INDIA

1. In the north, it is bound by the lofty Himalayas.

2. The Arabian Sea in the west
3. The Bay of Bengal in the east and the Indian Ocean in the south
4. The north-south extent from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is about 3,200 km.
5. And the east-west extent from Arunachal Pradesh to Kutch is about 2,900 km.

LOCATIONAL SETTING
1. India is located in the northern hemisphere
2. The Tropic of Cancer (23°30 ' N) passes almost halfway through the country
3. From south to north, India extends between 8°4' N and37°6' N latitudes.
4. From west to east, India extends between 68°7 ' E and97°25 'E longitudes.

5. The southernmost point of the Indian Union– ‘Indira Point’ got submerged under the sea
water in 2004 during the Tsunami.
SIZE
1. An area of 3.28 million square km.
2. India’s total area accounts for about 2.4 per cent of the total geographical area of the world.
3. India is the seventh largest country of the world.
4. India has a land boundary of about 15,200 km
5. The total length of the coast line of the mainland including Andaman and Nicobar and
Lakshadweep is 7,516.6 km.
6. India is bounded by the young fold mountains in the northwest, north and north east.
7. From Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh there is a time lag of two hours.
8. Hence, time along the Standard Meridian of India (82°30'E) passing through Mirzapur (in
Uttar Pradesh) is taken as the standard time for the whole country.
9. Rajasthan is the largest state
10. Goa is the smallest state in terms of area.
11. No other country has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean as India has and indeed, it is
India’s eminent position in the Indian Ocean which justifies the naming of an Ocean after it.
12. Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, India’s distance from Europe has been reduced
by 7,000 km.

INDIA’S NEIGHBOURS
1. There are seven countries that share land boundaries with India
2. Across the sea to the south, lie our island neighbours— Sri Lanka and Maldives.
3. Sri Lanka is separated from India by the Palk Strait.

India shares its land boundaries with

1. Pakistan
2. Afghanistan
3. China (Tibet)
4. Nepal
5. Bhutan
6. Myanmar
7. Bangladesh

Two island countries

1. Sri Lanka
2. Maldives

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PHYSICAL FEATURES OF INDIA

1. Most volcanoes and earthquakes in the world are located at plate margins, but some do occur
within the plates.
2. The oldest landmass, (the Peninsula part of India), was a part of the Gondwana land.
3. The Gondwanaland included India, Australia, South Africa and South America as one single
land mass.

4. The convectional currents split the crust into a number of pieces.

5. This leads to the drifting of the Indo-Australian plate after being separated from the
Gondwana land, towards north.
6. The northward drift resulted in the collision of the plate with the much larger Eurasian Plate
7. Due to this collision, the sedimentary rocks which were accumulated in the geosynclines
known as the Tethys were folded to form the mountain system of western Asia and Himalaya.

What is Gondwanaland?
1. It is the southern part of the ancient super continent Pangea with Angara Land in the northern
part.
2. The Himalayan uplift out of the Tethys Sea and subsidence of the northern flank of the
peninsular plateau resulted in the formation of a large basin.
3. In due course of time this depression, gradually got filled with deposition of sediments by the
rivers flowing from the mountains in the north and the peninsular plateau in the south.
4. A flat land of extensive alluvial deposits led to the formation of the northern plains of India.
5. Geologically, the Peninsular Plateau constitutes one of the ancient landmasses on the earth’s
surface.

PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISION OF INDIA

India can be divided into six physiographic regions.
1) The Northern Mountains (The North and North-eastern Mountains)
2) The Peninsular Plateau
3) Indo Gangetic Plains
4 Indian Deserts
5) The Coastal Plains (East & West)
6) Island

1) The Northern Mountains (The North and North-eastern Mountains)

1. The Himalayas consist of a series of parallel mountain ranges.
2. The general orientation of these ranges is from northwest to the southeast direction in the
north-western part of India
3. Himalayas in the Darjeeling and Sikkim regions lie in an east west direction
4. While in Arunachal Pradesh they are from southwest to the northwest direction
5. In Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, they are in the north south direction
6. The approximate length of the Great Himalayan range, also known as the central axial range,
is 2,500 km from east to west
7. Their width varies between 160-400 km from north to south.
8. Himalayas are not only the physical barrier; they are also a climatic, drainage and cultural
divide.

On the basis of relief, alignment of ranges and other geomorphologic features the Himalayas
can be divided into the following sub-divisions
(i) Kashmir or North-western Himalayas
(ii) Himachal and Uttaranchal Himalayas
(iii) Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas

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(iv) Arunachal Himalayas
(v) Eastern Hills and Mountains

(i)Kashmir or North-western Himalayas

Comprise a series of ranges such as
1. Karakoram
2. Ladakh
3. Zaskar
4. Pir Panjal

1. The north-eastern part of the Kashmir Himalayas is a cold desert, which lies between the
Greater Himalayas and the Karakoram ranges
2. Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal range, lies the world famous valley of Kashmir and the
famous Dal Lake.
3. The Kashmir Himalayas are also famous for Karewa formations, which are useful for the
cultivation of Zafran, a local variety of saffron.
4. This region is drained by the river Indus, and its tributaries such as the Jhelum and the
Chenab.
5. The Kashmir and north-western Himalayas are well-known for their scenic beauty and
picturesque landscape
6. Famous places of pilgrimage such as Vaishno Devi, Amarnath Cave, Charar -e-Sharif, etc.
are also located here and large number of pilgrims visit these places every year
7. Srinagar, capital city of the state of Jammu and Kashmir is located on the banks of Jhelum
River.
8. Srinagar, capital city of the state of Jammu and Kashmir is located on the banks of Jhelum
River.
9. An Interesting Fact
10. In Kashmir Valley, the meanders in Jhelum River are caused by the local base level
provided by the erstwhile larger lake of which the present Dal Lake is a small part.
11. The Himachal and Uttaranchal Himalayas
12. This part lies approximately between the Ravi in the west and the Kali (a tributary of
Ghaghara) in the east
13. It is drained by two major river systems of India, i.e. the Indus and the Ganga.
14. Tributaries of the Indus include the river Ravi, the Beas and the Satluj
15. The tributaries of Ganga flowing through this region include the Yamuna and the Ghaghara.
16. The northernmost part of the Himachal Himalayas is an extension of the Ladakh cold

Important passes of the region are

1. Zoji La on the Great Himalayas
2. Banihal on the Pir Panjal
3. Photu La on the Zaskar
4. Khardung La on the Ladakh range.

Important fresh lakes

1. Dal
2. Wular

Salt water lakes such as

1. Pangong Tso 2. Tso Moriri

‘Valley of flowers’
1. The famous ‘Valley of flowers’ is also situated in this region.

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2. The places of pilgrimage such as the Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath and
Hemkund Sahib are also situated in this part.
3. The region is also known to have five famous Prayags (river confluences)

(ii) Himachal and Uttaranchal Himalayas

Great Himalaya or Himadri
1. Northern most range is known as the Great or Inner Himalayas or the ‘Himadri’.
2. ‘Himadri’. It is the most continuous range consisting of the loftiest peaks with an average
height of 6,000 metres.
3. The folds of Great Himalayas are asymmetrical in nature.
4. The core of this part of Himalayas is composed of granite.

It is perennially snow bound, and a number of glaciers descend from this range. The Himalayan
Mountains are divided into three main parallel ranges.
Bhotia’s
1. In the Great Himalayan range, the valleys are mostly inhabited by the Bhotia’s.
2. These are nomadic groups who migrate to ‘Bugyals’ (the summer glasslands in the higher
reaches) during summer months and return to the valleys during winters.

Himachal or lesser Himalaya

1. The range lying to the south of the Himadri forms the most rugged mountain system and is
known as Himachal or lesser Himalaya.
2. The altitude varies between 3,700 and 4,500 metres and the average width is of 50 Km.
3. The Pir Panjal range forms the longest and the most important range
4. The Dhaula Dharand the Mahabharat ranges are also prominent ones.
5. This range consists of the famous valley of Kashmir, the Kangra and Kullu Valley in
Himachal Pradesh.
6. This region is well known for its hill stations

Shiwaliks
1. The outer most range of the Himalayas is called the Shiwaliks.
2. They extend over a width of 10-50 Km and have an altitude varying between 900 and 1100
metres.
3. These ranges are composed of unconsolidated sediments brought down by rivers from the
main Himalayan ranges located farther north.
4. Covered with thick gravel called Alluvium.
5. The longitudinal valley lying between lesser Himalaya and the Shiwaliks are known as Duns.
6. Dehra Dun, Kotli Dun and Patli Dun are some of the well-known Duns.
7. The word shiwalik has its origin in the geological formation found in and around a place
called Sivawala near Dehra Dun
8. Which was once a headquarter of the Imperial Survey and which subsequently established its
permanent headquarters at Dehra Dun.
9. Dehra Dun is the largest of all the duns with an approximate length of 35-45 km and a width
of 22-25 km.

Some of the important hill stations

1. Dharamshala
2. Mussoorie
3. Shimla
4. Kaosani
The cantonment towns and health resorts
1. Shimla
2. Mussoorie
3. Kasauli

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4. Almora
5. Lansdowne
6. Ranikhet
The two distinguishing features of this region
1. The ‘Shiwalik
2. ‘Dun formations’
Some important duns
1. Chandigarh-Kalka dun
2. Nalagarh dun
3. Dehra Dun
4. Harike dun
5. The Kota dun
(iii)The Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas
1. They are flanked by Nepal Himalayas in the west and Bhutan Himalayas in the east.
2. It is relatively small but is a most significant part
3. Known for its fast-flowing Rivers such as Tista
4. It is a region of high mountain peaks like Kanchenjunga (Kanchengiri), and deep valleys.
5. The higher reaches of this region are inhabited by Lepcha tribes while the southern part,
particularly the Darjiling Himalayas, has a mixed population of Nepalis, Bengalis and tribals
from Central India.
6. The British, taking advantage of the physical conditions such as
• Moderate slope
• Thick soil cover
• High organic content
• Well distributed rainfall throughout the year
• And mild winters,
7. Introduced tea plantations
8. In place of the Shiwaliks here, the ‘duar formations’ are important
9. Which have also been used for the development of tea gardens

(iv) The Arunachal Himalayas

1. These extend from the east of the Bhutan Himalayas up to the Diphu pass in the east.
2. The general direction of the mountain range is from southwest to northeast.
3. Some of the important mountain peaks of the region are Kangtu and Namcha Barwa.
4. These ranges are dissected by fast-flowing rivers from the north to the south, forming deep
gorges.
5. Bhramaputra flows through a deep gorge after crossing Namcha Barwa.
6. Some of the important rivers are
• The Kameng
• Subansiri
• The Dihang
• The Dibang
• The Lohit.
7. An important aspect of the Arunachal Himalayas is the numerous ethnic tribal community
inhabiting in these areas.
8. Some of the prominent ones from west to east are
• The Monpa
• Daffla
• Abor
• Mishmi
• Nishi
• The Nagas
9. Most of these communities practise Jhumming.

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(v) The Eastern Hills and Mountains
1. These are part of the Himalayan mountain system having their general alignment from the
north to the south direction
2. They are known by different local names
3. In the north, they are known as Pataki Bum, Naga Hills,
4. In the south as Mizo or Lushai hills.
5. Most of these ranges are separated from each other by numerous small rivers.
6. The Barak is an important river in Manipur and Mizoram.
7. The physiography of Manipur is unique by the presence of a large lake known as ‘Loktak’
lake at the centre, surrounded by mountains from all sides.
8. Mizoram which is also known as the ‘Molassis basin’ which is made up of soft
unconsolidated deposits.
9. Most of the rivers in Nagaland form the tributary of the Brahmaputra.
10. While two rivers of Mizoram and Manipur are the tributaries of the Barak River, which in
turn is the tributary of Meghna;

Some Highest Peaks of the Himalayas

Peak Country Height in metres
Mt. Everest Nepal 8848
Kanchenjunga India 8598
Makalu Nepal 848
Dhaulagiri Nepal 8172
Nanga Parbat India 8126
Annapurna Nepal 8078
Nanda Devi India 7817
Kamet India 7756
Namcha Barwa India 775
Gurla Mandhata Nepal 7728

THE HIMALAYAS AND OTHER PENINSULAR MOUNTAINS

1. The Himalayas along with other peninsular mountains are young, weak and flexible in their
geological structure
2. They are still subjected to the interplay of exogenic and endogenic forces,
3. Resulting in the development of faults, folds and thrust plains.
4. These mountains are tectonic in origin, dissected by fast-flowing rivers which are in their
youthful stage.
5. Various landforms like (are indicative of these stages)
a) Gorges
b) V-shaped valleys
c) Rapids
d) Waterfalls

2) The Peninsular Plateau

1. Rising from the height of 150 m above the river plains up to an elevation of 600-900 m is the
irregular triangle known as the peninsular plateau.
2. Delhi ridge in the northwest, (extension of Aravalis), the Rajmahal hills in the east, Gir range
in the west and the Cardamom hills in the south constitute the outer extent
3. An extension of this is also seen in the northeast, in the form of Shillong and Karbi-Anglong
plateau
4. This is one of the oldest and the most stable landmass of India.
5. The general elevation of the plateau is from the west to the east
6. This is also proved by the pattern of the flow of rivers.
7. Some of the important physiographic features of this region are tors, block mountains rift
valleys, spurs, bare rocky structures, series of hummocky hills and wall-like quartzite dykes

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On the basis of the prominent relief features, the peninsular plateau can be divided into three
broad groups:
(i) The Deccan Plateau
(ii) The Central Highlands
(iii) The Northeastern Plateau
The Deccan Plateau
1. This is bordered by the Western Ghats in the west.
2. Eastern Ghats in the east and the Satpura.
3. Maikal range and Mahadeo hills in the north.
4. Western Ghats are locally known by different names such as Sahyadri in Maharashtra,
Nilgiri hills in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and Anaimalai hills and Cardamom hills in Kerala.
5. Western Ghats are comparatively higher in elevation and more continuous than the Eastern
Ghats.
6. Their average elevation is about 1,500 m with the height increasing from north to south.
7. ‘Anaimudi’ (2,695 m), the highest peak of Peninsular plateau is located on the Anaimalai hills
of the Western Ghats.
8. Most of the Peninsular rivers have their origin in the Western Ghats.
9. Eastern Ghats comprising the discontinuous and low hills are highly eroded by the rivers
such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna, and the Kaveri.
10. Some of the important ranges include the Javadi hills, the Palconda range, the Nallamala
hills, the Mahendragiri hills
11. The Eastern and the Western Ghats meet each other at the Nilgiri hills.

