CHAPTER 3 : Human Strengths And Meeting Life Challenges NCERT SOLUTION CLASS 12TH Psychology | EDUGROWN NOTES

TEXTBOOK QUESTION AND ANSWER:

Q1.Explain the concept of stress. Give examples from daily life.
Answer. The pattern of responses an organism makes to stimulus event that disturbs the equilibrium and exceeds a person’s ability to cope. Origin in the Latin word ‘strictus’, meaning tight/narrow and ‘stringere’ (to tighten). Stress may get manifested in two forms :
(a)Eustress : The level qf stress that is good for you and is one of a person’s best assets for achieving peak performance and managing minor crises. This is positive, healthy and inspiring.
(b)Distress: Manifestation of stress that causes our body’s wear and tear. It is negative, unhealthy and demotivating.
Stressors: Events that cause our body to give the stress response. Whatever causes stress is known as stressor.
Strain: Reaction to external stressors is known as strain.Hans Selye (Father of modem stress research) defined stress as a non-specific response of the body to any demands.
Basic Features of Stress:
1.Different stressors may produce different patterns of stress reaction.
2.Stress is embedded in the ongoing process that involves individuals interacting ’ with their social and cultural environment. Stress is a dynamic mental/cognitive state. It is a disruption in homeostasis/imbalance that gives rise to resolution of the imbalance/restoration of homeostasis.
Perception of stress is dependent on an individual’s cognitive appraisal of events and the resources available to deal with them.

Q2.State the symptoms and’sources of stress.
Answer. • Everyone has higher own pattern of stress response. So the warning signs may vary, as may their intensity.
•Some of us know our pattern of stress response and can understand the depth of the • problem by the nature and severity of our own symptoms or changes in behaviour.
•These symptoms of stress can be physical, emotional and behavioural.
A wide range of events and conditions can generate stress; among the most important of these are major stressful life events such as death of a loved one or personal injury, the annoying frequent hassles of everyday life and traumatic events that affect our lives.
(i)Recent Life Events:
• Changes, both big and small, sudden and gradual affect our life from the moment we are born.
•We learn to cope with small, everyday changes but major life events can be stressful because they disturb our routine and cause trouble.
• If several of these life events that are planned (e.g., moving into a new house) or unpredicted (e.g., break-up of a long-term relationship) occur within a short period of timer we find it difficult to cope with them and will be more prone to the symptoms of stress.
(ii)Daily Hassles: There are daily hassles from which we have to cope like noisy surroundings, quarrelsome neighbours, electricity and water shortage, traffic jams,and so on.
The more stressed people report as a result of daily hassles, the poorer is” the | psychological well-being.
(iii)Traumatic Events:
•These include being involved in a variety of extreme events such as fire, train or road accident, robbery, earthquake, tsunami, etc.
• The effects of these events may occur after some lapse of time and sometimes persist as symptoms of anxiety, flashbacks, dreams and intrusive thoughts etc.
•Severe trauma can also strain relationships.

Q3. Describe the GAS model and illustrate the relevance of this model with the help of an example.
Answer. Hans Selye’s GAS Model explains the influence of stress on the body.
• From his studies, he found that there was a similar pattern of bodily responses in
animals to a variety of stressors.
• According to Hans Selye, stress refer to non-specific bodily reactions. He believed that stresses may be many but responses are only physiological reactions. Selye is known as ‘father of modern stress researches’. He did many experiments on animals in extreme climatic conditions as well as he observed chronic patients and concluded that reaction of stress is the same.
•On the basis of his experimental conclusions, he gave a pattern of stress reactions . He called this pattern the General Adaptation Syndrome and it involves three stages:
1.Alarm Reaction: The presence of a harmful stimulus or stressor leads to activation of the adrenal-pituitary-cortex system.
This triggers the release of hormones which produces the stress response and prepares the individual for fight or flight.
2.Resistance: If stress is prolonged, the parasympathetic nervous system calls for more cautious use of the body’s resources.
During this stage, an individual makes an effort to cope with the threat.
3.Exhaustion: Continued exposure to the same stressor or additional stressors drains the body of its resources and leads to burn out.
The physiological systems involved in the first two stages become ineffective and susceptibility to stress-related diseases like high blood-pressure increases.
This model is widely criticized because it focuses only on physiological aspects of stress and ignores the psychological dimension of stress.

Q4. Enumerate the different ways of coping with stress.
Answer. Coping is a dynamic, situation-specific reaction to stress. It is a set of concrete responses to stressful situations that are intended to resolve the problem and reduces stress. Endler and Parker gave following Coping Strategies:
1.Task-oriented Strategy:
•It is goal management through confrontation with the problem.
•This involves obtaining information about the stressful situation and making best use of resources available.
•It also involves prioritising and acting so as to deal directly with the stressful situation.
•Mostly it is used by optimists.
Task-oriented strategies are particularly effective when the resources in the environment are within the control of the individual.
It is cognitive response to stress.
2.Emotion-Hyper oriented Strategy:
•It is emotion management.
•This strategy involve efforts to maintain hope and to control one’s emotions. Individual works on his emotions rather than situations and goals.
•This mainly happens when the stressful event is such that it can not be manipulated in any way eg. loss of spouse or a family member.
•The individual deals with his emotions of anxiety, helplessness, hopelessness etc. and tries to gain hope and happiness again in his life.
•It can also involve venting feelings of anger and frustration or deciding that nothing can be done to change things.
•Emotion oriented strategies are particularly effective when the resources in the environment are beyond the controlled of the individual.
Avoidance-Hyper oriented strategy
•It is avoiding stressful event by indulging in different activities. Individual does not want to accept that he is facing such a stressful situation.
•This involves denying or minimising the seriousness of the situation
•It also involves conscious suppression of stressful thoughts and their replacement by self protective thoughts.
•Watching T.V., attending parties or going to sleep are example of this type of coping.
•It is basically escapism by using defense mechanisms.
According to Lazarus and Folkman, coping responses can be divided into two types of responses:
(a)Problem-Focused:
•It includes taking direct action to solve the problem.
•It is seeking information that will be relevant to the solution for, e.g., developing a study schedule to cope up with the semester demands, and thereby reduce examination pressure.
•It is basically confronting with the problem using all the available resources.
(b)Emotion-Focused: It refers to reduction of the negative emotional reaction to stress, e.g., by distracting oneself from the problem, relaxing or seeking comfort from others.

Q5.Explain Behavioural effects of stress. (CBSE 2013)
Explain the effect of stress on psychological functioning.
Answer. Physiological Effects: When the human body is placed under physical or psychological stress, it increases the production of certain hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. It causes:
•Changes in heart-rate, blood-pressure levels, metabolism and physical activity.
•Slowing down of digestive system.
•Constriction of blood vessels.
Cognitive Effects: High levels of stress can lead to:
•Mental overload.
•Impairment in the ability to make sound decision.
•Poor concentration.
•Reduced short term memory.
Emotional Effects: Those who suffer from stress are more likely to experience:
•Mood swings.
•Erratic behaviour.
•Maladjustment with family and friends.
•Feeling of anxiety and depression.
•Increased physical and psychological tension.
•Intolerance.
•Impatience.
Behavioural Effects: Stress affects our behaviour in the form of:
•Eating less nutritional food.
•Increasing intake of stimulants such as caffeine or excessive consumption of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs.
•Disrupted sleep pattern.
•Reduced work performance.

Q6. Describe how life skills can help meet life’s challenges.
Answer. Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enables individual to deal effectively with stressful situations.
Few such skills are as follows:
(i)Assertiveness:
•It helps to communicate, clearly and confidently, our feelings, needs, wants and thoughts.
•It is ability of an individual to say ‘no’ to a request which is against his wishes.
•If one is assertive then he or she feels confident high self-esteem and maintains his/her identity. ‘
(ii)Time Management:
•Learning time management determines quality of life.
•It is setting the priorities, goals and values in life.
Each day making list of things one wants to accomplish:
•Arranging work schedule.
•Changing perception of time.
•Setting aside time in schedule for exercise and leisure activities
•Learning to plan time.
(iii)Rational Thinking:
•It is challenging the distorted thinking and irrational beliefs.
•Deriving the anxiety provoking thoughts.
•Making positive statements.
•It is learning to ignore negative thoughts and images.
(iv) Improving Relationship: It consists following essential skills: ,
(a) Listening to what the other person is saying.
(b) Expressing what one feels and thinks.
(c)Accepting the other person’s opinions and feelings, even if they are different from your own.
(d) Avoiding jealously and sulking behaviour.
(v) Self-care: Healthy mind in healthy body.
•Learning right pattern of breathing i.e., relaxed, slow, stomach-centered breathing from diaphragm.
•Avoiding environmental stress like pollutions, because it affects our mood.
(vi)Overcoming Unhelpful Habits: Perfectionism, avoidance, procrastination and our strategies which provides short-term gain but makes the individual vulnerable to stress.
Perfectionists want to get everything just as they want which is not always possible. Avoidance is ignoring the issue and refusal to face it or accept it.
Procrastination means putting off what we know we need to do, i.e., postponing the things like ‘I will do it later’ just to avoid confrontation due to the fear of failure.

Q7. Describe briefly four factors which facilitate development of positive health. (CBSE 2013)
Or
Discuss the factors that lead to positive health and well-being.
Answer. Factors facilitating positive health and well-being are:
1.Diet: Diet can affect health independently or may enhance or modify the effects of stress in combination with other factors:
(a) How much nutrition one needs depends on one’s activity level, genetic structure,climate and health history. In fact, there is no one diet, which is ideal for everyone, in all situations.
(b) Stress is supposed to affect diet and weight in many wrays. People, who are under stress or in a negative moods are often seen eating more. They seek ‘comfort foods’ or foods that make them feel better.
(c)Stress may increase consumption of less healthy foods. Such people gain weight and loose stamina to fight stress.
(d)Obesity and weight gain is a problem for a section of the society. A much larger section of the society, which is below the poverty line, suffer from malnutrition.
(e)In the condition of poverty, women are the one who are most malnourished. Studies have shown that in India diets of female children and women are inadequate due to discriminatory practices.
2. Exercise:
•Exercise is directly related to promoting positive health.
•Two kinds of physical exercises essential for good health are ‘stretching exercises’ such as yogic asanas and ‘aerobic exercises’ such as jogging, swimming and cycling.
•Stretching exercises have a calming effect.
•Aerobic exercises increase the arousal level of the body.
•Yogic asanas provide systematic stretching to all the muscles and joints of the body and massages the glands and other body organs.
•Regular exercise reduces stress because it improves efficiency of vital body organs and improves immune system.
•Positive health and well-being come through a positive attitude of the mind.
•Positive health is the state of complete physical, mental, social and spiritual well¬being. It is not merely the absence of disease.
•Positive health comprises high quality of personal relationships, a sense of purpose in life, self regard, mastery of life skills and resilience to stress, trauma and change.
3.Positive Attitude:
Positive health and well-being can be realized by:
•Perceiving the reality fairly accurately.
•Tolerating and understanding different points of view.
•Having a sense of purpose in life.
•Having a sense of responsibility, accepting blame for failures and taking credit for success.
•Being open to new ideas, activities, or ways of doing things.
•Having a good sense of humour, to be able to laugh at oneself and absurdities of life helps to see things in their proper perspective.
4.Positive Thinking:
•Positive thinking leads to a belief that adversity can be handled successfully whereas negative thinking and pessimism anticipate disaster.
•Optimism, which is the inclination to expect favourable life outcomes is directly linked to psychological and physical well-being.
•Optimists use more problem-focused coping and seek advice and help from others. This optimism function helps the individual to cope up stress effectively.

Q8.How does stress affect the immune system?
Answer. Stress can cause illness by impairing the workings of the immune system. The immune system guards the body against attackers, both from within and outside.
The white blood cells (leucocytes) within the immune system identify and destroy foreign bodies (antigens) such as viruses. It also leads to the production of antibodies. There are several kinds of white blood cells or leucocytes within the immune system, including T cells, B cells and natural killer cells. T cells destroy invaders, and T-helper cells increase immunological activity. It is these T-helper cells that are attacked by the Human Immuno Deficiency Virus (HIV), the virus causing Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). B cells produce antibodies. Natural killer cells are involved in the fight against both viruses and tumours.

Q9. Give an example of a life event which is likely to be stressful. Suggest reasons why it is likely to cause different degrees of stress to the person experiencing it.
Answer. • Loosing a long-term job is a life event which is likely to be a cause of stress to an individual.
•A person’s response to stress largely depends on how the events are appraised or interpreted.
•This was explained by Lazorus in his Cognitive theory of stress.
•According to this theory, stress depends on his primary or secondary appraisal. A new or changing event is positive, negative or neutral.
•A negative event, such as loosing a long-term job, can be appraisal for its harm, instead a challenge.
•If it is appraised as a threat, which may result in future damage, it will result in high levels of stress.
•If it appraised as a challenge, then the individual, who lost the job, will have more confident expectations of the ability to cope with the stressful event, overcome it.
•If appraised as a harm, assessment of the damage, which has already been caused by the event, will result in high stress.
•Through secondary apptaisal, one’s coping abilities and resources are analysed as to whether they are sufficient in meeting the harm, threat or challenge.

Q10. Given what you know about coping strategies, what suggestions would you give to your friends to avoid stress in their everyday fives?
Answer. High school students these days avoid extremely stressful fives, with increasing completion, expectations and demands. Therefore, I would suggest ‘task-oriented strategy’ as explained by Endler and Parker, to be an effective means in coping with stress.
Task-oriented coping involves:
1.Obtaining information about a stressful situation.
2.Deciding our priorities.
3.Dealing directly with the stressful situation.
Such an approach helps during exams and project deadlines.
I would also suggest the adoption of positive attitude and thinking which promotes health and well-being.
A positive attitude where the individual has a fairly accurate perception of reality; ability to take credit for success and blame for failure; acceptance and tolerance for other’s view points.
Positive thinking interns of being optimistic. Optimism points towards the inclination to expect favourable life outcomes. An optimist will always use problem-focused coping and try and find the source of stress. Relaxation Techniques, Exercise, Balanced Diet all contribute significantly to stress reduction.

Q11. Reflect on the environmental factors that have (a)a positive impact on the being and (b) a negative effect.
Answer. Until recently, catastrophic events were not studied systematically, because of their infrequent and unpredictable occurrence. However, because the survivors of these devastating events often experience the severe psychological aftermath termed ‘post-
traumatic stress disorder’.
Whether large-scale natural disasters produce lasting psychological effects, however, remains a source of controversy. Some research shows evidence of long-term psychological effects, whereas other studies show that the psychological impact of natural disasters is minimal.
In certain respects, the psychological trauma that results from human-produced disasters can be more dramatic and long term in its scope than natural disasters. Several factors seem to contribute to this phenomenon. One important factor seems to be control. Human-produced disasters are usually the result of human error; but we expect that adequate precautions will be taken to prevent human error. Thus, when disaster strikes, our expectations are violated, leading to a loss of control. In contrast, we do not expect to have control over hurricanes, earthquakes, or other types of natural disasters and accept them as fate.
A second factor has to do with the consequences associated with each type of disaster.
Natural disasters, while large in scope, tend to be clearly marked and limited in time. In contrast, human-produced disasters—such as the contamination of ground water with toxic chemicals—can, potentially exert their effects for many years. For example, exposure to toxic chemicals can increase people’s risk of developing cancer or produce genetic damage. Moreover, the psychological trauma combined with the uncertainty regarding when or if these consequences will appear can produce chronic stress-related problems.

