Resource Development and Classification

• Resource Development

Types of Resources

• Resources are classified based on origin as biotic (obtained from the biosphere) and abiotic (composed of non-living things).
• Resources are classified based on exhaustibility as renewable (can be renewed or reproduced) and non-renewable (occur over a very long geological time).
• Resources are classified based on ownership as individual (owned privately), community (accessible to all members of the community), national (belong to the nation), and international (regulated by international institutions).
• Resources are classified based on the status of development as potential (found in a region but not utilized), developed (surveyed and quality and quantity determined for utilization), stock (have the potential to satisfy human needs but humans do not have the appropriate technology to access these), and reserves (part of the stock which can be put into use with existing technology but have not been started).

Development of Resources

• Indiscriminate use of resources has led to depletion, accumulation in few hands, and ecological crises.
• Resource planning is essential for sustainable existence of all forms of life.
• Sustainable development means development should take place without damaging the environment, and development in the present should not compromise with the needs of the future generations.
• Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, 1992 addressed urgent problems of environmental protection and socio-economic development at the global level.
• Agenda 21 aims at achieving global sustainable development and combating environmental damage, poverty, and disease through global cooperation on common interests, mutual needs, and shared responsibilities.

Resource Planning in India

• Resource planning involves identification and inventory of resources, evolving a planning structure, and matching the resource development plans with overall national development plans.
• India has made concerted efforts towards achieving the goals of resource planning since its First Five Year Plan.
• The availability of resources is a necessary condition for the development of any region, but mere availability of resources is not enough for development.

Land Resources

• Land resources are used for various purposes such as agriculture, forestry, mining, building houses, roads and setting up industries.
• India has land under a variety of relief features, i.e., mountains, plateaus, plains and islands.
• About 43 percent of the land area is plain, which provides facilities for agriculture and industry.
• Mountains account for 30 percent of the total surface area of the country and ensure perennial flow of some rivers, provide facilities for tourism and ecological aspects.
• About 27 percent of the area of the country is the plateau region, which possesses rich reserves of minerals, fossil fuels and forests.

Land Utilisation

• Land resources are used for forests, land not available for cultivation (barren and waste land, land put to non-agricultural uses), other uncultivated land, fallow lands, and net sown area.
• Net sown area is the area sown more than once in an agricultural year plus net sown area is known as gross cropped area.

Land Use Pattern in India

• The use of land is determined by physical factors such as topography, climate, soil types as well as human factors such as population density, technological capability and culture and traditions etc.
• About 54 percent of our land area is cultivable or net sown area.
• The land under forest has increased marginally.

Land Degradation and Conservation Measures

• Land degradation is brought about by mining, overgrazing, over irrigation and industrial effluents.
• Afforestation and proper management of grazing, control on mining activities, control of industrial effluents and wastes are some of the methods to control land degradation.

Soil as a Resource

• Soil is the most important renewable natural resource.
• Factors responsible for soil formation are relief, parent material, climate, vegetation and other forms of life and time.

Classification of Soils

• Alluvial soils are widespread and important soils, deposited by three important Himalayan river systems- the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.
• Alluvial soils consist of various proportions of sand, silt and clay and are generally very fertile.
• Based on age, alluvial soils are classified as Old Alluvial (Bangar) and New Alluvial (Khadar).
• Black soil is ideal for growing cotton and is also known as black cotton soil.
• Black soil is made up of extremely fine clayey material and is well-known for its capacity to hold moisture.
• Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall.
• Laterite soil develops in areas with high temperature and heavy rainfall.
• Laterite soils are prone to erosion and degradation due to alteration of wet and dry seasons.
• Forest soils are formed in forest areas where sufficient rainfall is available.
• Arid soils range from red to brown in colour and are generally sandy in texture and saline in nature.

Soil Erosion and Soil Conservation

• The denudation of the soil cover and subsequent washing down is described as soil erosion.
• Soil erosion is caused by human activities such as deforestation, over-grazing, construction and mining etc.
• Gully erosion can transform land into ravines.
• Sheet erosion occurs when the topsoil is removed over a large area by water.
• Contour ploughing, terrace cultivation, strip cropping, shelter belts are some of the methods to control soil erosion.
• Water Resources

Water Scarcity and the Need for Water Conservation and Management

• Water scarcity is the shortage of water supply.
• Water scarcity is caused by increasing population, increasing demand for food, increasing urbanisation and industrialisation.
• Water conservation and management is essential to ensure sustainable access to water resources.

Multi-Purpose River Projects and Integrated Water Resources Management

• Multi-purpose projects seek to integrate management of water resources to conserve and manage water.
• Multi-purpose projects have been criticised because they affect the natural flow of rivers, causing damage to aquatic life, displacement of people and trigger earthquakes.