The Central Highlands

1. They are bounded to the west by the Aravali range.
2. The Satpura range is formed by a series of scarped plateaus on the south.
3. Generally at an elevation varying between 600-900 m above the mean sea level.
4. It is a classic example of the relict mountains which are highly denuded and form
discontinuous ranges.
5. The extension of the peninsular plateau can be seen as far as Jaisalmer in the West.
6. The general elevation of the Central Highlands ranges between 700-1,000 m above the mean
sea level.
7. It slopes towards the north and north-eastern directions.
8. Most of the tributaries of the river Yamuna have their origin in the Vindhyan and Kaimur
ranges.
9. Banas is the only significant tributary of the river Chambal that originates from the Aravalli
in the west.

The North-eastern Plateau

1. It is an extension of the main peninsular plateau.
2. Due to the force exerted by the north-eastward movement of the Indian plate at the time of
the Himalayan origin, a huge fault was created between the Rajmahal hills and the Meghalaya
plateau.
3. Later, this depression got filled up by the deposition activity of the numerous rivers.
4. Today, the Meghalaya and Karbi Anglong plateau stand detached from the main Peninsular
Block.
5. The Meghalaya plateau is further sub-divided into three: Named after the tribal groups
inhabiting this region.

(i) The Garo Hills

(ii) The Khasi Hills
(iii) The Jaintia Hills
6. An extension of this is also seen in the Karbi Anglong hills of Assam.

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7. The Meghalaya plateau is also rich in mineral resources like coal, iron ore, sillimanite,
limestone and uranium.
8. This area receives maximum rainfall from the south west monsoon.
9. The Meghalaya plateau has a highly eroded surface.
10. Cherrapunji displays a bare rocky surface devoid of any permanent vegetation cover.

The Peninsula mostly consists of relict and residual mountains like

1. The Aravali hills
2. The Nallamala hills
3. The Javadi hills
4. The Veliconda hills
5. Palkonda range
6. The Mahendragiri hills

. 3) INDO GANGETIC PLAINS

1. The third geological division of India comprises the plains formed by the river Indus, the
Ganga and the Brahmaputra.
2. It was a geo-synclinal depression which attained its maximum development
3. During the third phase of the Himalayan mountain formation approximately about 64 million
years ago.
4. Since then, it has been gradually filled by the sediments brought by the Himalayan and
Peninsular rivers.
5. Average depth of alluvial deposits in these plains ranges from 1,000-2,000 m.

The Northern Plain

1. Formed by the interplay of the three major river systems, namely– the Indus, the Ganga and
the Brahmaputra
2. Formed of alluvial soil
3. It spreads over an area of 7 lakh sq. km.
4. The plain being about 2400 Km long and 240 to 320 Km broad, is a densely populated
physiographic division
5. The velocity of the river decreases which results in the formation of riverine islands
6. Majuli, in the Brahmaputra River is the largest inhabited riverine island in the world.
7. The rivers in their lower course split into numerous channels due to the deposition of silt
8. These channels are known as distributaries
9. The Northern Plain is broadly divided into three sections.
10. The Western part of the Northern Plain is referred to as the Punjab Plains. Formed by the
Indus and its tributaries, the larger part of this plain lies in Pakistan.
11. The Indus and its tributaries–the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas and the Satluj
originate in the Himalaya. This section of the plain is dominated by the doabs.
12. ‘Doab’ is made up of two words- ‘do’ meaning two and ‘ab’ meaning water
13. ‘Punjab’ is also made up two words- ‘Punj’ meaning five and ‘ab’ meaning water.
14. The Ganga plain extends between Ghaggar and Teesta rivers.
15. It is spread over the states of North India, Haryana, Delhi, U.P., Bihar, partly Jharkhand and
West Bengal to its East, particularly in Assam lies the Brahmaputra plain.

From the north to the south these plains can be divided into three major zones -
Bhabar
1. The rivers, after descending from the mountains deposit pebbles in a narrow belt of about 8 to
16 km in width lying parallel to the slopes of the Shiwaliks.
2. As a result of this,the streams and rivers coming from the mountains deposit heavy materials
of rocks and boulders.
3. All the streams disappear in this bhabar belt.

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Terai
1. South of this belt, the streams and rivers re-emerge and create a wet, swampy and marshy
region
2. This was a thickly forested region full of wildlife
3. The forests have been cleared to create agricultural land and to settle migrants from Pakistan
after partition.

Alluvial Plains
1. The alluvial plains can be further divided into Khadar, Kankar and the Bhangar

Bhangar

1. The largest part of the northern plain is formed of older alluvium. They lie above the flood
plains of the rivers and present a terrace like feature.

Kankar
1. The soil in this region contains calcareous deposits

Khadar
1. The newer, younger deposits of the flood plains
2. They are renewed almost every year and so are fertile, thus, ideal for intensive agriculture.

4) The Indian Desert

1. The Indian desert lies towards the western margins of the Aravali Hills.
2. It is a land of undulating topography dotted with longitudinal dunes and barchans.
3. Receives very low rainfall below 150 mm per year.
4. Arid climate with low vegetating cover.
5. This is also known as Marusthali.
6. Due to extreme arid conditions, its surface features have been carved by physical weathering
and wind actions .
7. Some of the well pronounced desert land features present here are mushroom rocks, shifting
dunes and oasis (mostly in its southern part).
8. Most of the rivers in this region are ephemeral.
9. There are some streams which disappear after flowing for some distance and present a typical
case of inland drainage by joining a lake or playa.
10. The lakes and the playas have brackish water which is the main source of obtaining salt.
11. Luni is the only large river in this region
12. On the basis of the orientation, the desert can be divided into two parts
13. The northern part is sloping towards Sindh and the southern towards the Rann of Kachchh.

Barchans (crescent shaped dunes)

Cover larger areas but longitudinal dunes become more prominent near the Indo-Pakistan
boundary.

5) The Coastal Plains (east & west)

• Peninsular plateau is flanked by stretch of narrow coastal strips, running along the Arabian
Season the west and the Bay of Bengal on the east.
• Lakshadweep Islands are located in the Arabian Sea.
• These are coral islands located off the coast of Kerala.
• The Andaman and the Nicobar Islands lie to the southeast of the Indian mainland in the Bay of
Bengal.

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The western coast

1. Sandwiched between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, is a narrow plain. It consists of
three sections.
2. The northern part of the coast is called the Konkan (Mumbai – Goa),
3. The central stretch is called the Kannad Plain
4. The southern stretch is referred to as the Malabar Coast.

The plain along the Bay of Bengal are wide and level
Northern Circar
• In the northern part, it is referred to as the Northern Circar

Coromandal Coast
• The southern part is known as the Coromandal Coast.
• Large rivers such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri have farmed
extensive delta on this coast.
• Lake Chilika is an important feature along the eastern coast
• The Chilika Lake is the largest salt water lake in India. It lies in the state of Orissa, to the
south of the Mahanadi delta.

6) The Islands
1. The country has also two groups of islands.
2. Lakshadweep Islands group lying close to the Malabar coast of Kerala
3. This group of islands is composed of small coral islands.
4. It covers small area of 32 sq. km.
5. Kavaratti Island is the administrative headquarters of Lakshadweep.
6. This island group has great diversity of flora and fauna.
7. The Pitli Island, which is uninhabited, has a bird sanctuary

Corals
1. Coral polyps are short-lived microscopic organisms, which live in colonies
2. They flourish in shallow, mud free and warm waters.
3. They secrete hard rock like substance
4. The coral secretion and their skeletons from coral deposits in the form of reefs:
5. They are mainly of three kinds
• Barrier reef
• Fringing reef
• Atolls
6. The Great Barrier Reef of Australia is a good example of the first kind of coral reefs. Atolls
are circular or horse shoe shaped coral reefs

Andaman and Nicobar islands

1. Elongated chain of islands located in the Bay of Bengal extending from north to south
2. They are bigger in size and are more numerous and scattered.
3. Divided into two broad categories
• The Andaman in the north
• The Nicobar in the south

4. It is believed that these islands are an elevated portion of submarine mountains.

5. These islands lie close to equator and experience equatorial climate and have thick forest
cover.
6. India’s only active volcano is found on Barren Island in Andaman and Nicobar group of
Islands.

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7. Each region complements the other and makes the country richer in its natural resources.

CLIMATE
• Refers to the sum total of weather conditions and variations over a large area for a long period
of time (more than thirty years).

Weather
• Refers to the state of the atmosphere over an area at any point of time.
• The elements of weather and climate are the same, i.e. temperature, atmospheric pressure,
wind, humidity and precipitation.
• The word monsoon is derived from the Arabic word ‘mausim’ which literally means season.
• Monsoon’ refers to the seasonal reversal in the wind direction during a year.
• The climate of India is described as the ‘monsoon’ type
• This type of climate is found mainly in the south and the Southeast Asia
• In the Thar Desert the day temperature may rise to 50°C, and drop down to near 15°C the
same night.
• There is hardly any difference in day and night temperatures in the Andaman and Nicobar
islands or in Kerala.

CLIMATIC CONTROLS
1. There are six major controls of the climate of any place
• Latitude
• Altitude
• Pressure
• Wind system
• Distance from the sea
• Ocean currents and relief features.

Latitude
• Due to the curvature of the earth, the amount of solar energy received varies according to
latitude

Altitudes
• As one goes from the surface of the earth to higher altitudes, the atmosphere becomes less
dense and temperature decreases. The hills are therefore cooler during summers.

Pressure and wind

• The pressure and wind system of any area depend on the latitude and altitude of the place.
Thus it influences the temperature and rainfall pattern.

Distance from the sea

• The sea exerts a moderating influence on climate: As the distance from the sea increases, its
moderating influence decreases and the people experience extreme weather conditions. This
condition is known as continentally (i.e. very hot during summers and very cold during winters).

Ocean currents
• Ocean currents along with onshore winds affect the climate of the coastal areas, For example,
any coastal area with warm or cold currents flowing past it, will be warmed or cooled if the
winds are onshore.

Relief
• Plays a major role in determining the climate of a place. High mountains act as barriers for
cold or hot winds; they may also cause precipitation if they are high enough and lie in the path
of rain-bearing winds. The leeward side of mountains remains dry.

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FACTORS AFFECTING INDIA’S CLIMATE
Latitude
1. The Tropic of Cancer passes through the middle of the country from the Rann of Kuchchh in
the west to Mizoram in the east
2. Almost half of the country, lying south of the Tropic of Cancer, belongs to the tropical area
3. All the remaining area, north of the Tropic, lies in the sub-tropics.
4. Therefore, India’s climate has characteristics of tropical as well as subtropical climates.

Altitude
1. India has mountains to the north, which have an average height of about 6,000 metres.
2. India also has a vast coastal area where the maximum elevation is about 30 metres.
3. The Himalayas prevent the cold winds from Central Asia from entering the subcontinent.
4. It is because of these mountains that this subcontinent experiences comparatively milder
winters as compared to central Asia.

Pressure and Winds

1. The climate and associated weather conditions in India are governed by the following
atmospheric conditions: • Pressure and surface winds;
• Upper air circulation;
• Western cyclonic disturbances and tropical cyclones.

