Geography of

Introduction India is the seventh largest country in the world in terms of total geographical area. The most important fact about the geographical identity of India is the diversity of its physiography, human resources and culture. 1. Location India is bounded by 80.4 North latitudes on its north and 370.7 East longitudes on its west and 970.25 East longitudes on its east. 2. Relief and Drainage 1. Relief : India may be divided into the following distinct physiographic units : A. The Extra Peninsular B. The North Indian Plains C. The Peninsular Plateau. D. Coastal Plains A. The Extra Peninsular Mountains : The extra peninsular mountains consists of the Himalayas and branch ridges along with the Karakorams in the northern borders of India; and north eastern hilly ranges found on the east of Assam. The Himalayas on the northern borders of India consist of the following parallel mountain are one behind the other : a) The Siwalik foot hills b) The Lesser Himalayas c) The Greater Himalayas a) The Siwalik : The Siwaliks are basically the foot-hills of the Himalayas only 10 to 15 km wide. Their height is considerably lower than other Himalayan ranges. They are made of debris brought down by that of numerous streams from the Himalayas. b) The Lesser Himalayas : The lesser Himalayas is also known as the Himachal. Its width varies between 60 to 80 km. Its height is about 300 mts. Most of the famous hills stations like Simla, Masoori, Darjeeling etc. are found in the range. c) The Greater Himalayas : The greater Himalayas is also known as the Himadri. This greater range of Himalayan mountains has some of the highest peaks in the world like the Mt. Everest, the K2 etc. This range is like a great wall shutting the Indian sub-continent off from the rest of Asia. The Himalayan region may alsobe divided into three broad divisions from west to east. These divisions are as follows: i) The Western Himalayas - extending from river Indus to river Kali, 880 km. long. ii) The Central Himalayas or Nepal Himalayas, stretching from rive Kali to river Tista, 800 km. iii) The Eastern Himalayas running from river Tista to river Brahmaputra, 725 km. long.

GS I - Geography / 311 B. The Great Indian Plains The great Indian plain which stretches right across from the Arabian Sea to Bengal, is formed by the deposits of alluvium brought by two great rivers and their tributaries. Both these rivers flow from the Himalayas. The Indus flows south-westward through Pakistan into Arabian Sea, While the Ganga flows south eastwards into the Bay of Bengal. These deposits are more than a thousand meters thick near Delhi and more than two thousand meters thick near the mouth of Ganga. In this area there are practically no rock exposures on the surface. The plain gently slopes towards the east, at a rate less than a meter per three kms. The plain reveals characteristic feature of river deposition, such as old terraces, growing flood plains, meandering rivers and natural levees. The soil consists of the older “Bhangar” on old terraces and is densely cultivated, and the younger “Khaddar” soils in flood plains is under high grass. To the west of the Ganga plain lie the arid plains of Rajasthan. Lying west of Aravillis, it is a region of moving, sands and scanty rains known as Rajasthan or Thar Desert. The region is marked by features of wind erosion like barkhans and sand dunes, dry beds of seasonal wadis or playa lakes or a number of salt lakes of which Sambar Lake is most important. C. The Peninsular Plateau Peninsular region of India, one of the oldest land-units of the world, perhaps was formed in the pre-Cambrian period. In the north, the Aravalli mountain range separates the Peninsula from the Great Indian Plains. On either side, a narrow strip of eastern and western coastal plains separates it from the oceans. Several mountain ranges are located within the peninsular region. These are - a) Vindhya and Satpura ranges. b) Western ghats c) Eastern ghats d) Aravilli range The peninsular plateau is bounded by the Aravallis in the north-west. The north eastern parts of the peninsula consists of many small plateaus like Baghalkhand and Chhotanagpur. The Peninsular plateau slopping southeastwards is about a thousand meters higher in the south and lower in the north. It is triangular shaped. Its western rim forms the Western Ghats that run as continuous ranges from the Tapi valley southwards at an average distance of 30 to 50 k.m. from the Arabian Sea. The Western ghat run in broad curves with a few gaps. The Palghat, the Bhor Ghat, the Thal Ghat etc. are the most significant gaps. South of Palghat, the Western ghats continue as the Anamalai, Cardamom and other hills. Anaimudi, the highest peak of south India, lies here. The ‘Eastern Ghats’ forming the eastern edge of the Peninsula plateau from a broken chain of hills of different rocks belonging to different periods. The Vindhyas form a steep escarpment facing south and rise to elevation of 300 to 600 m. On the extreme eastern part they are known as Kaimar range. The Satpuda also run in east-west direction almost parallel to the Vindhyas. The northern part of the plateau in Maharashtra is a lava plateau with wide open valleys and intervening lava ranges like Ajantha, Mahadeo, Maikal etc. The Maharashtra plateau appears bounded on the north and east by the rift valleys in which flow the rivers Tapi-Poorna, Wardha

312 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book and the middle section of the Godavari. D. The Coastal Plains : In both the eastern and western sides of the peninsula, an elongated strip of plain land has evolved due to marine action. i) Eastern Coastal Plain : This is an uninterrupted coastline along the eastern margin of the eastern ghats. It streches from Kanyakumari in the south of Subarnarekha river in the north. The entire eastern coast is composed of rich fertile alluvium. The deposition of an enormous amount of alluvium formed the river plains and the marine activities produced spits, lagoons, offshore bars etc. Krishna, Goadavari and Cauvery deltas are very famous on this coastal plain. ii) Western Coastal Plain : Compared to the Western coastal plain is narrow and discontinuous. Like the eastern coastal plain, this plain also streches from Kanyakumari to Gujarat; particularly Rann of Kutch may be taken as its northern limit. Since the coastal plain is very narrow and most of the rivers from the western ghats are very swift, there is no delta formation by any river on this coast. The Drainage system of India India gets very heavy rainfall from monsoon winds. There are several large, medium and small sized rivers. Indian rivers may be classified into the following groups. a) Himalayan Rivers. b) Peninsular Rivers c) Coastal Rivers d) Rivers having inland drainage. a) Himalayan Rivers There are three major Himalayan rivers, i.e. Ganga, Indus and Brahmaputra. Ganga : Ganga in its upper course is known as Bhagirathi. Its Source is in the Gangotri glacier or Gomukh. Another stream that flows southward from the Alaka Glacier is known as Alaknanda. After Devprayag, the Bahgirathi joins the Alaknanda, and the combined flow of these two rivers travels southwards. After descending in the plain near Haridwar it flows southeast within plain region of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West-Bengal. Yamunotri glacier is the source of river Yamuna. Yamuna joins Ganga at Allahabad. Left bank tributaries of the Ganga are Ramagnaga, Ghaghara, Burigandak, Kosi, Gandak etc. and right bank tributaries are Betwa, Gomati, Yamuna, Damodar and Son. The Brahmaputra : This is another very important river system discharging the maximum volume of water among the Indian rivers. The source of the river is near Chemoyung Dung glacier. In its entire course in Tibet it is known as Tsangpo. Near Namchabarwa it enters in India and flows into Aurnachal Pradesh. Subansiri, Kameng and Manas are its important right bank tributaries and Buri, Dihing, Disang and Kopila are its left bank tributaries. Near Duburi, the Brahmaputra enters Bangladesh. Indus : The source of Indus is in Mansarowar. After traversing about 240 km. in Tibet it enters Kashmir. Then the river abruptly takes a sharp bend in the south and after traversing 95 km. in India it crosses to Indo-Pak border. Five famous tributaries are Chenab, Ravi, Sutlaj, Beas and Jhelum. b) Peninsular Rivers Important rivers in the peninsular region are :

GS I - Geography / 313 (i) West Flowing - (1) Narmada; (2) Tapi and (3) Sabarmati (ii) East flowing - (1) Godavari; (2) Krishna, (3) Cauvery and (4) Mahanadi (i) West flowing Rivers or Arabian Sea Rivers (1) Narmada : Narmada originates from the Amarkantak plateau, flowing through Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra it reaches in Gujrat and joins the Arabian Sea. (2) Tapi : Tapi rises from the Mahadeo hill and flows through the gap of Satpura and Ajantha, enters Gujarat state and joins the Arabian Sea (3) Sabarmati : Sabarmati rises from Jaisamudra lake of Rajasthan and flows through Gujarat and joins and Arabian Sea. (ii) East Flowing Rivers OR Bay of Bengal Rivers : (1) Godavari : Godavari rises from Trambak near Nashik district in Maharashtra. Passing through Andhra Pradesh it joins the Bay of Bengal. Manjira, Pranhita and Indravati are its major tributaries. (2) Krishna : Krishna rises at Mahabeleshwar in Satara district in Maharashtra. Its major tributaries are koyana, Panchaganga, Dudhganga, Bhima, Tungbhadra, Ghatprabha and Malprabha. (3) Cauvery : Cauvery rises in Brahmagiri hills of . It passes through Tamilnadu before joining the Bay of Bengal. c) Coastal Rivers : A large number of short, swift flowing streams rise in the rainly western slopes of the western ghats. Most of them are less than 100 km. long. They join the sea with deep tidal estuaries. Of these rivers, the most important are the Periyar and the Ponnami of Kerala the Metravati and the Sharavati of coastal Karnataka, the Terekhol of , the Karli, the Gad, the Vashisti, the Savitri. The Ulhas and the Vaitarna of Konkan region of Maharashtra. d) Rivers having Inland Drainage Rajasthan has inland drainage. Luni is the most important river of this type in Rajasthan. Its source is in Annsagar in Ajmar district of Rajasthan. Most of its courses flows through the arid tracts and hence before joining the Arabian sea it become dry. 2. and Vegetation Climate : India with its vast size and marked variations in topography is a land of climatic contracts. On an extremely hot summer afternoon, the temperature may occasionally shoot upto 55 degrees centigrade in certain parts of Rajasthan, and on a severe winter right, the temperature may dip toes low as minus 45 degree centigrade in a cold arid region of Kargil. Similarly, Cherpunji, with its annual rainfall of 1,080 cm is the wettest place in the world, which the dry regions of west Rajasthan receive not more than 13 cm. of annual rainfall. However, the most important factor in shaping India’s climatic conditions is the monsoon that affect almost all parts of the country with varying intensity and duration. An important characteristic feature of the monsoons is the complete reversal of winds which leads the alternation

314 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book of seasons. On the basis of monsoon variations, the year is divided into four seasons which are as follows i) The cold weather season - December to February ii) The hot weather season - March to May iii) The south west monsoon season or the rainy season - June to September. iv) The season of retreating south west monsoon - October to November The Cold Weather Season : Starting in December, the cold weather season becomes fully established in January and the temperature distribution over India shows a marked decline as one moves from south to north. Generally, the days are bright and sunny, but the nights are cold. The Hot Weather Season : The period between March and May is that of rising temperatures and decreasing air pressures as the belt of intense heat shifts from south to north. Dry hot winds blow over most of northern region and dust storms of great velocity strike the Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. By the end of May, a low pressure through is developed which occasionally attracts the moisture-laden winds, which coming into contact with the hot dryland winds, cause pre monsoon rains. Kerala and coastal plains of the west receive a fair share of pre-monsoon showers, commonly known as ‘mango showers’. Assam and Bengal also receive rain during this season. The South West Monsoon Season : By early June the low pressure area over north-western plains becomes highly intense to attract the south-west rain bearing winds, which approach suddenly with thunder and lighting. Within almost one month, these winds overrun almost the entire country. The south-west monsoon originate from the Indian Ocean and blow over the land mass of India from June to September. Due to the intense summer heat a low pressure area is formed over the northern plains of India. But the oceanic region has a low temperature and a high pressure centre. Consequently, the air starts moving from the high pressure area of the Indian Ocean towards the low pressure area over the landmass of India in the form of rain bearing monsoon winds. The landmass of peninsular India divides these southwest monsoons into two branches, viz., the Arabin Sea branches and the Bay of Bengal branch. The monsoon winds arising from the Arabian Sea, strike the Western ghats and cause heavy rains. Having crossed the ghats, they advance over the Deccan Plateau and Madhya Pradesh and are joined by a current of winds arising from the Bay of Bengal. Another part of the Arabian Sea monsoon winds cross the coast of Saurashtra and Kutch and passing over the Aravilli hills, reach the Punjab and Haryana. These winds also join the winds from the Bay of Bangal and cause widespread heavy reains in western Himalayas. The Monsoon winds from the southern Bay of Bengal mainly move towards Bruma, but a part of these winds is deflected by the Arakan Hills and move westward, over the Ganga- Brahmaputra valley. They strike the north-eastern hills and cause heavy rainfall in West Bengal, its adjoining States, the sub-Himalayan region and the northern plains. In all parts of the country, with the exception of the east coast of Tamil Nadu, the bulk of annual rainfall is received during the monsoon season. But the distribution of rainfall is highly unequal since the monsoon winds become weaker as they traverse over longer distances. The windward side gets heavy rainfall while the leeward side gets much lesser rain. The Retreating South - West Monsoon Season : The monsoon winds starts retreating from

GS I - Geography / 315 the Punjab and Haryana by mid-September, Ganga delta by late October and the Peninsular India by early November, leaving the land moist and the atmosphere humid. However, from the middle of October, temperature beings to decline in northern parts of India. The weather during this season is charaterised by high day temperature, clear sky and pleasant nights. The fall in temperature continues and the winter season become firmly established by December. During this transition period of October, November, the low pressure conditions disappear from the north-western India and are transferred to the centre of the Bay of Bengal. The cyclonic depressions in the Bay of Bengal often cross the Southern Peninsula and cause widespread heavy rains along the coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, making October - November as the rainiest months in this part of country . North - East Monsoon : The north-east monsoon are the winds blowing out from the land mass of north - western India towards the Indian Ocean during the period of December and February. The low pressure area formed in the Ocean region attracts these winds from the high pressure areas formed during chilly winters over the north-western parts of India. These cold and dry winds move down the Ganga valley towards the Indian Ocean. The winds that move through the Bay of Bengal become moisture laden and strike the Tamil Nadu coast to bring winter rains in that region. Vegetation : Among the most valuable natural resources of India must be reckoned her magnificent forests. The area under forests in India is about 752 lakh hectares, which accounts for about 22.8 percent of the total geographical area of the country. According to expert opinion, the minimum area of forests necessary for a tropical country like India should be about one- third of the total area. We fall short of this minimum. The area under forests is also unevenly distributed among States. Forests are most scarce in the area where they are most needed. For example, the densely populated and intensively cultivated Genetic basin has only about 5 percent of its area under forests. Similarly, the north- western parts of country have only 11 percent of area under forests. On the other hand, the Himalayan and the Terai regions have forests on about 20 percent of their surface. The central regions of the country have about 40 percent of their land covered with forest. India possesses a variety of forests and natural vegetation which varies from region to region due to variations in climatic conditions, soil types and relief features. The country can be divided into five major vegetation regions which are (i) the tropical evergreen and semievergreen forest, (ii) the tropical deciduous forests, (iii) the dry thorn forests (iv) the tidal forests and (v) the hill forests of the Himalayan region. Tropical Evergreen Forests : These forests thrive in regions of very high rainfall, usually over 300 centimeters per year, in a climate of high humidity and even temperatures. The vegetation sn very thick and such forests are found on the windward side of the Western Ghats on altitudes ranging from 500 to 1,500 meters, and in the hilly regions of the north-eastern part of India. The semi-evergreen forests lie on the relatively drier side of the Western ghats. These forests are generally confined to areas receiving about 200 centimeters of rainfall per year. The trees in these forest are lofty and hard-wooded, vegetation is dense and undergrowth is very thick. Bamboo, ebony and rubber trees are the economically important vegetations to this region, but difficulties of exploitation make them of little commercial use.

316 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book Tropical Deciduous Forests : These forests, also known as monsoon forests, are found in the regions that get about 100 to 200 centimeter of rainfall per annum. They extend from the Siwalik ranges in the north to the eastern flanks of the Western Ghats in peninsular India. The trees in these forests shed leaves for about 6 to 8 weeks in summer, but since each species has its own shedding time, the forests on the whole, never look absolutely bear to greenery in any part of the year. Teak, sal, sandalwood, shisham and mahua trees are economically valuable. Thorny Forests : The thorny forests are the vegetation of the comparatively dry regions which have annual rainfall of less than 80 centimeter. This type of vegetation is common in the western Punjab, South-West Haryana, Rajasthan, part of Gujrat and Madhya Pradesh and the drier parts of the Deccan. The relatively wet areas of these forests have widely scattered growth of wild dates and kikar and babul trees which have long roots and sharp thorns. Bushes, scrubs and cacti grow in the very dry areas and the desert regions. Tidal Forests : These forests have grown along the deltas of rivers which are subjected to tides, important among them being the forest of the Mahanadi and the Ganga deltas. The mangrove forest of sundarbans in the Ganga delta are the haunts of the famous Bengal tiger and the forest region itself has been named after the Sundari trees that grow there. These forests yield firewood and tannins. Forests of the Himalayan Region : In the Himalayan region, the forests and the type of vegetation differ with the differences in altitude. The outermost Himalayas or the Shiwaliks are covered with the tropical moist deciduous forest vegetation of teak, sal and rosewood trees. At the higher elevations are found the evergreen forests of oak, chestnut, beech, ash and elm. At still higher altitudes ranging from 1,600 to 3,300 meters, are found the coniferous forests of pine, silver fir and spruce. And at altitudes beyond 3,500 meters are found grasses and shrubs called the Alpine vegetation which futher onward give place to the naked snowcapped mountain ranges. Flora,fauna & soils LAND CAPABILITY AND UTLISATION Land is a basic resource since it is necessary both for human habitation and sustenance. Other resources have to be developed around this primary wealth. Land availability is limited by geographical conditions. Many natural resources like minerals are also limited; but whereas substitutes can be found for minerals, and cannot be replaced by other resources. The pressure of increasing population has diminished the per capita availability of land, making improvement in land productivity measured in terms of output per hectare is low. The ratio of population to arable area is more favourable in India. India has 3 persons per hectare of arable land compared to 7 in U.K. and Germany, 11 in Belgium, 14 in Netherlands and over 17 in Japan. Land is classified into various categories depending on its use. Land utilisation statistics are available for about 92% of the geographical area of India, i.e. for about 305 million hectares out of 329 million hectares. The following figures indicate the proportionate use of land under various categories expressed in percentages of total reported area.

GS I - Geography / 317 Total Geographical Area Area for which details are reported 328.8 million hectares 304.7 million hectares. Description Percentage 1. Net Sown Area 47 2. Forests 21 3. Wasteland and built-up areas 12 4. Fallow lands 7 5. Pasture land 5 6. Miscellaneous 4 Tree Crops etc. 4 100 It will be seen from the above, that the major land use in India is under net sown area (47%) followed by forest (21%) Wastelands and built-up areas constitute about 12% fallow lands 7% and cultivable wastes 5%. The remaining land is used for pasture or miscellaneous tree crops 1. Net sown area : By far the most important land use in India’s pre-eminently agricultural economy is the area classified under net sown areas. Cultivation in India is of ancient orgin and is even today the principal occupation of most of its inhabitants. Over the years a number of regional peculiarities in cropping methods and related operations have taken place which will be discussed in further chapters. Food crops, which cover three fourths of the cropped area, are mainly produced from sedentary cultivation. It also extends in some areas to cash crops like sugarcane, oilseeds, cotton and jute. The two important seasons for cropping in India are the Kharif and Rabi seasons. In well irrigated areas where water is available for a large part of year, as many as four crops are raised in year. The Kharif season starts in June-July as the rains set in. Sowing is done at this time and the harvesting is done in autumn. Rice, Jowar, Bajra, Ragi, Maize, Groundnut, Sesamum, Cotton and jute are the important Kharif crops. The Rabi season starts in October-December when crops are sown. The harvesting is in April- May. Important Rabi crops are wheat, gram, barley, peas, ragi, pulses and mustard. Where there is sufficiency of irrigation and soil facilities both Kharif and Rabi cultivation are resorted to. 2. Forest areas - Forests occupy 90% of the reporting area in Andhra Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar islands, 60.2% in Mizoram. Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir and 25% in Goa, Dilu, Daman, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur. In the remaining states the ratio varies from nil to 23%. Under the national forest policy, 33.3% of the land surface in India should be placed under forests. Large areas of forests are grown on. “critical” slopes in river catchment areas for protecting the soil, and increasing forest cover. The great advantage of forests is that they prevent soil erosion and induce rains. Apart from the fact that forest areas in India are low, the forest products are not also property worked, compared to countries like Canada, ——Norway and Sweden. The forest development plan adopted by the country has following chief objectives : 1. Increasing the productivity of forests : 2. linking forest development with forest based industries. 3. developing forests to support the rural economy. 318 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book 3. Wastelands and built-up areas : These areas cover all land which is put to non-agriculture use and also barren uncultivated land. The land of the former kind is much lower in this category than the barren uncultivated land. The built-up land covers areas under roads, and uncultivable lands like mountains hills and . It also includes land which is not cultivable except at great cost. Whether such land lies in isolated blocks or is surrounded by cultivated lands, it is classified as uncultivable. Large areas of this type of land are found in Assam (38%). Gujarat (30%), Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan (20%), Orissa (18%) and Manipur (64%). The States of Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra have very small areas of this type. 4. Fallow Lands : The land which can be brought under cultivation but not cultivated due to some reasons is known as fallow lands. If some of these lands have been cultivated in the recent past, and remains uncultivated beyond a specific period is known us current fallow. In India only 7 percent of land area is fallow land. 5. Cultivable Wastes : This category of land covers cultivable wasteland which means available for cultivation but not cultivated in the year in question or abandoned after a few years for some reason. If left fallow for larger periods, it may get covered with shrubs and Jungles and become cultivable waste. Cultivation of such land is not pursued for physical, agronomic and socio- economic hazards. Whether such lands are assessed or not, they are taken as cultivable wastes even if they lie within blocks of cultivated holdings. Cultivable wastes do not include lands reserved for pastures. 6. Pastures and other grazing lands : All grazing lands whether permanent pastures and meadows and grazing lands within forest areas which are not cultivated are classified under this head. 7. Miscellaneous tree crops : This includes all cultivated and which is not covered by net area sown, but is put to some agricultural use Lands utilized for Casuarian trees, bamboo bushes, thatching grass and other groves for fuel trees belong to this category. Gardens, orchards and plantations are included in this classification. It may be noted that cultivable wastes do not include pasture lands of miscellaneous tree crop lands. Hence, for further extension of cultivation we have only to look to wastelands. SOIL Introduction - Soil quality is an important factor in crop yield. It provides nourishment and water to the plant life. It consists of minerals, organic matter, water, air, etc., all of which determine its characteristics, fertility, texture and structure and thus govern the type and quality of plants and crops that can be grown in any region of the country. India, with its very vast land area and diverse relief features, possesses a large variety of soils. 1. Soil Formation In Indian conditions : Formation of soil is a slow process. The factors of soil formation are (i) the slope of land, (ii) parent material, (iii) vegetation, and (iv) climate. The soils may also be formed by deposition of materials transported by agents of erosion such as rivers, glaciers, winds and waves. The alluvial soils are the most wide spread among transported soils. Soils deposited by winds are common in the deserts. Let us now study, one by one, the factor of soil formation.

