71 3

The Himalayas is the highest mountain range in theworld and also the youngest mountain range.

Longest Mountain Range is Andes in SouthAmerica

Mountains between the Indus and the Brahma-putra are called 'the Himalayas' meaning 'the abodeof snow.'

The Himalayas consist of three parallel ranges.(i) The southernmost range, called the Siwalik isthe lowest.(ii) The ranges lying north of the Siwalik are knownas the middle Himalayas or the Himachal.(iii) The northernmost ranges of the Himalayas,known as the Himadri, are the highest with anaverage height of more than 6,000 metres abovethe sea level.

Longitudina or Regional Divisions of Himalayas. Kashmir Himalayas, between river indus and sutlej.

India : PhysicalFeatures The Indian mainland can be divided into

five physiographic units namely(i) The Great Mountains of the North(ii) The North Indian Plains(iii) The Peninsular Plateau(iv) The Coastal Plains (v) The Islands

Mountains of India The mountains extending between the

Pamir plateau and the Indus river in Kash-mir are known as the Karakoram.

The Karakoram mountains contain theSiachen, which is the world's largest moun-tain glacier.

The world's second highest peak called K2(Godwin Austin) belongs to Karakoramrange.

The Himalayas surrounds India on the north,north west and north - east which extends toabout 2400 km.

Indian Geography

Karakoram

World's largest and most expensive cruise linerQueen Mary 2, the luxury ship carrying more than

2,500 passengers and 1,500 employees.

Queen Mary 2

71 4

Kumaon Himalayas, between river Sutlej and RiverKali.

Nepal Himalayas, between river Kali and riverTeesta.

Assam Himalayas, between river Teesta andBrahmaputra Gorge.

The Himadri contain some of the world's highestpeaks.

Mt. Everest (8848 m) in Nepal is the world'shighest peak.

Kanchenjunga in Sikkim is the highest peak ofthe Himalayas in India.

Highest Mountain Peak in India(a) K2 (b) Kanchenjunga(c) Nanda Devi (d) Mt. Everest

Ans: (a) K2 It is in Pak Occupied Kashmir.HutZym-Kn-I-ambn

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Important passes of Himalayas Kashmir : Burzil and Jojila Himachal Pradesh : Bara, Lepcha-la, Shipkila Uttar Pradesh : Thanga-la, Niti-la, Lipu-Lekhla Sikkim - Nathula, Jelepla Khybar pass is the most famous pass which leads

from Peshwar to Kabul. South of Khybar pass is the Gomal Pass (it is in

Pakistan) The Bolan Pass leads from Kandahar to Quetta. Shipki Pass leads from the Punjab to Tibet. The Purvachal Hills in the north-east consist of

the Patkai-Bum, the Garo-Khasi-Jaintia and LushaiHills.

Vindhya mountains cut off the northern plain fromthe south.

The Peninsular mountains include The WesternGhats (The Sahyadris), The Eastern Ghats, TheSatpura Range and The Aravallis.

The Western Ghats runs along the west coastfrom the south of Tapti r iver valley toKanyakumari. Passes in Western Ghats are thePalghat between Palakkad and Coimbatore,Shenkotta between Kollam and Madurai, Thalghatbetween Mumbai and Pune and the Bhorghat be-tween Mumbai and Nassik.

The Eastern Ghats are irregular hill ranges thatstretch from northern Orissa to the Nilgiris inTamil Nadu across the coastal Andhra.

The Satpura range extends from the Narmada val-ley in the north to the Tapti valley in the south.

The 800 km range Aravallis stretching from thenorth-east to the south - west of India separatesthe semi-desert regions of Rajasthan from the fer-tile Udaipur and Jaipur regions.

Aravallis is the oldest mountain range in India. Sahyadri hills is a part of the Western Ghats.

Nilgiris is also a part of Western Ghats. Nilgiri isknown as the Blue Mountains.

The southernmost tip of Eastern Ghats is calledCardamom Hills.

The Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats meet atNilgiri Hills.

The Peninsular Plateau Rising from the Alluvial plains of U.P and Bihar,

south of the Yamuna - Ganga line, the great Indianplateau (Peninsular plateau) extends towards thesouth to encompass the whole of the peninsula.Its north-west limit is marked by the Aravalli range.

The Peninsular plateau can be divided into three-

Geographically, Deccan plateau is theoldest part of India.

71 5

the Central Plateau, the Eastern Plateau and theDeccan Plateau.

The Eastern plateau lies to the north - east ofMalwa.

East of Baghelkhand is the Chottanagpur plateauin Jharkhand which is 700m high and has steepborders.

The Malwa plateau, particularly its north - east-ern part called the Chottanagpur plateau is therichest mineral producing region of India.

Anamudi (Idukki) in Kerala is the highest peak ofPeninsular India.

The Deccan plateau lies to the south of northernplain. The plateau is flanked by mountain rangescalled Eastern and Western Ghats.

