India: People, Economy, Transport and Regional Development
This section covers India: People, Economy, Transport and Regional Development. Questions test census indicators, agricultural intensity, industrial location, transport networks and regional disparities.
Core rules
- Census indicators include literacy (7+), sex ratio, density, urbanisation and workforce participation.
- Cropping intensity = gross cropped area ÷ net sown area × 100. Yield is production per hectare, not the same thing.
- Kharif crops are sown with the monsoon; rabi in winter; zaid in the hot dry season. Irrigation raises cropping intensity.
- Industrial location depends on raw materials, power, market, transport, labour and agglomeration. Weight-losing industries locate near raw materials; weight-gaining industries near markets.
- Transport: National Highways connect states and are numbered; State Highways are intra-state. The Golden Quadrilateral links Delhi–Mumbai–Chennai–Kolkata. NW1 is the Ganga waterway; NW2 is the Brahmaputra.
- Regional development is uneven; core regions attract investment, while peripheral regions such as the north-east need connectivity and infrastructure.
Worked example
A farm has net sown area 500 ha and gross cropped area 750 ha. Cropping intensity = 750 ÷ 500 × 100 = 150%. If a second crop is added on another 100 ha, gross cropped area becomes 850 ha and intensity becomes 170%. This shows more intensive land use, but it does not by itself prove higher yield per hectare.
Traps
- Confusing cropping intensity with yield.
- Mixing National and State Highways.
- Saying NW2 is the Ganga; it is the Brahmaputra.
- Treating literacy as all-age.