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0858 – ResouRces and development ISBN 978-81-7450-816-4

Textbook for Class VIII

First Edition ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Reprinted mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior
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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 upper primary level,
Professor Hari Vasudevan and the Chief Advisor for this book, Vibha
Parthasarathi, for guiding the work of this committee. Several teachers

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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
30 November 2007 Research and Training

iv

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 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, 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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2024-25
 TExTBOOK
DEVELOPMENT
COMMITTEE

chaiRpeRson, advisoRy committee foR textbooks in social sciences at

theuppeR pRimaRy level
Hari Vasudevan, Professor, Department of History, University of Calcutta,
Kolkata

chief advisoR
Vibha Parthasarathi, Principal (Retd.), Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi

membeRs
Anindita Datta, Lecturer, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi,
Delhi
Anshu, Reader, Kirorimal College, University of Delhi, Delhi
Aparna Pandey, Lecturer, DESSH, NCERT, New Delhi
Bhagirathy Jhingran, TGT, Pathways World School, Gurgaon
Meera Hoon, TGT, Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi
Punam Behari, Vice Principal, Miranda House, University of Delhi, Delhi
Samita Dasgupta, PGT, Anandalaya, Anand, Gujarat
Srinivasan K., TGT, Mallya Aditi International School, Bangalore
Syamala Srivatsa, TGT, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi

membeR-cooRdinatoR
Tannu Malik, 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 contributions of Pramila Kumar, Professor (Retd), Bhopal and Shipra
Nair, Darjiling in the development of this textbook.
Acknowledgements are also due to Savita Sinha, Professor and Head,
Department of Education in Social Sciences and Humanities, NCERT, for
her valuable support at every stage of preparation of this textbook.
The Council is also grateful to the individuals and organisations as
listed below for providing various photographs, illustrations and activities
used in this textbook: Anshu, Reader, Kirorimal College, Delhi for
Figs. 2.5, 2.15 and 3.14; Srinivasan K., TGT, Mallya Aditi International
School, Bangalore, for picture of varieties of maize on page 27; Krishan
Sheoran from Austria for Fig. 2.1; Mohammad Aslam, Learning Touch,
New Delhi, for Fig. 3.4; R.C. Das, CIET, NCERT, for Figs. 2.8, 2.10 and
picture of bamboo on page 32; Nimisha Kapoor for the photographs of the
windmill, children and the potter on the cover; Blue Fish for Fig. 1.1 and a
picture of a notebook on page 32; National Disaster Management Division,
Ministry of Home Affairs for pictures of retention wall, Union Carbide Factory
and rescue operation in Gao Qiao on page 10, 35 and 36 respectively;
Department of Industry, Government of Bihar for Figs. 3.5, 3.6, 3.13 and 4.1;
Directorate of Extension, Ministry of Agriculture, I.A.R.I Campus, New Pusa,
New Delhi for Figs. 2.9, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11 and 3.14; Ministry of Environment
and Forests, Government of India for Figs. 2.11, 2.12, 2.13, 2.14, 2.16,
2.17, 2.18 and 2.19 and a picture of a vulture on page 16; COMFED, Patna
for Fig. 4.2; Social Science Textbook for Class VIII, Part II (NCERT, 2005) for
Figs. 2.6, 2.7, 3.7, 3.8, 3.12, 3.16, 3.17, 3.18 and a picture of landslide on
page 10; The Times of India, Hindustan Times and Indian Express for news
in a collage on page 18 and Kushal Sharma, Reader, Kirorimal College, New
Delhi for a case study of landslide on page10.
The Council also gratefully acknowledges the contribution of Uttam
Kumar, Anil Sharma and Moqaddas Azam, DTP Operators; Ajay Singh, Satish
Jha, Copy Editors and Dinesh Kumar, In charge, Computer Station who
have helped in giving a final shape to this textbook. The contribution of the
Publication Department, NCERT is also duly acknowledged.

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 CONTENTS
Foreword iii
Rationalisation of Content in the Textbooks v

Chapter 1 1–6
Resources

Chapter 2 7 – 21
Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation
and Wildlife Resources

Chapter 3 22 – 31
Agriculture

Chapter 4 32 – 43
Industries

Chapter 5 44 – 53
Human Resources

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2024-25
 Resources

Mona and Raju were helping Amma to clean their house.

“Look at all these things…. clothes, utensils, foodgrains,
combs, this bottle of honey, books…..Each of these has a
use,” said Mona. “That is why they are important,” said
Amma. “These are resources…..”. “What is a resource?”
Let’s do
was Raju’s question to Amma. “Anything that can be used
List out five
to satisfy a need is a resource”, replied amma. “Look around resources you use
you and observe, you will be able to identify many types of in your home and
resources. The water you drink when you are thirsty, the five you use in
electricity you use in your house, the rickshaw you use to your classroom.
get home from school, the textbook you use to study are all
resources. Your father has prepared a tasty snack for you.
The fresh vegetables he has used are also a resource”.
Water, electricity, rickshaw, vegetable and textbook
have something in common. They have all been used by
you, so they have utility. Utility or usability is what makes
an object or substance a resource.
“How does something become a resource?” Raju now
wanted to know. Amma told the children that things become
resources only when they have a value. “Its use or utility gives
it a value. All resources have some value.” said Amma.
Value means worth. Some resources have economic
value, some do not. For example, metals may have an
Glossary
economic value, a beautiful landscape may not. But both
Patent: It means
are important and satisfy human needs. the exclusive right
Some resources can become economically valuable over any idea or
with time. Your grandmother’s home remedies have no invention.
commercial value today. But if they are patented and sold by
a medical firm tomorrow, they could become economically
valuable.

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 Time and technology are two important factors that
Glossary can change substances into resources. Both are related
Technology: It is to the needs of the people. People themselves are the
the application of most important resource. It is their ideas, knowledge,
latest knowledge inventions and discoveries that lead to the creation of
and skill in doing
more resources. Each discovery or invention leads to many
or making things.
others. The discovery of fire led to the practice of cooking
and other processes while the invention of the wheel
ultimately resulted in development of
Activity newer modes of transport. The technology “A very
Circle those valuable one!”
resources from to create hydroelectricity
Amma’s list that has turned energy in fast “So I am a
are regarded flowing water into an resource too!”
as having no
commercial value.
important resource.

Types of ResouRces
Resources are generally classified into
natural, human made and human.

Natural Resources
Amma’s List Resources that are drawn from Nature and used without
Cotton cloth much modification are called natural resources. The
Iron ore air we breathe, the water in our rivers and lakes, the
Intelligence soils, minerals are all natural resources. Many of these
resources are free gifts of nature and can be used directly.
Medicinal plants
In some cases tools and technology may be needed to
Medical knowledge use a natural resource in the best possible way.
Coal deposits
Natural resources can be broadly categorised into
Beautiful scenery renewable and non-renewable resources.
Agricultural land Renewable resources are those which get renewed
Clean environment or replenished quickly. Some of these are unlimited
Old folk songs and are not affected by human activities, such as solar
and wind energy. Yet careless use of certain renewable
Good weather
resources like water, soil and forest can affect their
Resourcefulness stock. Water seems to be an unlimited renewable
A good singing voice resource. But shortage and drying up of natural
Grandmother’s water sources is a major problem in many parts of the
home remedies world today.
Affection from Non-renewable resources are those which have a
friends and family limited stock. Once the stocks are exhausted it may
take thousands of years to be renewed or replenished.
Since this period is much more than human life spans,
2 ResouRces and development

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such resources are considered non-renewable. Coal,
petroleum and natural gas are some examples. Glossary
Stock of Resource
The distribution of natural resources depends It is the amount of
upon number of physical factors like terrain, climate resources available
and altitude. The distribution of resources is unequal for use.
because these factors differ so much over the earth.
Human Made Resources
Sometimes, natural substances become resources only Let’s do
when their original form has been changed. Iron ore Think of a few
was not a resource until people learnt to extract iron renewable resources
from it. People use natural resources to make buildings, and mention how
bridges, roads, machinery and vehicles, which are their stock may get
known as human made resources. Technology is also affected by overuse.
a human made resource.
“So people like us use natural resources to make human
made resources,” said Mona nodding in understanding. Let’s do
“Yes,” said Raju. Make a list of
five human made
Human Resources resources that you
People can make the best use of nature to create more can observe around
resources when they have the knowledge, skill and the you.

“Crops ruined
due to that’s it!
drought”. Do you know?
“Can I find Human Resource
a solution?”. refers to the
number (quantity)
and abilities
(mental and
physical) of the
people. Though,
“…its all thanks there are differing
to the knowledge, views regarding
education and treatment of
skill… we could find humans as a
a solution… resource, one
cannot deny the
fact that it is the
skills of human that
Read and Ponder: Humans are interdependent on help in transfering
each other. Farmers provide food grains for every one. the physical
Scientists suggest various means to combat problems material into a
related to agriculture and improve farm production. valuable resource.