Q12. We know that certain life-style factors can cause stress and may lead to diseases like cancer and coronary heart disease, yet we are unable to change our behaviour. Explain 1 why?
Answer. Life-style is the overall pattern of decisions and behaviours that determine a person’s health and quality of life. An individual, when stressed, is more likely to expose himself/herself to pathogens—agents causing physical illness.
Stressed individuals have poor nutritional habits, disturbed sleeping patterns, tendency to engage in health-risking behaviours such as intake of stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs like tranquil lies such health impairing behaviours develop gradually and provide pleasant experiences temporarily, but have detrimental long-term consequences.
As they are addictive, and pleasurable, individuals using these psychoactive substances are unable to give them up.
•Such type of life-style ultimately cause serious health hazards like cancer, diabetes and coronary heart diseases.
•Knowing that faulty lifystyle causes various physical and psychological hazards.Still people continue, because the consequences and side effects are not likely to occur immediately. Their effects get manifested after several years. So people ignore them. Because they are aware with the side effects. They develop anxiety because of inconsistency in their attitude and behaviour but because this lifestyle becomes a part of their habit pattern. So they find it very difficult to change and continue such hazardous lifestyle and ultimately it causes a stage of burn out.

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CHAPTER 2 : Self And Personality NCERT SOLUTION CLASS 12TH Psychology | EDUGROWN NOTES

TEXTBOOK QUESTION AND ANSWER:

Q1.What is self? How does the Indian notion of self differ from the Western notion?
Answer. Self is an organized cognitive structure. It can be understood in terms of subject and object or I and Me. It refers to the totality of one’s conscious thoughts, and feelings which pertain to one’s own self. .
Indian Concept of Self
•Self is characterized by the shifting nature of the boundaries.
•The Indian view does not make rigid dichotomies.
•It is based on collectivistic Indian society.
Western Concept of Self
•The boundaries between self and the group are rigid.
•It holds clear dichotomies between self and group.
•It is based on individualistic society of the West.

Q2. What is meant by delay of gratification? Why is it considered important for adult development? (Delhi board 2011, 2014)
Answer. (i) Learning to delay or defer from gratification of needs is called self-control. It emerges from self-regulation.
(ii)Self-regulation is behavioural component of self.
(iii)It refers to an ability to organize and monitor ones own behaviour. People who can change their behaviour according to the demands of the external environment are high on self-monitoring.
(iv)Self-regulation leads to self-control.
(v)It plays a key role in fulfilment of long-term goals.
(vi)Indian culture provides us effective mechanisms like fasting (vrata or roza) and non-attachment with worldly things to develop self-control.
(vii)It is ones ability to say ‘No’.
Psychological techniques to develop self-control are:
(a)Observation of Own Behaviour: it provides us with necessary information that may be used to change, modify, or strengthen certain concepts of self. ‘
(b)Self-instruction: We often instruct ourselves to do something and behave the way we want.
(c)Self-reinforcement: It involves rewarding behaviours that have pleasant outcomes (like going to see a-movie with friends if we do well in exams).
— Self-control is important for the development of mature personality. This is the reason that all cultures emphasise the self-control. It helps in the fulfilment of long-term goals. Indian cultural tradition provide us with certain effective mechanisms, e.g., fasting in varta or roja and know attachment with worldly things for developing self-control.
— Self-control is also important for effective functioning of social network.

Q3. How do you define personality? What are the main approaches to the study of personality?
Answer. The word ‘personality’ is derived from the Latin word ‘persona’, which means a mask or false face which Greek actors used to wear when acting on stage. According to Gordon Allport “Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychological systems thqt determine his unique adjustments to his environment.”
One of the major approaches to understanding personality was to develop theories on what it was. There are many broad personality theories, which can be grouped into four categories: –
(i)Dynamic approaches, which emphasize on-going interaction among motives, impulses and psychological processes.
(ii)Type and train approaches, which focus on people’s characteristics, stubbornness, shyness and so forth and how these characteristics are organized into systems.
(iii)Humanistic approaches, which emphasize the self and the importance of the individual’s subjective view of the world.
(iv) Learning and behavioural approaches, which emphasize the way habits are acquired through basic learning process.

Q4. What is trait approach to personality? How does it differ from type approach?(CBSE 2007)
Answer. Trait approach psychologists explain personality on the basis of specific psychological characteristics.
Type approach psychologists believe that personality can be classified into broad categories.
Traits are relatively stable, persistent and characteristic patterns of behaviour which makes the individual different from others.
(i)These are overlapping, i.e., inclusive in nature.
(ii)Traits are specific psychological characteristics, e.g., shy or timid.
Types are cluster of similar traits.
(i)These are broad categories. .
(ii)These do not overlap, i.e., exclusive in nature, e.g., extrovert or introvert.

Q5. How does Freud explain the structure of personality?
Answer. The Id:
(i) The Id is the original source of personality, present in the newborn infant, from which the ego and super ego later develop.
(ii) It consists of everything that is inherited, including the instinctual drives—sex and
aggression.
(iii) It is closely linked to the biological processes and provides the energy source—the libido for the operation of all three systems.
(iv) It is totally unconscious and works on pleasure principles regardless of any,external potential costs of seeking the gratification of impulses.
The Ego:
(i) The ego develops out of Id because of the necessity for dealing with the real world. The ego’s task is to hold the Id in check until conditions allows for satisfaction of its impulses.
(ii) It operates on reality principles. For example, a hungry man would want to have food at any cost due to id impulses, but it is the ego which delays tl’ i hunger impulse until the appropriate conditions are found.
(iii)The ego is essentially the executive of the personality. It keeps a person working for a living, getting along with people and generally adjusting to the realities of life.
(iv) Ego mediates between the demands of id, the realities of the world and the demands of the super ego.
The Super Ego:
(i)It is related to the values and morals of the society as taught to us by our parents and others. It works according to social norms.
(ii)It is concerned with morality—whether various ways that could satisfy id impulses are right or wrong.
The main functions of the super ego are:
(i) To inhibit the unacceptable impulses of Id such as sex and aggression.
(ii)Freud assumed that Id is energised by two instinctual forces, called life instinct and death instinct. Life instinct is individuals, tendency to construct whereas death instinct is for the destruction. According to Freud, life instinct is more dominant among human beings.
According to Freud, the instinctual life force that energises the Id is called Libido.
It works on the pleasure principle, and seeks immediate gratification. It is source of energy.

Q6. How would Horney’s explanation of depression be different from that of Alfred Adler?
Answer. While Karen Horney focuses more on interpersonal relationships during childhood, Alfred gives greater importance to personal goals of an individual.
There are, in my opinion, Horney would attribute the cause of depression to parental relations with children which are characterized by excessive interference or indifference. Deep anxiety would result from the behaviour rewards the child which, if is erratic, indifferent and discouraging feelings of isolation and helplessness will also emerge. Alfred Adler would, on the other hand, attribute depression to the feeling of inadequacy and guilt arising within the individual, due to the inability to achieve his/her personal goals. These goals provide an individual with security and are important in overcoming feelings of inadequacy. If individual is not able to attain the goals and could not overcome inferiority appropriately then it leads to depression.

Q7. What is the main proposition of humanistic approach to personality? What did Maslow mean by self-actualization? (CBSE 2013, 2010)
Answer. Humanistic theories emphasise personal responsibility and innovate tendencies toward personal growth. They focus on the importance of people’s subjective attitudes, feelings and beliefs especially with regard to the self.
•According to humanistic approach, we human beings are most creative, growing, fully functioning and self-actualizing people.
•Fully functioning persons, according to Rogers theory, psychologically healthy persons who live life to the fullest.
•They live in the here and now and trust their own feelings. They are sensitive to the needs of others but they do not allow society’s standards to shape their feelings or actions to an excessive degree.
Rogers suggests that each individual has a concept of ideal self. If there is discrepancy between real self and ideal self then individual develops maladjustment.
Rogers proposed two basic assumptions:
(a)Human behaviour is goal-directed and worthwhile.
(b)People always choose adaptive and self-actualizing behaviour.
Rogers believed that many individuals fail to become fully functioning persons because they grow up in an atmosphere of conditional positive regard and develop distorted self-concept# which interferes with personal growth. Such people fail to self-actualise.
•All human beings desire unconditional positive regard, freedom of choice and feeling of fulfilment for attainment of self-actualization.
•Humanistic theories don’t deny the importance of past experience but they generally focus on the present.
Maslow’s Contribution to Humanistic Approach
Maslow’s Self-Actualization
•It is a state which people have reached their own fullest potential.
•He had an optimistic view of man who has potentialities for love, joy and creative work.
•According to him, human beings are free to shape their lives and to self-actualise.

Q8. Discuss the main observational methods used in personality assessment. What problems do we face in using these methods?
Answer. • Observational method is a very powerful tool of psychological enquiry. It is an effective method of describing behaviour.
•A scientific observation differs from day-to-day observation in many respects,
(i)Selection: Psychologists do not observe all the behaviour that they encounter. Rather, they select a particular behaviour for observation.
(ii)Recording: While observing, a researcher records the selected behaviour using different means, such as marking tallies for the already identified behaviour whenever they occur, taking notes describing each activity in greater detail using short hand or symbols, photographs, video recording, etc.
(iii)After the observations have been made, psychologists analyse whatever they have recorded with a view to derive some meaning out of it.
(iv)Observation is a skill. A good observation is a skill. A good observer knows what he/she is looking for, w’hom he/she wants to observe, when and where the observation needs to be made.
•Observation can be of the following types :
(a) Non-Participant vs. Participant Observation:
1.Non-participant observation
(i)To observe the person or event from a distance.
(ii)The observer may become part of the group being observed.
(iii)In the first case, the person being observed may not be aware that he/she is
being observed. For example, you want to observe the pattern of interaction between teachers and students in a particular class. .
(iv) Install a video camera to record the classroom activities, which you can see later and analyse. Alternatively, you may decide to sit in a corner of the class without interfering or participating in their everyday activities. This type of observation is called non-participant observation.
2. Participant observation
(i)In participant observation, the observer becomes a part of the school or the group of people being observed.
(ii)the observer takes some time to establish a rapport with the group so that they start accepting him/her as one of the group members.
(iii)the degree of involvement of the observer with the group being observed would vary depending upon the focus of the study.
The advantage of the observation method is that it enables the researcher to study people and their behaviour in a naturalistic situation, as it occurs. However, the observation method is labour-intensive, time-consuming, and is susceptible to the observer’s bias. Our observation is influenced by our values and beliefs about the person or the event.

Q9. What is meant by structured personality tests? Which are the two most widely used structured personality tests? (Delhi Board 2010 Part)
Answer. Structured personality tests are self-report measures that have the following features:
•Questions are direct and structured.
•They are called self-report because the examinee has to respond objectively to the items of the measure and his/her response are accepted as they are.
•They are objective in nature and they deal with the present state of mind.
— Self-report measures use inventories and questionnaires to assess conscious part of personality.
— Goal of the test may be revealed.
— These tests assess only conscious part of personality
•Their results depend on motivation and emotional state of the examinee; they are
non-projective and direct inferences are made. _
Some of the self-report measures are:
1.Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ): This test was developed by Eysenck to assess two basic dimensions of personality namely introverted—extroversion and emotionally stable—emotionally unstable (Neuroticism).
2.MMPI: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. This test was developed by Hathaway and Mckinely.
•It has been found very effective in detecting psycho-pathology like hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria etc.
•The test is divided into 10 sub scales. This test helps in clinical diagnosis of various mental disorders like hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria, etc.
•It has two sets’MMPI-I and MMPI-II. Now-a-days, MMPI-II is being used.
•It has 567 items in the form of affirmative statements. The subject judges each item ‘statements’ as true or false.
•MMPI is one of the very good tests for clinical purposes (diagnosis).
•Indian version of MMPI is also available named as Jodhpur Multiphasic Personality Inventory (JMPI) by Malik and Joshi.
16-PF Questionnaire (Delhi board 2010)
•It is developed by Cattell.
•It identifies large set of personality descriptions—subjected to factor analysis to identify basic personality structure.
•Subject responds to situation by choosing from alternatives.
•This test is being used with high school level students in India for career guidance
and counselling. ‘
Problems Faced by self-report Measures
•Social Desirability: It is a tendency on part of the respondent to endorse items in a socially desirable manner.
•Acquiescence: It is a tendency of the subject to agree with items/questions irrespective of contents.
•Testing and understanding personality require great skill and training.
•People become self-aware and conscious, hesitate to share thoughts and feelings and motivation. If they do it, it is done in a socially desirable manner. So, the real personality characteristics are not manifested.

Q10. State in common features of projective techniques. Describe anyone projective technique.
Or
Explain how projective techniques assess personality. Which projective tests of personality are widely used by psychologists? (CBSE 2013, 2010, 2007)
Answer. •Projective tests of personality are widely used by psychologists.
•Projective techniques are most indirect method to assess personality.
•Psycho analytic theory proposed that behaviour is also determined by unconscious forces.
•The projective techniques were developed to assess unconscious motives and feelings.
— The stimulus material is relative or fully unstructured and poorly defined.
— The person being assessed is usually not told the purpose and the method of scoring and interpretation before the administration of test. — The person is informed that there are no right or wrong responses.
— Each response is considered to reveal a true and significant aspect of personality.
— The scoring and interpretation in projective assessment are lengthy and subjective.
Projective Techniques
— Developed to assess unconscious motives, feelings and conflicts.
— A less structured or unstructured stimulus or situation will allow the individual to project his/her feelings, desires and needs on to that situation,
— Projections are interpreted by experts.
— Cannot be scored objectively, require qualitative analysis for which a rigorous training is needed.
1.The Rorschach Inkblot Test (Hermann Rorschach)
•Consists of 10 inkblots—5 black and white, 2 with red ink, 3 in pastel colours.
•Blots are symmetrical in design with a specific shape or form, made by dropping ink on a piece of paper and then folding the paper in half (hence called inkblot test).
•The cards are administered individually in two phases:
—Performance proper: The subjects are shown the cards and are asked to tell what they see in each of them.
—Inquiry: A detailed report of the response is prepared by asking the subject to tell where, how, and on what basis was a particular response made.
•Fine judgment is necessary to place the subject’s responses in a meaningful context. Use and interpretation of this test requires extensive training
2. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Morgan and Murray
•This test consists of 30 black and white picture cards and one blank card—each picture card depicts one or more people in a variety of situations.
• Some cards are used specifically with adult males or females, boys or girls—have been modified for the children and the aged.
•The cards are presented one at a time and the subject is asked to tell a story describing the situation presented in the picture—what led up to the situation, what is happening at the moment, what will happen in the future, what the characters are feeling and thinking?
Uma Chaudhury’s Indian adaptation of TAT is also available.
3.Rosenzweig’s Picture-Frustration Study (P-F Study)
• This study assesses how people express aggression in the face of a frustrating situation.
•Presents with the help of cartoon-like pictures a series of situations in which one person frustrates another, or calls attention to a frustrating condition.
•The subject is asked to tell what the other (frustrated) person will say or do.
•The analysis of responses is based on the type and direction of aggression—examine whether the focus is on the frustrating object (environment), or on protection of the frustrated person (oneself), or on constructive solution of the problem.
Pareek has adapted this test for the Indian population
4. Sentence Completion Test
•This test makes use of a number of incomplete sentences—the starting part of the sentence is first presented and the subject has to provide an ending to the sentence.
•The type of endings used by the subjects reflect their attitudes, motivation and conflicts.
•The test provides subjects with several opportunities to reveal their underlying unconscious motivations.
5. Draw-a-Person Test
•In this test, the subject is asked to draw a person on a sheet of paper and then a figure of an opposite sex person.
•Finally, the subject is asked to make a story about the person as if he/she was a character in a novel or play.
•Some examples of interpretations are as follows:
— Omission of facial features suggests that the person tries to evade a highly conflict-ridden interpersonal relationships.
— Graphic emphasis on the neck suggests lack of control over impulses.
— Disproportionately large head suggests organic brain disease and pre-occupation with headaches. ..
Limitations
•Interpretation of the responses requires sophisticated skills and specialized training.
•There are problems associated with the reliability of scoring and validity of interpretations.