GS I - Geography / 319 (I) Slope of land : Slope has great influence in the process of soil formation in different way. The variations in the slope of the land determine the amount of water that will run of the surface and the velocity with which it would flow. Therefore, the degree of erosion to which a certain area will be subjected largely depends on slope of the area. In the areas of steep slopes and heavy rainfall the top layer of soil is eroded faster. The process of soil formation is also influenced by the amount of water percolating into the soil. Due to variation in relief, and striking regional variations are observed in parts of the country. In the regions of low relief or level land, the thickness is more than the areas of steep slope. In the plateau region, except river basins the soil cover is generally shallow. The degree of the slope of the land generally determines fertility of the soil. For example soils of the Gangetic Plains are more fertile than the soils in Himalayan region or in Peninsular India. (II) Parent Material : In the process of soil formation, the parent material is rocks. Soils are derived from the weathering of rocks exposed on the surface. When the soils are derived from volcanic rocks, their colour is generally black. When the soils are formed by the work of the deposition of running water, they will have very little relationship with the parent material. (III) Vegetation : Type of natural vegetation depends upon relief features and climate. The process of soil formation is associated with the type of vegetation. The fallen leaves of the plant decay and add to the fertility of the soil. They increase the humus content in the plants. Some of the best soils of India are found in relatively densely, forested areas. There is a good relationship between vegetation types and types of soils in India. (IV) Climate : Of all the factors of soils formation so far we have studied, climate is the most important single factor in the process of soil formation. Seasonal distribution of temperature, humidity, rainfall, winds etc. are the Important factors of climate influencing the process of soil formation. It controls the effectiveness and type of weathering of parent rock material, the rate of water percolation through the soil and the types of organic material present in the soil. For example, desert soils of Rajasthan are sandy having no humus contained. On the other hand forest soils of south India are rich in humus. 2. Soil Types :National council of Agriculture Research have classified Indian soils into the following types (i) Alluvial Soils, (ii) Black Soils, (iii) Red Soils, (iv) Laterite soils (v) forest Soils, (vi) Arid and Desert Soils, (vii) Saline Soils, (viii) peaty and other Organic Soils. (I) Alluvial Soils : Alluvial soils cover almost a quarter of India’s total land surface and provides the base for the largest share in country’s agricultural production. This type of soil is composed of fine sediments deposited by the mighty rivers in the interior part of India and by the sea waves in the coastal areas of the country. The Great Indian Plains from Punjab in the west to Assam in the east possess rich alluvial soil. The same type of soil is also found in the Narmada and Tapi river valleys in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujrat, the Mahanadi valley in Madhya Pradesh, and Orissa, the Godavari valley in Andhra Pradesh and the Cauvery valley in Tamilnadu. It also occurs in the deltas of Mahanadi, Godavari Krishna, and Kaveri rivers. Such soils are normally deficient in nitrogen and humus and thus require frequent use of chemical fertilizers or natural manures. Alluvial soils of India are very suitable for growing all types of cereals, pulses, sugarcane, oilseeds etc.

320 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book (II) Black soils : These soils are well developed in the lava region of the Deccan Plateau. Such soils are extremely useful for cotton cultivation and hence are known as Black Cotton soils. In some regions the same soils are also known as Regur soils. These soils are black because they are rich in iron-ore and aluminium compounds, derived from volcanic rocks such as basalt. These soils are deficient in phosphates, nitrogen and organic matter but very rich in potash, lime, aluminium magnesium and calcium contents. Such soils are mainly found in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh the adjoining parts of Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, Patches of the black soils are also found in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthan. (III) Red Soils : These soils are well developed in granitic and gneissic rocks of the Peninsular region of India, and extends upto Jhansi in the north, Kutch in the West and Rajmahal hills in the east. These soils are rich in iron compounds which gives them the red colour. They are sandy or loam in texture and their thickness depends on the slope of the land. On the valley floors and basins, these soils are thicker than on hill slopes. Since these soils are deficient in nitrogen and humus, Needs frequent use of fertilizers. These are light texture porous soils. The soils are well suited for the growth of rice, ragi, tobacco and different types of vegetables. (IV) Laterite soils : These types of soils are found in the regions of high temperature and heavy rainfall with alternate dry and wet seasons. These soils contain a high percentage of iron oxides and are deficient in nitrogen, phosphorus, potash and magnesium. Literate soils are found in the highlands of the sahyadris, the Eastern Ghats, Rajmahal hills and the hilly tracts of the eastern hilly regions. These soils are also found in parts of Karnataka. Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Orissa and West Bengal. These soils are suitable for the cultivation of rice, sugarcane, ragi etc. (V) Forest soils : forest soils are found on the forested slopes mountains and hills in the Himalayas, the Sahyadris and the Eastern Ghats. These soils are rich in organic matter and humus. Crops like tea, coffee, spices and tropical fruits are grown on these soils since these soils are deficient in potash, phosphorus and lime, they need frequent use of fertilizers for better yields of the above mentioned cash crops. (VI) Arid and desert Soils : These are predominantly sandy in texture and have salt content formed by evaporation of moisture from sub-soils. These soils have low humus and moisture content. The arid and desert soils are found in the region west of the Aravallis, north of the Kutch Peninsula, the Punjab and the Haryana plains. These soils give high yields when irrigated. (VII) Saline and Alkaline Soils : Saline and alkaline soils are found in the arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan, the Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. These soils are largely infertile. However, they can be improved through proper treatment and land reclamation measures. (VIII) Peaty and other Organic Soils : These type of soils are formed under humid conditions and contain large quantities of organic matter phosphorus and potash. Such soils are found in the regions of Orissa, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. They are also found in Almora district of Uttar Pradesh and northern Bihar. 3. Soil Degradation and Soil Conservation : Agriculture is the most important of the economic activities of India. For successful agriculture in India, it is necessary to maintain a high fertility level of the top soil. As the layer of top soil is very thin, care must be taken in making a proper use of lands. Water logging has become common in many irrigated areas. Because of water logging salinity and alkalinity is increasing. There can be no increase in agriculture produce

GS I - Geography / 321 unless efforts are taken to retain soil fertility. But unfortunately in India, many soils have depleted in fertility and have eroded so much that they are not suitable for agriculture. Soil erosion has become a serious problem in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, parts of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and the Punjab. In Maharashtra on the Deccan Plateau alone about 30 percent land has become unfit for agriculture on account of soil erosion Wind, water and waves are important agents of soil erosion. When the denudation of the surface layer of soil takes place faster it is known as soil erosion. When erosion takes place on gentle slopes, a thin layer of soil is removed uniformly from the entire area. A change in colour or texture may be the only indication of such erosion. This type of soil erosion is called sheet erosion. On slightly steeper slopes water runs off along definite paths down the slope in the form of rills. This is called rill erosion. The rills may be a few centimeters in depth and sub-soils may get exposed in them. On steep slopes water may run off in the shape of gullies which may develop headwaters and branch off in different directions such gully erosion may remove the soil and sub-soil and expose bed rocks. Deforestation makes hill slopes bare. When such hill slopes are exposed to rain, running water erodes soils. Soil erosion by running water has affected hill slopes in areas of heavy rainfall such as the Himalayan region, the Assam valley, the Sahyadris, the Chotanagpur plateau and the Eastern Ghats. The “Chhos” of the Punjab and Haryana region, and the ravines of Chambal valley are examples of gully erosion. Indiscriminate deforestation in parts of the Himalayan and the Western Ghats has increased soil erosion by running water. Wind as the agent of soil erosion may remove fine top soil especially during dust storms, leaving behind a waste sandy surface. Wind erosion is prevalent in the arid regions of Rajasthan, Gujrat and adjoining regions Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Human activities such as deforestation, shifting cultivation, overgrazing have increased soil erosion. Deforestation has become wide-spread due to increase in demand for timber with the increase in population. Overgrazing by sheep and goat renders hill slopes barren, since these animals consume almost all varieties of trees and shrubs. Effects of overgrazing have been noticed in parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and parts of Peninsular India. Shifting cultivation is mainly practised in tribal areas. It is estimated that about 15 lakh hectares of forest land are cleared for shifting cultivation every year. Patches of forests are cleared by cutting and burning the forests and the area is cultivated for a year or two. This results in extensive soil erosion. This type of shifting cultivation and soil erosion by shifting cultivation is common in forested areas of Assam and other north-eastern hilly states, Kerala, Orissa and parts of Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. It has been estimated that about 80 million hectares of land and exposed to soil erosion and of this about 40 million hectares is cultivated land whose productiviy is declining. The sandy desert of Rajasthan is expanding gradually towards Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh as wind-blown sand is spreading over cultivated lands. Soil Conservation : The soil provides the medium for growth of all vegetation including cultivated lands. Agriculture is the main occupation of more than 70 percent of the population. This shows the importance of soils in the Indian economy. Therefore, conservation of soils is an urgent necessity as it is a renewable natural resource only with the efforts of man. Method of Soil Conservation : The work of soil conservation includes reclamation to lands

322 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book already affected by running water or wind preventing the spread of soil to new areas. On gentle slopes which are exposed to sheet erosion, contour plot terracing or bunding will stop erosion. The spread of gullis is checked by construction of bunds.The areas which are not suitable for cultivation afforestation will be able to check soil erosion. The plantation of trees, along the margins of. Over lumbering and grazing be prevented. The Central and Government are taking steps to reclaim 25 lakh hectares of which is occupied by ravines and lands. In 1953, the Central Conservation Board was set to stress the awareness of conservation and to co-ordinate soil conservation schemes provide technical and final assistance to the states soil conservation has been considered one of the objectives of multipurpose projects. Wild animals and birds : The variation in climatic condition and vegetation leads to in verity Wild life found in different parts of India. Tiger, elephant, lion, hare, sambar, rhinoceros crocodile are some of the important animals and peacock, eagle, sparrow, pigeon, nightangle are some of the important birds found in India. India’s animal wealth is both abundant and varied. The country has world’s largest number of livest Livestock form the integral part of rural economy in India. Out of the total agricultural output animal share was 25.5%. in 1990. Different animals provide extreme useful services in transport supply of food. Animals also provide raw materials for different industries. The quality of Indian livest however is not good but in recent years efforts are being made introducing new breeds of livestock Cattle : Cattle includes cows, bullocks. India has nearly 20% World’s total cattle population to provide milk, hides and skins, Besides bullocks are the main source motive power in Indian agriculture. The cattle population has increased considerably in recent years. The density of the cattle population per 100 hectares of gross cropped area in India is 128.85% of cattle population is concentrated in the state of Uttar pradesh. Madhya Pradesh, Bihar , Maharashtra, Rajashtan, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Orissa, while all other states together have only the remaining 15% cattle population. For many years most of the Indian cattle were poor in quality, but in recent years several excellent breeds are introduced. Such cattle give good quality and quantity of milk and are disease resistant. Such breeds are mainly found in North-Western and Southern parts of the country. Among the best known Mitch breeds Gir, Sindhi, Sahwal and Deoni are mainly found in India. Among the drought breeds Kbillari of Southern Maharashtra, Nagori, Malvi, Bachaur are supposed to be best breeds. There are certain breeds that are used for dual purpose. The cows are fairly good milk yielder and bullocks are good for drought purposes. Tharparkar, Kankrej, Haryana, Mewati, Nimari, Rath and Dongi are some of the general utility breeds cows of this breed give on an average 5 litres of milk per day, butbreeds like Nimar which is found in Ahmednagar, Nasik and Thane districts of Maharashtra give milk upto 9 litres per day. Bullocks of this breed are sturdy and very suitable for heavy ploughing and carting. Mitch breed cows provide 2500 kg to 5500 kg of milk per lactation period. They are commonly found in northern states of India where dairy farms have been developed. FISHING - Fishing is one of the oldest human occupations. Fish and other aquatic animals are also a kind of animal wealth, but as it is an independent economic activity it is studied separately. Eventhough India has a long coastline and a large number of perennial rivers and lakes the

GS I - Geography / 323 production of fish is only 2.5% of total world production. India ranks seventh in the world production of fish. The fishing industry is mostly in the primitive stage. Following are the limitations for the development of fishing in India. 1. Majority of Indian population does not eat fish : therefore there is limited demand to fish. Besides those who eat fish the consumption is very small. The per capita annual fish consumption is 5 kg in India whereas it is 45 kg. Japan and 20 kg. In neighbouring Burma ( Myanmar). 2. As India is a tropical country, the climate is warm. Fish cannot remain in edible condition for a long time. It has to be consumed immediately after it caught. Secondly, the main fish food ‘Plankton’ does not grow in large quantities due to warm water conditions. This limits the variety and the numbers of fish. 3. The major fish catch is brought by small fishermen who have non-mechanized boats. 4. In adequate landing facilities as well as processing facilities like freezing and canning. 5. Due to lack of organized markets the prices of fish are fluctuating A. Freshwater Fishing and Coastal Fishing Geographically depending upon the location of fishing grounds fishing is classified as 1. Freshwater or Inland fishing 2. Coastal or marine fishing 1. Freshwater Fishing : About 40% of the country’s fish production comes from fresh water fishing. Fresh water fishing is carried out in rivers, tanks, lakes, ponds and irrigation canals. Inland fishing generally and mainly includes fresh water fishing; however inland fishing also includes fishing carried out in lagoons, back waters and delta channels. The fish catch in fresh water fishing include Catla, Bata, Cirrhosa, Reba and Carnaticus. Fishing is carried out with simple tools and techniques. Hooks, lines and other trap devices are mainly used. Except the coastal states fresh water fishing is carried out in all the states of India in Ganga and its tributaries. Damodar valley reservories, Brahmaputra and its tributaries, Sutlej, Ravi, Beas and rest of other northern rivers, Rihand and other multi-purpose project reservoirs. Govind Sagar, Nangal barrage etc are the major areas of fresh water fishing. The Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh have mainlyfresh water fishing while Kerala, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan have least fresh water fishing, Fresh water fish catch is consumed in local markets. Commercial fishing techniques are not used in fresh water fishing hence investment is small. B. Coastal Fishing : Coastal fishing is an integral part of marine fishing. Marine fishing includes off-shore fishing and deep sea fishing also. In the coastal zone upto 25 metre depth and stretching for a few kilometers from the shore is the most intensive fishing zone of India, accounting for almost the entire marine fish production in the country. Fishing in this belt is composed of Pelagic species like Sardines, Mackerel, Shrimps, Herrings, Tunas, Grustaceans, Halibuts and Sharks. Majoiry of coastal fish catch comes from the western coast of Indian, which includes Kerala, Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The east coast accounts for small production. The west coast fishing catch accounts for 72% while east coast shares only 28% of coastal fish catch. Kerala is the foremost fish producing state in India. Cochin, Tiruvanantpuram, Calicut, Cannanore, are the leading fishing centres in the state. Kerala is followed by Karnataka. Goa and Maharashtra. In Karnataka, Mangalore, Karwar, Honawar, Bhatkal, Ankola and kumta are the leading centres of coastal fish production. Maharashtra which contributes 12% of total

324 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book national fish output, Bombay, Rantagiri, Alibag, Kolaba, Bassein are the major centres of coastal fishing. Cold storage and canning facilities have been developed at Bombay. In Goa, fishing is carried on by almost every village along the coast. Mormugoa is the largest centre of fish production in Goa. Along the east coast Andhra Pradesh is the largest fish producing state. Vishakhapattanam, Machalipattanam, Kakinada are the chief centres of fishing. AGRICULTURE Introduction- India is an agrarian country. A large sector of the population is engaged in agriculture. Agriculture largely depends on monsoon climate especially monsoon rainfall. Uncertainty in rainfall greatly influences Indian agriculture. Secondly, India is a densely populated country where demand for food is always large. As a result preponderance of food grains is the main characteristic of the Indian agriculture. Agriculture is a complex activity that depends on a number of other factors besides climate. 1. Agriculture : As Main Economic Activity : Agriculture is one such basic activity that not only fulfils man’s need of food but also many other needs. Agriculture is the chief economic activity of the Indian people because India is a country of large rivers and a large population. With the growing season all the year round and with varied soils, different climatic conditions and a large area under cultivation, India is in a unique position to grow almost every possible crop. India occupies an outstanding position in the world in respect of several agricultural products. Agricultural produce in India comprises of a variety of cereals, pulses, plant fibers, beverages, fruits, vegetables, oil seeds and other industrial raw material. It leads the world in tea, sugarcane, millets and some oil seeds. It ranks second in the production of rice and jute. Land utilization in India shows that out of the total area of the country 47% area is net sown area (fig. 1) which indicates the importance of agricultural activity in the country. The distribution of net sown area also shows that the Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Kerala have more than 55% of their area under cultivation, while the least net sown area is found in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Kashmir, Manipur Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. This is due to the fact that these states do not have favourable conditions for growing of different crops throughout the year. Another reason for giving agriculture too much of importance is the shortage of coal and crude oil. This limits industrial development. Agro based industries are mainly developed in the form of cottage, small-scale and land now even large-scale industries. Thus, the ever growing demand for food, shortage of important minerals for development of industries, and farming as traditional occupation are the main causes that make agriculture as the main economic activity. 2. Present Situation of Agriculture : Agriculture is the traditional economic activity of a large number of people in India. Great changes have occurred in this activity in recent years. Before independence agriculture was more or less stagnant. It was chiefly subsistence farming and not as enterprising as it is today. Most of the agricultural land was under food crops and a large proportion of people were working in the agricultural fields. Modernized agriculture has been developing in recent years. Efficient farming methods, introduction of new technology, effective irrigation methods have changed agriculture for better. Since independence the Zamindari system of feudal times has been abolished. The Ownership of land has been passed onto the tiller in

GS I - Geography / 325 most of the states. Steps have been taken to check fragmentation of agricultural land. The government also has set up a few large mechanized state farms to demonstrate the advantages of modern agriculture. Use of improved seed. High yielding varieties, new implements and fertilizers are some of the measures adopted in these farms. Multi purpose societies and co- operative banks have been set up in rural areas for the benefit of farmers. The most significant characteristic of Indian agriculture is the uneven use of land for food and non-food crops. During 1990-91 as much as 72% of the agricultural land was under food crops and only 26% was under non-food crops (fig. 2). Manipur has nearly 95% of its agricultural land under food crops which is the highest in the country. It is followed by Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat are the leading States in non-food crops. The income obtained from food crops is much less than from the non-food crops. India’s position in the agricultural production among the 35 developing countries of the world is 25th with nearly 2% growth rate. China tops the list with 8% followed by South Korea and Burma in 1967-68 a new agricultural policy known as ‘Green Revolution’ was launched. Through Green Revolution the government has been able to increase the production and yield of almost all the crops. Till now a major emphasis was laid on removing the food shortage in the country. Therefore, Green Revolution has turned out to be grain Revolution. Growing rural electrification and the proposed crop insurance scheme would further accelerate the growth of agriculture in India. 3. Regional Pattern of Major Food Crops : Almost all other crops are grown in certain particular parts of the country. But rice is the only crop grown extensively all over the country. On the basis of the relative proportion of cropped area under different crops. India has been divided into twelve cropping zones. They are – Rice, Wheat, Jowar, Bajra, Maize, Cotton, Gram, Ragi, Barely, Cilseeds, Fruits, and tea-coffee zones. These names reflects the first ranking position of the particular crop in India, favoured by suitable combination of physical and cultural factors required for each of them. i. Rice : Rice is an important crop of India. It is the staple food for a vast majority of people in the eastern and southern parts of the contry. (Map 2) The country is the second largest producer of rice only next to China and accounts for 17% of the world total production. Almost every state and union territory has some area under rice and the crop accounts for the largest area and production amongst all the cereals grown in the country. The bulk of the rice produced in the country is raised with the old seeds varieties and the high yielding strains like IRB, Jaya, Padma, Vijaya, Ratna, Krishna, Karuna and Kanchi are grown in comparatively small areas as they require greater inputs. In India the average yield of rice per hectare is low, about 1800 kg. The yields of rice in other rice producing countries are much higher, reaching upto 6750 kg. in South Korea and Japan. On an average rice occupied 37% of the total area under cereals and 23% of the total area cropped in the country. In respect of produce, rice accounts for 45% of the total cereal produce. The produce has more than doubled in last twenty five years. Distribution of rice in India shows that the important rice producing states are West Bengal, Tamilnadu, Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura and Nagaland.