ResouRces 3

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 technology to do so. That is why human
beings are a special resource. People
are human resources. Education and
health help in making people a valuable
resource. Improving the quality of
people’s skills so that they are able
to create more resources is known as
human resource development.

conseRving ResouRces
Mona had a nightmare. She dreamt that all
the water on the earth had dried up and all the
trees cut down. There was no shade and nothing to
eat or drink. People were suffering and roaming around
desperately looking for food and shade.
She told her mother about the dream. “Amma can this
really happen?” she asked.
Glossary “Yes,” Amma replied. “If we are not careful then even
Sustainable renewable resources can become very scarce and the
Development
non-renewable ones can definitely get exhausted”. “What
Carefully utilising
resources so that can we do about it,” Raju asked. “Lots,” replied Amma.
besides meeting Using resources carefully and giving them time to get
the requirements renewed is called resource conservation. Balancing
of the present, also
the need to use resources and also conserve them for
takes care of future
generations.
the future is called sustainable development. There
are many ways of conserving resources. Each person
can contribute by reducing consumption, recycling and
reusing thing. Ultimately it makes a difference because
all our lives are linked.
That evening the children and their friends
made packets and shopping bags out of old
newspapers, discarded clothes and baskets
from bamboo sticks. “We will give a few to every
family we know,” said Mona. “After all it is for
a very good cause,” said Mustafa, “To save our
resources and to keep our earth alive”.
“I am going to be very careful not to waste
paper,” said Jessy. “Many trees are cut down to
make paper,” she explained.
“I will see that electricity is not wasted in
my house,” shouted Mustafa. “Electricity comes
from water and coal.”
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 “I will make sure that water is not wasted at home,” Some Principles of
said Asha. “Every drop of water is precious” Sustainable Development
“Together we can make a difference!” chorused the Respect and care for all
children. forms of life
Improve the quality of
These are some of the things Mona, Raju and their human life
friends did. What about you? How are you going to help Conserve the earth’s
in conserving resources? vitality and diversity
The future of our planet and its people is linked with Minimise the depletion
our ability to maintain and preserve the life support of natural resources
Change personal
system that nature provides. Therefore it is our duty to attitude and practices
ensure that : towards the environment
• all uses of renewable resources are sustainable Enable communities
• the diversity of life on the earth is conserved to care for their own
• the damage to natural environmental system is environment.
minimised.

Exercises
1. Answer the following questions.
(i) Why are resources distributed unequally over the earth?
(ii) What is resource conservation?
(iii) Why are human resources important?
(iv) What is sustainable development?
2. Tick the correct answer.
(i) Which one of the following does NOT make substance a resource?
(a) utility (b) value (c) quantity
(ii) Which one of the following is a human made resource?
(a) medicines to treat cancer
(b) spring water
(c) tropical forests
(iii) Complete the statement.
Non-renewable resources are
(a) those which have limited stock
(b) made by human beings
(c) derived from non-living things
3. Activity
“Rahiman paani raakhiye,
Bin paani sab soon.

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 Paani gaye na ubere
Moti, manus, choon…”
[Says Rahim, keep water, as without water there is nothing. Without water
pearl, swan and dough cannot exist. ]
These lines were written by the poet Abdur Rahim Khankhana, one of the
nine gems of Akbar’s court. What kind of resource is the poet referring to?
Write in 100 words what would happen if this resource disappeared?
For Fun
1. Pretend that you live in the prehistoric times on a high windy plateau. What
are the uses you and your friends could put the fast winds to? Can you call
the wind a resource?
Now imagine that you are living in the same place in the year 2138. Can
you put the winds to any use? How? Can you explain why the wind is an
important resource now?
2. Pick up a stone, a leaf, a paper straw and a twig. Think of how you can use
these as resources. See the example given below and get creative!

You can use a stone… Use/Utility

To play stapu toy

As a paper-weight tool
To crush spices tool
To decorate your garden/room decoration piece
To open a bottle tool
In a catapult weapon

You can use a leaf… Use/Utility

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 Land, Soil, Water,
Natural Vegetation
and Wildlife Resources
In a small village in Tanzania, Africa, Mamba gets up
very early in the morning to fetch water. She has to walk
a long way and returns after a few hours. She then helps Let’s do
her mother in the house and joins her brothers in taking Observe the land,
care of their goats. All her family owns is a piece of rocky type of soil and
land around their small hut. Mamba’s father can barely water availability
grow some maize and beans on it after toiling hard. This in the region you
live. Discuss in
is not enough to feed their family for the whole year. your class, how it
Peter lives in the heart of the sheep rearing region in has influenced the
New Zealand where his family runs a wool processing lifestyle of people
factory. Everyday when he returns from school, Peter there.
watches his uncle taking care of their sheep. Their sheep
yard is situated on a wide grassy plain with hills in the
far distance. It is managed in a scientific way using the
latest technology. Peter’s family also grows vegetables
through organic farming.
Mamba and Peter stay in two different parts of the
world and lead very different lives. This difference is
because of the differences in the quality of land, soil,
water, natural vegetation, animals and the usage of Do you know?
technology. The availability of such resources is the Ninety per cent
main reason places differ from each other. of the world
population
occupies only
Land thirty per cent of
Land is among the most important natural resources. land area. The
It covers only about thirty per cent of the total area of remaining seventy
the earth’s surface and all parts of this small percentage per cent of the
land is either
are not habitable.
sparsely populated
The uneven distribution of population in different or uninhabited.
parts of the world is mainly due to varied characteristics
of land and climate. The rugged topography, steep slopes
of the mountains, low-lying areas susceptible to water

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 logging, desert areas, thick
forested areas are normally
sparsely populated or
uninhabited. Plains and river
valleys offer suitable land for
agriculture. Hence, these are
the densely populated areas
of the world.

Land Use
Land is used for different
Fig. 2.1: Salzburg in Austria purposes such as agriculture,
Notice in how many ways the land has been used in the forestry, mining, building
above picture. houses, roads and setting up
of industries. This is commonly termed as Land use.
Can you list out the different ways in which Mamba’s
and Peter’s family use their land?
The use of land is determined by physical factors
such as topography, soil, climate, minerals and
availability of water. Human factors such as population
and technology are also important determinants of land
use pattern.
Land can also be classified on the basis of ownership
Let’s do as – private land and community land. Private land
Talk to some is owned by individuals whereas, community land
elderly person is owned by the community for common uses like
in your family or
neighbourhood and collection of fodder, fruits, nuts or medicinal herbs.
collect information These community lands are also called common
about changes property resources.
in the land use People and their demands are ever growing but the
over the years, in
the place where
availability of land is limited. The quality of land also
you live. Display differs from place to place. People started encroaching
your findings on a the common lands to build up commercial areas,
bulletin board in housing complexes in the urban areas and to expand
your classroom. the agricultural land in the rural areas. Today the
vast changes in the land use pattern also reflect the
cultural changes in our society. Land degradation,
landslides, soil erosion, desertification are the major
threats to the environment because of the expansion
of agriculture and construction activities.

8 ResouRces and development

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1. 2.

3. 4.

Fig. 2.2: Change in land use over time

Conservation of Land resoUrCe

Growing population and their ever growing demand has
led to a large scale destruction of forest cover and arable
land and has created a fear of losing this natural resource.
Therefore, the present rate of degradation of land must Glossary
be checked. Afforestation, land reclamation, regulated Weathering
The breaking
use of chemical pesticide and fertilisers and checks on up and decay of
overgrazing are some of the common methods used to exposed rocks,
conserve land resources. by temperature
changes, frost
action, plants,
soiL animals and
The thin layer of grainy substance covering the surface human activity.
of the earth is called soil. It is closely linked to land.
Landforms determine the type of soil. Soil is made
up of organic matter, minerals and weathered rocks
found on the earth. This happens through the process
of weathering. The right mix of minerals and organic
matter make the soil fertile.

Land, SoiL, Water, naturaL Vegetation and WiLdLife reSourceS 9

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 Landslides
Landslides are simply defined as the mass movement
of rock, debris or earth down a slope. They often take
place in conjunction with earthquakes, floods and
volcanoes. A prolonged spell of rainfall can cause
heavy landslide that can block the flow of river for
quite some time. The formation of river blocks can
cause havoc to the settlements downstream on its
bursting. In the hilly terrain landslides have been a
major and widely spread natural disaster that often
strike life and property and occupy a position of major A Landslide
concern.
A Case Study
A massive landslide hit Pangi village near Reckong Peo in Kinnaur district of
Himachal Pradesh and damaged a 200-meter stretch of old Hindustan-Tibet
road, National Highway - 22. This landslide was triggered by intense blasting
at Pangi village. Due to the blasting this weak zone of slope collapsed and
caused intense damage to the road and nearby villages. The Pangi village was
completely vacated to avoid any possible loss of life.
Mitigation Mechanism
Advancement in scientific techniques has empowered us to understand what
factors cause landslides and how to manage them. Some broad mitigation
techniques of landslide are as follows:
• Hazard mapping to locate areas prone to
landslides. Hence, such areas can be avoided
for building settlements.
• Construction of retention wall to stop land from
slipping.
• Increase in the vegetation cover to arrest
landslide.
• The surface drainage control works to control Retention Wall
the movement of landslide along with rain water
and spring flows.

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 Top soil with humus and
vegetation

Sub soil with sand, silt and Do you know?

clay It takes hundreds
of years to make
Weathered rock material just one centimetre
of soil.
Parent rock

Fig. 2.3: Soil Profile

faCtors of soiL formation

The major factors of soil formation are the nature of
the parent rock and climatic factors. Other factors are
the topography, role of organic material and time taken
for the composition of soil formation. All these differ
from place to place.

