marginal lands
Farmers Development Agency (MFDA) which for agriculture, and, thereby causing ecological
are the examples of target group programme. degradation, there is a need to create alternative
In the 8th Five Year Plan special area employment opportunities in the drought-
programmes were designed to develop prone areas. The other strategies of
infrastructure in hill areas, north-eastern development of these areas include adoption of
states, tribal areas and backward areas. integrated watershed development approach at
the micro-level. The restoration of ecological
Hill Area Development Programme balance between water, soil, plants, and human
Hill Area Development Programmes were and animal population should be a basic
initiated during the Fifth Five Year Plan covering consideration in the strategy of development of
15 districts comprising all the hilly districts of drought-prone areas.
Uttar Pradesh (present Uttarakhand), Mikir Hill The Planning Commission of India (1967)
and North Cachar hills of Assam, Darjeeling identified 67 districts (entire or partly) of the
district of West Bengal and Nilgiri district of Tamil country prone to drought. The Irrigation
Nadu. The National Committee on the Commission (1972) introduced the criterion of
Development of Backward Area in 1981 30 per cent irrigated area and demarcated the
recommended that all the hill areas in the drought-prone areas. Broadly, the drought-
country having height above 600 m and not prone area in India spread over semi-arid and
covered under tribal sub-plan be treated as arid tract of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Western
backward hill areas. Madhya Pradesh, Marathwada region of
The detailed plans for the development of hill Maharashtra, Rayalseema and Telangana
areas were drawn keeping in view their plateaus of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka plateau
topographical, ecological, social and economic and highlands and interior parts of Tamil Nadu.
conditions. These programmes aimed at The drought-prone areas of Punjab, Haryana
harnessing the indigenous resources of the hill and north-Rajasthan are largely protected due
areas through development of horticulture, to spread of irrigation in these regions.
Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context 67

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Case Study – Integrated Tribal Development
Project in Bharmaur* Region This region lies between 32° 11’ N and
32°41’ N latitudes and 76° 22’ E and 76°
Bharmaur tribal area comprises Bharmaur and 53’E longitudes. Spread over an area of
Holi tehsils of Chamba district of Himachal about 1,818 sq km, the region mostly lies
Pradesh. It is a notified tribal area since between 1,500 m to 3,700 m above the
21 November 1975. Bharmaur is inhabited by mean sea level. This region popularly
‘Gaddi’, a tribal community who have known as the homeland of Gaddis is
maintained a distinct identity in the Himalayan surrounded by lofty mountains on all sides.
region as they practised transhumance and It has Pir Panjal in the north and Dhaula
conversed through Gaddiali dialect. Dhar in the south. In the east, the
extension of Dhaula Dhar converges with
Bharmaur tribal region has harsh climate Pir Panjal near Rohtang Pass. The river
conditions, low resource base and fragile Ravi and its tributaries– the Budhil and the
environment. These factors have influenced the Tundahen, drain this territory, and carve
society and Economy of the region. According out deep gorges. These rivers divide the
to the 2011 census, the total population of region into four physiographic divisions
Bharmaur sub-division was 39,113 i.e., 21 called Holi, Khani, Kugti and Tundah areas.
persons per sq km. It is one of the most Bharmaur experiences freezing weather
(economically and socially) backward areas of conditions and snowfall in winter. Its mean
monthly temperature in January remains
Himachal Pradesh. Historically, the Gaddis
4°C and in July 26°C.
have experienced geographical and political
isolation and socio-economic deprivation. The
economy is largely based on agriculture and the Fifth Five Year Plan, the tribal sub-plan was
allied activities such as sheep and goat rearing. introduced in 1974 and Bharmaur was
designated as one of the five Integrated Tribal
The process of development of tribal area Development Projects (ITDP) in Himachal
of Bharmaur started in 1970s when Gaddis Pradesh. This area development plan was aimed
were included among ‘scheduled tribes’. Under at improving the quality of life of the Gaddis

Fig. 6.1

* The name Bharmaur is derived from Sanskrit word Brahmaur. In this book Bharmaur has been used to
retain the colloquial flavour.

68 India : People and Economy

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 Fig. 6.2

and narrowing the gap in the level of The most significant contribution of tribal
development between Bharmaur and other sub-plan in Bharmaur region is the development
areas of Himachal Pradesh. This plan laid the of infrastructure in terms of schools, healthcare
highest priority on development of transport facilities, potable water, roads, communications
and communications, agriculture and allied and electricity. But the villages located along the
activities, and social and community services. river Ravi in Holi and Khani areas are the main

Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context 69

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beneficiaries of infrastructural development. The century. In the post World War II era, the concept
remote villages in Tundah and Kugti areas still of development was synonymous to economic
do not have sufficient infrastructure. growth which is measured in terms of temporal
The social benefits derived from ITDP increase in gross national product (GNP) and per
include tremendous increase in literacy rate, capita income/per capita consumption. But,
improvement in sex ratio and decline in child even the countries having high economic growth,
marriage. The female literacy rate in the region experienced speedy rise in poverty because of
increased from 1.88 per cent in 1971 to 65 per its unequal distribution. So, in 1970s, the
cent in 2011. The difference between males and phrases such as redistribution with growth and
females in literacy level i.e. gender inequality, growth and equity were incorporated in the
has also declined. Traditionally, the Gaddis had definition of development. While dealing with the
subsistence agricultural-cum-pastoral questions related to redistribution and equity,
economy having emphasis on foodgrains and it was realised that the concept of development
livestock production. But during the last three cannot be restricted to the economic sphere
decades of twentieth century, the cultivation of alone. It also includes the issues such as
pulses and other cash crops has increased in improving the well-being and living standard of
Bharmaur region. But the crop cultivation is people, availing of the health, education and
still done with traditional technology. The equality of opportunity and ensuring political
declining importance of pastoralism in the and civil rights. By 1980s, development emerged
economy of the region can be gauged from the as a concept encapsulating wide-spread
fact that at present only about one-tenth of the improvement in social as well as material well-
total households practise transhumance. But being of all in a society.
the Gaddis are still very mobile as a sizeable The notion of sustainable development
section of them migrate to Kangra and emerged in the wake of general rise in the
surrounding areas during winter to earn their awareness of environmental issues in the late
livings from wage labour. 1960s in Western World. It reflected the concern
of people about undesirable effects of industrial
Sustainable Development development on the environment. The publication
of ‘The Population Bomb’ by Ehrlich in 1968
The term development is generally used to and ‘The Limits to Growth’ by Meadows and
describe the state of particular societies and the others in 1972 further raised the level of fear
process of changes experienced by them. among environmentalists in particular and people
During a fairly large period of human history, in general. This sets the scenario for the
the state of the societies has largely been emergence of new models of development under
determined by the interaction processes a broad phrase ‘sustainable development.’
between human societies and their bio-physical Concerned with the growing opinion of world
environment. The processes of human- community on the environmental issues, the
environment interaction depend upon the level United Nations established a World Commission
of technology and institutions nurtured by a on Environment and Development (WCED)
society. While the technology and institutions headed by the Norwegian Prime Minister Gro
have helped in increasing the pace of human- Harlem Brundtland. The Commission gave its
environment interaction, the momentum thus, report (also known as Brundtland Report) entitled
generated in return has accelerated ‘Our Common Future’ in 1987. The report defines
technological progress and transformation and sustainable development as a “development that
creation of institutions. Hence, development is meets the needs of the present without
a multi-dimensional concept and signifies the compromising the ability of future generations
positive, irreversible transformation of the to meet their own needs.”
economy, society and environment. Sustainable development takes care of
The concept of development is dynamic and ecological, social and economic aspects of
has evolved during the second half of twentieth development during the present times and pleads

70 India : People and Economy

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 Fig. 6.3

Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context 71

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 Fig. 6.4: Indira Gandhi Canal Fig. 6.5 : Indira Gandhi Canal and its adjoining areas

for conservation of resources to enable the future against the slope of the land. All the lift canals
generations to use these resources. It takes into of Indira Gandhi Canal system originate at the
account the development of whole human kind left bank of main canal while all the canals on
which have common future. the right bank of main canal are flow channels.
Irrigation in Stage-I command area of the
Case Study canal was introduced in early 1960s,
whereas, the command area of Stage-II began
Indira Gandhi Canal (Nahar) Command
receiving irrigation in mid-1980s. The
Area
introduction of canal irrigation in this dry
Indira Gandhi Canal, previously known as the land has transformed its ecology, economy
Rajasthan Canal, is one of the largest canal and society. It has influenced the
systems in India. Conceived by Kanwar Sain environmental conditions of the region both
in 1948, the canal project was launched on 31 positively as well as negatively. The
March, 1958. The canal originates at Harike availability of soil moisture for a longer period
barrage in Punjab and runs parallel to of time and various afforestation and pasture
Pakistan border at an average distance of 40 development programmes under CAD have
km in Thar Desert (Marusthali) of Rajasthan. resulted in greening the land. This has also
The total planned length of the system is 9,060 helped in reducing wind erosion and siltation
km catering to the irrigation needs of a total of canal systems. But the intensive irrigation
culturable command area of 19.63 lakh and excessive use of water has led to the
hectares. Out of the total command area, about emergence of twin environmental problems
70 per cent was envisaged to be irrigated by of waterlogging and soil salinity.
flow system and the rest by lift system. The Introduction of canal irrigation has
construction work of the canal system has been brought about a perceptible transformation in
carried out through two stages. The command the agricultural economy of the region. Soil
area of Stage-I lies in Ganganagar, moisture has been a limiting factor in
Hanumangarh and northern part of Bikaner successful growing of crops in this area.
districts. It has a gently undulating topography Spread of canal irrigation has led to increase
and its culturable command area is 5.53 lakh in cultivated area and intensity of cropping.
hectares. The command area of Stage-II is spread The traditional crops sown in the area, gram,
over Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, bajra and jowar have been replaced by wheat,
Nagaur and Churu districts covering culturable cotton, groundnut and rice. This is the result
command area of 14.10 lakh ha. It comprises of intensive irrigation. This intensive irrigation,
desert land dotted with shifting sand dunes and no doubt, initially has led to tremendous
temperature soaring to 50ºC in summers. In the increase in agricultural and livestock
lift canal, the water is lifted up to make it to flow productivity. This has also caused waterlogging

72 India : People and Economy

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and soil salinity, and thus, in the long run, it (iii) The CAD programmes such as lining of
hampers the sustainability of agriculture. water courses, land development and
levelling and warabandi system (equal
Measures for Promotion of Sustainable distribution of canal water in the
Development command area of outlet) shall be
effectively implemented to reduce the
The ecological sustainability of Indira Gandhi
conveyance loss of water.
Canal Project has been questioned by various
(iv) The areas affected by water logging and
scholars. Their point of view has also largely
soil salinity shall be reclaimed.
been validated by the course of development
(v) The eco-development through
this region has taken during the last four
afforestation, shelterbelt plantation and
decades, which has resulted in degradation
pasture development is necessary
of physical environment. It is a hard fact that
particularly in the fragile environment of
attaining sustainable development in the
command area requires major thrust upon Stage-II.
the measures to achieve ecological (vi) The social sustainability in the region can
sustainability. Hence, five of the seven be achieved only if the land allottees
measures proposed to promote sustainable having poor economic background are
development in the command area are meant provided adequate financial and
to restore ecological balance. institutional support for cultivation of
(i) The first requirement is strict land.
implementation of water management (vii) The economic sustainability in the region
policy. The canal project envisages cannot be attained only through
protective irrigation in Stage-I and development of agriculture and animal
extensive irrigation of crops and pasture husbandry. The agricultural and allied
development in Stage-II. activities have to develop alongwith other
(ii) In general, the cropping pattern shall not sectors of economy. This shall lead to
include water intensive crops. It shall be diversification of economic base and
adhered to and people shall be establishment of functional linkages
encouraged to grow plantation crops such between basic villages, agro-service
as citrus fruits. centres and market centres.

Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context 73

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 EXERCISES
1. Choose the right answers of the following from the given options.
(i) Regional planning relates to :
(a) Development of various sectors of economy.
(b) Area specific approach of development.
(c) Area differences in transportation network.
(d) Development of rural areas.
(ii) ITDP refers to which one of the following?
(a) Integrated Tourism Development Programme
(b) Integrated Travel Development Programme
(c) Integrated Tribal Development Programme
(d) Integrated Transport Development Programme
(iii) Which one of the following is the most crucial factor for sustainable
development in Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area?
(a) Agricultural development
(b) Eco-development
(c) Transport development
(d) Colonisation of land
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) What are the social benefits of ITDP in the Bharmaur tribal region?
(ii) Define the concept of sustainable development.
(iii) What are the positive impacts of irrigation on Indira Gandhi Canal
Command Area?
3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Write short notes on drought-prone area programme. How does this
programme help in the development of dryland agriculture in India?
(ii) Suggest the measures of promotion of sustainability in Indira Gandhi
Canal Command Area.

Project
(i) Find out the area development programmes being implemented in your
region. Assess the impact of such programmes on the society and economy
in your locality.
(ii) Select your own area or identify an area facing severe environmental
and socio-economic problems. Make an assessment of its resources and
prepare their inventory. Suggest the measures for its sustainable
development as it has been done in the case of Indira Gandhi Canal
Command Area.

74 India : People and Economy

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 We use many items in our daily life. From
Unit IV toothpaste to our bed tea, milk, clothes, soaps,
Chapter 7 food items, etc., are required every day. All these
can be purchased from the market. Have you
ever thought as to how these items are brought
from the site of production? All the production
is meant for consumption. From the fields and
factory, the produce is brought to the place from
where consumers purchase it. It is the
transportation of these items from the site of
their production to the market which make
them available to the consumer.
We not only use material things, like fruits,
vegetables, books, clothes, etc., but also use
TRANSPORT AND ideas, views and messages in our daily life. Do
you know we exchange our views, ideas and
COMMUNICATION messages from one place to another or one
individual to another while communicating with
the help of various means?
The use of transport and communication
depends upon our need to move things from
place of their availability to the place of their
use. Human beings use various methods to
move goods, commodities, ideas from one place
to another.
The following diagram shows the major
means of transportation.

Trr anspor
Land T ansportt
The pathways and unmetalled roads have been
used for transportation in India since ancient
times. With the economic and technological
development, metalled roads and railways were
developed to move large volume of goods and

Rationalised 2023-24
people from one place to another. Ropeways, the princely states and British India. After
cableways and pipelines were devised to cater Independence, twenty-year road plan (1961) was
to the demands of transporting specific goods introduced to improve the conditions of roads in
under special circumstances. India. However, roads continue to concentrate in
and around urban centres. Rural and remote
Road Transport areas had the least connectivity by road.
For the purpose of construction and
India has one of the second largest road networks maintenance, roads are classified as National
in the world with a total length of about 62.16 Highways (NH), State Highways(SH), Major
lakh km (morth.nic.in, Annual Report 2020-21). District Roads and Rural Roads.

Rain-soaked : Nomads go about their routine during an early morning

downpour in Srinagar. Traffic on the 300-km Srinagar-Jammu and 434- A view of traffic flow in Delhi
km Srinagar-Leh National Highways is suspended as upper reaches of
J&K saw heavy snowfall while rain lashed the plains.

Fig. 7.1

About 85 per cent of passenger and 70 per cent National Highways

of freight traffic are carried by roads every year.
The main roads which are constructed and
Road transport is relatively suitable for shorter
maintained by the Central Government are
distance travel.
known as the National Highways. These roads
are meant for inter -state transport and
movement of defence men and material in
Sher Shah Suri built the Shahi (Royal) road to strategic areas. These also connect the state
strengthen and consolidate his empire from the capitals, major cities, important ports, railway
Indus Valley to the Sonar Valley in Bengal. This junctions, etc. The length of the National
road was renamed the Grand Trunk (GT) road Highways has increased from 19,700 km in
during the British period, connecting Calcutta and 1951 to 1,36,440 km in 2020. The National
Peshawar. At present, it extends from Amritsar Highways constitute only about 2 per cent of
to Kolkata. the total road length but carry 40 per cent of
the road traffic.
Collect information about National Highway number (old and
The National Highways Authority of India
new) from the website morth.nic.in/national-highway-details. (NHAI) was operationalised in 1995. It is an
autonomous body under the Ministry of
Road transport in modern sense was very Surface Transport. It is entrusted with the
limited in India before World War-II. The first responsibility of development, maintenance
serious attempt was made in 1943 when ‘Nagpur and operation of National Highways. This is also
Plan’ was drawn. This plan could not be the apex body to improve the quality of the roads
implemented due to lack of coordination among designated as National Highways.

76 India : People and Economy

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 Table 7.1 : India Road Network 2020
Serial No. Road Category Length in Km

1. National Highways 136440

2. State Highways 176818
3. Other Roads 5902539
Total 6215797
Source: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Annual Report 2020-21. For latest data see website morth.nic.in

Rural Roads
National Highways These roads are vital for providing links in the
Development Projects rural areas. About 80 per cent of the total road
length in India are categorised as rural roads.
NHAI has taken up some major projects in
There is regional variation in the density of rural
the country under different phases :
road because these are influenced by the nature
Golden Quadrilateral : It comprises of the terrain.
construction of 5,846-km long 4/6 lane, high
density traffic corridor, to connect India’s four
big metro cities of Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-
Kolkata. With the construction of Golden
Quadrilateral, the time, distance and cost
of movement among the mega cities of India
will be considerably minimised.
North-South and East-West Corridors :
North-South corridor aims at connecting
Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir with
Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu (including
Kochchi-Salem Spur) with 4,076-km long
road. The East-West Corridor has been planned
to connect Silchar in Assam with the port town
Fig. 7.2 : Road constructed under the Pradhan
of Porbandar in Gujarat with 3,640-km of Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna
road length.

Why are the rural roads’ density very low

State Highways in hilly, plateau and forested areas? Why
These are constructed and maintained by state does the quality of rural roads deteriorate
governments. They join the state capitals with away from the urban centres?
district headquarters and other important
towns. These roads are connected to the
Other Roads
National Highways. These constitute 4 per cent
of total road length in the country. Other roads include Border Roads and
International Highways. The Border Road
District Roads Organisation (BRO) was established in May
These roads are the connecting link between 1960 for accelerating economic development
District Headquarters and the other important and strengthening defence preparedness
nodes in the district. They account for 14 per through rapid and coordinated improvement
cent of the total road length of the country. of strategically important roads along the

Transport and Communication 77

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northern and north-eastern boundary of the Apart from the construction and
country. It is a premier multifaceted maintenance of roads in strategically sensitive
construction agency. It has constructed roads areas, the BRO also undertakes snow clearance
in high altitude mountainous terrain joining in high altitude areas. The international
Chandigarh with Manali (Himachal Pradesh) highways are meant to promote the harmonious
and Leh (Ladakh). This road runs at an relationship with the neighbouring countries
average altitude of 4,270 metres above the by providing effective links with India. (Fig. 7.4
mean sea level. and 7.5)

The World’s longest Highway

tunnel — Atal Tunnel (9.02 Km)
has been built by Border Road
Organisation. This tunnel connects
Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley
throughout the year. Earlier the
valley was cut off for about 6 months
each year owing to heavy snowfall.
The Tunnel is built with ultra-modern
specifications in the Pir Panjal
range of Himalayas at an altitude
of 3000 metres from the Mean Sea
Level (MSL).
Source: http://www.bro.gov.in/
pagefimg.asp?imid=144, And PIB
Delhi 03 October 2020
Fig. 7.3 : Khardung La Pass in Jammu & Kashmir

Delhi-Lahore Bus

Fig. 7.5 : Aman Setu between Srinagar and

Fig. 7.4 : A Bus from Lahore to Delhi at Wagah Border Muzaffarabad

78 India : People and Economy

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 Table 7.2 : Indian Railways:
Railway Zones and Headquarters
Why have Bengaluru and Hyderabad in the South and
Railway Zone Headquarters
Delhi, Kanpur and Patna in north India have emerged
as important nodes?
Central Mumbai CST

Eastern Kolkata

East Central Hajipur

Bharatmala is a proposed umbrella scheme for: East Coast Bhubaneswar
(i) Development of State roads along coastal Northern New Delhi
border areas, including connectivity of non- North Central Allahabad
major ports;
North Eastern Gorakhpur
(ii) Backward areas religious and tourist places
North East Frontier Maligaon (Guwahati)
connectivity programme;
(iii) Setubharatam Pariyojana, which is for the North Western Jaipur

consruction of about 1500 major bridges and Southern Chennai

200 rail over bridges rail under bridges; District South Central Secunderabad
Headquarters connectivity Scheme for the
South Eastern Kolkata
development of about 9000 km newly declared
South East Central Bilaspur
National Highways.
The programme is targeted for completion by 2022. South Western Hubli
Source: Economic Survey 2015-16 pp.146. Western Mumbai (Church Gate)
West Central Jabalpur
Rail Transport
Indian Railways, network is one of the longest
in the world. It facilitates the movement of both
freight and passengers and contributes to the
growth of the economy. Mahatma Gandhi said,
the Indian railways “...brought people of On the basis of the width of track of the Indian
diverse cultures together to contribute to Railways, three categories have been made:
India’s freedom struggle”.
Broad gauge: The distance between rails in
Indian Railway was introduced in 1853,
broad gauge is 1.676 metre. The total length of
when a line was constructed from Bombay to
broad gauge lines was 63950 km (2019-20).
Thane covering a distance of 34 km.
Indian Railways is the largest government Metre gauge: The distance between rails
undertaking in the country. The length of Indian is one metre. Its total length was 2402 km
Railways network was 67,956 km (Railway (2019-20).
yearbook 2019-20). Its very large size puts a Narrow gauge: The distance between the rails
lot of pressure on a centralised railway in this case is 0.762 metre or 0.610 metre. The
management system. Thus, in India, the railway total length of narrow guage was 1604 km
system has been divided into 16 zones. (2019-20). It is generally confined to hilly areas.