2. India lies in the region of north easterly winds.

3. These winds originate from the subtropical high-pressure belt of the northern hemisphere.

4. They blow south, get deflected to the right due to the Coriolis force, and move on towards the
equatorial low-pressure area.
5. Generally, these winds carry very little moisture as they originate and blow over land.
6. Therefore, they bring little or no rain. Hence, India should have been an arid land, but, it is
not so
7. During winter, there is a high-pressure area north of the Himalayas.
8. Cold dry winds blow from this region to the low-pressure areas over the oceans to the south.
9. In summer, a low-pressure area develops over interior Asia as well as over north-western
India.
10. This causes a complete reversal of the direction of winds during summer.
11. Air moves from the high-pressure area over the southern Indian Ocean, in a south-easterly
direction, crosses the equator,
12. Turns right towards the low-pressure areas over the Indian subcontinent.
13. These are known as the Southwest Monsoon winds.
14. These winds blow over the warm oceans, gather moisture and bring widespread rainfall over
the mainland of India.
Jet stream
1. The upper air circulation in this region is dominated by a westerly flow. An important
component of this flow is the jet stream
2. These jet streams are located approximately over 27°-30° north latitude, therefore, they are
known as subtropical westerly jet streams
3. Over India, these jet streams blow south of the Himalayas, all through the year except in
summer.
4. The western cyclonic disturbances experienced in the north and north-western parts of the
country are brought in by this westerly flow.
5. In summer, the subtropical westerly jet stream moves north of the Himalayas with the
apparent movement of the sun.
Tropical easterly

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An easterly jet stream, called the tropical easterly Jetstream blows over peninsular India,
approximately over 14°N during the summer months.
Jet stream
These are a narrow belt of high altitude (above 12,000 m) westerly winds in the troposphere.
Their speed varies from about 110 km/h in summer to about 184 km/h in winter. A number of
separate jet streams have been identified. The most constant are the mid-latitude and the sub-
tropical jet stream.
Western Cyclonic Disturbances
1. The western cyclonic disturbances are weather phenomena of the winter months brought in
by the westerly flow from the Mediterranean region.
2. They usually influence the weather of the north and north-western regions of India
3. Tropical cyclones occur during the monsoon as well as in October -November, and are part of
the easterly flow.
4. These disturbances affect the coastal regions of the country.
THE INDIAN MONSOON
1. The monsoons are experienced in the tropical area roughly between 20° N and 20° S.
2. To understand the mechanism of the monsoons, the following facts are important.
• The differential heating and cooling of land and water creates low pressure on the landmass of
India while the seas around experience comparatively high pressure.
• (b) The shift of the position of Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in summer, over the
Ganga plain (this is the equatorial trough normally positioned about 5°N of the equator – also
known as the monsoon trough during the monsoon season).
• (c) The presence of the high-pressure area, east of Madagascar, approximately at 20°S over the
Indian Ocean. The intensity and position of this high-pressure area affects the Indian Monsoon.
• (d) The Tibetan plateau gets intensely heated during summer, which results in strong vertical
air currents and the formation of high pressure over the plateau at about 9 km above sea level.
• (e) The movement of the westerly jet stream to the north of the Himalayas and the presence of
the tropical easterly jet stream over the Indian peninsula during summer.

Inter Tropical Convergence Zone

1. The Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ,) is a broad trough of low pressure in equatorial
latitudes.
2. This is where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge.
3. This convergence zone lies more or less parallel to the equator but moves north or south with
the apparent movement of the sun.
4. Changes in the pressure conditions over the southern oceans also affect the monsoons.

Southern Oscillation or SO
1. Normally when the tropical eastern South Pacific Ocean experiences high pressure, the
tropical eastern Indian Ocean experiences low pressure.
2. But in certain years, there is a reversal in the pressure conditions and the eastern Pacific has
lower pressure in comparison to the eastern Indian Ocean.
3. If the pressure differences were negative, it would mean below average and late monsoons.

El Nino
1. A feature connected with the SO is the El Nino, a warm ocean current that flows past the
Peruvian Coast
2. In place of the cold Peruvian current, every 2 to 5 years.

ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillations)

• The changes in pressure conditions are connected to the El Nino. Hence, the phenomenon is
referred to as ENSO

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El Nino
1. This is a name given to the periodic development of a warm ocean current along the coast of
Peru
2. It occurs when easterly trade winds in the tropical pacific relax- even reverse- to allow a vast
pool of warm water piled up in of central and South America, leading to higher- than- normal
sea- surface temperatures across the equatorial Pacific.
3. As a temporary replacement of the cold Peruvian current
4. El Nino’ is a Spanish word meaning ‘the child’,
5. Refers to the baby Christ, as this current starts flowing during Christmas
6. As the ocean releases its heat and moisture to the atmosphere, intense thunderstroms once
cooped up over the western pacific spread along the equator as well.
7. The presence of the El Nino leads to an increase in sea-surface temperatures and weakening
of the trade winds in the region
8. The cumulative effect of this activity changes large scale circulation patterns at higher
latitudes, altering storm tracks that change the typical distribution of rain and snowfall, as well
seasonal temperatures.

THE ONSET OF THE MONSOON AND WITHDRAWAL

1. The Monsoon, unlike the trades, are not steady winds but are pulsating in nature, affected by
different atmospheric conditions encountered by it
2. The duration of the monsoon is between 100-120 days from early June to mid-September.

‘Burst ‘of the monsoon,

• Around the time of its arrival, the normal rainfall increases suddenly and continues constantly
for several days. This is known as the ‘burst ‘of the monsoon
3. The monsoon arrives at the southern tip of the Indian peninsula generally by the first week of
June.
4. Subsequently, it divides into two – the Arabian Sea branch and the Bay of Bengal branch.
5. The Arabian Sea branch reaches Mumbai about ten days later on approximately the 10 Th of
June.
6. The Bay of Bengal branch also advances rapidly and arrives in Assam in the first week of
June.
7. The lofty mountains causes the monsoon winds to deflect towards the west
8. Over the Ganga plains
9. By mid-June the Arabian Sea branch of the monsoon arrives over Saurashtra-Kuchchh and
the central part of the country.
10. The Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal branches of the monsoon merge over the north-
western part of the Ganga plains.
11. Delhi generally receives the monsoon showers from the Bay of Bengal branch by the end of
June (tentative date is 29 Th of June).
12. By the first week of July, western Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and eastern Rajasthan
experience the monsoon.
13. By mid-July, the monsoon reaches Himachal Pradesh and the rest of the country
14. The withdrawal of the monsoon begins in north-western states of India by early September.
15. By mid-October, it withdraws completely from the northern half of the peninsula.
16. The withdrawal from the southern half of the peninsula is fairly rapid
17. By early December, the monsoon has withdrawn from the rest of the country.
18. The islands receive the very first monsoon showers, progressively from south to north,
19. From the first week of April to the first week of May.
20. The withdrawal, takes place progressively from north to south from the first week of
December to the first week of January.

THE SEASONS
1. The monsoon type of climate is characterised by a distinct seasonal pattern.

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2. The weather conditions greatly change from one season to the other.
3. Any seasons are experienced in your place? Four main seasons can be identified in India –
• The cold weather season,
• The hot weather season
• The advancing monsoon
• The retreating monsoon

The Cold Weather Season (winter)

1. The cold weather season begins from mid-November in northern India and stays till February.
2. December and January are the coldest months in the northern part of India.
3. The northeast trade winds prevail over the country.
4. They blow from land to sea and hence, for most part of the country, it is a dry season.
5. Some amount of rainfall occurs on the Tamil Nadu coast from these winds as, here they blow
from sea to land.
6. In the northern part of the country, a feeble high-pressure region develops, with light winds
moving outwards from this area.
7. Influenced by the relief, these winds blow through the Ganga valley from the west and the
northwest.
8. The weather is normally marked by clear sky, low temperatures and low humidity and feeble,
variable winds.
9. A characteristic feature of the cold weather season over the northern plains is the inflow of
cyclonic disturbances from the west and the northwest.
10. These low-pressure systems, originate over the Mediterranean Sea and western Asia and
move into India, Along with the westerly flow.

‘Mahawat
They cause the much-needed winter rains over the plains and snowfall in the mountains.
Although the total amount of winter rainfall locally known as ‘mahawat ’is small, they are of
immense importance for the cultivation of ‘rabi ’crops
The Hot Weather Season (summer)
1. Due to the apparent northward movement of the sun, the global heat belt shifts northward.
2. In March, the highest temperature is about 38° Celsius, recorded on the Deccan plateau.
3. In April, temperatures in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are around 42° Celsius.
4. In May, temperature of 45° Celsius is common in the north-western parts of the country
5. In peninsular India, temperatures remain lower due to the moderating influence of the oceans.

‘Loo’
These are strong, gusty, hot, dry winds blowing during the day over the north and north-western
India.
1. Sometimes they even continue until late in the evening
2. Direct exposure to these winds may even prove to be fatal

‘Kaal Baisakhi’
In West Bengal, these storms are known as the ‘Kaal Baisakhi’ calamity for the month of
Baisakh
Advancing Monsoon (The Rainy Season)
1. By early June, the low-pressure condition over the northern plains intensifies.
2. It attracts, the trade winds of the southern hemisphere.
3. These south-east trade winds originate over the warm subtropical areas of the southern
oceans. They cross the equator
4. Blow in a south-westerly direction entering the Indian peninsula as the south-west monsoon.
5. As these winds blow over warm oceans, they bring abundant moisture to the subcontinent.
6. These winds are strong and blow at an average velocity of 30 km per hour.

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7. Early in the season, the windward side of the Western Ghats receives very heavy rainfall,
more than 250 cm
8. The Deccan Plateau and parts of Madhya Pradesh also receive some amount of rain in spite of
lying in the rain shadow area.
9. The maximum rainfall of this season is received in the north-eastern part of the country.
10. Mawsynram in the southern ranges of the Khasi Hills receives the highest average rainfall in
the world.
11. Rainfall in the Ganga valley decreases from the east to the west.
12. Rajasthan and parts of Gujarat get scanty rainfall.
13. Phenomenon associated with the monsoon is its tendency to have ‘breaks’ in rainfall.
14. It has wet and dry spells.
15. The monsoon rains take place only for a few days at a time.
16. These breaks in monsoon are related to the movement of the monsoon trough.
17. The trough and its axis keep on moving northward or southward
18. When the axis of the monsoon trough lies over the plains, rainfall is good in these parts
19. Whenever the axis shifts closer to the Himalayas, there are longer dry spells in the plains,
20. Widespread rain occur in the mountainous catchment areas of the Himalayan Rivers.
21. These heavy rain bring in their wake, devastating floods causing damage to life and property
in the plains.
22. The frequency and intensity of tropical depressions too, determine the amount and duration
of monsoon rains.
23. These depressions form at the head of the Bay of Bengal and cross over to the mainland.
24. The depressions follow the axis of the “monsoon trough of low pressure”.
25. The monsoon is known for its uncertainties.
26. The alternation of dry and wet spells vary in intensity, frequency and duration.

Retreating Monsoon (The Transition Season)

1. During October-November, with the apparent movement of the sun towards the south,
2. The monsoon trough or the low-pressure trough over the northern plains becomes weaker.
3. Gradually replaced by a high-pressure system.
4. The south-west monsoon winds weaken and start withdrawing gradually
5. By the beginning of October, the monsoon withdraws from the Northern Plains.
6. The months of October-November form a period of transition from hot rainy season to dry
winter conditions.
7. Mawsynram, the wettest place on the earth is also reputed for its stalagmite and stalactite
caves.

Cyclonic depressions
1. The low-pressure conditions, over north-western India
2. Get transferred to the Bay of Bengal by early November.
3. This shift is associated with the occurrence of cyclonic depressions,
4. Which originate over the Andaman Sea.
5. These cyclones generally cross the eastern coasts of India cause heavy and widespread rain.
6. These tropical cyclones are often very destructive.
7. Deltas of the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri are frequently struck by cyclones, which
cause great damage to life and property.

DISTRIBUTION OF RAINFALL
1. The western coast and north-eastern India receive over about 400 cm of rainfall annually.
2. It is less than 60 cm in western Rajasthan and adjoining parts of Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab.
3. Rainfall is equally low in the interior of the Deccan plateau, and east of the Sahyadris
4. A third area of low precipitation is around Leh in Jammu and Kashmir
5. The rest of the country receives moderate rainfall.
6. Snowfall is restricted to the Himalayan region.

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DRAINAGE
1. The term drainage describes the river system of an area.
2. The area drained by a single river system is called a drainage basin.

Water divide
Any elevated area, such as a mountain or upland, separates two drainage basins. Such an upland
is known as a water divide
The world’s largest drainage basin is of the Nile River in Egypt
DRAINAGE SYSTEMS IN INDIA
1. The drainage systems of India are mainly controlled by the broad relief features of the
subcontinent.
2. The Indian rivers are divided into two major groups:

The Himalayan Rivers 1. Most of the Himalayan Rivers are perennial.

2. The two major Himalayan Rivers, the Indus and the Brahmaputra originate from the north
of the mountain ranges.
3. They have cut through the mountains making gorges.
4. The Himalayan Rivers have long courses from their source to the sea.
5. They perform intensive erosional activity in their upper courses and carry huge loads of silt
and sand.
6. In the middle and the lower courses, these rivers form meanders, oxbow lakes, and many
other depositional features

The Peninsular Rivers

1. A large number of the Peninsular Rivers are seasonal

The Himalayan Rivers

The major Himalayan Rivers are the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.

The Indus River System

1. The river Indus rises in Tibet, near Lake Mansarowar.
2. Flowing west, it enters India in the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir.
3. It forms a picturesque gorge in this part.
4. Several tributaries, the Zaskar, the Nubra, the Shyok and the Hunza, join it in the Kashmir
region.
5. The Indus flows through Baltistan and Gilgit and emerges from the mountains at Attock.
6. The Satluj, the Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab and the Jhelum join together to enter the Indus
near Mithankot in Pakistan.
7. Beyond this, the Indus flows southwards eventually reaching the Arabian Sea, east of
Karachi.
8. The Indus plain has a very gentle slope.
9. With a total length of 2900 km
10. A little over a third of the Indus basin is located in India in the states of Jammu and
Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the Punjab and the rest is in Pakistan.

The Ganga River System

1. The headwaters of the Ganga, called the ‘Bhagirathi’ is fed by the Gangotri Glacier and
joined by the Alaknanda at Devaprayag in Uttaranchal.
2. At Haridwar the Ganga emerges from the mountains on to the plains.
3. The Ganga is joined by many tributaries from the Himalayas, a few of them being major
rivers such as the Yamuna, the Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi.
4. The river Yamuna rises from the Yamunotri Glacier in the Himalayas.

