Get notes, solutions, summary, questions and answers, and pdf of the chapter India Resources and Their Development, which is part of BSEM/BoSEM Class 10 Social Science (chapter 1). However, the notes should only be treated as references, and changes should be made according to the needs of the students.
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Summary
The chapter looks into the significance of resources, their diverse types, and the critical need for resource planning and sustainable development in India. It emphasizes the interconnected relationship between human beings, natural resources, and the environment.
Understanding Resources: Resources encompass everything in our environment that can be utilized to fulfill human needs and desires. They are not merely gifts of nature but become valuable through human intervention and technological advancements. Resources are classified based on various factors:
- Origin: Natural resources (biotic and abiotic), human resources (people with skills and knowledge), and man-made resources (tools and infrastructure).
- Exhaustibility: Renewable resources (replenishable, like solar energy) and non-renewable resources (exhaustible, like coal).
- Ownership: Individual, community, national, and international resources.
- Development Status: Potential (undiscovered), developed (surveyed and quantified), stock (available but not utilized), and reserves (exploitable with current technology).
Resource Development and Planning: Resource development involves utilizing resources through technological advancements and institutional changes. However, indiscriminate use of resources leads to ecological problems like pollution and resource depletion. Therefore, resource planning is crucial for sustainable development, ensuring the needs of the present generation are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This is particularly important in a diverse country like India where resource distribution is uneven.
Focus on Land and Soil Resources: The chapter highlights land and soil as essential natural resources. Land is used for various purposes, including agriculture, industry, and settlements. Different categories of land use exist, such as forests, barren lands, pastures, and net sown area. Understanding land use patterns helps us analyze changes and their impact on the environment and the economy.
Soil, the foundation of agriculture, is formed through a slow process of weathering and decomposition. India has diverse soil types, including alluvial, black, red, laterite, arid, and mountain soils, each with unique characteristics and fertility levels. Soil erosion, caused by natural forces and human activities like deforestation and overgrazing, poses a significant threat. Soil conservation measures like afforestation and sustainable agricultural practices are crucial to protect this vital resource.
Land Degradation and Conservation: Land degradation, a serious environmental issue, reduces the quality and productivity of land. It is caused by various factors, including deforestation, overgrazing, mining, and improper waste disposal. The Indian government has implemented several measures to combat land degradation, such as afforestation programs, promoting sustainable agricultural practices, and regulating mining activities.
Key Takeaways:
- Resources are vital for human survival and development, and their responsible management is crucial for sustainable development.
- India is endowed with diverse natural resources but faces challenges in their distribution and sustainable utilization.
- Land and soil are essential resources facing threats from degradation, necessitating conservation efforts.
- Resource planning, technological advancements, and community participation are essential for managing resources effectively.
- Individual actions and awareness play a crucial role in promoting resource conservation and environmental sustainability.
Textual questions and answers
Choose the correct answer
(i) Which of the followig is a renewable resource?
Answer: (b) Forest
(ii) Under which of the following resource types, can wildlife be put ?
Answer: (b) Replenishable
(iii) The largest share of land in India is occupied by
Answer: (c) plains
(iv) Which of the following soil types is connected with ‘Kankar’ ?
Answer: (a) Alluvial
(v) Which of the following causes land degradation in Punjab and Haryana ?
Answer: (b) Over-irrigation.
Answer the following questions briefly
(i) Which factor is mainly responsible for the transformation of resources ?
Answer: Human beings are mainly responsible for the transformation of resources.
(ii) Why has resource planning become essential in a country ?
Answer: Resources must be used wisely for survival and development of the human race. Sustainable existence is a component of sustainable development for which a resource planning is essential.
(iii) Why are regur soils capable of sustaining moisture sufficiently for a long time ?
Answer: They are generally clayey, deep and impermeable and are capable of sustaining moisture for sufficiently long time.
(iv) What is Regolith ?
Answer: The process of weathering and agents of erosion such as change of temperature, running water, wind, glacier etc, break rocks into small pieces and convert them into fine inorganic materials. These materials are termed as Regolith.
(v) Why is share of net-sown area decreasing in recent years in India ?
Answer: The increased pressure on agricultural lands from non-agricultural activities such as infrastructural constructions results in the decline of the net-sown area.
(vi) What factor is responsible for degradation of land in Jharkhand ?
Answer: Deforestation due to mining is responsible for land degradation in Jharkhand.
Distinguish between
(i) Natural and Human resources.
Answer: Natural resources are the gifts of nature which are useful for making the life of human beings comfortable and worth living. They include natural vegetation, soil, water, air, minerals and even rocks. Human resources are human beings who are made valuable through education, training, experience, etc. so that they may become capable of making use of other resources effectively.
(ii) Biotic and Abiotic resources.
Answer: The biotic resources are those living things found in biosphere which include forests, animals, birds, marinelife and human beings. Abiotic resources, on the other hand, are those non-living things of the environment like land, soils, rocks and minerals.
(iii) Geographical area and Reporting area of landuse.
Answer: India has a total geographical area of 32,87,263 sq. kms. However, as per land revenue record, only 93 per cent of the country’s total area is available for use in different categories of landuse. This is because of the fact that most of the states in the north-eastern region except Assam do not maintain fully the land records. Moreover, some areas in Jammu and Kashmir have also not been surveyed.
Answer the questions in about 40 words
(i) What is the difference between developed and potential resources ?
Answer: Potential resources are the resources found in a region but have not been put to proper utilisation. Developed resources are the resources which have been surveyed and determined their quality and quantity for utilisation. But, their development depends on technology and level of their feasibility.
(ii) What are the factors that determine for the utilisation of resources in the economic development of a country ?