Transport and Communication 79

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 Indian Railways has launched extensive Areas around towns, raw material
programme to convert the metre and narrow producing areas and of plantations and other
gauges to broad gauge. Moreover, steam commercial crops, hill stations and cantonment
engines have been replaced by diesel and towns were well-connected by railways from the
electric engines. This step has increased the British colonial era. These were mostly
speed, as well as, the haulage capacity. developed for the exploitation of resources. After
The replacement of steam engines run by the Independence of the country, railway routes
coal has also improved the environment of the have been extended to other areas too. The most
stations. significant development has been the
Metro rail has revolutionlised the urban development of Konkan Railway along the
transport system in India. Replacement of diesel western coast providing a direct link between
buses by CNG-run vehicles along with the Mumbai and Mangaluru.
introduction of metro is a welcome step towards Railway continues to remain the main means
controlling the air pollution in urban centres. of transport for the masses. Railway network is
relatively less dense in the hill states, north eastern
Which cities of India have Metro Rail Facility? Collect states, central parts of India and Rajasthan.
information about it and discuss in the classroom.
Water Transport

Konkan Railway Waterways is an important mode of transport

for both passenger and cargo traffic in India. It
One of the important achievements of the is the cheapest means of transport and is most
Indian Railways has been the construction suitable for carrying heavy and bulky material.
of Konkan Railway in 1998. It is 760-km It is a fuel-efficient and eco-friendly mode of
long rail route connecting Roha in transport. The water transport is of two types–
Maharashtra to Mangalore in Karnataka. (a) inland waterways, and (b) oceanic waterways.
It is considered an engineering marvel. It
crosses 146 rivers, streams, nearly 2000 Inland Waterways
bridges and 91 tunnels. Asia’s largest
tunnel which is nearly 6.5 km long, also It was the chief mode of transport before the
lies on this route. The states of advent of railways. It, however, faced tough
Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka are competition from road and railway transport.
partners in this undertaking. Moreover, diversion of river water for irrigation
purposes made them non-navigable in large

Fig. 7.6 : River navigation in the North-east

80 India : People and Economy

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parts of their courses. India has 14,500 km of For the development, maintenance and
navigable waterways, contributing about 1% regulation of national waterways in the country,
to the country’s transportation. It comprises the Inland Waterways Authority was set up in
rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc. At 1986. The following waterways have been
present, 5,685 km of major rivers are navigable declared as the National Waterways by the
by mechanised flat bottom vessels. Government (Table 7.3).

Fig. 7.7 : Natinal Waterway No.3

Table 7.3:1 National Waterways of India

Waterways Stretch Specification

NW 1 Allahabad-Haldia It is one of the most important waterways in

stretch (1,620 km) India, which is navigable by mechanical boats
up to Patna and by ordinary boats up to
Haridwar. It is divided into three parts for
developmental purposes– (i) Haldia-Farakka (560
km), (ii) Farakka-Patna (460 km), (iii) Patna-
Allahabad (600 km).
NW 2 Sadiya-Dhubri stretch Brahmaputra is navigable by steamers up to
(891 km) Dibrugarh (1,384 km) which is shared by India
and Bangladesh
NW 3 Kottapuram-Kollam It includes 168 km of west coast canal along
stretch (205 km) with Champakara canal (14 km) and
Udyogmandal canal (23 km).
NW 4 Specified streches of Godavari and Krishna rivers along with Kakinada
Puducherry stretch of canals (1078 km)
NW 5 Specified stretches of river Brahmani along with Matai river, delta channels
of Mahanadi and Brahmani rivers and East Coast canals (588km).

Transport and Communication 81

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 The Inland Waterways Authority has also In addition, Pawan Hans Limited mainly
identified 10 other inland waterways, which provides helicopter services to petroleum sector
could be upgraded. The backwaters (Kadal) of and for tourism.
Kerala has special significance in Inland
Waterway. Apart from providing cheap means Oil and Gas Pipelines
of transport, they are also attracting a large Pipelines are the most convenient and efficient
number of tourists in Kerala. The famous Nehru mode of transporting liquids and gases over
Trophy Boat Race (VALLAMKALI) is also held long distances. Even solids can also be
in the backwaters. transported by pipelines after converting them
into slurry. Oil India Limited (OIL) under the
Oceanic Routes
administrative set up of the Ministry of
India has a vast coastline of approximate 7,517 Petroleum and Natural Gas is engaged in the
km, including islands. Twelve major and 185 exploration, production and transportation of
minor ports provide infrastructural support to crude oil and natural gas. It was incorporated
these routes. Oceanic routes play an important in 1959 as a company. Asia’s first cross country
role in the transport sector of India’s economy. pipeline covering a distance of 1,157 km was
Approximately 95 per cent of India’s foreign constructed by OIL from Naharkatiya oilfield
trade by volume and 70 per cent by value moves in Assam to Barauni refinery in Bihar. It was
through ocean routes. Apart from international further extended up to Kanpur in 1966. GAIL
trade, these are also used for the purpose of (India) Ltd. was set up in 1984 as a public
transportation between the islands and the rest sector undertaking to transport, process and
of the country. market natural gas for its economic use. The
first 1,700 km long Hazira-Vijaipur -
Air Transportation
Jagdishpur (HVJ) cross country gas pipeline,
Air transport is the fastest means of movement constructed by GAIL (India), linked Mumbai
from one place to the other. It has reduced High and Bassein gas fields with various
distances by minimising the travel time. It is fertiliser, power and industrial complexes in
essential for a vast country like India, where western and northern India. This artery
distances are large and the terrain and climatic provided impetus to Indian gas market
conditions are diverse. development. Overall, India’s gas infrastructure
Air transport in India made a beginning
has expanded over ten times from 1,700 km to
in 1911 when airmail operation commenced
18,500 km of cross-country pipelines and is
over a little distance of 10 km between
expected to soon reach over 34,000 km as Gas
Allahabad and Naini. But its real development
Grid by linking all the gas sources and
took place in post-Independent period. The
consuming markets across the country
Airport Authority of India is responsible for
including North Eastern States.
providing safe, efficient air traffic and
aeronautical communication services in the Communication Networks
Indian Air Space. The authority manages 125
Human beings have evolved different methods
airports.
of communication over time. In earlier times,
Pawan Hans is the helicopter service
the messages were delivered by beating the
operating in hilly areas and is widely used by
drum or hollow tree trunks, giving indications
tourists in north-eastern sector.

82 India : People and Economy

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through smoke or fire or with the help of fast enables us with the basic facilities of direct
runners. Horses, camels, dogs, birds and other communication.
animals were also used to send messages.
Initially, the means of communication were also Mass Communication System
the means of transportation. Invention of post-
office, telegraph, printing press, telephone, Radio
satellite, etc has made the communication much Radio broadcasting started in India in 1923 by
faster and easier. Development in the field of the Radio Club of Bombay. Since then, it gained
science and technology has significantly immense popularity and changed the socio-
contributed in bringing about revolution in the cultural life of people. Within no time, it made a
field of communication. place in every household of the country.
People use different modes of Government took this opportunity and brought
communication to convey the messages. On the this popular mode of communication under its
basis of scale and quality, the mode of control in 1930 under the Indian Broadcasting
communication can be divided into following System. It was changed to All India Radio in
categories : 1936 and to Akashwani in 1957.
All India Radio broadcasts a variety of
programmes related to information, education
and entertainment. Special news bulletins are
also broadcast at specific occasions like session
of parliament and state legislatures.
Television (T.V.)
Television broadcasting has emerged as the
most effective audio-visual medium for
disseminating information and educating
masses. Initially, the T.V. services were limited
only to the National Capital where it began in
1959. After 1972, several other centres became
operational. In 1976, TV was delinked from All
India Radio (AIR) and got a separate identity
Personal Communication System as Doordarshan (DD). After INSAT-IA (National
Television-DD1) became operational, Common
Among all the personal communication system
National Programmes (CNP) were started for the
internet is the most effective and advanced one.
entire network and its services were extended
It is widely used in urban areas. It enables the
to the backward and remote rural areas.
user to establish direct contact through e-mail
to get access to the world of knowledge and Satellite Communication
information. It is increasingly used for e-
commerce and carrying out money Satellites are mode of communication in
transactions. The internet is like a huge central themselves as well as they regulate the use of
warehouse of data, with detailed information other means of communication. However, use
on various items. The network through internet of satellite in getting a continuous and synoptic
and e-mail provides an efficient access to view of larger area has made satellite
information at a comparatively low cost. It communication very vital for the country due

Transport and Communication 83

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to the economic and strategic reasons. Satellite The IRS satellite system became
images can be used for the weather forecast, operational with the launching of IRS-IA in
monitoring of natural calamities, surveillance March 1988 from Vaikanour in Russia. India
of border areas, etc. has also developed her own Launching Vehicle
On the basis of configuration and purposes, PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle). These
satellite system in India can be grouped into two: satellites collect data in several spectral bands
Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) and and transmit them to the ground stations for
Indian Remote Sensing Satellite System (IRS). various uses. The National Remote Sensing
The INSAT, which was established in 1983,is a Centre (NRSC) at Hyderabad provides facilities
multi-purpose satellite system for for acquisition of data and its processing. These
telecommunication, meteorological observation are very useful in the management of natural
and for various other data and programmes. resources.

EXERCISES
1. Choose the right answers of the following from the given options.
(i) In how many zones has the Indian Railways system been divided?
(a) 9 (c) 16
(b) 12 (d) 14
(ii) On which river and between which two places does the National Water
Way No. 1 lie?
(a) The Brahmaputra, Sadiya-Dhubri
(b) The Ganga, Haldia-Allahabad
(c) West Coast Canal, Kottapuram to Kollam
(iii) In which of the following year, the first radio programme was broadcast?
(a) 1911 (c) 1927
(b) 1936 (d) 1923
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) Which activity does transportation convey? Name three major modes of
transportation.
(ii) Discuss advantages and disadvantages of pipeline transportation.
(iii) What do you mean by ‘communication’?

84 India : People and Economy

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3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Which are the chief means of transportation in India? Discuss the factors
affecting their development.
(ii) Give a detailed account of the development of railways in India and
highlight their importance.
(iii) Describe the role of roads in the economic development of India.

Project
Find out the facilities that Indian Railways provide to the passengers.

Transport and Communication 85

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 You have already studied about the various
Unit IV
aspects of International trade in the book
Chapter 8 Fundamentals of Human Geography.
International Trade is mutually beneficial as
no country is self-sufficient. India’s
international trade has undergone a sea change
in recent years in terms of volume, composition
as well as direction. Although India’s
contribution in the world trade is as low as
one per cent of the total volume, yet it plays a
significant role in the world economy.
Let us examine the changing pattern of
India’s International trade. In 1950-51, India’s
INTERNATIONAL external trade was worth Rs.1,214 crore, which
rose to Rs. 44,29,762 crore in 2016-17. Can
TRADE you calculate the percentage growth in 2016-
17 over 1950-51? There are numerous
reasons for this sharp rise in overseas trade,
such as the momentum picked up by the
manufacturing sectors, the liberal policies of
the government and the diversification of
markets.
The nature of India’s foreign trade has
changed over the years (Table 8.1). Though
there has been an increase in the total
volume of import and export, the value of
import continued to be higher than that of
exports.

Changing Pa ttern of the

Pa
Composition of India’ s Expor
India’s ts
Exports
Extent of gap between Exports and Imports in India’s
foreign trade During 2012-13 to 2016-17

Source : Economic Survey, 2016-17

Fig. 8.1

86 India : People and Economy

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 Table 8.1 India’s Foreign Trade
Value in Rs. Crores
Year Exports Imports Trade Balance

2004-05 3,75,340 5,01,065 -1,25,725

2009-10 8,45,534 13,63,736 -5,18,202
2013-14 19,05,011 27,15,434 -8,10,423
2016-17 18,52,340 25,77,422 -7,25,082

Source : http://commerce.nic.in/publications/annual-report - 2010-11 and Economic Survey 2016-17

Draw bar diagram to show the trends of exports of all items given in the table. Use pen/pencil of different colours.

