Based on the value addition and tangibility broadly we can have three types of industries – primary industries,secondary industries and tertiary industries.

• Primary industries are usually very simple industries involving processing of raw materials to give input goods for secondary industries.
  Here value addition is usually minimal and they are
  usually material oriented.Scale of operation may be small or may be very large.Examples are: coal mining and washing, oil-refining,flour milling, metal smelting, stone crushing, etc.
• Secondary industries are very complex and diversified which took input from primary industries and add significant value to it in different processing stages.
  The value additions are so significant that they may have a locational preference in favour of market.Secondary industries may again divided into heavy industries, light industries, footloose industries, etc.

1. a) Heavy industries are identified by nature of their bulkyproduct or very high capital inputs or units which mayhave high capacity to influence environment adversely.Examples are: heavy chemical, heavy machinery,locomotive, shipbuilding, heavy electrical, etc.
2. b) Light industries are less capital intensive and moreinclined to consumer products.
   Products are usually lighter in weight, require lesspower, less polluting and can be established in small areas.
3. c) Footloose industries are those industries which nearly remain indifferent with locational aspects of plant.Their products are having very high value addition and smaller in size and so transportation cost is only a small fraction of total cost.These industries usually requires a very small production space, are usually less polluting and butrequires highly skilled workers.Examples are: watch, camera, diamond cutting,precision electronics, etc.

Tertiary industries are not related to production process.They are basically trade and services providing industries.The scale of operation is so large that it is regarded as an industry.Examples are: banking industry, insurance industry, consultancy industry, etc.

The factors affecting the location of industries are :-

• the availability of raw material,
• the availability of land,
• the availability of water,
• the availability of labour,
• the availability and consistency of power supply,
• the availability of capital,
• the availability of transport network and market.
•  Sometimes, the government provides incentives like subsidised power, lower transport cost and other infrastructure so that industries may be located in backward areas.

Although iron and steel manufacturing activity in India is very old, modern iron and steel industry started with the establishment of ‘Bengal Iron and Steel Works’ at Kulti in West Bengal in 1817. Tata Iron and Steel company was established at Jamshedpur in 1907. This was followed by ‘Indian Iron and Steel plant’ at Burnpur in 1919. All the three plants were established in the private sector. The first public sector iron and steel plant, which is now known as ‘Visvesvarayya Iron and Steel works’, was established at Bhadrawati in 1923.

After independence a great focus was given for self dependence and investments were made in heavy industries. Three new integrated steel plants were established at Rourkela, Bhilai and Durgapur. Bokaro steel plant was established under public sector in 1964. Bokaro and Bhilai plants were set up with the collaboration of the former Soviet Union. Durgapur steel plant was set up in Collaboration with United Kingdom while Rourkela plant was established with the help of Germany.

The change in the spatial pattern of this industry is linked to the change in patterns of consumption, production and exchange of goods and services. This is dependent on the spatial organization and location of economic, transportation and communication systems that produce and facilitate the trade of the concerned commodities.

The industrial development in India began with the establishment of first successful modern cotton textile mill at Mumbai in 1854.Traditional cotton textile industry could not face the competition from the new textile mills of the West, which produced cheap and good quality fabrics through mechanized industrial units. Majority of cotton textile mills are still located in the cotton growing areas of the great plains and peninsular India.

The Muslins of Dhaka, Chintzes of Masulipatnam, Calicos of Calicut and Gold-wrought cotton of Burhanpur, Surat and Vadodara were known worldwide for their quality and design. But the production of hand woven cotton textile was expensive and time consuming. Hence, traditional cotton textile industry could not face the competition from the new textile mills of the West, which produced cheap and good quality fabrics through mechanized industrial units.

India is the second largest producer of sugar in the world after Brazil and is also the largest consumer. Today Indian sugar industry’s annual output is worth approximately Rs.80,000 crores.Most of the sugar mills are concentrated in six states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Over the period, sugarcane industry is gradually shifting from north Indian states to states in Peninsular India. Some of the important reasons are as follows:

1) The production of sugarcane per hectare is higher is Peninsular India. In fact, sugarcane crop grows well in the tropical climate of south India.

2) The sucrose contents is higher in the tropical variety of sugarcane grown in the south.

3) The crushing season in south India is longer than in north India.

4) In south India most of the mills have modern machinery.

5) Most of the mills in Peninsular India are in cooperative sector, where profit maximization is not the sole objective

Petro-chemicals are derived from petroleum or natural gas.Products such as Toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, hairpins, soap cases, plastic mugs, garments, radiocaes, ball point pens, detergents, electric switches, lipstick, insecticides, bags, bed covers, and foam are some of the goods made from petro-chemicals. The share of offshore crude oil production was about 50.2%. The remaining crude oil production was from 6 States viz., Andhra Pradesh (0.7%), Arunachal Pradesh (0.2%), Assam (12.1%), Gujarat (12.5%), Rajasthan (23.7%) and Tamil Nadu (0.6%).

Besides Vadodara, Gandhar, and Hazira in Gujarat and Nagathone in Maharashtra are other important centres of petro-chemical industry. India is self sufficient in the production of petrochemicals.