The triangular plateau is India’s largest plateauwith a height ranging from 900 to 300 m in thewest and east. N- Sextenat - 1600 km and E-Wextent- 1400 km.

Great Plains The Great plains are found between the Himalayas

and Peninsular plateau which extends to about2400 km.

The plains are drained by river Sutlej and the Beasin the west, the Ganges and its tributaries in theeast.

Sambhar, the salt lake lies in the Rajasthan plains. The most fertile region of India is the northern

plains formed by the valleys of rivers Ganges andBrahmaputra.

The Islands Besides mainlands India has two groups of Islands

namely the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in theBay of Bengal and the Lakshadweep Islands in theArabian Sea.

Andamans consists of a northern cluster of 204small islands and Nicobar islands consists of asouthern cluster of 19 Islands.

Ten degree channel separates Andaman fromNicobar.

Port Blair is the capital of Andaman & Nicobar

Islands. The southernmost tip of India, Indira point is in

Great Nicobar islands which is the biggest islandin Nicobar group.

The islands of Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindiviin the Arabian sea are known as Lakshadweep. Itcomprises of a group of 36 islands, about 300kmto the west of Kerala coast. Only 10 of the islandsare inhabited.

Kavarathi is the capital of Lakshadweep. New Moore Island lies in Bay of Bengal near West

Bengal also belong to India. Coco Islands North of Andaman belong to

Myanmar. Biggest Island in Andaman Group - Middle

Andaman Biggest Island in Nicobar Group - Great Nicobar Smallest Island in Andaman Group - Ross Island Smallest Island in Nicobar Group - Pilomillow Is-

land Highest point in Nicobar Group - Mount Thullier.

Soils in India The Indian Council of Agricultural Research

(ICAR) divides the soils found in the country into8 major groups.

They are: Alluvial soil, Black soil, Red soil, Later-ite soil, Forest soil, Arid and Desert soils, Salineand Alkaline soils and Peaty and Organic soils.

Alluvial Soil Alluvial soil contributing the largest share, is

formed by the deposition of sediments by riversin the interior parts of India and by the sea waves

Anthroth IslandThe largest Island in Lakshadweep

71 6

hydrated double iron and titaniferous magnetite. Black soil found in Maharashtra, Gujarat, West

Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and TamilNadu

Red Soil Red soil is formed by the weathering of ancient

metamorphic and crystalline rocks. They are airy and need irrigation support for cul-

tivation. Red soil is suitable for the cultivation ofpulses and coarse grains.

Red soils are poor in nitrogen, phosphorous, po-tassium and organic matter.

They are more suitable for the cultivation of rice,

in the coastal areas of the country. Alluvial soil is the best agricultural soil because

(i) They contain a variety of salts derived fromHimalayan rocks.(ii) They are light and porous, therefore easilytillable.(iii) They are good for canal irrigation because ofhigh water table and an easily penetrable stratum.

Alluvial soils are rich in potash and poor in nitro-gen and organic matter.

Alluvial soils are suitable for cultivation of almostall kinds of cereals, pulses, oil seeds, cotton, sug-arcane and vegetables.

Ahmedabad, Baroda and Kheda districts of

Gujarat, Orissa andKerala are some ofthe states in whichalluvial soil isfound.

The coastal allu-vium is of tidal ori-gin.

The desert alluviumor 'Loess' isbought by winderosion.

Black Soil Black soil is found

largely in theDeccan plateau.

Black soil is suit-able for the cultiva-tion of cotton andtherefore it is calledblack cotton soil.

The black colour ofthe black soil is at-tributed to the pres-ence of compoundsof Iron and alu-m i n i u m ,accumulated hu-mus, aluminium sili-cate, colloidal

71 7

ragi, tobacco and vegetable.

Laterite Soil Laterite soils are formed by the weathering of lat-

erite rocks. Laterite soils are deficient in nitrogen.They are chiefly found in Karnataka, Kerala,Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Malabar areas.

These soils are agriculturally unimportant becauseof intensive leaching, a low base exchange capac-ity and their acidic nature.

Forest Soil Forest soils are formed by the deposition of or-

ganic matter derived from forests. They are rich inorganic matter and humus. They are found mainlyin Punjab, Karnataka, Manipur and Jammu &Kashmir.

These soils are used for plantations of tea, cof-fee, spices and fruits.

Arid and Desert Soils Arid and Desert soils are formed under arid and

semi arid conditions in the north -western parts ofthe country. They are rich in phosphate thoughpoor in nitrogen.

These soils often have a high soluble salt contentand low to very low humus content.

These soils are made fertile by adding gypsum.

Saline andAlkaline Soils Saline and Alkaline soils are salt impregnated

and infertile. These soils are found especially inthe dry tracts of the north.

Also known as reh, kallar, usar, thur, karl andchopan

They contain a larger proportion of sodium po-tassium and magnesium

They acquire salts largely because of dry climateand poor drainage

Peaty Soils Peaty soils are developed under humid conditions

as a result of the accumulation of large amounts

of organic matter. These soils are highly salineand rich in organic matter.