Table 8.2 : Composition of India’s Export, 2009-2017

(Percentage share in Exports)
Commodities 2009-10 2010-11 2015-16 2016-17

Agriculture and allied products 10.0 9.9 12.6 12.3

Ore and Minerals 4.9 4.0 1.6 1.9
Manufactured goods 67.4 68.0 72.9 73.6
Crude and petroleum products 16.2 16.8 11.9 11.7
Other commodities 1.5 1.2 1.1 0.5

Source : Economic Survey 2016-17

The composition of commodities in East Asian countries are our major competitors.
India’s international trade has been Gems and jewellery contributes a larger share
undergoing a change over the years. The of India’s foreign trade.
share of agriculture and allied products has
declined, whereas, shares of petroleum and
crude products and other commodities have
Study Table 8.3 and select major commodities exported
increased. The shares of ore minerals and in 2016-17 and draw bar diagram.
manufactured goods have largely remained
constant over the years from 2009-10 to
2010-11and 2015-16 to 2016-17. Changing Patterns of the Composition of
India’s Import
The decline in traditional items is largely
due to the tough international competition. India faced serious food shortage during
Amongst the agricultural products, there is a 1950s and 1960s. The major item of import
decline in the export of traditional items, such at that time was foodgrain, capital goods,
as coffee, cashew, etc., though an increase has machinery and equipment. The balance of
been registered in floricultural products, fresh payment was adverse as imports were more
fruits, marine products and sugar, etc. than export in spite of all the efforts of import
Manufacturing sector alone accounted for substitution. After 1970s, foodgrain import
73.6 per cent of India’s total value of export in was discontinued due to the success of Green
2016-17. Engineering goods have shown a revolution but the energy crisis of 1973
significant growth in the export. China and other pushed the prices of petroleum, and import

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Table 8.3 : Export of Some Principal Commodities equipment, manufacturers of metals and
(in crore rupees) machine tools were the main items of capital
Commodities 2016-17 goods. Import of food and allied products
declined with a fall in imports of edible oils.
Agriculture and allied products 228001 Other major items of India’s import include
Ores and Minerals 35947 pearls and semi-precious stones, gold and
Manufactured goods 1363232 silver, metalliferrous ores and metal scrap,
Mineral fuels and Lubricants 216280 non-ferrous metals, electronic goods, etc. The
details of Indian imports of some principal
Source : Economic Survey 2016-17.
commodities during 2016-17 have been given
in Table 8.5.
budget was also pushed up. Foodgrain import
was replaced by fertilisers and petroleum.
Machine and equipment, special steel, edible
oil and chemicals largely make the import Based on Table 8.5, few activities may
basket. Examine the changing pattern of be undertaken:
imports in Table 8.4 and try to comprehend Arrange the items in ascending or
the shifts. descending order and write the names
Table 8.4 shows that there is a steep of the first five major items of India’s
import list of 2016-17.
rise in the import of petroleum products. It
is used not only as a fuel but also as an Why does India import edible oil in spite
of being an agriculturally rich country?
industrial raw material. It indicates the
tempo of rising industrialisation and better Select five most important and five least
important items and represent them by
standard of living. Sporadic price rise in the
bar diagram.
international market is another reason for the
Can you identify some items of imports
same. Import of capital goods maintained a
for which substitutes can be developed
steady increase due to rising demand in the in India?
export-oriented industrial and domestic
sectors. Non-electrical machinery, transport

Table 8.4 : India Composition of Import 2009-17

(In percentage)
Commodity Group 2009-10 2010-11 2015-16 2016-17

Food and allied products 3.7 2.9 5.1 5.6

Fuel (Coal, POL) 33.2 31.3 25.4 26.7
Fertilisers 2.3 1.9 2.1 1.3
Paper board manufacturing and news print 0.5 0.6 0.8 0.9
Capital goods 15.0 13.1 13.0 13.6
Others 42.6 47.7 38.1 37.0

Source : Economic Survey 2016-17

88 India : People and Economy

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Table 8.5 : Import of Some Principal Commodities
(in crore rupees)
Commodities 2016-17 Draw a multiple bar diagram to represent the
major trading partners.
Fertilisers and fertiliser manufacturing 33726
Edible oils 73048 Most of India’s foreign trade is carried
Pulp and waste paper 6537 through sea and air routes. However, a small
Non-ferrous metals 262961 portion is also carried through land route to
Iron and steel 55278 neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan,
Petroleum, oil and lubricants 582762 Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Pearls, precious and 159464
semi-precious stones Sea P or
Por
orts Gate
ts as Ga tew
te w a y s of
Medicinal and Pharma products 33504 Interna tional T
International Trr ade
Chemical products 147350
India is surrounded by sea from three sides
Source : Economic Survey 2016-17
and is bestowed with a long coastline. Water
provides a smooth surface for very cheap
Direction of Trade
transport provided there is no turbulence. India
India has trade relations with most of the
countries and major trading blocks of the
world.
Region-wise and sub-region-wise trade
during the period 2016-17 has been given in
Table 8.6.

Table 8.6 Direction of India’s Import trade

(in crore rupees)
Region Imports
2010-11 2016-17

Europe 323857 403972

Africa 118612 193327
North America 100602 195332
Latin America 64576 115762
Asia and ASEAN 1029881 1544520

Source : Department of Commerce based on DCCI&S

provisional data, Economic Survey 2011-12 and 2016-17.

Fig. 8.3 : Unloading of goods on port

India aims to double its share in the
international trade within the next five years. It has a long tradition of sea faring and developed
has already started adopting suitable measures many ports with place name suffixed with
such as import liberalisation, reduction in pattan meaning port. An interesting fact about
import duties, delicensing and change from ports in India is that its west coast has more
process to product patents. ports than its east coast.

International Trade 89

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 have been invited for the modernisation of
ports in India.
Can you find out the reasons for the The capacity of Indian ports increased from
variations in the location of ports along 20 million tonnes of cargo handling in 1951 to
the two coasts? more than 837 million tonnes in 2016.
Some of the Indian ports along with their
Though ports have been in use since hinterlands are as follows :
ancient times, the emergence of ports as Kandla Port situated at the head of Gulf
gateways of international trade became of Kuchchh has been developed as a major
important after the coming of the European port to cater to the needs of western and north
traders and colonisation of the country by the western parts of the country and also to
British. This led to the variation in the size and reduce the pressure at Mumbai port. The port
quality of ports. There are some ports which have is specially designed to receive large
very vast area of influence and some have limited quantities of petroleum and petroleum
area of influence. At present, India has 12 major products and fertiliser. The offshore terminal
ports and 200 minor or intermediate ports. In at Vadinar has been developed to reduce the
case of the major ports, the central government pressure at Kandla port.
decides the policy and plays regulatory Demarcation of the boundary of the
functions. The minor ports are there whose hinterland would be difficult as it is not fixed
policy and functions are regulated by state over space. In most of the cases, hinterland
governments. The major ports handle larger of one port may overlap with that of the other.
share of the total traffic. Mumbai is a natural harbour and the
The British used the ports as suction points biggest port of the country. The port is
of the resources from their hinterlands. The situated closer to the general routes from the
extension of railways towards the interior countries of Middle East, Mediterranean
facilitated the linking of the local markets to countries, North Africa, North America and
regional markets, regional markets to national Europe where the major share of country’s
markets and national markets to the international overseas trade is carried out. The port is 20
markets. This trend continued till 1947. It was km long and 6-10 km wide with 54 berths
expected that the country’s Independence will and has the country’s largest oil terminal.
reverse the process, but the partition of the M.P., Maharashtra, Gujarat, U.P. and parts
country snatched away two very important ports, of Rajasthan constitute the main hinterlands
i.e., Karachi port went to Pakistan and Chittagong of Mumbai ports.
port to the erstwhile east-Pakistan and now Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhava Sheva
Bangladesh. To compensate the losses, many new was developed as a satellite port to relieve the
ports, like the Kandla in the west and the pressure at the Mumbai port. It is the largest
Diamond Harbour near Kolkata on river Hugli in container port in India.
the east were developed. Marmagao Port, situated at the entrance
Despite this major setback, Indian ports of the Zuari estuary, is a natural harbour in
continued to grow after the Independence. Goa. It gained significance after its remodelling
Today, Indian ports are handling large in 1961 to handle iron-ore exports to Japan.
volumes of domestic, as well as, overseas Construction of Konkan railway has
trade. Most of the ports are equipped with considerably extended the hinterland of this
modern infrastructure. Previously, the port. Karnataka, Goa, Southern Maharashtra
development and modernisation was the constitute its hinterland.
responsibility of the government agencies, New Mangalore Port is located in the state
but considering the increase in function and of Karnataka and caters to the needs of the
need to bring these ports at par with the export of iron-ore and iron-concentrates. It also
international ports, private entrepreneurs handles fertilisers, petroleum products, edible

90 India : People and Economy

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Fig. 8.4 : India – Major Ports and Sea Routes

International Trade 91

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oils, coffee, tea, wood pulp, yarn, granite stone, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are the main
molasses, etc. Karnataka is the major hinterland for this port.
hinterland for this port. Chennai Port is one of the oldest ports on
Kochchi Port, situated at the head of the eastern coast. It is an artificial harbour built
Vembanad Kayal, popularly known as the in 1859. It is not much suitable for large ships
‘Queen of the Arabian Sea’, is also a natural because of the shallow waters near the coast.
Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are its hinterland.
harbour. This port has an advantageous
Ennore, a newly developed port in Tamil
location being close to the Suez-Colombo route.
Nadu, has been constructed 25 km north of
It caters to the needs of Kerala, southern-
Chennai to relieve the pressure at Chennai port.
Karnataka and south western Tamil Nadu.
Tuticorin Port was also developed to
Kolkata Port is located on the Hugli river, relieve the pressure of Chennai port. It deals
128 km inland from the Bay of Bengal. Like the with a variety of cargo, including coal, salt, food
Mumbai port, this port was also developed by grains, edible oils, sugar, chemicals and
the British. Kolkata had the initial advantage petroleum products.
of being the capital of British India. The port
has lost its significance considerably on account Airports
of the diversion of exports to the other ports Air transport plays an important role in the
such as Vishakhapatnam, Paradwip and its international trade. It has the advantage of
satellite port, Haldia. taking the least time for carriage and handling
Kolkata port is also confronted with the high value or perishable goods over long
problem of silt accumulation in the Hugli river distances. It is very costly and unsuitable for
which provides a link to the sea. Its hinterland carrying heavy and bulky commodities. This
covers U.P., Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, ultimately reduces the participation of this
Sikkim and the north-eastern states. Apart from sector in the international trade as compared
this, it also extends ports facilities to our to the oceanic routes.
neighbouring land-locked countries such as There were 25 major airports functioning
Nepal and Bhutan. in the country (Annual Report 2016-17). They
Haldia Port is located 105 km are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi,
Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai,
downstream from Kolkata. It has been
Thiruvananthapuram, Srinagar, Jaipur, Calicut,
constructed to reduce the congestion at Kolkata
Nagpur, Coimbatore, Cochin, Lucknow, Pune,
port. It handles bulk cargo like iron ore, coal,
Chandigarh, Mangaluru, Vishakhapatnam,
petroleum, petroleum products and fertilisers, Indore, Patna, Bhubaneswar and Kannur.
jute, jute products, cotton and cotton yarn, etc. You have already studied about the air
P a r a d w i p P o r t is situated in the transport in the previous chapter. You consult
Mahanadi delta, about 100 km from Cuttack. the chapter on transport to find out the main
It has the deepest harbour specially suited features of air transport in India.
to handle very large vessels. It has been
developed mainly to handle large-scale export
of iron-ore. Odisha, Chhattisgarh and
Jharkhand are the parts of its hinterland. Name the nearest domestic and international
Visakhapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh airports from your place. Identify the state with
is a land-locked harbour, connected to the sea maximum number of domestic airports.
by a channel cut through solid rock and sand.
An outer harbour has been developed for Identify four cities where maximum number of air
handling iron-ore, petroleum and general cargo. routes converge and also give reasons for this.

