Resources of India

The resources of India can be broadly classified into natural and human resources. The natural resources can be further divided into water resources and land resources. As India is an agricultural country, the study of water and land resources is of great importance.

WATER RESOURCES

Water is an important natural resource. It is the basic need of human beings and considered as the wealth of a nation. Water is needed for irrigation, generation of power, industries, domestic use, navigation, fisheries and recreational purposes. The use of water resources is not new to humankind. The development of water resources is very essential to satisfy the needs of growing population and as a natural resource, its judicious conservation is required. Now a days rain water harvesting is given due importance. The chief sources of surface water are rivers and lakes. The underground water sources are wells and springs. The availability of water varies from place to place and from time to time. India depends on rainfall and snowfall for surface water and underground water. Rainfall in India is uncertain, unevenly distributed and seasonal. Therefore, to carry on agriculture, India depends on canals, tanks and wells. They are very essential wherever the water is scarce. This method of supplying water artificially for agriculture is called irrigation. Irrigation is very important in India agriculture is the main occupation of the people and rainfall is insufficient. One of the greatest achievements in the history of agriculture is the practice of irrigation. The perennial rivers of North India and the underground water resources of the Great Plains of the north have helped in the development of irrigation.

TYPES OF IRRIGATION:

Different regions have different types of irrigation, depending upon the source of water. The distribution of rainfall, relief features and the requirement of water for different crops are the factors affecting the practice of different types of irrigation. The major types of irrigation practised in India are:-

1) Well irrigation,

2) Tank irrigation,

3) Canal irrigation.

WELL IRRIGATION: It is the most important type of irrigation in India. It provides water to large areas of cultivated land. It is most suitable for Indian agriculture because this system of irrigation can be adopted even in areas where rainfall is scanty. For the construction of wells, huge capital and technology are not required. Irrigation is possible throughout the year. For small landholders, this type of irrigation is easily accessible. Because of these reasons, well irrigation is largely practised to-day. There are two types of wells, namely, open wells and tube wells. Water is lifted from open wells through manual power or with the help of diesel or electric pumpsets. But the tube wells are usually fitted with electric pumps for lifting water. Well irrigation is very important in India. It accounts for 51.2% of the total irrigated area in India. To develop well irrigation, the government provides loans to our farmers at lower rate of interest. Well irrigation is mostly practised in the North Indian Plains and the eastern coastal plains. Uttar Pradesh accounts for 28.6 % of the total well irrigated area. Apart from this,

Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh have also developed well irrigation.

TANK IRRIGATION: It is practised in India since ancient times. Under this system, bunds are constructed across small streams, water is stored and supplied to agriculture through small canals. This type of irrigation is mostly practised in South India because the peninsular plateau is suitable for the construction of tanks. Tank irrigation is found in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. Only 8% of the total irrigated land is under tank irrigation. Two tanks constructed during 8th century A.D. in Chingalpet district of Tamilnadu are still in use. There are a few problems with regard to tank irrigation. They are:

(1) Tanks mostly depend on rain water. They are filled with water only during the rainy season and became dry during summer when water is most needed

(2) Silt accumulates in tanks and desilting becomes necessary. In Karnataka, desilting of tanks is being has been carried out.

CANAL IRRIGATION: Canal irrigation is mostly practised in North India where perennial rivers flow. India has the largest network of irrigation canals. 39% of the total irrigated area is covered by canal irrigation. The flat surface of North India, perennial rivers, vast agricultural land, have become important factors for the development of canal irrigation. The construction and maintenance of canals requires huge capital, hence they are under the control of the government. There are two types of canals. They are non-perennial (inundation) canals and perennial canals. Dams are constructed across the rivers in the perennial canals. They store water in reservoirs and provide it for agriculture through canals. Canals taken out directly from the rivers are called non-perennial canals. In India, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu and Maharashtra have canal irrigation. Uttar Pradesh has the largest network of irrigation canals.