Parent Rock
Determines colour, Climate
texture, chemical Temperature,
properties Rainfall influence
mineral, content, Soil rate of weathering
permeability and humus
formation

Relief
Flora, Fauna and
Altitude and Time
Micro-organism
slope, determine Determines thickness
Affect the rate of humus
accumulation of soil profile
formation
of soil

Fig. 2.4: Factors affecting soil formation

Land, SoiL, Water, naturaL Vegetation and WiLdLife reSourceS 11

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 degradation of soiL and Conservation
Activity
In India soils
measUres
could be alluvial, Soil erosion and depletion are the major threats to soil
black, red, laterite, as a resource. Both human and natural factors can
desertic and lead to degradation of soils. Factors which lead to soil
mountain soil. degradation are deforestation, overgrazing, overuse of
Collect a handful
chemical feritilisers or pesticides, rain wash, landslides
of different
types of soil and
and floods.
observe. How are Some methods of soil conservation are listed below:
they different? Mulching: The bare ground between plants is covered
with a layer of organic matter like straw. It helps to
retain soil moisture.
Contour barriers: Stones, grass, soil are used to build
barriers along contours. Trenches are made in front of
the barriers to collect water.
Rock dam: Rocks are piled up to slow down the flow of
water. This prevents gullies and further soil loss.

Fig 2.5: Terrace Farming Fig 2.6: Contour Ploughing

Terrace farming: Broad flat steps or terraces are

made on the steep slopes so that flat surfaces are
available to grow crops. They reduce surface run-
off and soil erosion (Fig. 2.5).
Intercropping: Different crops are grown in alternate
rows and are sown at different times to protect the
soil from rain wash.
Contour ploughing: Ploughing parallel to the
contours of a hill slope to form a natural barrier
for water to flow down the slope (Fig. 2.6).
Fig 2.7: Shelter Belts Shelter belts: In the coastal and dry regions, rows
of trees are planted to check the wind movement to
protect soil cover (Fig. 2.7).
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 Activity
Take two trays A and B of same A B
size. Make six holes at one end
of these trays and then fill them
with the same amount of soil.
Leave the soil in tray A bare while
sow wheat or rice grains in tray
B. When the grain in tray B has
grown a few centimetres high,
place both the trays in such a
way that they are on a slope.
Pour one mug of water from
the same height into each tray.
Collect the muddy water that
trickles down the holes of both
trays in two separate containers
and compare how much soil
is washed out of each tray?

Water
Water is a vital renewable natural resource. Three-
fourth’s of the earth’s surface is covered with water.
It is therefore appropriately called the ‘water planet’.
It was in the primitive oceans that life began almost Do you know?
3.5 billion years back. Even today, the oceans cover In 1975, the
two-thirds of the earth’s surface and support a rich consumption of
variety of plant and animal life. The ocean water is water for human
use was 3850cu
however saline and not fit for human consumption.
km/year. It soared
Fresh water accounts for only about 2.7 per cent. Nearly to more than 6000
70 per cent of this occurs as ice sheets and glaciers in cu km/year in the
Antarctica, Greenland and mountain regions. Due to year 2000.
their location they are inaccessible. Only 1 per cent of
freshwater is available and fit for human use. It is found
as ground water, as surface water in rivers and lakes
and as water vapour in the atmosphere.
Fresh water is therefore, the most precious substance Do you know?
on earth. Water can neither be added nor subtracted A dripping tap
from the earth. Its total volume remains constant. wastes1200
Its abundance only seems to vary because it is in litres of water in
a year.
constant motion, cycling through the oceans, the
air, the land and back again, through the processes
of evaporation, precipitation and run-off. This as
you already know is referred to as the ‘water cycle’.
Land, SoiL, Water, naturaL Vegetation and WiLdLife reSourceS 13

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 Humans use huge amounts of water not only for
drinking and washing but also in the process of
production. Water for agriculture, industries,
generating electricity
through reservoirs of
Activity dams are the other
An average urban Indian uses about 150 litres usages. Increasing
of water every day. population, rising
Use Litres per person per day
demands for food and
Drinking 3
Cooking 4 cash crops, increasing
Bathing 20 urbanisation and rising
Flushing 40 standards of living
Washing clothes 40 are the major factors
Washing utensils 20 leading to shortages in
Gardening 23 supply of fresh water
Total 150
either due to drying
Can you suggest some ways to bring down this amount?
up of water sources or
water pollution.

Problems of Water availability

There is scarcity of water in many regions of the world.
Most of Africa, West Asia, South Asia, parts of western
USA, north-west Mexico, parts of South America and
entire Australia are facing shortages in fresh water supply.
Countries located in climatic zones most susceptible to
droughts face great problems of water scarcity. Thus,
water shortage may be a consequence of variation in
seasonal or annual precipitation or the scarcity is caused
by over-exploitation and contamination of water sources.

Conservation of Water
resourCes
Access to clean and adequate water
sources is a major problem facing the
world today. Steps have to be taken to
conserve this dwindling resource. Even
though water is a renewable resource, its
overuse and pollution make it unfit for
use. Discharge of untreated or partially
treated sewage, agricultural chemicals
and industrial effluents in water bodies
Fig 2.8: River Yamuna is getting polluted due
to sewage, industrial effluents and garbage are major contaminants. They pollute
water with nitrates, metals and pesticides.
14 ResouRces and development

2024-25
Most of these chemicals are non-biodegradable and
reach human bodies through water. Water pollution can
be controlled by treating these effluents suitably before
releasing them in water bodies.
Forest and other vegetation cover slow the
surface runoff and replenish underground
water. Water harvesting is another method
to save surface runoff. The canals used
for irrigating field should be properly
lined to minimise losses by water seepage.
Sprinklers effectively irrigate the area by
checking water losses through seepage and
evaporation. In dry regions with high rates
of evaporation, drip or trickle irrigation is
Fig 2.9: A Water Sprinkler
very useful. The valuable water resource
can therefore be conserved by adopting
these means of irrigation. Do you know?
Rain water
harvesting is
natUraL vegetation and WiLdLife the process of
Some school children were visiting an exhibition on collecting rain
handicrafts. The articles in the exhibition were collected water from roof
from different parts of the country. Mona picked up a bag tops and directing
it to an appropriate
and exclaimed, “This is a beautiful handbag!” “Yes, it location where
is made from Jute,” the teacher said. “Do you see those it is stored for
baskets, lamp shades and chairs? Those are made of future use. On an
canes and bamboos. In the eastern and north eastern average, one spell
humid regions of India, bamboo grows in plenty.” Jassy of rain for two
was excited to see a silk scarf. “See this beautiful hours is enough to
scarf”. The teacher explained that silk is obtained from save 8,000 litres of
water.
silk worms that are bred on Mulberry trees. The children
understood that plants provide us with many different
products that we use in our day-to-day life.
Natural vegetation and wildlife exist only
in the narrow zone of contact between the
lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere
that we call biosphere. In the biosphere living
beings are inter-related and interdependent
on each other for survival. This life supporting
system is known as the ecosystem. Vegetation
and wildlife are valuable resources. Plants
provide us with timber, give shelter to animals,
produce oxygen we breathe, protects soils so
Fig 2.10: Silk Worms
Land, SoiL, Water, naturaL Vegetation and WiLdLife reSourceS 15

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 essential for growing crops,
act as shelter belts, help
in storage of underground
water, give us fruits, nuts,
latex, turpentine oil, gum,
Do you know? medicinal plants and also
Vultures in the paper that is so essential
the Indian
subcontinent were
for your studies. There are
dying of kidney innumerable uses of plants
failure shortly and you can add some more.
after scavenging Wildlife includes animals,
livestock treated birds, insects as well as the
with diclofenac, a aquatic life forms. They provide
painkiller that is us milk, meat, hides and wool.
similar to aspirin Fig 2.11: Brahma Kamal
or ibuprofen.
Insects like bees provide us a Medicinal Herb
Efforts are on to honey, help in pollination of
ban the drug for flowers and have an important
livestock use and role to play as decomposers
breed vultures in in the ecosystem. The birds
captivity. feed on insects and act as
decomposers as well. Vulture
due to its ability to feed on dead
livestock is a scavenger and
considered a vital cleanser of
the environment. So animals
big or small, all are integral Fig 2.12: A Blue Kingfisher
to maintaining balance in
the ecosystem.

distribUtion of natUraL vegetation

The growth of vegetation depends primarily on
temperature and moisture. The major vegetation
types of the world are grouped as forests,
grasslands, scrubs and tundra.
In areas of heavy rainfall, huge trees
may thrive. The forests are thus associated
with areas having abundant water supply.
As the amount of moisture decreases the
size of trees and their density reduces.
Short stunted trees and grasses grow in
the regions of moderate rainfall forming the
grasslands of the world. Thorny shrubs and
Fig. 2.13: Grassland and Forest

16 ResouRces and development

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scrubs grow in dry areas of low rainfall.
In such areas plants have deep roots and
leaves with thorny and waxy surface
reduce loss of moisture through
transpiration. Tundra vegetation of
cold Polar Regions comprise of mosses
and lichens.
Today there are many more people in
the world than there were two centuries
back. To feed the growing numbers,
large areas of forests have been cleared Fig. 2.14: A Python in a forest
to grow crops. Forest cover all over the
world is vanishing rapidly. There
is an urgent need to conserve
this valuable resource.