92 India : People and Economy

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Fig. 8.5 : India – Air Routes

International Trade 93

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 EXERCISES

1. Choose the right answers of the following from the given options.
(i) Trade between two countries is termed as
(a) Internal trade (c) International trade
(b) External trade (d) Local trade
(ii) Which one of the following is a land locked harbour?
(a) Vishakhapatnam (c) Ennor
(b) Mumbai (d) Haldia
(iii) Most of India’s foreign trade is carried through
(a) Land and sea (c) Sea and air
(b) Land and air (d) Sea
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) Mention the characteristics of India’s foreign trade.
(ii) Distinguish between port and harbour.
(iii) Explain the meaning of hinterland.
(iv) Name important items which India imports from different countries.
(v) Name the ports of India located on the east coast.
3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Describe the composition of export and import trade of India.
(ii) Write a note on the changing nature of the international trade of India.

94 India : People and Economy

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 Unit V Envir onmental P
vironmental
Envir ollution
Pollution
Chapter 9 Environmental pollution results from ‘the
release of substances and energy from waste
products of human activities. There are many
types of pollution. They are classified on the
basis of medium through which pollutants are
transported and diffused. Pollution can be
classified into (i) air pollution, (ii) water
pollution, (iii) land pollution and (iv) noise
pollution.

Water Pollution
Indiscriminate use of water by increasing
GEOGRAPHICAL population and industrial expansion has led
degradation of the quality of water considerably.
PERSPECTIVE ON Surface water available from rivers, canals,
lakes, etc. is never pure. It contains small
SELECTED ISSUES quantities of suspended particles, organic and
inorganic substances. When concentration of
AND PROBLEMS these substances increases, the water becomes
polluted, and hence becomes unfit for use. In
such a situation, the self-purifying capacity of
water is unable to purify the water.

Fig.9.1 : Cutting Through Effluent : Rowing through

a pervasive layer of foam on the heavily polluted
Yamuna on the outskirts of New Delhi

Though water pollutants are also created

from natural sources (erosion, landslides,
decay and decomposition of plants and
animals, etc.) pollutants from human activities
are the real causes of concern. Human beings
pollute the water through industrial,
agricultural and cultural activities. Among
these activities, industry is the most significant
contributor.

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 Table 9.1 : Types and Sources of Pollution
Pollution Types Pollution Involved Sources of Pollution

Air Pollution Oxides of sulphur (SO 2 , SO 3 ), Oxides of Combustion of coal, petrol and diesel,
nitrogen, carbon monoxide, hydro-carbon, industrial processes, solid waste disposal,
ammonia, lead, aldehydes asbestos and beryllium. sewage disposal, etc.

Water Pollution Odour, dissolved and suspended solids, Sewage disposal, urban run-off, toxic
ammonia and urea, nitrate and nitrites, effluents from industries, run-off over
chloride, fluoride, carbonates, oil and grease, cultivated lands and nuclear power plants.
insecticide and pesticide residue, tannin,
coliform MPM (bacterial count) sulphates and
sulphides, heavy metals e.g. lead, aresenic,
mercury, manganese, etc., radioactive
substances.

Land Pollution Human and animal excreta viruses and Improper human activities, disposal of
bacteria, garbage and vectors therein, untreated industrial waste, use of pesticides
pesticides and fertiliser-residue alkalinity, and fertilisers.
fluorides, radio-active substances.

Noise Pollution High level of noise above tolerance level. Aircrafts, automobiles, trains, industrial
processing and advertising media.

Industries produce several undesirable Various types of chemicals used in

products including industrial wastes, polluted modern agriculture such as inorganic
waste water, poisonous gases, chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides are also
residuals, numerous heavy metals, dust, pollution generating components. These
smoke, etc. Most of the industrial wastes are chemicals are washed down to rivers, lakes
disposed off in running water or lakes. and tanks. These chemicals also infiltrate the
Consequently, poisonous elements reach the soil to reach the ground water. Fertiliser
reservoirs, rivers and other water bodies, which induces an increase in the nitrate content of
destroy the bio-system of these waters. Major surface waters. Cultural activities such as
water polluting industries are leather, pulp and pilgrimage, religious fairs, tourism, etc. also
paper, textiles and chemicals. cause water pollution. In India, almost all

Table 9.2 : Sources of Pollution in the Ganga and the Yamuna Rivers

River and State Polluted Stretches Nature of Pollution Main Polluters

Ganga (a) Downstream of Kanpur 1. Industrial pollution from Cities of Kanpur, Allahabad,
(Uttar Pradesh) (b) Downstream of Varanasi towns like Kanpur Varanasi, Patna and Kolkata
Bihar (c) Farrakka Barrage 2. Domestic wastes from release domestic waste into the
and urban centres river
West Bengal 3. Dumping of carcasses in
the river
Yamuna (a) Delhi to confluence with 1. Extraction of water by Delhi dumping its domestic
(Delhi) Chambal Haryana and Uttar waste
and (b) Mathura and Agra Pradesh for irrigation
(Uttar Pradesh) 2. Agricultural run off
resulting in high levels of
micro-pollutants in the
Yamuna
3. Domestic and industrial
waste of Delhi flowing
into the river

96 India : People and Economy

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surface water sources are contaminated and
unfit for human consumption. Namami Gange Programme
Water pollution is a source of various
water- borne diseases. The diseases commonly Ganga, as a river, has national importance
but the river requires cleaning by
caused due to contaminated water are
effectively controlling the pollution for its
diarrhoea, intestinal worms, hepatitis, etc. The water. The Union Government has
World Health Organization shows that about launched the ‘Namami Gange
one-fourth of the communicable diseases in Programme’ with the following objectives:
India are water-borne. Though river pollution
is common to all rivers, yet pollution of river
• developing sewerage treatment
systems in towns,
Ganga flowing through one of the mot populous
regions of India has caused great concerns • monitoring of industrial effluents,
among all. To imporve the condition of the river, • development of river front,
National Mission for Clean Ganga was initiated.
The Namami Gange Programme has been
• afforestation along the bank of increase
biodiversity,
launched for the same.
• cleaning of the river surface,
Air Pollution • development of ‘Ganga Grams’ in
Air pollution is taken as addition of Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and
contaminants, like dust, fumes, gas, fog, odour, West Bengal, and
smoke or vapour to the air in substantial • creating public awareness to avoid
proportion and duration that may be harmful adding pollutants in to the river even
to flora and fauna and to property. With in the form of rituals.
increasing use of varieties of fuels as the
source of energy, there is a marked increase
in emission of toxic gases into the atmosphere
resulting in the pollution of air. Combustion hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, carbon
of fossil fuels, mining and industries are the monoxide, lead and asbestos.
main sources of air pollution. These processes Air pollution causes various diseases related
release oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, to respiratory, nervous and circulatory systems.

Smog in

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 Smoky fog over cities called as urban
smog is caused by atmospheric pollution. It
proves very harmful to human health. Air
pollution can also cause acid rains. Rainwater
analysis of urban environment has indicated
that pH value of the first rain after summer is
always lower than the subsequent rains.

Noise Pollution
Noise pollution refers to the state of
unbearable and uncomfortable to human
beings which is caused by noise from different
sources. This matter has become a serious
concern only in recent years due to a variety
of technological innovations.
The main sources of noise pollution are
various factories, mechanised construction
and demolition works, automobiles and
aircraft, etc. There may be added periodical
but polluting noise from sirens, loudspeakers
used in various festivals, programmes

from the source of pollution, i.e. industrial

areas, arteries of transportation, airport, etc.
Noise pollution is hazardous in many
metropolitan and big cities in India.

Urban Waste Disposal

Urban areas are generally marked by
Fig. 9.2 : Noise monitoring at Panchpatmalai overcrowding, congestion, inadequate facilities
Bauxite Mine to support the fast growing population and
associated with community activities. The level consequent poor sanitary conditions and foul
of steady noise is measured by sound level air. Environmental pollution by solid wastes
expressed in terms of decibels (dB). has now got significance because of enormous
Of all these sources, the biggest nuisance growth in the quantity of wastes generated
is the noise produced by traffic, because its from various sources. Solid waste refers to a
intensity and nature depend upon factors, variety of old and used articles, for example
such as the type of aircraft, vehicle, train and stained small pieces of metals, broken
the condition of road, as well as, that of vehicle glassware, plastic containers, polythene bags,
(in case of automobiles). In sea traffic, the noise ash, floppies, CDs, etc., dumped at different
pollution is confined to the harbour due to places. These discarded materials are also
loading and unloading activities being carried. termed as refuse, garbage and rubbish, etc.,
Industries cause noise pollution but with and are disposed of from two sources : (i)
varying intensity depending upon the type of household or domestic establishments, and (ii)
industry. industrial or commercial establishments. The
Noise pollution is location specific and its household wastes are disposed off either on
intensity declines with increase in distance public lands or on private contractors’ sites,

98 India : People and Economy

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whereas the solid wastes of industrial units
are collected and disposed off through public
(municipal) facilities at low lying public
grounds (landfill areas). The huge turn out of
ashes and debris from industries, thermal
power houses and building constructions or
demolitions have posed problems of serious
consequences. Solid wastes cause health
hazard through creation of obnoxious smell,
and harbouring of flies and rodents, which act
as carriers of diseases like typhoid, diphtheria,
diarrhoea, malaria and cholera, etc. These
wastes cause frequent nuisance as and when
these are carelessly handled, spread by wind
and splittered through rain water.
Concentration of industrial units in and
around urban centres gives rise to disposal of
industrial wastes. The dumping of industrial
waste into rivers leads to water pollution. River
pollution from city-based industries and
untreated sewage leads to serious health
problems downstream.
Urban waste disposal is a serious problem
in India. In metropolitan cities like Mumbai, in the country, about 30 to 50 per cent of the
Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, etc., about 90 waste generated are left uncollected which
per cent of the solid waste is collected and accumulate on streets, in open spaces between
disposed. But in most of other cities and towns houses and in wastelands leading to serious

Case Study : A Role Model to Restore the Ecology and Safeguard

Human Health in Daurala
Based on the universal law “Polluter pays”, effort to restore the ecology and safeguard the human health with
people’s participation has taken place in Daurala near Meerut. These efforts are now bearing fruits after a
span of three years when Meerut based NGO had developed a model for ecological restoration. The meeting
of the Daurala Industries officials, NGOs, Government officials and other stakeholders at Meerut has brought
out results. The powerful logics, authentic studies and the pressure of people have brought a new lease of life
to the twelve thousand residents of this village. It was in the year 2003 that the pitiable condition of Dauralaites
drew the attention of the civil society. The groundwater of this village was contaminated with heavy metals.
The reason was that the untreated wastewater of Daurala industries was leaching to the groundwater table.
The NGO conducted a door to door survey of the health status of the residents and came out with a report.
The organisation, the village community and people’s representatives sat together to find out sustainable
solutions to the health problem. The industrialists showed a keen interest towards checking the deteriorating
ecology. The overhead water tank’s capacity in the village was enhanced and a 900m extra pipeline was laid
to supply potable water to the community. The silted pond of the village was cleaned and recharged by
desilting it. Large quantity of silt was removed paving way to large quantity of water so that it recharged the
aquifers. Rainwater harvesting structures have been constructed at different places which has helped in
diluting the contaminants of the groundwater after the monsoons. 1000 trees have also been planted which
have improved the environment.