17
5. It flows parallel to the Ganga and as a right bank tributary, meets the Ganga at Allahabad
6. The Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi rise in the Nepal Himalaya.
7. They are the rivers, which flood parts of the northern plains every year, causing widespread
damage to life and property but enriching the soil for the extensive agricultural lands.
8. The main tributaries, which come from the peninsular uplands, are the Chambal, the Betwa
and the Son.
9. These rise from semi-arid areas, have shorter courses and do not carry much water in them.
10. The Ganga flows eastwards till Farakka in West Bengal.
11. This is the northernmost point of the Ganga delta
12. The river bifurcates here; the Bhagirathi-Hooghly (a distributary) flows southwards through
the deltaic plains to the Bay of Bengal.
13. The mainstream, flows southwards into Bangladesh and is joined by the Brahmaputra.
14. Further downstream, it is known as the Meghna.
15. The length of the Ganga is over 2500 km.
16. Ambala is located on the water divide between the Indus and the Ganga river systems.
17. The plains from Ambala to the Sunderban stretch over nearly 1800 km, but the fall in its
slope is hardly 300 metres.
18. In other words, there is a fall of just one metre for every 6 km. Therefore, the river develops
large meanders.
The Brahmaputra River System
1. The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet east of Mansarowar Lake very close to the sources of the
Indus and the Satluj.
2. It is slightly longer than the Indus, and most of its course lies outside India.
3. It flows eastwards parallel to the Himalayas. On reaching the Namcha Barwa (7757 m), it
takes a ‘U’ turn
4. Enters India in Arunachal Pradesh through a gorge.
5. Here, it is called the Dihang and it is joined by the Dibang, the Lohit, the Kenula and
6. Many other tributaries to form the Brahmaputra in Assam
7. Brahmaputra is known as the Tsang Po in Tibet and Jamuna in Bangladesh.
8. In Tibet the river carries a smaller volume of water and less silt as it is a cold and a dry area
9. In India it passes through a region of high rainfall.
10. Here the river carries a large volume of water and considerable amount of silt.
11. The Brahmaputra has a braided channel in its entire length in Assam and forms many
riverine islands
12. Unlike other north Indian rivers the Brahmaputra is marked by huge deposits of silt on its
bed causing the river bed to rise. The river also shifts its channel frequently
The Peninsular Rivers
1. The main water divide in Peninsular India is formed by the Western Ghats, which runs from
north to south close to the western coast.
2. Most of the major rivers of the Peninsula such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna
and the Kaveri flow eastwards and drain into the Bay of Bengal.
3. There are numerous small streams flowing west of the Western Ghats
4. The Narmada and the Tapi are the only long rivers, which flow west and make
estuaries.

The Narmada Basin

1. The Narmada rises in the Amarkantak hills in Madhya Pradesh.
2. It flows towards the west in a rift valley formed due to faulting.
3. The ‘Marble rocks’, near Jabalpur where the Narmada flows through a deep gorge, and the
‘Dhuadhar falls’ where the river plunges over steep rocks, are some of the notable ones.
4. The Narmada basin covers parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

The Tapi
1. The Tapi rises in the Satpura ranges, in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh.

18
2. It also flows in a rift valley parallel to the Narmada but it is much shorter in length.
3. Its basin covers parts of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
4. The coastal plains between Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea are very narrow.
5. Hence, the coastal rivers are short. The main west flowing rivers are Sabarmati, Mahi,
Bharathpuzha and Periyar. Find out the states in which these rivers drain the water.

The Godavari Basin

1. The Godavari is the largest Peninsular River.
2. It rises from the slopes of the Western Ghats in the Nasik district of Maharashtra.
3. Its length is about 1500 km.
4. It drains into the Bay of Bengal. Its drainage basin is also the largest among the peninsular
rivers.
5. The basin covers parts of Maharashtra (about 50 per cent of the basin area lies in
Maharashtra), Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.
6. The Godavari is joined by a number of tributaries such as the Purna, the Wardha, the
Pranhita, the Manjra, the Wainganga and the Penganga.
The Mahanadi Basin
1. The Mahanadi rises in the highlands of Chhattisgarh.
2. It flows through Orissa to reach the Bay of Bengal.
3. The length of the river is about 860 km. Its drainage basin is shared by Maharashtra,
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Orissa.

The Krishna Basin

1. Rising from a spring near Mahabaleshwar, the Krishna flows for about 1400 km and reaches
the Bay of Bengal.
2. The Tungabhadra, the Koyana, the Ghatprabha, the Musi and the Bhima are some of its
tributaries.
3. Basin is shared by Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The Kaveri Basin
1. The Kaveri rises in the Brahmagri range of the Western Ghats and it reaches the Bay of
Bengal in south of Cuddalore, in Tamil Nadu.
2. Total length of the river is about 760 km.
3. Its main tributaries are Amravati, Bhavani, Hemavati and Kabini.
4. Its basin drains parts of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu
5. The river Kaveri makes the second biggest waterfall in India. It is known as Sivasamudram.
The fall supplies hydroelectric power to Mysore, Bangalore and the Kolar Gold Field.
6. 71 per cent of the world’s surface is covered with water, but 97 per cent of that is salt water. •
Of the 3 per cent that is available as freshwater, three quarters of it is trapped as ice.

LAKES
1. Lakes of large extent are called the seas, like the Caspian, the Dead and the Aral seas.
2. A meandering river across a flood plain forms cut-offsthat later develop into ox-bow lakes.
3. Spits and bars form lagoons in the coastal areas, eg the Chilika Lake, the Pulicat Lake, and
the Kolleru Lake.
4. Most of the fresh water lakes are in the Himalayan region. They are of glacial origin.
5. In other words, they formed when glaciers dug out a basin, which was later filled with
snowmelt.
6. The Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir, in contrast, is the result of the tectonic activity. It is
the largest freshwater lake in India.
7. The Dal Lake, Bhimtal, Nainital, Loktak and Barapani are some other important fresh water
lakes
8. The damming of the rivers for the generation of hydel power has also led to the formation of
Lakes such as Guru Gobind Sagar (Bhakra Nangal Project).
9. Lakes are of great value to human beings. A lake helps to regulate the flow of a river.

19
10. During heavy rainfall, it prevents flooding and during the dry season, it helps to maintain an
even flow of water.
11. Lakes can also be used for developing hydel power
12. They moderate the climate of the surroundings;
13. Maintain the aquatic ecosystem
14. Enhance natural beauty, help develop tourism and provide recreation

WATER RESOURCES
71 per cent of the earth’s surface is covered with it but fresh water constitutes only about 3 per
cent of the total water.
Water Resources of India
1. India accounts for about 2.45 per cent of world’s surface area
2. 4 per cent of the world’s water resources and about 16 per cent of world’s population.
3. The total water available from precipitation in the country in a year is about 4,000 cubic km.
4. The availability from surface water and replenish able groundwater is 1,869 cubic km.
5. Out of this only 60 per cent can be put to beneficial uses
6. Thus, the total utilisable water resource in the country is only 1,122 cubic km.

Surface Water Resources

1. There are four major sources of surface water
2. These are rivers, lakes, ponds, and tanks
3. There are about 10,360 rivers and their tributaries longer than 1.6 km each.
4. The mean annual flow in all the river basins in India is estimated to be 1,869 cubic km.
5. Only about 690 cubic km (32 per cent) of the available surface water can be utilised.
6. Ganga, the Brahmaputra and the Barak rivers,
7. Although account for only about one-third of the total area in the country
8. Have 60 per cent of the total surface water resources.

Groundwater Resources

1. The total replenishable groundwater resources in the country are about 432 cubic km.
2. The Ganga and the Brahmaputra basins, have about 46 per cent of the total replenishable
groundwater resources.
3. The level of groundwater utilisation is relatively high in the river basins lying in north-
western region and parts of south India.
4. The groundwater utilisation is very high in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and
Tamil Nadu.
5. However, there are States like Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Kerala, etc., which utilise only a small
proportion of their groundwater potentials.
6. States like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tripura and Maharashtra are utilising their ground
water resources at a moderate rate.

Lagoons and Backwaters

1. India has a vast coastline and the coast is very indented in some states
2. The States like Kerala, Orissa and West Bengal have vast surface water resources in these
lagoons and lakes.
3. Although, water is generally brackish in these water-bodies, it is used for fishing and
irrigating certain varieties of paddy crops, coconut, etc.
Water Demand and Utilisation
1. India has traditionally been an agrarian economy, and about two-third of its population have
been dependent on agriculture.
2. Hence, development of irrigation to increase agricultural production has been assigned a very
high priority in the Five Year Plans

20
3. And multipurpose river valleys projects like the Bhakra-Nangal, Hirakud, Damodar Valley,
Nagarjuna Sagar, Indira Gandhi Canal Project, etc. have been taken up.
4. Agriculture accounts for most of the surface and ground water utilisation, it accounts for 89
per cent of the surface water and 92 per cent of the groundwater utilisation.
5. While the share of industrial sector is limited to 2 per cent of the surface water utilisation
and 5 per cent of the ground-water.
6. The share of domestic sector is higher (9 per cent) in surface water utilisation as compared to
groundwater.
Recycle and Reuse of Water
1. Another way through which we can improve fresh water availability is by recycle and reuse.
2. Use of water of lesser quality such as reclaimed waste-water would be an attractive option for
industries for cooling and firefighting to reduce their water cost.
3. Similarly, in urban areas water after bathing and washing utensils can be used for gardening.
4. Watershed Management
5. Watershed management basically refers to efficient management and conservation of surface
and groundwater resources.
6. It involves prevention of runoff and storage and recharge of groundwater through various
methods like percolation tanks, recharge wells, etc.
7. However, in broad sense watershed management includes conservation, regeneration and
judicious use of all resources – natural (like land, water, plants and animals) and human with in
a watershed.
8. Watershed management aims at bringing about balance between natural resources on the one
hand and society on the other.
9. Haryali is a watershed development project sponsored by the Central Government which aims
at enabling the rural population to conserve water for drinking, irrigation, fisheries and
afforestation.
10. The Project is being executed by Gram Panchayats with people’s participation.
11. Neeru-Meeru (Water and You) programme (in Andhra Pradesh)
12. Arvary Pani Sansad (in Alwar, Rajasthan) have taken up constructions of various water-
harvesting structures such as percolation tanks, dug out ponds (Johad), check dams, etc. through
people’s participation.
13. Tamil Nadu has made water harvesting structures in the houses compulsory. No building
can be constructed without making structures for water harvesting.
14. Watershed development projects in some areas have been successful in rejuvenating
environment and economy.

Rainwater Harvesting
1. Rain water harvesting is a method to capture and store rainwater for various uses
2. It is also used to recharge groundwater aquifers.
3. It is a low cost and eco-friendly technique for preserving every drop of water by guiding the
rain water to bore well, pits and wells
4. In Rajasthan, rainwater harvesting structures locally known as Kund or Tanka Irrigation

Population
1. Population is the pivotal element in social studies. It is the point of reference from which all
other elements are observed and from which they derive significance and meaning

Census
1. A census is an official enumeration of population done periodically. In India the first census
was held in the year 1872.
2. The first complete census, however was taken in the year 1881. Since then censuses have
been held regularly every tenth year

21
Three major questions about the population
1. Population size and distribution
2. Population growth and processes of population change
3. Characteristics or qualities of the population

POPULATION SIZE AND DISTRIBUTION

1. India’s Population Size and Distribution by Numbers
2. India’s population as on March 2001 stood at 1,028 million, which account for 16.7 per cent
of the world’s population.
3. These 1.02 billion people are unevenly distributed over our country’s vast area of 3.28
million square km
4. Which accounts for 2.4 per cent of the world’s area
5. The 2001 Census data reveals that Uttar Pradesh with a population size of 166 million people
is the most populous state of India
6. Uttar Pradesh accounts for about 16 per cent
7. On the other hand, the Himalayan state Sikkim has a population of just about 0.5 million
8. Lakshadweep has only 60 thousand people.
9. Almost half of India’s population lives in just five states.
10. These are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh. Rajasthan,
11. The biggest state in terms of area, has only 5.5 per cent of the total population of India

India’s Population Distribution by Density

1. Population density provides a better picture of the uneven distribution
2. Calculated as the number of persons per unit area.
3. India is one of the most densely populated countries of the world
4. Only Bangladesh and Japan have higher average population densities than India. Find out the
population densities of Bangladesh and Japan.
5. The population density of India in the year 2001 was 324 persons per sq. km
6. Only 13 persons per sq. km in Arunachal Pradesh
7. The Northern Plains and Kerala in the south have high to very high population densities
because of the flat plains with fertile soils and abundant rainfall.

POPULATION GROWTH AND PROCESSES OF POPULATION CHANGE

1. Population is a dynamic phenomenon.
2. The numbers, distribution and composition of the population are constantly changing.
3. This is the influence of the interaction of the three processes, namely-births, deaths and
migrations

Population Growth
1. Growth of population refers to the change in the number of inhabitants of a country/territory
during a specific period of time
2. Such a change can be expressed in two way
• In terms of absolute numbers
• In terms of percentage change per year
3. The absolute numbers added each year or decade is the magnitude of increase
4. It is obtained by simply subtracting the earlier population (e.g. that of 1991) from the later
population (e.g. that of 2001). It is referred to as the absolute increase
5. The rate or the pace of population increase is the other important aspect.
6. It is studied in per cent per annum, e.g. a rate of increase of 2 per cent per annum means that
in a given year
7. There was an increase of two persons for every 100 persons in the base population.
8. This is referred to as the annual growth rate
9. Since 1981, however, the rate of growth started declining gradually
10. During this period, birth rates declined rapidly.