Q11. Arihant wants to become a singer even though he belongs to a family of doctors. Though his family members claim to love him but strongly disapprove his choice of career. Using Carl Rogers’ terminology, describe the attitudes shown by Arihant’s family.
Answer. Arihant wants to become a singer even though he belongs to a family of doctors. His family ‘claims’ to love him, but disapproves of his choice of career.
This fact warrants my attention towards an important terminology given by Carl Rogers, i.e., unconditional positive regard.
As the desire of Arihant to become a singer is contradicted by his family, it results in a situation of negative social conditions which will reduce his level of self-concept and self¬esteem.
His inability to fulfil his goal will prevent him from becoming a ‘fully functioning person’. Moreover, his conception of an ‘ideal self involves him being a singer, while his ‘real self is not one due to familial pressure. This discrepancy between the real and ideal self results in dissatisfaction and unhappiness.
The provision of unconditional positive regard which includes empathy, love and warmth irrespective of other factors is necessary for Arihant.
According to Rogers, a person attains self-actualization only when people have reached their own fullest potential.
His inability to pursue singing will not allow self-actualization to occur which will prevent his psychological health and well-being.

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CHAPTER 1 : Intelligence And Aptitude NCERT SOLUTION CLASS 12TH Psychology | EDUGROWN NOTES

TEXTBOOK QUESTION AND ANSWER:

Q1. How do psychologists characterize and define intelligence?
Answer. Psychological motion of intelligence is quite different from the common sensed motion of intelligence.
Generally people saw intelligence as mental alertness, ready art, quickness in learning and ability to understand relationships.
Oxford dictionary explained intelligence as the power of perceiving, learning understanding and knowing.
Accordingly Alfred Binet also used these attributes and defined intelligence as ability to judge well, understand well and reason well.Later Wechsler gave a comprehensive definition in terms of its functionality, i.e., its value for adaptation to environment. He defined intelligence as “the global and aggregate capacity of an individual to think rationally, act purposefully and to deal effectively with his/her environment.”
Present day psychologists such as Gardner and Sternberg emphasized that “Intelligent individual not only adapts to the environment, but actively modifies or shapes it.”
Sternberg views intelligence as “ the ability to adapt, to shape and select environment to accomplish ones goals and those of ones society and culture.”

Q2.What extent is our intelligence the result of heredity (nature) and environment (nurture)? Discuss. (CBSE 2014)
Answer. (i) Whether intelligence is evolved or it is developed due to the environment, is a question of debate.
(ii)Lot of studies have been done to determine the role of nature and nurture.
(iii)Here we will discuss the controversy with the help of various twin studies, adoption studies and environmental studies.
On the basis of twin studies co-relation results are as follows:
(i)Identical twins reared together correlate 0.90
(ii)Identical twins reported early in childhood and reared in different environments correlate 0.72
(iii)Fraternal twins reared together correlate 0.60
(iv)Siblings reared together correlate 0.50
(v) Siblings reared apart correlate 0.25
•Adoption Studies before the Age of 6-7 Years
These studies of adopted children show that children’s intelligence is more similar to their biological parents.
These studies provide evidence that intelligence is determined because of nature.
•Adoption Studies after the Age of 6-7 Years
According to these studies as children grew older tends to more closer to that of their adoptive parents.
Environmental Studies
Evidence for the influence of environment (Nurture) on the basis of Twin studies.
(i) The intelligence score of twins reared apart as they grew older, tends to more closer to that of their adoptive parents.
(ii)On the basis of differences in environment, children from disadvantaged homes adopted into families with higher, socio-economic status exhibit an increase in their intelligence scores.
(iii)Environmental deprivation lowers intelligence. Factors such as nutrition, good family background and quality schooling increase growth rate of intelligence.
(iv)There is general consensus among psychologists that intelligence is a product of complex interaction of heredity (Nature) and environment (Nurture).
(v)Heredity provides the potentials and sets a range of growth whereas environment facilitates the development of intelligence.

Q3. Explain briefly the multiple intelligences identified by Gardner. (CBSE 2008)
Answer. Gardner’s theory based on information processing approaches functions on three basic principles:
(i)Intelligence is not a single entity, there exist multiple intelligences.
(ii)The intelligences are independent from each other.
(iii)Different types of intelligences work together to provide a solution of problem. Gardner has so far proposed eight intelligences, however all individuals do not possess them in equal proportion. The particular situation or the context decides the prominence of one type of intelligence over the others.
Following are the eight types of intelligence:
1.Linguistic: This is related to reading, writing, listening, talking, understanding etc. Poets exhibit this ability better than others.
2.Logical-Mathematical: This type of intelligence deals with abstract reasoning and manipulation of symbols involved in numerical problems. It is exhibited in scientific work.
3.Spatial: This type of intelligence is involved in perceiving third dimension formation of images. It is used while navigating in space, forming, transforming and using mental images. Sailors, engineers, surgeons, pilots, care drivers, sculptors and painters have highly developed spatial intelligence.
4.Musical: Persons with musical intelligence show sensitivity to pitch and tone required for singing, playing and instrument, composing and appreciating music etc.
5.Bodily Kinesthetic: It requires the skills and dexterity for fine coordinated motor movements, such as those required for dancing, athletics, surgery, craft making etc.
6.Inter-personal: It requires understanding of motives, feelings and behaviours of other people.sales people, politicians, teachers, clinicians and religious readers have high degree of inter-personal intelligence.
7. Intra-personal: It is related to understanding one’s self and developing a sense of identity, e.g., philosophers and spiritual leaders.
8.Naturalistic: It is related to recognizing the flora and fauna, i.e., natural world and making a distinction in the natural world. It is more possessed by hunters, farmers, tourists, students of biological sciences etc.

Q4. How does the Triarchic theory help us to understand intelligence? (CBSE 2012-13)
Answer. 1. Robert J. Sternberg proposes a theory of intelligence based on information
processing approach in 1985 known as the Triarchic theory of intelligence.
2. According to Sternberg, intelligence is an ability to adapt, to shape and select environment to accomplish ones goals and those of ones society and culture.
3. This theory attempts to understand the cognitive processes involved in problem solving.
4. According to him there are three types of intelligences:
(i)Componential intelligence (Analytical): This dimension specifies the cognitive processes that underlie an intelligent behaviour.
This dimension serves three different functions:
(a)Knowledge acquisition components: These are the processes used in learning, encoding, combining and comparing information.
(b)Metacomponents: ‘Meta’ means higher. These are executive processes. They control monitor and evaluate cognitive processing.
(c)Performance components: These components execute strategies prepared by metacomponents to perform a task.For example, While studying students plan the lesson chapterwise, they make
schedules, categories the learning material and do integrate the information to comprehend well.
(ii)Experiential intelligence (Creative): This dimension specifies how experiences effect intelligence and how intelligence effects a person’s experiences.
(а)Experiential intelligence refers to an individual’s ability to make use of one’s past experiences to deal with novel situations creatively and effectively.
(b)This intelligence is mostly high among scientists and creative people.
(c) For example if a person is trapped in a room, he finds out a way of coming out of the room using rope or ladder etc. in a creative way. He had some knowledge of getting out from this situation by watching out a movie few years back.
(iii)Contextual intelligence (Practical): This dimension specifies the ability to deal with environmental demands on daily basis.
(a)It is individual’s ability to make use of his/her potential to deal with day-to-day life.
(b)It may be called street smartness or ‘business sense’.
(c)People high in this ability are successful in life.
•It deals with the ways people handle effectively their environmental demands and adapt to different contexts with available resources.

Q5. Any intellectual activity involves the independent functioning of three ‘neurological systems’. Explain with reference to PASS model.
Answer. According to PASS model, theory based on information processing approach, intellectual activity involves the interdependent functioning of the three neurological systems called the functional units of the brain.
These units are responsible for:
•the arousal and attention. • the simultaneous and successive processing.
•the planning.
Arousal and Attention
(i)State of arousal helps in attending to the stimuli.
(ii)Arousal and attention enable a person to process information.
(iii)Optimal level of arousal focuses our attention on relevant aspects of a problem.
(iv)Too much or too little arousal interferes with attention and performance. Example: Arousal helps the individual to focus ones attention on reading, learning and revising the contents of the material to be learnt.
Simultaneous and Successive Processing:
Simultaneous Processing refers to perceiving relations amongst various concepts and integrate them into meaningful patterns for comprehension!
For e.g., in Raven’s standard progressive matrices (RSPM Test) choosing appropriate pattern by comprehending relationship.
Successive Processing refers to recalling information serially so that one recall leads to another recall. For example, learning of digits and letters and multiplication tables.
Planning:
1.After the information is attended to and processed, planning is activated.
2.Planning involves reaching to the target and evaluating their effectiveness. Planning allows us to think of possible courses of action and implementing them.
3.If a plan does not work, it is modified to suit the requirements of the task or the situation.
4.For example, to take a test scheduled by your teacher, you’d have to set goals, plan a time schedule of studies, get clarifications in case of problems or think of other ways to meet your goals.

Q6. Are there cultural differences in the conceptualisation of intelligence?
Answer. Yes, culture, which is a set of beliefs, customs, attitudes and achievements in art of literature, affects the process of intellectual development.
•According to Sternberg, intelligence is a product of culture.
•Vyotsky believes that while elementary7 mental operations are common, higher mental activities like problem-solving and thinking are culturally produced.
•Technological Intelligence
(i)Promotes an individualistic pattern of action.
(ii)Individuals in technologically educated western societies possess this kind of intelligence.
(iii)They are well versed in skills of attention, observation, analysis, speed, moves abstraction, generalisation, creativity, Minimum moves etc.
•Integral Intelligence
(i)Intelligence in the Indian tradition is integral intelligence.
(ii)It views intelligence from a holistic perspective.
(iii)It gives equal attention to cognitive and non-cognitive processes, as well as their integration.
(iv)‘Buddhi’ is the knowledge of one’s own self based on conscience, will and desire.
(v)It has effective, motivational as well as cognitive components. .
It includes:
(i)Cognitive competence (discrimination, problem-solving).
(ii)Social competence (respect for elders, concern for others, respecting opinions of others).
(iii)Emotional competence (self regulation, self monitoring). ‘
(iv)Entrepreneurial competence commitment, persistence, patience).

Q7. What is IQ? How do psychologists classify people on the bases of their IQ scores?
Answer.(i)IQ is an index of brightness.
(ii)It is the ratio of mental age to chronological age.
(iii)The concept of IQ was given by William. Stern w7ho gave the formula to calculate IQ i.e.,
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Psychology Chapter 1 Intelligence And Aptitude Q7
•IQ is relatively stable.
•It is a good predictor of potential.
•IQ scores are distributed in a population in such a way that most people tend to fall in the middle range of the distribution.
•This can be shown in the form of following table.
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Psychology Chapter 1 Intelligence And Aptitude Q7.1

Q8.Discuss various types of intelligence tests.
Or
How can you differentiate between verbal and performance tests of intelligence?
(CBSE 2008, 2014)
Answer. Types of Intelligence Tests:
Individual or group tests based on contact: .
Individual Test:
(i)Administered to one individual at a time.
(ii)Requires the administrator to establish a rapport with the subject and be sensitive to his/her feelings, mood and expressions during the testing sessions which provides understanding of other aspects of subjects personality.
(iii)Allows people to answer orally or in written form or manipulate the objects as per the tester’s instructions.
• Example: Stanford Binet intelligence scale, WAIS, WISSC, Alexander Pass along test.
Group Test:
(i)Administered to several individuals at a time simultaneously.
(ii)Do not allow an opportunity to be familiar with the subjects’ feelings.
(iii)Seek answers in a Multiple-choice format.
(iv)It is relatively economical and less time consuming.
(v)Example: Group Test of Intelligence by Prayag Mehta, Group Test on Intelligence by S. Jalota.
Verbal, Non-verbal and Performance Tests based on Mode of Administration: Verbal Tests:
(i)Requires subject to give verbal responses either orally or in written form.
(ii)Can be administered to literates only. ,
(iii)Example: CIE, Verbal Group Test, Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale.
Non-verbal Test:
• Has pictures or illustrations as test items.
•Example: Ravens progressive matrices. In this test the subject examines an incomplete pattern and chooses a figure from the alternatives that will complete the pattern.
•Reduces culture biases.
•Example: SRPM, CIE Non-verbal group test of Intelligence.
Performance Test:
•Requires the subject to manipulate objects to perform the test.
•Written language is not necessary for answering the items.
•Example: Kohs’s Block designs test. Here the subject is asked to arrange the blocks in a specified period to produce a given design, Bhatia’s Battery performance test.
•Can be administered to persons from different cultures and reduce culture biases.
•Example: Draw a Man Test by Pramila Pathak, Kohs Block designs test.
Culture Biased or Culture Fair Tests based on Nature of Items used:
•Psychological tests that show a bias toward the culture in which they are developed are Culture Biased Tests.
•Tests developed-in-America and Europe represent an urban and middle class cultural ethos. (Middle class white subjects perform well on these tests). The items do not consider favourably to Asians and Africans.
•Culture Fair Tests: One does not discriminate against as individuals belong to different cultures.
•Non-verbal and Performance Tests reduce cultural influences.
To overcome the limitation of Culture biased tests, Culture fair tests were developed, e.g. non-verbal and performance tests are called so because people of any culture could take them. For e.g. Standard progressive Matrices and Bhatia’s Battery Performance Test.

Q9. Discuss how interplay of Nature and Nurture influences intelligence.
Or
All persons do not have the same intellectual capacity. How do individuals vary in their intellectual ability? Explain. (CBSE 2014)
Answer. All persons do not have the same intellectual capacity. They vary in their intellectual ability. Some are exceptionally bright and some are below average. Some possess high IQ range while others have average or below average.
All the scores gradually and symmetrically decline towards both the sides but never touch the X-axis.
(i) The frequency distribution for the IQ scores tends to approximate a bell-shaped curve, called the normal curve. This type of distribution is symmetrical around the central value, called the mean.
(ii) On the basis of IQ, people are classified in different groups. It is clear that only 2.2 percent people who possess above 130 IQ range are very intelligent or very superior, their IQ score is more than 130.
(iii) People falling between 90-109 IQ range are considered as average. The mean IQ score in a population is 100. People with IQ scores in the range of 90-110 have normal intelligence.
(iv) Those with IQ below 70 are suspected to have ‘mental retardation’. Mental retardation refers to sub-average intellectual functioning. The behaviour is maladaptive and manifest in four forms i.e., mild, moderate, severe and profound mental retardation.
The extreme right also lie to 2.2 percent population which are known as gifted i.e., they enjoy exceptional intelligence, exceptional talent and exceptional creativity.
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Psychology Chapter 1 Intelligence And Aptitude Q9

Q10.Which of the two lQ or EQ, do you think would be more related to success in life and Why?
Answer. (i) IQ is a good predictor of potential.
(ii) EQ is a good predictor of success.
-Researchers had proved that—EQ helps in dealing with students who are stressed and face challenges of the outside world.
-It improves the academic performance.
-It is very useful in preparing students to face the challenges of life outside the classroom.
-They are less anti-social and more co-operative.