Conservation of natUraL
vegetation and WiLdLife
Forests are our wealth. Plants
give shelter to the animals and
together they maintain the
ecosystem. Changes of climate
and human interferences can
cause the loss of natural habitats
for the plants and animals. Many
species have become vulnerable Fig. 2.15: A collage of a forest made by school students
or endangered and some are
on the verge of extinction. Deforestation,
soil erosion, constructional activities, forest
fires, tsunami and landslides are some of the
human and natural factors which accelerate
the process of extinction of these resources.
One of the major concerns is the poaching
which result in a sharp decline in the number
of particular species. The animals are poached
for collection and illegal trade of hides, skins,
nails, teeth, horns as well as feathers. Some
of these animals are tiger, lion, elephant,
deer, black buck, crocodile, rhinoceros, snow
Fig. 2.16: Loss of rainforest in
Great Nicobar after Tsunami
Land, SoiL, Water, naturaL Vegetation and WiLdLife reSourceS 17

2024-25
 leopard, ostrich and peacock. These can be
conserved by increasing awareness.
National parks, wildlife sanctuaries,
biosphere reserves are made to protect our
natural vegetation and wildlife. Conservation
of creeks, lakes, and wetlands is necessary to
save the precious resource from depletion
There is a balance in the environment
if the relative number of species is not
disturbed. Human activities in several parts
of the world have disturbed the natural
Fig. 2.17: Black buck also needs protection

Forest Fire

Activity
Read the news item and find out how fire started in California ? Could it be avoided?
Know More
Forest fire is a threat to the entire region of fauna and flora. It occurs mainly due to
three reasons :
1. Natural fire due to lightening etc.
2. Fire due to heat generated in the litter due to carelessness of people.
3. Fire purposely caused by local inhabitants, mischief makers, miscreants etc.
Some Control Measures
1. Prevention of fires through education.
2. Prompt detection of fires through well co-ordinated network of observation points,
efficient ground patroling and communication network.

18 ResouRces and development

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habitats of many species. Due to indiscriminate killings,
several birds and animals have either become extinct or Glossary
are on the verge of extinction. National Park
Awareness programmes like social forestry and A natural area
Vanamohatasava should be encouraged at the regional designated to
and community level. School children should be protect the
ecological integrity
encouraged to bird watch and visit nature camps so
of one or more
that they appreciate the habitat of varied species. ecosystems for the
Many countries have passed laws against the trade present and the
as well as killing of birds and animals. In India, killing future generations
lions, tigers, deers, great Indian bustards and peacocks
is illegal.
An international convention CITES has
been established that lists several species
of animals and birds in which trade is
prohibited. Conservation of plants and
animals is an ethical duty of every citizen.

Fig. 2:18: A Herd of Cheetals

Glossary
Biosphere reserves
Series of protected
areas linked
through a global
network, intended
to demonstrate
Fig. 2:19: A herd of Elephants in Kaziranga the relationship
National Park between
conservation and
development.

Do you know?
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between
governments. It aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of
wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Roughly 5,000
species of animals and 28,000 species of plants are protected. Bears,
dolphins, cacti, corals, orchids and aloes are some examples.

Land, SoiL, Water, naturaL Vegetation and WiLdLife reSourceS 19

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 Exercises
1. Answer the following questions.
(i) Which are the two main climatic factors responsible for soil formation?
(ii) Write any two reasons for land degradation today.
(iii) Why is land considered an important resource?
(iv) Name any two steps that government has taken to conserve plants
and animals.
(v) Suggest three ways to conserve water.
2. Tick the correct answer.
(i) Which one of the following is NOT a factor of soil formation?
(a) time (b) soil texture (c) organic matter
(ii) Which one of the following methods is most appropriate to check
soil erosion on steep slopes?
(a) shelter belts (b) mulching (c) terrace cultivation
(iii) Which one of the following is NOT in favour of the conservation
of nature?
(a) switch off the bulb when not in use
(b) close the tap immediately after using
(c) dispose polypacks after shopping
3. Match the followings :
(i) Land use (a) prevent soil erosion
(ii) Humus (b) narrow zone of contact between the lithosphere,
hydrosphere and atmosphere
(iii) Rock dams (c) productive use of land
(iv) Biosphere (d) organic matter deposited on top soil
(e) contour ploughing
4. State whether the given statement is true or false.
If true, write the reasons.
(i) Ganga–Brahmaputra plain of India is an overpopulated region.
(ii) Water availability per person in India is declining.
(iii) Rows of trees planted in the coastal areas to check the wind
movement is called intercropping.
(iv) Human interference and changes of climate can maintain the
ecosystem.
5. Activity
Discuss some more reasons which are responsible for changes of land use pattern.
Has your place undergone any change in the land use pattern in recent years?

20 ResouRces and development

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Find out from your parents and elderly people. You can conduct an interview by
asking the following questions.

Place When your When your Why do you Are common

grand parents were think this is areas and
parent’s were in their 30’s happening? open spaces
in their 30’s disappearing?
Rural
Number of
cattle and
poultry owned
Number of
trees and
ponds in the
village
Main
occupation of
the head of
the family
Urban
Number of
cars owned
Number of
rooms in the
house
Number of
metalled
roads
Number of
flyovers in the
city
Number of
parks and
playgrounds
Based on the table you have just completed, draw a picture of land use patterns
that you foresee in your neighbourhood after 20 years. Why do you think that land
use patterns change over the years?

Land, SoiL, Water, naturaL Vegetation and WiLdLife reSourceS 21

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 Agriculture

Gurpreet, Madho and Tina were walking through

the village where they saw a farmer tilling land. The
farmer told them that he was growing wheat and had
just added manure to the soil to make it more fertile.
He told the children that the wheat would fetch a
good price in the mandi from where it would be taken
to factories to make bread and biscuits from flour.
This transformation from a plant to a finished
product involves three types of economic activities.
These are primary, secondary and tertiary activities.
Primary activities include all those connected
with extraction and production of natural resources.
Agriculture, fishing and gathering are good examples.
Secondary activities are concerned with the processing
of these resources. Manufacturing of steel, baking of
Word Origin bread and weaving of cloth are examples of this activity.
The word Tertiary activities provide support to the primary and
agriculture is secondary sectors through services. Transport, trade,
derived from Latin banking, insurance and advertising are examples of
words ager or agri tertiary activities.
meaning soil and
Agriculture is a primary activity. It includes growing
culture meaning,
crops, fruits, vegetables, flowers and rearing of livestock.
cultivation.
In the world, 50 per cent of persons are engaged in
agricultural activity. Two-thirds of India’s population is
still dependent on agriculture.
Favourable topography of soil and climate are vital
for agricultural activity. The land on which the crops
are grown is known as arable land (Fig. 3.1). In the map
you can see that agricultural activity is concentrated in
those regions of the world where suitable factors for the
growing of crops exist.

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 Fig. 3.1: World Distribution of Arable Land

Do you know?
Agriculture
The science and art of cultivation on the soil, raising
crops and rearing livestock. It is also called farming.
Agri
Sericulture
Seri Commercial rearing of silk worms. It may supplement the
income of the farmer.
Pisci + Culture
Pisciculture
Breeding of fish in specially constructed tanks and ponds.
Viti
Viticulture
Horti Cultivation of grapes.

Horticulture
Growing vegetables, flowers and fruits for commercial use.

Farm SyStem
Agriculture or farming can be looked at as a system. The
important inputs are seeds, fertilisers, machinery and
Agriculture 23

2024-25
 Inputs Processes Outputs Physical Inputs
Sunshine Rainfall

Temperature
Soil
Human
Machinery Inputs Slope

Storage

Seeds Crops Labour

Machinery
Ploughing
Sowing
Chemicals Chemicals
Spraying

Fig 3.2: The farm system of an arable farm Fig 3.3: Physical and human farm inputs
labour. Some of the operations involved are ploughing,
sowing, irrigation, weeding and harvesting. The outputs
from the system include crops, wool, dairy and poultry
products.

typeS oF Farming
Farming is practised in various ways across the world.
Depending upon the geographical conditions, demand
Interesting Fact of produce, labour and level of technology, farming can
Organic Farming be classified into two main types. These are subsistence
In this type of
farming and commercial farming.
farming, organic
manure and
natural pesticides Subsistence Farming
are used instead This type of farming is practised to meet the needs of the
of chemicals. farmer’s family. Traditionally, low levels of technology
No genetic
and household labour are used to produce on small
modification is
done to increase
output. Subsistence farming can be further classified
the yield of the as intensive subsistence and primitive subsistence
crop. farming.
In intensive subsistence agriculture the farmer
cultivates a small plot of land using simple tools and
more labour. Climate with large number of days with
sunshine and fertile soils permit growing of more than
one crop annually on the same plot. Rice is the main
crop. Other crops include wheat, maize, pulses and
oilseeds. Intensive subsistence agriculture is prevalent
in the thickly populated areas of the monsoon regions
of south, southeast and east Asia.

