Resources and Development
Class 10 Geography (Contemporary India II) — Chapter 1 | Quick Revision Notes
1. What is a Resource?
● Everything available in our environment that can be used to satisfy human needs, provided it is
technologically accessible, economically feasible, and culturally acceptable, is called a 'resource'.
● Resources are a function of human activities — humans themselves are considered as a resource
('human resource'), as they transform substances found in nature into usable resources through
knowledge, skill, and technology.
2. Classification of Resources
(a) On the basis of origin
● Biotic resources — obtained from the biosphere and have life, e.g. human beings, flora, fauna,
fisheries, livestock.
● Abiotic resources — composed of non-living things, e.g. rocks and minerals.
(b) On the basis of exhaustibility
● Renewable resources — can be renewed/reproduced physically, chemically or mechanically, e.g.
solar/wind energy, water, forests.
● Non-renewable resources — take millions of years to form; once exhausted may take thousands of
years to renew, e.g. fossil fuels like coal, petroleum.
(c) On the basis of ownership
● Individual resources — owned privately by individuals, e.g. land/plots, house, ponds owned by
individuals.
● Community owned resources — accessible to all members of the community, e.g. public parks,
playgrounds, burial grounds.
● National resources — belong to the nation; all minerals, water resources, forests, wildlife, land
within political boundaries and oceanic area up to 12 nautical miles (territorial water) belong to the
nation.
● International resources — regulated by international institutions; e.g. oceanic resources beyond
200 km of Exclusive Economic Zone belong to open ocean, no individual country can utilise these
without consent of international institutions.
(d) On the basis of status of development
● Potential resources — found in a region but not yet utilised, e.g. wind and solar energy potential in
Rajasthan/Gujarat.
● Developed resources — surveyed, quality and quantity determined for utilisation, development
depends on technology and feasibility.
● Stock — materials in environment that satisfy human needs but humans lack appropriate
technology to use them, e.g. water made up of hydrogen and oxygen, but we lack the technology to
use them as fuel.
● Reserves — subset of stock that can be put into use with existing technical know-how but their use
has not been started, e.g. river water can be used for generating hydel power but has not been used
so far.
3. Need for Resource Planning
● Resources are vital for human life, but they are unevenly distributed across India — e.g. some
regions rich in certain resources but deficient in others.
● Some regions are rich in some resources but deficient in other equally important resources — no
region self-sufficient in all resources, hence, a need for balanced resource planning at the national,
state, regional and local levels.
● Resource planning is a widely accepted strategy for judicious use of resources — it involves
identification and inventory of resources, evolving a planning structure with
technology/skills/institutions, and matching the plan with development plans.
4. Resource Planning in India
● India has enormous diversity in resource availability — sufficient reserves of some resources but
deficient in others.
● Involves complex processes: (i) identification and inventory of resources across regions through
surveys, mapping, and qualitative/quantitative estimation; (ii) evolving a planning structure endowed
with appropriate technology, skill, institutional set-up; (iii) matching the resource development plans
with overall national development plans.
● India has made concerted efforts for judicious utilisation of resources since the First Five Year Plan;
there is also equitable distribution consideration to avoid exploitation of only a few regions/people.
Some issues of resource planning in India:
● Rich in resources but poor economic condition of a large chunk of population — this is a paradox.
● Reasons: planning has not been implemented properly; lack of technology; resources have been
overused/misused, leading to depletion and degradation.
5. Conservation of Resources
● Resources are vital for the sustenance of life; irrational consumption and over-utilisation may lead to
socio-economic and environmental problems.
● Gandhiji's view: 'There is enough for everybody's need and not for anyone's greed' — advocated
resource conservation, minimising wasteful use, prioritising equitable distribution.
● Two schools of thought in Club of Rome and Schumacher's 'Small is Beautiful' also relate to
conservation of resources for sustainable use.
Sustainable development
● Concept became famous after publication of the report 'Our Common Future' (1987) by the World
Commission on Environment and Development.
● 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit — 100+ nations participated; agreed to combat environmental
damage, poverty and disease through global co-operation on common interests, mutual needs and
shared responsibilities — resulted in signing of Agenda 21 for achieving sustainable development.
6. Land Resources
● Land is a natural resource of great importance — supports natural vegetation, wildlife, human life,
economic activities, transport and communication systems.
● India has land of great diversity — plains, mountains, plateaus, hills, and deserts; about 43% is plain
(favourable for agriculture/industry); 30% is mountainous (ensures perennial river flow, forest
resources); 27% is plateau region (rich in minerals, fossil fuels, forests).
Land use
● Land is used for various purposes such as forestry, agriculture, mining, building houses, roads, and
industries — this is called 'land use'.
● Land use is determined by both physical factors (topography, climate, soil type) and human factors
(population density, technology, culture).