The River Systems of India Rivers in India may be classified into the Hima-

layan rivers, the Deccan river (Peninsular Rivers). These soils cover the high rainfall areas of West

Bengal, Orissa and Kerala.

Himalayan rivers The Himalayan rivers are perennial snow fed riv-

ers. During the monsoon season, the rivers dis-charge the maximum amount of water causing fre-quent floods.

Yamuna, Gomti, Ghagra, Gandak, Ram Ganga, Son,Chambal, Betwa and Ken are the the main tribu-taries of Ganga.

Ganga is known by the name ‘Padma’ in Bangladesh. Ganga flows through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West

Bengal and finally enters into the Bay of Bengal. Brahmaputra is the second largest river system

of Indian sub-continent. The 2,688 kmBrahmaputra is longer than the Ganges, but onlyone third of the river passes through India.

Brahmaputra orginates from the Manasarovar lakein Western Tibet. It mainly flows through Tibetand a small portion of it flows through India.

In Tibet, Brahmaputra is known as Tsang Po. After making deep gorges in Namcha Barwa, it

enters India in Arunachal Pradesh as 'Dihang'. Itenters Sadiya District of Assam and known asBrahmaputra when it enters Bangladesh, it isnamed as 'Meghna.'

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The River Ganga isthe longest river

(2640 km) in India. Itssource is at Gangotri

glacier in theHimalayas.

71 8

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Brahmaputra is the only river in the world whichform a river island named 'Majauli Island.'

Indus is the longest river of Indian sub-continent.It is 2900 km long. It flows mainly through Pakistan.

Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum are the fivetributaries of Indus. Mount Kailash in Tibet is thesource of Indus river. It enters into the Arabian sea.

The Ravi is the smallest river of Punjab and is well-known as the 'River of Lahore.' It rises near theRohtang pass in the Kulu hills of Himachal Pradesh.

The Chenab is the largest of Indus tributaries. Ithas a total length of 1,800 km in India.

Peninsular rivers Peninsular rivers (The Deccan System) are gener-

ally rainfed and comprises the rivers of peninsu-lar India. They are shorter and seasonal in nature.

River Godavari is the largest river system (1465km long) of peninsular India. It is known as the'Vridha Ganga' or 'Dakshin Ganga.' It rises fromTrambak in Nasik district in the Western Ghats.

River Krishna r ises from the north ofMahabaleswar in the Western Ghats. It enters intothe Bay of Bengal. Krishna basin forms the thirdlargest river basin in India.

River Cauvery rises from the Brahmagiri hills inthe Coorg district of Karnataka. About 55 percentof the cauvery basin lies in Tamilnadu, 41 percentin Karnataka and three percent in Kerala.

River Pennar rises in the Kolar district of Karnataka. River Damodar rises from the Chottanagpur pla-

teau near Tori in Palamau district of Jharkhand. River Damodar of Jharkhand is called as "Sorrow

of Bengal and Jharkhand", because of frequentflood, mass, soil erosion and heavy siltation.

River Narmada which rises from the Amarkantakplateau in Chhattisgarh is the largest among thewest flowing peninsular rivers.

Narmada and Tapti are the major west flowingrivers of India. They drains into the Gulf ofCambay in the Arabian Sea.

Satpula Mountain range lies between Narmadaand Tapti.

Luni and Sabarmati are the other two west flow-ing peninsular rivers.

Sabarmati rises from the Jai Samand lake ofUdaipur, Rajasthan.

The Luni orginates from Annasagar in the Aravallisand ends on the Sahni marshes, North of Rann ofKutch.

The world’s largest delta, Sunderbans is formedby the Ganges and Brahmaputra in West Bengaland Bangladesh, in the Bay of Bengal.

The Third river system is also called the ‘Riversof Inland Drainage Basins’ which consists of smallrivers in the sandy areas of Rajasthan.

Lakes The largest fresh water lake in India: Lake Kolleru

(Andhra Pradesh). Wular is the second largestfresh water lake.

The second largest salt water lake is Sambhar inRajasthan.

Important lakes in India are Chilka (Orissa),Sambhar (Rajasthan),Pulicat (AndhraPradesh) andVembanad (Kerala),Woolar (J &K), Dal(J&K), Uday Sagar(Rajasthan), Puslikar(Rajasthan), Puslikar(Rajasthan), Loktak(Manipur Hills). Dal Lake is fa-mous for house boats. Sambar in

Rajasthan is the largest inland salt lake in India.

Indian Climate Indian climate is greatly influenced by the pres-

ence of Himalayas in the north and the IndianOcean in the south.

The climate of India is monsoonal type, fed up bytwo rain bearing winds.

Latitude and the monsoon winds are the majorfactors affecting the Indian climate.