326 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book Most of the rice is consumed in the country itself within the country Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal supply rice to other states. Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi are the buyers of Rice. ii) Wheat : Wheat is the second important food grain crop, occupying one third of the cropped area. The average yield per hectare is 2100 kg. Which is much lower as compared to European countries. The highest yield comes from Punjab which is 3400 kg. Netherlands produced 7100 kg. Per hectare which is highest in the world (Map 2) On an average wheat accounts for 20% of the total area under cereals and 28% of total cereal output in the country. Wheat is mainly grown as a Rabi crop. Over 85% of country’s wheat produce comes from Uttar Pradesh, the Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Bihar. The remaining produce comes from Gujarat. Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Jammu –Kashmir. Wheat is mainly a crop of north India particularly of the north-western region where the annual rainfall is between 50 and 75 cm and some moisture is available in the growing season, i.e. in winter. Dry conditions are required in early summers when the crop is ready for harvesting. The map(2) shows the major areas of high productivity. In the north-western parts and stretching towards east and south. It includes Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh. Besides parts of Gujarat, and Rajsthan also have high production of wheat. Some produce also comes from North Bihar plains, central and Western Madhya Pradesh, and Eastern Rajasthan. In peninsular India, Maharashtra and Karnataka produce some wheat. Wardha, Godavari, Tapi-Puma valley. Bhima and Krishna valleys in Maharashtra. Dharwad, , Bijapur, and Raichur districts of Karnataka produce wheat. Within the country Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are surplus Wheat producers supplying wheat to other parts of the country. While Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Delhi are importers of wheat in the country. iii) Jowar : Jowar is a kind of millet ranking next to rice and wheat in production and area. In dry parts of the Peninsular Plateau region where rice or wheat cannot be grown, Jowar occupies significant area. Moderate rainfall, high temperature are needed for Jowar. It is the most important crop in dry farming areas as it can be grown without irrigation. Black clay soils of Peninsular India are supposed to be the best suited soil for this crop. Hence Large produce comes from Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. These states contribute 80% of country’s total produce. Over most of the Deccan Plateau two crops of Jowar are raised annually, but bulk of the production is grown in the Kharif season. The rabi crop is raised on the moisture retentive black soils of Gujrat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamilnadu. The average yield per hectare, which comes from Tamilnadu. In Jowar production, Maharashtra is the leading state, contributing one third of the total produce. The crop is mainly grown in the central districts that include Jalgaon, Buldhana,Akola, Amravati, Yeotmal, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Beed , Osmanabad and Parbhani. In Karnataka Jowar is grown mainly in the dry north eastern parts occupying Gulbarga and Chitradurga districts. Besides central and western Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, produce some jowar. Most of the jowar is consumed locally involving little inter state trade. iv) Bajra : Bajra is a kind of millet. It is the staple food of rural people especially in Rajasthan,

GS I - Geography / 327 Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The stalk of the bajra forms feed for cattle and is also used for thatching in rural houses. It is grown in warm dry climatic conditions and in poor light sandy soils. It is mostly grown as a karif crop. The average yield per hectare is 1000 kg. Bajra accounts for 11% of the total area under cereals and 7% of the total cropped area. The dry north-western and southern parts of Rajasthan account for most of the area and yield of bajra. The leading bajra producing districts are Barmer, Jodhpur, Nagpur, Bikaner, Ganganagar, Sawai Madhopur, and churu. Out of the total area under this crop in the country, Rajasthan has nearly 38% of area, producing 20% of country produce. Gujrat is the second largest bajra producing state accounting for 12% of area and 21% of produce. Large production comes from Kutch, Mehsana, Kheda, Bhavnagar and Amerli districts. Uttar Pradesh the semi-arid western part produces bajra. The important districts are Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura, Agra, Etawah, Budaun and Manipur. In Maharashtra the crop is grown in the hilly and drier parts of the central plateau region. Dhule, Nashik, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Solapur and Pune are the important districts growing bajra. v) Maize : Maize or corn is mostly produced in hilly and sub-montane tracts of North India. The grain provides starch and glucose for industrial use besides being a food and fodder crop. It is grown both as Kharif and Rabi crop but most commonly it is a Rabi crop. Maize is mainly produced in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajsthan and Gujarat. In Uttar Pradesh most of the maize produce comes from Gonda, kheri, Nainital and upper Ganga Yamuna Doab districts. Recently Punjab has become an important producer of maize, due to higher yields, next only to Karnataka, Patiala, Sangrur, Jalender, Hoshiarpur are the main maize growing districts. vi) Barley : Barley is also a kind of millet which is largely grown in northern India. It is grown as a Rabi crop mostly in lighter soils. It is mainly grown in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana. It requires much less care and imputs. Uttar pradesh and Rajsthan account for 75% of the area and production both. In Uttar Pradesh Aligarh, Mathura, Agra, Fatehpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Jounpur districts produce most of the bariey, while in Rajsthan, Udaipur, Bhilwara, Ajmer, Bharatpur, Ganganagar are the main barely growing districts. vii) Ragi : Ragi is an important millet particularly in south Karnataka. It is also grown on a fairly large scale in Uttar Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Maharahtra and Bihar. Being one of the hardiest millet, ragi is widely grown in areas of dry farming with red, light- black, sandy soils. It is mainly a Karif crop but in south India it is grown throughout the year. Kit needs lower inputs and care than most other food crops. It is also less susceptible to monsoon variations. Karnataka is the leading state in growing ragi accounting for 40% of the total area under ragi in the country and 47% of produce. Bangalore, Kolar, Hassan, Tumkur, Chikmanglur, Shimoga, Mandhya, Ceorg, Bellary, Belgaum and Dharrwad districts produce ragi in the state. The crop is also grown in the hilly regions of Kumaon, and Uttarkhand in Uttar Pradesh, Nilgiri, North and south arcot, Salem, Coimbatore, and Madurai in Tamilnadu; Konkan region of Maharashtra also produce some ragi.

328 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book Viii) Gram : Gram is one of the leading pulses in India. Gram provides vegetable rotein and it is a leguminous crop which fixes atmospheric nitrogen in the soil. Hence it is rotated with other crop usually with wheat. Thus, it is a Rabi crop. It requires mild cool winter weather and madium to low rainfall. It is sown in October and harvested in December-January. The major gram producing states are Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajsthan, Hariyana and Maharashtra. These five states produce 85% of the country’s gram. About 40% of gram produce enters the trade in the country. The main contributing states are Madhya Pradesh. Rajasthan and Haryana. FIBRE CROPS 1. Cotton : Cotton is the most important fibre crop of India. India ranks fifth in cotton production in the world. It is grown in the dry areas of black cotton soil of the Deccan Plateau. Most of the production comes from five states Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. The other cotton producing states are Orissa, Haryana, Tamilnadu and Meghalaya. The highest yields come from Haryana and Rajasthan. While the lowest are from Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. It is a cash crop, occupying 5% or the total cropped area in the country (Map 6.2) Gujarat produces nearly 25% of country’s cotton in 25% of area under cotton in the country. Baroda, Surendranagar, Broach, Ahmedabad districts of Gujarat produces most of the state’s cotton. The introduction of new carieties like caralaxmi has increased production in recent years. Maharashtra has about 30% of the country’s total cotton area. But it produces only 15% of the total. This is due to low yields. More than 80% of the cotton produce comes from vidarbha, Marathwada andKhandesh regions comprising the districts of Buldhana, Akola, yeotmal, Amaravati, Nagpur, Wardha (Vidarbha), Parbhani, Nanded, Aurangabad, osmanabad (Marathwada) Jalgaon and Dhule (Khandesh) Karnataka contributes about 15% of area and produce of cotton. Most of this produce comes from the North Karnataka Plateau, which includes the districts of Raichur, Belgaum, Bijapur, Dharwad, Bellary and Gulbarga, Jayadhar, Hambi, Varalaxmi, are the new varieties grown in this state. In Tamilnadu the area under cotton is much less as compared to Maharashtra and Karnataka, but due to higher yield varieties the production is higher. Varalaxmi, Kurunganni, Swin, laxmi are the chief varieties grown, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Salem and Ramsnathapuram produce nearly 2/.3 of the total cotton. Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh also produce some cotton. Trade in cotton is large, but the main consumer are cotton textile mills of Maharashtra and Gujarat. CASH CROPS i) Oil Seeds : India has the largest area and produce of oil seeds in the world. The five major oil seeds that include ground nut, seasmum, rapeseed, mustard and castor occupy 10% of the total cropped area in the country. Out of all these oilseeds groundnut accounts for 70% of growth. All oil seeds are grown as commercial crops. The provide the essential fat in the Indian diet and are also widely used in various industries. Oil cake and residue is an important cattle feed. ii) Groundnut is mainly produced in Gujarat, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Thus most of the area lies in peninsular India. Tamilnadu has the highest yields in the country. It comes from the districts of North and South Arcot. Salem, Coimbatore and Tiruchiapalli. InGujarat Saurashtra, produces most of the

GS I - Geography / 329 groundnut, Maharasthrahas low yields of groundnuts production and the chief districts are Jalgaon, Dhule Nashik, Amaravati, yeotmal, Sangali, Satara and Kolhapur. Trade in groundnut is largely accounted for by Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Gujarat and Punjab. In the case of sesamum too India is the largest producer in the world. It is also used in various Industries besides being used as a cocking medium. Its oil cake is fed to milch cattle. Almost every state in India has some area under sesamum. However U.P., Rajasthan, Maharashtra, M.P., Orissa, Gujarat, Karnataka, A.P. and Tamilnadu area the leading producers. Most of the crop is grown as part of mixed farming. South-western part of Uttar Pradesh has the heaviest concentration of this crop. Jalgaon, Nagpur, Dhule, Chandrapur are the chief sesamum producing districts in Maharashtra. Rapeseed and Mustard yield important edible oils. India ranks first both in area and production of rapeseed and mustard in the world. Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, the Punjab, Haryana, Assam, Bihar, West Bengal are the chief producing states. These oil seeds are used as condiments for making pickles and for flavouring vegetables. ii) Tea : Tea is the most important plantation crop in India. India ranks first in growing and export of tea. India accounts for 28%of the world’s tea production. (Map-3) Tea is best grown in well drained rolling lands having warm moist weather and well distributed annual rainfall of over 150cm. The crop is concentrated in Assam, hilly parts of West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Kerala. More than 60% of the produce comes from Assam alone. Lakhimpur, Sibasagar, Darrang districts of the upper Brahmaputra valley, Nowgong, Kamrup and Goalpara districts in the lower Brahmaputra valley and Cachar district in theSurma valley are the chief tea growing areas in Assam. In West Bengal Darijeeling, Cooch-bihar ad Jalpalgudi districts produce tea. In Tamilnadu, Kerala and Karnataka, the Nilgiri and Anamalai hill slopes are occupied by Tea gardens. 60% of the Indian tea production is consumed within the country. India contributes about one fourth of the total quantity of tea exported in the world market. The trend in recent years in towards a decline. India mainly exports tea to United kingdom, Russia, U.S.A. Sudan and Afghanistan. iii) Coffee : Next to tea, coffee is an important plantation crop in India. The plant requires a hot-humid climate with more than 150 cm of rainfall. Dry weather is needed for ripening of berries, especially in the months of December and January. Hill slopes from 800 to 1600 meters above sea level with well drained soil provide ideal edaphic and topographic conditions for coffee plantations. Shade trees like silver oak, are planted to protect the coffee plant India’s area and production of coffee constitute only a small traction, i.e.less than 2% of the world’s total. Almost all the area and production of coffee in India is shared by three states only namely Karnataka, Kerala and Tamilnadu. Among all these southern states, Karnataka accounts for 59% of area and 75% of produce Coorg and Chikmanglur districts account for most of the coffee production. The remaining coffee comes from Hassan, Mysore, and Shimoga districts. In Tamilnadu, Nilgiri, Madurai, Coimbatore, districts produce coffee, Kozikode, cannanore and palaghat districts in Kerala produce coffee. About 40% of coffee is consumed within the country while remaining is exported. West European countries are the major importers of Indian coffee.

330 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book FRUITS : A variety of fruits ranging from tropical to temperate are grown in India. Most of the fruits are sold in local markets, whereas some fruits like mangoes, grapes, apples, are sold all over the country and even exported to some extent. Fruits occupy only 2% of country’s net sown area but they are important in the Indian diet Mango banana, grape, orange, apple, cashew, jack fruit grown best in Indian climatic conditions. i) Mango : The largest hectare of mango is in Uttar Pradesh. Next is Bihar followed by Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal. Orissa, Tamilnadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The famous varieties are Langra, Alphonso, Dasahari, Payari, Neelam and Mankur. Apart from eating fresh, variety of products like pickles, jams, squashes are made from mangoes so that they can be available throughout the year. Indian mangoes are mainly exported to United Kingdom and the Middle east Countries. ii) Banana : Banana is one of the widely grown and consumed fruit in Inda. It is mainly grown in the coastal plains and irrigated tracts of peninsular India. The plant grows well in rich well- drained soil with ample moisture and humus content. It is grown throughout the year in peninsular India. Maharashtra and Tamilnadu are athe major banana producing states. In Maharashtra Jalgaon district only accounts for 80% the state’s growth and the remaining is scattered in the state, but mainly produced in Thane district. Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Coimbatore, Salem, Kanyakumari, North Arcot districts of Tamilnadu also produce banana. iii) Orange : Orange grows successfully in all tropical and sub-tropical parts of the country. It is mainly grown in the Coorg district of Karnataka, Wynad of Kerla, Nilgiri of Tamilnadu, Khasi, Jaintia, Lushai hills of Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh and Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. The important varieties cultivated in the country are Nagpuri, Kahasi, Coorgi, Deshi and Emperor. The plants begin to bear fruits after eight years of planting and mature fully after ten years. Thus for commercial plantation there is a long waiting period for the farmer. iv) Grape : Grape is a sub-tropical plant and grows well in dry climate with short sharp winters and long dry summers. In northern states like the Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh and vine yields fruits only during summer and rests during winter, In south Indian states the vine grows throughout the year and yields fruit twice a year in March –April and again in August-September. Due to monsoon fruits in August-September are of very poor quality. Hence, the main crop is taken during March-April. This is achieved by pruning the wines in October and April. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamilnadu are the South Indian states that produce good quality grapes. The chief varieties that are grown in India are Thompson seedless, Anab-e- shahi, Muscat, Bangalore purple. Although most of the grape is consumed within the country, recently the country has started exporting grapes to European countries. v) Apple : Apple is a fruit of temperate land. Hence, in India it is grown in hilly tracts of Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, the Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, small quantities are also grown in the Nilgiri hills of Tamilnadu. Achievements and problems of Agriculture : Post-Independence Development. Agriculture accounts for about half of India’s national income and provides employment to

GS I - Geography / 331 70% of the working population. Agriculture is a traditional occupation in our country with the growing season all the year round and with varied soils, different climatic conditions and a unique position to grow almost every possible crop. With increasing population, growing and changing demands of food, India has made a remarkable progress with respect to certain agricultural products, while in some cases it still lags behind. India leads the world in Tea, Sugarcane, Millets, some oil seeds, Jute and Rice. Equally important has been the contribution of agricultural exports to our foreign exchange. Agriculture still contributes 40% of total exports. Before independence, our agriculture was stagnant over a long period. It was chiefly practiced as subsistence farming. Much efforts were not made to get the maximum output. During the post-independence period important and significant changes have occurred. This is achieved because of the development of irrigation facilities, use of high yielding varieties, proper use of fertilizers, and diversification of crops. Secondly, research carried out by Agricultural Universities and other institutes are also responsible for this achievement. 1. Irrigation facilities : It is always said that Indian agriculture is a gamble against monsoon. This is because monsoon rainfall is very uncertain with respect to period and measure. To reduce this uncertainly and the risk of shortage of water supply to agriculture the only way is to develop irrigation facilities. Wells and tanks were traditional means of irrigation in India. The area irrigated by these is very limited due to limited availability of water. It is only in the post independence period that the irrigation system of the country has been developed. Several major and minor irrigation projects have been completed. Bhakra-Nangal, Beas, the Great Rajasthan Canal, Damodar valley corporation, Hirakud, Kosi, Tunghbadra, Nagarjunsagar are the major multi-purpose projects in India. In Maharashtra, Bhima, Jayakwadi, Kakrapara are the major Irrigation projects. On an average 38% irrigation facilities are contributed by canal irrigation in India but in states like, the Punjab, Hariyana, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh it is more than this average. Naturally, this has helped in increasing the agricultural production substantially in these states. 2. Use of High yielding Seeds : The high yielding variety of seeds were introduced in Indian agriculture in 1965-66. The new imported varieties of paddy and wheat seeds and locally developed hybrid varieties of maize, Jowar and Bajra are tried over a selected portion of the cropped area in different states. During 1990-91 as much as 47% of the total area under crop was sown with HYV. Due to introduction of the Green Revolution the yield per hectare shows increasing trend. The government has been able to increase the production and yield of almost all the crops and Indian agriculture could claim to have achieved some technological progress. These varieties are more resistant and grow in a short period. States like the varieties are more resistant and grow in a short period. States like the Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh are leading in this technique. Although in comparison with other countries in the world the yields are low, within the country the introduction of HYV seeds technique is successful. 3. Use of Fertilizers : The use of fertilizers n agriculture was negligible. At the beginning of the first Five Year Plan it was only 0.6 kg of fertilizers per hectare cultivable land. The use has been steadily increasing over the years and now it has become 68 kg per hectare with the highest in the Punjab followed by

332 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book Tamilnadu, Hariyana, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. More than 50% of fertilizers are used in the rabi season than in the Kharif irrigation and use of fertilizers have close relationship. For proper use of fertilizers, irrigation is needed : hence, wherever such facilities have developed use of fertilizers has increased. India is not self-sufficient in the production of fertilizers although imports have been declining after 1980. 4. Crop Diversification : Due to uncertainty of rainfall and changing needs of people diversification of crops became essential in recent years. This is achieved by introducing mixed farming, intercultural, crop rotation, intensive cultivation and extension of dry farming. Especially whenever the monsoon rainfall has been below normal, diversification has helped the farmer by getting some crops successfully. Secondly, the variety of products increased due to this technique. This has also helped the marketing of agricultural produce in urban markets. Problems of Agriculture : Although India has had certain important achievements in agriculture, there are some major problems associated with Indian agriculture. The analysis of the pattern of land holdings, area, and production of food and non-food crops, value added by agriculture and trend of yield per hectare leads to the identification of SIX major problems of Indian agriculture i) the size of agricultural land holding is too small (All India average 1.7 hect.) ii) Very high percentage of land is under food crops which has less income generating power. iii) The yield per hectare is low in comparison to many other developing countries. iv) Dependence on uncertain monsoon rains due to inadequate irrigation facilities. v) Poverty, illiteracy, and negligence of farmers adversely affect agriculture. vi) Degradation of agricultural land is increasing due to two reasons. Land used for agriculture continuously for many years and secondly, no care is taken to check soil erosion in many areas. Various measures, schemes and plans have been introduced by the Indian government to solve the above problems. OUR RESOURCES Introduction - Geography of resources is one of the important branches of geography. The development of various economic and commercial activities of man mainly depend upon the availability of different types of resources. Natural resources are the primary resources of valuable and useful commodities. They are mainly raw material and energy resources present in the environment; e.g. minerals, timber, fish, wild life etc. man uses them to satisfy his needs and wants. Different types of resources occur everywhere, varying in quantity and quality. In most cases, they become economic goods or real wealth only when man recognizes their utility and exploits them to meet his needs and comforts. Meaning of resources - Zimmarman, in his famous book, “Introduction To World Resources”, has defined natural resources as ‘means of attaining given ends’, the ends being the satisfaction of individual wants and attainment of social objectives. In other words, we can say that resources are means of satisfying human needs and wants; e.g. iron ore is a resource, because it is useful for satisfying human needs and wants. ‘Endowment’ is any natural stuff that exist in nature. It is a substance likely to be of human use but its use is not known. For example, most of the minerals before the industrial revolution were present

GS I - Geography / 333 in the nature but their use was not known to us. Therefore these minerals were not resources, but they were endowments at that time. An endowment is converted into a ‘potential’resource when man first realizes the value and the utility of any natural material to satisfy his needs and wants. When potentials are exploited for the satisfaction of human needs and wants, they are called resources. For example: Matheran plateau had potentialities for the development of healsth resorts but it became a resource only when Britishers developed it as a health resort, or the water of sutlej river became an important resource for irrigation and hydro electricity only after the construction of Bhakra Nangal Dams. Backward countries are rich in endowments, developing countries in potentials and developed countries in resources. FORESTS : Forests are renewable resources and have contributed substaintially to the economic development of various countries by providing goods and services. Its earlier recognition came from the desire of men to have shelter for protection from dangers of many kinds. Forests supplied men with wood to construct houses. Now wood is used not only in construction of houses but also for thousands of purposes in construction and as raw materials for many industries. Originally over one half of the earth’s land surface was covered with forests. Forests have been cleared by man indiscriminately for utilizing different forests products for his benefit and also for making available more and more land for cultivation for satisfying the growing needs of food of increasing population in most of the countries. At present only 25 to 35 percent of the land surface of the earth has forest cover. A forest may be defined as ‘an association of plants predominantly trees and other organisms covering a considerable land area, which utilizes air, water and minerals for its growth and to reproduce itself and supply mankind valuable products and services.’ In other words, forest is a vast stretch of land covered with plants consisting of many trees. Forests lands are divided into two classes: commercial and non-commercial. Commercial forestland is the forestland, which gives products while non-commercial, is that forest which is not suitable for any products. Distribution of forests in the world - Forests are unevenly distributed in the world depending to a great extent on climate. Trees in the forest require more warmth, moisture and sunlight than any other plants. Generally, the trees require minimum temperature of 60C for their growth. There is no forest due to extreme cold climate in the Polar areas and hot and dry climate on tropic of Cancer and Capricorn. i.e. in the desert belt. MAJOR TYPES OF FORESTS 1. The Tropical hardwood forests between latitudes 300N to300S. 2. The temperate hardwood deciduous broad leafed and mixed forests between 300 to 500 latitudes north and south of the equator mainly on the eastern and western sides of the continents. 3. the temperate coniferous forests exist in between latitudes 500N to700N All these forests are not being exploited to the same extent. Coniferous forests are exploited extensively for commercial purpose but the tropical rain forests are exploited much less. 1. The tropical hardwood or rain forests: The tropical hardwood forest is again divided into 2 sub types: a) Equatorial hardwood or Selvas and b) Tropical hardwood deciduous or monsoon forests.

