Resources and Development in India

About this unit

This unit looks at India's main natural resources – land, water, minerals and energy – and how they are used for development. It also explains planning approaches such as target area planning, and uses case studies to show what sustainable development means in practice. Wise use of limited resources is essential for India's large and growing population.

Key ideas

• Land use in India is recorded under a nine-fold classification.
• Indian agriculture has three cropping seasons: kharif, rabi and zaid.
• India has limited fresh water relative to its population, so conservation and watershed management are vital.
• Minerals are unevenly distributed, mostly in the peninsular plateau region.
• Energy comes from conventional sources (coal, petroleum, natural gas, nuclear) and non-conventional sources (solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, bio-energy).
• Sustainable development meets present needs without harming the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

How to prepare

Learn the land-use categories and the fallow definitions. Prepare a mineral-and-state table and mark major mines, coalfields and oilfields on a map. Study the Bharmaur and Indira Gandhi Canal case studies carefully.