24 resources And development

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 Primitive subsistence agriculture includes shifting
cultivation and nomadic herding. Do you know?
Shifting cultivation is practised in the thickly Shifting cultivation
forested areas of Amazon basin, tropical Africa, parts of is known by
different names in
southeast Asia and Northeast India. These are the areas
different parts of
of heavy rainfall and quick regeneration of vegetation. the world
A plot of land is cleared by felling the trees and burning Jhumming -
them. The ashes are then mixed with the soil and crops North-East India
like maize, yam, potatoes and cassava are grown. After Milpa -Mexico,
the soil loses its fertility, the land is abandoned and the Central America
cultivator moves to a new plot. Shifting cultivation is Roca - Brazil.
Ladang - Malaysia
also known as ‘slash and burn’ agriculture.
Nomadic herding is practised in the semi-arid
and arid regions of Sahara, Central Asia and some
parts of India, like Rajasthan and Jammu and
Kashmir. In this type of farming, herdsmen
move from place to place with their animals for
fodder and water, along defined routes. This
type of movement arises in response to climatic
constraints and terrain. Sheep, camel, yak and
goats are most commonly reared. They provide
milk, meat, wool, hides and other products to
the herders and their families. Fig 3.4: Nomadic Herders with
their camels
Commercial Farming
In commercial farming crops are grown and
animals are reared for sale in market. The area
cultivated and the amount of capital used is
large. Most of the work is done by machines.
Commercial farming includes commercial
grain farming, mixed farming and plantation
agriculture (Fig 3.5).
In commercial grain farming crops are grown
for commercial purpose. Wheat and maize are
common commercially grown grains. Major
areas where commercial grain farming is Fig 3.5: A Sugarcane
pracised are temperate grasslands of North America, plantation
Europe and Asia. These areas are sparsely populated
with large farms spreading over hundreds of hectares.
Severe winters restrict the growing season and only a
single crop can be grown.
In mixed farming the land is used for growing
food and fodder crops and rearing livestock.
AGRICULTURE 25

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 It is practised in Europe, eastern USA, Argentina,
southeast Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Plantations are a type of commercial farming
where single crop of tea, coffee, sugarcane, cashew,
rubber, banana or cotton are grown. Large amount
of labour and capital are required. The produce may
be processed on the farm itself or in nearby factories.
The development of a transport network is thus
essential for such farming.
Major plantations are found in the tropical
regions of the world. Rubber in Malaysia, coffee
in Brazil, tea in India and Sri Lanka are some
examples.

Fig 3.6: A Banana Plantation

Major Crops
A large variety of crops are grown to meet the
requirement of the growing population. Crops also
supply raw materials for agro based industries.
Major food crops are wheat, rice, maize and
millets. Jute and cotton are fibre crops. Important
beverage crops are tea and coffee.

Rice: Rice is the major food crop of the world. It

is the staple diet of the tropical and sub-tropical
Fig 3.7: Rice Cultivation regions. Rice needs high temperature, high
humidity and rainfall. It grows best in alluvial
clayey soil, which can retain water. China leads in
the production of rice followed by India, Japan, Sri
Lanka and Egypt. In favourable climatic conditions
as in West Bengal and Bangladesh two to three
crops are grown in a year.

Fig 3.8: Wheat Harvesting Wheat: Wheat requires moderate temperature and
rainfall during growing season and bright sunshine
at the time of harvest. It thrives best in well drained
loamy soil. Wheat is grown extensively in USA,
Canada, Argentina, Russia, Ukraine, Australia
and India. In India it is grown in winter.

Millets: They are also known as coarse grains and

can be grown on less fertile and sandy soils. It is
Fig 3.9: Bajra Cultivation a hardy crop that needs low rainfall and high to

26 resources And development

2024-25
moderate temperature and adequate rainfall. Jowar,
bajra and ragi are grown in India. Other countries are Do you know?
Nigeria, China and Niger. Maize is also know
as corn. Various
Maize: Maize requires colourful varieties
of maize are found
moderate temperature,
across the world.
rainfall and lots of
sunshine. It needs
well-drained fertile soils.
Maize is grown in North
America, Brazil, China,
Fig 3.10: Maize Cultivation Russia, Canada, India,
and Mexico.

Cotton: Cotton requires

high temperature, light
rainfall, two hundred
and ten frost-free days
and bright sunshine for
its growth. It grows best Interesting Fact
on black and alluvial Who discovered
Fig 3.11: Cotton Cultivation
soils. China, USA, India, the Coffee Plant?
Pakistan, Brazil and Egypt are the leading producers of There are different
cotton. It is one of the main raw materials for the cotton versions about
the discovery of
textile industry.
coffee. In about
AD 850, Kaldi, an
Jute: Jute was also known as the ‘Golden Fibre’. It grows Arab goat-herder,
well on alluvial soil and requires high temperature, who was puzzled
heavy rainfall and humid climate. This crop is grown in by the queer antics
the tropical areas. India and of his flock, tasted
Bangladesh are the leading the berries of the
producers of jute. evergreen bush on
which the goats
were feeding.
Coffee: Coffee requires warm On experiencing
and wet climate and well- a sense of
drained loamy soil. Hill slopes exhilaration, he
are more suitable for growth proclaimed his
discovery to the
of this crop. Brazil is the
world.
leading producer followed by
Fig 3.12: Coffee Plantation Columbia and India.

Tea: Tea is a beverage crop grown on plantations. This

requires cool climate and well distributed high rainfall
throughout the year for the growth of its tender leaves.
Agriculture 27

2024-25
 It needs well-drained loamy soils and gentle
slopes. Labour in large number is required to
pick the leaves. Kenya, India, China, Sri Lanka
produce the best quality tea in the world.

agricultural Development
Agricultural Development refers to efforts
made to increase farm production in order
to meet the growing demand of increasing
Fig 3.13: Tea Plantation
population. This can be achieved in many ways such as
increasing the cropped area, the number of crops grown,
improving irrigation facilities, use of fertilisers and high
yielding variety of seeds. Mechanisation of agriculture
is also another aspect of agricultural development. The
ultimate aim of agricultural development is to increase
food security.
Do you know?
Agriculture has developed at different places in different
Food security
parts of the world. Developing countries with large
exists when all
people, at all populations usually practise intensive agriculture where
times, have access crops are grown on small holdings mostly for subsistence.
to sufficient, safe Larger holdings are more suitable for commercial agriculture
and nutritious as in USA, Canada and Australia. With the help of two case
food to meet their studies of farms — one from India and the other from the
dietary needs and USA, let us understand about agriculture in the developing
food preferences
and a developed country.
for an active and
healthy life.
A Farm in India
There is a small village Adilabad in Ghazipur district of
Uttar Pradesh. Munna Lal is a small farmer in this village
who has farmland of about 1.5 hectares. His house is in
the main village. He purchases high yielding varieties of
seeds from the market every alternate year. The
land is fertile and he grows atleast two crops
in a year which are normally wheat or rice and
pulses. The farmer takes advice of his friends
and elders as well as government agricultural
officers regarding farming practices. He takes
a tractor on rent for ploughing his field, though
some of his friends still use traditional method
of using bullocks for ploughing. There is a
tubewell in the nearby field which he takes on
Fig 3.14: Farmers ploughing rent to irrigate his field.
a field
28 resources And development

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 Munna Lal also has two buffaloes and few hens. He
sells milk in the cooperative store located in the nearby
town. He is a member of the co-operative society which
also advises him on the type of fodder for his animals,
safety measures to protect the health of the livestock
and artificial insemination.
All the members of the family help him
in various farm activities. Sometimes, he
takes credit from a bank or the agricultural
co-operative society to buy HYV seeds and
implements.
He sells his produce in the mandi located
in the nearby town. Since majority of the
farmers do not have lack storage facilities,
they are forced to sell the produce even
when the market is not favourable to them. Fig 3.15: An Agricultural Field in India
In recent years, the government has taken
some steps to develop storage facilites.

A Farm in the USA

The average size of a farm in the USA is much
larger than that of an Indian farm. A typical
farm size in the USA is about 250 hectares.
The farmer generally resides in the farm.
Some of the major crops grown are corn,
soyabean, wheat, cotton and sugarbeet.
Joe Horan, a farmer in the Midwest USA, in
Iowa State owns about 300 hectares of land.
He grows corn on his field after making sure
Fig 3.16: A Farm in the USA
that soil and water resources meet the needs
of this crop. Adequate measures are taken to control
pests that can damage the crop. From time to time
he sends the soil samples to a soil testing laboratory
to check whether the
nutrients are sufficient or
not. The results help Joe
Horan to plan a scientific
fertiliser programme. His
computer is linked to the
satellite which gives him
a precise picture of his
field. This helps him to
Fig 3.17: Spray of Pesticides use chemical fertilisers
Agriculture 29

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 and pesticides wherever they are required.
He uses tractors, seed drills, leveller,
combined harvester and thresher to perform
various agricultural operations. A grains are
stored in the automated grain storage or
despatched to market agencies. The farmer
in USA works like a businessman and not
like a peasant farmer.
Fig 3.18: Mechanised Harvesting in the USA

Exercises
1. Answer the following questions.
(i) What is agriculture?
(ii) Name the factors influencing agriculture?
(iii) What is shifting cultivation? What are its disadvantages?
(iv) What is plantation agriculture?
(v) Name the fibre crops and name the climatic conditions required for their
growth.
2. Tick the correct answer.
(i) Horticulture means
(a) growing of fruits and vegetables (b) primitive farming
(c) growing of wheat
(ii) Golden fibre refers to
(a) tea (b) cotton (c) jute
(iii) Leading producers of coffee
(a) Brazil (b) India (c) Russia
3. Give reasons.
(i) In India agriculture is a primary activity.
(ii) Different crops are grown in different regions.
4. Distinguish between the followings.
(i) Primary activites and tertiary activities
(ii) Subsistence farming and intenstive farming.
5. Activity
(i) Collect seeds of wheat, rice, jowar, bajra, ragi, maize, oilseeds and pulses
available in the market. Bring them to the class and find out in which type
of soil they grow.
(ii) Find out the difference between the life style of farmers in the USA and
India on the basis of pictures collected from magazines, books, newspapers
and the Internet.