334 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book a) The Tropical forests or Selvas: this forest is evergreen and is located in between 50N to50S in the Amazon basin of South America, Congo basin of Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia and the equatorial Pacific islands. Forest is deep and dense and contains trees of different species of trees grow in these forests. Commercially important among them are mahogany, ebony, Rosewood, Rubber, Brazil nut and Palm etc. b) Tropical deciduous hardwood or monsoon forests: Such forests consisting of deciduous hardwood trees are found in the areas experiencing monsoon type of climate. Common species of these forest are sal, teak, ebony, sandalwood and bamboo. Monsoon forests are found in South East Asian countries right from India, Sri Lanka to southern part of China excluding Malaysia and Indonesia, Eastern coast of Africa, Eastern Coast of Central America, Northern Australia etc. Most of the monsoon areas are thickly populated with agricultural economy. Hence most of the forests are cleared either for practicing agriculture or for utilizing wood and timber for various purposes. Hence lumbering activity is not much developed in monsoon forests. 2. Temperate Hardwood Deciduous broad leafed forests and mixed forests: Temperate deciduous broad leafed forests are found normally in between the latitudes 300N to500 mostly in the Northern Hemisphere along with the eastern and western sides of the continents. These forests contain broad leafed trees like oak, birch, ash, chestnut, maple, walnut etc. At present these forests are found in Japan, interior parts of China, Manchuria, Southern Russia, Central Europe, Australia, S. Africa, Chile, Argentina and Appalachian mountain and northern plains of USA. Most of deciduous forests are cleared in plains and some of them occur in patches in the mountainous areas. 3. Temperate Coniferous Forests: Temperate coniferous forests are found extensively in between 500N to700N. this forests belt stretches in North America, Canada and northern parts of USA. In Europe and Asia it stretches as a single belt in the countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland northern part of European Russia and Siberia. It is also found in the higher elevations on the mountains of Rockies, Andes, Alps and Himalayas. Small areas beyond 500 in Chile, Argentina and New Zealand also have a cover of Coniferous trees. Coniferous forests are also known as Taiga in Europe. Main species found in this forest are, Pine, Spruce, Fir, etc.. Temperate coniferous trees yield softwood, their leaves are needle shaped and trees have conical shape. FORESTS AND IMPORTANT ACTIVITIES Lumbering: Lumbering is mainly carried on in the coniferous and temperate hardwood deciduous forest regions of North America, Europe, Russia and Japan. This activity supplies raw materials for paper and pulp industry and textile industry. Food Gathering : This is one of the oldest economic activity od man. It is practiced with other activities like fishing, hunting in some primitive tribal areas of Equatorial Forests. Hunting : Today, this activity has almost declined everywhere in the world. At present, primitive tribes mainly practice it in equatorial forest regions of Amazon and Congo and in the interior regions of the monsoon forests in Asia and Taiga forest region in North Europe and Russia. USES OF FORESTS: Firewood : Over 75% of the population of world depends for cooking on firewood, which is obtained mainly from the forests. Some wood is also used for generation of industrial power. Timber: Temperate and tropical hardwood and softwood forests provide valuable timber for

GS I - Geography / 335 manufacturing furniture, construction of buildings, ship building, packaging etc. Raw Materials : Forests provide a large number of products which are used as raw materials for various industries. Wood the the most important product of the forest. Wood is used for making pulp which is used in manufacturing paper and rayon. Other products obtained from forests are rubber, gum, cork, tannin, resin, turpentine etc. Many medicinal herbs are also obtained from forests. Food : Primitive tribes like the Pygmies, to a large extent depend for food on forest products like roots, fruits, nuts, flowers and leaves. Apart from these direct uses, forests influence man’s life indirectly as agricultural activity is much influenced by forests. Moisture bearing clouds are arrested by forests which results in heavy rainfall. Leaves of trees fall down on the ground and get decomposed and add nitrogen to the soil. Hence forests increase fertility of soil. Forests cover also reduces the force of running water and control floods. Forest covers protects soil by preventing it erosion by winds. Also water seeps down due to forest cover and underground water supply increases. FISHERIES- The term ‘fishing’ includes all human efforts to obtain aquatic animals in the seas and inland waters all over the world. Men were hunters and fishermen before they became cultivators and therefore fishing is one of the oldest economic activities of man. Fish provides mankind with valuable source of proteins besides various types of raw materials required for different manufacturing industries. In Japan, Norway, Sweden and Iceland fish is a vital source of food because the land here is mountainous and climate is too cold and hence agriculture cannot be easily developed. However modern fisheries include not only catching edible fishes but also many other sea harvests such as sponges. sea weeds, seals, pearls, whales etc. though there are very extensive water bodies on the surface of the earth for fishing.it must not be assumed that fish and all other marine resources are inexhaustible resources. Like mining, it is also a ‘robber industry’. If we catch fish at a faster rate that at what nature can replace them, gradually there will be very few fish left and the total catch will decline. To preserve this very important and ever ready source of human food it is very imperative to take measures for fish protection and conservation in the world by avoiding ‘over fishing’ and killing immature fish. There are hundreds of thousands of species of fishes in sea waters. In case of fish alone there are atleast two thousand species. But at present man exploits only a few species for which there is demand in the market. TYPES OF FISHING - Fish is found in rivers, lakes tanks etc.. and is also found on a large scale in the marine waters. Accordingly, fishing is called as ‘fresh water fishing’ and ‘marine water fishing’ depending on , from where the fish is caught. Marine fisheries is further classified into ‘Open Sea fisheries’ and ‘coastal fisheris’ Fisheries are also classified as ‘Subsistence fisheries ’and ‘commercial fisheries’ depending on whether fish is caught for consumption in the areas where it is caught or for sale in the market. Factors Influencing Commercial Marine Fisheries: Development of commercial marine fisheries depends on various biological, physical, economic and social factors. 1. Availability of Fish Food: this depends upon the food pyramid in the sea. Very minute form of life in the sea is known as ‘plankton’. This plankton is of two types: a) phytoplankton (minute plants) and b) zooplankton (minute animals). Zooplankton lives on phytoplankton and phytoplankton lives on absorbed dissolved nitrogenous compounds, mineral salts, and carbon dioxide, which mainly come from rivers. Many bigger and

336 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book smaller species of fish depend mainly on these planktons for their food supply. Therefore fish depends for its requirement of food directly or indirectly on plankton. Wherever there is more of plankton there would be naturally more fish and in such parts te sea fishing will develop on very large scale. There will be more of planktons in the part of the sea, whether is plenty of sunlight, availability of nitrogenous material and salts brought from the land and where intermixing of cold and warm water takes place. Such conditions are found in: a) Shallow continental shelves (less than 200 meters depth) which assures plenty of sunlight. b) Mouth of the rivers where eroded materials containing nitrogenous material are being deposited. c) Places of convergence of different of different types of ocean currents-, which supply minerals, required for the growth of planktons. 2. Nature of sea floor: Muddy and sandy bottoms of sea supply more nutrients and salts required for planktons. Such areas are more suitable for fishing. 3. Nature of coastline: An indented coastline is suitable for fishing activities. These indentations provide numerous harbors as bases for fishing operations and refuge at the time of cyclones and storms. Also these indentations increase greatly the actual fishing area. 4. Nature of Hinterland: If the coastal area has poor soils or rocky surfaces, agriculture cannot be developed. Therefore people will be compelled to engage themselves in fishing. Fishing on such coasts is very well developed as in the case of Norway, Japan, Peru etc.. 5. Climate: Climate has influence on fishing in many ways. Firstly, the planktons which is the basic food for fish is abundant in cold climate. Economic and Social Factors - 1. Market: Thick population in the nearby areas provides ready market for the fish, which is very necessary as fish is perishable. 2. Supply of foodstuffs and price of meat: if foodstuff is in plenty or meat is available cheaply in large quantities, fishing will be neglected in such areas. Other facilities like transport, development in cold storage, canning and other methods of preserving fish also help development of fisheries. Development of commercial fishing depends also on the dietary habits of the people. Major Fishing Grounds Of The World : Four major fishing grounds of the world are: a) The North East Atlantic: The coast of North West Europe from Bering Sea in the North to the Bay of Biscay to the South. b) The North West Pacific: The coast of Eastern Russia, Japan, Korea and South China. c) The North West Atlantic: The eastern coast of Canada and USA. d) The North East Pacific: The West coast of Canada and USA. CONSERVATION OF FISH- With the development of fishing technology the total annual catch is about 75 million tons. It was once thought that sea fisheries were inexhaustible. Statistics have proved that with greater efficiency in fishing there has been a serious depletion of the world’s fish and sea mammals. Some common species have now become rare and particularly in the case of whales some have been today wiped put. It has been proved through the experience of many countries that over exploitation of sea in any region leads to decline in catch. There are many reasons for the decline of world’s fish catch. Some of the important reasons for this are overfishing, indiscriminate fishing of immature fish, pollution of water by industries and urban centers and ignorance of fish culture. In order to get a perennial supply of fish the following measures must be used by all the GS I - Geography / 337 fishing nations of the world. 1. Control on over fishing: Coastal areas of many countries have been over fished. Fishermen began to bring smaller and smaller and catch back to port. It has now been realized that some of the species are snatched up faster than they can reproduce themselves. This must be stopped immediately. 2. Avoid indiscriminate fishing: killing of immature fish should be stopped immediately. Those who bring small sized immature fish into a port should be cautioned and fined. 3. Protection from pollution: there must be very regular inspection of inland waters and legislation against those industries which are responsible for water pollution. This will help in preserving fishing coastal areas and rivers. 4. international agreement on fishing: there must be some international agreement to conserve ocean resources. Agreement s already exist for sealing and whailing. Similar legislations should be passed for other major fish species. 5. Research : A scientific study of innumerable fish species, their habits, food requirements, life expectancy and migratory movements will in the long run be very helpful in getting a lot from fisheries without any depletion. A continuous research work in the field of oceanography, ocean salinity, temperature, density of water, planktons, statistics of the numbers and types of fish caught. Fishing methods, better use of fish etc. must go on continuously. In India, National Institute of Oceanography is at Panjim in Goa and a Fish Research Institute at Calcutta. In Japan and USA almost every important fish ports have such institutions. ANIMALS - Livestock includes domesticated animals like cattle, sheep, goat, pigs, camels etc. these domesticated animals constitute a very important resource of the earth’s surface as to a great extent man depends on animals. From animals man gets protein rich food in the form of milk and meat. Animals are used for drought or draft purposes mainly in the rural transport and farm activities. They supply number of byproducts like wool, hides and bones. Hides which are tanned to form leather is used as raw material for manufacturing foot-wear, bags, straps, suitcases, industrial and agricultural equipment and military equipment. Wool is converted into clothing, which is required by man for protecting himself from cold climate. Bones are grinded into powder and used in making fertilizers. Animals are used for drought purposes mostly in the less developed areas having low standard of living whereas animal products like milk and people enjoying higher standard of living consume milk products and meat on a larger scale in the more developed areas. Cattle and sheep are the two most important animals reared by man. Other less important animals are buffaloes, goals, pigs, horses, camels’ etc. except for pigs all other animals are tended in the grasslands as all these animals are herbivorous i.e. grass eaters. Hence these animals are found in extensive grasslands. These grasslands are: a) Temperate grass lands- ‘Steppes’ of Russia., ‘Praires’ of North America, ‘Pampas’ of South America, ‘Velds’ of South Africa and ‘Downs’ of Australia. b) Grasslands of the mountains which are found at higher elevations. c) Small patches of grasslands of the monsoon region which are scattered. d) Other grasslands are margins of deserts and seasonal grasslands of northern parts of North America, Europe and Asia. Depending on the types of animals tended, scale of production and utilization of animals and their

338 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book products this activity can be classified into ‘Nomadism’ or ‘Primitive subsistence grazing’ and ‘Commercial grazing ’or ‘Ranching’. Primitive Subsistence Grazing or Nomadic Herding : This type of economic activity is practiced in the areas of extreme type of climatic conditions where there is scarcity of supply of grass and water. The areas and the tribes practicing nomadic herding are: 1. the Kirghiz, the Kazakhs, The Turkmen of central Eurasia, the Lapps and the Samoyeds of Tundra. 2. Bedouins, Masai and the other Negro tribes of S.W. Asia and Africa respectively. These nomadic tribes move from place to place with their animals in search of pastures or water or both. Different types of animals are found with each herder. Whenever there is need for food, animals are slaughtered and the herders consume most of the animal products. Very little of these remain for trade. Due to increasing contactswith modern civilization, nomadism in the world as a whole is declining. It is practiced today only in the areas which are completely isolated from the progressive areas of the world. The important animals reared in the grassland regions where commercial grazing is practiced are cattle, sheep, and pigs. Under commercial grazing, animals are reared mainly to supply animal products like meat, wool, hides and skins to the new world areas of America, Australia and New Zealand. These areas are well connected to the markets or ports by effective transport. Animals graze only inside the ranch. They cannot go out of the ranch. Ranch is a big grassland which is fenced and certain facilities are provided inside the ranch like, ranch houses, drinking water for the animals etc.. there is also place for storage of forage in lean seasons. Under this type of grazing, only one type of animal is reared for only one product. The animals from here are taken outside the region for slaughtering and almost all the products are exported to the other regions or other countries in the world. Distribution of Cattle : The world cattle population today exceeds 1200 million. Cattle are reared for different purposes. They provide dairy products like milk, butter, cheese, milk powder and meat. In the under developed countries of Asia and Africa, the cattle are used as draft animals for transporting goods ploughing the fields. In the developed countries cattle are kept either for beef or for dairying, which depends on economic and geographical conditions of the regions. Therefore, dairy cattle regions vary from beef cattle regions. SHEEP : Sheep are reared either for meat or for wool. The meat of sheep is called mutton. Sheep also yield milk, but they are rarely kept for only this purpose. Other products from sheep are the skins which are used for leather. Sheep’s intestines have many uses. When it is properly washed and cleaned, strings are made for musical instrument and sports equipments. For eg: the net of the tennis and badminton rackets is made of sheep intestine.on the whole sheep are less valuabe animals than cattle because they are smaller and yield less meat. Moreover, mutton is not very popular in many countries so the market is limited. Sheep can graze and live on very poor pasture which is not able to support cattle. Sheep thrive best where grass is short and crisp. It cannot be reared on tropical grass as it is too tall and tough.

GS I - Geography / 339 When the soil is damp permanently, hoofs of sheep develop a disease known as foot-rot. The ideal climate required for sheep rearing is warm temperature with moderate rainfall evenly distributed through out the year. Sheep can be reared very efficiently on land which is too high for the growth of cereals. Too dry or too steep for rearing cattle or too rugged for human settlement. World distribution of sheep - Sheep are more widely distributed than any other domesticated animals. The major sheep rearing countries of the world are Russia, Australia, China, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Turkey and the U.K. MINERALS - Minerals are natural inorganic substances of fixed chemical composition and are very commonly characterized by the presence of typical internal atomic structure. During the last one hundred and fifty years, a number of changes have taken place in the use of minerals. Due to development of science and technology it has become possible to extract and use a great variety of minerals in increasing proportions. Present modern civilization is in many respects ddependant on mineral products. There are over 1600 minerals. Out of these only 200 are defined as economic minerals. Minerals have played a very important role in the development of modern civilization. Mining has already become the world’s second largest industry, next to agriculture. Uinlike agricultural crops, however minerals are fixed in quantity; they cannot be increased or replaced by man. They are gone forever. Therefore it is rightly said that mining is a ‘robber industry’. It takes millions and millions of years for Nature to form minerals. Therefore for all practical purposes minerals are exhaustible resources. The development of mining activity depends upon geological structure, accessibility, demand for minerals, and availability of cheap labour, size of the deposits, quality of the ore and the development of mining technology. IRON ORE - Among all the metallic minerals iron occupies the top place. It occurs very widely and is found in almost all the countries of the world and accounts for an estimated 5% of the earth’s crust. In modern times successful development of every country depends upon iron. It is considered as foundation of modern civilization. To be economically important however the ore must contain a high percentage of iron. On the basis of the iron content the main types of iron ore are Magnetite, Hematite, Limonite Siderite etc.. Though the iron ore deposits are scattered all over the world the important ones are found in Russia, the USA, Canada, Sweden, France, China and Brazil. COPPER - It is one of the first metals known and was used 5000 years ago. Its great value is because of its ability to conduct electricity and heat and its resistance to corrosion. The growth of copper output at present is due to the fact that there is a wide range of copper alloys that are available in cast and wrought forms. Mixed with zinc it produces brass, with tin, bronze and with nickel, German silver. 50% of the copper production is used in the electrical industry for generators, motors, electrical locomotives, telephones, light and power lines etc.. World Distribution Of Copper:

340 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book U.S.A.: the U.S.A. is the leading produces of copper producing more than 17% of the worlds total production. Copper ores are found in Montana, Arizona, Nevada, Colorada, Utah and the Lake Superior region. BAUXITE - The known reserves of bauxite ore are more than 400 million tones. Australia is the world’s largest bauxite producing country. Bauxite deposits are highly concentrated in the countries of South Europe, particularly in France, Italy, Greece, Hungary and Yugoslavia. Outside this region bauxite is found in the Gulanas in South America, Ghana and Nigeria in West Africa and the Unites States. India also possesses extensive deposits of bauxite. Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Gujarat are the important bauxite producing states of India. Aluminum is extracted from bauxite. Before its importance is nil. It has become very important these days because of aviation. It is also used in motorcars, railway carriages, electrical and armament industries. URANIUM - Uranium is the chief source of generating atomic power. It is widely distributed in the world but U.S.A. and Canada are the main producers followed by Zaire, South Africa, Czechoslovakia, Russia and Britain. More than 90% of the production of uranium in the USA comes from the states of New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. In Canada uranium is found near the Great Bear Lake in the north. THORIUM - Thorium is found in Florida and Idaho states of the USA. Such sand is also found on the coast of Kerala state in India and coastal plains of Brazil. POWER RESOURCES - Every aspect of man’s life depends on power or energy. It is required to cook, for providing light, to generate heat, to run vehicles and to drive machinery in industrial plants. Power or energy exists in natural forces such as wind and water whose movement can be utilized to run machinery or to generate electricity. Energy from the sun, the tides and from geothermal sources is also being used recently though on a smaller scale. Most of the power required today is derieved from the heat released when fuels of different types are burnt. Power so produced is either in the form of steam power or electric power which can then be used to run machinery. The movement of goods, people and development of commercial farming and industry are all dependent on the supply of energy to provide heat and motive power. There is a good correlation between the energy consumption and standard of living. The high productivityachieved by the labour force using energy in the mechanical processes has contributed much to the high standard of living enjoyed in Western Europe and North America. Oil, coal and hydroelectricity are the important power resources. Principal oil fields of the world - On the basis of the latest information, the middle and near east, i.e., the area from to Egypt and from Yemen to Turkey has got the largest oil resources in the world. Like coal and many other mineral resources, oil resources are also very unevenly distributed. The major oil fields of the world are concentrated in three belts: 1. The American Oil Belt: the American Oil Belt starts from the North Appalachian mountains

GS I - Geography / 341 through the mid-continent and the gulf coast of the USA to Mexico, Venezuela in Central America to Bolivia and Peru in Southern America. Oil is also found on the west coast of the USA. 2. The Middle East and European Oil Belt: In this belt the major oil fields are found in along the South- East Gulf Coast in , Iran and . From there it spreads into Caucasus Mountains in Russia and then further north to the Ural mountain region. Another branch of this belt goes westward through Germany, Austria and Rumania. 3. The South East Asia Oil Belt: It runs from Assam through Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia and exstends further South East to Queensland State of Australia. The oil fields of the world are concentrated in the northern hemisphere. Except in the case of USA and Russia most of the oil deposits are concentrated in the under developed area of Middle Eastern countries, South East and Central America. COAL - Coal was used for centuries to provide heat in the houses. In the late 19th century it was used to produce steam power and thus it became the basis of industrial revolution. Coal is a black or brown sedimentary rock consisting mainly of carbon. Most of the coal deposits of today are of carboniferous period i.e. about 300 million year old. There are also some deposits of the tertiary period. There are four different types of coal, depending upon their composition and contents of carbon. They are: 1) Peat, 2) Lignite, 3) Bituminous and 4) Anthracite. Principal coal fields of the world : The world’s coal deposits are very unevenly distributed. Most of the deposits are concentrated in the northern hemisphere in the mid latitudes. About 85% coal reserves are concentrated in the three countries the Russia, USA and China. The other areas of satisfactory reserves are West Germany, Australia and India. Coal Production: the total annual production of coal is more than 3000 million tons. More than 70% of this output comes from the USA, Russia , China and West Europe. Most of the coal production (95%) comes from the countries of northern hemisphere. The other minor coal producing countries in the world are India, Australia, South Africa, Canada and Chile, the UK, France and Germany are important coal producing countries in the world The production and distribution of coal in important coal producing countries is as follows: Russia : 63.3% of the world’s coal reserves are concentrated in Russia. It has the largest anthracite coal reserve in the world. About 85% of coal mined in Russia is of bituminous type. Russia is the leading coal producing country in the world. Coal reserves are not favorably distributed in relation to population. The three major coalfields in Russia are: 1) The Donets Coal Basin. 2) The Kuznetsk Coal Basin. 3) The Karaganda Coal Basin. United States of America: USA id the second largest coal producing country in the world. Coal deposits are scattered in different parts of USA. The most important coal producing regions are: 1) The Appalachian Coal Fields. 2) Eastern Interior Coal Fields. 3) Western Interior Coal Fields. 4) Rocky Mountain Coalfields. 5) The Pacific coal Fields. 6) The Gulf Coast Coal Fields.