The Tropic of Cancer divides India into two al-most equal climatic zones namely the northernzone and the southern zone.

India receives 90% of the total rainfall from monsoons.Monsoons are the seasonal winds which blow duringsix months of summer from ocean to land and for thesix months of winter from land to sea.

The South West Monsoon forms the main mon-soon season in India (June to August).

The largestsaltwater lake :Lake Chilka

(Orissa)

71 9

landmass of north-western India towards the In-dian Ocean.

Thunder storm cause upto 25 cm of rainfall alongthe Kerala and Karnataka coasts and about 10 cm.in the interior of South India. Such rains are called'Cherry Blossoms' in Karnataka where theyprove immensely beneficial to coffee plantation.They are called as 'Mango Showers' in SouthIndia, due to their salutary effect on mango crop.

The normal date of the onset of the rains is 20thMay in Andaman & Nicobar Islands and by theend of June, it is usually established over most ofthe country.

The North East Monsoon (October - November)brings rain mainly to Tamil Nadu.

On the basis of monsoonal variations there arefour seasons in India namely the cold (winter)season (December to February), the hot (summer)season (March to May), the south west monsoon(the rainy season) (June to September) and theseason of retreating monsoon (October to No-vember).

The North - East Monsoons are comparitively mi-nor monsoons confined to a smaller area of thecountry. They are the winds blowing out from the

Wild life Sanctuaries & National Parks

''Two roads diverged in a wood,andI took the one less travelled by

and that has madeall the difference''

from 'THE ROAD NOT TAKEN'

by ROBERT FROST

Pohn-X-¯nse Gähpw kp{]-[m-\-amb H¶mWvCareer Selection. B{K-ln-¡p-¶Xv e`n-¡-W-sa-¶nÃF¶Xv Cu Xocp-am-\-¯nsâ k¦oÀ®X hÀ²n-¸n -¡p -¶p. DtZym -Kw F¶Xv GXm\pw Znh-k-t¯¡v am{X-apÅ Hcp kwhn-[m-\-a-Ã. AXv HcpLife long engagement BWv. \n§Ä t\Sp¶ DtZym-K -am-bn -cn¡pw \n§-fpsS hfÀ¨bpw `mhnbpwDbÀ¨bpw Xocp-am-\n -¡p-I.

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AXn -\m-emWv DtZymK sXc-sª-Sp¸v Pohn -X-¯nse Hcp Crucial Decision BsW¶v ]d-bp-¶-Xv. Hcp wrong selection \S-̄ n-bm Pohn-X-̄ nsâXmfw Xs¶ sXäp-¶-Xm-Wv.

Therefore you must select the right job in your life.

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Hgn-hp-IÄ 1000 ¯ntesd AXn-\m \¶mbn{ian-¨m t\Smw

Deputy SecretaryJoint Secretary

Additional Secretary

Under Secretary

Section Officer

Assistant

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72 2

Normal duration of the monsoon varies from 2 to 4months.

The Trans-Himalayan and Greater-Himalayan re-

gions, Drass and Kargil of Ladakh region are thecoldest regions in the country.

Chirapunji in Meghalaya is the wettest place inIndia.

Jaisalmer in western Rajasthan is the driest placein India which receives the lowest rainfall.

India : Natural Vegetation(Forests) Natural vegetation in India varies from region to

region due to variations in climatic conditions,soil types and relief features.

Nearly 19.39% of the total land area in India isunder forest. The National Forest policy has laiddown a target of raising the area under forest tonearly 33.3%.

Tropical Evergreen forests are dense forests ofluxuriant growth found in areas where rainfallranges between 200 to 300 cm. eg; Western Ghatsand sub-Himalayan regions.

Tropical Decidous Forests or Monsoon Forestsare areas having annual rainfall between 100-200cm.

Tidal or Littoral Forests occur along the deltas ofWest Bengal Orissa and Andhra Pradesh receiv-ing annual rainfall above 200 cm. Sundari tree isthe important tree in these forest.

Dry Tropical forests are mostly prevalent in re-gions with an annual rainfall of 90 to 130 cm.

Swamps or Littoral forests are also called tidalforests which occur in and around the tidal creeksand along the deltas of river Ganges, Mahanadi,Krishna and Godavari.

Alpine forests cover the alpine areas in theHimalayas, at a height of 2880 m to 3700m.

Siwaliks are covered with tropical moist deciduousflora such as sal and bamboo.

Planting of trees is known as afforestation. Deforestation is the destruction of trees. Forests also help to prevent soil erosion and

land slides. It maintains the ecological balanceand provides forest products such as timber andindustrial raw materials. Forests helps to pro-tect wild life and rare species of trees and plants.

Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under for-est among the Indian states.