Q11. How is ‘Aptitude’ different from ‘interest1 and intelligence?
Answer. Aptitude:
(i)Aptitude refers to combination of characteristics indicative of an individual’s potential to acquire some specific skills with training.
(ii)It is specific mental ability or teach ability of an individual to learn a particular skill.
(iii)It is the potentiality to perform a particular activity.
(iv)Aptitude is a determiner to learn a particular skill.
Interest:
(i)Interest refers to preference for a particular activity or what one enjoys doing.
(ii)Interest are acquired/learnt.
(iii)Interest is a facilitator.
An individual with high scientific aptitude having strong interest in mechanical activities is more likely to be successful mechanical engineer.
(i) Intelligence is a global and aggregate capacity of an individual to think rationally, act purposefully and to deal effectively with her/his environment.
(ii)Intelligence is a general mental ability.
(iii)It is product of heredity and environment.
(iv)It does not require training for the growth.

Q12.How is creativity related to intelligence?(Delhi Board 2010)
Or
How creativity and creativity tests are related but different from each other?
Answer. Creativity and intelligence are positively correlated because high ability is component of creativity, A highly intelligent person may not be creative but all the creative persons are definitely high in intelligence. _
(i)Creativity is the ability to produce ideas, objects, or problem solutions that are novel, appropriate and useful.
(ii) Intelligence is subset of creativity.
(iii) Terman found that persons with high IQ were not necessarily creative. The same time, creative ideas could come from persons who did not even one of those identified as gifted, followed up through out their adult life, had become well known for creativity in some field.
(iv)Researchers have found that both high and low level of creativity can be found in highly intelligent children and also children of average intelligence. The same person can be creative as well as intelligent but it is not necessary that intelligent once must be creative.
Creative tests are different from intelligence tests:
(i)Creative tests measure creative thinking ability whereas intelligence tests measure general mental ability.
(ii) Creative tests measure convergent and divergent thinking whereas intelligence test measure convergent thinking only.
(iii)Creative tests measure imagination and spontaneous expression to produce new ideas, to see new relationship, to guess causes and consequences and ability to put things in a new context. Intelligence tests measure potential.
(iv)In creative tests questions are open-ended that have no specified answers whereas intelligence tests mostly use close-ended questions.

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CHAPTER 22 : Geographical Perspective on Selected Issues and Problems NCERT SOLUTION CLASS 12TH GEOGRAPHY | EDUGROWN NOTES

Short Answer Type Questions:


Q1.Describe the effects and remedies for air pollution.
Answer:

Effects of Air Pollution:

  • It causes various respiratory diseases like asthma, sore throat, sneezing, allergic rhinitis, smoky fog over the cities commonly known as smog prevails which may lead to accidents.
  • Air pollution also causes acid rain.
  • It leads to global warming which creates variation in the rhythmic cycle of seasons.
  • Depletion of the ozone layer is the result of excessive chlorofluorocarbons and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
  • It is also responsible for the various skin diseases like, itching of eyes, pimples, etc.

Measures to curb Air Pollution:

  • Promote afforestation
  • Use electrical appliances with four star or five star ratings.
  • Use CNG for automobiles.
  • Proper chimney should be installed.


Q2.Describe the sources of air pollution in India.
Answer:

Air Pollution: Increased concentration of contaminants like dust, fumes, gas, odour and smoke in the air causes pollution. This concentration may be harmful to flora, fauna and to property.
Sources of Air Pollution:

  • Increased use of variety of fuels such as coal, petrol and diesel.
  • Increased emission of toxic gases from industrial activities into the atmosphere.
  • Mining activities release the dusts which pollute the air.
  • Important pollutants are oxide of sulphur and nitrogen, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead andasbestos


Q3.What are the sources of pollution in the Ganga and the Yamuna? Also give its polluted stretch.
Answer:

Sources of pollution in Ganga and Yamuna:

  • Domestic and industrial effluents.
  • Dumping and carcasses in the river.
  • Domestic waste from urban centres.
  • Agricultural run-off.
  • Extraction of water for irrigation purpose.
  • Industrial pollution in the cities like Kanpur, Agra, Mathura, Varanasi and Delhi. The polluted stretch of the river Ganga: Downstream of Kanpur, Varanasi, Farakka barrage. The polluted stretch of the riVer Yamuna: Delhi, Mathura and Agra.


Q4.Which problems have arisen due to increasing urban population?
Answer:

Some problems have arisen due to increasing urban population:

  • Congestion
  • Overcrowding
  • Inadequate facilities to support the fast growing population and consequent poor sanitary conditions and foul air.
  • Environmental pollution by solid wastes has now got significance because of enormous growth in the quantity of wastes generated from various sources,
  • Urban waste disposal.
  • Increasing number of slums.


Q5.Urban waste disposal is a serious problem in India. Why?
Answer:
In metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, etc. about 90 per cent of the solid waste is collected and disposed. But in most of other cities and towns in the country, about 30 to 50 per cent of the waste generated are left uncollected which accumulate on streets, in open spaces between houses and in wastelands leading to serious health hazards. These wastes should be treated as resource and utilized for generating energy and compost. Untreated wastes ferment slowly and release toxic biogas to the atmosphere, including methane.


Q6.Write a note on the life of people living in slums.
Answer:

Slums are residential areas of the least choice, dilapidated houses, poor hygienic conditions, poor ventilation, lack of basic amenities like drinking water, light and toilet facilities, etc. Most of the slum population works in low paid, high risk- prone, unorganized sectors of the urban economy. Consequently, they are the undernourished, prone to different types of diseases and illness and can ill afford to give proper education to their children. The poverty makes them vulnerable to drug abuse, alcoholism, crime, vandalism, escapism, apathy and ultimately social exclusion.


Q7.What are the main sources of noise pollution?
Answer:

The main sources of noise pollution are various factories, mechanized construction and demolition works, automobiles and aircraft’s, etc. There may be added periodical but polluting noise from sirens, loudspeakers used in various festivals, programmes associated with community activities.

In sea traffic, the noise pollution is confined to the harbour due to loading and unloading activities being carried. Industries cause noise pollution but with varying intensity depending upon the type of industry.


Q8.Why are rural areas important for urban centers?
Answer:

Rural areas are important for urban areas because they provide labour for industrial development and for tertiary activities. At present, 47 per cent of the world’s six billion population lives in cities and more will join them in near future. This proportion is estimated to go up to 50 per cent by 2008. By 2050, an estimated two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas, imposing even more pressure on the space infrastructure and resources of cities, which are manifested in terms of sanitary, health, crime problems and urban poverty.

Long Answer Type Questions:


Q1.The largest slum Dharavi exhibits many contradictory elements. What are these? Explain.
Answer:

Dharavi is Asia’s largest slum. There are many contradictory elements.
Negative versus positive aspect of the slum:

  • Only one main road traverses the slum, the miscalled ‘ninety-foot road’, which has been reduced to less than half of that for most of its length.
  • Some of the side alleys and lanes are so narrow that not even a bicycle can pass. The whole neighborhood consists of temporary buildings, two or three storeyed high with rusty iron stairways to the upper part, where a single room is rented by a whole family, sometimes accommodating twelve or more people.
  • On the one hand, in this place of shadowless, treeless sunlight, uncollected garbage, stagnant pools of foul water, where the only non-human creatures are the shining black crows and long grey rats, on the other hand, some of the most beautiful, valuable and useful articles in India are made. From Dharavi come delicate ceramics and pottery, exquisite embroidery and zari work, sophisticated leather goods, high-fashion garments, finely-wrought metalwork, delicate jewellery settings, wood carvings and furniture that would find its way into the richest houses, both in India and abroad.


Q2.State any four pressing environmental concerns of India.
Answer:

Four pressing environmental concerns in India are:

  • Water Contamination: In India drinking water is getting contaminated due to industrial waste. It is leading to water¬borne diseases.
  • Air Pollution: Due to urbanisation, the number of vehicles on Indian roads is increasing continously. Number of motor vehicles has increased from 3 lakh in 1951 to 67 crores in 2003. India is one of the ten most industrialised nations of the world but it has happened at the cost of environment which is irreversible.
  • Deforestation: India’s forest cover is dwindling continuously due to increasing demand by increasing population. It is increasing air pollution and the problems associated with it. Per capita forest land in India is only 0.08 hectare against a requirement of 0.47 hectare.
  • Land Degradation: Land degradation is happening because of loss of vegetation occurring due to deforestation, unsustainable fuel wood and fodder extraction, encroachment into forest lands, non adoption of adequate soil conservation measures, indiscriminate use of chemicals, improper planning and management of irrigation system. Certainly, correction of environmental degradation involves an opportunity cost in the form of adverse health conditions, poor quality of life in poor environmental conditions and expenditure by government on correcting the harm done by environment.
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CHAPTER 21 : International Trade NCERT SOLUTION CLASS 12TH GEOGRAPHY | EDUGROWN NOTES

Short Answer Type Questions:


Q1.Why is international trade necessary?
Answer:

International trade is beneficial as no country is self sufficient. It bridges the gap between surplus regions and deficit regions through export and imports. Countries need to trade to obtain commodities, they cannot produce themselves or they can purchase elsewhere at a lower price. It helps countries in maintaining the specialisation in the production of goods and services. It increases international cooperation and understanding. In early times it played significant role in the cultural diffusion.


Q2.Explain the causes behind increase in foreign trade in India.
Answer:

There are numerous reasons for this sharp increase in foreign trade:

  • The momentum picked up by the manufacturing sectors.
  • The liberal policies of the government.
  • The diversification of markets.


Q3.What factors are responsible for change in nature of international trade?
Answer:
Many changes have taken place in foreign trade of India over time. There has been an increase in the total volume of import & export, but the value of import remained higher. The share of agriculture and allied products has declined while that of petroleum has increased. The increase in deficit is attributed to the price rise of crude petroleum which forms a major component of India’s import list.


Q4.Name the goods of imports from 2009 to 2011 whose quantity kept on increasing.
Answer:

Import of Petroleum products & capital goods maintained steady rise in imports due to rising industrialisation and better standard of living. Non-electrical machinery, transport equipment, manufacturers of metals and machine tools were the main items of capital goods. Import of food and allied products declined with a fall in imports of edible oils. Other major items of India’s import include pearls and semi precious stones, gold and silver, ferrous ores and metal scrap, non-ferrous metals, electronic goods, etc.


Q5.What steps have been taken by India to • increase its share in international trade?
Answer:

India aims to double its share in the international trade within the next five years. India has started adopting suitable measures such as import liberalization, reduction in import duties, de-licensing and change from process to product patents for attaining these goals.


Q6.What steps have been taken for modernization of Indian ports?
Answer:

Today Indian ports are handling large volumes of domestic as well as overseas trade. Most of the ports are equipped with modern infrastructure. Previously the development and modernization was the responsibility of the government agencies, but considering the increase in function and need to bring these ports at par with the international ports, private entrepreneurs have been invited for the modernization of ports in India.


Q7.Explain the hinterland of Kolkata port.
Answer:

Hinterland is the influence area which is closely connected to the port with roads and railways. The products of this area are sent to the port for export and imported material is distributed here for sale and consumption.

Kolkata port is also confronted with the problem of silt accumulation in the Hugli river which provides a link to the sea. Its hinterland covers U.P., Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Sikkim and the north-eastern states. Apart from this, it also extends ports facilities to our neighbouring land-locked countries such as Nepal and Bhutan.


Q8.Explain the features of Kandla Port.
Answer:

Features of Kandla Port:

  • Objective: Kandla Port situated at the head of Gulf of Kuchchh has been developed as a major port to cater to the needs of western and north western parts of the country and also to reduce the pressure at Mumbai port.
  • Goods Handled: The port is specially designed to receive large quantities of petroleum and petroleum products and fertiliser. The offshore terminal at Vadinar has been developed to reduce the pressure at Kandla port.
  • Hinterland: Demarcation of the boundary of the hinterland would be difficult as it is not fixed over space. In most of the cases, hinterland of one port may overlap with that of the other. Covers the western 8s north western states.

Long Answer Type Questions:


Q1.India’s international trade has undergone a sea-change in recent years. Discuss.
Answer:

India has trade relations with all the major trading blocks and all geographical regions of the world. Among the commodities of export, whose share is significant over the last few years till 2010¬11, are agriculture and allied products (10 per cent), ores and minerals (4 per cent), gems and jewellery, chemical and allied products, manufactured goods (12 per cent) and petroleum products (17 per cent). The commodities imported to India include petroleum & coal petroleum products (31 per cent), pearls, precious stones (10 per cent), inorganic chemicals (5.2 per cent), machinery (12.56 per cent). Fertilisers cereals, edible oils and newsprint on other imports. International trade has undergone a sea change in the last fifteen years. Exchange of commodities and goods have been superseded by the exchange of information and knowledge. India has emerged as a software giant at the international level. It is earning large foreign exchange through the export of information technology. .


Q2.Describe the changes in composition of India’s exports.
Answer:.

Composition of export of India:

  • The percentage share of the agriculture and allied products have declined. There is a decline in the exports of traditional items such as coffee, spices, tea, pulses, etc.
  • The share of petroleum and crude products have increased due to rise in petroleum prices and increase in India’s refining capacity.
  • The share of ore & minerals and have largely remained constant over the years from 1997- 98 to 2003-04.
  • Manufacturing goods are the largest exporting commodities in the year 2003¬04 (75.96%). The percentage share of other commodities has increased due to an increase in fruits, marine products and sugar.
  • Engineering goods are the largest commodities on the export list. Crude and petroleum products also occupy a significant place in the list.
  • Textile sector could not achieve much inspite of liberal measures taken by government due to competition from China and other Asian countries.


Q3.Describe the changes in composition of India’s imports.
Answer:

Composition of India’s imports:

  • During 1950-60s the major items of imports were foodgrain because India at that time faced food crisis.
  • After 1970s import of foodgrains stop due to Green Revolution.
  • Foodgrains were replaced by fertilisers and petroleum.
  • Petroleum is the largest imported commodity because it is used as a fuel as well as industrial raw material.
  • The capital goods like non-electrical machinery, transport equipment, machines and tools have increased on the import list.
  • Special steel alloy, edible oils are also imported.
  • The other major items of import include pulse, precious gold and silver, metal ores, scraps, electronic goods, etc.


Q4.What are the advantages of sea port? Why are they termed as gateways of International trade?
Answer:

  • India is surrounded by sea from three sides and is bestowed with a long coastline.
  • Water provides a smooth surface for very cheap transport provided there is no turbulence.
  • India has a long traditional of sea-faring and developed many ports with place name suffixed with pattan which mean port. Since waterways is the cheapest means of transport for heavy and bulky goods and it is more favoured for international trading.
  • India’s west coast has more seaports than its east coast.
  • Availability of indented coastline.
  • Early arrivals of British to promote their trade.
  • British encouragement to establish and promote ports along the west coast to strengthen connectivity to Europe.
  • Opening of suez canal also promotes an encouraged seaports along the west coast.


Q5.Write the differences between Major ports and Minor ports.
Answer:

Major PortsMinor Ports
(i) There are 12 major ports in India.(i) There are 226 minor ports in India.
(ii) Central government makes the policy and plays regulatory functions.(ii) State government makes the policy and functions.
(iii) It regulates foreign trade at international level.(iii) It manages trade at national or inter-state level.
(iv) It handles huge traffic of metric tonnes per year.(iv) It handles comparatively lesser traffic of metric tonnes per year.
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CHAPTER 20 : Transport And Communication NCERT SOLUTION CLASS 12TH GEOGRAPHY | EDUGROWN NOTES

Short Answer Type Questions:


Q1.Explain the functions of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Answer:

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was operationalised in 1995. It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Surface Transport. It is entrusted with the responsibility of development, maintenance and operation of National Highways. This is also the apex body to improve the quality of the roads designated as National Highways.