342 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book Europe: Europe has large coal basins lying to the north of the central uplands and stretching across the northern plain from the northwest to the southeast. The UK, Germany, France, Poland and Belgium are the important coal producing countries in Europe. Asia : China and India are the main coal producing countries in Asia. China has vast reserves of coal. She has about 8.7 per cent of world’s coal reserves. China has vast coal deposits in Manchuria. The thickest bed of bituminous coal in the world of about 145 meters is found near Mukden in Manchuria, Shansi, Shensi, Kanshu and Honan are the major coal producing regions of China. India : the most important coal fields are the Raniganj in West Bengal, Jharia and Bokaro in Bihar. Coal is also found in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Assam, Raniganj, Jharia and Giridh produce cooking coal. WATER POWER : In the early days, the force of running water was used to run water wheels. The most important use of waterpower is for the generation of electrical power from the running water. Waterpower is a major source of mechanical energy for industrial development. Three major inventions of the present century have made the transformation of waterpower into hydro electricity possible. These are: a) the turbine, b) the dynamo and c) the cement. The amount of energy in flowing water depends upon its volume and velocity. Power produced by the hydroelectric system is usually cheaper than that produced by any other fuel driven system. Hydro electricity will be available to us so long as there is rain and snowfall on the earth. Some limitations in the use of hydro electricity power are: 1) Hydro electricity cannot be used in air and water transport. 2) It cannot be transmitted economically beyond a distance of 600 kms. 3) It cannot be stored like oil or coal; whatever is produced must be consumed immediately. WORLD PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT OF NON- CONVENTIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES. Wind Energy : horizontal movement of air is called wind. A large amount of energy is contained in wind. Exploitation of wind power can be economical only if the average wind velocity is more than 32 kms per hour. There are a number of advantages in the development of wind energy. It is non- polluting, renewable and universal energy resource. It can be generated on a very small scale even in a remote village. But the wind energy also has some disadvantages. It is unpredictable and intermittent in most of the locations. The ideal location for the development of wind energy is very high. Wind energy on a very large scale has been developed in most of the Northwest and West European countries like Norway, Spain, Germany Sweden, Finland, and UK etc. In North America it is developed in New England State and Central Plains. In India, wind energy is used in coastal regions of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Gujarat states and also in Rajasthan. Tidal Energy: Exploitation of tidal energy depends upon the range of tide because it creates

GS I - Geography / 343 the ‘head’ of power required to run the generators. These are about 25 places in the world where ideal conditions are present to harness tidal energy. Today tidal energy is harnessed only in the UK, Russia and Australia. In India, Gulf of Cambay is the ideal site for harnessing tidal energy. Solar Energy : With the increasing energy crisis all over the world, it is necessary to tap solar energy as early as possible. Out of the world solar energy received on the surface of the earth only 0.01 percent is enough for the world’s present energy needs. Today the USA, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, Israel and India have engaged in the research work for economical exploitation of the solar energy because it is cheap, non- polluting, free, inexhaustible and available in abundance throughout the year. At present, in India solar energy is used for producing salt and drying up agricultural products and on a very small scale for cooking food in solar cookers. In Australia it is used for desalinization of water in Israel and Nigeria for heating water and in the USA for heating houses. Geothermal Energy : It is the energy derived from the Earth’s molten core, Magma that intrudes towards the earth’s surface through faults in the crust, boils underground water which rises to the surface as hot water, steam or a mixture of both that can be used to drive the turbines of electricity generators. Possible sites for geothermal power stations are found in zones of earthquakes and volcanoes. It is important only in a few countries like Iceland, New Zealand and Italy. Some experts say that geothermal energy will never supply more than a very small fraction of civilization’s energy needs. WATER RESOURCES Introduction : In India agriculture is an important economic activity. But this major activity is greatly hampered by scanty rainfall in large areas and by erratic monsoon elsewhere. Most of the rainfall in India is due to the south west monsoon. The average annual rainfall decreases to the west in Northern India and suddenly decreases away from the west coast and the Western Ghats. Its arrival or departure fluctuates, and it may fall in the middle of the season, Besides, there is a great variability from the normal which increases where the amount of rainfall is less. Partial failure or delayed arrival of the monsoon can cause extensive damage to the crops. Indian agriculture is considered as gambling with rain. It is nearly so where irrigation does not exit. Hence, irrigation is necessary. The rapid growth of population indicates continuously increasing demand for food crops and other crops. Thus, to increase production of different cash crops and food grains irrigation is necessary, rather inevitable. Irrigation has proved beneficial to the country. In fact, irrigation forms the bottum line for successful agriculture. Irrigation has provided a greater degree of variation in agricultural production system. It has certainly increased the yields. Sources of Irrigation : Irrigation in India has been practiced from ancient times and irrigation by tanks and wells are very familiar to the agrarian landscape of India. There are three principal types of irrigation, based on their sources : Wells, tanks and canals (map) Well irrigation involves the lifting of water from the sub-soil. The depth of the water in the sub-soil varies widely in different parts

344 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book with the variation in rainfall. About 11.8 million hectares of land is irrigated by wells which is mainly confined to eastern and northern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, eastern and southern parts of the western Ghats including the state of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Rajasthan and Gujarat. In India there are about 7 million wells. Water from the well is raised by four methods : (a) Level methods which are very common in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, (b) inclined plane method, normally run by a pair of bullocks is mostly used in Uttar Pradesh, (c) Persian wells mostly used in Punjab and western Rajashtan, and (d) tube wells which are very common in areas where the water-table is over 15 m deep. About 90 per cent of these tube-wells are located in Uttar Pradesh, Tube-wells are also found in the Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Tanks : Tanks irrigation is very common in the eastern part of the Deccan plateau where the topography is suitable for erecting dams across small riverlets and for collecting water in artificial lakes so formed. Water is taken from the tanks running downward into the filed. While the big tanks contain water all the year round, the smaller ones dry up at on set of summer. Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have a large number of tanks and lakes which supply water for irrigation, In the multi-purpose river valley projects large tanks or reservoirs have been developed due to the construction of dams and barrages. About 4.3 million hectares of land are irrigated by tanks. Canals : Canals are by far the most important source of water for irrigation. As the construction of canals is easy in the plains., the northern plains and the eastern coastal plains are the most important areas of canal irrigation. The canal may be either perennial or inundated. Perennial canals supply water throughout the year, while the inculding canals provide irrigation mostly during the rainy season. The canals of the peninsula are taken out from the reservoirs built in the upper reaches of the river. The canals of the great plains are drawn from the rivers of the area, namely the Ganga, Yamuna, Ghaghra and gomati. In undivided India, the most important canal systems were developed in the Punjab. Among them the only Bari Doab Canal lies partly in India. In the Punjab other important canals are Western Yamuna canal, Sirhind canal, Bhakra canal, Nangal canal and Gurgaon canal. In Uttar Pradesh Lower and Upper Eastern Yamuna, Agra, Sarda, Betwa and Ramganga canals are important. Most of these canals are very old and need proper care. Canal irrigation has transformed certain areas of the deserted Rajasthan into a fertile state. There are numerous canal irrigation projects in Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The Cauvery Delta Canal is said to be the oldest in India. In the Krishna Delta the Canals are contracted on both sides of the river from the barrage at Vijayawada town. In the Godavari belts, a dam in four parts is built across the two branches of river Gautami and Basistha. A number of small projects combining hydel power production and irrigation have been built in the Western Ghats at the headwaters of the rivers Godavari and Krishna and their tributaries. Irrigation Potentials - All these above-mentioned sources of irrigation are grouped as major, medium and minor projects

GS I - Geography / 345 depending upon their Culturable Command Area. The irrigation potential, including major and medium irrigation projects, was 300 lakh hectares in 1985-86 and minor irrigation which includes surface water and ground water was 375 lakh hectares during the same period. The minor thrust of the development policy for the irrigation sector is towards achieving the assessed target of 1,130 lakh hectares of gross irrigation potential in the country based on conventional methods of diversion and storage by A.D. 2010 or so. Of these, about 585 lakh hectares are expected to be irrigated eventually from major and medium projects and balance by the minor schemes. INDENTIFICATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF DROUGHT AND FLOOD PRONE AREAS Pattern of Distribution of Rainfall : A study of the distribution of rainfall over the country in different seasons is essential for identifying the drought prone or flood-prone areas. The pattern of distribution of annual rainfall is highly uneven. The annual rainfall may vary from 9 cm or less in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan to 1140 cm at Cherrapunji (Meghalaya) which is the highest rainfall in the world. Apart from the trend of the monsoon winds, topography etc. plays an important role in rainfall. Very High Rainfall - There are two regions of very high rainfall (more than 200 cm) 1.Western Ghats and the western coastal plains and 2. Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and the adjoining States of the north-east. 3. In both these regions, the monsoon winds are forced to ascend up the steep slope of the hills which are perpendicular to wind direction. Hence exceptionally high rainfall is of orographic nature. High Rainfall : High rainfall of 100 to 200 centimeters per year is recorded in four areas of the country : a) The narrow strip along the west coast and adjoining the region of very high rainfall. b) Parts of middle and lower Assam valley, Manipur and Tripura which are adjoining areas of very high rainfall. c) Himalayan zone from Jammu Hills to North Bengal, the plains of northern and eastern Uttar Pradesh, most parts of Bihar and West Bengal, the north-eastern part of Peninsular plateau in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, the eastern districts of Maharashtra and the northern part of Andhra Pradesh. Medium rainfall of 60 to 100 cm per year is received in a narrow north-south zone from the Punjab to Kanyakumari excluding a narrow belt of low rainfall in the region immediately east of the Western Ghats. This zone of medium rainfall includes the Kashmir valley, the eastern part of the Punjab-Haryana plain, Southern Uttar Pradesh, Eastern Rajasthan and Gujarat and adjoining parts of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka plateau and interior Tamilnadu. Low rainfall of 30 to 60 cm per year is recorded in (a) the Zaskar range and adjoining regions, (b) a crescent shaped belt 150 to 300 km board which includes the western part of the Punjab- Haryana plain, Central Rajasthan and West Gujarat including Kathiawar coast, and (c) a narrow north-south belt lying east of the Western Ghats and covering parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Very low rainfall of less than 30 cm per year is received in two regions : (a) the area which

346 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book lies to the north of the Great Himalayas in Kashmir, and (b) the western parts of Kutch and Rajasthan and small areas in the Punjab and Haryana. The season of advancing monsoon, namely June to September, is the season of rainfall over most parts of India. Tamilnadu coast is an exception. It gets rainfall during the retreating monsoon season of October to December. Thus most parts of India get rainfall only during four to five months in the year. During the cold season of December to four to five months in the year. During the cold season of December to February, the north-west part of India such as Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, the Punjab and Haryana get snowfall or rainfall from western disturbances. These disturbances originate in the mediteranean region and reach north-west India. During the hot weather season of Mach to May, the north-eastern States of India get rainfall from thunderstorms. Parts of the Peninsula also get conventional rainfall in this season. It will be evident from the above description that rainfall is received every month in some part of the country. Of the total rainfall over India. 74% is received during the four monsoon months of June to September, 13% in the retreating monsoon season, 3% in the winter season and 10% in the hot pre-monsoon season. Causes of Drought : A large area of th country experiences drought conditions owing to the following peculiar features of rainfall : (a) variability, (b) delay in onset of the monsoon, (c) duration of breaks in the monsoon season, (d) area differences in the persistence of the monsoon. Variability of annual rainfall : A study of rainfall data over several years for each station will indicate the coefficient of variation for each station. Areas of heavy rainfall such as the West Coast and North-Eastern States have low variability. The percentage of variability is inversely related to the total rainfall. The areas receiving less than 60 cm of rainfall have variability of more than 30% these include most parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Southern Punjab and Haryana and the narrow rain-shadow region of the peninsula in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Delay in onset of the monsoon - A delay of a week or more in the onset of the monsoon or early withdrawal of the monsoon interferes with the work of the farms and causes drought. Plants may wither causing misery to farmers. Such delays are frequent in regions getting marginal rainfall. As cultivation depends only on rainfall in most areas, early withdrawal of the monsoon reduces yields. Duration of breaks in the monsoon season. There are periods of full or break in the monsoon season. Periods of rainfall are related to the movement of disturbance or depressions. Sometimes, there may be a long break of more than a week between two spells of rain. This may cause considerable damage to standing crops. Areal differences in the persistence of the monsoon : In some years, the monsoon does not advance according to the normal pattern. The monsoon may remain stationary over a region for a longer period and advanced slowly. Thus, the monsoon current may reach the Punjab plains one week later than the normal date, because it remained over the Ganga delta for a longer duration. Such irregular advance or retreat of the monsoon may disturb agricultural activity and lead to failure of crops. Distribution of drought-prone areas : It is estimated that about one million sq.km. or about one-

GS I - Geography / 347 third of India is liable to droughts. These areas receive marginal rainfall of less than 60 cm per year and even this is highly variable. These regions do not have adequate irrigation facilities to tide over drought. These drought-prone areas are : i) The arid and semi-arid regions in the north-west. Its northern and eastern limits may be defined by two straight lines from Ahmedabad to Kanpur and Kanpur to Jalundhur. This region receives low and very low rainfall and variability is also over 30%. The region includes most parts of Rajasthan, arid Gujarat and parts of the adjoining states. While some of the arid areas like Kutch and the Thar desert are not cultivated, the areas that are cultivated with marginal rainfall are most affected when rainfall is much less than normal. ii) The low rainfall region is on the leeward side of the Western Ghats. This region gets less than 60 cm of rainfall per year and the amount of rainfall is highly variable from year to year. This region stretches as a narrow north-south belt covering Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. iii) Isolated areas, such as the southern districts of Tamilnadu, the south-western districts of Uttar Pradesh, purulla District of West Bengal, Palamau District of Bihar and the Kalahandi region of Orissa. These areas experience drought conditions less frequently than the first two regions. The immediate measures taken to combat the drought were as follows : 1. Relief Employment Programmes, drinking water supply arrangements and cattle camps. Distributions of essential commodities through Public Distribution System (P.D.S.) 2. Working out of a detailed strategy to boost the rabbi production of individual crops in specific regions and cultivation of short duration cash crops wherever possible. The long-term programme is four dimensional : 1. Maximisation of area under assured irrigation with regional plans for agricultural growth. 2. “Course grains Policy’ for dry farming, with a special thrust towards oilseeds and pulses and multiple cropping in the regions of high rainfall. 3. Optimised use of water in dry land to maximize the area and output per unit of water and stepping up of forestation programme. 4. Separate strategies for each district agro-climatic region emphasizing the central role of regional factors in agricultural planning. Flood-Prone areas: Floods are as frequent as rain every year because of variations of the monsoon rainfall. The monsoon rainfall is not evenly spread over the four-month period of monsoon winds. There are short spells of intense rainfall with intervening period of clear skies. Hence the number of rainy days is small. Floods are caused usually due to one or more of the following conditions : a) Unusually high rainfall in a short period of few hours so that there is a large volume of surface run-off; b) Tropical cyclones accompanied by strong winds, high tidal bores causing inundation of coastal regions; c) Break of embankments or bunds of rivers, tanks, canals and other water courses or water spilling over such embankments; d) Changes in river courses owing to silting up of old courses ; e) Inadequate drainage facilities in low-lying areas f) Deforestation of hill slopes leading to greater rain water run-off.

348 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book Nearly two-thirds of the flood damage is caused by rivers, while the balance is due to cyclones and heavy rainfall distribution of Flood-prone Areas Flood-prone areas are less extensive than drought- prone areas. Floods are more common in areas receiving heavy rainfall. Flood damage is limited to the low-lying areas adjoining river courses or along the coastal regions. Floods may continue for a few days only and subsequently the water level may fall below the danger level. Deposition of sand or erosion of embankments may render large areas unfit for cultivation. The Brahmaputra river in the Assam valley causes floods in the monsoon season almost every year because the gradient of the valley is low, water overspills the embankments and inundates large areas of the valley. The delta of the Ganga in West Bengal is also affected by floods. The Assam valley is the worst flood-affected area of India. The basin of the Ganga contains a number of tributaries from the Himalayas. These cause floods in northern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. As the rivers carry large quantities of sediment, the level of the river is higher than the adjoining lands. When the embankments breaks, rivers inundate large areas and cause large scale damage. The Kosi and tista rivers are especially flood-prone. Floods in the peninsular rivers are less frequent. The Damodar river used to cause extensive floods in the past. With the construction of dams and implementation of the Damodar valley project, floods have been controlled to a large extent. The basin of the Indus in the Punjab and Haryana is also subject to floods from the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers. The construction of dams for irrigation and power development has reduced the damage from floods. Lack of adequate drainage may cause floods in the irrigated areas of the Punjab and Hariyana. The Kashmir Valley is subject to floods because it is a vast depositional plain. When the level of water in the Jhelum river rises, water spreads on either side of the river submerging large areas. In the Peninsular regions, floods may occur occasionally in the lower reaches and deltas of the Mahanadi. The Godavai and the Krishna rivers. Cyclones may cause floods along the east coast. On the west coast, the lower reaches of the Tapi valley may be affected by floods in some years. Most parts of the Peninsular plateau and the west coast are free from floods as they have good drainage. Floods Control Measures: The National Flood Control Programme was started in 1954. Floods Control Boards have been set up by the State and their work is coordinated by the Central Flood. Control Board. Flood Control is one of the objectives of the multi-purpose projects implemented during the Five Year Plans. The Damodar valley project with a number of dams has reduced the intensity of floods in the river basin, apart from irrigation and hydro-electric power development. Dams constructed in the river basin such as the Godavari, Mahanadi and the Krishan have reduced flood damage in the lower reaches of the rivers, Similarly, the Bhakra Nangal Project and other projects in the Ganga basin and the Punjab and Hariyana plains have resulted in flood control as well. A large number of embankments, drainage channels and flood protection schemes for villages and towns have been set up at important places in major river basins. MULTI PURPOSE PROJECTS - A factor that was recognised as considerably important right from the very beginning of our planned economic development which commenced after independence, was needed to organize utilization of our resources for optimal benefits. In this context, the schemes for harnessing water

GS I - Geography / 349 resources in multi-purpose projects are great significance. The multi-purpose river valley projects were generally planned for an integrated economic and social development of the areas covered by river basins suitable for such harnessing of resources. The projects aim to provide irrigation, hydro-electric, flood control and navigational facilities. The total number of regional development projects is more than 900 out of which a few can be considered to be of national importance because of the opportunities they have provided for further industrial growth. Some of the important projects are as follows The Damodar Valley Project : One of the well known projects is the Damodar Valley Project. The scheme was conceived on the basis of the Tensesse Valley Scheme in the U.S.A. A statutory body called the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) was constituted on the lines of the Tenesse Valley Authority (TYA). This proved administratively useful as the Damodar basin extends over two states. Bihar and West Bengal and conflicting claims of jurisdiction over the project were thus avoided. The project mainly envisaged construction of multi-purpose storage dams at Tilaiya Konar, Maithon and Panchet. At Durgapur a barrage 692 metres long and more than 11 metres high over the Damodar provided water for irrigation to the canals linked with the scheme. The total power capacity of the D.V.C. is 1181 M.W. the major portion of which, however, is from the three hydel power stations. Durgapur had been linked with Kolkatta by a navigation canal 137 km long which is also a part of the Damodar valley scheme. The Bhakra –Nangal Project : This is the largest multi-purpose project in India, jointly undertaken by the states of the Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. It has the following main features. 1. A dam across th river Sutlej called the Bhakra dam was built at the foot of the Sivalik region range in Himachal Pradesh. The reserve formed by this dam is known as the Govindsagar lake and has a storage capacity of 9868 million cu. Metres. It is 226 meter high and is the highest straight gravity dam in the world. It is 518 m long and has a maximum width of 362 m. 2. The Nangal dam was built across the river Nangal approximately 13 km downstream of the Bhakra dam. This is a massive concrete construction 305 meter long 121 m wide and 29 metre high. The purpose of this dam was to take care of the fluctuating flows from the Bhakra reservoir and check and control the water flow towards the power houses at Nangal and the irrigation canals. 3. There are four power houses connected with the system. Two of them are at Bhakra and have capacities of450 MW and 600 MW. There are two smaller power houses at Ganguval and Kotla both being worked by the waters from the Nangal Hydel canal. The total hydel capacity of the Bhakra Nangal system is 1204 MW. 4. The Rihand Dam is a straight gravity dam 91 meter high and 934 meters long with a spillway of 190 meters. It has been built over the Rihand river in Mizapur district. The reservoir created by the dam is known as Govindha Ballabh Pant Sagar capable of holding 10,603 million cum of water and spread over 466 sq.km. The power house associated with the project has a capacity of 3,00,000 kw, in 6 units of 50,000 kw each. Another aspect of the Rihand Project is the attention paid to development of fisheries, Water sports and tourism. Navigational facilities have also been introduced along with flood control in Rihand and Some along with forestation schemes in Rewa bringing multi-dimensional benefits