National Parks, Sanctuaries andBiosphere Reserves in India

Namdapha (B.R) .................. Arunachal PradeshKaziranga (N.P) ...................................... AssamManas (N.P) ........................................... AssamHazaribagh (N.P) ............................... JharkhandGir (N.P) ................................................. GujaratNalsarovar (S) ........................................ GujaratJaldapara (S) .................................. West BengalManali (S) ............................. Himachal PradeshDachigam (N.P) ..................... Jammu & KashmirSalim Ali (N.P) ....................... Jammu & KashmirKarakoram (S) ........................ Jammu & KashmirBandipur (N.P) .................................. KarnatakaKudremukh (N.P) ............................... KarnatakaRanganathittu (S) .............................. KarnatakaEravikulam (N.P) ...................................... KeralaSilent Valley (N.P) .................................... KeralaIdukki (S) ................................................ KeralaIndravati (N.P) ............................... ChhattisgarhKanha (N.P) .................................. ChhattisgarhSariska (N.P) ...................................... RajasthanJim Corbett (N.P) ............................. UttaranchalDudhwa (N.P) ............................... Uttar PradeshNanda Devi (N.P) ............................ Uttaranchal

Mawsynram inMeghalaya (1141 cm) is therainiest place in the world.

72 3

Haryana has the least area under forest. Arunachal Pradesh has the largest percentage of

area under forest. India provides about 8% of the world’s hardwood

and ranks third after Brazil and Indonesia. Mangrove forests are found in the coastal plains. The forests on the Ganges delta in Bengal are called

Sunderbans after the sundari trees in these forests. Evergreen forests (Tropical) are found in the West-

ern ghats and Sub-Himalayan region. They pro-vide hardwood like teak, rosewood, ebony etc.

Social forestry aims at not only providingfuelwood, fodder and other forest products, butalso to meet the requirement of ecological bal-ance through large scale afforestation oncommunity lands and waste lands.

Energy plantations are plantation of softwood andgrass to meet the energy needs of households.

World Environment Day : June 5

India’s Wild Life The wild life reserves of India are of two types -

the Wild life sanctuaries and National parks. Presently the country has 500 Wildlife Sanctuar-

ies, 92 National Parks and 27 Tiger Reserves. Wild life protection in India was given statutory

status with the adoption of the Wildlife (Protec-tion) Act, 1972 by all the Indian states exceptJammu and Kashmir..

Trade in endangered species is subject to strictrules under the Convention on International Tradein Endangered Species (CITES) of wild flora and

fauna, to which India is a signatory. Some of the endangered species are Asiatic Lion,

One Horned Rhinocerous, Hangul, Royal BengalTiger, Wild Ass etc.

The Animal Welfare Board of India was estab-lished in 1962. Research programmes in wildlifeare carried out by the Wild life Institute of India,Dehradun and the Salim Ali Centre forOrnithology and Natural History, Coimbatore.

Project Tiger is the centrally sponsored schemelaunched on April 1, 1973 to save the tigers fromextinction on India.

At present Madhya Pradesh tops the state withgreater number of Tigers. Madhya Pradesh isknown as the tiger state of India. M.P was fol-lowed by Uttar Pradesh.

Project Elephant was launched to protect the wildlife and elephant population during the eighthplan, ie in 1991.

A wild life week is observed in the first week ofOctober every year.

Biosphere Reserves: Biosphere preserve are multipurpose protected area to preserve the geneticdiversity in representative eco system.

So far fourteen biosphere reserves have been setup.

They are: Nilgiri, Nanda Devi, Nokrek, GreatNicobar, Gulf of Mannar, Manas, Sunderbans,Similipal, Dibru Daikhowa, Dehong Deband,Panchmarhi, Khangchendzonga. Agastyamalaiand Achanakamar - Amar Kantak.

Mineral Wealth In India India is rich in mineral resources and has the po-

tential to become an industrial power. India is the 5th largest exporter of Iron ore in the

world. India is the largest producer of mica in the world. Jharkhand is the leading producer of mica. Bihar,

Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh also produce mica. The Great plains of Northern India are devoid of

deposits of economic minerals. On the other handJharkhand and Orissa areas on the North-Easternparts of Peninsular India possess large concen-tration of mineral deposits accounting for nearlythree-fourths of the country’s coal deposits.

Keibul Lamjo is the only floating NationalPark in the country, is located in Manipur in

Loktak Lake

72 4

Raniganj (West Bengal), Jharia (Bihar), Singarui(Madhya Pradesh) and Korba (Chhattisgarh) arethe major coal fields in India.

Mineral deposits are also scattered over the pen-insular India and in parts of Assam and Rajasthan.

Thorium, a likely future substitute for Uranium asa fission meterial in atomic reactors, occurs in con-siderable quantities as ThO2, in the beach sandsof Kerala coast.

Thorianite and Monazite are the main ores of tho-rium. Monazite deposits of commercial value arefound in about 160 kms between Cape Comorinand Kollam in Kerala.

India possesses the largest reserves of monaziteknown in the world.

Uranium compounds occurs in Singhbhum - cop-per belt of Jharkhand, Aravalli's and centralHimalaya.