Q2.List some major projects of NHAI.
Answer:

NHAI has taken up some major projects in the country under different phases:

  • Golden Quadrilateral: It comprises construction of 5,846 km long 4/6 lane, high density traffic corridor, to connect India’s four big metro cities of Delhi- Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata. With the construction pf Golden Quadrilateral, the time-distance and cost of movement among the mega cities of India will be considerably minimized.
  • North-South Corridors: North-South corridor aims at connecting Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir with Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu (including Kochi-Salem Spur) with 4,076 km long road.
  • East-West Corridor: The East-West Corridor has been planned to connect Silchar in Assam with the port town of Porbandar in Gujarat with 3,640 km of road length.


Q3.Explain the functions of Border Roads Organisation.
Answer:

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) was established in May, 1960.
Functions:

  • It aimed at accelerating economic development and strengthening defence preparedness through rapid and coordinated improvement of strategically important roads along the northern and north-eastern boundary of the country.
  • Border Road Organisation has completed over 40,450 km of roads by March, 2005.
  • Apart from the construction and maintenance of roads in strategically sensitive areas, the BRO also undertakes snow clearance in high altitude areas.


Q4.Give the reasons for regional variations of the low density of roads in India.
Answer:

The reasons for low density of roads in India.

Nature of terrain:

  • Construction of roads is easy and cheaper in plain areas.
  • It is difficult and costly in hilly and plateau are better in plain areas.
  • The density and quality of roads is relatively better in plain areas as compared to hilly areas, rainy and forested areas.

Level of economic development:

  • Density and quality of roads is high in urban areas.
  • It is very low in rural areas.
  • Important towns are the nodes of north India.


Q5.What do you know about Konkan railway?
OR
What is the significance of Konkan railway?
Answer:

  • One of the important achievements of Indian railways has been the construction of Konkan railway in 1998.
  • It is 760 km long rail route connecting Roha in Maharashtra to Mangalore in Karnataka.
  • It is considered as engineering marvel. It crosses 146 rivers, streams, nearly 2000 bridges and tunnels.
  • Asia’s largest tunnel which is nearly 6.5 km long also lies on this route.
  • States of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka are partners in this undertaking.


Q6.What is the importance of air transport?
Answer:

  • It is easily accessible to places of uneven topography.
  • It is important for transportation of perishable goods.
  • It is the fastest means of transport which takes comparatively lesser time to make the passengers reach their destination.
  • It is efficient during calamities.
  • It has strategic importance also.


Q7.What is pipeline and why is it important?
Answer:

Pipeline is the cheapest means of transport as only once the construction has to be done and it has low operational cost. It is important because:

  • It is the most convenient and efficient mode of transporting liquids and gases over long distances.
  • It solves the problems of loading and unloading of raw materials and finished goods.
  • This ensures the uninterrupted supply of raw materials to the refineries and finished products to the consumers.
  • It is ideally suited for transport of liquids and gases.
  • It can be laid through difficult terrain and underwater also.
  • It involves low energy consumption.
  • It rules out transhipment losses.


Q8.Explain the Super National Highways of India.
Answer:

  • Golden Quadrilateral: It comprises construction of 5,846 km long 416 lane, high density traffic corridor to connect India’s four big metro cities of Delhi- Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata. With the construction of Golden quadrilateral, the time-distance and cost of movement among the mega cities of India will be considerably minimised.
  • North-South and East-West Corridors: North-South corridor aims at connecting Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir with Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu (including Kochi-Salem) with 4,076 km long road. The East-West corridor has been planned to connect Silchar in Assam with the port town of Porbandar in Gujarat with 3,640 km of road length.


Q9.What is Internet? What are its uses?
Answer:

Internet is one of the most effective and advanced personal communication system.
Uses:

  • It enables the users to establish direct contact e-mail to get access to the world of knowledge and information.
  • It is also used for e-commerce and carrying out money transactions.
  • The internet is like a huge central warehouse of data, with detailed information on various items.
  • It enables us with the basic facilities of direct communication.


Q10.What are National Highways? Give its three characteristics.
Answer:

The main roads which are constructed and maintained by the central government are known as National Highways.
Characteristics of National Highways are:

  • These roads are meant for inter-state transport and movement of defence men and material in strategic areas.
  • These also connect the state capitals, major cities, important ports, railways functions, etc.
  • The length of the National Highways constitutes only two per cent of total road length but carry 40 % of road traffic.


Q11.What are border roads? How are they important for the country?
Answer:

Roads along the northern and north¬eastern boundary of India are known as border roads. The Border Road Organisation (BRO) was established in May 1960 for accelerating economic development and strengthening defence preparedness through rapid and coordinated improvement and suffers daily necessities to border areas.
Example; Roads in high altitude mountainous terrain joining Chandigarh with Manila. This road runs at an average altitude of 4,270 metres above the mean sea level.


Q12.When did air transport begin in India? Explain its present state.
Answer:

Air transport in India made a beginning in 1911 when airmail operation comm¬enced over a little distance of 10 km between Allahabad and Naini. But its real development took place in post¬independent period. The Airport Authority of India is responsible for providing safe, efficient air traffic and aeronautical communication services in the Indian Air Space. The authority manages 126 airports including 11 international, 86 domestic and 29 civil enclaves at defence air fields.


Q13.What are the limitations of the pipeline transport?
Answer:

  • Pipelines are not flexible.
  • The capacity laid cannot be increased.
  • The security of pipelines is little difficult.
  • The repair of underground pipelines is not easy and leakages cannot be detected easily

Long Answer Type Questions:


Q1.Explain the factors affecting Indian Railways.
Answer:

The pattern of Indian railway network has been influenced by geographical, economic and political factors.
Geographical Factors: The North Indian plain with its levelled land, high density of population and rich agriculture presents the most favourable conditions for the development of railways. However, the presence of a large number of rivers makes it necessary to construct bridges which involve heavy expenditure.

There are practically no railways in the flood plains of many rivers in Bihar and Assam. The plateau region of south India is not as much suitable for railways as the North Plain area. The Himalayan region in the north is almost entirely devoid of railways due to its rugged topography.

Some railway terminals such as Jammu Tawi, Kotdwar, Dehradun, Kathgodam, etc. are found on the foothills. Some narrow gauge railway tracks are found in the Himalayan region. A railway link
between Jammu and Kashmir valley is being planned at a veiy high cost. The sandy areas of Rajasthan are also not much favourable for railways.

There was no railway line between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer till 1966. Similarly, forested areas of Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, deltaic swamps of West Bengal, marshy areas of Rann of Kachchh and hilly tract of Sahyadri are also unfavourable for the development of railways. Sahyadri can only be crossed through gaps like Thalghat, Bhorghat and Palghat to reach coastal trail heads like Mumbai, Vasco-de-Gama, Mangalore and Kochi. Obviously, the railways tend to follow the path of least resistance.

Economic Factors: Railways develop more in the economically advanced areas where the need for railway network is felt more. Conversely, railways bring about economic prosperity to the areas through which they pass. This is because of the economic linkages that we find the highest density of railways near big urban and industrial centres and in areas which are rich in mineral and agricultural resources.

Political and Administrative Factors: The present railway system in India is the legacy of the British rule. The British administration planned the direction and pattern of the railway lines in such a way that they could exploit the valuable raw materials of India for the benefit of their industries and flood the Indian markets with the finished goods from Britain.

Besides, the Britishers wanted to maintain their military supremacy, for which quick movement of troops and arms was necessary and construction of railways became unavoidable. Thus, top priority was given to the big ports of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. These ports were connected with their hinterlands by railway lines to facilitate imports and exports. It is from the ports that the railway network spread to other parts of the country.


Q2.What recent steps have been taken for development and modernisation of Indian railways? Why is unification of gauges important? What role does railway network play in economic development of our country?
Answer:

Recent development and modernisation steps taken in Indian railways:

  • Extensive programme to convert the metre and narrow gauge to broad gauge.
  • The steam engines have been replaced by diesel and electric engines. .
  • The new trains have increased speed.
  • The environment of the stations have improved. There have been computerised reservations, automatic electronic signals, loading facilities, etc.
  • Introduction of metro in Kolkata and Delhi have set an example for other states also.
  • Railway routes have been extended to other areas such as Konkan railway between Mumbai and Mangalore.
  • Improved passenger services on the trains include AC coaches, pantry services, bedding facilities, etc.

Unification of gauges is important:

  • Unification of gauges will bring uniformity across the country.
  • It helps in increasing capacity with broad higher speed.
  • It provides higher speed at economical rates.
  • Reduction in transhipment losses, eliminates wastage of time and money.
  • Maintenance of single track is easy and it promotes comfortable travelling.

Contribution of Indian railways to economic development:

  • The major bulk commodities transported by railways are coal, food grains, cement and fertilizers.
  • The haulage of food grains increased to about four times between 1970-71 to 2004-05. It has now reached upto 44.07 million tons from 15.1 million tons.
  • It shows production has substantially increased.
  • The transport of fertilizers has increased many times from 4.7 million tons in 1970-71 to 23.7 million tons in 2004-05. It shows improvement in the agricultural sector as it provides the base for agri¬cultural development.
  • The transport of coal has increased from 47.9 million tons in 1970-71 to 251.7 million tons in 2004-05. It shows the expansion of railways. Moreover, the consumption of coal has brought major industrial development.


Q3.Discuss the growth and role of TV and radio in mass communication.
Answer
:
Radio: Radio broadcasting started in India in 1923 by the Radio Club of Bombay. Since then, it gained immense popularity and changed the social-cultural life of people. Government took mode of communication under its control in 1930 under the Indian Broadcasting System. It was changed to All India Radio in 1936 and to Akashwani in 1957 (TV).

Television: TV broadcasting has emerged as the most effective audio-visual medium for disseminating information and educating masses. Initially, the TV services were limited only to the national capital where it began in 1959. After 1972, several other centres became operational. In 1976, TV was delinked from All India Radio (AIR) and got a separate identity as Doordarshan (DD). After INSAT-IA (National Television-DDl) became operational, Common National Programme (CNP) was started for the entire network and its services were extended to the backward and remote rural areas. TV and radio play an important role in mass communication.

  • All India Radio broadcasts a variety of programmes related to information, education and entertainment.
  • Special news bulletins are also broadcast at specific occasions like session of parliament and state legislatures.
  • They are used for the purpose of advertisement of various products.
  • They are used to create awareness on government policies and programmes.
  • They are also used to create awareness about various diseases and their precautions. In this way they act as public health measures.
  • Weather forecasting information, important facts and figures reach to general public only through radio and TV.


Q4.Explain the primary and secondary inland waterways of India.
Answer:

India has 14,500 km of navigable waterways, contributing about 1% to the country’s transportation. It comprises rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc. At present, 3,700 km of major rivers are navigable by mechanised flat bottom vessels. For the development, maintenance and regulation of national waterways in the country, the Inland Waterways Authority was set up in 1986.

The authority has declared inland national waterways:

National Waterway 1: Allahabad-Haldia stretch (1,620 km): It is one of the most important waterways in India. It is navigable by mechanical boats up to Patna and by ordinary boats up to Haridwar. It is divided into three parts for developmental purposes:

  • Haldia-Farakka (560 km)
  • Farakka-Patna (460 km)
  • Patna-Allahabad (600 km).

National Waterway 2: Sadiya-Dhubri stretch (891 km): The Brahmaputra is navigable by steamers up to Dibrugarh (1,384 km) which is shared by India and Bangladesh.

National Waterway 3: Kottapuram-Kollam stretch (205 km): It includes 168 km of west coast canal along with Champakarcanal (23 km) and Udyogmandal canal (14 km). Inland Waterways Authority has also identified ten other inland waterways, which could be upgraded. The backwaters (Kadal) of Kerala has special significance in Inland Waterway. It provides cheap means of transport and also attracts a large number of tourists in Kerala. The famous Nehru Trophy Boat Race (VALLAMKALI) is also held in the backwaters.

National Waterway 4: specified stretches of Godavari and Krishna rivers alongwith Kakinada, Puducherry stretch of canals (1078 km).

National Watery-5: Specified streches of Brahmani along with Matai river, delta channels of Mahanadi & Brahmani rivers and East Coast Canals (588 km).


Q5.Explain the functions of Oil India Limited (OIL).
Answer:

Oil India Limited (OIL) operates under the administrative set up of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It is engaged in the exploration, production and transportation of crude oil and natural gas. It was incorporated in 1959 as a company.
Functions:

  • It constructed Asia’s first cross country pipeline covering a distance of 1,157 km from Naharkatiya oilfield in Assam to Barauni refinery in Bihar.
  • It was further extended up to Kanpur in 1966.
  • It has also constructed another pipeline in the western region of India of which Ankleshwar-Koyali, Mumbai High- Koyali and Hazira-Vij aipur-Jagdishpur (HVJ) are most important.
  • Recently, a 1256 km long pipeline connecting Salaya (Gujarat) with Mathura (U.P.) has been constructed.
  • It supplies crude oil from Gujarat to Punjab (Jalandhar) via Mathura.
  • OIL is in the process of constructing of 660 km long pipeline from Numaligarh to Siliguri
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CHAPTER 19 : Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context NCERT SOLUTION CLASS 12TH GEOGRAPHY | EDUGROWN NOTES

Short Answer Type Questions:


Q1.Mention the important features of Hill Area Development Programmes.
Answer:

  • Hill Area Development Programmes were initiated during Fifth Year Plan.
  • It covered 15 districts comprising all the hilly districts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
  • The hill areas in the country having height above 600 metres and not covered under tribal subplan be treated as Backward Hill Areas.
  • These programmes aimed at harnessing the indigenous resources of the hill areas through development of horticulture, plantation agriculture, animal husbandry, poultry, forestry and small-scale and village industry.


Q2.Name those Five Year Plans of India which could not complete its duration.
Answer:

India has centralised planning and the task of planning in India has been entrusted to the Planning Commission. It is a statutory body headed by the Prime Minister and has a Deputy Chairman and members. The planning in the country is largely carried out through Five Year Plans by the Planning Commission.

Two successive droughts during mid¬sixties (1965-66 and 1966-67) and war with Pakistan in 1965 forced plan holiday in 1966-67 and 1968-69. This period was covered by annual plans. It was called rolling plans. The Fifth Five Year Plan began in 1974-75 but it was terminated by the then government one year earlier, i.e. in 1977-78. Once again due to the political instability and initiation of liberalization policy, the Eighth Five Year Plan got delayed.


Q3.Explain the need and importance of Target Area Planning.
Answer:

Need of Target Area Planning:

  • The planning process has to take special care of those areas which have remained economically backward.
  • The economic development of a region depends upon its resource base. But resources are not equally distributed. Economic development also requires technological investments besides resource. Therefore, sometimes resource- rich regions also remain backward. It demands Target Area Planning for balanced regional development.

Importance of Target Area Planning:

  • With the planning experience of about one and half decades, it was realised that regional imbalances in economic development were getting accentuated. In order to arrest the accentuation of regional and social disparties, the Planning Commission introduced the ‘target area’ and ‘target group’ approaches to planning.
  • It will help in bringing balanced regional development which in turn has multiple benefits.


Q4.Mention the important features of Drought Prone Area Programmes.
Answer:

  • This programme was initiated during the Fourth Five Year Plan.
  • Irrigation Commission (1972) introduced the criterion of 30 per cent irrigated area and demarcated the drought prone areas.
  • The objectives of providing employment to the people in drought-prone areas and creating productive assets.
  • This programmes laid emphasis on the construction of labour intensive civil works. Irrigation projects, land development programmes, afforestation, grassland development and creation of basic rural infrastructure such as electricity, roads, market, credit and services.
  • Other strategies include adoption of integrated watershed development approach at micro level.
  • The restoration of ecological balance between water, soil, plants and human population.