Geographical perspective on selected issues and problems 99

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health hazards. These wastes should be treated labour in urban areas, low job opportunities
as resource and utilised for generating energy in rural areas and unbalanced pattern of
and compost. Untreated wastes ferment slowly development between urban and rural areas.
and release toxic biogas to the atmosphere, In India, population in cities is rapidly
including methane. increasing. Due to low opportunities in smaller
and medium cities, the poor people generally
bypass these small cities and directly come to
the mega cities for their livelihood.
What do we throw away? Why? A case study given below to have better
understanding of the subject. Read it carefully
Where does our waste end up? and try to comprehend the process of rural
urban migration.
Why do ragpickers sort out rubbish dumps? Does
it have some value? A Case Study
Is our urban waste worth anything? Ramesh has been working in contract as a
welder on construction site in Talcher (coal
region of Odisha) for the last two years. He
moved with the contractor to various places
like Surat, Mumbai, Gandhi Nagar, Bharuch,
Jamnagar and so on. He remits Rs. 20,000 per
year to his father in his native village. The
remittances have been mainly used for daily
consumption, healthcare, schooling of
children, etc. Part of the money is also used in
agriculture, purchasing of land and building
of houses, etc. The standard of living of
Ramesh’s family improved significantly.
Fifteen years ago, the situation was not the
same. The family was passing through very
Fig. 9.3 : A view of urban waste in Mahim, Mumbai
tough times. Three of his brothers and their
families had to survive on three acres of land.
Rural-Urban Migration The family was highly in debt. Ramesh had to
Population flow from rural to urban areas is discontinue his studies after ninth standard. He
caused by many factors, like high demand for was further hard pressed when he got married.

At present, 47 per cent of the world’s six billion population lives in cities and more will join
them in near future. This proportion is estimated to go up to 50 per cent by 2008. That will
put pressure on governments to make urban areas better places to live with optimum
infrastructure facilities for desirable quality of life.
By 2050, an estimated two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas, imposing
even more pressure on the space infrastructure and resources of cities, which are manifested
in terms of sanitary, health, crime problems and urban poverty.
Urban population grows as a result of natural increase (when birth rate exceeds death rate),
net in-migration (when people move in than out), and sometimes reclassification of urban
areas to encompass formerly rural population settlements. In India, it is estimated that after
1961 around 60 per cent of the urban growth has been attributed and 29 per cent of them from
rural areas to urban migration.

100 India : People and Economy

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 Simultaneously, he was also impressed by Comments
some successful out-migrants of his village who
In developing countries, poor, semi-illiterate and
had been working in Ludhiana and supporting
the unskilled like Ramesh migrating from rural
their families in village by sending money and
areas frequently end up performing menial jobs
some consumer goods. Thus, due to abject
at low wages in informal sector in urban areas.
poverty in the family and perceived job promises
Since wages are very low to support the family
at Ludhiana, he made a move to Punjab with his
at the place of destination, the spouses are left
friend. He worked there in a woolen factory for
six months at the rate of only Rs. 20 per day in behind in rural areas to look after children and
1988. Apart from the crisis of managing his elderly people. Thus, the rural-urban migration
personal expenditure from this meagre income, stream is dominated by the males.
he was also facing difficulty in assimilation to the
new culture and environment. Then he decided Prob
Problems of Slums
oblems
to change his place of work from Ludhiana to The concept “Urban or Urban Centre” is defined
Surat under the guidance of his friend. He learnt in settlement geography to differentiate it from
the skills of welding in Surat and after that he the “Rural” about which you have learnt in
has been moving to different places with the same some previous chapters of this book. You have
contractor. Though the economic condition of also learnt in the book entitled “Fundamentals
Ramesh‘s family at village improved, he is bearing of Human Geography” that this concept is
the pain of separation of his near and dear ones. defined differently in different countries.
He cannot shift them with him, as the job is Both urban and rural settlements are
temporary and transferable. different in their functions, sometimes,

Have you visited a slum?

Visit a slum in your city, and
write about the problems
faced by slum dwellers.

Geographical perspective on selected issues and problems 101

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 Dharavi–Asia’s Largest Slum
“…. Buses merely skirt the periphery. Autorickshaws cannot go there, Dharavi is part of central
Bombay where three wheelers are banned.
Only one main road traverses the slum, the miscalled ‘ninety-foot road’, which has been reduced to
less than half of that for most of its length. Some of the side alleys and lanes are so narrow that not

even a bicycle can pass. The whole neighbourhood consists of temporary buildings, two or three
storeyed high with rusty iron stairways to the upper part, where a single room is rented by a whole
family, sometimes accommodating twelve or more people; it is a kind of tropical version of the
industrial dwelling of Victorian London’s East End.
But Dharavi is a keeper of more sombre secrets than the revulsion it inspires in the rich; a revulsion,
moreover, that is, in direct proportion to the role it serves in the creation of the wealth of Bombay. In
this place of shadowless, treeless sunlight, uncollected garbage, stagnant pools of foul water, where
the only non-human creatures are the shining black crows and long grey rats, some of the most
beautiful, valuable and useful articles in India are made. From Dharavi come delicate ceramics and
pottery, exquisite embroidery and zari work, sophisticated leather goods, high-fashion garments,
finely-wrought metalwork, delicate jewellery settings, wood carvings and furniture that would find its
way into the richest houses, both in India and abroad…
Dharavi was an arm of the sea, that was filled by waste, largely produced by the people who have
come to live there: Scheduled Castes and poor Muslims. It comprises rambling buildings of corrugated
metal, 20 metres high in places, used for the treatment of hides and tanning. There are pleasant
parts, but rotting garbage is everywhere…”
(Seabrook, 1996, pp. 50, 51-52)

complementing each other. Apart from these, rural India, which has a predominance of rural
and urban areas have also emerged into two population (approximately 69 per cent of the
separate cultural, social, political, economic and total population in 2011) and where villages
technological divide. were considered the ideal republics by

102 India : People and Economy

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Mahatma Gandhi, most of the rural areas are and can not afford to give proper education to
still poor performing primary activities. Here their children. The poverty makes them
most of the villages exist as appendix to the core vulnerable to drug abuse, alcoholism, crime,
urban centre forming its hinterland. vandalism, escapism, apathy and ultimately
This may give an impression that urban social exclusion.
centres exist as undifferentiated homogeneous
entities in opposition to the rural areas. On the
contrary, urban centres in India are more
differentiated in terms of the socio-economic, Why are the children of slum-dwellers
politico-cultural and other indicators of deprived of school education?
development than any other areas. At the top,
there are farm houses and high income group Land Degradation
localities characterised by well-developed urban
infrastructures, like wide roads, The pressure on agricultural land increases not
streetlights, water and sanitation facilities, lawns, only due to the limited availability but also by
well-developed green belt, parks, playgrounds deterioration of quality of agricultural land. Soil
and provisions for individual security and right erosion, waterlogging, salinisation and
to privacy. At the other extreme of it are the alkalinisation of land lead to land degradation.
What happens if land is consistently used
slums, jhuggi-jhopari clusters and colonies of
without managing its fertility? Land is degraded
shanty structures. These are inhabited by those
and productivity declines. Land degradation is
people who were forced to migrate from the rural
generally understood either as a temporary or
areas to these urban centres in search of
a permanent decline in productive capacity of
livelihood but could not afford proper housing
the land.
due to high rent and high costs of land. They
Though all degraded land may not be
occupy environmentally incompatible and
wasteland, but unchecked process of degradation
degraded areas.
may lead to the conversion to wasteland.
Slums are residential areas of the least
There are two processes that induce land
choice, dilapidated houses, poor hygienic
degradation. These are natural and created by
conditions, poor ventilation, lack of basic
human beings. National Remote Sensing Centre
amenities, like drinking water, light and toilet
(NRSC) has classified wastelands by using
facilities, etc. Open defecation, unregulated
remote sensing techniques and it is possible to
drainage system and overcrowded narrow street
categorise these wastelands according to the
patterns are serious health and socio-
processes that have created them. There are a
environmental hazards.
few types of wastelands such as gullied /ravinous
land, desertic or coastal sands, barren rocky
The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) is part areas, steep sloping land, and glacial areas, which
of the urban renewal mission launched are primarily caused by natural agents. There
by the Government of India to improve the are other types of degraded lands such as
quality of life in urban slums. waterlogged and marshy areas, land affected by
salinity and alkalinity and land with or without
scrub, which have largely been caused by
Moreover, most of the slum population natural as well as human factors. There are some
works in low-paid, high risk-prone, other types of wastelands such as degraded
unorganised sectors of the urban economy. shifting cultivation area, degraded land under
Consequently, they are the undernourished, plantation crops, degraded forests, degraded
prone to different types of diseases and illness pastures, and mining and industrial wastelands,

Geographical perspective on selected issues and problems 103

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are caused by human action. Table 12.3 indicates The Petlawad block of Jhabua is located in
that wastelands caused by man-made processes the northernmost part of the district and
are more important than natural processes. represents an interesting and successful case of
Government-NGO partnership and community
A Case Study participation in managing watershed
Jhabua district is located in the westernmost programmes. The Bhils in Petlawad block, for
agro-climatic zone in Madhya Pradesh. It is, in example, (Sat Rundi hamlet of Karravat village)
fact, one of the five most backward districts of through their own efforts, have revitalised large
the country. It is characterised by high parts of common property resources. Each
concentration of tribal population (mostly household planted and maintained one tree on
Bhils). The people suffer due to poverty which the common property. They also have planted
has been accentuated by the high rate of fodder grass on the pasture land and adopted
resource degradation, both forest and land. The social-fencing of these lands for at least two
watershed management programmes funded years. Even after that, they say, there would be
no open grazing on these lands, but stall feeding
by both the ministries of “Rural Development”
of cattle, and they are thus confident that the
and “Agriculture”, Government of India, have
pastures they have developed would sustain
been successfully implemented in Jhabua
their cattle in future.
district which has gone a long way in preventing
An interesting aspect of this experience is
land degradation and improving soil quality.
that before the community embarked upon the
Watershed Management Programmes process of management of the pasture, there was
acknowledge the linkage between land, water encroachment on this land by a villager from an
and vegetation and attempts to improve adjoining village. The villagers called the tehsildar
livelihoods of people through natural resource to ascertain the rights of the common land. The
management and community participation. In ensuing conflict was tackled by the villagers by
the past five years, the programmes funded by offering to make the defaulter encroaching on the
the Ministry of Rural Development alone CPR a member of their user group and sharing
(implemented by Rajiv Gandhi Mission for the benefits of greening the common lands/
Watershed Management) has treated 20 per pastures. (See the section on CPR in chapter ‘Land
cent of the total area under Jhabua district. Resources and Agriculture’).