Rainwater Harvesting

• Rainwater harvesting is a technique of increasing the recharge of groundwater by capturing and storing rainwater.
• Rainwater harvesting is used to recharge groundwater aquifers.
• In hills and mountainous regions, people built diversion channels like ‘guls’ or ‘kuls’ for agriculture.
• Rooftop rainwater harvesting is a local and cost-effective technique to conserve water.

Irrigation

• Irrigation has changed the cropping pattern of many regions with farmers shifting to water intensive and commercial crops.

• Over irrigation may lead to salinization of the soil.

• Agriculture

Types of Farming

• Primitive subsistence farming is practiced on small patches of land with the help of primitive tools.
• Intensive subsistence farming is practiced in areas of high population pressure on land.
• Commercial farming is the production of crops for sale.
• Plantation is also a type of commercial farming.

Cropping Patterns

• India has three cropping seasons — rabi, kharif and zaid.
• Rabi crops are sown in winter from October to December and harvested in summer from April to June.
• Kharif crops are grown with the onset of monsoon in different parts of the country and are harvested in September–October.
• Zaid season is a short season between the rabi and the kharif seasons.

Major Crops

• Rice is a Kharif crop that requires high temperature, high humidity and rainfall.
• Wheat is a rabi crop that requires a cool growing season and bright sunshine at the time of ripening.
• Millets include jowar, bajra and ragi.
• Maize is a crop which is used both as food and fodder.
• Pulses are leguminous crops and help in restoring soil fertility by fixing nitrogen from the air.
• Sugarcane is a tropical as well as a subtropical crop.
• Oilseeds cover approximately 12 percent of the total cropped area of the country.
• Tea is a beverage crop introduced in India initially by the British.
• Coffee is grown in India is known in the world for its good quality.
• Horticulture crops include fruits and vegetables.

Technological and Institutional Reforms

• Collectivisation, consolidation of holdings, cooperation and abolition of zamindari were carried out to bring about institutional reforms in the country after Independence.
• The Green Revolution and the White Revolution were some of the strategies initiated to improve Indian agriculture.
• The Government of India launched the National Food Security Mission to increase agricultural production.

Impact of Globalisation on Agriculture

• Globalisation is not a new phenomenon. It was there at the time of colonisation.

• Indian agriculture has been impacted by globalisation.

• Agriculture provides livelihood for more than 60 percent of its population requires serious technical and institutional reforms.

• Minerals and Energy Resources

Mode of Occurrence of Minerals

• Minerals generally occur in ores.
• Minerals are usually found in igneous and metamorphic rocks, sedimentary rocks, residual deposits, alluvial deposits, and ocean waters.

Classification of Minerals

• Metallic minerals contain metal in raw form that is further divided into ferrous (containing iron), non-ferrous (not containing iron), and precious minerals (gold, silver, platinum).
• Non-metallic minerals do not contain metals (limestone, mica, gypsum).
• Energy minerals generate power (coal, petroleum, natural gas).

Ferrous Minerals

• Iron ore is the basic mineral and the backbone of industrial development.
• India is rich in good quality iron ores.
• Manganese is mainly used in the manufacturing of steel and ferro-manganese alloy.

Non-Ferrous Minerals

• India is poorly endowed with non-ferrous metallic minerals except bauxite.
• Bauxite is the ore from which aluminium is extracted.
• Copper is essential for electrical cables, electronics and chemical industries.

Non-Metallic Minerals

• Mica is made up of a series of plates or leaves and splits easily into thin sheets.
• Limestone is the basic raw material for the cement industry.

Conservation of Minerals

• Mineral resources are finite and non-renewable.
• Concerted efforts have to be made in order to use our mineral resources in a planned and sustainable manner.
• Improved technologies need to be constantly evolved to allow use of low grade ores at low costs.

Energy Resources

• Energy resources can be classified as conventional and non-conventional sources.
• Conventional sources include coal, petroleum, natural gas, electricity (both hydro and thermal).
• Non-conventional sources include solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, biogas and atomic energy.

Conventional Sources of Energy

• Coal is the most abundantly available fossil fuel and is used as a domestic fuel, in industries and for generating electricity.
• Petroleum provides fuel for heat and lighting, lubricants for machinery and raw materials for a number of manufacturing industries.
• Natural gas is used as a source of energy as well as an industrial raw material in the petrochemical industry.
• Electricity is generated mainly in two ways: by running turbines to generate hydropower and by burning other fuels to generate thermal power.

Non-Conventional Sources of Energy

• Nuclear or atomic energy is obtained by altering the structure of atoms.
• Solar energy is the energy from the sun.
• Wind energy is the energy from the wind that is harnessed by wind turbines.
• Biogas is produced from organic wastes.
• Geothermal energy refers to heat and electricity produced by using the heat from the interior of the Earth.
• Tidal energy uses the tides to generate electricity.

Conservation of Energy Resources

• Energy is a basic requirement for economic development.