Weber’s main point was that the cost of transport (another theory on this) determined the location of industry. Therefore, he uses Von Thunen’s idea (that the cost of transport determines crop selection) and applies it to industry. Similar to Von Thunen, the weight of the raw materials and the weight of the end product (this difference is known as the material index) will determine the site of production depending upon how much the industry is willing to pay to get its product to the market (connecting to Christaller’s ideas of market area). Weber’s theory rest primarily on four such sites, what he calls industrial orientations

• Material orientation
• Labor orientation
• Transport orientation
•  Market orientation

He analyzed the factors that determine the location of industry and classified these factors into two divisions. These are:

(i) Primary causes of regional distribution of industry (regional factors)

(ii) Secondary causes (agglomerative and deglomerative factors) that are responsible for redistribution of industry.

The three locational factors explained by weber in his theory of industrial location are:-

• Transport cost
• labour cost
• agglomeration economies

Weber uses the location triangle within which the optimal is located based on the three locational factors.

 

 

The Green Revolution was initiated in the 1960’s to address the issue of malnutrition in the developing world. The technology of the Green Revolution involved bio-engineered seeds that worked in conjunction with chemical fertilizers and heavy irrigation to increase crop yields.

Green Revolution was largely confined in wheat crop and in northern India such as Punjab, resulting in a limited contribution to overall economic development of the country. On the contrary, the agricultural growth in the 1980s (the second wave of the Green Revolution) involved almost all the crops including rice and covered the whole country, it enabled to raise rural income and alleviate rural poverty substantially. Such a rise of rural India as a “market‟ for non-agricultural products and services was an important pre-requisite for the rapid economic growth based on non-agricultural sectors‟ development in India after the 1990s.

Green Revolution is based on:-

(i) improved seeds of high yielding varieties,
(ii) adequate and assured supply of water for irrigation, and
(iii) increased and appropriate application of chemical fertilizers for increasing agricultural production.

India has failed to extend the concept of high-yield value seeds to all crops or all regions. In terms of crops, it remain largely confined to foodgrains only, not to all kinds of agricultural produce. In regional terms, only Punjab and Haryana states showed the best results of the Green Revolution. The eastern plains of the River Ganges in West Bengal state also showed reasonably good results. But results were less impressive in other parts of India. Those states which were originally rich derived the benefits of Green Revolution, e.g., Punjab, Haryana and Western U.P. As the benefits of new technology concentrated mainly in these areas, other Indian states could not match them.

 

In India, at present forest areas cover about 76.5 million hectares of land, which is about 23 per cent of the total geographical area. It ranges from about 87 per cent in Andaman & Nicobar Islands to only about 4 percent in Haryana making to range difference of 83 percent. According to our National Forest Policy, 33% of the total geographical area of the country should be under the forest cover to maintain ecological balance. Unfortunately, it is below the norm outlined in our forest policy. The vegetation found in India can be divided into six main types. They are tropical evergreen forests, tropical deciduous forests, thorn forests, tidal forests and mountain forests.

Tropical Evergreen forests grow in the high rainfall areas of the Western Ghats, North –eastern India and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. These forests grow in areas where the monsoon period lasts for several months.

Deciduous forests are found in regions with a moderate amount of seasonal rainfall that lasts for only a few months. Most of the forests in which Teak trees grow are of this type. The deciduous trees shed their leaves during the winter and hot summer months.

Dry tropical thorn forest occurs in areas of low rainfall. Forest types are saprophytic in nature. Trees are shorter than deciduous type. These forests mostly occur in the scanty rainfall region of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. Most of the species are ‘acacia’ type.

Tidal Forests grow along the coast especially in the river deltas. These plants are uniquely adapted to be able to grow in a mix of saline and freshwater. They grow luxuriantly in muddy areas covered with silt that the rivers have brought down. The mangrove trees have breathing roots that emerge from the mud banks.

 

Conservation of Biodiversity and Wildlife

Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is the variety of all life forms.Sum total of all the variety of living organisms on earth constitute biodiversity. There are three levels of biodiversity:

• genetic diversity—the variety of genetic information contained in individual plants, animals and micro-organisms
• species diversity—the variety of species
• ecosystem diversity—the variety of habitats, ecological communities and ecological processes.

Biodiversity is not static; it is constantly changing. It can be increased by genetic change and evolutionary processes, and it can be reduced by threats which lead to population decline and extinction.

Biodiversity is not uniformly distributed across the geographical regions of the earth. Certain regions of the world are very rich in biodiversity. We call such areas as “mega diversity zones”. We also refer to them as “hot-spots”. For example, India accounts for only 2.4 % of the land area of the world; but it contributes approximately 8% species to the global diversity due to existence of such pockets.

Humans depend for their sustenance, health, well being and cultural growth on nature. Biotic resources provide food, fruit, seed, fodder, medicines and a host of other goods and services. Importance of Biodiversity is due to:-

• Food, fibre, medicines, fuel wood and ornamental plants
• Protection of water resources
• Soil protection
• Breeding material for crop improvement
• Nutrient storage and cycling
• Pollution reduction
• Climate stability
• Maintenance of ecological processes

Causes of Loss of Biodiversity:-

• Direct ways: Deforestation, hunting, poaching, commercial exploitation
•  Indirect ways: Loss or modification of the natural habitats, introduction of exotic species, pollution, etc.
•  Natural causes – Climate change.