Fig. 9.4 : Trees planted on Common Property

Resources in Jhabua
Source: Evaluation Report, Rajiv Gandhi Mission for Fig. 9.5 : Community Participation for Land Leveling
Watershed Management, Government of Madhya in Common Property Resources in
Pradesh, 2002 Jhabua (ASA, 2004)

104 India : People and Economy

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 EXERCISES
1. Choose the right answers of the following from the given options.
(i) Which one of the following river is highly polluted?
(a) Brahmaputra (c) Yamuna
(b) Satluj (d) Godavari
(ii) Which one of the following deseases is caused by water pollution?
(a) Conjunctivitis (c) Respiratory infections
(b) Diarrhorea (d) Bronchitis
(iii) Which one of the following is the cause of acid rain?
(a) Water pollution (c) Noise pollution
(b) Land pollution (d) Air pollution
(iv) Push and pull factors are responsible for–
(a) Migration (c) Slums
(b) Land degradation (d) Air pollution
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) What is the difference between pollution and pollutants?
(ii) Describe the major source of air pollution.
(iii) Mention major problems associated with urban waste disposal in India.
(iv) What are the effects of air pollution on human health.
3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Describe the nature of water pollution in India.
(ii) Describe the problem of slums in India.
(iii) Suggest measures for reduction of land degradation.

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Appendix (i)
India: State-wise Population Distribution, Density and Growth, 2011

State/UT India/State/ Total Population National Density Decadal growth

Code Union Territory # Persons Share (%) rate 2001-11
India 1210193422 100 382 17.64
01 Jammu & Kashmir 12,548,926 1.04 124 23.71
02 Himachal Pradesh 6,856,509 0.57 123 12.81
03 Punjab 27,704,236 2.29 550 13.73
04 Chandigarh # 1,054,686 0.09 9,252 17.10
05 Uttarakhand 10,116,752 0.84 189 19.17
06 Haryana 25,353,081 2.09 573 19.90
07 NCT of Delhi # 16,753,235 1.38 11,297 20.96
08 Rajasthan 68,621,012 5.67 201 21.44
09 Uttar Pradesh 199,581,477 16.49 828 20.09
10 Bihar 103,804,637 8.58 1,102 25.07
11 Sikkim 607,688 0.05 86 12.36
12 Arunachal Pradesh 1,382,611 0.11 17 25.92
13 Nagaland 1,980,602 0.16 119 -0.47
14 Manipur 2,721,756 0.22 122 18.65
15 Mizoram 1,091,014 0.09 52 22.78
16 Tripura 3,671,032 0.30 350 14.75
17 Meghalaya 2,964,007 0.24 132 27.82
18 Assam 31,169,272 2.58 397 16.93
19 West Bengal 91,347,736 7.55 1,029 13.93
20 Jharkhand 32,966,238 2.72 414 22.34
21 Orissa 41,947,358 3.47 269 13.97
22 Chhattisgarh 25,540,196 2.11 189 22.59
23 Madhya Pradesh 72,597,565 6.00 236 20.30
24 Gujarat 60,383,628 4.99 308 19.17
25 Daman & Diu # 242,911 0.02 2,169 53.54
26 Dadra & Nagar Haveli # 342,853 0.03 698 55.50
27 Maharashtra 112,372,972 9.29 365 15.99
28 Andhra Pradesh 84,665,533 7.00 308 11.10
29 Karnataka 61,130,704 5.05 319 15.67
30 Goa 1,457,723 0.12 394 8.17
31 Lakshadweep # 64,429 0.01 2,013 6.23
32 Kerala 33,387,677 2.76 859 4.86
33 Tamil Nadu 72,138,958 5.96 555 15.60
34 Puducherry # 1,244,464 0.10 2598 27.72
35 Andaman & Nicobar Islands # 379,944 0.03 46 6.68
Source : Census of India, 2011

106 India : People and Economy

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Appendix (ii)

India : Decadel Birth Rate, Death Rate and Rate of Natural Increase, 1901 – 2011

Decades Crude Birth Crude Death Rate of Natural

Rate Per 1000 Rate Per 1000 Increase (Per 1000)

1901 - 1911 49.2 42.6 6.6

1911 - 1921 48.1 47.2 0.9
1921 - 1931 46.4 36.2 10.2
1931 - 1941 45.9 37.2 8.7
1941 - 1951 39.9 27.4 12.5
1951 - 1961 41.7 22.8 18.9
1961 - 1971 41.1 19.0 22.1
1971 - 1981 37.2 15 22.2
1981 - 1991 29.5 9.8 19.7
1991 - 2001 25.4 8.4 17.0
2001 - 2011 21.8 7.1 14.7
* Source: Sample Registration System (SRS) Bulletin, October 2012

Table 1 : Migrants by place of last residence indicating migration streams (duration 0-9 years) INDIA 2001

Migration Intra State Inter State

Stream Male Female Male Female

R-R 9985581 38894493 1759523 2714779

R-U 6503461 7718115 3803737 2569218
U-R 2057789 3155362 522916 530436
U-U 4387563 5510731 221882 2288598

Source: Data Highlights, Census of India, 2001

Appendices 107

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Appendix (iii)
India: Rural and Urban Population 2011

State/UT India/State/ Population Percentage of Urban

Code Union Territory Population
Rural Urban
India 833087662 377,105,760 31.16
01 Jammu & Kashmir 9,134,820 3,414,106 27.21
02 Himachal Pradesh 6,167,805 688,704 10.04
03 Punjab 17,316,800 10,387,436 37.49
04 Chandigarh 29,004 1,025,682 97.25
05 Uttarakhand 7,025,583 3,091,169 30.55
06 Haryana 16,531,493 8,821,588 34.79
07 NCT of Delhi 419,319 16,333,916 97.50
08 Rajasthan 51,540,236 17,080,776 24.89
09 Uttar Pradesh 155,111,022 44,470,455 22.28
10 Bihar 92,075,028 11,729,609 11.30
11 Sikkim 455,962 151,726 24.97
12 Arunachal Pradesh 1,069,165 313,446 22.67
13 Nagaland 1,406,861 573,741 28.97
14 Manipur 1,899,624 822,132 30.21
15 Mizoram 529,037 561,977 51.51
16 Tripura 2,710,051 960,981 26.18
17 Meghalaya 2,368,971 595,036 20.08
18 Assam 26,780,516 4,388,756 14.08
19 West Bengal 62,213,676 29,134,060 31.89
20 Jharkhand 25,036,946 7,929,292 24.05
21 Orissa 34,951,234 6,996,124 16.68
22 Chhattisgarh 19,603,658 5,936,538 23.24
23 Madhya Pradesh 52,537,899 20,059,666 27.63
24 Gujarat 34,670,817 25,712,811 42.58
25 Daman & Diu 60,331 182,580 75.16
26 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 183,024 159,829 46.62
27 Maharashtra 61,545,441 50,827,531 45.23
28 Andhra Pradesh 56,311,788 28,353,745 33.49
29 Karnataka 37,552,529 23,578,175 38.57
30 Goa 551,414 906,309 62.17
31 Lakshadweep 14,121 50,308 78.08
32 Kerala 17,455,506 15,932,171 47.72
33 Tamil Nadu 37,189,229 34,949,729 48.45
34 Puducherry 394,341 850,123 68.31
35 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 244,411 135,533 35.67

108 India : People and Economy

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Appendix (iv)

India : % of Population of Religious Groups

States/ Hindus Muslims Christians Sikhs Buddhists Jains Other Religions

Union Relgions not
Territories stated

Jammu & Kashmir 28.44 68.31 0.28 1.87 0.90 0.02 0.01 0.16
Himachal Pradesh 95.17 2.18 0.18 1.16 1.15 0.03 0.01 0.12
Punjab 38.49 1.93 1.26 57.69 0.12 1.16 0.04 0.32
Chandigarh 80.78 4.87 0.83 13.11 0.11 0.19 0.02 0.10
Uttarakhand 82.97 13.95 0.37 2.34 0.15 0.09 0.01 0.12
Haryana 87.46 7.03 0.20 4.91 0.03 0.21 0.01 0.17
Delhi 81.68 12.86 0.87 3.40 0.11 0.99 0.01 0.08
Rajasthan 88.49 9.07 0.14 1.27 0.02 0.91 0.01 0.10
Uttar Pradesh 79.73 19.26 0.18 0.32 0.10 0.11 0.01 0.29
Bihar 82.69 16.87 0.12 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.24
Sikkim 57.76 1.62 9.91 0.31 27.39 0.05 2.67 0.30
Arunachal Pradesh 29.04 1.95 30.26 0.24 11.77 0.06 26.20 0.48
Nagaland 8.75 2.47 87.93 0.10 0.34 0.13 0.16 0.12
Manipur 41.39 8.40 41.29 0.05 0.25 0.06 8.19 0.38
Mizoram 2.75 1.35 87.16 0.03 8.51 0.03 0.07 0.09
Tripura 83.40 8.60 4.32 0.03 3.41 0.02 0.04 0.14
Meghalaya 11.53 4.40 74.59 0.10 0.33 0.02 8.71 0.32
Assam 61.47 34.22 3.74 0.07 0.18 0.08 0.09 0.16
West Bengal 70.54 27.01 0.72 0.07 0.31 0.07 1.03 0.25
Jharkhand 67.83 14.53 4.30 0.22 0.03 0.05 12.84 0.21
Orissa 93.63 2.17 2.77 0.05 0.03 0.02 1.14 0.18
Chhattisgarh 93.25 2.02 1.92 0.27 0.28 0.24 1.94 0.09
Madhya Pradesh 90.89 6.57 0.29 0.21 0.30 0.78 0.83 0.13
Gujarat 88.57 9.67 0.52 0.10 0.05 0.96 0.03 0.10
Daman & Diu 90.50 7.92 1.16 0.07 0.09 0.21 0.03 0.10
Dadra & Nagar
Haveli 93.93 3.76 1.49 0.06 0.18 0.35 0.09 0.14
Maharashtra 79.83 11.54 0.96 0.20 5.81 1.25 0.16 0.25
Andhra Pradesh 88.46 9.56 1.34 0.05 0.04 0.06 0.01 0.48
Karnataka 84.00 12.92 1.87 0.05 0.16 0.72 0.2 0.27
Goa 66.08 8.33 25.10 0.10 0.08 0.08 0.02 0.21
Lakshadweep 2.77 96.58 0.49 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.10
Kerala 54.73 26.56 18.38 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.26
Tamil Nadu 87.58 5.86 6.12 0.02 0.02 0.12 0.01 0.26
Puducherry 87.30 6.05 6.29 0.02 0.04 0.11 0.01 0.17
Andaman &
Nicobar Islands 69.45 8.52 21.28 0.34 0.09 0.01 0.15 0.18
Source : Census of India, 2011

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Appendix (v)
India: Work Participation Rate and Occupation Structure, 2011

States/UTs Work Cultivators % to Agricultural % to Household % to Other % to

Participation Total Labourers Total Industries Total Workers Total
Rate (%) Workers Workers Workers Workers