• Every sector of the national economy - agriculture, industry, transport, commercial and domestic - needs inputs of energy.

• There is an urgent need to develop a sustainable path of energy development.

• Manufacturing Industries

Importance of Manufacturing

• Manufacturing industries transform raw materials into finished goods of higher value.
• Manufacturing provides jobs, reduces dependence on agriculture, promotes trade and commerce, and contributes significantly to the national economy.

Contribution of Industry to National Economy

• The share of the manufacturing sector in the GDP has stagnated at 17 percent.
• The National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) has been set up to improve the productivity of industries.

Industrial Location

• Industrial location is influenced by availability of raw material, labour, capital, power and market.
• Industries tend to locate where all or some of these factors are easily available.

Classification of Industries

• Industries are classified into various groups.
• On the basis of source of raw materials: basic and consumer industries.
• On the basis of capital investment: small scale and large scale industries.
• On the basis of ownership: public sector, private sector, joint sector and cooperative sector industries.
• Based on the bulk and weight of raw material and finished goods: heavy and light industries.

Agro-based Industries

• Agro-based industries are based on agricultural raw materials.
• Textile, sugar, paper, and vegetable oil industries are agro-based industries.
• The textile industry occupies a unique position in the Indian economy because it contributes significantly to industrial production, employment generation and foreign exchange earnings.
• Jute textiles are located mainly in West Bengal.
• India stands second as a world producer of sugar.

Mineral-based Industries

• Mineral-based industries use minerals as their raw materials.
• Iron and steel, cement, and aluminium smelting industries are mineral-based industries.
• Iron and steel industry is a basic industry.
• India is an important iron and steel producing country in the world.
• Aluminium smelting is the second most important metallurgical industry in India.
• Cement industry is essential for construction activity.

Industrial Pollution and Environmental Degradation

• Industrial pollution results in air pollution, water pollution, land pollution, and noise pollution.
• Control of environmental degradation includes minimising use of water for processing by reusing and recycling it, treating hot water and effluents before releasing them into rivers and ponds, and minimising air pollution by fitting smoke stacks to factories with electrostatic precipitators, scrubbers and inertial separators.
• Every citizen should take a pledge to protect the environment.

Strategy for Integrated Industrial Development

• Industrial development should improve the quality of life.

• Industrial development should be environmentally sound.

• Lifelines of National Economy

Transport

• Transport includes land transport, water transport and air transport.
• Land transport includes roads, railways and pipelines.

Roadways

• India has one of the largest road networks in the world.
• Roads are classified into six classes according to their capacity.
• Golden Quadrilateral Super Highways are linking Delhi-Kolkata-Chennai-Mumbai and Delhi.
• National Highways are linking extreme parts of the country.
• State Highways are linking state capitals with district headquarters.
• District Roads are connecting the district headquarters with other places of the district.
• Other Roads include rural roads.
• Border Roads are constructed and maintained by the Border Roads Organisation.

Railways

• Railways are the principal mode of transportation for freight and passengers in India.
• Indian Railways is the largest public sector undertaking in the country.
• Railway network suffers from several problems such as difficulties laying tracks on different terrains, congestion, and accidents.

Pipelines

• Pipeline transport network is a new arrival on the transportation map of India.
• Pipelines are used for transporting crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas from fields to refineries, fertilizer factories, and big thermal power plants.

Waterways

• Waterways are an important mode of transport for both cargo and passenger traffic.
• India has inland waterways and oceanic routes.
• India has 14,500 km of navigable waterways.
• National Waterway No.1 is the Ganga river between Allahabad and Haldia.
• National Waterway No. 2 is the Brahmaputra river between Sadiya and Dhubri.
• National Waterway No. 3 is the West-Coast Canal in Kerala.

Airways

• Airways is the fastest, most comfortable and prestigious mode of transport.
• Air travel has made access easier.
• Air transport in India began in 1911.
• Air transport is operated by both public and private sectors.

Communication

• Communication is the process of conveying messages to others.
• Communication is done through personal communication and mass communication.
• Personal communication includes letters, telephone, and internet.
• Mass communication includes radio, television, newspapers, magazines, books, and films.
• India has one of the largest postal networks in the world.
• Radio is an important means of communication.
• Television is an important means of communication.

International Trade

• International trade is the exchange of goods among countries.
• Export and import are components of trade.
• India has trade relations with most of the major trading blocs and all geographical regions of the world.

Tourism as a Trade

• Tourism promotes national integration, provides support to local handicrafts and cultural pursuits, and helps in the development of international understanding about our culture and heritage.
• Tourism is a trade that generates employment.

Explore the classification of resources based on origin, exhaustibility, ownership and status of development. Learn about biotic, abiotic, renewable, non-renewable, individual, community, national, and international resources. Also, learn about potential, developed, stock, and reserve resources.