Q5.What are the positive and negative influences of Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area Development Programme on the environment of the region?
Answer:

The positive and negative, influences of Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area Development Programme are as follows:
Positive:

  • The availability of soil moisture for a longer period of time and various afforestation and pasture development programmes under CAD have resulted in transformation in agricultural economy.
  • Spread of canal irrigation has led to increase in cultivated area and intensity of cropping.
  • It has also helped in reducing wind erosion and siltation of canal systems.
  • Traditional crops such as gram, bajra and jowar have been replaced by wheat, cotton, groundnut and rice.
  • Intensive irrigation led to an increase in agricultural and livestock productivity.

Negative:

  • The intensive irrigation and excessive use of water has led to the emergence of twin environmental problems of waterlogging and soil salinity.
  • Soils are getting infertile and thus in the long run agriculture would be affected.
  • It has degraded the environment of the region hampering sustainability of agriculture.


Q6.Indian lifestyle was quite environment friendly but globalization has brought a change in lifestyle which is not environment friendly. Do you agree? Justify your answer.
Answer:

It is quite right that Indian lifestyle is environment friendly. People use local materials to build houses, natural cycle is followed in agriculture so that soil is replenished. They are habitual of working during day hours and hence electricity consumption is less. But due to globalization, we have come in contact with western nations. It has affected our old ways and our lifestyles are no more environment friendly with increase use of resources.

Long Answer Type Questions:


Q1.How did the concept of sustainable development originate?
Answer:

Development is a multi-dimensional concept and signifies the positive, irreversible transformation of the economy, society and environment. The concept of development is dynamic and has evolved during the second half of twentieth century.

Phase I: Development and Economic Growth are synonyms: In the post World War II era, the concept of development was synonymous to economic growth. Economic growth is measured in terms of temporal increase in gross national product (GNP) and per capita income or per capita consumption.

Phase II: Development is growth with equity: But, even the countries having high economic growth, experienced speedy rise in poverty because of unequal distribution of income and wealth. So, in 1970s, the phrases such as redistribution with growth and growth and equity were incorporated in the definition of development.

Phase III: Development is economic as well as social: When discussions continued regarding redistribution and equity, it was realized that the concept of development cannot be restricted to the economic sphere alone. It also includes the issues such as improving the well-being and living standard of people, availing of the health, education and equality of opportunity and ensuring political and civil rights. By 1980’s, development emerged as a concept encapsulating widespread improvement in social as well as material well-being of all in a society. The notion of sustainable development merged with the awareness of environmental issue in 1960’s with the undesirable effects of industries on environment.

Concerned with the growing opinion of world community on the environmental issues, the United Nations established a World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). It was headed by the Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. The Commission gave its report in 1987. It is called Brundtland Report and was entitled ‘Our Common Future’. According to this report, sustainable development is a “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”


Q2.Which socio-economic benefits are being experienced by implementation of Integrated Tribal Development Project in Bharmaur?
Answer:

Two tehsils of Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, namely Bharmaur and Holi were notified as a tribal area since 21 November, 1975. Bharmaur is inhabited by ‘Gaddi’, a tribal community who have maintained a distinct identity in the Himalayan region as they practise transhumance and conversed through Gaddiali dialect. It is one of the economically and socially backward areas of Himachal Pradesh. Due to implementation of Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP), there have been tremendous socio-economic benefits,
Social Benefits:

  • The most significant contribution of tribal subplan in Bharmaur region is the development of infrastructure in terms of schools, health care facilities, potable water, roads, communications and electricity.
  • Tremendous increase in literacy rate (female literacy increase from 1.9% to 65%)
  • Improvement in sex ratio.
  • Decline in child marriage.
  • Difference between males and females in literacy rate, i.e. gender inequality, has also declined.

Economic Benefits:

  • The cultivation of pulses and other cash crops has increased in Bharmaur region.
  • Now a few people practise transhumance because the importance of pastoralism is gradually declining. (About 1/10 household practises pastoralism).

Q3.What measures for promotion of sustainable development have been taken under Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area?
Answer:

The following measures for promotion of sustainable development have been taken under Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area:

  • The first requirement is strict implemen¬tation of water management policy. It envisages protective irrigation in Stage-I and extensive irrigation of crops and pasture development in Stage-II.
  • The cropping pattern shall not include water-intensive crops. It shall be adhered to and people shall be encouraged to grow plantation crops such as citrus fruits.
  • The CAD programmes such as lining of water courses, land development and levelling and warabandi system shall be effectively implemented to reduce the conveyance loss of water.
  • The areas affected by water logging and soil salinity shall be reclaimed.
  • The eco-development through afforestation, shelterbelt plantation and pasture development is necessary particularly in the fragile environment of Stage II.
  • The social sustainability in the region can be achieved only if the land allottees having poor economic background are provided adequate financial and institutional support for cultivation of land.
  • The agricultural and allied activities have to develop along with other sectors of economy. It leads to diversification of economic base and establishment of functional linkages between basic villages, agro-services centres and market centres.
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CHAPTER 18 : Manufacturing Industries NCERT SOLUTION CLASS 12TH GEOGRAPHY | EDUGROWN NOTES

Short Answer Type Questions:


Q1.List the significance of the secondary sector.
Answer:

Secondary sector processes primary products into finished goods of higher value. It provides employment to a large number of people and contributes to national income.


Q2.Why are synthetic fibres gaining importance? Name some locations where they are located.
Answer:

Synthetic fibres are widely used in the manufacturing of fabrics because of their inherent strength, durability, washability, and resistance to shrinkage. Industries manufacturing nylon and polyester yarns are located at Kota, Pimpri, Mumbai, Modinagar, Pune, Ujjain, Nagpur and Udhna. Acrylic staple fibre is manufactured at Kota and Vadodara.


Q3.What is knowledge based industry? Why is it gaining importance? ‘
Answer:

The advancement in information technology has had a profound influence on the country’s economy. The Information Technology (IT) revolution opened up new possibilities of economic and social transformation. The IT and IT enabled business process outsourcing (ITES-BPO) services continue to be on a robust growth path. Indian software industry has emerged as one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy.


Q4.What is the impact of globalisation in India?
OR
What do you mean by globalisation in Indian context?
Answer:

The impact of globalization in India are:

  • Opening of the economy to foreign direct investment by providing facilities to foreign companies to invest in different fields of economic activity in India.
  • Removing restrictions and obstacles to the entry of multinational companies in India.
  • Allowing Indian companies to enter into foreign collaboration in India and also encouraging them to set up joint venture’s abroad.
  • Carrying out massive import liberalization programmes by switching over from quantitative restrictions to tariffs in the first place, and then bringing down the level of import duties considerably.
  • Instead of a set of export incentives, opting for exchange rate adjustments for promoting export.


Q5.Why there is spatial variation in FDI in India?
Answer:

Major share of both domestic investment as well as foreign direct investment went to already developed states. For example, out of the total proposed investment by the industrial entrepreneurs during 1991-2000 nearly one fourth (23 per cent) was for industrially developed Maharashtra, 17 per cent for Gujarat, 7 per cent for Andhra Pradesh, and about 6 per cent for Tamil Nadu while Uttar Pradesh, the state with the largest population has only 8 per cent. In spite of several concessions, seven north-eastern states could get less than 1 per cent of the proposed investment. In fact, economically weaker states could not compete with the developed states in open market in attracting industrial investment proposals and hence they are likely to suffer from these processes.


Q6.How are industrial regions distributed in our country? List the indices used to identity them.
Answer:

Industries are not evenly distributed in the country. They tend to concentrate on certain locations because of the favourable locational factors.
Several indices are used to identify the clustering of industries, important among them are:

  • The number of industrial units
  • Number of industrial workers
  • Quantum of power used for industrial purposes
  • Total industrial output, and
  • Value added by manufacturing, etc.


Q7.Give a brief description of IISCO.
Answer:

IISCO stands for The Indian Iron and Steel Company.

  • Factories under it: It sets up its first factory at Hirapur and later on another at Kulti. In 1937, the Steel Corporation of Bengal was constituted in association with IISCO and set up another iron and steel producing unit at Burnpur (West Bengal).
  • Present Location: All the three plants under IISCO are located very close to Damodar valley coal fields (Raniganj, Jharia, and Ramgarh).
  • Material: Iron ore comes from Singhbhum in Jharkhand. Water is obtained from the Barakar river, a tributary of the Damodar.
  • Ownership: Steel production from IISCO fell considerably in 1972-73 and the plants were taken over by the government.


Q8.Why are most of sugar mills established in sugarcane producing areas?
OR
Why are the sugarcane industries located within the cane producing areas?
Answer:

Most of sugar mills are established in sugarcane producing areas because:

  • Sugarcane is a weight-losing crop. The ratio of sugar’to sugarcane varies between 9 to 12 per cent depending on its variety. Its sucrose content begins to dry during haulage after it has been harvested from the field.
  • Better recovery of sugar is dependent upon its being crushed within 24 hours of its harvesting.


Q9.Why iron and steel industry is located in peninsular plateau?
Answer:

Iron and steel plant requires raw materials which are weight losing, heavy & bulky therefore its location is influenced by: ‘

  • Raw Materials: Iron ore, coal, limestone, dolomite, manganese are weight losing and therefore, industries should be located near the source of raw materials.
  • Cost: Industry should be located at place where the cost of assembling and the raw material and distribution of finished product is the lowest. Some steel plants are located near coal fields and iron ore producing areas.
  • Transport: All ’ the plants are located on the trunk rail routes which connects them to large urban market.All these conditions are favorable as peninsular India and hence iron and steel is locked there.


Q10.What are the factors affecting cotton textile industry?
OR
What favorable conditions are present in India for development of cotton industry?
OR
Give reasons for the development of cotton textile industries in India.
Answer:

The following favorable conditions are present in India for development of cotton industry:

  • It is a tropical country and cotton is the most comfortable fabric for a hot and humid climate. So demand is high.
  • Large quantity of cotton is grown in India.
  • Abundant skilled labour required for this industry is available in this country.
  • In some areas the people are producing cotton textiles for generations find transferred the skill from one generation to the other and in the process perfected their skills.


Q11.Why did the development of cotton textile industries occur in and around Mumbai?
Answer:

It was very close to the cotton producing areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Raw cotton used to be brought to Mumbai port to be transported to England. Therefore, cotton was available in Mumabi city itself. Mumbai was the financial centre and the capital needed to start an industry was available there. Employment opportunities attracted labour in large numbers. The machinery required for a cotton textile mill could be directly imported from England.


Q12.Give a brief account of cotton textile industry in India.
Answer
:

  • Tamil Nadu has the largest number of cotton mills.
  • Coimbatore is the most important centre as approximately half the mills are located there.
  • In Karnataka, the cotton textile industry has developed in the cotton producing areas in the north-eastern part of the state.
  • In Andhra Pradesh, it is located in Telangana region where most of the mills are spinning mills producing yarn. Most important centres are Hyderabad, Secunderbad, Warangal and Guntur.
  • In U.P., Kanpur is the largest centre. The important centres are Modinagar, Hathras, Saharanpur, Lucknow and Agra.
  • West Bengal has centres like Howrah, Serampur, Kolkata and Shyarri nagar.


Q13.Cotton textile has been facing problem. Discuss.
Answer:

Cotton textiles has been facing tough competition from synthetic cloth due to the following reasons:

  • Synthetic fibres’ inherent strength, durability, washability and resistance to shrinkage.
  • Old and obsolete machinery are still operating leading to lesser output.
  • Irregular power supply.
  • Good quality growing areas went to West Pakistan.
  • Per unit production is less.


Q14.State the importance of sugar industry in India.
Answer:

  • It is the second most important agro-based industry in the country.
  • It is the largest producer of sugarcane and contributes about 8 per cent of the total sugar production in the world.
  • Beside khandsari and gur are also prepared from sugarcane.
  • Industry provides employment for more than 4 lakhs persons directly and a large number of farmers indirectly.


Q15.What are petrochemical industries?
OR
Define petrochemical industries. Name four sub-groups of the products of these industries.
Answer:

Many items are derived from crude petroleum, which provide materials for many new industries, these are known as petrochemical industries.
Some groups of these industries:

  • Polymers
  • Synthetic fibres
  • Elastomers
  • Surfactant intermediate.


Q16.Name the three organisations working in petrochemical under the administration control of the department of chemical and petrochemicals.
Answer:

  • Indian Petrochemical Corporation Limited (IPCL): It is responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of the various petrochemicals like polymers, chemicals, fibres and fibre intermediates.
  • The Petrofils Cooperative Limited (PCL): A joint venture of government of India and Weaver’s Cooperative Society. It produces polyester filament yarn and nylon chips at its two plants located at Vadodara and Naldhari in Gujarat.
  • Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET) imparts training in petrochemical industries.


Q17.What is the major impact of IT revolution in India?
Answer:

The information technology revolution opened up new possibilities of economic and social transformation.

  • The IT and IT enabled business process outsourcing (ITES-BPO) services continue to be on a robust growth path.
  • Indian software industry has emerged as one of the fastest growing sectors.
  • Exports of the Indian software service sector which is approx 30.32% increase from previous year.
  • The software industry has surpassed electronic hardware production.
  • It provides international quality products.
  • A majority of MNC’s operating in the area of information technology have either software development centres or
  • A major impact of this growth has been on employment creation, which is almost doubled each year.
  • Many software and technology parks have emerged which are training centres for various professions.


Q18.Compare between the textile and steel industries.
Answer:

Points of comparison:

  • Both act as basic industries.
  • Both cater to other industries. Cotton textile caters to hand loom, power loom whereas Iron and steel caters to mini plants, small scale, large scale, medium – and light industries.
  • Both export their produces.
  • Initially both started in private sector.
  • Both are dependent on primary products.


Q19.What role do manufacturing industries play in development of an economy?
Answer:

Manufacturing industries provide employment to labour force. By the sale of their output, economy gets momentum. It provides base for the development of primary and tertiary sectors. Therefore, they act as barometer of economic development of a country.


Q20.Classify industries on the basis of the nature of manufactured products.
Answer:

On the basis of the nature of the manufactured products industries are of following types:

  • Metallurgical industries
  • Mechanical engineering industries
  • Chemical and allied industries
  • Textile industries
  • Food processing industries
  • Electricity generation
  • Electronics
  • Communication industries


Q21.What do you mean by Foot Loose industries? Give its features.
Answer:

Foot Loose Industries are those industries which are not dependent on any specific raw materials, for example, weight losing and other such thing. They depend on specific component parts which can be obtained anywhere.

  • Such industries are generally non polluting.
  • They produce in small quantity with small labour force.
  • The important factor in their location is accessibility by road network.
  • They can be located in a wide variety of places.


Q22.Name some integrated steel plants of India.
Answer:

Some of the integrated steel plants in India are:

  • Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO)
  • Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO)
  • Visvesvaraiya Iron and Steel Works Ltd. (VISW)
  • Rourkela Steel Plant
  • Bhilai Steel Plant
  • Durgapur Steel Plant
  • Bokaro Steel Plant


Q23.Name some other steel plants of India other than integrated steel plants.
Answer:

Other steel plants:

  • The Vizag Steel Plant, situated in Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh is the first port-based plant which started operating in 1992.
  • The Vijaynagar Steel Plant at Hospet in Karnataka was developed using indigenous technology.
  • The Salem Steel Plant in Tamil Nadu was commissioned in 1982.