MULTI-PURPOSE RIVER VALLEY PROJECTS: India has undertaken the construction of multi-purpose river valley projects for the maximum utilisation of water resources. The main purpose of these projects are:

(1) they provide for irrigation

(2) they help to generate hydro-electric power,

(3) they control floods,

(4) they prevent soil erosion,

(5) they help to develop fisheries,

(6) they provide inland navigation

(7) they provide water for industries,

(8) they provide recreational facilities and water for domestic use and

(9) they also help afforestation.

In India there are 162 major and 240 medium size and 74 small size river valley projects.

IMPORTANT MULTI-PURPOSE PROJECTS

1. Damodar River Valley Project: This was the first multipurpose project constructed after Independence. It was a joint venture of former Bihar and West Bengal states. River Damodar rises in the Chotanagpur plateau of Jharkhand. But its floods caused a lot of destruction in West Bengal. It was called the “Sorrow of Bengal”. The objectives of this project were to control floods, provide navigation, hydro-electricity, fish culture, recreational facilities afforestation and prevention of soil erosion. It has 2,495 km. length of canals and 4.5 lakh hectares of land under irrigation. Dams are constructed across river Damodar and its tributaries at Tilaya, Konar, Maithon and Panchet hill. Thermal power stations are constructed at Bokaro, Chandrapur and Durgapur. Jharkhand and West

Bengal benefit from this project.

2. Bhakra-Nangal Project: It is the highest multi-purpose river valley project of India. It is a joint venture of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Dams are constructed across the river Sutlej in Himachal Pradesh at Bhakra and Nangal. Bhakra dam is 226 mts. high and is the highest dam in Asia. The canals of this project are 3,402 kms. long and provide irrigation to 14.6 lakh hectares of land. Delhi and Himachal Pradesh also get irrigation water and hydro-electric power. The reservoir which is created is called ‘Govind Sagar’.

3. Kosi Project: The main objective of this project is to control floods. Kosi was called the "sorrow of Bihar". It is a joint venture of India and Nepal. It is constructed across the river Kosi at Hanuman Nagar on the borders of India and Nepal, it provides irrigation to about 8.75 lakh hectares of land. 50 % of the hydro-electricity produced by this project is supplied to Nepal.

4. The Hirakud Project: Flood control, irrigation and production of hydro-electricity are the main purposes of this project. This project is constructed across the river Mahanadi at a distance of 10 kms. from Sambalpur in Orissa. River Mahanadi was called the “Sorrow of Orissa”. The Hirakud project has the longest dam in India with a length of 4,801 mts. It irrigates almost 2.54 lakh hectares of land. The states of Orissa, Bihar and Chhattisgarh are provided with irrigation and hydro-electricity.

5. Tungabhadra Project: The main purposes of this project are irrigation and generation of hydro-electricity. It is a joint venture of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. This dam is constructed across the river Tungabhadra near Hospet in Bellary district of Karnataka. The reservoir is called ‘Pampa Sagara’. It provides irrigation to about 5.5 lakh hectares of land in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and also supplies hydro-electricity.

6. Nagarjuna Sagar Project: This dam is constructed across river Krishna near

Nandikonda village in Andhra Pradesh. It is the largest multi-purpose river valley project in India. The main purposes of this project are to provide irrigation and generation of hydroelectricity. It irrigates almost 8.30 lakh hectares of land.

7. Chambal Project: It is a joint venture of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The main purposes of this project are to prevent soil erosion, generate hydro-electricity and provide irrigation. Three reservoirs are constructed. They supply water to about 5.60 lakh hectares of land in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

8. Upper Krishna Project: It is an irrigation project of Bagalkot and Gulburga districts of Karnataka. It is constructed across the river Krishna near Almatti in Bagalkot district. It aims at providing irrigation to 1.43 lakh hectares of land in Bijapur, Raichur, Bagalkot and Gulbarga districts. Another dam is constructed across river Krishna at Narayanpur in Gulbarga district.