22
11. It is essential to realise that India has a very large population.
12. When a low annual rate is applied to a very large population
13. It yields a large absolute increase
14. When more than a billion people increase even at a lower rate, the total numbers being
added becomes very large

Processes of Population Change/Growth

1. There are three main processes of change of population
2. Birth rates, death rates and migration.
3. Birth rate is the number of live births per thousand persons in a year
4. It is a major component of growth because in India, birth rates have always been higher than
death rates
5. The main cause of the rate of growth of the Indian population has been the rapid decline in
death rates
6. Till 1980, high birth rates and declining death rates led to a large difference between birth
rates and death rates resulting in higher rates of population growth
7. Since 1981, birth rates have also started declining gradually,
8. Resulting in a gradual decline in the rate of population growth.
9. The third component of population growth is migration
10. Migration can be internal (within the country) or international (between the countries)
11. Internal migration does not change the size of the population, but influences the distribution
of population within the nation
12. In India, the rural-urban migration has resulted in a steady increase in the percentage of
population in cities and towns
13. The urban population has increased from 17.29 per cent of the total population in 1951 to
27.78 per cent in 2001.

Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition

1. India’s population is larger than the total population of North America, South America and
Australia put together.
2. More often, it is argued that such a large population invariably puts pressure on its limited
resources and is also responsible for many socio-economic problems in the country.

Distribution of Population
1. Uttar Pradesh has the highest population followed by Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and
Andhra Pradesh
2. U.P., Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh along with Tamil Nadu, Madhya
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Gujarat, together account for about 76 per cent of the total
population of the country.
3. On the other hand, share of population is very small in the states like Jammu & Kashmir
(0.98%), Arunachal Pradesh (0.11%) and Uttaranchal (0.83%) in spite of these states having
fairly large geographical area
4. Such an uneven spatial distribution of population in India suggests a close relationship
between population and physical, socioeconomic and historical factors.
5. Consequently, we observe that the North Indian Plains, deltas and Coastal Plains have higher
proportion of population than the interior districts of southern and central Indian States
6. Himalayas, some of the north eastern and the western states. However, development of
irrigation (Rajasthan), availability of mineral and energy resources (Jharkhand) and
development of transport network (Peninsular States) have resulted in moderate to high
proportion of population in areas which were previously very thinly populated
7. Among the socio-economic and historical factors of distribution of population, important
ones are evolution of settled agriculture and agricultural development

23
8. Pattern of human settlement; development of transport network, industrialisation and
urbanisation.
9. The concentration of population remains high because of an early history of human
settlement and development
10. On the other hand, the urban regions of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune,
Ahmedabad, Chennai and Jaipur have high concentration of population
11. On the other hand, the urban regions of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune,
Ahmedabad, Chennai and Jaipur have high concentration of population

Density of Population
1. The density of population in India (2001) is 313 persons per sq. km and ranks third among the
most densely populated countries of Asia following Bangladesh (849 persons) and Japan (334
persons).
2. There has been a steady increase of about 200 persons per sq. km over the last 50 years as the
density of population increased
3. From 117 persons/ sq. km in 1951 to 313 persons/sq. km in 2001
4. Which ranges from as low as 13 persons per sq. km in Arunachal Pradesh to 9,340 persons in
the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
5. Among the northern Indian States, West Bengal (903), Bihar (880) and Uttar Pradesh (690)
have higher densities
6. While Kerala (819) and Tamil Nadu (480) have higher densities among the peninsular Indian
states
7. States like Assam, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Orissa have moderate
densities

Growth of Population
1. Growth of population is the change in the number of people living in a particular area
between two points of time
2. Its rate is expressed in percentage.

Population Composition

• Analysis of age and sex, place of residence, ethnic characteristics, tribes, language, religion,
marital status, literacy and education, occupational characteristics, etc.

Rural – Urban Composition

1. Composition of population by their respective places of residence is an important indicator of
social and economic characteristics
2. 72 per cent of its total population lives in villages
3. The distribution of rural population is not uniform throughout the country
4. States like Bihar and Sikkim have very high percentage of rural population
5. The states of Goa and Maharashtra have only little over half of their total population residing
in villages
6. The size of villages also varies considerably
7. It is less than 200 persons in the hill states of north-eastern India
8. Western Rajasthan and Rann of Kuchchh
9. As high as 17 thousand persons in the states of Kerala and in parts of Maharashtra.
10. The proportion of urban population (27.8 per cent) in India is quite low but it is showing a
much faster rate of growth over the decades
11. In fact since 1931, the growth rate of urban population has accelerated due to enhanced
economic development and improvement in health and hygienic conditions.

Linguistic Composition

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1. India is a land of linguistic diversity
2. According to Grierson (Linguistic Survey of India, 1903 – 1928) there were 179 languages
and as many as 544 dialects in the country
3. In the context of modern India, there are about 18 scheduled languages (1991 census) and a
number of non-scheduled languages
4. Among the scheduled languages, the speakers of Hindi have the highest percentage (40.42)
5. The smallest language groups are Kashmiri and Sanskrit speakers (0.01 per cent each).

Linguistic Classification
1. The speakers of major Indian languages belong to four language families
2. Which have their sub-families and branches or groups
• Austric (Nishada) 1.38%
• Dravidian (Dravida) 20%
• Sino-Tibetan (Kirata) 0.85%
• Indo – European (Aryan) 73%

Religious Composition
1. Religion is one of the most dominant forces affecting the cultural and political life of the most
of Indians.
2. Muslims, the largest religious minority, are concentrated in Jammu & Kashmir, certain
districts of West Bengal and Kerala
3. Many districts of Uttar Pradesh, in and around Delhi and in Lakshadweep.
4. They form majority in Kashmir valley and Lakshadweep
5. The Christian population is distributed mostly in rural areas of the country
6. The main concentration is observed along the Western coast around Goa, Kerala and also in
the hill states of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Chotanagpur area and Hills of Manipur
7. Sikhs are mostly concentrated in relatively small area of the country, particularly in the states
of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

8. Jains and Buddhists, the smallest religious groups in India have their concentration only in
selected areas of the country.
9. Major concentration in the urban areas of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra
10. While the Buddhists are concentrated mostly in Maharashtra.
11. The other areas of Buddhist majority are Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Ladakh in Jammu
& Kashmir, Tripura, and Lahul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh.
12. The other religions of India include Zoroastrians, tribal and other indigenous faiths and
beliefs.

Composition of Working Population

1. The population of India according to their economic status is divided into three groups
• Main workers
• Marginal workers
• Non-workers.

Standard Census Definition

• Main Worker is a person who works for atleast183daysinayear
• Marginal Worker is a person who works for lessthan183daysinayear
• It is observed that in India, the proportion of workers (both main and marginal) is only 39 per
cent (2001)
2. Leaving a vast majority of 61 per cent as non-workers.
3. This indicates an economic status in which there is a larger proportion of dependent
population,

25
4. Further indicating possible existence of large number of unemployed or under employed
people.
5. The proportion of working population, of the states and Union Territories show a moderate
variation from about 25 per cent in Goa to about 53 per cent in Mizoram
6. The states with larger percentages of workers are Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya
7. Among the Union Territories, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have higher
participation rate.
8. In the context of a country like India, the work participation rate tends to be higher
9. In the areas of lower levels of economic development since number of manual workers are
needed to perform the subsistence or near subsistence economic activities

NATURAL VEGETATION
India is bestowed with a wide range of flora and fauna. The natural vegetation is the
endowments of nature. They grow naturally by following the climatic variables. Due to a
diverse geographical and climatic condition, an extensive range of natural vegetation grows in
India. The types of natural vegetation differ according to precipitation, soil, climate and
topography. The cultivated crops and fruits, orchards form part of vegetation, but not natural
vegetation.
Types of Natural vegetation in India
Tropical Evergreen Rain Forests
Deciduous or Monsoon Type of Forests
Dry Deciduous Forests
Mountain Forests
Tidal or Mangrove Forests
Semi- Desert and Desert Vegetations

Tropical evergreen rain forests

The Tropical Evergreen rain forests are found in the areas where precipitation is more than 200
cm. They are largely found in the Northeastern regions of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya,
Assam, Nagaland, the Western Ghats, the Tarai areas of the Himalayas and the Andaman
groups of Islands. They are also found in the hills of Khasi and Jaintia. The trees in this area
have intense growth. The major trees found in this area are Sandal Wood, Rosewood, Garjan,
Mahogany, and bamboo. It has a copious vegetation of all kinds – trees, shrubs, and creepers
giving it a multilayered structure. The elephants, monkey, lemur are the common animals found
in these areas.

Deciduous or Monsoon type of forests

The Deciduous forests are found on the lower slope of the Himalayas, West Bengal,
Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Orissa, Karnataka, Maharashtra Jharkhand and the adjoining areas. The
precipitation in this area is between 100 cm and 200 cm. The Teak is the dominant species seen
in the area. Along with that Deodar, Blue Gum, Pal Ash, Sal, Sandalwood, Ebony, Arjun, Khair,
and Bamboo are also seen. The trees in this forest shed their leaves during dry winter and dry
summer. On the basis of the availability of water, these forests are again divided into moist and
dry deciduous.

Dry deciduous forests

These forests grow in areas where the precipitation is between 50 cm and 100 cm. These are
mainly seen in the areas of the Central Deccan plateau, Punjab, Haryana, parts of Uttar Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh and South-east of Rajasthan.
Mountain forests
Mountain forests differ significantly along the slopes of the mountain. On the foothills of the
Himalayas until a height of 1500 meters, evergreen trees like Sal, teak, and bamboo grow

26
copiously. On the higher slope, temperate conifer trees like pine, fir, and oak grow. At the
higher elevation of the Himalayas, rhododendrons and junipers are found. Further, than these
vegetation zones, alpine grasslands appear up to the snowfield.

Tidal or Mangrove forests

The tidal or mangrove forests grow by the side of the coast and on the edges of the deltas e.g.,
the deltas of the Cauvery, Krishna, Mahanadi, Godavari, and Ganga. In West Bengal, these
forests are known as ‘Sundarbans’. The ‘sundari’ is a most major tree in these forests. The
important trees of the tidal forests are hogla, garan, pasur etc. This forest is an important factor
in the timber industry as they provide timber and firewood. Palm and coconut trees beautify the
coastal strip.

Semi- deserts and Deserts vegetations

This area receives a rainfall less than 50 cm. Thorny bushes, acacia, and Babul are found in this
vegetation region. The Indian wild date is generally found here. They have long roots and thick
flesh. The plants found in this region store water in their stem to endure during the drought.
These vegetations are found in parts of Gujarat’s, Punjab and in Rajasthan.

AGRICULTURE
Agriculture is a primary activity. It includes growing crops, fruits, vegetables, flowers and
rearing of livestock. 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. 4.1). 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.

Farm System
Agriculture or farming can be looked at as a system. The important inputs are seeds, fertilisers,
machinery and 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 of produce, labour and level of technology, farming can be classified into
two main types. These are subsistence farming and commercial farming.
Subsistence Farming
This type of farming is practised to meet the needs of the farmer’s family. Traditionally, low
levels of technology and household labour are used to produce on small output. Subsistence
farming can be further classified as intensive subsistence and primitive subsistence 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.

Primitive subsistence agriculture includes shifting cultivation and nomadic herding.

1) Shifting cultivation is practised in the thickly forested areas of Amazon basin, tropical
Africa, parts of southeast Asia and Northeast India. These are the areas of heavy rainfall and
quick regeneration of vegetation. A plot of land is cleared by felling the trees and burning
them. The ashes are then mixed with the soil and crops like maize, yam, potatoes and
cassava are grown. After the soil loses its fertility, the land is abandoned and the cultivator
moves to a new plot. Shifting cultivation is also known as ‘slash and burn’ agriculture.
2) 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,

27
 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.

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 . 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 pracised are temperate grasslands of North America, 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.

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.

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 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.

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 a hardy crop that needs low rainfall and high to moderate temperature and
adequate rainfall. Jowar, bajra and ragi are grown in India. Other countries are Nigeria,
China and Niger.
Maize: Maize requires moderate temperature, rainfall and lots of sunshine. It needs well-
drained fertile soils. Maize is grown in North America, Brazil, China, 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 on black and alluvial soils. China, USA,
India, Pakistan, Brazil and Egypt are the leading producers of cotton. It is one of the main
raw materials for the cotton textile industry.

28
 Jute: Jute was also known as the ‘Golden Fibre’. It grows well on alluvial soil and requires
high temperature, heavy rainfall and humid climate. This crop is grown in the tropical areas.
India and Bangladesh are the leading producers of jute.
Coffee: Coffee requires warm and wet climate and well- drained loamy soil. Hill slopes are
more suitable for growth of this crop. Brazil is the leading producer followed by 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.
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 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. Agriculture has developed at different places in
different parts of the world. Developing countries with large populations usually practice
intensive agriculture where crops are grown on small holdings mostly for subsistence.
Larger holdings are more suitable for commercial agriculture as in USA, Canada and
Australia. With the help of two case studies of farms — one from India and the other from
the USA, let us understand about agriculture in the developing and a developed country.

MINERAL AND ENERGY RESOURCES

• A mineral is a natural substance of organic or inorganic origin with definite chemical and
physical properties.