Q24.Name the steel plants of India established in collaboration with a foreign country.
Answer
:
The Rourkela Steel Plant was set up in 1959 in the Sundargarh district of Odisha in collaboration with Germany. The Bhilai Steel Plant was established with Russian collaboration in Durg District of Chhattisgarh and started production in 1959. Durgapur Steel Plant, in West Bengal, was set up in collaboration with the government of the United Kingdom and started production in 1962.
Bokaro Steel Plant was set up in 1964 at Bokaro with Russian collaboration

Long Answer Type Questions:


Q1.Why most of the iron and steel industries are located in the Chhotanagpur plateau?
Answer:

This region extends over Jharkhand, northern Odisha and western West Bengal and is known for the heavy metallurgical industries.
This region owes its development to the discovery of coal in the Damodar Valley and metallic and non-metallic minerals in Jharkhand and northern Odisha. Proximity of coal, iron ore and other minerals facilitated the location of heavy industries in this region. Six large integrated iron and steel plants at Jamshedpur, Burnpur- Kulti, Durgapur, Bokaro and Rourkela are located within this region.

To meet the power requirement, thermal and hydroelectric plants have been constructed in the Damodar Valley. This region is well connected to the transportation network between the metros of Mumbai and Kolkata and water ways. Water for the plants is easily available from Subarnarekha and it’s tributary. Kolkata port is nearby. Densely populated surrounding regions provide cheap labour and Hugli region provides vast market for its industries. Heavy engineering, machine tools, fertilisers, cement, paper, locomotives and heavy electricals are some of the important industries in this region. Important centres are Ranchi, Dhanbad, Chaibasa, Sindri, Hazaribag, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Rourkela, Durgapur, Asansol and Dalmianagar.


Q2.Explain different phases of development of cotton industry in India.
Answer:

The cotton textile industry is one of the traditional industries of India. In the ancient and the medieval times, it used to be only a cottage industry. India was famous worldwide for the production of muslin, a very fine variety of cotton cloth, calicos, chintz and other different varieties of fine cotton cloth.

Initially, the British did not encourage the development of the indigenous cotton textile industry. They exported raw cotton to their mills in Manchester and Liverpool and brought back instead the finished products to be sold in India. In 1854, the first modern cotton mill was established in Mumbai. Subsequently, two more mills, the Shahpur Mill and the Calico Mill were established in Ahmedabad. By 1947, the number of mills in India went up to 423 but the scenario changed after partition, and this industry suffered a major recession.

After independence India was left with 409 mills and only 29 per cent of the cotton producing areas. After Independence, this industry gradually recovered and eventually flourished. After 1921, with the development of the railway network other cotton textile centres expanded rapidly. In southern India, mills were set up at Coimbatore, Madurai and Bangalore. In Central India, Nagpur, Indore, Solapur and Vadodara became cotton textile centres. Cotton textile mills were set up at Kanpur based on local investment.

Tamil Nadu has the largest number of mills and most of them produce yarn rather than cloth. Coimbatore has emerged as the most important centre with nearly half the mills located there. Chennai, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Thanjavur, Ramanathapuram and Salem are the other important centres. In Karnataka, the cotton textile industry has developed in the cotton producing areas in the north-eastern part of the state. Davangere, Hubli, Bellary, Mysore and Bangalore are important centres. In Andhra Pradesh, the cotton textile industry is located in the cotton producing Telangana region, where most of the mills are spinning mills producing yarn. The important centres are Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Warangal and Guntur. In Uttar Pradesh, Kanpur is the largest centre. Some of the other important centres are Modinagar, Hathras, Saharanpur, Agra and Lucknow. In West Bengal, the cotton mills are located in the Hugli region.


Q3.Explain different phases of development of petrochemical industry in India.
Answer:

Many items are derived from crude petroleum, which provide raw materials for many new industries, these are collectively known as petrochemical industries.
This group of industries is divided into four sub-groups:

  • Polymers
  • Synthetic fibres
  • Elastomers
  • Surfactant intermediate

Three organisations are working in the petrochemical sector under the administrative control of the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals.

  • Indian Petrochemical Corporation Limited (IPCL) is a public sector undertaking. It is responsible for the manufacture and distribution of various petrochemicals like polymers, chemicals, fibres and fibre intermediates.
  • Petrofils Cooperative Limited (PCL) is a joint venture of the Government of India and Weaver’s Cooperative Societies.
  • Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET), involved in imparting training in petrochemical industry.

Polymers are made from ethylene and propylene. These materials are obtained in the process of refining crude oil. Polymers are used as raw materials in the plastic industry. The National Organic Chemicals Industries Limited (NOCIL), established in private sector in 1961, started the first naphtha based chemical industry in Mumbai. The plants located at Mumbai, Barauni, Mettur, Pimpri and Rishra are the major producers of plastic materials. Synthetic fibres are widely used in the manufacturing of fabrics because of their inherent’ strength, durability, washability, and resistance to shrinkage. Industries manufacturing nylon and polyester yarns are located at Kota, Pimpri, Mumbai, Modinagar, Pune, Ujjain, Nagpur and Udhna. Acrylic staple fibre is manufactured at Kota and Vadodara.


Q4.Write a detailed note on Hugli industrial area.
Answer:

It is located along the Hugli river.
Extension: This region extends from Bansberia in the north to Birlanagar in the south for a distance of about 100 km. Industries also have developed in Mednipur in the West Kolkata-Howrah from the nucleus of this industrial region.

Development: Historical, geographical, economic and political factors have contributed much to its development. It developed with the opening of river port on Hugli. Kolkata emerged as a leading centre of the country. Later, Kolkata was connected with interior parts by railway lines and road routes. Development of tea plantations in Assam and northern hills of West Bengal, the processing of indigo earlier and jute later coupled with the opening of coalfields of the Damodar Valley and iron ore deposits of the Chotanagpur plateau, contributed to the industrial development of the region.

Labour: Cheap labour available from thickly populated part of Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Odisha also contributed to its development. Kolkata, being the capital city of British India (1773-1911), attracted the British capital. The establishment of first jute mill at Rishra in 1855 ushered in the era of modern industrial clustering in this region. The major concentration of jute industry is at Haora and Bhatapara. The partition of the country in 1947 adversely affected this industrial region. Cotton textile industry also grew along with jute industry, paper, engineering, textile machinery, electrical, chemical, pharmaceuticals, fertiliser and petrochemical industries have also developed within this region. Factory of the Hindustan Motors Limited at Konnagar and diesel engine factory at Chittaranjan are landmarks of this region.
Location of petroleum refinery at Haldia has facilitated the development of a variety of industries.

Important industrial centres of this region: Kolkata, Haora, Haldia, Serampur, Rishra, Shibpur, Naihati, Kakinara, Shamnagar, Titagarh, Sodepur, Birlanagar, Bansberia, Belgurriah, Triveni, Hugli, Belur, etc.


Q5.What were the policies adopted under New Industrial Policy 1991? What were its objectives?
OR
Explain the objectives and measures initiated under new industrial policy announced in 1991.
Answer:

The new Industrial Policy was announced in 1991. Following measures were initiated under this policy:

  • Abolition of industrial licensing,
  • Free entry to foreign technology,
  • Foreign investment policy,
  • Access to capital market,
  • Open trade,
  • Abolition of phased manufacturing programme, and
  • Liberalized industrial location progra¬mme.

The major objectives of this policy were as follows:

  • Building on the gains already made,
  • Correcting the distortions or weaknesses that have crept in,
  • Maintaining a sustained growth in productivity and gainful employment and
  • Last but not the least attaining inter¬national competitiveness.


Q6.Name the major areas where sugar industries are located?
OR
Name the major leading producing areas of sugar in India.
Answer:

Maharashtra has emerged as a leading sugar producing state in the country and produces more than one-third of the total production of the sugar in the country. Uttar Pradesh is the second largest producer of sugar. The sugar factories are concentrated in two belts – the Ganga- Yamuna doab and the Tarai region. The major sugar-producing centres in the Ganga-Yamuna doab are Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Baghpat and Bulandshahr districts; while Kheri Lakhimpur, Basti, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Bahraich are important sugar producing districts in the Tarai region. In Tamil Nadu, sugar factories are located in Coimbatore, Vellore, Tiruvanamalai, Villupuram and Tiruchchirappalli districts. Belgaum, Bellary, Mandya, Shimoga, Bijapur, and Chitradurg districts are the major producers in Karnataka.

The industry is distributed in the coastal regions, i.e. East Godavari, West Godavari, Vishakhapatnam districts and Nizamabad, and Medak districts of Telangana alongwith Chittoor district of Rayalseema.

The other states which produce sugar are Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Saran, Champaran, Muzaffarnagar, Siwan, Darbhanga, and Gaya are the important sugarcane producing districts in Bihar.


Q7.Distinguish between textile industry & Steel industry.
Answer:

Textile IndustrySteel Industry
(i) It is an agro based industry(i) It is mineral based industry.
(ii) It employs larger number of people.(ii) It employs lesser number of people.
(iii) The capital investment is comparatively less. Most of them are under private sector.(iii) The capital investment is very heavy and the dividends come late. Therefore majority of them are under public sector.
(iv) They are highly decentralized.(iv) They are mostly centralized and integrated, though mini steel plants are coming up.
(v) It is a consumer and a basic industry.(v) It is a basic or key industry.
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CHAPTER 17 : Mineral and Energy Resources NCERT SOLUTION CLASS 12TH GEOGRAPHY | EDUGROWN NOTES

Short Answer Type Questions:


Q1.Give an account of the distribution of bauxite in India. .
Answer:

Bauxite is used in manufacturing of aluminium. It is found mainly in tertiary deposits and is associated with laterite rocks occurring extensively either on the plateau or hill ranges of peninsular India and also in the coastal tracts of the country.

Odisha happens to be the largest producer of Bauxite. Ralahandi and Sambalpur are the leading producers. The other two areas which have been increasing their production are Bolangir and Koraput. The patlands of Jharkhand in Lohardaga have rich deposits.

Bhavanagar, Jamnagar in Gujarat have the major deposits. Chhattisgarh has bauxite deposits in Amarkantak plateau while Katni-Jabalpur area and Balaghat in M.P. have important deposits of bauxite.

Kolaba, Thane, Ratnagiri, Satara, Pune and Kolhapur in Maharashtra are important producers. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa are minor producers of bauxite.


Q2.What are the uses of coal? Where is it found in India?
Answer:

Coal is one of the important minerals which is mainly used in the generation of thermal power and smelting of iron ore. Coal occurs in rock sequences mainly of two geological ages, namely Gondwana and tertiary deposits. About 80 per cent of the coal deposits in India is of bituminous type and is of non-coking grade. The most important Gondwana coal fields of India are located in Damodar Valley.

They lie in Jharkhand-Bengal coal belt and the important coal fields in this region are Raniganj, Jharia, Bokaro, Giridih, Karanpura. Jharia is the largest coal field followed by Raniganj. Godavari, Mahanadi and Sone river valleys also have coal deposits.

The most important coal mining centres are Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh, Korba in Chhattisgarh, Talcher and Rampur in Odisha, Chanda-Wardha, Kamptee and Bander in Maharashtra and Singareni in Telangana and Pandur in Andhra Pradesh.

Tertiary coals occur in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland. It is extracted from Darangiri, Cherrapunji, Mewlong and Langrin (Meghalaya); Makum, Jaipur and Nazira in upper Assam, Namchik – Namphuk (Arunachal Pradesh) ai d Kalakot (Jammu and Kashmir). Besides, the brown coal or lignite occur in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir.


Q3.Which are the prospective areas of natural gases in India?
Answer:

Natural gas is obtained alongwith oil in all the oil fields but exclusive reserves have been located along the eastern coast as well as (Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh), Tripura, Rajasthan and off¬shore wells in Gujarat and Maharashtra.


Q4.List the major nuclear power stations along with the states.
Answer:

The important nuclear power projects are Tarapur (Maharashtra), Rawatbhata near Kota (Rajasthan), Kalpakkam(Tamil Nadu), Narora (Uttar Pradesh), Kaiga (Karnataka) and Kakarapara (Gujarat).


Q5.What are the advantages of solar energy?
Answer:

Solar thermal technology has some relative advantages over all other non¬renewable energy sources. It is cost competitive, environment friendly and easy to construct. Solar energy is 7 per cent more effective than coal or oil based plants and 10 per cent more effective than nuclear plants. It is generally used more in appliances like heaters, crop dryers, cookers, etc. The western part of India has greater potential for the development of solar energy in Gujarat and Rajasthan.


Q6.How is geothermal energy tapped?
OR
What is the source of geothermal energy?
Answer:

When the magma from the interior of earth, comes out on the surface, tremendous heat is released. This heat energy can successfully be tapped and converted to electrical energy. Apart from this, the hot water that gushes out through the geyser wells is also used in the generation of thermal energy. It is popularly known as Geothermal energy. This energy is now considered to be one of the key energy sources which can be developed as an alternate source. The hot springs and geysers are being used since medieval period.


Q7.Name the agencies involved in exploration of minerals.
Answer:

Geological Survey of India (GSI), Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd. (MECL), National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), Bharat Gold Mines Ltd. (BGML), Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCL), National Aluminium Company Ltd. (NALCO) and the Departments of Mining and Geology undertake systematic surveying, prospecting and exploration for minerals in various states.


Q8.Where are majority of petroleum reserves found?
Answer:
Petroleum res
erves are located in the sedimentary basins of Assam, Gujarat and Mumbai High, i.e. off-shore region in the Arabian Sea. New reserves have been located in the Krishna-Godavari and Kaveri basins.


Q9.Write the uses of petroleum.
Answer
:
Uses of petroleum are as follows:

  • Essential source of energy for all internal combustion engines in automobiles, railways and aircrafts.
  • By-products are processed in petro chemical industries such as fertilisers, synthetic rubber, synthetic fibre, medicines, vaseline, lubricants wax, soap and cosmeti.


Q10.Give the distribution of petroleum reserves in India.
Answer:

  • Crude petroleum occurs in sedimentary rocks of the tertiary period.
  • Before 1956, Digboi in Assam was the only oil producing region. But now in Assam, Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran are important. Oilfields of Gujarat are Ankleshwar, Mehsana, etc.
  • Mumbai High which lies 160 km off Mumbai was discovered in 1973.
  • Natural gas have been found in exploratory wells in Krishna-Godavari a!nd Kaveri basin on the east coast.


Q11.Name the important belts of mineral reserves in India.
Answer:
.
Minerals are generally concentrated in three broad belts in India.

  • The North-Eastern Plateau Region: Chotanagpur (Jharkhand), Odisha Plateau, West Bengal and parts of Chhattisgarh.
  • The South-Western Plateau Region: Karnataka, Goa and contiguous Tamil Nadu uplands and Kerala.
  • The North-Western Region: Aravali in Rajasthan and part of Gujarat


Q12.Name the minerals which are found in South-Western plateau region belt of India.
Answer:

This belt extends over Karnataka, Goa and contiguous Tamil Nadu uplands and Kerala. This belt is rich in ferrous metals and bauxite. It also contains high grade iron ore, manganese and limestone. This belt packs in coal deposits except Neyveli lignite. Kerala has deposits of monazite and thorium, bauxite clay. Goa has iron ore deposits.


Q13.Write the uses and distribution of mica.
Answer
:
Uses:

  • Di-electric property
  • Voltage resistant distribution Distribution: Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan followed by Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, M.P. and Nellore district have the best quality mica.


Q14.What are the features of minerals?
Answer:

Minerals have certain features:

  • They are either organic like fossil fuels or inorganic like mica, limestone, etc.
  • There is an inverse relationship iri quality and quantity of minerals i.e., good quality minerals are less in quantity as compared to low quality minerals.
  • They contain either iron like iron ore or don’t have iron content like copper, bauxite, etc.
  • These minerals take long time to develop geologically and they cannot be replenished immediately at the time of need.
  • All minerals are exhaustible over time. None of the minerals is a renewable source but many of them can be recycled and re-used.