INDIA 39.8 11,86,92,640 24.6 14,43,29,833 30 1,83,36,307 3.8 20,03,84.531 41.6

Jammu & Kashmir 34.5 12,45,316 28.8 5,47,705 12.7 1,72,586 4 23,57,106 54.5

Himachal Pradesh 51.9 20,62,062 57.9 1,75,038 4.9 58,719 1.6 12,63,603 35.5

Punjab 35.7 19,34,511 19.5 15,88,455 16 3,85,960 3.9 59,88,436 60.5

Chandigarh 38.3 2,578 0.6 1,687 0.4 4,799 1.2 3,95,072 97.8

Uttarakhand 38.4 15,80,423 40.8 4,03,301 10.4 1,14,312 3 17,74,239 45.8

Haryana 35.2 24,80,801 27.8 15,28,133 17.1 2,62,280 2.9 46,45,294 52.1

NCT of Delhi 33.3 33,398 0.6 39,475 0.7 1,81,852 3.3 53,32,324 95.4

Rajasthan 43.6 1,36,18,870 45.6 49,39,664 16.5 7,20,573 2.4 1,06,07,148 35.5

Uttar Pradesh 32.9 1,90,57,888 29 1,99,39,223 30.3 38,98,590 5.9 2,29,19,014 34.8

Bihar 33.4 71,96,226 20.7 1,83,45,649 52.8 14,11,208 4.1 77,71,904 22.4

Sikkim 50.5 1,17,401 38.1 25,986 8.4 5,143 1.7 1,59,608 51.8

Arunachal Pradesh 42.5 3,02,723 51.5 36,171 6.2 8,365 1.4 2,40,398 40.9

Nagaland 49.2 5,37,702 55.2 62,962 6.5 22,838 2.3 3,50,620 36

Manipur 45.1 4,57,891 39.5 1,11,061 9.6 89,495 7.7 5,00,606 43.2

Mizoram 44.4 2,29,603 47.2 41,787 8.6 7,852 1.6 2,07,463 42.6

Tripura 40 2,95,947 20.1 3,53,618 24.1 41,496 2.8 7,78,460 53

Meghalaya 40 4,94,675 41.7 1,98,364 16.7 20,488 1.7 4,72,092 39.8

Assam 38.4 40,61,627 33.9 18,45,346 15.4 4,91,321 4.1 55,71,396 46.5

West Bengal 38.1 51,16,668 14.7 1,01,88,842 29.3 24,64,124 7.1 1,69,86,701 48.9

Jharkhand 39.7 38,14,832 29.1 44,36,052 33.9 4,55,162 3.5 43,92,228 33.5

Orissa 41.8 41,03,989 23.4 67,39,993 38.4 7,83,080 4.5 59,14,527 33.7

Chhattisgarh 47.7 40,04,796 32.9 50,91,882 41.8 1,87,631 1.5 28,95,916 23.8

Madhya Pradesh 43.5 89,44,439 31.2 1,21,92,267 38.6 9,59,259 3 85,78,168 27.2

Gujarat 41 54,47,500 22 68,39,415 27.6 3,43,999 1.4 1,21,36,833 49

Daman & Diu 49.9 2,316 1.9 772 0.6 684 0.6 1,17,499 96.9

D & N Haveli 45.7 28,164 17.9 17,799 11.3 2,195 1.4 1,09,003 69.4

Maharashtra 44 1,25,69,373 25.4 1,34,86,140 27.3 12,25,426 2.5 2,21,46,939 44.8

Andhra Pradesh 46.6 64,91,522 16.5 1,69,67,754 43 14,39,137 3.7 1,45,24,493 36.8

Karnataka 45.6 65,80,649 23.6 71,55,963 25.7 9,13,227 3.3 1,32,22,758 47.4

Goa 39.6 31,354 5.4 26,760 4.6 14,708 2.5 5,04,426 87.4

Lakshadweep 29.1 0 0 0 0 264 1.4 18,489 98.6

Kerala 34.8 6,70,253 5.8 13,22,850 11.4 2,73,022 2.3 93,52,938 80.5

Tamil Nadu 45.6 42,48,457 12.9 96,06,547 29.2 13,64,893 4.2 1,76,64,784 53.7

Puducherry 35.7 12,099 2.7 68,391 15.4 7,892 1.8 3,56,586 80.1

A & N Islands 40.1 16,567 10.9 4,781 3.1 3,727 2.4 1,27,460 83.6

Source : Census of India, 2011

110 India : People and Economy

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Appendix (vi)

Table 1: Land Use Categories in India 2014–15

Land Use Classes 1950–51 Per cent 2014–15 Per cent

(Million Hectare) (Million Hectare)

Reporting Area 284.32 100 307.82 100

Forests 40.48 17.0 71.79 23.3

Area under non-agricultural use 9.36 3.2 26.88 8.7

Barren and unculturable waste Land 38.16 13.4 17.00 5.5

Permanent Pasturer and Grazing Land 6.68 2.3 10.26 3.3

Area under Misc. Tree crops and Groves 19.83 6.9 3.10 1.0

Culturable Waste Land 22.94 8.0 12.47 4.0

Fallow other than Current Fallow 17.45 6.1 11.09 3.6

Current Fallow 10.68 3.7 15.09 4.9

Net Area Sown 118.75 41.7 140.13 45.5

Source : Land use statistics 2014–2015. Directorate of Economics & Statistics, DAC & FW.

Table 2: India’s position in World Agriculture

S. Crop % Share in World

No. Production and rank
(2018)

1 Rice 22.07 (Second)

2 Wheat 13.58 (Second)
I Total Cereals 10.74 (Third)
II All Pulses 27.63 (First)

8 Groundnut 18.18 (Second)

9 Rape seed 11.24 (Third)
10 Jute 53.72 (First)
11 Sugarcane 19.76 (Second)
12 Tea 21.22 (Second)

13 Coffee 3.17 (Eight)

Source: FAOSTAT (as on 23.12.2020), Pocket Book of Agriculture Statistics, 2020.

Appendices 111

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Table 3 : Three Largest Producing States of major crops during 2019-20
Production - Million Tonnes

Group of Crops Crops States Production*

(1) (2) (3) (4)
1. Foodgrains
Rice West Bengal 15.57
Uttar Pradesh 15.52
Punjab 11.78
All India 118.43
Wheat Uttar Pradesh 32.59
Madhya Pradesh 19.61
Punjab 17.57
All India 107.59
Maize Karnataka 3.96
Madhya Pradesh 3.91
Telangana 3.00
All India 28.64
Total Nutri/Coarse Cereals Rajasthan 7.29
Karnataka 6.45
Madhya Pradesh 4.82
All India 47.48
Total Pulses Rajasthan 4.49
Maharashtra 4.03
Madhya Pradesh 3.80
All India 23.15
Total Foodgrains Uttar Pradesh 55.03
Madhya Pradesh 33.03
Punjab 30.02
All India 296.65
II. Oilseeds
Groundnut Gujarat 4.64
Rajasthan 1.62
Tamilnadu 0.98
All India 10.10
Rapesseed & Mustard Rajasthan 4.22
Haryana 1.15
Uttar Pradesh 0.96
All India 9.12
Soyabean Madhya Pradesh 5.15
Maharashtra 4.60
Rajasthan 0.52
All India 11.22
Sunflower Karnataka 0.12
Odisha 0.03
Bihar 0.01
All India 0.22

112 India : People and Economy

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Table 3 : (Contd.)
Production - Million Tonnes

Group of Crops Crops States Production

(1) (2) (3) (4)
Total Oilseeds Rajasthan 6.79
Gujarat 6.66
Madhya Pradesh 6.57
All India 33.42
III. Other Cash Crops
Sugarcane Uttar Pradesh 178.42
Maharashtra 64.67
Karnataka 31.60
All India 355.70
Cotton@ Gujarat 8.28
Telangana 6.83
Maharashtra 6.782
All India 35.491
Jute & Mesta$ West Bengal 8.0572
Bihar 0.86
Assam 0.77
All India 9.91

Source : Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Pocket Book of Agricultural Statistics, 2020.
* Production Estimates are as per 4th Advance Estimates.
@ : Production in million bales of 170 kg each.
$ : Production in million bales of 180 kg each.

Appendices 113

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 Andhra Pradesh at a Glance

Geographical Area (Sq. km) 160,205

Total Population (Lakh) 496.7
Male Population (Lakh) 247.3 (49.9%)
Female Population (Lakh) 246.4 (49.9%)
Sex Ratio (Females per
1000 males) 996
Literacy Rate (%) 67.41
Source: www.ap.gov.in/AP
• District Headquarters

(MAP NOT TO SCALE)

Telangana at a Glance

Geographical Area (Sq. Km.) 112077

Total Population (as per
2011 Census) 350.04 Lakh
Male 176.12 Lakh
Female 173.92 Lakh
Sex Ratio (Female per 1000 Males) 988 Ratio
Literacy Rate 66.54%
Density of popullation 312/sq.km
Decadal Growth Rate 13.58
(2001–2011)
Soruce : TG State portal Website: http;//www.telangana.gov.in/
About–State profile

• District Headquarters

(MAP NOT TO SCALE)

114 India : People and Economy

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 GLOSSARY

Agro-climatic Extensive irrigation Net migration or balance of migration

The climatic and land resource conditions A strategy of irrigation development where The difference of total numbers of persons
in totality which are crucial for the the emphasis is on providing irrigation arrived in and left out the place. In other
development of agriculture and allied water for a large area. Per unit area use of words, it is sum of in migrants and immigrants
water is low in this case. minus sum of out migrants and emigrants. In
economic conditions of a region.
mathematical term it is defined as:
Aquifer Flow system or channel
A channel of canal where water flows under Net migration
A saturated geological unit (e.g. sands, (in migrants + immigrants) - (out migrants +
the influence of gravity.
gravels, fractured rock) which can yield emigrants)
water to wells at a sufficient rate to support
Groundwater
a well. Rainwater Harvesting
Groundwater means the water which exists
Rain Water Harvesting is the technique of
below the ground surface in the zone of collection and storage of rain water at
Artificial Recharge to Groundwater saturation and can be extracted through
Artificial Recharge to Groundwater means surface or in sub-surface aquifer.
wells or any other means or emerges as
the process by which groundwater springs and base flows in streams and Refugee
reservoir is augmented at a rate exceeding rivers. People who are forced to take shelter in
that under natural condition of other country due to life threatening situation,
replenishment. Groundwater Table insecurity, war or violation of human rights
The top of the zone in which all pore spaces in their own country.
Command Area or fissures are totally filled with water.
The area served by a canal system Remittance
through supply of water for irrigation and Immigration All cash or kinds sent by the migrants to
other purposes. Movement of a person as a permanent their place of origin. Money order is one
resident into another area, usually into a form of remittance.
Culturable command area foreign country.
Transhuemance
It refers to the culturable land irrigated by a
Intrusive irrigation The practice of seasonal migration where
canal system. It is different from gross the pastoral communities migrate to the
command area. The later includes all the A strategy of irrigation development where
per unit application of water is high. pastures along with their herds during
area served by a canal system including summer season. These communities return
unculturatble. to their permanent residence in winter.
Lift system or channel
A channel of canal where water is forced to
Eco-development Warebandi system
flow against the slope of land by upliftment.
The process of development of a region It is a system of equitable distribution of
by means of conservation and regeneration water in the command area of canal outlet.
Migration
of degraded ecosystem and ecological Movement of the people for the specific Watershed
sustainability. purpose from one place to another in the A watershed is a natural geo-hydrological
country or to a foreign country. unit of land, which collects water and drains
Emigration it through a common point by a system of
Movement of people from one place to Migration stream streams. Such a unit can be a small area of
another usually from one country to another Migration stream refers to a group of a few hectares or it could be an area of
with a purpose of earning, living, residing migrants with the common origin and hundreds of square kilometres like the
and settling. destination. Ganga river basin.

Glossary 115

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 Notes

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