Types of Mineral Resources

1. On the basis of chemical and physical properties, minerals may be grouped under two main
categories of metallic and non-metallic
2. Metallic minerals are the sources of metals. Iron ore, copper, gold produce metal
3. Metallic minerals are further divided into ferrous and non-ferrous metallic minerals
4. Ferrous Refers to iron
5. All those minerals which have iron content are ferrous such as iron ore itself
6. Those which do not have iron content are non-ferrous such as copper, bauxite, etc.
7. Non-metallic minerals are either organic in origin such as fossil fuels also known as mineral
fuels
8. Which are derived from the buried animal and plant life such as coal and petroleum
9. Good quality minerals are less in quantity as compared to low quality minerals
10. All minerals are exhaustible over time.
11. These take long to develop geologically and they cannot be replenished immediately at the
time of need

Agencies involved in the exploration of minerals

1. In India, systematic surveying, prospecting and exploration for minerals is undertaken by the
Geological Survey of India (GSI)
2. Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC)
3. Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd. (MECL)
4. National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC)
5. Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM)
6. Bharat Gold Mines Ltd. (BGML)
7. Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCL)
8. National Aluminium Company Ltd. (NALCO)

29
9. The Departments of Mining and Geology in various states

Distribution of Minerals in India

1. Most of the metallic minerals in India occur in the peninsular plateau region in the old
crystalline rocks
2. Over 97 per cent of coal reserves occur in the valleys of Damodar, Sone, Mahanadi and
Godavari.
3. Petroleum reserves are located in the sedimentary basins of Assam, Gujarat and Mumbai
High i.e. off-shore region in the Arabian Sea.
4. Krishna-Godavari and Kaveri basins.
5. Most of the major mineral resources occur to the east of a line linking Mangalore and
Kanpur.
6. Minerals are generally concentrated in three broad belts in India.
The North-Eastern Plateau Region
1. This belt covers Chotanagpur (Jharkhand), Orissa Plateau, West Bengal and parts of
Chhattisgarh.
2. It has variety of minerals viz. iron ore coal, manganese, bauxite, mica.

The South-Western Plateau Region

1. This belt extends over Karnataka, Goa and contiguous Tamil Nadu uplands and Kerala.
2. This belt is rich in ferrous metals and bauxite.
3. It also contains high grade iron ore, manganese and limestone.
4. This belt packs in coal deposits except Neyveli lignite. This belt does
5. This belt does not have as diversified mineral deposits as the north-eastern belt.
6. Kerala has deposits of monazite and thorium, bauxite clay. Goa has iron ore deposits.

The North-Western Region

1. This belt extends along Aravali in Rajasthan and part of Gujarat and minerals are associated
with Dharwar system of rocks.
2. Copper, zinc have been major minerals. Rajasthan is rich in building stones i.e. sandstone,
granite, marble.
3. Gypsum and Fuller’s earth deposits are also extensive
4. Dolomite and limestone provide raw materials for cement industry
5. Gujarat is known for its petroleum deposits.
6. Gujarat and Rajasthan both have rich sources of salt.
7. The Himalayan belt is another mineral belt where copper, lead, zinc, cobalt and tungsten are
known to occur.
8. They occur on both the eastern and western parts.
9. Assam valley has mineral oil deposits. Besides oil resources are also found in off-shore-areas
near Mumbai Coast (Mumbai High).

Ferrous Mineral
1. Ferrous minerals such as iron ore, manganese, chromite, etc., provide a strong base for the
development of metallurgical industries.
2. Our country is well-placed in respect of ferrous minerals both in reserves and production.

Iron Ore
1. It has the largest reserve of iron ore in Asia.
2. The two main types of ore found in our country are haematite and magnetite.
3. It has great demand in international market due to its superior quality.
4. The iron ore mines occur in close proximity to the coal fields in the

30
5. North-eastern plateau region of the country which adds to their advantage.
6. The total reserves of iron ore in the country were about 20 billion tonnes in the year 2004-
05.
7. About 95 per cent of total reserves of iron ore is located in the States of Orissa, Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
8. In Orissa, iron ore occurs in a series of hill ranges in Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj and Jhar.
9. The important mines are Gurumahisani, Sulaipet, Badampahar (Mayurbhaj), Kiruburu
(Kendujhar) and Bonai (Sundergarh).
10. Similar hill ranges, Jharkhand has some of the oldest
11. Iron ore mines and most of the iron and steel plants are located around them.
12. Most of the important mines such as Noamundi and Gua are located in Poorbi and
Pashchimi Singhbhum districts.
13. This belt further extends to Durg, Dantewara and Bailadila.

14. Dalli, and Rajhara in Durg are the important mines of iron ore in the country
15. In Karnataka, iron ore deposits occur in Sandur-Hospet area of Bellary district,
16. Baba Budan hills and Kudremukh in Chikmagalur district and parts of Shimoga, Chitradurg
and Tumkur districts.
17. The districts of Chandrapur, Bhandara and Ratnagiri in Maharashtra,
18. Salem and Nilgiris districts of Tamil Nadu are other iron mining regions.
19. Goa has also emerged as an important producer of iron ore.

Manganese
1. Manganese is an important raw material for smelting of iron ore and also used for
manufacturing ferro alloys.
2. It is mainly associated with Dharwar system.
3. Orissa is the leading producer of Manganese
4. Major mines in Orissa are located in the central part of the iron ore belt of India,
5. Particularly in Bonai, Kendujhar, Sundergarh, Gangpur, Koraput, Kalahandi and Bolangir.
6. Karnataka is another major producer and here the mines are located in Dharwar, Bellary,
Belgaum, North Canara, Chikmagalur, Shimoga, Chitradurg and Tumkur.
7. Maharashtra is also an important producer of manganese which is mined in Nagpur,
Bhandara and Ratnagiri districts.
8. The disadvantage to these mines is that they are located far from steel plants.
9. The manganese belt of Madhya Pradesh extends in a belt in Balaghat-Chhindwara-Nimar-
Mandla and Jhabua districts.
10. Andhra Pradesh, Goa, and Jharkhand are other minor producers of manganese.
11. India is poorly endowed with non-ferrous metallic minerals except bauxite.

Bauxite
1. Bauxite is the ore which is used in manufacturing of aluminium.
2. Bauxite is found mainly in tertiary deposits and is associated with laterite rocks
3. Occurring extensively either on the plateau or hill ranges of peninsular India and also in the
coastal tracts of the country
4. Orissa happens to be the largest producer of Bauxite
5. Kalahandi and Sambalpur are the leading producers
6. The other two areas which have been increasing their production are Bolangir and Koraput.
7. The patlands of Jharkhand in Lohardaga have rich deposits
8. Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are other major producers.
9. Bhavanagar, Jamnagar in Gujarat have the major deposits.

31
10. Chhattisgarh has bauxite deposits in Amarkantak plateau while Katni-Jabalpur area and
Balaghat in M.P. have important deposits of bauxite.
11. Kolaba, Thane, Ratnagiri, Satara, Pune and Kolhapur in Maharashtra are important
producers.
12. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa are minor producers of bauxite.

Copper
1. Copper is an indispensable metal in the electrical industry for making wires, electric motors,
transformers and generators.
2. It is alloy able, malleable and ductile. It is also mixed with gold to provide strength to
jewellery.
3. The Copper deposits mainly occur in Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, Balaghat district in
Madhya Pradesh and Jhunjhunu and Alwar districts in Rajasthan.
4. Minor producers of Copper are Agnigundala in Guntur District (Andhra Pradesh)
5. Chitradurg and Hasan districts (Karnataka) and South Arcot district (Tamil Nadu).

6. Non-metallic Minerals
7. Among the non-metallic minerals produced in India, mica is the important one
8. The other minerals extracted for local consumption are limestone, dolomite and phosphate.

Mica
1. Mica is mainly used in the electrical and electronic industries
2. It can be split into very thin sheets which are tough and flexible
3. Mica in India is produced in Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan followed by Tamil
Nadu, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh
4. In Jharkhand high quality mica is obtained in a belt extending over a distance of about 150
km, in length and about 22 km, in width in lower Hazaribagh plateau
5. In Andhra Pradesh. Nellore district produces the best quality mica.
6. In Rajasthan mica belt extends for about 320 mms from Jaipur to Bhillama and around
Udaipur.
7. Mica deposits also occur in Mysore and Hasan districts of Karnataka,
8. Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu,
9. Alleppey in Kerala, Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, Purulia and Bankura in West Bengal

Energy Resources
1. Mineral fuels like coal, petroleum and natural gas (known as fossil fuels),
2. Nuclear energy minerals, are the Conventional sources of energy.
3. These conventional sources are exhaustible resources.

Coal
1. Coal is a one of the important minerals which is mainly used in the generation of thermal
power and smelting of iron ore.
2. Coal occurs in rock sequences mainly of two geological ages, namely Gondwana and tertiary
deposits
3. About 80 per cent of the coal deposits in India is of bituminous type and is of non-coking
grade.
4. The most important Gondwana coal fields of India are located in Damodar Valley.
5. They lie in Jharkhand-Bengal coal belt and the important coal fields in this region are
Raniganj, Jharia, Bokaro, Giridih, and Karanpura.
6. Jharia is the largest coal field followed by Raniganj

32
7. The other river valleys associated with coal are Godavari, Mahanadi and Sone
8. The most important coal mining centres are Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh (part of Singrauli
coal field lies in Uttar Pradesh)
9. Korba in Chhattisgarh, Talcher and Rampur in Orissa
10. Chanda–Wardha, Kamptee and Bander in Maharashtra and Singareni and Pandur in Andhra
Pradesh.
11. It is extracted from Darangiri, Cherrapunji, Mewlong and Langrin (Meghalaya
12. Makum, Jaipur and Nazira in upper Assam
13. Namchik – Namphuk (Arunachal Pradesh)
14. Kalakot (Jammu and Kashmir)
15. The brown coal or lignite occur in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Gujarat
and Jammu and Kashmir.

Petroleum
1. It is an essential source of energy for all internal combustion engines in automobiles,
railways and aircraft.
2. Its numerous by-products are processed in petrochemical industries such as fertiliser,
synthetic rubber, synthetic fibre, medicines, Vaseline, lubricants, wax, soap and cosmetics
3. Petroleum is referred to as liquid gold because of its scarcity and diversified uses.
4. Crude petroleum occurs in sedimentary rocks of the tertiary period

5. Oil exploration and production was systematically taken up after the Oil and Natural Gas
Commission was set up in 1956
6. Till then, the Digboi in Assam was the only oil producing region but the scenario has changed
after 1956
7. In recent years, new oil deposits have been found at the extreme western and eastern parts
of the country
8. In Assam, Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran are important oil producing areas.
9. The major oil fields of Gujarat are Ankaleshwar, Kalol, Mehsana, Nawagam, Kosamba and
Lunej.
10. Mumbai High which lies 160 km off Mumbai was discovered in 1973, production
commenced in 1976
11. Oil and natural gas have been found in exploratory wells in Krishna-Godavari and Kaveri
basin on the east coast
12. Oil extracted from the wells is crude oil and contains many impurities
13. It cannot be used directly. It needs to be refined
14. There are two types of refineries in India: (a) Field based
(b) Market based

15. Digboi is an example of field base

16. Barauni is an example of market based refinery
17. There are 18 refineries in India

Natural Gas
1. The Gas Authority of India Limited was set up in 1984 as a public sector undertaking to
transport and market natural gas.
2. It is obtained along with oil in all the oil fields but exclusive reserves have been located along
3. The eastern coast as well as (Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh), Tripura, Rajasthan
and off-shore wells in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

33
Nuclear Energy Resources
1. Nuclear energy has emerged as a viable source in recent times
2. Important minerals used for the generation of nuclear energy are uranium and thorium
3. Uranium deposits occur in the Dharwar rocks.
4. Geographically, uranium ores are known to occur in several locations along the Singbhum
Copper belt.
5. It is also found in Udaipur, Alwar and Jhunjhunu districts of Rajasthan
6. Durg district of Chhattisgarh,
7. Bhandara district of Maharashtra and Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.
8. Thorium is mainly obtained from monazite and limonite in the beach sands
9. The coast of Kerala and Tamil Nadu
10. World’s richest monazite deposits occur in Palakkad and Kollam districts of Kerala
11. Near Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Mahanadi river delta in Orissa.
12. Atomic Energy Commission was established in 1948, progress could be made only after
13. The establishment of the Atomic Energy Institute at Trombay in 1954 which was renamed
as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in 1967.
14. The important nuclear power projects are Tarapur (Maharashtra), Rawatbhata near Kota
(Rajasthan), Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu), Narora (Uttar Pradesh), Kaiga (Karnataka) and
Kakarapara (Gujarat).

Non-Conventional Energy Sources

1. Fossil fuel sources, such as coal, petroleum, natural gas and nuclear energy use exhaustible
raw materials.
2. Sustainable energy resources are only the renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydro-
geothermal and biomass.