9. Narmada River Valley Project: The idea of constructing a dam across the river Narmada was initiated even during the British period. The irrigation committee of 1901 announced the construction of a project across river Narmada but somehow it did not materialise during the British period. In 1961, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India, laid the foundation for the construction of a dam at Bharut. But from the beginning, this project has faced a lot of opposition and in 1969 the river water tribunal was appointed to settle the disputes between Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat over the distribution of water from this project. The Narmada project which consists of 23 dams includes Sardar Sarovar, Narmada Sagar and Narmada upper project. On completion, these dams will provide irrigation and hydro-electricity to North Gujarat, Saurashtra and some parts of Maharashtra. In addition to these projects there are many other irrigation projects. In Karnataka state, the important projects are Ghataprabha, Bhadra, Kali and Malaprabha. There are many projects in India with the main objective of providing irrigation.

POWER GENERATING PROJECTS

There are some projects which are meant only for the generation of power. The largest hydro-electric potential is along the Himalayas from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh. The snowfed and rainfed rivers have plenty of water. The relief features of this area are quite suitable for the generation of power. The second region is along the Western Ghats. This region gets heavy rainfall and it has rugged relief. The plateaus of peninsular India also have favourable relief and wherever water is sufficient, hydel power is generated. The prominent hydel power generating stations are Sileru in Andhra Pradesh, Dhuvaran in Gujarat, Shabarigiri and Idukki in Kerala, Koyna in Maharashtra and Sharavathi, Chakra and Kalinadi projects in Karnataka.

FISHERIES: India has vast water bodies where fish can be reared and used for food. India is surrounded by water bodies on three sides and it has a wide continental shelf, active ocean currents and deposition of sediments by the rivers which provide a rich breeding ground for fish. To increase its marine fish catch, India needs big mechanized fishing boats and vessels. It also needs improved landing and berthing facilities. Another requirement is cold storage and processing facilities for marine products. India has many rivers, canals and lakes which can be rich sources of fish. Fishing is also one of the aims of multi-purpose projects.

WATER POLLUTION: Water resource is very important and is required for industries, agriculture, fishing and domestic purposes. We should take care to see that water is not wasted and also to see that our water sources are not polluted. Very often industrial waste is pumped into rivers and seas, thus causing pollution. For example many industries on the banks of river Ganges have polluted it. The Central Ganga Authority was set up by the Government of India for checking the flow of pollutants and sewage into the river Ganges. All the rivers, reservoirs and lakes of India are faced with pollution.

Land Resources

Land is the most important among the natural resources. The judicious and planned utilisation of this resource results in economic development. The geographical factors such as landforms, climate and soil determine the landuse pattern in India. The varied economic and social factors and attitudes of the people have also influenced the landuse in India. The landuse in India can be broadly classified into five categories. They are

1) Land under cultivation,

2) Forests,

3) Land not available for cultivation,

4) Fallow land and

(5) other uncultivated land.

1) Land under cultivation: It accounts for about 1,428.2 lakh hectares of the total land area. Compared to other countries of the world, India has a fairly large percentage of land under cultivation. In the North Indian plain, the states of Punjab. Haryana and West Bengal have 60% of the land under cultivation. The states of Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have only 3.1% and 2.7% of the land under cultivation respectively. 30.4% of the land under cultivation has the capacity to grow more than one crop a year.

2) Forest region: India has about 687.5 lakh hectares of land under forests. The amount of land under forests varies from state to state. Arunachal Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar islands have 90% of the land under forests. Mizoram, Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura and Himachal Pradesh have about 60 to 62% land covered with forests. Haryana has the lowest area under forest. Reckless cutting down of forests has reduced the area under forest.

3) Land not available for cultivation: It includes barren land and the land used for the construction of buildings, roads and railways, and also land occupied by rivers, canals and lakes. Some of the barren land can be put to better use by developing forests.

4) Fallow land: It is cultivable land but not put to use either because of shortage of water or poor soil. Large tracts of land which were cultivated in the past are now abandoned due to soil or water deficiency.