International efforts for biodiversity conservation:-

• Convention on Biological Diversity :-The objectives of the CBD are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from commercial and other utilization of genetic resources. The agreement covers all ecosystems, species, and genetic resources.
  CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
  The CITES aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Through its three appendices, the Convention accords varying degrees of protection to more than 30,000 plant and animal species.
• CMS Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals :-The CMS, or the Bonn Convention aims to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout their range. Parties to the CMS work together to conserve migratory species and their habitats by providing strict protection for the most endangered migratory species, by concluding regional multilateral agreements for the conservation and management of specific species or categories of species, and by undertaking co-operative research and conservation activities.
• International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture :-The objectives of the Treaty are the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use, in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity, for sustainable agriculture and food security. The Treaty covers all plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, while its Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing covers a specific list of 64 crops and forages. The Treaty also includes provisions on Farmers’ Rights.
• Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (popularly known as the Ramsar Convention) :-The Ramsar Convention provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. The convention covers all aspects of wetland conservation and wise use, recognizing wetlands as ecosystems that are extremely important for biodiversity conservation in general and for the well-being of human communities.
• WHC World Heritage Convention (WHC) :-The primary mission of the WHC is to identify and conserve the world’s cultural and natural heritage, by drawing up a list of sites whose outstanding values should be preserved for all humanity and to ensure their protection through a closer co-operation among nations.
• IPPC International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) :-The IPPC aims to protect world plant resources, including cultivated and wild plants by preventing the introduction and spread of plant pests and promoting the appropriate measures for their control. The convention provides the mechanisms to develop the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs), and to help countries to implement the ISPMs and the other obligations under the IPPC, by facilitating the national capacity development, national reporting and dispute settlement.
  The Secretariat of the IPPC is hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

There are several strategies which are adapted for conservation of Biodiversity. Some of these are:

Legislation Formal policies and programmes for conservation and sustainable utilisation of biodiversity resources dates back to several decades. The concept of environmental protection is enshrined in the Indian constitution in articles 48a and 51a(g). Major central acts relevant to biodiversity include:
• Environment Protection Act, 1986
• Fisheries Act, 1897
• Forest Act, 1927
• Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
• Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 1991

In-situ Conservation Conserving the animals and plants in their natural habitats is known as in situ conservation. The established natural habitats are:
• National parks and sanctuaries
• Biosphere reserves
• Nature reserves
• Reserved and protected forests
• Preservation plots
• Reserved forests

Ex-situ Conservation like Boatanical and Zoological parks
Recording Indigenous Knowledge
Community Participation in Biodiversity Conservation

Limestone	M.P, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan
Dolomite	Orissa (Birmitrapur in Sundergarh District-largest in India), M.P & Chattisgarh
Phosphate	Rajasthan (Udaipur) Uttaranchal (Dehradun), M.P. (Jhabua), U.P. (Lalitpur)
Kaolin	Kerala is largest producer.
Mica	Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand (Kodarma-Large) & Rajasthan
Gypsum	Rajasthan & J & K.
Steatite	Rajasthan. It is also called soapstone/ Potstone.
Magnesite	Tamil Nadu

		Pyrite		Bihar is sole producer
		Graphite		Orissa, Rajasthan
		Diamond		M.P. (Panna)
		Beryllium		Rajathan, Jharkhand
		Salt (NaCl)		Gujarat (60%), Tamil Nadu & Maharashtra
		Marble		Rajasthan
		Zircon		Beach Sand of Kerala
		Kyanite		Singhbum distict in Jharkhand-largest. Used as refractory material
		Antimony		Punjab
		Asbestos		Karnataka & Rajasthan
		Beryllium		Rajasthan
		Sulphur		Tamil Nadu
		Tin		Bihar, Jharkhand

 

Soil is defined as upper layer of the earth composed of loose surface material. It is a mixture of many substances including endless variety of minerals, remnants of plants and animals, water and air. It is the end product of continuing interaction between the parent material, local climate, plant and animal organisms and elevation of land. Since each of the elements varies over space, soils also differ from place to place. Soil is an important segment of our ecosystem, as it serves an anchorage for plants and source of nutrients. Thus, soil is the seat, the medium and fundamental raw material for plant growth.
Soils are formed from materials that have resulted from the disintegration of rocks by various processes of physical and chemical weathering. The nature and structure of a given soil depends on the processes and conditions that formed it:

• Breakdown of parent rock: weathering, decomposition, erosion.
• Transportation to site of final deposition: gravity, flowing water, ice, wind.
• Environment of final deposition: flood plain, river terrace, glacial moraine, lacustrine or marine.
• Subsequent conditions of loading and drainage: little or no surcharge, heavy surcharge due to ice or overlying deposits, change from saline to freshwater, leaching, contamination.