350 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book to the people of this region. The Chambal Project: This is an inter-state project involving Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The chambal river water flowing in the gorge between Chaurasigarh and Kota are harnessed in three storage dams across the river. A masonry concrete dam utilizing the drop of 122 meters between the two points on the gorge is located at Kota. At Chaurasigarh the 64 m high Gandhisagar dam has a capacity of 7746 million cu. Meters. Five generators have been installed at the Gandhisagar dam. Further down stream the Kotah barrage stores water to feed the canals on the right and left banks. This barrage is 39 meters high and 552 meters long with a storage capacity of 99 million cubic meters. Hydel Power from Gandhisagar power station feeds the Chambal power grid in Rajasthan and M.P. Water in the canals is perpetually available for irrigation purposes. The Gandak Project: This project involves the government of Nepal also. In accordance with an agreement signed in 1959, this became a joint venture of the states of U.P. and Bihar and the Government of Nepal, all three of whom obtain irrigation and power facilities from this project. The main features of this project are the construction of a barrage across the Gandak at Balmikinagar in Bihar, four canals – two of which will be in India and two in Nepal – and a small power house. Half of the barrage is in Nepal. The eastern canal in Nepal is more than 80 km long and was opened in 1972. This canal has an irrigation potential of 4.84 lakh hectares in Saran district of Bihar and 1.66 lakh hectares in Gorakhpur and Deoria districts of U.P. and 16,400 hectares in the Bhairwa district of Nepal. The power house having a capacity of 15 M.W. on the main western canal in the Nepalese territory was transferred to Nepal as a gift from India. The Nagarjuna Sagar Project: Nandikonda village which is about 144 km from Hyderabad, is the site of the Nagarjuna Sagar Project. Here across the Krishna river, a 1450 metre long masonry dam has been built. Two canals, one on each side of the river, comprise the irrigation system’s main outlets. Irrigation facilities over an area of 8.30 lakh hectares in Khamman, West Godavari, Guntur, Kumooi and Nellore districts are available from this project. A hydel component is also included in this project with a power house consisting of two units of 50 M.W. capacity each at the foot of the Nagarjuna Sagar dam. The Kosi Project: This Project also involves the Government of Nepal. It is an international project executed by the State of Bihar in India but sharing the resources and benefits with Nepal in terms of an agreement entered into in 1954 and revised in 1966. The main work is the construction of a dam on the Kosi river near Hanumatnagar on the indo-Nepal border, flood embankments on both banks of the river in the Bihar districts of Saharsa and Darbhanga and adjoining areas of Nepal, and three canal system in Bihar and Nepal. The Kosi Power House has capacity of 20 M.W. Half of this power is made available to Nepal and the other half is utilized in Bihar Tungabhadra Project: This is a joint undertaking by the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to harness the resource potential of the river Tungabhadra. It involves the construction of a dam over 49 metres high across the river at Mallapuram in Bellary district of Karnataka. On the left

GS I - Geography / 351 side is a Power House and a 227 kilometer long canal, called the Left Bank Canal. Two power houses and a 349 km long canal called the Low level Canal and a High Level Canal 196 km in length on the right side are the other parts of the scheme. The Beas Project : This is a tripartite venture of the states of Rajasthan the Punjab and Hariyana and is a bold step towards bringing parts of north-western Rajasthan, which have been encroached upon by the That desert, under the plough. A dam across the Sutlej at harika provides the water for the Rajasthan feeder canal which feeds the Rajasthan main Canal. The Beas project consists of two segments - (i) the beas-Sutlej link and (ii) the beas dam at Pong. The Beas-Sutlej link involves a 61 m high deivers in dam at Pandoh and of 27 km long conductor tunnels and hydal channels leading to a power house at Dewar with a capacity of 660 M.W. The Pong dam is mainly for irrigation and ensures water supply to the Rajasthan canals during the dry season. Perennial irrigation facilities are provided to the Punjab, Hariyana and Rajasthan under this scheme. There is also a hydel power component in the pong dam with a power component in the pong dam with a power plant of 240 M.W. and a potential for having a further two units of 60 M.W. each. The Hirakud Project : The Hirakud project has the pride of place in the schemes initiated for the development of Orissa. The scheme was started in 1948 soon after independence and the entire power potential was achieved in 1964 and the full irrigation potential reached during the Fourth potential reached during the Fourth plan period. Development of power and irrigation and flood control are the principal objectives of the Hirakud Multi-Purpose Project. The Hirakud Dam is one of the longest in the World (4801 metres). The project is similar to the D.V.G. which extended over two states, was necessary for this project. The Hirakud project was aimed at harnessing the waters of the river mahanadi by a series of three dams to provide for irrigation facilities and a hydel power. Koyna Hydro –electric Project: A high dam built across the Koyna at Deshmukhawadi near Helwak in Satara district of Maharashtra is the basis of this project. The reservoir has a gross storage capacity of 277.53 crore cu.meters. The power house which is beneath the surface and built underground has an installed capacity of 540 M.W. A further potential of 320 M.W. was added during the Fifth Plan. Sharavati Hydro-electric Project: This was completed in 1972 and is one of the largest hydro-electric projects in India. The main dam is built across the Sharavati near Linganmakki with a balancing dam near jog falls at Talakklale in.... district of Karnataka. The Linganmakki reservoir has a capacity of 441.58 crore cu. Meters. The Talakalale reservoir can hold 14.06 crore cu. Meters of water. The power house can generate 891 M.W. of power and is an important source of electric power in the region. Kallnadi Hydro-electric Project. Among the west-flowing rivers of the Sahyadris, Kalinadi has an enormous power potential. A series of dams across the river arid its two tributaries from the major part of this scheme. Thus, the above mentioned major projects and a number of other medium and small projects in different parts of India have helped to overcome not only floods and drought problems but also to increase our total food Production.

352 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book MINERALS & POWER RSOURCES Introduction: Minerals and Power Resources form the basis of industrial development. In a country like India agriculture and industry are Symbiotic. The large rural population provides market and labour both for minerals and industries. Industrial products are obtained by exploiting and processing of minerals with the help of power resources. These products further help in constructing dams, canals, producing fertilizers and machinery for rural improvement. India’s minerals resources are sufficiently rich and varied. Until recently mineral exploitation and their utilization in the country received little attention .But with the introduction of five year plans and the increasing needs and importance of industrial products, attention has been given to exploration and utilization of mineral resources in the country. Various agencies have been established in the public sector to undertake survey and mining of minerals. ‘Geological Survey of India’, ‘Directorate of Mining’, ‘Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC)’, National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC)’are the leading organizations in the exploration and mining of minerals. In a vast country like India minerals and power resources are widely distributed. But careful studies show that the most important minerals and power resources like iron ore, coal, crude oil etc.. are very unevenly distributed in the country. Classification of Minerals - There are a large number of minerals in the world. Therefore, classification of minerals becomes essential for the purpose of their study. They can be classified in various ways. According to the nature and uses of minerals they can be classified as follows: Dr. D. N. Wadia has classified India’s Minerals according to its Industrial Importance. According to him Indian Minerals can be classified in four groups: 1. Minerals that have exportable surplus- a. Iron Ore, b. Mica, c. Thorium, d. Titanium 2. Minerals that have an important share in export a. Manganese, b.Bauxite, c. Granite, d. Monazite 3. Self sufficient minerals in India- a. Coal, b. Marble, c. Slate, d. Limestone e. Gypsum, f. Borax, g. Antimony 4. Minerals which India imports due to small deposits a. Crude oil and petroleum, b. Silver, c. Nickel d. Tin, e. Zinc, f. Lead, g. Platinum, h. Potash i. Mercury, j. Tungsten, k.Copper Even though this classification is also useful over a period of time a particular mineral may come under some other group. Hence, the earlier classification is more useful. Distribution and utilization of Minerals In general mineral resources are widely distributed in India but the careful study of the careful study of the distributional map shows an uneven distribution. According to Dr. Wadia, ‘ Natural gas has made a very unequal territorial distribution of minerals in the Indian Region.’ Coal, crude oil, iron ore, mica, bauxite are distributed unevenly and extremely in the country. The states like Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal are rich with a variety of minerals while states like Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh have few minerals. Due to such uneven distribution, development of mining and industries also show unequal distribution in the country.

GS I - Geography / 353 1. Iron Ore: India is one of the worlds best endowed countries in the quantity and quality of iron ore. India has 20% of iron reserves in the world. Quality of Indian iron ores is very high. Most of the iron ore found in India is of Hematite and Magnetite type which are the best quality ores in the world. They have more than 60% of iron in them and have red or black colour due to which they are also termed ‘Red Ores’ or ‘Black Ores’. Distribution : Most of the Indian States have iron ore deposits of some form, but large reserves are concentrated in Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa, while, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have small reserves. i) Orissa : India’s 50% high grade iron ore reserves are concentrated in this state. Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar districts of north Orissa have the most important iron ore mines. The ores are rich, massive, hard, compact and dark brown in colour with low silica, sulphur. The principal deposits occur in a series of hill ranges across Sundergarh and Mayurbhanj districts. Out of these Banaigarh range of Sundergarh is the chief mining area. Besides Gorumahisani, sulaipat, Badampahar in Phillora in Keonjhar district also occur in Ganjam and sambalpur districts. Almost all these deposits are found in several localities supplying raw material to Rourkela, Bokaro and Jamshedpur iron and steel industries. A sizeable portion of iron ore is exported to Japan. ii. Bihar : Commercial exploitation of iron ore in India stated first in the Singhbhum district of Bihar. This is located along the border of North Orissa iron ore belt suggesting the geographical continuity of the iron ore reserves. The state produces 16% of India’s production. The most important deposits occur near Notu Buru, Noamundi, Pansira Buru, Gua and Sasangda in the Kalhan area of Singhbhum. Magnetite ore occurs near Daltonganj in Palamau district. Less importanat deposites occure in Bhagalpur., Dhanabad, Hajaribaug, Santhal pargana and Ranchi districts. Burnpur and Kulti steel plants receive iron ore from the above mining centers in the state. iii. Madhya Pradesh : This large state contributes 25% reserves and production each in India. Most of the reserves are located in 14 isolated areas of Bastar and Durg districts. The ores are massive, hard, compact and well jointed. Bailadila range, Raoghat area in Baster and Dhalli Rajhara range in Durg district are the chief mining areas. In Jabalpur district some minor deposites have been found recently. The ore is mainly used by the Bhilai steel plant. iv. Goa : Although this small state contributes 30% of India’s production, the quality of iron ore is inferior. The have 50 to 55% of iron along with 15% of manganese content; hence they are graded as manganiferrous black ores. Important deposits occure in Pirna- Adolpate Asnora, Kundeanam,Pissutarn areas of Gowariwadhona in Chhindwada and Tirodi, Katang, Jiri, UKWA, Sitapathar Sukri, and Miragpur in Balaghat district.Tirodi and UKWA are large mines. v. Andhra Pradesh : This state is an important producer of manganese ore. The major deposits occur near kodur,

354 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book devada, Garbham, Sonpriam, Batura, Sivarma in the Shrikakulam district. Small amount is also mined in Vishakhapattanam district. vi. Goa : In this small state manganese mines are scattered all over the state. Most of them are near iron deposits, hence the amount of iron content is also large in this ore. Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan also produce small quantities of manganese in the country. As a result of expansion of Indian Iron and Steel as well as ferromanganese industries the consumption of manganese has increased in recent years. All the iron and steel plants in the country use about 6 to 8 lakh tones of manganese ore. The second largest consumer are ferro-manganese plants in the country. The important ones of these are at Rayagada and Joda in Orissa. Tumsuar, and Kamptee in Maharashtra Bhadravati and Dandeli in Karnataka. They use 4 lakh tones of manganese per year. The remaining 5 to 6 lakh tones of manganese is exported. Japan is an important buyer of Indian manganese. U.S.A., U.K. and Belgium are the remaining countries that import Indian manganese. 2. Bauxite - Bauxite is a non-ferrous metallic mineral which is the Hydro oxide of Aluminium. The country is not only self-sufficient but also exports some some bauxite. Nearly half of the Bauxite reserves of the country are high grade containing about 50% of Aluminium oxide. Distribution : Bauxite deposits in the country are widely distributed, but they are associated with laterites and occur as blankets or cappings at high plateaus. Major reserves occur in Bihar Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Goa i) Bihar : About 38% of the country’s total production of Bauxite is contributed in Bihar. The important mines are located in Palamau, Ranchi, Monghry and Shahabad. The richest deposits are in the western parts of Ranchi district including Bagru pahar, Jamirapat and Pakhrapt. ii) Madhya Pradesh : This large state has28% reserves and 22% of production. Most of the deposits occur in the eastern part of the state. There are three important areas in the state. Maikal range. Amarkantak plateau and Katni area of Jabalpur district are the three main areas occupying Bilaspur, Durg, Balaghat and mandia districts. The important mining centres are Surguja, Jashpur, Shahdol. Mandol., Satna, Sibapura and Guna iii)Maharashtra : As compared to the deposits of Bauxite, production is comparatively less accounting for only 18% in Maharashtra. Bauxite deposits occur in Lokhapur Raigad, Thane, Satara and Ratnagiri districts. Dhanagarwadi, Udgir, Radhanagari in Kolhapur district have rich to medium grade deposits. The other centres of mining are Velas, Nandgaon, Supegaon and Umbershet scattered in all the above districts. iv)Gujarat : With nearly 12% of reserves and 12% of production Gujarat is one of the important Bauxite producing states in the country. The deposits occur in pockets between the Gulf of Kutch and Arablan sea through Bhavanagar, Junagarh and Amerll districts. The important deposits are located around Bhatia, Kendi, Lambam Virpur in Hamnagar district small deposits are also found in Kheda and kutch districts.

GS I - Geography / 355 v) Tamilnadu : The hilly areas of the state have Bauxite deposits. Salem, nilgiri, Kodaikanal, Coimbatore have major mining centres. vi)Karanataka : Bauxite deposits of this state occur in the north western part which is in continuation with Maharashtra –Goa Bauxite belt. Karle hills, Jamboti, Bankur-Navge ridge, Kinlye and Kirvale in Belgaum district have rich bauxite deposits and production. Besides the above states, Goa, U.P. Orissa, A.P. also have some bauxite which is consumed within the country itself. Out of the total production 77% is used by the Aluminium industry. While the remaining is used by chemical, sugar and cement industries. Recently India has started exporting Bauxite in small quantities to Japan, U.K. and Germany. 3. Copper : Copper is one of the non-ferrous metals. India is critically deficient and therefore has to depend on imports. Electrical industry is the largest consumer of copper. The country produces small quantities of its annuals requirement. Copper occurs in the form of sulphides. The deposits are confined to a few well known mineralized districts in the Peninsular India. Distribution - Copper ore occurs both in ancient Indian crystalline rocks and the younger rock formations. Some of them are metamorphised rocks. The most important deposits are found in Bihar, Rajasthan, Andha Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Production of Copper State Production % of production (Lakh tons) Bihar 12.80 62.4 Rajasthan 2.00 9.5 Karnataka 0.70 3.4 i) Bihar : Singhbhum district of Bihar has India’s 50% of reserves. The major centres include Mosabani, Rakha, Dhobani, Surda, Pathargarh, Nandup and Tamapahar. The belt has a length of 130 km from Rakha to Mosabani and Sungri. The Rakha copper project and Hindustan Copper Ltd. Exploit the reserves for utilization. The second zone follows the follows the Lata Pahar fault to the south of the above belt in the district. The other districts like Hazaribag, Santhal paragana, Gayc and Palama also have small deposits of copper. The state produces nearly 63% of the country’s production. 2) Rajasthan :Reserves of copper in this state are scattered at several places. The Khetri-Singhana area in Jhunjhunu district and Kho-Dariba area in Alwar district have the most important deposits. The are bearing area runs in the north-east-south-west direction for a distance of 24 km with a width of 3 to 5 km. Some copper is also found in Uddipur and Bhilwara districts. 3) The other copper producing states are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. But their share is negligible. POWER RESOURCES : Power resources are the most important because they are able to transform the varieties of raw materials into finished products. The utility and the value of any product thus increases due to its transformation with the help of

356 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book power resources. Power resources are classified into TWO basic groups, viz. a) Conventional Power Resources and (b) non-conventional Power Resoruces. b) Coal, crude oil, natural gas, hydel power are the conventional power resources while thermal power nuclear power, bio gas, tidal power, solar energy are the non-conventional power resources. Coal, crude oil, natural gas are the exhaustible resources of power. Their reserves are now limited in the world. Therefore, the use of non-conventional power resources has become essential and important. Except hydel power the conventional power resources are mineral based. While in the non-conventional group thermal power and nuclear power are mineral based. Minerals are exhaustible and man is not able to create them at will. 1. Coal : Coal is the oldest resource in the world. It is a solid black coloured substance. It is a kind of sedimentary rock. India produces about 3% of world’s coal production and ranks eighth in the world. Reserves are reasonable for the medium and poor quality coal but relatively low for essential cooking coal, Indian coal occurs in the Lower Gondwana and Tertiary rock formations. Hence, accordingly, it is classified into two groups namely Gondwana coal and Tertiary coal. The quality of Gondwana coal is good. Major coal production is obtained from the old Gondwana coal. It is largely concentrated in West Bengal.Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. While the tertiary cola is of recent origin and occurs in the extra peninsular region which includes Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu Kashmir (Map 5.2) Distribution - Coal is very unevenly distributed Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh account for about 85% of the total reserves and production of the coal in the country, Orissa, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh account for 14% and remaining is accounted by North Eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir. 1) Bihar : Bihar is the most important state in India in reserves as well as production of coal. It shares 44% and 41% reserves and production respectively. Coal occurs in Dhanabad, Hazaribag and Palamau districts. a) The leading coal field of India namely Jharla is located in Dhanabad district. It has Bituminous coal which occupies an area of 436.50 sq.km. Chandrapura is the second coal mining area in this district but it has low grade coal. It is mainly used to produce thermal power. b) In Hazaribag district the major coal fields are found at Bokoro, Giridhil, Karanpura and Ramgarh. Bokaro fields lie in Bokaro river valley. Karanpura field lies to the west of Bokaro which spreads in an area of 1500 sq.km. It produces cooking coal amounting next to Jharia production. Giridhil coal field lies to the south west of Giridih town and is spread in an area of 28.5 sq.m. The ramgarh coal field lies to the west of Karanpura field. c) The coal fields of Palamau district are located at Auranga, Daltonganj and Hutar. The quality is medium and hence is relatively less important. ii) West Bengal : This state, shares reserves and production nearly of equal quantity, i.e. ground 24% each respectively. The most important coal field in the state is Raniganj which is also the second in the country next to Jharia of Bihar. It occupies an area of 1067 sq.km. in Burdwan district. It produces steam coal used largely by the Indian Railways Dishergarh in Purulia is also one of the

GS I - Geography / 357 important coal fields lying close to Raniganj. Most of the coal is used for producing thermal power. iii) Madhya Pradesh : With nearly 20% of production and 20% of reserves, Madhya Pradesh is the third largest coal producing state in the country. Coal deposits occur in Sidhi, Shahdol, Chhindwada, Bilaspur and Surguja district. Singrauni coal field in Shahdol and Sidhi district is the largest in the state. It spreads over 300 sq.km. Sohagpur along Kathi Bilaspur Railway is the second most important coal field in the state. Korba in Bilaspur is another important coal field. The Pench Kanhan Tawa Valley in Chhindwada district has large reserves of semi cooking coal. In surguja district Jhagarkhand, Kharsia and Koregarh are important coal fields. iv) Andhra Pradesh : The state ranks 4th in the country contributing 9% of country’s production. Coal occurs in the valley of river Godavari. Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Kharmmam and West Godavari district are located in this area of Godavari valley. Mining is at present confined to Singrani, Kothaguden and Tandur centres. The coal is used for thermal power generation and fertilizer plant in the state v) Orissa : Even if the state shares only 2% of country’s production it has third ranking coal field in the country, Talchir coal field stretching eastward from Talchir is next to Jharia and Raniganj in quality of coal, it is used for thermal power generation and steam and gas production. Sambalpur and Sundergarh districts also have some coal. vi) Maharashtra : The state contributes 3% of reserves and 4% of country’s production. Chandrapur, Yeotmal and Nagpur districts most of the state’s coal. The Wardha Valley coal field lies at chandrapur, Ballarpur, Bhughus and Warora mining centres. In Yeotmal, Wun coal field and in Nagpur, Kamptee coal fields have next in importance to those of Chandrapur. All the coal is used for generating thermal power and railways. Besides the above regions a band of coal bearing rocks containing low grade coal occurs along the foot hills of Himalayas through Assam. Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. Coal is by far the most important source of commercial energy in India contributing 65% of its total requirements. It is still used as basic fuel in many industries. Thermal power generation also depends upon coal. Besides it is used in chemical and fertilizer industry as well as by Indian Railways. 2. Petroleum (Map 5.2) - Petroleum is obtained from crude oil which is a mixture of hydrocarbons. Petroleum is used chiefly as motive power lubricating oil, and source of raw materials for chemical industry. Most of the petroleum reserves in India are associated with anticlines and faults of Tertiary time. Being lighter than water crude oil and gas get collected in the anticlines and fault and traps above the oil. Though 42% of India’s land portion has sedimentary rocks only a small fraction of Tertiary times has oil reserves. Most of the oil bearing rocks lie in Assam. Arakan region and Gujarat areas.