30 resources And development

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6. For Fun
1
Solve the crossword puzzle with
the help of given clues.
2

5 6

7 8

10

11

12 13

14

Across Down
1. Crop that needs well drained fertile 1. Coarse grains are also called (7)
soils, moderate temperatures and 3. Cultivation involving slash and
lots of sunshine (5) burn (8)
2. Increasing production through use 5. Growing of crops, fruits and
of HYV seeds, chemical fertilisers vegetables (11)
and pesticides (5,10)
6. Tea, coffee, sugarcane and rubber
4. USA, Canada, Russia, Australia are are grown in (11)
major producers of this crop (5)
7. Requires 210 frost-free days for
10. Type of farming to meet family growth (6)
needs (11)
8. Growing of flowers (12)
13. Rearing of animals for sale (9)
9. Also called ‘Golden Fibre’ (4)
14. Growing grapes for wines (11)
11. Also known as paddy (4)
12. Activity concerned with extraction
of natural resources (7)

Agriculture 31

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 4 Industries
Industries

Have you ever given a thought to the fact that the note
book you use for writing has come to you after a long
process of manufacturing. It started its life as part of a
tree. It was cut down and transported to the pulp mill.
There the wood of the tree was processed and converted
into wood pulp. The wood pulp was mixed with chemicals
and finally changed into paper by machines. This paper
found its way to the press where ink made from chemicals
was used to print the lines on the pages. The pages were
then bound in the form of a note book, packed and sent to
the market for sale. Finally, it reached your hands.
Secondary activities or manufacturing change
Journey begins...
raw materials into products of more value to people. As
you have seen pulp was changed into paper and paper
into a note book. These represent the two stages of the
manufacturing process.
The paper made from pulp and cloth made from
...paper made... cotton have had value added to them at each stage of the
...recycle... manufacturing process. In this way the finished product
has more value and utility than the raw material that it
is made from.
Industry refers to an economic activity that is
Activity concerned with production of goods, extraction of
Trace the journey minerals or the provision of services. Thus we have iron
of your shirt from and steel industry (production of goods), coal mining
a cotton field to industry (extraction of coal) and tourism industry
your wardrobe. (service provider).

ClassifiCation of industries
Industries can be classified on the basis of raw materials,
size and ownership.

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 Raw Materials: Industries may be agro based, mineral
based, marine based and forest based depending on the
type of raw materials they use. Agro based industries
use plant and animal based products as their raw
materials. Food processing, vegetable oil, cotton textile,
dairy products and leather industries are examples of
agro-based industries. Mineral based industries are Activity
primary industries that use mineral ores as their raw Give some
materials. The products of these industries feed other examples of agro
industries. Iron made from iron ore is the product of based industries.
mineral based industry. This is used as raw material for
the manufacture of a number of other products, such
as heavy machinery, building materials and railway
coaches. Marine based industries use products from the
sea and oceans as raw materials. Industries processing
sea food or manufacturing fish oil are some examples.
Forest based industries utilise forest produce as raw
materials. The industries associated with forests are pulp
and paper, pharmaceuticals, furniture and buildings.
Size: It refers to the amount of capital invested,
number of people employed and the volume of
production. Based on size, industries can be classified
into small scale and large scale industries.
Cottage or household industries are a type
of small scale industry where the products
are manufactured by hand, by the artisans.
Basket weaving, pottery and other handicrafts
are examples of cottage industry. Small
scale industries use lesser amount of capital
and technology as compared to large scale
industries that produce large volumes of
products. Investment of capital is higher and
the technology used is superior in large scale
industries. Silk weaving and food processing
industries are small scale industries
Fig 4.1: Stages in food processing of
(Fig 4.1). Production of automobiles and heavy Gorgon nut (makhana)
machinery are large scale industries.
Ownership: Industries can be classified into private
sector, state owned or public sector, joint sector and
cooperative sector. Private sector industries are owned
and operated by individuals or a group of individuals.
The public sector industries are owned and operated by
the government, such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
IndustrIes 33

2024-25
 and Steel Authority of India Limited. Joint sector
industries are owned and operated by the state
and individuals or a group of individuals. Maruti
Udyog Limited is an example of joint sector
industry. Co-operative sector industries are
owned and operated by the producers or suppliers
of raw materials, workers or both. Anand Milk
Union Limited and Sudha Dairy are a success
Fig 4.2: Sudha dairy in
stories of a co-operative venture.
Co-operative sector
faCtors affeCting loCation of industries
The factors affecting the location
of industries are the availability of
raw material, land, water, labour,
power, capital, transport and market.
Industries are situate d where some or
all of these factors are easily available.
Sometimes, the government provides
incentives like subsidised power, lower
transport cost and other infrastructure
so that industries may be located in
backward areas. Industrialisation
Fig 4.3: Locational factors for industries often leads to development and growth
of towns and cities.

industrial system
An industrial system consists of inputs, processes and
outputs. The inputs are the raw materials, labour and
costs of land, transport, power and other infrastructure.
The processes include a wide range of activities that
convert the raw material into finished products. The
Activity outputs are the end product and the income earned
Find out the from it. In case of the textile industry the inputs may be
inputs, outputs cotton, human labour, factory and transport cost. The
and processes processes include ginning, spinning, weaving, dyeing
involved in the
manufacture of a
and printing. The output is the shirt you wear.
leather shoe.
industrial regions
Industrial regions emerge when a number of industries
locate close to each other and share the benefits of their
closeness. Major industrial regions of the world are
eastern North America, western and central Europe,
eastern Europe and eastern Asia (Fig 4.4). Major
34 resources and development

2024-25
 Fig 4.4: World’s Industrial Regions

industrial regions tend to be located in the temperate

areas, near sea ports and especially near coal fields.
India has several industrial regions like Mumbai-
Pune cluster, Bangalore-Tamil Nadu region, Hugli region,
Ahmedabad-Baroda region, Chottanagpur industrial belt,
Vishakhapatnam-Guntur belt, Gurgaon-Delhi-Meerut
region and the Kollam-Thiruvanathapuram industrial
cluster.

Industrial Disaster
In industries, accidents/disasters mainly occur due to technical
failure or irresponsible handling of hazardous material.
One of the worst industrial disasters of all time occurred
in Bhopal on 3 December 1984 around 00:30 a.m. It was
a technological accident in which highly poisonous Methyl
Isocynate (MIC) gas along with Hydrogen Cyanide and other
reaction products leaked out of the pesticide factory of Union
Carbide. The official death toll was 3,598 in 1989. Thousands,
who survived still suffer from one or many ailments like blindness,
impaired immune system, gastrointestinal disorders, etc. Union Carbide Factory
IndustrIes 35

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 In another incident, on 23 December 2005, due to gas well
blowout in Gao Qiao, Chongging, China, 243 people died, 9,000 were
injured and 64,000 were evacuated. Many people died because they
were unable to run after the explosion. Those who could not escape
in time suffered burns to their eyes, skin and lungs from the gas.

Risk Reduction Measures

1. Densely populated residential areas should be separated far
away from the industrial areas. Rescue operation
2. People staying in the vicinity of industries should be aware of in Gao Qiao
the storage of toxins or hazardous substances and their possible
effects in case if an accident occurs.
3. Fire warning and fighting system should be improved.
4. Storage capacity of toxic substances should be limited.
5. Pollution dispersion qualities in the industries should be
improved.

distribution of major industries

The world’s major industries are the iron and steel
Do you know? industry, the textile industry and the information
Emerging technology industry. The iron and steel and textile
industries are also industry are the older industries while information
known as ‘Sunrise
technology is an emerging industry.
Industries’.These
include Information The countries in which iron and steel industry is
technology, located are Germany, USA, China, Japan and Russia.
Wellness, Textile industry is concentrated in India, Hong Kong,
Hospitality and
Knowledge.
South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. The major hubs of
Information technology industry are the Silicon valley
of Central California and the Bangalore region of India.
Iron and Steel Industry
Like other industries iron and steel industry too
Glossary
comprises various inputs, processes and outputs. This
Smelting is a feeder industry whose products are used as raw
It is the process material for other industries.
in which metals The inputs for the industry include raw materials
are extracted such as iron ore, coal and limestone, along with labour,
from their ores by capital, site and other infrastructure. The process of
heating beyond
converting iron ore into steel involves many stages.
the melting point
The raw material is put in the blast furnace where it
undergoes smelting (Fig 4.6). It is then refined. The
output obtained is steel which may be used by other
industries as raw material.