● Land under actual use is classified as: forests; land not available for cultivation (barren/waste land,
land put to non-agricultural uses); other uncultivated land (permanent pastures, groves, culturable
waste land); fallow lands (current & other than current fallow); net sown area.
Land use pattern in India (general trends):
● Land use changes over time depending on nature of economic activities carried out.
● Total geographical area of India is 3.28 million sq km, but land use data available only for about 93%
of the area (some areas not surveyed, e.g. parts of J&K; under illegal occupation of Pakistan/China).
● Net Sown Area (NSA) varies greatly from state to state — Punjab and Haryana have over 80%
cultivated area, while Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur have low percentage.
7. Land Degradation & Conservation Measures
● India has land degradation since colonial period due to deforestation for railways/agriculture, shifting
cultivation, over-irrigation (leading to salinity/alkalinity of soil), mining and quarrying, overgrazing,
and industrial effluents/wastes.
Conservation measures include:
● Afforestation and proper management of grazing.
● Planting shelter belts of plants to check wind erosion, especially in Rajasthan.
● Control on overgrazing.
● Stabilisation of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes.
● Proper management of waste lands and control of mining activities.
● Proper discharge and disposal of industrial effluents and wastes after treatment.
8. Soil as a Resource
● Soil is a renewable natural resource, formed by the process of soil formation from parent rocks
through the actions of temperature change, running water, wind, decomposers, etc.
● Formation takes millions of years; soil is a living system, essential for growth of plants, supplying
nutrients along with water and other minerals.
● Factors of soil formation: relief, parent rock/bed rock, climate, vegetation, other forms of life, and
time — plus human activities influence soil formation.
Classification of soils (major types in India):
● Alluvial soil — most widespread and important, formed by deposition of sediments by rivers; found
in northern plains and river valleys; rich in potash, phosphoric acid, lime; ideal for cultivation of
sugarcane, paddy, wheat.
● Black soil — also called 'regur soil' or black cotton soil; ideal for cotton cultivation; found in Deccan
trap region covering Maharashtra, MP, Gujarat; formed due to solidification of lava; capable of
retaining moisture.
● Red and Yellow soil — develop on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall in
eastern/southern Deccan plateau; red colour due to iron diffusion in crystalline/metamorphic rocks;
yellow colour when found in hydrated form.
● Laterite soil — develops in areas with high temperature and heavy rainfall due to intense leaching;
suitable for cultivation with adequate use of fertilisers, found in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, MP.
● Arid soil — colour ranges from red to brown; generally sandy structure and saline in nature; found in
western Rajasthan, character due to dry climate and high temperature.
● Forest soil — found in hilly and mountainous areas with sufficient forest cover; texture varies
according to mountain environment; loamy and silty on valley sides, coarse in upper slopes.
9. Soil Erosion and Soil Conservation
● Denudation of soil cover and subsequent washing down is soil erosion; caused by human actions
like deforestation, overgrazing, construction, mining, and by natural forces like wind, glacier, water.
● Running water cuts through clayey soils and makes deep channels called gullies — this land is
known as 'badland' (e.g. Chambal basin, called ravines).
● Sheet erosion — water flows as a sheet over large areas down a slope, soil removed in thin layers;
not easily noticeable but harmful.
● Wind erosion — wind blows loose soil off flat/sloping land, common in arid/semi-arid regions.
Methods of soil conservation:
● Contour ploughing — ploughing along contour lines to slow down flow of water on slopes.
● Terrace farming — steps constructed on steep slopes to make level areas for agriculture, restricting
soil erosion; widely used in Western and Lesser Himalayas.
● Strip cropping — dividing large fields into strips, with grass grown in between to break force of
wind.
● Shelter belts — rows of trees planted to check soil erosion by wind, especially in western India (has
also contributed to stabilisation of sand dunes and drop in wind velocity).
10. Quick Summary Table: Soil Types
Soil Type Key Feature Main Region
Alluvial Fertile, rich in potash Northern plains
Black Retains moisture, cotton Deccan trap (Maharashtra, MP)
Red & Yellow Iron diffusion Eastern/southern Deccan
Laterite High rainfall, leaching Karnataka, Kerala, TN
Arid Sandy, saline Western Rajasthan
Forest Varies with altitude Hilly/mountainous areas
11. Key Terms to Remember
● Resource — anything in environment usable to satisfy needs, technologically accessible,
economically feasible, culturally acceptable.
● Resource planning — judicious/rational utilisation of resources through identification, planning
structure, and matching with development goals.
● Land use — manner in which land is being utilised (forestry, agriculture, mining etc.).
● Net Sown Area (NSA) — area sown at least once in an agricultural year.
● Soil erosion — denudation of soil cover and washing down by natural/human forces.
● Badland — land with deep gullies formed by erosion, unfit for cultivation (e.g. Chambal ravines).