Test: Class 12 Fundamentals Of Human Geography NCERT Based - 1 - UPSC MCQ

• SPATIAL INTERACTION IS A dynamic flow process from one location to another. It is a general concept that may refer to the movement of human beings such as intra urban commuters or intercontinental migrants, but may also refer to traffic in goods such as raw materials or to flows of intangibles such as information.

• While the origin of the term may be traced to French geographers of the early 20th century, Edward Ullman's Geography as Spatial Interaction is normally cited as the seminal statement of the concept.

• In Ullman's conception there were “three bases for spatial interaction” or more fundamentally, three reasons for why things move: complementarity, transferability, and intervening opportunity.

Bihar has the highest population growth rate as per the Government of India Report 2011-2019.

 

Mixed farming exists in many forms depending on external and internal factors. External factors are weather patterns, market prices, political stability, technological developments, etc. Internal factors relate to local soil characteristics, composition of the family and farmers' ingenuity.

Intensive agriculture, in agricultural economics, system of cultivation using large amounts of labour and capital relative to land area. Large amounts of labour and capital are necessary to the application of fertilizer, insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides to growing crops, and capital is particularly important to the acquisition and maintenance of high-efficiency machinery for planting, cultivating, and harvesting, as well as irrigation equipment where that is required. Optimal use of these materials and machines produces significantly greater crop yields per unit of land than extensive agriculture, which uses little capital or labour.

As a result, a farm using intensive agriculture will require less land than an extensive agriculture farm to produce a similar profit.

• It is the introduction of new techniques of agriculture which became popular by the name of the Green Revolution (GR) around the world in early 1960s—at first for wheat and by the next decade for rice, too. It revolutionised the very traditional idea of food production by giving a boost by more than 250 per cent to the productivity level.

• The Green Revolution was centred around the use of the High Yielding variety (HYV) of seeds developed by the US agro-scientist Norman Borlaug doing research on a British Rockefeller Foundation Scholarship in Mexico by the early 1960s.The new wheat seeds which he developed in vivo claimed to increase its productivity by more than 200 per cent. By 1965, the seeds were successfully tested and were being used by farmers in food deficient countries such as Mexico, Taiwan.

Percentage of Indian Population Dependent on Agriculture:
- According to recent data, the percentage of the Indian population dependent on agriculture is approximately 53%.
- This means that more than half of the total population in India relies on agriculture for their livelihood.
- Agriculture remains a significant sector in India, employing a large portion of the population and contributing to the country's economy.
Reasons for the High Dependence on Agriculture:
- Historical Background: Agriculture has been the backbone of the Indian economy for centuries, with a large population engaged in farming practices.
- Lack of Diversification: Limited opportunities for employment in other sectors lead to a higher dependence on agriculture.
- Subsistence Farming: Many farmers in India practice subsistence farming, which means they grow crops primarily for their own consumption rather than for commercial purposes.
- Rural Economy: A significant portion of India's population resides in rural areas, where agriculture is the main occupation and source of income.
Challenges Faced by the Agricultural Sector:
- Fragmented Landholdings: The average landholding size in India is small, leading to issues of productivity and efficiency.
- Lack of Modern Technology: Limited access to modern agricultural techniques, machinery, and irrigation facilities hampers productivity.
- Climate Change: Changing weather patterns, unpredictable monsoons, and natural disasters pose challenges to agricultural productivity.
- Market Access: Farmers often face difficulties in accessing markets, resulting in low prices for their produce.
Government Initiatives:
- The Indian government has implemented various schemes and initiatives to support and uplift the agricultural sector, such as the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme and the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform.
- These initiatives aim to provide financial assistance, improve market access, and promote modern agricultural practices.
Conclusion:
- With approximately 53% of the Indian population dependent on agriculture, the sector plays a crucial role in the country's economy and livelihoods.
- Addressing the challenges faced by the agricultural sector and implementing effective policies and initiatives can contribute to its growth and sustainability.

• Industry Sector: This sector includes 'Mining & quarrying', Manufacturing (Registered & Unregistered), Gas, Electricity, Construction, and Water supply.

• This is also known as the secondary sector of the economy. Currently, it is contributing around 29.6 % of the Indian GDP (at current prices) in 2018-19.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) which comes under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, revised the base year of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) from 2004-05 to 2011-12.It is revised to not only reflect the changes in the industrial sector but to also align it with the base year of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the calculation of Index of Industrial Production (IIP), the data of the following 8 sectors is measured.

These sectors are;

1. Coal: Its weight is 10.33%.

2. Crude oil: Its weight is 8.98%.

3. Natural gas: Its weight is 6.88%.

4. Refinery Product: Its weight is 28.04%.

5. Steel: Its weight is 17.92%.

6. Cement: Its weight is 5.37%.

7. Fertilizer: Its weight is 2.63%.

8. Power: Its weight is 19.85%.

Industries which requires huge infrastructure and manpower with an influx of capital assets are Large Scale Industries. In India, large-scale industries are the ones with a fixed asset of more than one hundred million rupees or Rs. 10 crores. The Indian economy relies heavily on such industries for economic growth, generation of foreign currency, and the creation of job opportunities for millions of Indians. Here are some advantages of large scale industries

1. They provide an impetus to the industrialization of the country.

2. Large scale industries, usually, produce capital and basic goods (instruments, machines, chemicals, etc.)

3. They are capable of generating funds for the research and development of new technologies.

4. Due to the large scale of operations, they have the potential to lower the cost of goods.

5. Further, they create opportunities for small-scale and cottage industries to evolve and flourish.

6. Also, the employment opportunities created by large scale industries are huge.

• Since the liberalization and deregulation of the Indian economy in 1991, most industries have been exempt from obtaining an industrial license to start manufacturing in India.
• Government attention is reserved only for those industries that may impact public health, safety, and national security.
• Industries subject to compulsory licensing in India are:
  1. Tobacco items.
  2. Defence aerospace and warships.
  3. Hazardous chemicals.
  4. Industrial explosives.
  5. Distillation and brewing of alcoholic drinks.
  6. Drugs and Pharmaceuticals.