GEOGRAPHY NCERTS

Dr. Kaustubh A. Bondre

SESSION 5
CONCEPTS
Resources and Development

● Sustainable development -Sustainable economic development means ‘development should take place without damaging the
environment, and development in the present should not compromise with the needs of the future generations.’
● Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, 1992 -In June 1992, more than 100 heads of states met in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, for the first
International Earth Summit. The Summit was convened for addressing urgent problems of environmental protection and socio-
economic development at the global level. The assembled leaders signed the Declaration on Global Climatic Change and
Biological Diversity. The Rio Convention endorsed the global Forest Principles and adopted Agenda 21 for achieving
Sustainable Development in the 21st century.
Resources and Development

● At the international level, the Club of Rome advocated resource conservation for the first time in a more systematic way in
1968. Subsequently, in 1974, Gandhian philosophy was once again presented by Schumacher in his book Small is Beautiful.
The seminal contribution with respect to resource conservation at the global level was made by the Brundtland Commission
Report, 1987. This report introduced the concept of ‘Sustainable Development’ and advocated it as a means for resource
conservation, which was subsequently published in a book entitled Our Common Future. Another significant contribution was
made at the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992.
Land Resources in India
Land Utilization

● Barren and waste land-Land not available for cultivation

● Culturable wasteland-left uncultivated for more than 5 agricultural years.
● Current fallow-left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year.
● Other than current fallow-left uncultivated for the past 1 to 5 agricultural years.
● Net sown area-Net sown area the physical extent of land on which crops are sown harvested is known as net sown area.
● Gross cropped area-Area sown more than once in an agricultural year plus net sown area is known as gross cropped area.
Soil as Resource

● Soil is the most important renewable natural resource. It is

the medium of plant growth and supports different types of
living organisms on the earth. The soil is a living system. It
takes millions of years to form soil upto a few cm in depth.
● Significance of soil
Soils of India

● Alluvial Soils-This is the most widely spread and important soil. In fact, the entire northern plains are made of alluvial soil.The
alluvial soil consists of various proportions of sand, silt and clay. As we move inlands towards the river valleys, soil particles
appear some what bigger in size. In the upper reaches of the river valley i.e. near the place of the break of slope, the soils are
coarse. Such soils are more common in piedmont plains such as Duars, Chos and Terai. Alluvial soils as a whole are very fertile.
Mostly these soils contain adequate proportion of potash, phosphoric acid and lime which are ideal for the growth of sugarcane,
paddy, wheat and other cereal and pulse crops.
● Black Soil-These soils are black in colour and are also known as regur soils. Black soil is ideal for growing cotton and is also
known as black cotton soil. The black soils are made up of extremely fine i.e. clayey material. They are well-known for their
capacity to hold moisture. In addition, they are rich in soil nutrients, such as calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and lime.
These soils are generally poor in phosphoric contents. They develop deep cracks during hot weather, which helps in the proper
aeration of the soil. This type of soil is typical of the Deccan trap (Basalt) region spread over northwest Deccan plateau and is
made up of lava flows. They cover the plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and
extend in the south east direction along the Godavari and the Krishna valleys.
Soils of India

● Red and Yellow Soils-Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall in the eastern and southern parts of
the Deccan plateau Yellow and red soils are also found in parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, southern parts of the middle Ganga plain
and along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghats. These soils develop a reddish colour due to diffusion of iron in crystalline
and metamorphic rocks. It looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form.
● Laterite Soil-Laterite has been derived from the Latin word ‘later’ which means brick. The laterite soil develops under tropical
and subtropical climate with alternate wet and dry season. This soil is the result of intense leaching due to heavy rain. Lateritic
soils are mostly deep to very deep, acidic (pH<6.0), generally deficient in plant nutrients and occur mostly in southern states,
Western Ghats region of Maharashtra, Odisha, some parts of West Bengal and North-east regions. Where these soils support
deciduous and evergreen forests, it is humus rich, but under sparse vegetation and in a semi-arid environment, it is generally
humus poor. Red laterite soils in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are more suitable for crops like cashew nut.
Soils of India