36 resources and development

2024-25
 4 tonnes of 1 tonne of 1 tonne of
8 tonnes of coal + + =
iron ore limestone steel

Fig 4.5: Manufacturing of steel

Steel is tough and it can easily be shaped, cut,

or made into wire. Special alloys of steel can be
made by adding small amounts of other metals
such as aluminium, nickel, and copper. Alloys give
steel unusual hardness, toughness, or ability to
resist rust.
Steel is often called the backbone of modern
industry. Almost everything we use is either made
of iron or steel or has been made with tools and
machinery of these metals. Ships, trains, trucks,
and autos are made largely of steel. Even the safety
pins and the needles you use are made from steel.
Oil wells are drilled with steel machinery. Steel
pipelines transport oil. Minerals are mined with
steel equipment. Farm machines are mostly steel.
Large buildings have steel framework. Fig. 4.6: From iron ore to steel
in a blast furnace
Before 1800 A.D. iron and steel industry was
located where raw materials, power supply and
running water were easily 2: The best location 1: The best location
from 1800 to 1950
available. Later the ideal before 1800
location for the industry was
near coal fields and close to
canals and railways. After
1950, iron and steel industry
began to be located on large
areas of flat land near sea
ports. This is because by this
time steel works had become
very large and iron ore had
to be imported from overseas
3: The best location
(Fig 4.7). since 1950
In India, iron and steel
industry has developed taking Fig 4.7: The changing location of the iron and
steel industry
IndustrIes 37

2024-25
 Fig 4.8: World: Major Iron Ore Producing Areas

advantage of raw materials, cheap labour, transport and

market. All the important steel producing centres such as
Bhilai, Durgapur, Burnpur, Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bokaro
are situated in a region that spreads over four states — West
Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Bhadravati
and Vijay Nagar in Karnataka, Vishakhapatnam in Andhra
Pradesh, Salem in Tamil Nadu are other important steel
centres utilising local resources.

jamshedpur
Before 1947, there was only one iron and steel plant in the
country – Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO). It
was privately owned. After Independence, the government
took the initiative and set up several iron and steel plants.
TISCO was started in 1907 at Sakchi, near the confluence of
the rivers Subarnarekha and Kharkai in Jharkhand. Later
on Sakchi was renamed as Jamshedpur. Geographically,
Jamshedpur is the most conveniently situated iron and
steel centre in the country.
38 resources and development

2024-25
 Sketch

Fig 4.9: Location of iron and steel industry in Jamshedpur

Sakchi was chosen to set up the steel plant for

several reasons. This place was only 32 km away from
Kalimati station on the Bengal-Nagpur railway line. It
was close to the iron ore, coal and manganese deposits
as well as to Kolkata, which provided a large market.
TISCO, gets coal from Jharia coalfields, and iron ore, Let’s do
limestone, dolomite and manganese from Odisha and With the help of
Chhattisgarh. The Kharkai and Subarnarekha rivers an atlas identify
some iron and
ensured sufficient water supply. Government initiatives
steel industries in
provided adequate capital for its later development. India and mark
In Jamshedpur, several other industrial plants were their location on
set up after TISCO. They produce chemicals, locomotive an outline map of
India.
parts, agricultural equipment, machinery, tinplate,
cable and wire.
The development of the iron and steel industry
opened the doors to rapid industrial development in
India. Almost all sectors of the Indian industry depend
heavily on the iron and steel industry for their basic
infrastructure. The Indian iron and steel industry
consists of large integrated steel plants as well as mini
IndustrIes 39

2024-25
 steel mills. It also includes secondary producers, rolling
mills and ancillary industries.
Pittsburgh : It is an important steel city of the United
States of America. The steel industry at Pittsburgh
enjoys locational advantages. Some of the raw material
such as coal is available locally, while the iron ore comes
from the iron mines at Minnesota, about 1500 km from
Pittsburgh. Between these mines and Pittsburgh is one
Do you know? of the world’s best routes for shipping ore cheaply – the
The names of Great famous Great Lakes waterway. Trains carry the ore
Lakes are Superior,
Huron, Ontario,
from the Great Lakes to the Pittsburgh area. The Ohio,
Michigan and Erie. the Monogahela and Allegheny rivers provide adequate
Lake Superior is water supply.
the largest of these
Today, very few of the large steel mills are in Pittsburgh
five lakes. It lies
higher upstream
itself. They are located in the valleys of the Monogahela
than others. and Allegheny rivers above Pittsburgh and along the
Ohio River below it. Finished steel is transported to the
market by both land and water routes.
The Pittsburgh area has many factories other than
steel mills. These use steel as their raw material to make
many different products such as railroad equipment,
heavy machinery and rails.

40 resources and development

2024-25
Exercises
1. Answer the following questions.
(i) What is meant by the term ‘industry’?
(ii) Which are the main factors which influence the location of an industry?
(iii) Which industry is often referred to as the backbone of modern industry
and why?
2. Distinguish between the following.
(i) Agro-based and mineral based industry
(ii) Public sector and joint sector industry
3. Give two examples of the following in the space provided:
(i) Raw Materials: _____________ and _____________________
(ii) End products: _______________ and _________________________
(iii) Tertiary Activities: ________________ and __________
(iv) Agro-based Industries: ____________ and ____________
(v) Cottage Industries: ___________ and ________________
(vi) Co-operatives: ______________________ and _____________

IndustrIes 41

2024-25
 4. Activity
How to identify a location for establishing an industry —
Divide your class into groups. Each group is a Board of Directors faced with
the problem of choosing a suitable site for an iron and steel plant of Developen
Dweep. A team of technical experts has submitted a report with notes and a map.
The team considered access to iron ore, coal, water and limestone, as well as the
main market, sources of labour and port facilities. The team has suggested two
sites, X and Y. The Board of Directors has to take the final decision about where
to locate the steel plant.
• Read the report submitted by the team.
• Study the map to find out the distances of the resources from each site.
• Give each resource a ‘weight’ from 1 to 10, according to its importance. The
greater the ‘pull’ of the factor on the industry the higher the weight from 1 to 10.
• Complete the table on the next page.
• The site with the lowest total should be the most satisfactory site.
• Remember each group of directors can decide differently.

42 ResouRces and development

2024-25
 Report
Factors/Resources affecting the location of a proposed Iron and Steel Plant
on Developen Dweep.
• Iron ore: This is a very large deposit of low grade iron ore. Long distance
transportation of the ore would be uneconomic.
• Coal: The only coalfield contains rich deposits of high grade coal. Transportation
of the coal is by railway, which is relatively cheap.
• Limestone: This is widely available over the island, but the purest deposits are
in the Chuna Mountains.
• Water: Both the tributaries of River Neel carry sufficient water to supply a
large iron and steel plant in all seasons. The sea water because of its high salt
content is unsuitable.
• Market: It is expected that the chief market for the Plant’s products will be the
engineering works of Rajdhanipur. Transport costs for the products- mainly
small steel bars and light steel plates would be relatively low.
• Labour supply: This will have to be recruited mainly from the unskilled
workers in the 3 fishing villages of Hil, Rah and Sing. It is expected that most
workers will commute daily from their present homes.
• Port facilities: These are at present minimal. There is a good, deep natural
harbour at port Paschimpur developed to import metal alloys.

Distance X Distance X
Distance Distance Weighting*
Resource weight for weight for
from X from Y 1-10
site X site Y
Iron ore
Coal
Limestone
Water
Chief market

Labour supply
Total =

* the larger the pull, the higher the weighting

IndustrIes 43

2024-25
 5 Human Resources

People are a nation’s greatest resource. Nature’s bounty

becomes significant only when people find it useful. It
is people with their demands and abilities that turn
them into ‘resources’. Hence, human resource is the
ultimate resource. Healthy, educated and motivated
people develop resources as per their requirements.
Human resources like other resources are not
equally distributed over the world. They differ in their
educational levels, age and sex. Their numbers and
characteristics also keep changing.

There are 500 My village

children in my has 1,000
How many school. people.
Do you know? people do you
Pradhan Mantri think, there are
Kaushal Vikas in the whole
Yojna (PKVY) was world?
started in 2015
aiming to train one There are
crore Indian youth 30 children
from 2016 to 2020. in my class.
The objective of
this scheme is to
encourage aptitude Around 6.6 billion people.
aAa

How do you
towards employable write that in
skills by giving numbers?
quality training
to probable and
existing wage
earners.

2024-25
Distribution of PoPulation
The way in which people are Of every 100 people in the world...
spread across the earth surface
is known as the pattern of
population distribution. More
than 90 per cent of the world’s
population lives in about 30 per
cent of the land surface. The
distribution of population in the
world is extremely uneven.
Some areas are very crowded
and some are sparely populated.
The crowded areas are south and
south east Asia, Europe and north
eastern North America. Very few
people live in high latitude areas,
tropical deserts, high mountains
and areas of equatorial forests. live in Asia live in Europe live in Africa
Many more people live north
of the Equator than south of the
Equator. Almost three-quarters
of the world’s people live in two live in Central live in Northern live in Oceania
and South America (Australia, New
continents Asia and Africa.
America Zealand and the
Sixty per cent of the world’s Pacific island)
people stay in just 10 countries.
All of them have more than a 100 Fig. 5.1: World population by continents
million people.