Monazite which contains small percentage of Ura-nium Oxide occurs in the beach sands of the eastand west in India.

Marble is found largely in Rajasthan. Diamond is found at Panna in Madhya Pradesh. India is rich in iron, mica, manganese and bauxite. India is deficient in copper, lead, mercury, zinc,

tin, nickel, petroleum products, sulphur andtungsten and spends considerable amounts inforeign exchange on their imports.

Gypsum deposit is found in Rajasthan. Leading salt producer in India is Gujarat. It pro-

duces 60% of salt of the country. State with the largest mineral deposit is Jharkhand.

Formerly it was a part of Bihar. Jharkhand is the state with highest mineral out-

put in India. Chottanagpur plateau is the richest mineral belt

of India. Gold is found in the Kolar Gold fields in Karnataka

and in small quantities in Ramigiri gold fields inAndhra Pradesh.

Lignite is mainly found in the Neyveli fields in TamilNadu.

Natural gas fields are Ankleshwar and Cambay inGujarat, Bombay high and Assam.

Almost all the copper in India comes fromSinghbhum and Hazaribagh in Jharkhand andKhetri in Rajasthan.

India ranks third in the world in the production ofmanganese. Orissa is the leading producer of man-ganese in the state.

The first successful oil well was sunk at Digboi in1889. The recently discovered sea-bed oil fields ofBombay High are also yielding, substantial quan-tities of oil.

Bombay High is the offshore oil field located inthe coast of Maharashtra.

The first boring was made at Nahor Pung in No-vember, 1866 in Makum area of Assam.

Digboi in Assam is the oldest oil well of India. Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) was set

up at Dehradun in 1956.

Major Industries in India The Industrial policy adopted by the Government

of India envisages a mixed economy, i.e., theco-existance of public and private sectors.

The large scale industries of India covers ironand steel, engineering, jute, cotton, textiles andsugar industries.

Cotton textiles is the oldest industry in India. Ithas the largest number of workers employed inan industry.

Mumbai has become the 'cottonpolis' of India. Ahmadabad Vadodra region is the second largest

centre of cotton textile. Kanpur is famous for textiles and clothing, large

modern tanneries, leather works and shoemanufacturing.

Sholapur is famous for important textiles basedon cotton grown in local regular soils.

The first modern cotton textile mill was estab-

Mineral State of IndiaJharkhand

72 5

lished in Bombay in 1851. Karnataka is the largest producer of silk. First modern silk factory - was set up at Howrah in

1832. Dharwar - Belgaum are known for cotton textiles

railway and general engineering goods. In 1870, the first steel industry,‘Bengal Iron

Company’ was set up at Kulti, West Bengal. The first large scale steel plant in the private sec-

tor was Tata Iron and Steel Company, Jamshedpur. The public sector steel plants are managed by the

Steel Authority of India (SAIL). Majority of the jute mills are located in West Ben-

gal. As a foreign exchange earner, it is an impor-tant industry in the country.

Rourkela steel plant in Orissa was set up underthe second five year plan in assistance with Ger-many.

Bokaro, the biggest plant in Asia was set up un-der the fourth five year plan in association withthe Russian Government. It is located inJharkhand.

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is a quasi gov-ernmental institution for drawing up standardsfor the products of Indian industry. It was estab-lished in 1947.

National Productivity Council (NPC) is an autono-mous body formed to inculcate productivity inindustries, established in 1958.

Godavari - Krishna delta is known for local to-bacco, sugarcane, rice, oil, cement and small tex-tiles.

The industry associated with sports materialsmainly located at Agra, Meerut (UP), Batalla,Jalandhar (Punjab) and Delhi.

Pinjore in Haryana and Jalahalli in Bangalore areassociated with watch industry.

Moradabad is famous for brass utensils with en-graving and polishing.

Indian Explosives factory is located at Gomia inHazaribagh (Jharkhand).

First fertilizer plant is near Ranipet of Tamil Naduin 1906.

First public sector fertilizer plant is at Sindri(Jharkhand)

The first synthetic rubber factory was started inBareilly in 1955.

There are only four newsprint manufacturingplant:

(i) at Vellore (near Kottayam) in Kerala(ii) at Nepanagar (M.P) - 1955(iii) Shimoga in Karnataka.(iv) Pugalur in Tirchchirapalli (T.N.)

West Bengal is the leading state in paper manu-facturing.

NALCO (National Aluminium Company Ltd.),BALCO (Bharat Aluminium Company),HINDAL CO (The Hindustan Aluminium Corpo-ration Ltd.), The Indian Aluminium Co. Ltd.(INDAL) are the leading producers of aluminiumin the country.

India is the largest sugar producing country withover 15% share of the global output. It is also thelargest consumer.

Maharashtra produces more than one third of thetotal production of sugar in country.

