India: People and Economy - Population, Resources and Regional Patterns
This domain applies human-geography concepts to India: population distribution and change, migration, human development, land, water and mineral resources, agriculture, industry, transport and trade, and environmental issues. PSEB questions reward accurate Census figures, correct regional examples (especially Punjab), and clear cause–effect reasoning.
Population patterns (Census 2011)
- Population 1.21 billion; density 382 persons/km²; sex ratio 943; literacy 74.04%.
- Distribution is uneven: the Ganga plain, coastal plains and metropolitan regions are dense; Rajasthan desert, Himalayan slopes and dense forests are sparse.
- Growth has slowed, but absolute additions remain large because of a young age structure.
Migration
- Push factors: unemployment, low wages, drought. Pull factors: jobs, education, better services.
- Most migration is intra-state and rural-to-rural; rural-to-urban streams dominate movement to cities.
Resources and livelihood
- Land use depends on relief, soil, climate and irrigation. Canal irrigation in Punjab supports wheat–rice rotation but has lowered the water table.
- Minerals are concentrated in the Chhotanagpur plateau (iron ore, coal) and coastal belts.
- Kharif crops are sown with the monsoon; rabi crops depend on winter rain or irrigation; zaid is the short summer season.
Worked example
A district records 600,000 males and 570,000 females. Sex ratio = (570,000 ÷ 600,000) × 1000 = 950 females per 1000 males. If its area is 3,000 km² and population 1,140,000, density = 1,140,000 ÷ 3,000 = 380 persons/km² - near the national average, showing that a single figure can hide internal variation.
Traps that cost marks
Using 100 females as the base for sex ratio; confusing child sex ratio (0–6 years) with overall sex ratio; mixing kharif with rabi; and describing the Green Revolution without naming its regional concentration in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.