Solar Energy
1. Sun rays tapped in photovoltaic cells can be converted into energy, known as solar energy
2. The two effective processes considered to be very effective to tap solar energy are
photovoltaic and solar thermal technology
3. Solar thermal technology has some relative advantages over all other non-renewable energy
sources.
4. It is cost competitive, environment friendly and easy to construct
5. Solar energy is 7 per cent more effective than coal or oil based plants and 10 per cent more
effective than nuclear plants.
6. The western part of India has greater potential for the development of solar energy in
Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Wind Energy
1. Wind energy is absolutely pollution free, inexhaustible source of energy
2. Conversion from blowing wind is simple
3. The kinetic energy of wind, through turbines is converted into electrical energy.
4. The permanent wind systems such the trade winds, westerlies and seasonal wind like
monsoon have been used as source of energy.
5. Besides these, local winds, land and sea breezes can also be used to produce electricity
6. Spread over 12 suitable locations, especially in coastal areas.
7. According to the estimation by Ministry of Power, India will be able to produce 3,000
megawatts of electric from this source.
8. The Ministry of non-conventional sources of energy is developing wind energy in India to
lessen the burden of oil import bill

34
9. The country’s potential of wind power generation exceeds 50,000 megawatts, of which one
fourth can be easily harnessed.
10. In Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka, favourable conditions for wind energy
exist.
11. Another, wind power plant is located at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu

Tidal and Wave Energy

1. Ocean currents are the store-house of infinite energy
2. Large tidal waves are known to occur along the west coast of India
3. Hence, India has great potential for the development of tidal energy along the coasts but so
far these have not yet been utilised

Geothermal Energy
1. When the magma from the interior of earth, comes out on the surface, tremendous heat is
released.
2. This heat energy can successfully be tapped and converted to electrical energy.
3. Apart from this, the hot water that gushes out through the geyser wells is also used in the
generation of thermal energy.
4. Apart from this, the hot water that gushes out through the geyser wells is also used in the
generation of thermal energy.
5. The hot springs and geysers are being used since medieval period.
6. In India, a geothermal energy plant has been commissioned at Manikaran in Himachal
Pradesh.
7. The first successful (1890) attempt to tap the underground heat was made in the city of
Boise, Idaho (U.S.A.),

8. Where a hot water pipe network was built to give heat to the surrounding buildings. This
plant is still working.

Bio-energy
1. Bio-energy refers to energy derived from biological products which includes agricultural
residues, municipal, industrial and other wastes.
2. It can be converted into electrical energy, heat energy or gas for cooking
3. It will also process the waste and garbage and produce energy.
4. This will improve economic life of rural areas in developing countries, reduce environmental
pollution
5. Enhance self-reliance and reduce pressure on fuel wood
6. One such project converting municipal waste into energy is Okhla in Delhi.

Conservation of Mineral Resources

1. The challenge of sustainable development requires integration of quest for economic
development with environmental concerns.
2. Traditional methods of resource use result into generating enormous quantity of waste as
well as create other environmental problems.
3. The alternative energy sources like solar power, wind, wave, geothermal energy are
inexhaustible resource
4. These should be developed to replace the exhaustible resources
5. In case of metallic minerals, use of scrap metals will enable recycling of metals.
6. Use of scrap is especially significant in metals like copper, lead and zinc in which India’s
reserves are meagre

35
7. Use of substitutes for scarce metals may also reduce their consumption.
8. Export of strategic and scarce minerals must be reduced, so that the existing reserve may be
used for a longer period.

ROADWAYS
1. Aggregating to about 2.3 million km at present.
2. In India, roadways have preceded railways.
3. They still have an edge over railways in view of the ease with which they can be built and
maintained.
4. In India, roads are classified in the following six classes according to their capacity

Golden Quadrilateral Super Highways

1. The government has launched a major road development project linking Delhi-Kolkata
Chennai-Mumbai and Delhi. By six-lane Super Highways.
2. The North-South corridors linking Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir) and Kanyakumari (Tamil
Nadu),
3. And East-West Corridor connecting Silchar (Assam) and Porbandar (Gujarat) are part of this
project
4. These highway projects are being implemented by the National Highway Authority of India
(NHAI).

National Highways
• National Highways link extreme parts of the country
• These are the primary road systems and are laid and maintained by the Central Public Works
Department (CPWD).
• The historical Sher Shah Suri Marg is called National Highway No.1 between Delhi and
Amritsar.

National Highway-7 is the longest and traverses 2, 369 km between Varanasi and
Kanyakumari
Via Jabalpur, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Madurai
Delhi and Mumbai are connected by National Highway-8, while National Highway-15 covers
most of Rajasthan.
State Highways
1. Roads linking a state capital with different district headquarters are known as State
Highways.
2. These roads are constructed and maintained by the State Public Works Department (PWD)
in State and Union Territories.

District Roads
• These roads connect the district headquarters with other places of the district. These roads
are maintained by the Zila Parishad.

Other Roads
• Rural roads, which link rural areas and villages with towns, are classified under this category
• These roads received special impetus under the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana
• Under this scheme special provisions are made so that every village in the country is linked to
a major town in the country by an all season motorable road.

36
Border Roads
1. Apart from these, Border Roads Organisation a Government of India undertaking constructs
and maintains roads in the bordering areas of the country.
2. This organisation was established in 1960 for the development of the roads of strategic
importance in the northern and north-eastern border areas.

Road Density
1. The length of road per 100 sq. km of area is known as density of roads.
2. Distribution of road is not uniform in the country.
3. Density of all roads varies from only 10 km in Jammu & Kashmir to 375 km in Kerala with the
national average of 75 km (1996-97).

Railways
1. The Indian Railway have a network of 7, 031 stations spread over a route length of 63, 221
km.
2. with a fleet of 7817 locomotives, 5321 passenger service vehicles, 4904 other coach vehicles
and 228, 170 wagons as on 31 March 2004.
3. The Indian Railways is the largest public sector undertaking in the country.
4. The first train steamed off from Mumbai to Thane in 1853, covering a distance of 34 km.
5. The Indian Railway network runs on multiple gauge operations
6. The Indian Railway is now reorganised into 16 zones

Pipelines
1. Pipeline transport network is a new arrival on the transportation map of India.
2. There are three important networks of pipeline transportation in the country.
3. From oil field in upper Assam to Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), via Guwahati, Barauni and
Allahabad.
4. It has branches from Barauni to Haldia, via Rajbandh, Rajbandh to Maurigram and Guwahati
to Siliguri.
5. From Salaya in Gujarat to Jalandhar in Punjab, via Viramgam, Mathura, Delhi and Sonipat.
6. It has branches to connect Koyali (near Vadodara, Gujarat) Chakshu and other places.
7. Gas pipeline from Hazira in Gujarat connects Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh, via Vijaipur in
Madhya Pradesh
8. It has branches to Kota in Rajasthan, Shahajahanpur, Babrala and other places in Uttar
Pradesh.

Waterways
1. Waterways are the cheapest means of transport
2. They are most suitable for carrying heavy and bulky goods.
3. It is a fuel-efficient and environment friendly mode of transport.
4. India has inland navigation waterways of 14,500 km in length.
5. Out of these only 3,700 km are navigable by mechanised boats.
6. The following waterways have been declared as the National Waterways by the
Government.
7. The Ganga River between Allahabad and Haldia (1620 km)-N.W. No.1
8. The Brahmaputra River between Sadiya and Dhubri (891 km)-N.W. No.2
9. The West-Coast Canal in Kerala (Kottapurma-Komman, Udyogamandal and Champakkara
canals-205 km) – N.W. No.3
10. The other viable inland waterways include the Godavari, Krishna, Barak, Sunderbans,
Buckingham Canal, Brahmani, East-west Canal and Damodar Valley Corporation Canal.

37
11. 95 per cent of the country’s trade volume (68 per cent in terms of value) is moved by sea.

Major Sea Ports

1. With a long coastline of 7,516.6 km, India is dotted with 12 major and 181 medium and
minor ports.
2. These major ports handle 95 per cent of India’s foreign trade. Kandla in Kuchchh w
3. Kandla in Kuchchh was the first port developed soon after Independence to ease the volume
of trade on the Mumbai port,
4. In the wake of loss of Karachi port to Pakistan after the Partition
5. Kandla is a tidal port. It caters to the convenient handling of exports and imports of
6. highly productive granary and industrial belt stretching across the states of Jammu and
Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
7. Mumbai is the biggest port with a spacious natural and well-sheltered harbour.
8. The Jawaharlal Nehru port was planned with a view to decongest the Mumbai port and
serve as a
9. Hub port for this region
10. Marmagao port (Goa) is the premier iron ore exporting port of the country.
11. This port accounts for about fifty per cent of India’s iron ore export
12. New Mangalore port, located in Karnataka caters to the export of iron ore concentrates
from Kudremukh mines.
13. Kochi is the extreme south-western port, located at the entrance of a lagoon with a natural
harbour.
14. Along the east coast,
15. The extreme south-eastern port of Tuticorin, in Tamil Nadu.
16. This port has a natural harbour and rich hinterland
17. Thus, it has a flourishing trade handling of a large variety of cargoes to even our
neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, etc.
18. Chennai is one of the oldest artificial ports of the country.
19. It is ranked next to Mumbai in terms of the volume of trade and cargo.
20. Vishakhapatnam is the deepest landlocked and well-protected port
21. This port was, originally, conceived as an outlet for iron ore exports
22. Paradip port located in Orissa, specialises in the export of iron ore
23. This port serves a very large and rich hinterland of Ganga- Brahmaputra basin
24. Being a tidal port, it requires constant dredging of Hoogly.
25. Haldia port was developed as a subsidiary port, in order to relieve growing pressure on the
Kolkata port.

Airways
1. The air transport was nationalised in 1953
2. Indian Airlines, Alliance Air (subsidiary of Indian Airlines), private scheduled airlines and non-
scheduled operators provide domestic air services.
3. Air India provides international air services
4. Pawanhans Helicopters Ltd. provides helicopter services to Oil and Natural Gas Commission
in its off- shore operations,
5. To inaccessible areas and difficult terrains like the north-eastern states and the interior parts
of Jammu and Kashmir,
6. It is only in the north-eastern states that special provisions are made to extend the services
to the common people.

38
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
1. The capacity of Indian ports increased from 20 million tonnes of cargo handling in 1951 to
more than 500 million tonnes at present.
2. Some of the Indian ports along with their hinterlands are as follows

Kandla Port
1. Situated at the head of Gulf of Kuchchh has been developed as a major port
2. To cater to the needs of western and north western parts of the country
3. Also to reduce the pressure at Mumbai port.
4. The port is specially designed to receive large quantities of petroleum and petroleum
products and fertiliser.
5. The offshore terminal at Vadinar has been developed to reduce the pressure at Kandla port.
6. Demarcation of the boundary of the hinterland would be difficult as it is not fixed over
space.
7. In most of the cases, hinterland of one port may overlap with that of the other.

Mumbai
1. Mumbai is a natural harbour and the biggest port of the country.
2. The port is situated closer to the general routes from the countries of Middle East,
3. Mediterranean countries, North Africa, North America and Europe where the major share of
country’s overseas trade is carried out.
4. The port is 20 km long and 6-10 km wide with 54 berths and has the country’s largest oil
terminal.
5. M.P., Maharashtra, Gujarat, U.P. and parts of Rajasthan constitute the main hinterlands of
Mumbai ports.
6. Jawaharlal Nehru Port
7. Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhava Sheva was developed as a satellite port to relieve the
pressure
8. At the Mumbai port.
9. It is the largest container port in India.

Marmagao Port
1. Marmagao Port, situated at the entrance of the Zuari estuary
2. Is a natural harbour in Goa.
3. It gained significance after its remodelling in 1961 to handle iron-ore exports to Japan.
4. Construction of Konkan railway has considerably extended the hinterland of this
5. Karnataka, Goa, Southern Maharashtra constitute its hinterland.
6. New Mangalore Port
7. New Mangalore Portis located in the state of Karnataka and caters to the needs of the
export of iron-ore and iron-concentrates.
8. It also handles fertilisers, petroleum products, edible oils, coffee, tea, wood pulp, yarn,
granite stone, molasses, etc.
9. Karnataka is the major hinterland for this port.

Kochchi Port
1. Kochchi Port, situated at the head of Vembanad Kayal, popularly known as the “Queen of
the Arabian Sea,” is also a natural harbour.
2. This port has an advantageous location being close to the Suez-Colombo route.
3. It caters to the needs of Kerala, southern Karnataka and south western Tamil Nadu.

Kolkata Port

39
1. Kolkata Portis located on the Hugli River, 128 km inland from the Bay of Bengal.
2. Like the Mumbai port, this port was also developed by the British.
3. Kolkata had the initial advantage of being the capital of British India.
4. The port has lost its significance considerably on account of the diversion of exports to the
other ports such as Vishakhapatnam
5. Paradwip and its satellite port, Haldia.
6. Kolkata port is also confronted with the problem of silt accumulation in the Hugli River
7. Which provides a link to the sea
8. Its hinterland covers U.P., Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Sikkim and the north-eastern
states
9. Apart from this, it also extends ports facilities to our neighbouring land-locked countries
such as Nepal and Bhutan.

Haldia Port
1. Haldia Port is located 105 km downstream from Kolkata.
2. It has been constructed to reduce the congestion at Kolkata port.
3. . It handles bulk cargo like iron ore, coal, petroleum, petroleum products and fertilisers, jute,
jute products, cotton and cotton yarn, etc.
4. Paradwip Port
5. Paradwip Portis situated in the Mahanadi delta,
6. About 100 km from Cuttack. It has the deepest harbour especially suited to handle very
large vessels.
7. It has been developed mainly to handle large-scale export of iron-ore.
8. Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are the parts of its hinterland.
9. Visakhapatnam Port
10. Visakhapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh is a land-locked harbour,
11. Connected to the sea by a channel cut through solid rock and sand

Chennai Port
1. Chennai Portis one of the oldest ports on the eastern coast.
2. It is an artificial harbour built in 1859.
3. It is not much suitable for large ships because of the shallow waters near the coast. Tamil
Nadu and Pondicherry are its hinterland

Ennore
1. Ennore, a newly developed port in Tamil Nadu, has been constructed 25 km north of
Chennai to relieve the pressure at Chennai port.

Tuticorin Port
1. Tuticorin Port was also developed to relieve the pressure of Chennai port.
2. It deals with a variety of cargo including coal, salt, food grains, edible oils, sugar, chemicals
and petroleum products.