● Arid Soils-Arid soils range from red to brown in colour. They are generally sandy in texture and saline in nature. In some areas
the salt content is very high and common salt is obtained by evaporating the water. Due to the dry climate, high temperature,
evaporation is faster and the soil lacks humus and moisture.After proper irrigation these soils become cultivable as has been in
the case of western Rajasthan.
● Forest Soils-These soils are found in the hilly and mountainous areas where sufficient rain forests are available. The soils texture
varies according to the mountain environment where they are formed. They are loamy and silty in valley sides and coarse
grained in the upper slopes.
1. Gullies-The running water cuts through the clayey soils and makes deep channels as gullies.
2. Bad Land-The land becomes unfit for cultivation and is known as bad land. In the Chambal basin such lands are called ravines.
3. Sheet erosion-water flows as a sheet over large areas down a slope. In such cases the top soil is washed away. This is known as
sheet erosion.
Forest and Wildlife Resources

● Biodiversity or Biological Diversity- is immensely rich in wildlife and cultivated species, diverse in form and function but
closely integrated in a system through multiple network of interdependencies.
● Project Tiger-Project Tiger”, one of the well- publicised wildlife campaigns in the world, was launched in 1973. Tiger
conservation has been viewed not only as an effort to save an endangered species, but with equal importance as a means of
preserving biotypes of sizeable magnitude. Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, Sunderbans National Park in West Bengal,
Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan, Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam and
Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala are some of the tiger reserves of India.
Forest and Wildlife Resources

● In the notification under Wildlife Act of 1980 and 1986, several hundred butterflies, moths, beetles, and one dragonfly have been
added to the list of protected species. In 1991, for the first time plants were also added to the list, starting with six species.
● Reserved Forests-More than half of the total forest land has been declared reserved forests. Reserved forests are regarded as the
most valuable as far as the conservation of forest and wildlife resources are concerned. Madhya Pradesh has the largest area
under permanent forests, constituting 75 per cent of its total forest area.
● Protected Forests: Almost one-third of the total forest area is protected forest, as declared by the Forest Department. This forest
land are protected from any further depletion.
● Unclassed Forests: These are other forests and wastelands belonging to both government and private individuals and
communities.
Forest and Wildlife Resources

● Chipko movement-The famous Chipko movement in the Himalayas has not only successfully resisted deforestation in several
areas but has also shown that community afforestation with indigenous species can be enormously successful.
● Beej Bachao Andolan in Tehri and Navdanya-Attempts to revive the traditional conservation methods or developing new
methods of ecological farming are now widespread. Farmers and citizens groups like the Beej Bachao Andolan in Tehri and
Navdanya have shown that adequate levels of diversified crop production without the use of synthetic chemicals are possible and
economically viable.
● Sacred groves - a wealth of diverse and rare species-Nature worship is an age old tribal belief based on the premise that all
creations of nature have to be protected. Such beliefs have preserved several virgin forests in pristine form called Sacred Groves
(the forests of God and Goddesses). These patches of forest or parts of large forests have been left untouched by the local people
and any interference with them is banned.
WATER RESOURCES

● 96.5 percent of the total volume of world's water is estimated to exist as oceans and only 2.5 per cent as freshwater.
● Nearly 70 per cent of this freshwater occurs as ice sheets and glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland and the mountainous regions of
the world, while a little less than 30 per cent is stored as groundwater in the world’s aquifers.
● India receives nearly 4 per cent of the global precipitation and ranks 133 in the world in terms of water availability per person
per annum.
● Hydraulic Structures in Ancient India In the first century B.C., Sringaverapura near Allahabad had a sophisticated water
harvesting system channeling the flood water of the river Ganga.
● During the time of Chandragupta Maurya, dams, lakes and irrigation systems were extensively built.
● Evidence Of Sophisticated Irrigation Works have also been found in Kalinga, (Odisha), Nagarjunakonda (Andhra Pradesh),
Bennur (Karnataka), Kolhapur (Maharashtra), etc.
● In the 11th Century, Bhopal Lake, one of the largest artificial lakes of its time was built.
● In the 14th Century, the tank in Hauz Khas, Delhi was constructed by Iltutmish for supplying water to Siri Fort area.
Rain Water Harvesting

● Dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. “Dam”
refers to the reservoir rather than the structure. Most dams have a section called a spillway or weir over which or through which it is
intended that water will flow either intermittently or continuously.
● Rainwater Harvesting-Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is
collected from a roof like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), aquifer, or a reservoir with
percolation, so that it seeps down and restores the ground water.
● Roof top rainwater harvesting is the most common practice in Shillong, Meghalaya. It is interesting because Cherapunjee and Mawsynram
situated at a distance of 55 km. from Shillong receive the highest rainfall in the world, yet the state capital Shillong faces acute shortage of
water. Nearly every household in the city has a roof top rain water harvesting structure. Nearly 15-25 per cent of the total water
requirement of the household comes from roof top water harvesting.
● Tamil Nadu is the first state in India which has made roof top rainwater harvesting structure compulsory to all the houses across the state.
There are legal provisions to punish the defaulters.
● Bamboo Drip Irrigation System-In Meghalaya, a 200-year-old system of tapping stream and spring water by using bamboo pipes, is
prevalent. About 18-20 litres of water enters the bamboo pipe system, gets transported over hundreds of metres, and finally reduces to
20-80 drops per minute at the site of the plant.
AGRICULTURE

● Green revolution -The Green Revolution was a period that began in the 1960s during which agriculture in India was converted into a
modern industrial system by the adoption of technology, such as the use of high yielding variety (HYV) seeds, mechanised farm tools,
irrigation facilities, pesticides, and fertilizers. Mainly led by agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan in India, this period was part of the
larger Green Revolution endeavor initiated by Norman Borlaug, which leveraged agricultural research and technology to increase
agricultural productivity in the developing world.
● White revolution -The revolution associated with a sharp increase in milk production in the country is called the White Revolution in India
also known as Operation Flood. White revolution period intended to make India a self-dependent nation in milk production.
● Bhoodan – Gramdan-The Bhoodan was started in 1951. Bhoodan — Gramdan movements were integrated to implement land reforms by
urging the landed classes to voluntarily surrender a part of their land to the landless. The problems faced by the landless Harijans were
presented to Acharya Vinoba Bhave in Pochampalli, Telangana. This Bhoodan-Gramdan movement initiated by Vinoba Bhave is also
known as the Blood-less Revolution.
● Food Security-You know that food is a basic need and every citizen of the country should have access to food which provides minimum
nutritional level. If any segment of our population does not have this access, that segment suffers from lack of food security.
● Minimum Support Price (MSP)-Minimum Support Price (MSP) is the minimum price set by the government for certain agricultural
products, at which the products would directly be bought from the farmers if the open market prices are less than the cost incurred.
TOPICS COVERED IN EARLIER DISCUSSION

● Chapter 5. Minerals and Energy Resources

● Chapter 6. Manufacturing Industries
● Chapter 7. Lifelines of National Economy
SOME POINTERS

● Keep a track of new infra projects and the relevant issues therein
● The roads and their controlling (and constructing/maintaining) authorities - the paradox in India
- The lowest level roads are constructed by the highest level authority
- As one comes to local level, democracy must strengthen and roads must be good, but it is not so.
● The work and projects under BRO (Check their website)
● Indian Railways - Study recent improvements and projects in pipeline.
● Communication and Digital India
● Import, export and Balance of trade
MAJOR PORTS OF INDIA
Thank you