5) The other uncultivated land: It includes permanent pastures, grazing land and

groves. India has about 4% of the land under pastures. The total available land is fixed. In view of the pressure on land for various purposes, it is necessary to make the proper use of all the available land. This can be done by using scientific methods of cultivation such as conservation of soil, turning wasteland into cultivable land, thus increasing the productivity of the land.

SOIL RESOURCES

Soil is a valuable natural resources. Soil is formed by decomposition and disintegration of rocks under different types of climate. The soil of India can be broadly divided into, 1) alluvial soil 2) Black soil 3) Red soil 4) Laterite soil 5) desert soil 6) terai soil and 7) mountain soil.

NORTH INDIAN SOILS

1) Alluvial soil : This soil is more widespread than other soils. It is spread over 7.7 lakh sq. km. of area in Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab, Haryana and Assam. In the south, it is found in the plains and deltas in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Tamilnadu. It is the soil brought down by the rivers from the mountains and deposited in the plains and deltas. It is very useful for agriculture since it is very fertile. The soil is rich in potash and lime but poor in nitrogen and humus. The important crops grown in this soil are wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton and jute. The soil is also very suitable for jute. Irrigation is mostly carried on in this region. This soil is further divided into Khadar and Bhangar soil, Bhangar soil is older soil and Khadar soil is younger soil.

2) Black soil or Regur soil: This soil is very useful for the cultivation of cotton. It is also called black cotton soil. It is formed from the disintegration of volcanic rocks. It contains fine clay particles and is able to retain moisture and hence it is useful wherever rainfall is less. It is spread over an area of about 5.46 lakh sq. km. of India. It is found in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Western Andhra Pradesh and Northern Karnataka. It has plenty of iron, lime and magnesium carbonates. It is suitable for dry farming. Cotton, jowar, onions, chillies, tobacco, oil seeds, wheat, lemons and grapes are the important crops grown in this soil.

3) Red soil: It is formed by the disintegration of crystalline rocks. It is red in colour due to the change of iron content into iron oxide. It is deficient in organic matter, phosphorus and lime. Generally the low rainfall regions have this soil. The important crops that grow in this soil are tobacco, oil seeds. rice, sugarcane, and cotton. This soil is spread over a region of about 5.18 lakh sq.km. from Kanyakumari in the south upto Western Kachchh of Gujarat and Rajmahal hills in Jharkhand.

4) Laterite Soil: This soil is formed in the regions where rainfall is heavy and temperature is very high. It is not very fertile. It lacks nitrogen and salts. About 2.48 lakh sq.km. of area in India has this soil.The western Ghats, Vindhyas, Satpuras, Rajmahal hills and Purvachal mountain regions have this type of soil. This soil is good for the cultivation of coffee, tea, and other plantation crops. The compact laterate soil can be cut into the form of bricks and can be used for construction of buildings.

5) Desert soil: The low rainfall and high temperature are the reasons for the formation of this soil. About 1.42 lakh sq.km of area in India has this type of soil. The Thar desert of Rajasthan, some parts of Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana have Desert soil. It contains plenty of sand. It has a very small amount of nitrogen and humus and a large amount of salt and phosphate which are soluble, hence the soil is not suitable for cultivation.

6) Terai soil: This soil is found in lowlands and marshy areas. It contains decayed organic material. This type of soil is found in the southern parts of Siwaliks, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. It covers about 56,000 sq.km.

7) Mountain Soil: It contains plenty of decayed organic matter and is suitable for plantation crops like tea, fruits, and vegetables. This soil is found in the lower slopes of the Himalayas and hilly regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttaranchal.

SOIL EROSION: It is one of the main problems of our country and soil erosion is on the increase in recent years. The main reasons for soil erosion are:

1) destruction of forests

2) over-grazing

3) unscientific cultivation and

4) over-irrigation.

Soil erosion results in the loss of fertility of the soil since it is washed away by floods. The river beds accumulate with silt deposits. The reservoirs have accumulation of silt and their storage capacity becomes less. This directly affects our agriculture because India is an agricultural nation.