According to ICAR Indian soils are classified as:-

• Alluvial soils:-Alluvial soils are formed mainly due to silt deposited by Indo Gangetic Brahmaputra rivers. In coastal regions some alluvial deposits are formed due to wave action.
• Black soils:-The black soils are found mainly on the Deccan lava region covering large parts of Maharashtra, some parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and small parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The soils are formed by disintegration of volcanic basaltic lava. The colour of the soil is generally black due to presence of compounds of aluminium and iron.
• Red soils:- these soils are light textured with porous and friable structure and there is absence of lime Kankar and free carbonates. They have neutral to acidic reaction and are deficient in nitrogen humus, phosphoric acid and lime.
• Laterite and Lateritic soils:-These soils are red to reddish yellow in colour and low in N, P, K, lime and magnesia. These soils are formed in-situ under conditions of high rainfall with alternation dry and wet periods. On account of heavy rainfall there is an excessive leaching of soil colloids and silica hence the soils are porous.
• Forest and Mountain soils:-These soils occur at high elevations as well as at low elevations, where the rainfall is sufficient to support trees. These soils are very shallow, steep, stony, and infertile for the production of field crops. However, they serve a very useful purpose by supplying forest product such as timber and fuel.
• Arid and Desert soils:-These  soils occur in western Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Kutchchh, western Haryana and southern Punjab . The soil is sandy to gravelly with poor organic matter, low humus contents, infrequent rainfall, low moisture and long drought season. The soils exhibit poorly developed horizons.
• Saline and Alkaline soils :-These soils occur in areas having a little more rainfall than the areas of desert soils. They show white incrustation of salts of calcium & Magne sium and sodium on the surface. These are poor in drainage and are infertile.
• Peaty and Marshy soils:-These are soils with large amount of organic matter and considerable amount of soluble salts. The most humid regions have this type of soil. They are black, heavy and highly acidic. They are deficient in potash and phosphate.

Soil erosion is described as the carrying away of soil. It is the removal of the soil by natural elements like water, wind, glacier and wave. Gravity tends to move soil down slope either very slowly as in soil creep or very rapidly as in landslides. The present shape of land has been carved through thousands of years.

Soil conservation is the preventing of soil loss from erosion or reduced fertility caused by over usage,Soil  acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. Slash-and-burn and other unsustainable methods of subsistence farming are practiced in some lesser developed areas.

 

What are natural resources ?

Natural resources are useful raw materials that we get from the Earth. They occur naturally, which means that humans cannot make natural resources. Instead, we use and modify natural resources in ways that are beneficial to us. The materials used in human-made objects are natural resources. Some examples of natural resources and the ways we can use them are:

 

Natural resources                                                                Products and services

Air                                                                                         Wind energy

Animals                                                                                Foods ( Milk, Steak, Bacon etc.),

Clothing ( wool, silk etc.

Coal                                                                                       Electricity

Minerals                                                                                Coins, wire, Steel, Aluminium etc.

Natural gas                                                                             Electricity and Heating

Oil                                                                                           Electricity, Fuel for vehicles

Plants                                                                                      Wood, Paper, Cotton etc.

Sunlight                                                                                   Solar power, Photosynthesis

Water                                                                                       Hydroelectricity, Drinking, Cleaning

 

INDIA : NATURAL RESOURCES

1. Land Resources: In terms of area India ranks seventh in the world with a total area of 32, 87.263 sq. km. (32.87 crore hectare). It accounts for 2.42% of total area of the world. In absolute terms India is really a big country. However, land man ratio is not favourable because of the huge population size.

Land utilisation figures are available for about 92.9% of total geographical area, that is, for 3,287.3 lakh hectare. Forest constitutes 24.01 % of the total geographical area of country. Out of a total land area of 304.2 million hectares about 170.0 million hectares is under cultivation. Food grains have preponderance in gross cropped areas as compared to non food grains. According to Agricultural Census, the area operated by large holdings (10 hectares and above) has declined and area operated under marginal holdings (less than one hectare) has increased. This indicates that land is being fragmented.

1. Forest Resources: India’s forest cover is 78.92 million hectare which is 24.01 % of the geographical area of the country. The per capita forest in India (0.5 hectare) is much less than that in the world (1.9 hectares). According to the National Policy on Forests (1988), one-third (33%) of the country’s area should be covered by forests in order to maintain ecological balance.
2. 3. Mineral Resources :

Iron-Ore: India possesses high quality iron-ore in abundance. The total reserves of iron-ore in the country are about 14.630 million tonnes of haematite and 10,619 million tonnes of magnetite. Haematite iron is mainly found in Chbattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Goa and Karnataka. The major deposit of magnetite iron is available at western coast of Karnataka. Some deposits of iron ore arc also found in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Coal reserves : India has the fifth largest coal reserves in the world. As on 31 March 2015, India had 306.6 billion metric tons (338.0 billion short tons) of the resource. The known reserves of coal rose 1.67% over the previous year, with the discovery of an estimated 5.04 billion metric tons (5.56 billion short tons). The estimated total reserves of lignite coal as on 31 March 2015 was 43.25 billion metric tons (47.67 billion short tons). The energy derived from coal in India is about twice that of the energy derived from oil, whereas worldwide, energy derived from coal is about 30% less than energy derived from oil. Coal deposits are primarily found in eastern and south-central India. Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra accounted for 99.08% of the total known coal reserves in India. As on 31 March 2015, Jharkhand and Odisha had the largest coal deposits of 26.44% and 24.72% respectively .