INDUSTRIES
1. Production of goods in large quantities after processing from raw materials to more valuable
products is called manufacturing.
2. The economic strength of a country is measured by the development of manufacturing
industries.
3. Manufacturing sector is considered the backbone of development
4. India’s prosperity lies in increasing and diversifying its manufacturing industries as quickly as
possible

40
Contribution of Industry to National Economy
1. Over the last two decades, the share of manufacturing sector has stagnated at 17 per cent
of GDP –
2. Out of a total of 27 per cent for the industry which includes 10 per cent for mining,
quarrying, electricity and gas.
3. Where it is 25 to 35 per cent. The trend of growth rate in manufacturing over the last
decade has been around 7 per cent per annum.
4. The desired growth rate over the next decade is 12 per cent.
5. With appropriate policy interventions by the government and renewed efforts by the
industry to improve productivity,
6. The National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) has been set up with this
objective.

Industrial Location
These are influenced by availability of raw material, labour, capital, power and market, etc.
Agglomeration economies
• Many industries tend to come together to make use of the advantages offered by the urban
centres known as agglomeration economies

Classification of Industries
On the basis of source of raw materials used:
1. Agro based: cotton, woollen, jute, silk textile, rubber and sugar, tea, coffee, edible oil
2. Mineral based: iron and steel, cement, aluminium, machine tools, petrochemicals.

According to their main role

1. Basic or key industries which supply their products or raw materials to manufacture other
goods e.g. iron and steel and copper smelting, aluminium smelting.
2. Consumer industries that produce goods for direct use by consumers – sugar, toothpaste,
paper, sewing machines, fans etc.
3. A small scale industry is defined with reference to the maximum investment allowed on the
assets of a unit.
4. This limit has changed over a period of time. At present the maximum investment allowed is
rupees one crore

On the basis of ownership:

1. Public sector, owned and operated by government agencies – BHEL, SAIL etc.
2. Private sector industries owned and operated by individuals or a group of individuals –
TISCO, Bajaj Auto Ltd., Dabur Industries
3. Joint sector industries which are jointly run by the state and individuals or a group of
individuals. Oil India Ltd. (OIL) is jointly owned by public and private sector.
4. Cooperative sector industries are owned and operated by the producers or suppliers of raw
materials, workers or both.
5. They pool in the resources and share the profits or losses proportionately such as the sugar
industry in Maharashtra, the coir industry in Kerala.

Heavy industries such as iron and steel

1. Light industries that use light raw materials and produce light goods such as electrical
industries.

Agro Based Industries

41
1. Cotton, jute, silk, woollen textiles, sugar and edible oil, etc. industry are based on
agricultural raw materials.

Textile Industry
1. The textile industry occupies unique position in the Indian economy
2. It contributes significantly to industrial production (14 per cent), employment generation
(35 million persons directly
3. The second largest after agriculture) and foreign exchange earnings (about 24.6 per cent).
4. It contributes 4 per cent towards GDP. It is the only industry in the country,
5. Which is self-reliant and complete in the value chain i.e., from raw material to the highest
value added products

Cotton Textiles
1. In ancient India, cotton textiles were produced with hand spinning and handloom weaving
techniques.
2. After the 18th century, power-looms came into use. Our traditional industries suffered a
setback during the colonial period because they could not compete with the mill-made cloth
from England.
3. Today, there are nearly 1600 cotton and human made fibre textile mills in the country.
4. The first successful textile mill was established in Mumbai in 1854.
5. The two world wars were fought in Europe, India was a British colony. There was a demand
for cloth in U.K
6. Hence, they gave a boost to the development of the cotton textile industry.
7. In the early years, the cotton textile industry was concentrated in the cotton growing belt of
Maharashtra and Gujarat
8. Availability of raw cotton, market, transport including accessible port facilities, labour, moist
climate, etc.
9. Contributed towards its localisation
10. This industry has close links with agriculture and provides a living to farmers, cotton boll
pluckers and workers engaged in
11. Ginning, spinning, weaving, dyeing, designing, packaging, tailoring and sewing.
12. The industry by creating demands supports many other industries, such as, chemicals and
dyes, mill stores, packaging materials and engineering works.
13. While spinning continues to be centralised in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu
14. Weaving is highly decentralised to provide scope for incorporating traditional skills and
designs of weaving in cotton, silk, zari, embroidery, etc.
15. India has world class production in spinning, but weaving supplies low quality of fabric as it
cannot use much of the high quality yarn produced in the country.
16. The handspun khadi provides large scale employment to weavers in their homes as a
cottage industry.
17. India exports yarn to Japan. Other importers of cotton goods from India are U.S.A., U.K.,
Russia, France, East European countries, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and African countries.
18. India has the second largest installed capacity of spindles in the world, next to China, at
around 34 million (2003-04)
19. Since the mid-eighties, the spinning sector has received a lot of attention.
20. We have a large share in the world trade of cotton yarn, accounting for one fourth of the
total trade
21. Our trade in garments is only 4 per cent of the world’s total.
22. The weaving, knitting and processing units cannot use much of the high quality yarn that is
produced in the country.

42
23. The weaving, knitting and processing units cannot use much of the high quality yarn that is
produced in the country.
24. But most of the production is in fragmented small units,
25. This mismatch is a major drawback for the industry.

Jute Textiles
1. India is the largest producer of raw jute and jute goods and stands at second place as an
exporter after Bangladesh.
2. There are about 70 jute mills in India.
3. Most of these are located in West Bengal, mainly along the banks of the Hugli River, in a
narrow belt (98 km long and 3 km wide).
4. The first jute mill was set up near Kolkata in 1859 at Rishra
5. After Partition in 1947, the jute mills remained in India but three-fourth of the jute
producing area went to Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan).
6. Factors responsible for their location in the Hugli basin are: proximity of the jute producing
areas, inexpensive water transport, supported by a good network of railways,
7. roadways and waterways to facilitate movement of raw material to the mills, abundant
water for processing raw jute, cheap labour from West Bengal and adjoining states of Bihar,
Orissa and Uttar Pradesh.
8. Kolkata as a large urban centre provides banking, insurance and port facilities for export of
jute goods
9. The jute industry supports 2.61 lakh workers directly and another 40 lakhs small and
marginal farmers who are engaged in cultivation of jute and Mesta.
10. Challenges faced by the industry include stiff competition in the international market from
synthetic substitutes and from other competitors like Bangladesh, Brazil, Philippines, Egypt and
Thailand.
11. However, the internal demand has been on the increase due to the Government policy of
mandatory use of jute packaging.
12. And, the products need to be diversified. In 2005, National Jute Policy was formulated with
the objective of increasing productivity,
13. Improving quality, ensuring good prices to the jute farmers and enhancing the yield per
hectare.
14. The main markets are U.S.A., Canada, Russia, United Arab Republic, U.K. and Australia.
Sugar Industry
1. India stands second as a world producer of sugar but occupies the first place in the
production of gurand khandsari.
2. The raw material used in this industry is bulky, and in haulage its sucrose content reduces.
3. There are over 460 sugar mills in the country spread over Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat along with Punjab, Haryana and Madhya
Pradesh.
4. Sixty per cent mills are in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
5. This industry is seasonal in nature so, it is ideally suited to the cooperative sector.
6. In recent years, there is a tendency for the mills to shift and concentrate in the southern and
western states, especially in Maharashtra
7. This is because the cane produced here has a higher sucrose content.
8. The cooler climate also ensures a longer crushing season.
9. Moreover, the cooperatives are more successful in these states.
10. Major challenges include the seasonal nature of the industry
11. Old and inefficient methods of production, transport delay in reaching cane to factories
and the need to maximise the use of baggase.

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12. Industries that use minerals and metals as raw materials are called mineral based
industries

Iron and Steel Industry

1. The iron and steel Industry is the basic industry since all the other industries — heavy,
medium and light, depend on it for their machinery.
2. Steel is needed to manufacture a variety of engineering goods, construction material,
defence, medical, telephonic, scientific equipment and a variety of consumer goods.
3. Production and consumption of steel is often regarded as the index of a country’s
development.
4. Iron and steel is a heavy industry because all the raw materials as well as finished goods are
heavy and bulky entailing heavy transportation costs.
5. Iron ore, coking coal and lime stone are required in the ratio of approximately 4: 2: 1.
6. Some quantities of manganese, are also required to harden the steel.
7. Today with 32.8 million tons of steel production, India ranks ninth among the world crude
steel producers.
8. It is the largest producer of sponge iron. Inspite of large quantity of production of steel, per
capita consumption per annum is only 32 kg.
9. Presently, there are 10 primary integrated and many mini steel plants in India.
10. All public sector undertakings market their steel through, Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL)
while TISCO markets its produce through Tata Steel.
11. In the 1950s China and India produced almost the same quantity of steel.
12. In 2004, India was the largest exporter of steel which accounted for 2.25 per cent of the
global steel trade.
13. In 2004, India was the largest exporter of steel which accounted for 2.25 per cent of the
global steel trade.
14. It is largely, because of the relative advantages this region has for the development of this
industry.
15. These include, low cost of iron ore, high grade raw materials in proximity, cheap labour and
vast growth potential in the home market.
16. Though, India is an important iron and steel producing country in the world yet, we are not
able to perform to our full potential largely due to
• High costs and limited availability of coking coal
• Lower productivity of labour
• Irregular supply of energy and
• Poor infrastructure.
Aluminium Smelting
1. Aluminium smelting is the second most important metallurgical industry in India.
2. It is used to manufacture aircraft, utensils and wires.
3. There are 8 aluminium smelting plants in the country located in
• Orissa (Nalco and Balco)
• West Bengal
• Kerala
• Uttar Pradesh
• Chhattisgarh
• Maharashtra
• Tamil Nadu
4. In 2004, India produced over 600 million tons of aluminium
5. Bauxite, the raw material used in the smelters is a very bulky, dark reddish coloured rock.
6. Regular supply of electricity and an assured source of raw material at minimum cost are the
two prime factors for location of the industry.

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Chemical Industries
1. The Chemical industry in India is fast growing and diversifying
2. It contributes approximately 3 per cent of the GDP
3. It is the third largest in Asia and occupies the twelfth place in the world in term of its size.
4. It comprises both large and small scale manufacturing units
5. Rapid growth has been recorded in both inorganic and organic sectors.
6. Inorganic chemicals include sulphuric acid (used to manufacture fertilisers, synthetic fibres,
plastics, adhesives, paints, dyes stuffs), nitric acid, alkalies, soda ash (used to make glass, soaps
and detergents, paper) and caustic soda.
7. Organic chemicals include petrochemicals, which are used for manufacturing of synthetic
fibers, synthetic rubber, plastics, dye-stuffs, drugs and pharmaceuticals.
8. Organic chemical plants are located near oil refineries or petrochemical plants.
9. The chemical industry is its own largest consumer
10. Basic chemicals undergo processing to further produce other chemicals that are used for
industrial application
11. Agriculture or directly for consumer markets.
12. The fertiliser industry is centred on the production of nitrogenous fertilisers (mainly urea),
phosphatic fertilisers and ammonium phosphate (DAP
13. Complex fertilisers which have a combination of nitrogen (N), phosphate (P), and potash
(K).
14. The third, i.e. potash is
15. Entirely imported as the country does not have any reserves of commercially usable potash
or potassium compounds in any form.
16. India is the third largest producer of nitrogenous fertilisers.
17. There are 57 fertiliser units manufacturing nitrogenous and complex nitrogenous fertilisers
18. 29 for urea and 9 for producing ammonium sulphate as a by-product and 68 other small
units produce single superphosphate
19. At present, there are 10 public sector undertakings and one in cooperative sector at Hazira
in Gujarat under the Fertiliser Corporation of India.
20. Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Kerala contribute towards half the fertiliser
production.
21. Other significant producers are Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Bihar, Maharashtra,
Assam, West Bengal, Goa, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.

Cement Industry
1. Cement is essential for construction activity such as building houses, factories, bridges,
roads, airports, dams and for other commercial establishments.
2. This industry requires bulky and heavy raw materials like limestone, silica, alumina and
gypsum.
3. Coal and electric power are needed apart from rail transportation
4. The first cement plant was set up in Chennai in 1904
5. After Independence the industry expanded. Decontrol of price and distribution since 1989
and other policy reforms led the cement industry
6. To make rapid strides in capacity, process, technology and production.
7. There are 128 large plants and
8. 332 mini cement plants in the country.
9. Improvement in the quality has found the produce a readily available market in East Asia,
Middle East, Africa and South Asia apart from a large demand within the country
10. This industry is doing well in terms of production as well as export.

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Automobile Industry
1. Automobiles provide vehicle for quick transport of good services and passengers.
2. Trucks, buses, cars, motor cycles, scooters, three-wheelers and multi-utility vehicles are
manufactured in India at various centres.
3. After the liberalisation, the coming in of new and contemporary models stimulated the
demand for vehicles in the market
4. This led to the healthy growth of the industry including passenger cars, two and three-
wheelers.
5. This industry had experienced a quantum jump in less than 15 years.
6. Foreign Direct Investment brought in new technology and aligned the industry with global
developments.
7. At present, there are 15 manufacturers of passenger cars and multiutility vehicles, 9 of
commercial vehicles, 14 of the two and three-wheelers.

Information Technology and Electronics Industry

1. The electronics industry covers a wide range of products from transistor sets to television,
telephones, cellular telecom, pagers, telephone exchange, radars, computers and many other
equipment’s required by the telecommunication industry.
2. Bangalore has emerged as the electronic capital of India
3. Other important centres for electronic goods are Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai,
Kolkata, Lucknow and Coimbatore.
4. 18 software technology parks provide single window service and high data communication
facility to software experts.
5. . It is encouraging to know that 30 per cent of the people employed in this sector are
women.
6. This industry has been a major foreign exchange earner in the last two or three years
because of its fast growing Business Processes Outsourcing (BPO) sector.
7. The continuing growth in the hardware and software is the key to the success of IT industry
in India.
8. Industrial Pollution and Environmental Degradation

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