SOIL CONSERVATION: Prevention of soil erosion and preservation of its fertility is known as soil conservation. All the Five Year Plans have given importance to the prevention of soil erosion. Some of the programmes undertaken to prevent soil erosion are:

1) Contour ploughing (right angle ploughing of land i.e.along the contours)

2) Construction of check dams

3) Prevention of cutting down of forests and growing more forests (afforestation)

4) Development of pasture lands

5) Following scientific methods of farming

6) Proper use of water

Human Resource

The people of a country are its greatest resource. All material resources are exploited by human beings for their existence. For judicious exploitation of natural resources and economic development of a nation, Human resource is required. Productivity of population is decided by the proficiency of people and their skills. The most important among them are scientific and technological development, managerial abilities, cultural values, political and social organizations, education, health, physical power etc. Population which possesses better qualities and skills increases its productive capacity. Therefore human resource is of prime importance. For proper utilization of natural resources and to achieve economic development, better quality of human resource is required. So it is very essential to nurture human resources with better quality of education, technological efficiency, health and other facilities. Economic development and increase in productivity is possible when the people are healthy and physically sound. Karnataka state has come forward to provide better health facilities through ‘Yashaswini’ programme. India has 16% of the total population of the world. Next to China, it is the second largest populated country in the world, The total population of India according to 1991 census was 84.39 crores. It has increased to 102 crores in 2001. The land area remains the same, whereas the population is growing very fast. According to 1901 census, the density of population was 77 persons per sq.km. It increased to 267 persons per sq.km. by 1991 and it is 324 according to 2001 census. West Bengal has the highest density of

population. The increase of population in India between 1991 and 2001 is about 21.35%.

The main factors for the increase in population in India are

1) high birth rate and low death rate

2) Infiltration or immigration from neighbouring countries.

The reasons for high birth rate are marriage as a social obligation, illiteracy, poverty, longing for a male child. The fall in death rate is due to better health facilities, social welfare programmes.

Some of the problems resulting from population growth are:

1) unemployment problem

2) housing problem

3) lack of food and have malnutrition

4) slow economic progress

5) environmental pollution and

6) political and social problems.

The Government of India has introduced many programmes to control population growth. Important among them are: 1) Family Welfare Plan, 2) Women Welfare Programmes, 3) Establishment of family planning units in hospitals and primary health centres. India was the first country to launch family planning programme in the world.

COMPOSITION: India is a secular nation and we find unity amidst diversity. We also find different races and tribes. It was called the "melting pot" by Jawaharlal Nehru. The people of India speak different languages. Some of them are derived from Sanskrit and some of them are of Dravidian origin. Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam are Dravidian languages. Assamese, Bengali, Gujarathi, Hindi, Kashmiri, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sindhi, Sanskrit and Urdu are the other important languages of India. We find many religions in India. India is the home of Hindus , Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Zorastrians and others. None of these people can enjoy special privileges because of their religion. India is a secular country and all are equal before the law and enjoy equal freedom. The physical power, intellectual capacity, skills in work, zeal for activities and industriousness are the special qualities of Indian human resource. All these qualities require proper guidance and environment.

DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE: Man is not only a producer of resources but also its consumer. Therefore utilization of natural resources is necessary. The development of human resource means the process of increasing the knowledge, skills and capacities of all the people in the society. Human Resource Development includes population planning and planning to increase the quality of living of the people. The main purpose of Human Resource Development is to increase social welfare and labour productivity. India has a large human resource, but it is not properly utilized because of poverty, illiteracy, ill-health and unemployment. A new ministry in the Central Government called Ministry for Human Resource Development. (HRD) was formed in 1985 to nurture and utilize the human resource properly and work for its all round development. It has five departments for this purpose. They are, 1) Education 2) Culture 3) Arts (4) Youth welfare and sports and (5) Women welfare. If all the resources are used judiciously then economic development is possible. Since independence India's population has increased in number and the quality has also improved. Since the human resource is very important Gandhiji wanted to give more importance to decentralisation of industries and small scale industries.