The top producing states are:

• Odisha
• Chhattisgarh
• Jharkhand

Other notable coal-mining areas are as follows :

• Singarenicollieries in Bhadradi district (Old Khammam District), Telangana
• Jhariamines in Dhanbad district, Jharkhand
• Nagpur& Chandrapur district, Maharshtra
• Raniganjin Bardhaman district, West Bengal
• Neyvelilignite mines in Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu
• Singrauli Coalfieldand Umaria Coalfield in Madhya Pradesh

 

Bauxite:

Bauxite is a main source of metal like aluminium. It is not a specific mineral but a rock consisting mainly of hydrated aluminium oxides. It is clay-like substance which is pinkish whitish or reddish in colour depending on the amount of iron content.

The total reserves of bauxite in India are estimated at 27.40 crores tonnes. The major bauxite producing states in India are Orissa, Jharkhand, Gujrat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Goa in a descending order of importance.

Large amount of bauxite comes from:

Orissa : Sambalpur, Koraput, Kalahandi and Ganjam,

Jharkhand : Lohardaga near Ranchi and Palamau districts,

Maharashtra: Ratnagiri and Kolaba, Thane, Satara of Kolhapur district,

Madhya Pradesh:  Chhattisgarh – Balaghat, Rajgarh and Bilashpur,

Gujarat : Bhavanagar, Junagarh and Amreli,

Karnataka: Belgaum and Bababudan hills,

Tamil Nadu: Salem.

Uranium deposits : Jaduguda in Singhbhum Thrust Belt (in the state of Jharkhand, formerly part of Bihar) is the first uranium deposit to be discovered in the country in 1951. The Singhbhum Thrust Belt (also known as Singhbhum Copper belt or Singhbhum shear Zone) is a zone of intense shearing and deep tectonization with less than 1km width and known for a number of copper deposits with associated nickel, molybdenum, bismuth, gold, silver etc. It extends in the shape of an arc for a length of about 160 km. This discovery of uranium at Jaduguda in this belt paved the way for intensive exploration work and soon a few more deposits were brought to light in this area. Some of these deposits like Bhatin, Narwapahar and Turamdih are well known uranium mines of the country. other deposits like Bagjata, Banduhurang and Mohuldih are being taken up for commercial mining operations. Some of the other areas like Garadih, Kanyaluka, Nimdih and Nandup in this belt are also known to contain limited reserves with poor grades. Apart from discoveries in the Singhbhum Thrust Belt, several uranium occurrences have also been found in Cuddapah basin of Andhra Pradesh. These include Lambapur-Peddagattu, Chitrial, Kuppunuru, Tumallapalle, Rachakuntapalle which have significantly contributed towards the uranium reserve base of India. In the Mahadek basin of Meghalaya in NorthEastern part of the country, sandsyone type uranium deposits like Domiasiat, Wahkhyn, Mawsynram provide near-surface flat orebodies amenable to commercial operations. Other areas in Rajsthan, Karnataka and Chattishgarh hold promise for developing into some major deposits.

 

 

 

 

Thorium

The IAEA’s 2005 report estimates India’s reasonably assured reserves of thorium at 319,000 tonnes, but mentions recent reports of India’s reserves at 650,000 tonnes. A government of India estimate, shared in the country’s Parliament in August 2011, puts the recoverable reserve at 846,477 tonnes. The Indian Minister of State V. Narayanasamy stated that as of May 2013, the country’s thorium reserves were 11.93 million tonnes (monazite, having 9-10% ThO₂, with a significant majority (8.59 Mt; 72%) found in the three eastern coastal states of Andhra Pradesh (3.72 Mt; 31%), Tamil Nadu (2.46 Mt; 21%) and Odisha (2.41 Mt; 20%). Both the IAEA and OECD appear to conclude that India may possess the largest share of world’s thorium deposits.

 

Iron reserves : Iron ore is a metal of universal use. It is the backbone of modern civilisation. It is the foundation of our basic industry and is used all over the world. four varieties of iron ore are generally recognized.

(i) Magnetite: This is the best quality of iron ore . It possesses magnetic property and hence is called magnetite. It is found in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

 

(ii) Haematite:

It contains 60 % to 70 % pure iron and is found in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

(iii) Limonite:

It contains 40 per cent to 60 per cent pure iron. It is of yellow or light brown colour. Damuda series in Raniganj coal field, Garhwal in Uttarakhand, Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh and Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh.

(iv) Siderite:

It contains many impurities and has just 40 to 50 per cent pure iron. However, due to presence of lime, it is self fluxing.

 

(4) Oil reserves : India had about 750 Million metric tonne of proven oil reserves as April 2014 or 5.62 billion barrels as per EIA estimate for 2009, which is the second-largest amount in the Asia-Pacific region behind China. Most of India’s crude oil reserves are located in the western coast (Mumbai High) and in the northeastern parts of the country, although considerable undeveloped reserves are also located in the offshore Bay of Bengal and in the state of Rajasthan. The combination of rising oil consumption and fairly unwavering production levels leaves India highly dependent on imports to meet the consumption needs. In 2010, India produced an average of about 33.69 million metric tonne of crude oil as on April 2010 or 877 thousand barrels per day as per EIA estimate of 2009. As of 2013 India Produces 30% of India’s resources mostly in Rajasthan.