Answer: The availability of resources is of great importance at the initial stage of economic development of a region. But, the economic activities of a country begin actually when the real utilisation of resources is started.
(iii) How should we conserve resources ?
Answer: Resources must be used wisely for survival and development of the human race i.e. sustainable existence of all life forms. Sustainable existence is a component of sustainable development for which a resource planning is essential.
(iv) What are the main causes of soil erosion ?
Answer: Soil erosion is the removal of the earth’s soil cover by the forces of nature and human activities. It is caused by natural agents like running water, glacier, wind etc.
(v) Suggest three measures that will help to protect land from degradation.
Answer: (i) Taking up of afforestation programmes at different levels.
(ii) Setting up of shelter belts by planting trees across the wind direction particularly in drier parts.
(iii) Proper management of wastelands.
(iv) Control of mining activities, quarrying and over-grazing.
(v) Proper discharge of industrial effluents and scientific disposal of urban and other human wastes.
Answer the questions in about 150 words
(i) Explain the fertility of the different soil types of India.
Answer: Alluvial soils are found in the entire northern plains (Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra plains). They also extend through a narrow belt in Rajasthan and Gujarat. In the south, alluvial soils are found in deltas of the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri. They are very fertile and form the foundation of Indian agriculture. Various proportions of sand, silt, clay, potash and lime constitute them, but they are deficient in phosphoric, nitrogenous and organic contents.
Regur or Black soils occur particularly in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, They are typical of Deccan Plateau and are black in colour. The parent rock (basaltic) materials and the climatic conditions of the region are responsible for the formation of the soils. They are generally clayey, deep and impermeable and are capable of sustaining moisture for sufficiently long time. They have rich content of calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and lime but the phosphoric content is poor. Since they are best suited for the cultivation of cotton, these soils are also known as Black cotton soils.
Red and Yellow soils are found in the dry areas of the Peninsular India. They include Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, south western Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand. They are also found in the north eastern states. Red soils are reddish in colour due to diffusion of iron in crystalline rocks under poor rainfall condition. But, in higher rainfall areas, they occur in hydrated form and look yellow. They are deficient in nitrogenous, phosphoric and organic matter and hence are less fertile.
(ii) Write an account of the different steps to be taken up for a proper resource planning.
Answer: Resource planning must be conducted for achieving sustainable development in the 21st Century by adopting ‘the Agenda 21 of the Rio Convention 1992.’
The Agenda 21 is the declaration signed by world leaders in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development which took place at Rio de Janerio, Brazil. It is an agenda to combat environmental damage, poverty, disease through global co-operation on common interests, mutual needs and shared responsibilities. The major objective of ‘the Agenda 21’ is that every local government should draw its own local Agenda to protect the environment.
Resource planning offers a number of advantages in the process of economic development of a country. It has a great importance in a country like India which has enormous diversity in the availability of resources. In India, there are regions which are rich in certain types of resources but are deficient in other resources. Again, there are regions which are considered to be self-sufficient on one hand but are absent in vital resources on the other. For example, states like Gujarat and Rajasthan have rich potentials of wind and solar energy but lack in water resources. Again, there are abundant water power potentials in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur but these states are deficient in infrastructural developments.
(iii) Explain the changing patterns of landuse in India that takes place in recent years.
Answer: The landuse pattern in the country is changing with time. There are three categories of landuse which have undergone increases while four have registered declines. Share of area under forest, area under non-agricultural uses and current fallow lands shows an increase.
The reasons for such an increase are as follows –
(i) Forest area in the country is far lower than the desired 33 per cent of geographical area. But, there was an actual increase in the forest cover of the country. Because, it was considered essential for maintenance of the ecological balance.
(ii) Due to the changing structure of Indian economy, the area under non-agricultural land use is increasing. India’s economy is increasingly depending on the contribution from industrial and service sectors which are related with infrastructural facilities.
(iii) The trend of current fallow fluctuates over years depending upon the variablility of rainfall and cropping cycle. Hence, the reason for such an increase cannot be explained in detail.
On the other hand, the following categories of landuse have registered a decline due to certain factors –
(i) The wastelands and culturable wastelands have witnessed a decline over time. This is due to the increasing pressure on land both from the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors.
(ii) The share of land under pasture and grazing land has also been decreased due to illegal encroachment of common pasture lands by expansion of cultivation.
(iii) The decline in net-sown area is a recent phenomenon that started in the late nineties. The increased pressure on agricultural lands from non-agricultural activities such as infrastructural constructions results in the decline of the net-sown area.
Give the appropriate term
(a) Natural endowment that includes things like land, water, rocks, and minerals.
Answer: Abiotic resources
(b) Plantation of trees on a large scale to prevent soil erosion.
Answer: Afforestation
(c) Soils that constitute the great plains of India.
Answer: Alluvial soils
(d) The typical soil of the Deccan plateau.
Answer: Regur soils
(e) Soils that have been intensely leached.
Answer: Laterite soils
Extra MCQs
1. What does the term “resources” refer to in the context of the environment?
A. Elements that are readily available for consumption
B. Components of the environment that fulfill human needs and desires
C. Naturally occurring substances that can be exploited
D. Raw materials used in industrial processes
Answer: B. Components of the environment that fulfill human needs and desires
50. What are the soils formed in regions with high rainfall and temperature, characterized by intense leaching and low fertility?
A. Regur soils
B. Laterite soils
C. Arid soils
D. Alluvial soils
Answer: B. Laterite soils
Ron’e Dutta is a journalist, teacher, aspiring novelist, and blogger who manages Online Free Notes. An avid reader of Victorian literature, his favourite book is Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. He dreams of travelling the world. You can connect with him on social media. He does personal writing on ronism.
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