Class 9 Geography Chapter 1 HOTS Questions - Contemporary India - I

96) Explain what the Census is.

Answer: Census usually refers to the complete process of preparation, collection, compilation, evaluation, analysis and dissemination of data on demographic, social, economic and housing characteristics of the population of a country. Such information is fundamental for any geographic information system developed   for   socio-economic   and often environmental, analysis purposes. In India, it is held once every 10 years. 

97) What is meant by occupational structure? Explain the occupational structure of India.

Answer: Occupational structure is the mix of different types of occupations found in a society. It also describes the distribution of people among those occupations (namely   primary,   secondary   and   tertiary occupations), which gives some sense of which types of work predominate in a society. In India in 2005, 54.2% of the population was in primary  occupations,   18.8%   in   secondary occupations and 27% in tertiary occupations. 

98) Differentiate between dependent and working population.

Answer: The dependent population in a country is either too young to work, i.e., children or too old to work, i.e., the aged or elderly. The working population falls in the middle age group  (in India this is considered from 15 to 59 years). The working population is economically productive and carries the burden of meeting all the needs of nutrition, healthcare, housing etc of the dependent population. 

99) How does density of population depend upon topography and climatic conditions?

Answer: Some advantages of having a healthy population are The people can work more efficiently to increase production which will ultimately lead to an increase in national income. (ii) The population can save the expenditure of the government on healthcare so that the same money can be invested on other progressive pl (iii) Less number of people will become dependent on the earning members, thus reducing the economic overload on the working population. 

100) What are the advantages of having a healthy population?

Answer:Relationship between age composition and dependency ratio
(i) Children below 15 years of age are economically unproductive and aged above 59 years do not get employment through recruitment.
(ii) The percentage of children and the aged affects the dependency ratio because these groups are not producers   
101)  What is the relationship between age composition and dependency ratio? Explain.

Answer: The rate of population growth in India is declining since 1981 because the birth rates have declined rapidly. This is due to
(i) Improvement in female education and literacy, due to which the people realised the need of a small family.
(ii) Better living conditions and healthcare, which have been reducing the child mortality rate. When the mortality for children falls, the fertility rate falls even more.
(iii) The positive effect of birth control measures and  easy availability of contraceptives. 

102) Why is the rate of population growth in India declining since 1981? Explain any three reasons.

Answer: The categories are
(i) Children (below 15 years), who are economically unproductive and need to be provided with food, clothing, education and healthcare.
(ii) Working age (15 to 59 years), who are economically   productive   and   biologically reproductive. They comprise the working population.
(iii) The aged or elderly (60 years and above), who can be economically productive though they may have retired. They may be working voluntarily but they are not available for employment through recruitment. 

103) Categories the population of a nation into three broad categories on the basis of age composition and explain them.

Answer:  Age Structure It means the number of people in different age groups in a given population. Death Rate It is the number of deaths per thousand persons in a year. Birth Rate It is the number of live births per thousand person in a year. 

104) Define age structure, death rate and birth rate.

Answer:  The major components of population growth are birth rate, death rate and migration. The natural increase of population is the difference between birth rate and death rate. The birth rate is a major component of population growth, because in India birth rates have always been higher than death rates. However, the main cause of growth of the population has been the rapid decline in the death rate during the last 50 years due to better healthcare, nutrition, etc. Migration is the movement of people across regions and territories. Migration can be internal (within the country) or international (between countries). 

105) Discuss the major components of population growth,

Answer: The following arguments justify the given statement
(i) Since 1981, the growth rate started declining.
(ii) During this period, birth rates declined rapidly.
(iii) Still 182 million people were added in the 1990s.
(iv) When low annual rate is applied to a very large population, it yields a large absolute increase.
(v) When more than a billion people increase even at a lower rate, the total number being added becomes very large.  

106)   (a) Analyse the table given below. Which values do you think are disturbing the balance of the country?

(b) What value have you learnt from the given table?

Answer:  (a) The gender ratio is below half, which shows that the birth of girl children is denied in the society, which is highly negative. This will create a number of social problems in the future, if it continues unabated. More people being employed in secondary occupations reflects environmental imbalances. It shows excessive industrialization in comparison to agriculture, with very few people being employed in the service sector, which will lead to a lopsided economy. (b) From the given table, I have learnt, that gender equality is important for the development of a country. 

107) Explain the term annual growth rate of population. How it is affected by the birth rate?

Answer:  (i) The increase in the number of persons per 100 persons in the base population, in a given years is called the annual growth rate.
(ii) The annual growth rate is affected by the birth rate in the following ways
(a) With the increase in birth rate, the annual growth rate generally increases.
(b) For a larger population, even a lower birth rate, the annual growth rate keeps on increasing.
(c) e.g., since 1981 the birth rates declined rapidly, still 18.20 crore people were added to the total population in the 1990s alone. If we calculate annual growth rate based on these data, it becomes very high. 

108) The 2011 Census data reveals that Uttar Pradesh with a population size of 199 million people is the most populous state of India. Uttar Pradesh accounts for about 16% of the country's population. On the other hand, the Himalayan state of Sikkim has a population of just about 0.6 million and Lakshadweep has only 64429 people. Almost half of India's population lives in just five states. These are Uttar (Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Read the given passage and answer the following questions (a) What could be the reasons of uneven distribution of population in India? (b) What values/lesson have you learnt from the passage?

Answer:  (a) The reasons of uneven distribution of population in India are
(i) Due to geographical distribution like flat plains, mountains, plateau, desert, etc.
(ii) Variation in rainfall pattern
(iii) Due to soil distribution Regions with high population generally have flat plains, abundant rainfall and fertile soil.
(b) From the above passage I have learnt that most of the human population resides in resource accessible areas. This passage also shows the relation between environment and human survival. 