India’s oil sector is dominated by state-owned enterprises, although the government has taken steps in past recent years to deregulate the hydrocarbons industry and support greater foreign involvement. India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is the largest oil company. ONGC is the leading player in India’s upstream sector, accounting for roughly 75% of the country’s oil output during 2006, as per Indian government estimates. As a net importer of all oil, the Indian Government has introduced policies aimed at growing domestic oil production and oil exploration activities. As part of the effort, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas crafted the New Exploration License Policy (NELP) in 2000, which permits foreign companies to hold 100% equity possession in oil and natural gas projects. However, to date, only a handful of oil fields are controlled by foreign firms. India’s downstream sector is also dominated by state-owned entities, though private companies have enlarged their market share in past recent years.

The Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve (ISPR) is an emergency fuel store of total 5 MMT (million metric tons) or 36.92 MMbbl of strategic crude oil enough to provide 10 days of consumption which are maintained by the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited.

Strategic crude oil storages are at 3 underground locations :  in Mangalore, Visakhapatnam and Padur(nr Udupi). All these are located on the east and west coasts of India which are readily accessible to the refineries. These strategic storages are in addition to the existing storages of crude oil and petroleum products with the oil companies and serve in response to external supply disruptions .

In the 2017-18 budget speech by the Indian finance minister Arun Jaitley, it was announced that two more such caverns will be set up Chandikhole in Jajpur district of Odisha and Bikaner in Rajasthan as part of the second phase. This will take the strategic reserve capacity to 15.33 million tons.

Apart from this,India is planning to expand more strategic crude oil facilities in second phase at Rajkot in Gujarat, Padur in and Udupi district of Karnataka.

(5)  Natural gas reserves : Natural gas consists primarily of methane .Propane , butane, pentane and hexane are also present . KG basin, Assam, Gulf of Khambhat, Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, Barmer in Rajasthan etc. are natural gas reserves of India.

 

 

 

 

Wind energy resources : The development of wind power in India began in the 1990s, and has significantly increased in the last few years. Although a relative newcomer to the wind industry compared with Denmark or the US, domestic policy support for wind power has led India to become the country with the fourth largest installed wind power capacity in the world.

As of March 31, 2016 the installed capacity of wind power in India was 26,769.05 MW, mainly spread across Tamil Nadu (7,269.50 MW), Maharashtra (4,100.40 MW), Gujarat (3,454.30 MW), Rajasthan (2,784.90 MW), Karnataka (2,318.20 MW), Andhra Pradesh (746.20 MW) and Madhya Pradesh (423.40 MW) Wind power accounts for 14% of India’s total installed power capacity. India has set an ambitious target to generate 60,000 MW of electricity from wind power by 2022.

 

 

 

Solar power : Solar power is attractive because it is abundant and offers a solution to fossil fuel emissions and global climate change. Earth receives solar energy at the rate of approximately 1,73,000 TW. This enormously exceeds both the current annual global energy consumption rate of about 15 TW, and any conceivable requirement in the future. India is both densely populated and has high solar insolation, providing an ideal combination for solar power in India. India is already a leader in wind power generation. In solar energy sector, some large projects have been proposed, and a 35,000 km² area of the Thar Desert has been set aside for solar power projects, sufficient to generate 700 to 2,100 GW.

With about 300 clear sunny days in a year, India’s theoretical solar power reception, just on its land area, is about 5 PWh/year (i.e. = 5 trillion kWh/yr ~ 600 TW). The daily average solar energy incident over India varies from 4 to 7 kWh/m² with about 1500–2000 sunshine hours per year, depending upon location. This is far more than current total energy consumption. The India Energy Portal estimates that if 10% of the land were used for harnessing solar energy, the installed solar capacity would be at 8,000GW, or around fifty times the current total installed power capacity in the country. For example, even assuming 10% conversion efficiency for PV modules, it will still be thousand times greater than the likely electricity demand in India by the year 2015.

NATIONAL SOLAR MISSION

 

NTPC  Vidyut Vyapar Nigam(NVVN) ,the nodal agency for implementing the first phase of JNNSM , received 418 applications against a requirement of 650 MW(500 MW Solar Thermal and 150 MW Solar PV) for Batch I. Out of this 343 applications were for solar PV and 55 for Solar Thermal. The interest was high in the investor community for solar PV as applications worth 1715 MW (343*5 MW) were received as against a total of 150 MW. 30 bidders were selected through reverse bidding and projects were allocated to companies that offered highest discount to base tariff rate of Rs. 17.91/kWh. Projects totaling 610 MW were awarded with 145 MW under solar PV and 470 MW under Solar Thermal. The winning bids for solar PV varied from Rs. 10.95/kWh to Rs. 12.76/kWh and for Solar Thermal it was Rs. 11.14/kWh  in Phase I Batch I. Camelot Enterprises Private Ltd was the lowest bidder and other successful bidders included Mahindra Solar One, Azure Power, SunEdison Energy, Lanco Infratech.  The project capacity under Batch I is 5 MW for solar PV and minimum 5 MW and maximum 100MW for Solar Thermal. By July 2011, negotiations were concluded, PPAs awarded and financial closure achieved for 34 projects.