Q15.Mention the uses of manganese and its producing states.
Answer
:
Uses:

  • Manganese is an important raw material for smelting of iron ore.
  • It is also used for manufacturing ferro alloys.

Manganese Producing states:

  • Manganese deposits are found in almost all geological formations, however, it is mainly associated with Dharwar system.
  • Odisha is the leading producer of manganese. Here major mines are located in the cefttral part of the iron ore belt of India, particularly in Bonai, Kendujhar, Sundergarh, Gangpur, Koraput, Kalahandi and Bolangir.
  • Karnataka is an another major producer and here the mines are located in Dharwar, Bellary, Belgaum, North Canara, Chikmagalur, Shimoga, Chitradurg and Tumkur.
  • Maharashtra is also an important producer of manganese which is mined in Nagpur, Bhandara and Ratnagiri districts.
  • Andhra Pradesh, Goa, and Jharkhand are other minor producers of manganese.


Q16.Why is it necessary to develop bio-energy in India?
Answer:

Bio-energy is a potential source of energy conversion. It can be converted into electrical energy, heat energy or gas for cooking.
Necessity for India:

  • It will also process the waste and garbage and produce energy.
  • This will improve economic life of rural areas in developing countries.
  • It will reduce environmental pollution.
  • It will enhance self-reliance.
  • It will reduce pressure on fuel wood.


Q17.Classify minerals based on chemical and physical properties. Explain them.
Answer:

On the basis of chemical and physical properties, minerals may be grouped under two main categories of metallics and non-metallics. Metallic minerals are the sources of metals. Iron ore, copper, gold produce metal and are included in this category. Non-metallic minerals are either organic in origin such as fossil fuels also known as mineral fuels which are derived from the buried animal and plant life such as coal and petroleum. Other type of non-metallic minerals are inorganic in origin such as mica, limestone and graphite, etc.

Long Answer Type Questions:


Q1.Why is conservation of resources essential? Suggest steps to conserve minerals.
Answer:

In order to achieve economic development with least environmental impact, the goals of sustainable development must be kept in mind in order to protect the future generations. There is an urgent need to conserve the resources.

  • The alternative energy sources like solar power, wind, wave, geothermal energy are inexhaustible resource. These should be developed to replace the exhaustible resources.
  • In case of metallic minerals, use of scrap metals will enable recycling of metals. Use of scrap is specially significant in metals like copper, lead and zinc in which India’s reserves are meagre.
  • Use of substitutes for scarce metals may also reduce their consumption.
  • Export of strategic and scarce minerals must be reduced, so that the existing reserve may be used for a longer period.


Q2.Describe the development of nuclear energy in India and challenges in its growth.
Answer:

Nuclear energy has emerged as a viable source in recent times.

  • Important minerals used for the generation of nuclear energy are uranium and thorium.
  • Uranium deposits occur in the Dharwar rocks. These are known to occur in several locations along the Singbhum Copper belt. It is also found in Udaipur, Alwar and Jhunjhunu districts of Rajasthan, Durg district of Chhattisgarh, Bhandara district of Maharashtra and Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.
  • Thorium is mainly obtained from monazite and lignite in the sands of beach along the coasts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
  • World’s richest monazite deposits occur in Palakkad and Kollam districts ofKerala, near Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Mahanadi river delta in Odisha.


Q3.Write a note on the three belts of mineral distribution.
Answer:

Minerals are generally concentrated in three broad belts in India. These belts are:

  • The North-Eastern Plateau Region: This belt covers Chhotanagpur (Jharkhand), Odisha Plateau, West Bengal and parts of Chhattisgarh. It has variety of minerals—iron ore, coal, manganese, bauxite, mica.
  • The South-Western Plateau Region: This belt extends from Karnataka, Goa and contiguous Tamil Nadu uplands and Kerala. It is rich in ferrous metals and bauxite. It also contains high grade iron ore, manganese and limestone. This belt lacks in coal deposits except Neyveli lignite. Kerala has deposits of monazite and thorium, bauxite clay. Goa has iron ore deposits.
  • The North-Western Region: This belt extends along Aravali in Rajasthan and part of Gujarat and minerals are associated with Dharwar system of rocks. Copper, zinc have been major minerals. Rajasthan is rich in building stones i.e. sandstone, granite, marble. Gypsum and Fuller’s earth deposits are also extensive. Dolomite and limestone provide raw materials for cement industiy. Gujarat is known for its petroleum deposits. Gujarat and Rajasthan have rich sources of salt. The Himalayan belt: It is another mineral belt where copper, lead, zinc, cobalt and tungsten are known to occur. Assam valley has mineral oil deposits.Oil resources are also found in off-shore- areas near Mumbai Coast (Mumbai High).


Q4.Where does India stand as far as iron resource is concerned? Write a note on its distribution.
Answer:

India is endowed with fairly abundant resources of iron ore. It has the largest reserve of iron ore in Asia. About 95 per cent of total reserves of iron ore is located in the States of Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Goa, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
In Odisha, iron ore occurs in a series of hill ranges in Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj and Jhar. The important mines are Gurumahisani, Sulaipet, Badampahar (Mayurbhaj), Kiruburu (Kendujhar) and Bonai (Sundergarh).

Jharkhand has some of the oldest iron ore mines and most of the iron and steel plants are located around them. Most of the important mines such as Noamundi and Gua are located in Poorbi and Pashchimi Singhbhum districts. This
belt further extends to Durg, Dantewara and Bailadila. Dalli, and Rajhara in Durg are the important mines of iron ore in the country.
In Karnataka, iron ore deposits occur in Sandur-Hospet area of Ballari district, Baba Budan hills and Kudremukh in Chikkamagaluru district and parts of Shivamogga, Chitradurg and Tumakuru districts.

The districts of Chandrapur, Bhandara and Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, Karimnagar and Warangal district of Telangana, Kurnool, Cuddapah and Anantapur districts of Andhra Pradesh, Salem and Nilgiris districts of Tamil Nadu are other iron mining regions. Goa has also emerged as an important producer of iron ore.

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CHAPTER 16 : Water Resources NCERT SOLUTION CLASS 12TH GEOGRAPHY | EDUGROWN NOTES

Short Answer Type Questions:


Q1.What are the three things essential for water resource development?
Answer:

A very small proportion of fresh water is available for human use. The availability of fresh water varies over space and time. The tensions and disputes on sharing and control of this scare resource have become serious problems. So assessment, efficient use and Conservation of water, have become necessary to ensure development.


Q2.Why does the use of groundwater vary from state to state?
Answer:

The rate of groundwater utilization is very high in the river basins of north west India and parts of south India, where the rain water percolates down easily through the soft soils and recharge underground water table. It is also easy to construct wells and tube wells here. Surface water is more utilized in the crystalline rocks of south India.


Q3.What are the emerging water problems facing India?
Answer:

The over-use of groundwater resources has led to decline in ground water table in the states of Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh. In fact, over withdrawals in some states like Rajasthan and Maharashtra has increased fluoride concentration in groundwater, and this practice has led to increase in concentration of arsenic in parts of West Bengal and Bihar. The per capita availability of water is dwindling day by day due to increase in population. The available water resources are also getting polluted with industrial, agricultural and domestic effluents,
and this, in turn, is further limiting the availability of usable water resources.


Q4.When was National Water Policy undertaken? Give its key features.
Answer:

The National Water Policy was undertaken in 2002, to prioritized the ‘ water allocation in the different sectors in the following order:
Drinking water, Irrigation, Hydro power, Navigation, Industrial and Other uses. Highlights:

  • Providing drinking water is the first priority.
  • Irrigation and multi-purpose projects should include drinking water in areas where it is not available.
  • Regulate and limit groundwater exploitation.
  • Regular monitoring of water sources for quality.
  • Awareness and conservation consciousness should be promoted.


Q5.What do you mean by degradation of water resources?
Answer:

Water quality refers to the purity of water, or water without unwanted foreign substances. Water gets polluted by foreign matters such as micro-organisms, chemicals, industrial and other wastes. Such matters deteriorate the quality of water and render it unfit for human use. When toxic substances enter lakes, steams, rivers, ocean and other water bodies, they get dissolved or lie suspended in water. This results in pollution of water whereby the quality of water deteriorates affecting aquatic systems.


Q6.Why is the level of groundwater utilization relatively high in the river basins lying in north-western region and parts of South India?
Answer:

  • Water percolates easily in alluvial soil construction is easy.
  • Northern states are mostly the agricultural states where the water is used for irrigation.
  • South India is hard in rocky terrain, percolation of the water becomes difficult, moreover, canal construction is costly because of topography.


Q7.Name the three states which have larger area under irrigation and why?
Answer:

The three states are:

  1. Punjab
  2. Haiyana
  3. Western Uttar Pradesh

It is because:

  • Wheat and rice are grown mainly with the help of irrigation in these states.
  • Net irrigated area of Punjab and Haryana are irrigated through wells and tube wells.
  • These states utilize large proportion of their groundwater potential.
  • Canal irrigation is the biggest source of irrigation in North India.
  • In peninsular India, tank irrigation is mostly done.


Q8.What are the implications of using groundwater in drought-prone areas of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu?
Answer:

  • The over-use of groundwater resources has led to decline in its level.
  • Rajasthan and Maharashtra have increased fluoride concentration in groundwater.
  • This practice has led to increase in concentration of arsenic in West Bengal and Bihar.
  • This practice has increased salinity in the soil of Punjab and Haryana.


Q9.What are the four major problems in the development of water resources in India?
Answer:

Water resources in India faced many problems such as availability, quality, usage and management.

  • Availability: Water resources are excess in some regions such as West Bengal whereas it is deficient in other parts of the country like Rajasthan and peninsular India.
  • Quality: Water pollution is caused by domestic waste, industrial waste and chemical use in agriculture.
  • Usage: Underground water resources could be used in Northern India whereas in Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, it increases the concentration of arsenic, fluoride and salinity in the soil.
  • Management: The availability of fresh water is less and is also declining whereas the demand of water is getting rapid due to industrialization and urbanization, moreover inter-state water disputes are increasing. There are seepage losses and lack of improved irrigation facilities.


Q10.Why there is a need to conserve water resources?
Answer:

  • Increasing demand for agricultural sector, domestic use due to urbanisation and industrialisation & rise in population.
  • Sustainable development.
  • High cost of desalinisation.

Due to above reasons, we need to conserve water resources.


Q11.Give a few examples where water can be recycled and reused to improve the availability of fresh water.
Answer:

  • Use of water of lesser quality such as reclaimed waste-water would be an attractive option for industries.
  • Fire fighting and industrialization cooling to reduce their water cost.
  • Urban areas water after bathing and washing utensils can be used for gardening.
  • Water used for washing vehicle can also be used for gardening.

Long Answer Type Questions:


Q1.What are the major sources of surface water?
Answer:

There are four major sources of surface water. These are rivers, lakes, ponds, and tanks. In the country, there are about 10,360 rivers and their tributaries longer than 1.6 km each. The mean annual flow in all the river basins in India is estimated to be 1,869 cubic km. rate. Due to topographical, hydrological and other constraints, only about 690 cubic km (32 per cent) of the available surface water can be utilised. Water flow in a river depends on size of its catchment area or river basin and rainfall within its catchment area.

Precipitation in India has spatio temporal variation, and it is mainly concentrated in Monsoon season. Some of the rivers in the country like the Ganga, Brahmaputra, and the Indus have huge catchment areas. Precipitation is high in the catchment areas of the Ganga, the Brahmaputra and the Barak rivers, these rivers, although account for only about one-third of the total area in the country, have 60 per cent of the total surface water resources. A good percentage of water flow in south Indian rivers like the Godavari, the Krishna, and the Kaveri has been harnessed. The other sources of surface water like lakes, ponds and tanks are utilized. In south India, tank irrigation is common.


Q2.With the example of ‘Ralegan Siddhi’ show how watershed development projects are imperative for development.
Answer:

Ralegan Siddhi’ is a village in Maharashtra, which was under abject poverty. Transformation started with the initiative of an army personnel, who took up watershed development. Voluntary work by the villagers along with their monetary contribution changed the village from a poverty stricken village to a role model for others to emulate. Work began with a percolation tank. A youth group called Tarun Mandal was formed which worked to ban the dowry system, caste discrimination and other social evils.Cultivation of water intensive crops and practice of open grazing were banned. Crops with low water requirements were encouraged. Nyay Panchayat was set up to look in to the local problems. Utilising local resources, a school was contructed. The villagers want to buy land from adjoining villages for developmental purposes. The village transformed to a self reliant and sufficient village.


Q3.Give some possible solutions to water problem in India.
Answer:

In order to solve water problem in India constructive holistic approach should be adopted and implemented.

  • There is a wide scope to use rainwater harvesting technique to conserve precious water resource. It can be done by harvesting rainwater on rooftops and open spaces. Harvesting rainwater also decreases the community dependence on groundwater for domestic use.
  • Besides bridging the demand supply gap, it can also save energy to pump groundwater as recharge leads to rise in groundwater table. Urban areas can specially benefit from rainwater harvesting as water demand has already outstripped supply in most of the cities and towns.
  • Desalinization of water particularly in coastal areas and brackish water in arid and semi-arid areas.
  • Transfer of water from water surplus areas to water deficit areas through inter linking of rivers can be important remedies for solving water problem in India.
  • Pricing of water for households and communities should be considered more seriously.


Q4.Describe the features of surface water and the groundwater distribution in India.
Answer:

Surface water:

  • Major sources of surface water are rivers, lakes, ponds and tanks. In the country there are about 10,360 rivers and their tributaries are averagely longer than 1.6 km each.
  • The mean annual flow in all the river basins in India is estimated to be 1869 cubic kms.
  • Due to topographical, hydrological and other constraints only 32% of available surface water can be utilised.
  • The Ganga, the Brahmaputra and the Indus river account for 60% of the total water resources in India. The expanse of these rivers are broader and larger and receive heavy rainfall.

Groundwater resources:

  • Groundwater resources in our country are about 432 cubic kms.
  • The Ganga and the Brahmaputra have larger replenishable groundwater resources.
  • The level of groundwater utilization is high in river basins relatively lying in north western region and in parts of south India.
  • The groundwater utilization is very high in states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
  • The states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Kerala utilize only small proportion of ground water.
  • The states like Kerala, Odisha and West Bengal have vast surface water resources in legumes and lake also. Although water is generally brackish in these water bodies they are used for fishing, irrigating certain amount of paddy and crops like coconut, etc.
  • The states like Gujarat, U.P, Bihar, Tripura and Maharashtra, are utilizing groundwater resources at a moderate rate.


Q5.Explain important features of National Water Policy, 2002.
Answer:

The following points are the salient features of National Water Policy, 2002.

  • Emphasis on the need for a national water framework law, comprehensive legislation for optimum development of inter-state rivers and river valleys, amendment of Irrigation Acts, Indian Easements Act, 1882, etc.
  • Water, after meeting the pre-emptive needs for safe drinking water and sanitation, achieving food security, supporting poor people dependent on agriculture for their livelihood and high priority allocation for minimum ecosystem needs, be treated as economic good so as to promote its conservation and efficient use.
  • Ecological needs of the river should be determined recognizing that river flows are characterized by low or no flows, small floods (freshets), large floods and flow variability should accommodate development needs. A portion of river flows should be kept aside to meet ecological needs ensuring that the proportional low and high flow releases correspond in time closely to the natural flow regime.
  • Adaptation strategies in view of climate change for designing and management of water resource structures, review of acceptability criteria and increasing water storage have been emphasized.
  • A system to evolve the benchmarks for water uses for different purposes, i.e., water footprints, and water auditing be developed to ensure efficient use
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