Activity
Study Fig. 5.1
and find out :
of the world’s total
population which
continent has —
(a) only 5 per cent
(b) only 13 per cent
(c) only 1 per cent
(d) only 12 per cent

Fig. 5.2: World’s most populous countries

Locate and label these countries on the outline map of the world.
Source: Census of India, 2011 Provisional Population Totals, Paper 1 of 2011 India Series 1

Human ResouRces 45

2024-25
 Density of PoPulation
Do you know? Population density is the number of people living in a
Average density of unit area of the earth’s surface. It is normally expressed
population in India
is 382 persons per
as per square km. The average density of population in
square km. the whole world is 51 persons per square km. South
Central Asia has the highest density of population
followed by East and South East Asia

When all the 30 students are Because the size or area of the
present, our classroom seems hall is much larger than that of
very crowded. But when the the classroom. However, when
same class is seated in the all the students of the school
school assembly hall, it seems come into the hall, the hall too
so open and empty. Why? starts looking crowded.

factors affecting Distribution of PoPulation

Geographical Factors
Topography: People always prefer to live on plains
rather than mountains and plateaus because these
Activity areas are suitable for farming, manufacturing and
Look at Fig 5.2 service activities. The Ganga plains are the most densely
and find out: populated areas of the world while mountains like
of these countries Andes, Alps and Himalayas are sparsely populated.
how many are in Climate: People usually avoid extreme climates that are
Asia? Colour them
on a world map.
very hot or very cold like Sahara desert, polar regions of
Russia, Canada and Antarctica.
Soil: Fertile soils provide suitable land for agriculture.
Fertile plains such as Ganga and Brahmaputra in India,
Hwang-He, Chang Jiang in China and the Nile in Egypt
are densely populated.
Water: People prefer to live in the areas where fresh
water is easily available. The river valleys of the
world are densely populated while deserts have spare
population.
Minerals: Areas with mineral deposits are more
populated. Diamond mines of South Africa and discovery
of oil in the Middle east lead to settling of people in
these areas.
Social, Cultural and Economic Factors
Social: Areas of better housing, education and health
facilities are more densely populated e.g., Pune.
46 ResouRces and development

2024-25
Cultural: Places with religion or cultural significance
attract people. Varanasi, Jerusalem and Vatican city Glossary
are some examples. Life expectancy
Economic: Industrial areas provide employment It is the number
opportunities. Large number of people are attracted to of years that an
these areas. Osaka in Japan and Mumbai in India are average person can
expect to live.
two densely populated areas.

PoPulation change
The population change refers to change in the number
of people during a specific time. The world population
has not been stable. It has increased manifold as seen
in the Fig 5.3. Why? This is actually due to changes in
the number of births and deaths. For an extremely long
period of human history, until the 1800s, the world’s
population grew steadily but slowly. Large numbers of
babies were born, but they died early too. This was as
there were no proper health facilities. Sufficient food was
not available for all the people. Farmers were not able
to produce enough to meet the food requirements of all
the people. As a result the total increase in population
was very low.
In 1804, the world’s population reached one
billion. A hundred and fifty five years later, in 1959,
the world’s population reached 3 billion. This is often
called population explosion. In 1999, 40 years later,
the population doubled to 6 billion. The main reason
for this growth was that with better food supplies and
medicine, deaths were reducing, while the number of
births still remained fairly high.
Births are usually measured using the birth rate i.e.
the number of live births per 1,000 people. Deaths are
usually measured using the death rate i.e. the number
of deaths per 1,000 people. Migrations is the movement
of people in and out of an area.
Births and deaths are the
natural causes of population
change. The difference between
the birth rate and the death
rate of a country is called the
natural growth rate.
The population increase in
the world is mainly due to rapid
increase in natural growth rate. Fig 5.3: World Population Growth
Human ResouRces 47

2024-25
 Popula
se Population Steady tion D
a ecrea
n Incre se
Populatio

e Polpula
reas Polpulation steady tion de
ion Inc crease
P olpulat Birth Rate
Death Rate Birth Rate Death Rate
Birth Rate Death Rate

Birth rate more than death Birth rate and death rate same: Death rate more than birth
rate: population increase population stays the same rate:population decreases
Fig 5.4: Balance of Population
Migration is another way by which population size
changes. People may move within a country or between
countries. Emigrants are people who leave a country;
Glossary Immigrants are those who arrive in a country.
Immigration Countries like the United States of America and
When a person Australia have gained in-numbers by in-migration or
enters a new immigration. Sudan is an example of a country that
country. has experienced a loss in population numbers due to
Emigration out-migration or emigration.
When a person
The general trend of international migrations is
leaves a country.
from the less developed nations to the more developed
nations in search of better employment opportunities.
Within countries large number of people may move
from the rural to urban areas in search of employment,
education and health facilities.

Patterns of PoPulation change

Rates of population growth vary across the world
(Fig 5.5). Although, the world’s total population is rising
rapidly, not all countries are experiencing this growth.
Some countries like Kenya have high population growth
rates. They had both high birth rates and death rates.
Now, with improving health care, death rates have
fallen, but birth rates still remain high leading to high
growth rates.
In other countries like United Kingdom, population
growth is slowing because of both low death and low
birth rates.

48 ResouRces and development

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 Fig. 5.5: World: Differing rates of population growth

PoPulation comPosition
How crowded a country is, has little to do with its level of
economic development. For example, both Bangladesh
and Japan are very densely populated but Japan is
far more economically
developed than Bangladesh. I tell stories I build
To understand the role of to my bridges.
people as a resource, we need grandchildren.
to know more about their
qualities. People vary greatly I take
in their age, sex, literacy I sing at care of my
level, health condition, weddings. home.
occupation and income level.
It is essential to understand
these characteristics of
the people. Population I am researching
for medicines to I am a
composition refers to the cure cancer. farmer.
structure of the population.
The composition of Think: Every human being is potential resource for the society.
population helps us to know What will be your contribution as a human resource?
Human ResouRces 49

2024-25
 how many are males or females, which age group they
belong to, how educated they are and what type of
occupations they are employed in, what their income
levels and health conditions are.
An interesting way of studying the population
composition of a country is by looking at the population
pyramid, also called an age-sex pyramid.
A population pyramid shows
• The total population divided into various age
groups, e.g., 5 to 9 years, 10 to 14 years.
• The percentage of the total population, subdivided
into males and females, in each of those groups.

What is this triangular

looking diagram?

This is a
population
pyramid.

Fig. 5.6: Population Pyramid Can I play detective

and investigate
the population of a Sure, let’s study
What’s that? three countries.
country?

It shows the
pre-sent number
of males and
females in a
country along
with their age
groups.

50 ResouRces and development

2024-25
 The shape of the population pyramid tells the story
of the people living in that particular country. The
numbers of children (below 15 years) are shown at the
bottom and reflect the level of births. The size of the
top shows the numbers of aged people (above 65 years)
and reflects the number of deaths.
The population pyramid also tells us how many
dependents there are in a country. There are two groups
of dependents — young dependents (aged below 15 years)
and elderly dependents (aged over 65 years). Those of the
working age are the economically active.
The population pyramid of a country in which birth
and death rates bothe are high is broad at the base Fig. 5.7: Population
and rapidly narrows towards the top. This is because Pyramid of Kenya
although, many children
are born, a large percentage
of them die in their infancy,
relatively few become adults
and there are very few old
people. This situation is
typified by the pyramid
shown for Kenya (Fig 5.7).
In countries where
death rates (especially
amongst the very young)
are decreasing, the pyramid
is broad in the younger
Fig. 5.8: Population Pyramid age groups, because
of India more infants survive
to adulthood. This can be seen in the pyramid for
India (Fig 5.8). Such populations contain a relatively
large number of young people and which means a
strong and expanding labour force.
In countries like Japan, low birth rates make
the pyramid narrow at the base (Fig 5.9). Decreased
death rates allow numbers of people to reach
old age.
Skilled, spirited and hopeful young people
endowed with a positive outlook are the future of
any nation. We in India are fortunate to have such
a resource. They must be educated and provided
skills and opportunities to become able and
Fig. 5.9: Population Pyramid
productive.
of Japan

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 Exercise
1. Answer the following questions.
(i) Why are people considered a resource?
(ii) What are the causes for the uneven distribution of population in
the world?
(iii) The world population has grown very rapidly. Why?
(iv) Discuss the role of any two factors influencing population change.
(v) What is meant by population composition?
(vi) What are population pyramids? How do they help in understanding
about the population of a country?
2. Tick the correct answer.
(i) Which does the term population distribution refer to?
(a) How population in a specified area changes over time.
(b) The number of people who die in relation to the number of people
born in a specified area.
(c) The way in which people are spread across a given area.
(ii) Which are three main factors that cause population change?
(a) Births, deaths and marriage
(b) Births, deaths and migration
(c) Births, deaths and life expectancy
(iii) In 1999, the world population reached
(a) 1 billion (b) 3 billion (c) 6 billion
(iv) What is a population pyramid?
(a) A graphical presentation of the age, sex composition of a
population.
(b) When the population density of an area is so high that people live
in tall buildings.
(c) Pattern of population distribution in large urban areas.
3. Complete the sentences below using some of the following words.
sparsely, favourable, fallow, artificial, fertile, natural, extreme, densely
When people are attracted to an area it becomes .......................
populated
Factors that influence this include ....................... climate; good
supplies of ....................... resources and ....................... land.

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 4. Activity
Discuss the characteristics of a society with ‘too many under 15s’ and one
with ‘too few under 15s’.
Hint : need for schools; pension schemes, teachers, toys, wheel chairs, labour
supply, hospitals.

Some Internet Sources for More Information

www.ndmindia.nic.in
www.environmentdefense.org
www.freefoto.com
www.worldgame.org/worldmeters
www.cseindia.org
www.mnes.nic.in
www.undp.org/popin

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Notes

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