Under batch II, the project size has been increased up to 20 MW and the base price for solar PV projects is Rs. 15.39/kWh.  NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) received 154 applications for 1915 MW of solar PV projects against a requirement of 350 MW. The results of the bidding for solar PV projects indicate that the grid parity for solar power may not be too far off. The winning bids varied from Rs. 7.49/kWh to Rs. 9.41/kWh. The average bid price for both batch I and II was Rs. 12.15/kWh. French project developer Solairedirect emerged as the lowest bidder and Green Infra Solar the highest bidder. The other successful bidders included companies like Welspun Solar, Azure Power, SunBorne Energy  and Mahindra Solar One. Around 70% and 85% of the allocated capacity under Phase I Batch I and Phase I Batch II respectively is to be implemented in Rajasthan.

LAND RESOURCES : UTILIZATION PATTERN IN INDIA

Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. It also has been defined as “the total of arrangements, activities, and input that people undertake in a certain land cover type.

Land is a scarce resource, whose supply is fixed for all practical purposes. At the same time, the demand for land for various competing purposes is continuously increasing with the increase in human population and economic growth.

Agricultural land: Agricultural land (also agricultural area) denotes the land suitable for agricultural production, both crops and livestock. It includes net sown area, current fallows and land under miscellaneous trees crops and groves. Agricultural land in India totals approx. 46 %  of the total geographical area in the country. This is the highest among the large and medium-sized countries of the world. This indicates The influence of favourable physical factors (like size, extent of plains and plateaus, etc.) and  The extension of cultivation to a large proportion of the cultivable land. But, because of the large population of the country, the per capita arable land (i.e. land suitable for agriculture) is low: 0.16 hectares against the world average of 0.24 hectares. About 15 per cent of the sown area is multi-cropped.

Non-agricultural land: This includes land under forests and permanent pastures, land under other non-agricultural uses (towns, villages, roads, railways, etc.) and  land classified as cultivable waste as well as barren and uncultivated land of mountain and desert areas.

 

The population continues to grow rapidly in India and great pressure is being placed on arable land resources to provide an adequate supply of food and energy requirements. Even if land resources are never exhausted, on a per capita basis they will decline significantly because they must be divided among more people. Land is one such natural resources of a nation on which the entire superstructure is created. Thus, land use is a synthesis of physical, chemical and biological systems and processes on the one hand and human/societal processes and behavior on the other hand. Land is important not only for producing food stuffs, cereals, fruits and vegetables for consumption but also for generating surpluses to meet the increasing demands created by rising population and developing industrial sector, for laying down the transport network, communication lines, for the construction of dwellings and public institutions, etc. Due to unprecedented population growth, man has made uses and misuses of land resources causing environmental degradation.

Again environmental degradation in developing countries like India, especially its manifestations in the form of soil erosion, deforestation etc, is often attributed to rapid population growth. It has however been increasingly realized that since these predominantly agricultural countries are undergoing the process of technological progress and development, many other factors also modify the relationship between population and land. Changing techniques of production, changes in the pattern of land utilization of natural as well as human resources, industrialization, urbanization, changing life styles, rising aspirations, change in consumption pattern are some of the macro level factors which make the relationship between population and land use much more complex.

 

 

 

Objective questions

 

Q 1. Which one of the following is an example of non-renewable resources?

1. Wind
2. Natural gas
3. Solar energy
4. Soil

Q 2. Consider the following statements regarding the reserves of natural resources in India ?

1. Naharkatia and Kalol are famous for reserves of Crude oil .
2. Kolar is source of Diamond .
3. India’s forest cover is 14 % of the total geographical area .

Which of the statements given above is / are correct ?

1. only 1
2. only 1 and 2
3. only 2 and 3
4. only 1 and 3

Q 3. Which of the statements given below is / are correct ?

1. Natural gas primarily consists of Butane and methane and propane are also present in minor amount .
2. Barmer in Rajasthan is natural gas reserve.

Choose the correct answer from the code given below :

1. only 1
2. only 2
3. 1 and 2 both
4. Neither 1 nor 2

 

Q 4. Which of the following place is well known for Uranium reserves ?

1. Narwapahar
2. Koraput
3. Ratnagiri
4. Balaghat

 

Q 5. Consider the following statements regarding land use pattern in India :

1. More than 50 % area is swon area in the country .
2. Urbanization and industrialization are the factors changing India’s land use pattern

Which of the statements given above is / are correct :

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. 1 and 2 both
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q 6. Which of the following statements is / are correct ?

1. India’s geographical location is favourable for solar power .
2. India ranks first in wind energy production.

Choose the correct answer from the code given below :

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. 1 and 2 both
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q 7. Which the following is / are non-metallic mineral/s ?

1. Limestone
2. Mica
3. Gypsum
4. All of the above

 

Q 8. With reference to the Iron ore which of the following statement/s  is / are correct ?

 

1. Limonite contains max. percentage of pure iron.
2. Magnetite is not found in India.

Choose the correct answer from the code given below:

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. 1 and 2 both
4. Neither 1 nor 2

 

Q 9. Which of the following statement is correct ?