358 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book India produces 2% of the Petroleum in the world. The country has only 0.5% of reserves. Due to lack of technical knowledge and shortage of capital investment exploration of oil was not possible in India for a long time. But in 1956 Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) was established especially to explore and develop oil resources. In 1980 India produced 11.2 million metric tons of oil against the world production of 2350 million metric tons. Table 5.2 : Production of Petroleum in India Year Petroleum Production (million tons) 1985-86 30.2 1986-87 30.5 1987-88 30.1 1988-89 31.6 1989-90 33.7 1990-91 33.3 1991-92 41.0 Recently India’s offshore area have been explored by ONGC due to which there is increase in production. Offshore areas have Mesozoic and Tertiary rocks of marine origin. Oil bearing strata are located in the Cambay region, the Bassein region, the Mid South-Tapi region. TheGodavari and Krishna detas off coast of Cauvery, Mahanadi, West Bengal coast and Andaman Nicobar Islands. Distribution - India’s most important oil bearing area is in the eastern part of the Himalayan Arc. This mainly includes Assam. i) Assam : The oil bearing belt in Assam runs from extreme North-east of Assam to the Eastern border of the Brahmaputra and Surma valleys. The important districts in this area are Lakhimpur and Cachar. a) Lakhimpur : The famous Digboi oil field of India is located in this district. Tehre are nearly 1000 wells. It covers an area of 4 sq.km is the biggest field in India. Naharkatiya located at a distance of 32 km from Digboi also is an important oil producing centre. It has 130 wells and second largest producing region. Moran,40 km south west of Digboi, Bappapung, Hansapung, Hugirijang are other centres of production in this district. b) Cachar : Geographically it is a Surma region. Drilling of oil started long back in 1910. But due to poor quality of oil production is less. The important centres are Badarpur, Masimpur, Patharia and Numati near Guwahati. Assam has great importance in the petroleum production of India. The first oil well in the country was drilled in Assam at Nahar pong in 1854. Since then the state is contributing largest share of Petroleum production. ii) Gujarat : It is the second important state in the country. The first oil well of the state was drilled in 1958. The important centres of production are Lunje in Cambay region and Ankaleshwar and

GS I - Geography / 359 Kalol near Bharuch. iii) Maharashtra : In 1974 the most productive oil field was discovered near Bombay and named as Bombay High Oil Field. It occupies an area of 2000 sq.km. in Arabian Sea off Bombay coast. The wells are located at a distance of 150 km south west of Bombay in continental shelf of Arabian Sea. The uplifted dome like structure of rock is called Bombay High. In 1978 a pipe line was completed for transporting oil to the mainland near Uran and then it is taken to Trombay for refining. Out of the total 1558 wells that are drilled 840 wells were found to be oil bearing and 103 gas bearing. These are on shore wells. After 1980 offshore wells were drilled. Out of 104 wells, 59 wells have oil and 11 well have gas. iv)Punjab : The state has oil production only at Jwalamukhi which started in 1957. Besides the above region Godavari delta in Andhra Pradesh also has some oil. The oil refineries in India are located at Guwahati, Barauni, Digboi, Koyali, Madras, Bombay, Cochin, Haldla, Mathura and Vishakhapattanam. 3. Natural Gas : Natural gas is obtained from oil wells. Crude petroleum consists of a mixture of hydrocarbons in solid, liquid, gaseous form. This gaseous form is called the natural gas, which is obtained in the refining of crude oil at various temperatures sometimes. In nature itself oil and gas are separated as gas is more lighter. Gas seepage therefore occurs first and this indicates the presence of oil in that area deeper. Gas Authority of India Ltd., was incorporated in 1984 for transportation, processing and marketing of gas. It is converted in to LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) form under pressure and then transported and marketed. Production of natural gas in 1990-91 was18 billion cubic meters as compared to 17 billion cubic meters in 89-90. Utilization of natural gas during 90-91 was 12.8 billion cu.mt. as compared to11.2 billion cu.mt. during 89-90. As facilities for transporting and marketing are limited oil gas cannot be utilized. The Gas Authority of India has started setting up a pipeline across country to transport natural gas economically. The company has taken up the construction of the Tatipaka-kakinada pipeline in Andhra Pradesh and several other pipeline in and around Delhi and Maharashtra. Apart from the LPG recovery plant at Vijayapur in Madhya Pradesh, the company also proposes to set up plants a Gandhar, Hazira, Usar and Lakwa. The company also proposes to set up the Bombay City Gas Distribution Project. The company has successfully build underwater pipeline from Bombay high to the mainland upto Uran. 3. Hydel power : Electricity obtained from water is called Hydel Power of Hydro-electricity, Mechanical energy of flowing water is converted into electrical energy which forms an important source of power. Electricity has a wide range of applications in the economic development. India has developed so for about 25% of her total water power potential. Hydel power generation depends upon certain geographic and economic factors. Relief, measure and period of rainfall, distance between the areas of production and demand are geographical factors while capital investment, development of industries are the economics factors (Map)

360 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book Hydel power generation in India is greatly influenced by monsoon rainfall. Because of the uncertainty of amount and period of rainfall the volume of water in rivers show large variation. Once the monsoon is over there is a prolonged dry period. For generating hydel power water has to be stored by constructing dams. Due to the large geographical area of the country the distance between the areas of production and the areas of demand is large. Industries need constant and large supply of electricity. All the above factors limit hydel power generation in the country. Distribution Although almost every state and union territory in India produces some kind of electricity, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamilnadu, West Bengal, Gujarat are the leading states accounting for 50% of the total electricity generated in the country. Himalayas, Western Ghats and other hilly portions in the country are the favourable areas for generation of hydel power. Hence the major hydel power projects are located in these regions. i) Maharashtra : Maharashtra leads the country in terms of developed potential of electricity. The Sahyadris along the Western part of Maharashtra are the most favourable areas for generation of hydel power. Tata hydel power station at Khopoli Koyana Project near Karad, Valtarna Hydro-electric project near Nashik are the leading power generating projects in the state. ii) Tamilnadu : North-Western part of Tamilnadu is occupied by Nilgiri and . Mettur, Kodayar, Periyar, Kundah, Pandiyar are the leading hydel power projects that are located in this favourable region. iii)Uttar Pradesh : In this densely populated state the western hilly and mountainous Himalayas and its foot hills are the most favourable areas for hydel power generation. The important projects include Upper Ganga Canal Power Project, Sharda Project, Ramganga, Rihand and Yamuna Hydel power stations. iv)Karnataka : This state largely depends upon hydel power due to absence of coal and petroleum. The important hydel power projects include Jog project on river Sharavati in western ghats. Tungabhadra and Shivasamudram schemes. v) Andhra Pradesh : This state has large rivers like Godavari and Krishna. Hence it has developed certain hydel power projects. Machkund,Nagarjunasgar, Sileru, Tungabhadra and Sri Shallam are major hydel power projects on these two rivers and their tributaries. vi)Kerala : This elongated small state has large potential for hydel powergeneration. The southern part of the western ghats, Patni, Cardamom and Anaimalai hills are the most favourable areas. The iddiki, Kuttiyadi, Saborigiri, Sholayar are important hydro-electricity projects. After independence India has developed number of multi-purpose projects Hydel power generation is one of the important aim of these projects. Bhakra-Nangal Project (Punjab), Damodar Valley project and Tista Valley Project (Bihar and West Bengal together), Gandak-Kosi project are multi-purpose projects in India. Most of them are in North India.

GS I - Geography / 361 4. Thermal Power (Map 5.3) Thermal power means electricity obtained from the thermal energy of the cola suitable for thermal power or oil or natural gas. Such plants are more economic to construct and have a shorter gestation period. In thermal power generation Maharashtra. Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Gujarat are the leading states while Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, the Punjab, Orissa produce very small amount of thermal power. In Maharashtra important thermal power stations are at Koradi, Nashik, Trombay, Paras, Khaperkheda and Parali. In Uttar Pradesh, Harduaganj (Aligarh), Kanpur, renusagar and Obra (mirzapur) have thermal power stations. A super thermal power station with a installed capacity of 2000 mw is recently completed at Singrauli. West Bengal has large reserves of low grade coal suitable for thermal power generation hence out of the total generatin of electricity major share is from thermal power. Bandel, Calcutta and Durgapur are the important thermal power stations. Due to shortage of coal and major rivers unsuitable for hydel power, Gujarat had a large shortage of electricity for many years. However, with a completion of Ankelshwar and Dhuvaran thermal power stations the power shortage has decreased, After the completion of Ukai thermal station this shortage will be further decreased. Besides the above thermal power stations in various states, Amarkanatak, Korba, and Satpura in Madhya Pradesh, Ramagunderm in Punjab, Nellor, Barauni and Patratu in Bihar are the other thermal power statins in the country. 5. Nuclear Power (Map ) : During the last few decades a new major source of energy has been discovered as a result of new processes applied to minerals such as uranium, thorium, radium and lithium. Energy is produced by fusing the atoms in which nuclear parts of these elements play an important role, hence it is called Nuclear or Atomic Energy. India has world’s largest reserves of moazite the principal source of thorium and some reserves of Uranium. To develop nuclear energy, government of India established th Department of Atomic Energy in 1956. India’s first nuclear power station of Tarapur near Bombay started generating nuclear power in 1969. Then other stations are installed at Kota Ranapratap Sagar (Rajasthan) Kalpakkam (Tamilnadu) and Narora (U.P.) To meet the fuel and heavy water requirements of the nuclear stations a nuclear fuel complex has been set at Hyderabad, Baroda, Tuticorn and Nagaland. The research reactors, four in number, are situated at Trombay and they are under the control of BARC. In generating nuclear power large capital investment and high technical knowledge are required. Even though in the long run nuclear energy is the cheaper source of energy in a developing country like India they are certain limitations with respect to the above mentioned factors as compared to the developed countries. 6. Non-Conventional Sources of Energy The conventional sources of energy (like coal, petroleum, wood) are exhaustible power resources. Their reserves are limited in the earth. To meet the growing demand of energy and to use conventional sources more economically the new inexhaustible sources of energy have been developed. These are not conventional sources of energy. They include Biogas, Solar photovoltaic cells, Wind and Tidal energy, Solar Thermal energy etc. To develop these sources

362 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book the Department of Non-conventional Energy Sources was constituted in 1982. The techno- economic viability of a number of systems and devices based on renewable energy sources has been demonstrated successfully in the domestic, commercial and industrial sectors. Programmes relating to the new and renewable sources of energy not only provide energy in a decentralized manner but also have a direct relevance to forestation, improvement in the environment, energy conservation, employment generation, upgradation of health and bio-fertilizer production. In planning and implementing the programmes by the Non-conventional Energy Department, particular care is taken to elicit the co-operation of local communities and to meet their small needs for small power, such as energy for cooking supply of water and street lighting. The programmes are particularly useful in remote and hilly areas. Following are some of the important devices developed in India. i) Biogas development: Biogas is obtained from decomposition of organic matter Biogas is clean, cheap and convenient cooking fuel in gaseous form, It can also be used for lighting, running small motors for drawing water and providing power for cottage industries. The slurry from biogas plant is enriched manure. Under this scheme 15.7 lakh family size and about 820 large institutional biogas plants have been set up. Over 96,000 latrine linked biogas plants have been developed up to 1992 in the country. This will also help in improving the sanitary conditions in villages. ii) Improved chulha : In order to save fuel and reduce the drudgery of women, improved chulha was manufactured in 1983. It can save upto 700 kg. of wood equivalent annually. The thermal efficency ranges from 20 to 35% as compared to 5 to 10% for traditional chulha. Upto 1992, 125 lakh such chulhas have been installed in the rural areas of the country. iii) Solar Thermal Energy : With the use of solar energy low grade thermal technologies have been developed for water heating, cooking room heating, timber kins, water desalination and crop drying. A total solar collective area of 21.3 lakh sq. meters have been installed upto 1992. iv) Solar Photovoltaic Programme : Solar photovoltaic (SPV) technology enable the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity. The SPV technology has several applications such as street and domestic lighting, pumping of water, railway signaling operating, T.V. Sets, etc. Upto 1992, 8100 villages have been provided with SVP systems 5000 spv bulbs of fixed and portable type also have been provided. v) Wind Energy : Wind energy is another significant source of energy. An aggregate capacity of 40 mw has been installed upto 1992 and above 11 crore units of electricity have been produced. At Lamba in Gujarat a wind farm of 10 MW capacity, the largest in Asia, has been installed. vi)Biomass Programme : It seeks to develop fast growing species of trees and plants to meet the requirement of fuel, fodder and power. For harnessing power from biomass and other wastes gasifier, and striling engine system are being developed. A 100 kw gasifier system was established at Port Blair and a 15 kw sugarcane water based system is under field evaluation.

GS I - Geography / 363 5. Conservation of Minerals and Power Resources : Eventhough minerals and power resources are widely distributed in the country they have to be conserved and used economically to last for longer period of time. Minerals once used are gone for ever. With the exhaustion of their reserves ruined sites and only ghost towns, are now found at such places. Minerals and power resources are however highly exhaustible in the literal sense of the term. Substitutes of minerals are not available either. Some metals are substituted by plastic or similar kind of synthetic materials, but plastic also is obtained from coal and other raw material. If we continue to use the minerals and power resources at the present rate. Most of the important minerals like coal, crude oil, copper, aluminium etc. will be exhausted within next 50 to 1000 years. All this suggests that there is great need to conserve these minerals and power resources. According to some scientists the export of rich ores of minerals must be reduced. India exports rich iron ore, manganese and mica. This export brings foreign exchange to the country. But still to conserve such minerals some measures are needed. Because of this we cause these minerals within the country for a longer time. Extraction of minerals has also been carried out by wasteful and inefficient methods of exploitation. By using modern technology this can be minimized. Conservation of coal is ensured maximum by new recovery from reserves of coal. In recent year greater application of new technology like open cast technology, long wall mining, blasting gallery method, shield mining are being made to ensure better recovery of coal. To save petroleum it is suggested that we can derive synthetic oil from the quality of brown-non-cooking coal. At Bombay High large quantity of natural gas is burnt in the process every day. This is because facilities are not available to bring it to the main land. Priority should be given to make arrangements for bringing this fast to the coastal region through the pipe line economically which will save the LPG gas and we can use crude oil for a longer period of time. Lastly, people must we made aware of the need to use all resources with almost economy, they must be persuaded and educated to use non-conventional sources of energy. New reserves also must be explored to support conservation. Production of synthetic minerals from the wastes like vegetable refuse needs to be encouraged. In short there are three important measures to conserve minerals and power resources : 1. Use them economically and efficiently 2. Efficient mining and reducing export of rich minerals ores. 3. More and more use of non-conventional energy resources. INDUSTRIES Introduction Most of the material available in nature or produced by man cannot be used directly due to various reasons. The nature and form of such material, its durability are such that they cannot be used in their original form. Even the food grains need certain amount of processing before use. Paddy must be milled to remove the husk to get the grain of rice, wheat must be husked and ground into flour, cotton should be ginned, pressed, spun and woven into cloth for human use. Similarly iron ore must be purified and converted into steel to increase its utility, and durability. Thus, transformation or conversion of any raw material into more useful and valuable form is done by different processes. These processes and the activities related to such a transformation

364 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book is called and Industry. Industries are the indicators of economic development. Development of industries indicate the economic development of any country. More of the industrial development the more is the country developed. As India is an agricultural country much attention was not paid to the development of industries for a very long time. Most of the industries were scattered in the form of cottage industries in villages. Such industries were mainly based on local agricultural products. They also had a local market only. There was no mass production and trade was much less. Cotton textile made on handlooms, handicrafts like pottery, bronze articles, metal wares and utensils were the type of industries in those days in India. But after the industrial revolution and especially after independence, Indian Industries have gone through revolutionary changes. Since the beginning of planned development of India for 1951 modern industries began to develop. By accelerating the tempo of manufacturing industries. India’s industrial policy since 1956 has been aiming at the diversification of economy and balanced regional development. As a result of these efforts industries developed and increased in number and now they are widely distributed in the country. But due to the large size of the country and uneven distribution of natural resources the distribution of industries in also uneven. There are certain areas which do not have any important industries. Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Bihar, Tamilnadu are the leading states in industrial development, while Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Kerala, Rajasthan, Assam and Karnataka have fewer industries. Though Five Year Plan efforts are being made in minimizing these regional imbalances. Industries can be classified in various ways. Depending upon the raw materials used the number of workers engaged, and the capital invested different industries are divided into different groups. According to the type of raw material used industries can be classified as follows – I) Agro-based industries : The industries that use agricultural products as their basic raw material are called Mineral- based industries; e.g. Aluminum industry, iron and steel industry. II)Forest-based Industries : Forest provides different raw materials. The industries that use such raw materials as their basic raw material are called Forest-based industries. e.g. Paper industry, Match box industry. Similarly, depending upon the size of the industry, the scale of operation, and the capital invested, industries can be classified as large scale and small-scale industries. At the same time depending upon the industrial products the industries can be classified as heavy and light industries. 1) Agro Based Industries: The industries that obtain their raw material from agriculture are called Agro-based industries. Such industries are widely distributed, as India is an agrarian country. Cotton textiles, Sugar, Tea, Rubber, etc are the important example of agro based industries. Such industries usually require cheap and large quantities of raw materials. Hence, they are mostly located in areas where the required raw material is produced. They are also called Raw Material Oriented industries. Sugar industry is the best example of this type. Agro based industries usually provided the consumer products hence they have widely distributed large markets in the country. Textile Industry Agro-based textile industries includes textile, Jute and Silk industry. These industries form a

GS I - Geography / 365 very large sector in India’s industrial economy. These industries are in the forefront of the industrial profile. A. Cotton Textile Industry : The cotton textile is by far the most important industry among the manufacturing industries in India. It has the largest number of industrial working population. Initially the cotton textile was confined to rural India in the form of handloom textiles. The modern cotton textile industry began in 1818 with the beginning of a mill at Calcutta. Now the country has more than 700 mills distributed widely in different states. The mills are scattered in 80 towns of the country. The major concentration is found in Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Tamilnadu. Initially, the industry was developed near the coasts at centers like Mumbai, Calcutta and madras. Import of machinery, export of cotton textiles and warm humid climate along with availability of capital were the favorable factors for such coastal locations. Cotton being a pure raw material it can be stand long distance transport, hence, the industry was market oriented. But now there is a shift in location of this industry in India. Heavy concentration of this industry at the above places and to minimize regional imbalances, the industry is now widely distributed in the interior parts of the country. Ginning Pressing, Carding, Spinning and Weaving are the most important processes involved in cotton textile industry. Out of these ginning, pressing and carding is done near the cotton producing areas and spinning, weaving, dying and printing is carried out nearer to the market places. Instead of composite mills that perform all the processes in the same units now there are various integrated mills that perform a particular kind of process. As a result the industry now has split location which has generated more employment in cotton producing regions of India. Distribution - Although cotton textile industry is widely distributed in India it is more concentrated in the cotton growing tracts of peninsular India and north Indian plains. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka are the important cotton textile manufacturing states. Maharashtra and Gujarat are the leading states as they together contribute 70% of the textile mills. Maharashtra : Maharashtra is the leading state in cotton textile industry with more than 100 mills. Over three lakh workers are engaged in this industry in the state. Favourable climatic and soil conditions for growing cotton, good market availability of skilled labour and capital are the major factors in the development of this industry in the state. Mumbai is the oldest and the largest center of cotton textile production in the country. Good port facilities availability of capital from rich people in Mumbai, cheap skilled labour, good rail and road transport facilities connecting cotton growing regions on the mainland, large market have helped the development of this industry in this city. The city has more than 60 mills now and called ‘Manchester of India’. Apart from Bombay this industry is also developed in the plateau region of Maharashtra. Solapur, Pune, Nagpur, Malegaon, Ahmednagar and Jalgaon are the other important centers of cotton textile production. Gujarat :

366 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book This state has 112 mills which provide employment for two lakh people. Availability of raw cotton, large market of central and northwestern India, long tradition of cloth weaving are the favourable factors for the development of this industry in this state. Ahmedabad is the chief center with nearly 70 mills. It rank next to Bombay in the production of cloth in the country. The other centers in Gujarat include Broach, Barada, Bhavanagar, Surat and Navsar. In recent years the industry has also developed in south India. Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu and Karnataka are the important states producing cotton textiles. Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Madurai, Madras, Tirunevelli, Davangere, Hubli, Bellary, Mysore, are the Major centers of textile Industry in these states. In north India especially around Delhi and Kanpur a larger number of textile mills have come up. The Indian Cotton mills produce more yarn than cloth. Most of the yarn is made from short and medium staple cotton which is mainly produced within the country. The fine and superfine yarn is produced at Bombay, Ahmedabad and Delhi. It is manufactured by importing long staple cotton. India the second largest exporter of cotton textile in the world Former U.S.S.R U.K. Sudan, U.S.A Australia, France, Sri Lanka, Singapore provide the most valuable markets for Indian Cotton Fabrics. India’s Cotton textile Industry is facing certain problems. Popularity and durability of synthetic fibre and cloth, old out-moded machinery declining production, strikes and lay-offs are some such problems that are faced by the industry. To overcome these difficulties the government has taken over some of the sick mills and has made a new textile policy. B. Jute Industry (Map) : Jute textile Industry in India has a long historical background. Jute is a fabric crop that grows in warm-humid climate. The first jute mill was started in Calcutta in 1850 and it became a foreign exchange earner in a short time. But after 1947, due to partition 80% of the jute growing region of Ganga-Brahmaputra delta went into East Pakistan (i.e. present BanglaDesh). As a result Jute textile production declined. Efforts were made again to increase the production of Jute within the country, especially after the third Five Year Plan. Now India has become self- sufficient in Jute Textiles. Most of the jute mills are located near the jute producing states of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh. There are 110 mills in the country producing 1428.5 thousand tones of Jute textiles in 1990-91. Out of the total mills in the country, 101 mills are located within a radius of 65 km of Calcutta along the lower. Hooghly river, (Refer to Map 6.1) Thus West Bengal is the chief producing state. Bansberia, Uluberia, Halishahr and Birlapur are the jute textile producing centres on both banks of Hooghly river. Jute producing is also now extended in the districts of Murshidabad, Nadia, 24 Paranganas, Cooch Bihar, West Darjeeling, Hooghly and Malda inWest Bengal. These districts provide most of the raw jute needed by the industry. Mills are relatively large, hence they consume all the jute produced. Availability of cheap skilled labour, cheap river transport and coal from Raniganj coal field within the state have favoured the development of jute textile industry. In recent years there has been a slight dispersal of this industry into other states. This is due to the availability of raw jute and increasing demand from other areas of the country. Most of