109)   Consider the following table

The above data reveals that despite the decline in growth rates, the number of people being added every decade is steadily increasing. Why?

Answer: The number or people increasing every decade = Total population at beginning of the decade X Growth rate. Since the total population is growing every decade, even though the growth rate is reducing, it is not able to offset the increased total population, i.e., base population. So, the number of people being added every decade is steadily increasing.

110) Distinguish between population growth and population change.

Answer: The differences between population growth and population change are given below.

112) What is the National Population Policy (NPP 2000)? Why was NPP 2000 initiated by the government?

Answer:  The National Population Policy provides a reliable and relevant policy framework for improving family welfare services and for measuring and monitoring the delivery of family welfare services and their demographic impact in future. It was initiated by the government for improving  healthcare quality and coverage, measuring and monitoring the delivery of family welfare programme so as to enable the increasingly literate and aware families to achieve their reproductive goals and the country to achieve rapid population stabilisation. It also aims at promoting synergy with the ongoing educational,  info-technology and socio-economic transition so that India can achieve not only rapid population   stabilisation,   but   also   sustainable development as well as improvement in economic, social and human development in the new millennium.

113) What is the relation between occupational structure and development?

Answer: The distribution of the population according to the different types of occupations is referred to as the occupational structure of a population. Occupations are generally classified as primary (agriculture, mining, fishing, etc) secondary (manufacturing   industry,   building   and construction work, etc) and tertiary (transport, communications, banking, etc). The proportion of people working in different activities reflects the economic development of a country. Developed nations have a high proportion of people in secondary and tertiary activities. Developing countries tend to have a higher proportion of their workforce engaged in primary activities.

114) Why is the distribution of population in India uneven? Explain with five examples. Or What could be the reason of uneven distribution of population in India?

Answer: The following examples show why distribution of population in India is uneven (i) Fertility of the soil and availability of water in the Northern Plains and Kerala causes a large number of people to be employed in agriculture.
(ii) An undulating terrain and mountainous areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Jammu and Kashmir do not provide much scope of a livelihood and so they have a low population density.
(iii) An equable climate and reasonable amount of rainfall in most of the coastal states favour people living in such areas. Thus they have a moderate population density.
(iv) A harsh climate like the desert of Western Rajasthan deters people from living in such locations, leading to a sparse population there.
(v) Development of transport,  industrialization and urbanisation in urban areas increases the population density in such areas. 

115) What is migration? Which are the two types of migration? Describe the trends of migration in India,

Answer: Migration is the temporary or permanent relocation of population inside or outside the boundaries of a country or state. The two types of migration are internal (within the country from one area to another) and international (between countries). Internal migration does not change the size of the population, but influences the distribution of population within the nation. The trends of temporary migration in India are of the herders, who take their flocks to different pastures during the summer and winter. These herders live mostly in the hilly and desert areas. Permanent migration occurs from the rural areas to the urban areas in search of employment opportunities, as there is great poverty and unemployment in rural areas of India.

116) What are the significant features of the National Population Policy 2000?

Answer: Aims/Objectives of National Population Policy 2000
(i) Imparting free and compulsory school education upto 14 years of age.
(ii) Reducing infant mortality rate to below 30 per 1000 live births.
(iii) Achieving universal immunisation of children against all vaccine preventable diseases. (iv) Promoting delayed marriage for girls.
(v) Making family welfare a people centered programme.
(vi) Protection   of  adolescent   girls   from unwanted pregnancies.
(vii) Protection of adolescents from Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) and education them about the risks of unprotected sex.
(viii) Making contraceptive services accessible and affordable.
(a) Providing   food   supplement   and nutritional services.
(b) Strengthening legal measures to prevent child marriage. 

117) How is migration a determinant factor of population change?

Answer:Migration also causes change in the number of people, but if it is movement of people within the country (called internal migration), it will not cause a change in the population, but only change their distribution. Migration of people between countries (called international migration) will change the size of the population besides changing its character or demography. In India, most migrations have been from rural to urban areas because of the 'push' factor in rural areas. These are adverse conditions of poverty and unemployment in the rural areas and the 'pull' of the city in terms of increased employment opportunities and better living conditions.  Migration  is  an  important determinant of population change. It changes not only the population size, but also the population composition of urban and rural populations in terms of age and sex composition.  In India, the rural-urban migration has resulted in a steady increase in the percentage of population in cities and     towns,  

118) The National Population Policy (NPP 2000) had envisaged the total population of India to increase to a maximum of 1162 million by 2010, but the population has exceeded this figure by a significant amount. (a) What could have been the reasons for exceed? (b) What values/lesson have you learnt from the Implementation of National Population Policy 2000? 

Answer: (a) The estimate was based on the population as it was when the policy was framed in the year 2000 and assumed that the present trends will continue. However, the reasons for the estimate going wrong are
(i) the large size of the population in the reproductive age group. The increase in population will continue for some more years because high reproductive fertility in the past has resulted in a large proportion of the population being currently in the reproductive age group.
(ii) higher fertility due to the unmet need for contraception. Measures for adoption of contraception are not widely available accessible and affordable, particularly in the rural areas.
(iii) high desired fertility due to the high Infant Mortality Rate (IMR). Repeated child births are seen as an insurance against multiple infant (and child) deaths and accordingly, high infant mortality nullifies all efforts at reducing fertility
(iv) many girls are married below the age of 18, the minimum legal age of marriage, resulting in a typical reproductive pattern of "too early, too frequent, too many".
(b) From this policy I have learnt that to control the population, there is a need of concerted efforts by both Government and the people.