Agriculture Agriculture is the largest source of livelihood for

over 2/3rd (about 70%) of the population of India. Agriculture contributes 22% to the GDP. Crops in India can be classified into subsistence

crops, commercial crops, plantation crops and hor-ticulture crops.

Crop season in India can be classified into threesuch as Kharif, Rabi and Zayad.

Kharif (rainy) crops are sown in June/July andharvested in September / October. Rice, Jowar,Bajra, Ragi, Maize, Cotton and Jute are the impor-tant Kharif crops.

Rabi (winter) crops are sown in October/ Decem-ber and harvested in April/ May. Wheat , Barley ,Peas, Rape-seed, Mustard and Grams are the im-portant Rabi crops.

Zayad (Summer) crops : Swon in April, May andJune. Products are mostly fruits and vegetables.

Cardamom is found mainly in Karnataka, Kerala,Sikkim and Tamil Nadu.

Punjab isknown as the'Granary of

India.'

72 6

Cashewnut is mainly found in Kerala. Saffron is found mainly in Jammu and Kashmir. Groundnut is found mainly in Gujarat. Karnataka is the chief producer of coffee. Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of sugar-

cane. Tobacco is mainly produced in Maharashtra. The Green Revolution (first) was launched in 1967-68. The second Green Revolution was launched in

1983-84. The father of Green Revolution in India - Dr. M.S.

Swaminathan. Father of Green Revolution - Norman Borlaug. To increase yield per hectare government of India

introduced a programme called Green Revolu-tion. According to this programme the farmers aretaught to use high yielding variety of seed (H.Y.V),correct types of fertilisers and the governmenthas provided facilities of irrigation.

Rice in the staple food of India. India has the largest area under rice cultivation in

the world In terms of production it is next only to China. India occupies second position in rice exports,

nex only to Thailand. Banana ranks no 1 in fruit production in India's

followed by Mango and citrus. Potato ranks No. 1 in vegetable production in In-

dia, followed by Brinjal, Tomato, Cabbage. India accounts for 10% of world fruit production. India has highest productivity in grapes. India's share in mango production is 54% of world

production India leads the world in Mango, banana and acid

lime. India occoupies first position in the production

of cauliflower, second in onion and third in cab-bage in the world.

India is the largest producer, consumer and ex-porter of cashew in the world.

India is the largest producer and consumer ofpulses

India is the second largest producer of ground-nut in the world.

India is the second largest producer of tobacco inthe world after China.

Tobacco crop depletes the potash content of thesoil.

India is the third largest producer of and fourthlargest consumer of Rubber.

Black pepper is the most important dollar earningcrop.

India occupies second position after Gautemalain terms of production, productivity and export ofcardamom.

Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of chil-lies.

India is the largest (80%) producer of ginger India stands second in terms of cultivated land

after USA. Millets (Jowar & Bajra) is a poor man's food. Two varieties of tea in India : Black tea and Green tea. Indian Coffee is known for its quality and aroma. There are two types of coffee : Arabica and

Raibusta. Arabica is better than Raibusta. Wheat production is highest in Uttar Pradesh

and Punjab comes next. Operation flood I was launched in 1970, which

aimed at capturing a commanding share of theliquid milk market.

A centrally sponsored Command Area Develop-ment Programme was launched in 1974-75 with themain objective of improving utilization of irrigationpotential and optimizing agricultural productivity.

India is the leading producer of tea. "C´y-bnse tXbn-e-tXm«w' F¶v hnti-jn-̧ n-¡-

s¸-Sp¶ BÊm-amWv tXbne D¸m-Z-\-¯nÂH¶mw Øm\ v̄ \n¡p-¶- kwØm\w.

Uttar Pradesh leads in the production of wheat,sugarcane, maize and barley.

IÀWm-SIbmWv Gähpw IqSp -X Im¸n,Nµ-\w, kn¡v F¶n-h D¸m-Zn-̧ n-¡p-¶Xv.

Gujarat is the leading producer state of cotton,caster seed and groundnut.

Rajasthan leads in the production of coriander (a-Ãn). West Bengal leads in the rice production and jute

production. Irrigation in India can be classified into Wells,

Tanks and Canals. Wells account for about 48% of the total irrigated

area in the country. Tanks account for about 10% of the total irrigated

area, are used in Central and Southern India. Canals are the major sources of irrigation in Punjab,

Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. They account forabout 40% of the total irrigated area.

72 7

Thelargeststate:

Rajasthan

Thesmallest

stateGoa

The mostpopulous stateof India: Uttar

PradeshThe least

populous state:Sikkim The eastern

most state:Arunachal

Pradesh

The Mineralstate:

Jharkhand

The southernmost tip of

India: Indirapoint

Largestpopulated

city:Mumbai

ThesmallestUnion

Territory

72 8

INDIAWater Bodies

INDUSIndus ( km) is

the largestriver of Indiansub continent.