GS I - Geography / 367 the units are small. These are concertrated at Shahjanwan in Uttar pradesh and parts of Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. Indian Jute industry is still export oriented. Out of the total production 40% is exported. The principle buyers are U.S.A. former U.S.S.R. Australia, Canada, U.K. and Germany. Due to increased exports from Bangladesh and manufacturing of synthetic materials, jute textile exports from India has declined. C. Silk Industry (Map) - Indian silk is well known all over the world India has the unique distinction of being the only country producing all the four commercially known varieties in natural silk, namely mulberry silk, tasar, eri and muga. The art of silk making and weaving of fabric is known to Indian people since ancient times. But the modern silk industry began in India by setting up a silk mill at Howrah (W.B.) in 1832. Then it was followed by Karnataka in 1945 and Kashmir in 1892. Now Karnataka is the leading state in the production of silk accounting for 70% of country’s production. Karnataka produces only mulberry silk. More than 8500 hectares are under mulberry cultivation and the yield of leaves is very high. There are six nurseries to provide mulberry saplings and 35 silk farms. Silk reeling is done on traditional ‘Charkhas’. The industry is concentrated in Bangalore, Mysore, Kolar, Mandya, Tumkur,Belgaum and Coorg districts. Two large spinning and weaving mills are located at Channapatna and Mysore. Assam is the only muga silk producing state in the country. It is a golden-yellow coloured silk obtained from non-mulberry variety of silk. Sericulture is an important cottage industry scattered all over the state. Most of the silk is produced in the co-operative sector. The important silk producing districts are Goalbara Kamrup, and Nowgong all situated in the Brahmaputra valley. In west Bengal sericulture is chiefly practiced in Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum and Bankura districts, Mulberry silk is mainly produced. A silk conditioning house is set up at Kolkatta. In Jammu-Kashmir, due to cool humid climate, highly productive race of mulberry worms are raised. Sericulture is the state government’s monopoly in this state. White plain silk is the special silk produced in Jammu-Kashmir. The industry is principally located at Anantnag. Baramula, Doda Udhampur and Jammu. India exclusively export silk fabrics, Germany, Singapore, U.S.A. U.K. Middle East countries are the principal buyers of Indian silk. Competition from artificial silk has created certain problems from sericulture in India. Artificial silk is smoother, cheaper and more durable. Secondly availability of skilled labour is also declining in this industry. This Central silk Board has been set up to overcome the problems of sericulture. Sugar Industry (Map) : Sugar industry is one of the important agro-based industries, Sugar is obtained from sugarcane, beet, date and some fruits. But out of the total production of sugar nearly 70% comes from sugarcane. Sugarcane is a tropical crop. India is the world’s largest producer of sugarcane. But India ranks fourth in the sugar production after Cuba, U.S.A. and Brazil. This is because sugar content in the cane as well as yields per hectare are low in India as compared to above countries. Besides all the cane is not used for producing sugar. Manufacturing of Gur and Khandsari are

368 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book traditional products of rural India. Due to all these reasons sugar production is comparatively less. Still the sugar industry is India’s second largest organized industry next to cotton textiles. As the industry is based on the cash crop of sugarcane, it has shown high fluctuations in the net output of sugar from year to year. Various factors are responsible for these fluctuations. Sugarcane cultivation depends upon irrigation facilities and availability of capital. Prices of sugarcane for sugar factories are fixed by government every year. Sugarcane is a weight-loosing perishable raw material. Long distance transport therefore becomes uneconomical. Sugar mills work only during the crushing season as the crop is annual and cane is not available throughout the year. This also has an effect on labour as employment is available only at a particular period of time. These factors obstruct the production of sugar and do not allow the price of home sugar to come down. India produced 120 lakh tones of sugar in 1990-91. Distribution : Sugar industry is a raw material oriented industry hence it is located in the sugarcane producing region of India. India has more than 250 sugar factories distributed through out the country. The heaviest concentration of sugar factories occurs in the sugarcane tract of Maharashtra, Uttar pradesh , Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Bihar. There is a tendency of shifting of this industry towards south where higher sugar content is obtained in the cane and the crushing season is longer and most of the factories are better managed by the co-operative sector. Uttar Pradesh : This state has the largest number of sugar factories (90) most of which are concentrated in the plains to the north of Ballia-Lucknow-Bulandshahr line. The concentration is heavier in Meerut, Muzzaff ar nagar,Saharanpur, Bijanor and Moradabad districts in the western part and in Deoria, Basti, Gonda, Gorakhpur and Kheri districts in the eastern part of the belt. The cane crushing season lasts for 120 to 140 days due to extreme temperature conditions during winters and summers. Maharashtra : The state has emerged as a leading producer of sugar in the country in recent years. Most of the factories are in the co-operative sector and are much larger, contributing about 40% of total sugar output. All the factories (77) are located in the irrigated tracts of the valleys of Godavari, Pravara, Mula-Mutha, Nira and Krishna in the districts of Nashik, Ahmednagar, Pune, Satara, Kolhapur,Sangli, solapur, which grow most of the sugarcane in the state. The yield per hectare is high as well as the sugar content is also more in Maharashtra case. Black cotton soil, availability of cheap skilled labour, well and canal irrigation, investment through co-operative sectors have favoured the development of sugar industry in the state. Andhra pradesh : The state has 26 sugar factories and produce 5% of the country’s output. The factories are located in the districts of East and West Godavari, Krishna, Vishakhapattanam Nizamabad, Medak and Chittur. Tamilnadu : This state has 20 sugar factories located in Coimbatore, North and South Arc and Tiruchirapalli districts.

GS I - Geography / 369 Karanataka : The state has 21 sugar factories. These are located in the districts of Belgaum, Bijapur, Bellary, Shimoga and Chitradurg. Besides the above states the remaining sugar factories are scattered in other states like Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, the Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. Only Bihar has more than 20 sugar factories while the remaining have less than 10 factories in each state. Upto 1960 Bihar was next to Uttar pradesh in the production of sugar. But due to slower rate of growth, low cane yields and shorter crushing season the production declined. Champaran, Muzzaffarpur, Darbhanga are the important sugar producing districts in Bihar. India exports some raw as well as refined sugar every year to U.S.A., U.K., SirLanka. U.A.R. and Singapore. Low rate of sugar consumption, mismanagement of mills in co-operative sector and low yields of sugarcane have created problems for the sugar industry. They-products like Molasses, Bagasses, press mud are not utilised fully and properly. Molasses is used as basic raw material for producing power, alcohol, liquor chemicals, Bagasses is used in the manufacture of paper, paper board and insulation board. Press mud is used for extacting wax. Suitable exploitation of by products can help in reducing the coast of sugar production on one hand and also check pollution that occurs due to molasses and bagasse in sugar producing areas on the other. 2. Mineral Based Industries : The industries that depend on various minerals for their production are called Mineral based industries. Due to varieties of minerals available in nature such industries are very large in number but important among them are iron and steel and other metallurgical industries and non-metallurgical industries like Cement, Chemicals etc. Most of the minerals are very impure in their original state and they are required in large quantities. Therefore, long distance transport is not economical as a result such industries are mostly found in areas where required minerals are located. Thus most of the mineral based industries are raw material oriented industries. Iron and Steel industry (Map 7.2) - Iron and steel industry is supposed to be basic industry to all sorts of industries. It is therefore called the mother of industries. Iron are cooking coal limestone, manganese and ample water are the major raw materials required for this industry. Attempts to produce iron and steel were made from ancient time in India but on modern lines since 1830. But upto 1907 much progress was not made and an important state in the history of iron and steel production in India came in 1907 when Tata Iron and Steel company started its steel works at Sakchi (now Jamshedpur) in Bihar. The location of iron and steel industry mainly depends upon the availability of cooking coal. Coal is a weight loosing raw material required in large quantities, especially by this industry. As a result it is mostly located near the coal fields rather than any where else. In India coal is available in southern Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and eastern Madhya Pradesh hence iron and steel industry is heavily concentrated in this part of India. India has high grade hematite and magnetite ores and limestone in Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. Since the industry consumes vast quantities of raw material the steel plants are so located as to keep the cost of transport as the lowest. Following are the important iron and steel producing centres in India. 1. Jamshedpur :

370 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book India’s first modern iron and steel plant was established at Jamshedpur by Jamshedji Tata in 1907. The village was called Sakchi which was selected as a site for the steel plant and named afterwards as Jamshedpur. It is located at a distance of 240 km north west of Kolkatta. It is on the Kolkatta-Nagpur railway line in the district of Singhhoom in Bihar. The location is most ideal for iron and steel plant in the country. Hematite are comes from the captive mines at Gurumahsani in Mayurbhanj district of Orissa and Naumandi in Singhbhum district itself. Manganese is brought from Joda in Keonjhar district of Orissa and limestone from Sundergarh district. Cooking coal is obtained from the Jharia and west Bokaro coal fields, the plant has been working at 85% of its rated capacity which is the highest in the country. 2. Bokaro : This is the public sector plant producing iron and steel since 1972. The plant is established with Soviet collaboration at Bokaro near the confluence of Bokaro and Damodar rivers in Hazaribaug district of Bihar. Boraro is ideally located with regard to the supplies of cooking coal from Jharia and cheap power from DVA complex. The plant obtains iron are from Kiriburu minesin Keonjhar district and limestone from palamau district. Bokaro complex is the most ambitious of all the steel expansion programmes of the present decade. 3. Durgapur : The Durgapur steel plant is situated along the Damodar river in Burdwan district of West Bengal. It is about 160 km north west of Kolkatta. Proximity to the Jharia coal, the DVA power and the Kolkata part are the major locational advantages of Durgapur. The plant obtains iron from a new mine opened at Bonal and manganese from Jamda in Keonjhar district. Limestone comes from Birmitrapur in Sundergarh district. The plant was established with British collaboration. 4. Burnpur : The Indian iron and steel company has established its plant at Burnpur in West Bengal. It is near Asansol, about 250 km north west of Kolkata on rail line. Most of the iron are is obtained from captive mines at Gua. Coal, Manganese and limestone are brought from a distance of 230 km in Bihar and Orissa. Cheap Hydel power from DVC and accessibility to the Kolkata part are the advantages vavouring Burnpur plant. 5. Bhilai : Bhilai iron and steel plant is located in the Durg district of Madhya pradesh. It is on the Kolkatta, Nagpur rail line at a distance of 260 km from Nagpur. With the help of Soviet Union this plant was established to develop the economically backward area of Eastern Madhya Pradesh. The location is disadvantageous as compared to other steel plants in the country. Raw materials, except iron ore, has to be brought from long distances which increases the cost of production. The plant uses coal from Kargali and Korba fields. Manganese is brought from Balaghat (M.P.) and Bhandara (Maharashtra) mines. Limestone is obtained from Nandini mines and electricity from Korba thermal power station. Iron ore is available in the nearby area of Dalli Rajhara ranges within the district. The main market available is also at a longer distance –Bombay, Vishakhapattanam and Kolkata are market centres for Bhilai plant. 6. Rourkela : The Hindustan Steel Limited has established its iron and steel plantat Rourkela in the Sundergarh district of Orissa. This plant is also on the Kolkata, Nagpur rail link. It was set up in

GS I - Geography / 371 collaboration with West Germany during the second Five Year Plan. The plant is situated within 80 km. of the high grade hematite reserves of the Sundergarh and Keonjhar districts. Coal is obtained from Bokaro, Jharia, Talchet and Korba fields. Manganese comes from Barajamada, limestone from Purnapani all situated within a short distance in state only. 7. Bhadravati : The Vishweswarayya iron and Steel Limited (VISL) plant at Bhadravati in Shimoga district of Karnataka was established by princely state of Mysore. The company owns the Kernmengundi iron ore mines in Chiknagalur. In the beginning absence of coal was a major problem for this plant. Initially coal was obtained by burning forest trees i.e. chcrcool trees. But after the completion of Mahatma Gandhi Hydel Power Station and Sharawati power project the plant was switched to electricity. Limestone, manganese are obtained from within 50 km. of distance. As this is the only iron and steel plant in South India it has a widespread market of Peninsular India. Besides the above large plants there are 145 small steel plants located all over the country to meet the smaller demands of local markets. They mainly use steel scrap. Table :Showing Production of Steel in India Year Production lakh tons 1985 115 1986 119 1987 131 1988 143 1989 144 1990 150 1991 171 1992 154 Inspite of an impressive progress made by the industry, India, mainly due to under utilization of the rated capacity of steel plants, does not produce enough iron and steel. The imports have increased progressively. Cement Industry (Map) - Cement is the basic material required in the construction of house, dams, large building complexes, bridges, etc. It is a fine proportional mixture of coal. Limestone, Clay, Gypsum and Bauxite. Out of these limestone is required in large quantities. To produce 100 tons of cement, 160 tons of cement grade limestone with at least 45% CaO is needed. Therefore, cement factories are located close to the dependable source of limestone. In the manufacture of cement, initially limestone is cleaned and ground into fine powder by using 30% to 40% water. At this stage large quantity of water is required. In the second process more power is needed. Powdered limestone is mixed with fine grained cleaned clay, bauxite o and coal and then the material is roasted at temperature as high as 3000 C to fuse and form into clinkers. This is again ground and mixed with pure fine gypsum. Distribution : The Distribution of cement factories in India is highly uneven, there are 92 large sector and 184 small sector cement plants in the country. There is a large concentration of cement factories in Chhotanagpur

372 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book region followed by Malwa Plateau in west India and along the Kathlawar coast of Gujarat state. In Peninsular India the factories are more or less uniformly distributed in four states. India’s first cement factory was set up at Madras in 1904. India produced 536 lakh tons of cement in 1991-92. A large part of the cement production comes from the state of Tamilnadu. Madhya Pradesh. Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Bihar. Tamilnadu : There are seven cement factories in this state. They produce 20% of country’s total production. All the units are large and work to nearly full capacity. The factories are located in the districts of Tirunelvelli, Ramnathapuram, Salem, Tiruchirapalli and Coimbatore. Madhya Pradesh : It is the second important state in the production of cement in the country. The factories are located in the districts of Durg Jabalpur, Gwalior and Raipur, jamul in Dirg district is the largest unit in the state. New points are also set up at itarsi, Satna, Akaltaraand Tilda. Gujarat : Gujarat is producing cement from very early stages of cement industry. There are seven units out of which Ranavav unit of Saurashtra and Sikka, Sewree and Ahmedabad cement factories produced two third of the state’s production. The other units are located Dwarka, Porbandar and Sevalia. A new plant is also set up at Ankleshwar. The state has the large market of Western India. Bihar : This mineral rich state has large reserves of limestone and coal. These are favourable for the development of cement industry in this state. The operating units of cement are located at sindri Khalari in Ranchi district and Shahbad-Palamau districts. The Sindri unit uses the sludge obtained from the fertilizer factory. Rajasthan : The state has six cement plant at Bundi, Jaykay puram (Banas), Sawal Madhovpur, Chittorgarh and the sawal Madhavpur unit is the largest in the state which uses blast furnace slag in addition to limestone. Andhra Pradesh : There are four existing cement plants in the state and two new ones are coming up. The state has the largest reserves of cement grade limestone in the country. Karimnagar, Cement nagar, vijaywada and Kirshna have cement factories. Karnataka : There are six cement plants in the state. Shaabad, Wadi, Kurukunta, Bagalkot, Bhadravati and Ammasandra are the main producing centres. Shahbad unit near Bulbarga is the largest unit in the state and it produces the special kind of cement required for flooring. Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and the Punjab also have small cement factories in the country. India mostly produces low heat rapid hardening grade of cement. The other varieties like white cement and oil well cement ore produced in small quantities. The consumption of cement in the country is one of the important indicators of the economic development. With increasing urbanization and industrialization the demand for cement is also increasing in India. Paint Industry : Paint industry is one of the modern industries, it is a kind of chemical industry. The industry made a beginning in India in 1902 near Kolkatta. Now there are over 200 paint and varnish producing units.

GS I - Geography / 373 The paint industry uses a wide range of raw materials. It needs methylated sprit, zinc oxide, lead oxide, red lead, resin, linseed oil are agricultural products, Shellac is a forest collection obtained from the forests of Mahdya Pradesh and Orissa. Most of the other raw materials come from inorganic chemical industry. All the above required variety of raw materials is brought to the market places. Paint manufacturing is a complex chemical process which requires large capital and modern technical know how. Paints are needed to protect the exposed surfaces of construction metals and furniture. As a result the main market lies in urban areas of the country. The industry is therefore market oriented. The industry is mainly concentrated in Bombay and Kolkata. Besides Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu Kashmir, Maharashtra and West Bengal also have paint factories in the country. The Bareilly unit of Uttar Pradesh is the largest in the country. Fertilizer Industry ( Map) : Fertilizer industry is also a kind of chemical industry Chemical and organic fertilizer are produced to help increasing the agricultural produce. Different crops take varieties of nutrients from the soil. The replacement of these nutrients in nature requires a long time and hence to keep up the fertility of the soll, fertilizers have to be used. As Indian is an agricultural country fertilizers play an important role in agriculture. The raw materials required for this industry include Naptha, coke, coal, rock phosphate, sulphur and high grade gypsum. From these raw material Nitrogenous and Phosphotic fertilizers are manufactured various proportions of nitrogen phosphate, potash and sulphur are used to get the required results from the fertilizers. The industry is concentrated near the part towns and oil refineries because Naptha is obtained from crude oil and rock phosphate is imported. There are a number of public, private and co- operative sector fertilizer units in the country. Out of these the important once are Sindri, RCF, IFFCO, GSFC, HCL and HFC. The greater concertration of this industry occurs in Gujarat, Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh, the Punjab and Kerala. These states account for 50% of the total production. The remaining comes from Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. Table : Fertilizer production and Imports in India (in ‘000 tons) Year Production Imports 1961-62 220 382 1971-72 1240 997 1981-82 4093 2040 1991-92 8750 3300 Annual Rate 16.4% 11.3% of increase The fertilizer consumption in India is one of the lowest in the world it is 68 kg. Per hectare of arable land in India, while in Japan it is 382 kg. The Punjab, Tamilnadu, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh use more of fertilizers, while the North Eastern states of India use the least amount of fertilizers. Demand for fertilizers is more during Rabi season than during Kharif season. Wherever irrigation is available demand for fertilizers is more as fertilizers give the best results if proper water is supplied.

374 / Chanakya Mandal Pariwar - UPSC Mains Reference Book Distribution Gujarat : The state is the leading producing of fertilizer. The GSFC unit at Baroda, IFFCO unit at Kalol are the most important producing units. The other fertilizer producing units are at Broach, Udhna, Kandla, Bhavanagar, Surat and Hazira. Tamilnadu : Tamilnadu is an important producer of fertilizers, especially nitrogenous fertilizers. The units are located at Neyvell, Ranipet, Tuticorin, Coimbatore, Cuddalore and Avadi, Small units are also located at Ennore and Manali. Uttar Pradesh : This state mostly produces phosphatic fertilizers, The units are at Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Phulpur and Kanpur. The fertilizer corporation of India (FCI) has its important unit at Gokakhpur and IFFCO ammonia urea is at Phulpur. Kerala : This small state has three large units located Cochin producing both nitrogenous and phosphoric fertilizers. Bihar : This state has four units located at Sindri, Barauni and Jamshedpur. These units produce nitrogenous fertilizers only. The state owned Dhanabad unit produces only phosphates. Maharashtra : The state has six units out of which there are located at Bombay and the remaining are at Trombay, Ambarnath and Loni Kalbhor, HCF unit at Trombay produces popular ‘Suphala;’ fertilizer. A huge public sector complex of RCF based on free and associated gas from Bombay High is located at Thal Vaishet in Raigad district near Bombay. It produces ammonia and Urea mainly. In the Punjab Nangal andBhatinda have nitrogenous fertilizer units Assam has two untis one each at Manrup and Chandrapur. Goa has only one unit that produces nitrogenous fertilizers at sancoale near vasco. India’s production of fertilizers has increased after the introduction of Five Year Plan. The country produce 81% of nitrogenous fertilizer of the total production. The principal varieties of nitrogenous fertilizers are urea, Ammonium phosphate. Out of the total requirement of fertilizer 43% is fulfilled by imports. India mainly imports from Japan, U.S.A. and East European countries. Cottage and Small Scale Industries : Cottage Industry : Cottage industries are always located in rural areas. It is characterised by hand manufacture of local raw materials in the home for home consumption or in exceptional cases, to sell them in local markets. This type of industry has little commercial importance. Capital and transportation facilities have no influence on this type of industry. Much of this manufacturing is carried on during spare time from agriculture. Rugs, carpets, ivory products, bidi works, toys, brass works, wood works, tools, furniture, boats, shoes, pottery, paints, dyes are some of the important products of this industry. As we become more advanced, cottage industry decreases in its relative importance. Real cottage industry has largely disappeared from Western Europe and North America. However, even today, in Adrican countries and even in some of the Asiatic countries cottage industry is important among primitive peoples and those with a very low buying power. Handloom and handicrafts are the most common occupations in Indian village. Regional characteristics, tastes and traditions are reflected

GS I - Geography / 375 in the products of cottage industries in India. E.g. shawls of Kashmir, carpets of Mirzapur, brass work of Uttar Pradesh, saris of Mysore and West Bengal. Today, some of the artistic products of these industries are exported outside. Small Scale Industry : Most of the small scale industries are located near small and medium sized towns. A few have been established in rural areas. Such industries work for larger markets within the country and sometime even outside the country. Today, most of the small scale industries have started using machinery, power and some modern techniques. An industry having less than Rs. 500,000 capital investment and employing less than 50 workers in known as small scale industry. Drugs, soap, electroplating hand tools, sports goods, locks, agriculture implements, bicycles, sewing machines, utensils, small engines, electric fans, leather footwear etc. are some of the important products of small scale industries. The small scale industrialists are getting all facilities like factory accommodation on hire-purchase of outright purchase or on primary basis and transport, water, electricity or gas etc. from the Government. Since such estates being located near one another they can help each other by giving instruments and services. Such industries are developed as ancillaries to large scale industries to supply small components and parts. There are number or industrial estates of such small and medium industrial towns like Ambarnath, Budiapur, Panvel, Bhiwandi, Pune, Khopoli, Kolhapur and Satara in Maharashtra.

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