 

1. Neyveli lignite mines are located in Jharkhand.
2. Singrauli coalfield is in Uttar pradesh .
3. Kalahandi is famous for Bauxite.
4. Lohardaga bauxite mine is located in Karnataka.

 

Q 10. Siderite is an ore of :

 

1. Aluminium
2. Thorium
3. Iron
4. Uranium

 

 

ANSWER KEYS

1. B
2. A
3. B
4. A
5. B
6. A
7. D
8. D
9. C
10. C

 

Settlement can be defined as any form of human habitation which ranges from a single dwelling to large city. The word settlement has another connotation as well as this is a process of opening up and settling of a previously uninhabited area by the people. In geography this process is also known as occupancy.

Settlements can broadly be divided into two types – rural and urban. Before discussing about meaning and types of rural and urban settlement in India, we should know some basic differences between rural and urban areas in general. (i) The major difference between rural and urban areas is the function. Rural areas have predominantly primary activities, whereas urban areas have domination of secondary and tertiary activities. (ii) Generally the rural areas have low density of population than urban.

Types of Rural Settlements:

Geographers have suggested various schemes of classification. If we group settlements found all over the country, these can broadly be grouped under four categories:

1. Compact/clustered/nucleated settlement
2. Semi-compact/Semi-clustered/fragmented settlement
3. Hemleted settlement
4. Dispersed settlement

 

Compact Settlements:

• As the name suggests, these settlements have closely built up area. Therefore in such settlements all the dwellings are concentrated in one central sites and these inhabited area is distinct and separated from the farms and pastures.
• Maximum settlements of our country comes under this category. They are spread over almost every part of the country.
• These settlements are distributed over the entire northern Indo-Ganga plain (from Punjab in the north-west to West Bengal in the east), Orissa coast, basins of Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh, coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh, cauvery delta of Tamil Nadu, Maidaus of Karnataka, lower Assam and Tripura, in the valleys of Siwaliks etc.
• Sometimes people live in compact settlement for security or defence purpose. The greatest example of this type is in Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
• In Rajasthan also people live in compact settlement because of the scarce availability of cultivable land and water body. Therefore, they want to make maximum use of available natural resources.

Semi compact Settlement:

As the name suggests, the dwellings or houses are not well-knitted. Such settlements are characterized by a small but compact nuclears around which hamlets are dispersed.

• It covers more area than the compact settlements.
• These settlements are found both in plains and plateaus depending upon the environmental conditions prevailing in that area.
• Such settlements are situated along streams in Manipur Mandla and Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh, and Rajgarh district of Chhattisgarh. Different tribal groups inhabit such settlements in the Chhota Nagpur region. In Nagaland, such settlements may be in the form of blushing villages.

Hamleted Settlements:

These type of settlements, are fragmented into several small units. The main settlement does not have much influence on the other units. Very often the original site is not easily distinguishable and these hamlets are often spread over the area with intervening fields. This segregation is often influenced by social and ethnic factors. The hamlets are locally named as faliya, para, dhana, dhani, nanglay etc. These settlements are generally found in West Bengal, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and coastal plains. Geographically it covers lower Ganga plain, lower valleys of the Himalayas and central plateau or upland region of the country.

 Dispersed Settlements:

This is also known as isolated settlements. Here the settlement is characterized by units of small size which may consist of a single house to a small group of houses. It varies from two to seven huts. Therefore, in this type, hamlets are scattered over a vast area and does not have any specific pattern. Such type of settlements are found in tribal areas of central part of India covering Chhota Nagpur plateau, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, etc. Such patterns are also common in the hills of north Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

 

There are three factors that influence the type of settlements in India. These factors are (i) Physical (ii) Ethnic or cultural and (iii) Historical or defence. Let us discuss these factors one by one.

Physical Factors:

These include relief, altitude, soil capability, climate, drainage, ground water level, etc. These factors influence the type and spacing of dwelling or instance, in dry regions of Rajasthan, water is a crucial factor and, therefore, houses are situated along a pond or well which guides the compactness of the settlement.

Ethnic and Cultural Factors:

These include aspects like caste, community, ethnicity and religion. In India it is commonly found that the main land owning caste resides at the centre of the village and the other service providing castes on the periphery. This leads to social segregation and fragmentation of a settlement into several units

Historical or Defence Factors:

In the past, mostly border areas of northwestern plains were conquered or attacked frequently by outsiders. For a long time, apart from attack from outsiders, there had been continuous fight between princely states and kingdom within the country therefore, security concerns favoured the evolution of nucleated settlements.

 

Type of urban settlement:

Like rural settlements, urban settlements are classified on various bases. However, classification based on size and function are most common. Let us discuss them one by one

Classification based on Population Size

According to population size, census of India classifies urban centres into six classes. Classwise urban settlements and their population

Class                              Population

Class I                            1,00,000 and above

Class II                          50,000 – 99,999

Class III                          20,000 – 49,999

Class IV                          10,000 – 19,999

Class V                            5,000 – 9,999

Class VI                          less than 5,000

 

There is another classification of urban settlements. The classification is as follows:

Town                                   Places which have less than one lakh population

City                                     Urban centres having population between one lakh to one million.

Metropolitan Cities          Cities having population in between one million to five million

Mega cities                         Cities having more than 5 million population