J h e l u m ,Chenab Ravi,Sutlej, Beas arethe importanttributaries

Chenab is thelargest of allthe Industributaries

East FlowingRivers

Mahanadi,Godavari, Krishna,Kaveri are theimportant rivers.

Godavari is thelongest river of thePeninsula.

Bhima, Krishna andThungabhadhra arethe three tributariesof Krishna.

BrahmaputraBrahmaputra is

the secondlargest riversystem of Indiansub continent.

After makingdeep gorges inNamcha Barwa,it enters India inArunachalPradesh as‘Dihang’. Itenters SadiyaDistrict ofAssam andknown as‘Brahmaputra’.When it entersBangladesh, it isnamed as‘Meghna’.

GANGAIt is the longest

river in India(2640 km).

Formed by twohead streams,Alakananda andBhagirathi whichjoin at Devprayag.

The Yamuna is thelargest and themost importanttributary of Ganga.

Ganga is known as‘Padma’ inBangladesh.

Narmada &Tapti are the two

important westflowing rivers of

India

Tapti

72 9

INDIA Physical FeaturesMount Everest:Highest Peakin the World

(Nepal)

Kachenjungain Sikkim isthe highestpeak of theHimalaya in

India

Aravallis is theOldest MountainRange in India

World’s secondhighest peak: K2(Godwin Austin)

The highest peak inWestern Ghaths:

Anamudi

Cardomom HillsSouthern tip ofEastern Ghats

Deccan Plateauis the oldest part of

India

Bhor Ghat, ThalGhat, Pal Ghat are

the important passesof Western Ghats

73 0

Now India haveWild life Sanctuaries: 490National Parks : 88 Keibul Lamjo is the only floating National

Park in India (Manipur)

India has the world’s largestreserves of iron.

Chottanagpur plateau is therichest mineral belt of India.

India is rich in iron, mica,manganese and bauxite butdeficient in copper, lead,mercury, zinc, tin, nickel,petroleum products, sulphur &tungsten.

India ranks third in the world inthe production of manganeseOrissa is the leading producer.

Gold is found in Kolar Goldfields in Karnataka and in smallquantities in Ranigiri gold fieldsin Andhra Pradesh.

Sanctuaries/National Parks .... Location & StateValmiki ............................ Hazaribagh (Jharkhand)Simlipal ................................. Mayurbhanj (Orissa)Palamau .......................... Daltonganj (Jharkhand)Bandipur ................................ Mysore (Karnataka)Kanha ...................... Mandla and Balaghat (M.P)Melghat ............................................... MaharashtraRanthambore .......... Swai Madhopur (Rajasthan)Corbett ............................. Garhwal (Uttarakhand)Sunderbans ........................................ (West bengal)Manas ......................................... Barpetal (Assam)Periyar ........................................... Idukki (Kerala)Sariska ....................................... Alwar (Rajasthan)Buxar ....................................................West BengalIndravathi ............................................. ChattisgarhNagarjuna Sagar ............................ Srisailam (A.P)Namdapha ................ Tirap (Aruanchal Pradesh)Dudwa ............................. Lakhimpur Kheri (U.P)Kalkad Mundanthuria Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu)Bandhavagarh ............. Shadol (Madhya Pradesh)Panna ............................................ Madhya PradeshDampha ....................................Aizwal (Mizoram)Bhadra ..................................................... Karnataka

INDIA - Minerals

73 1

River Valley Projects

Idukki Project ........................................................ Periyar

Koyna Project ......................................................... Koyna

Tehri Dam Project ..................... Bhilangana, Bhagirathi

Narmada Sagar Valley Project ......................... Narmada

Obra Power Station .................................................. Obra

Rihand project ....................................................... Rihand

Bhakra - Nangal Project .......................................... Satlej

Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) .............. Damodar

Hirakud Dam Project ......................... Mahanadi (Orissa)

Mayurakshi Project .................................... Murali (A.P.)

Nagarjunasagar Project ....................................... Krishna

Kosi Project ................................................................Kosi

Pallivasal .....................................Mudirappuzha (Kerala)

Peringalkuthu ..................... Chalakkudy Puzha (Kerala)

Sabarigiri ................................................. Pamba (Kerala)

Kuttiyadi ................................. Kuttiyady Puzha (Kerala)

Name of the Project .............................................. River

Farakka Project ................................. Ganga - Bhagirathi

Beas Project ............................................................... Beas

Rajasthan canal project ................ Beas, Ravi and Sutlej

Chambal Project ................................................. Chambal

Kakrapara Project .....................................................Tapti

Ukai Project ...............................................................Tapti

Poochampad Project .......................................... Godavari

Malaprabha Project ....................................... Malaprabha

Mahi ...........................................................................Mahi

73 2

&Neighbouring Countries

73 3

73 4

2

3

4

5

67

8

9

10

11

121

73 5

73 6

Golden Quadrilateral - Links Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and MumbaiNorth-South Corridor - Sreenagar to Kanyakumari

East West Corridors - Porbandhar to Silchur