Chapter 1 — Resources and Development

Everything available in our environment which can be used to satisfy our needs, provided it is technologically accessible, economically feasible, and culturally acceptable is termed as a resource.

Resources are classified on four bases: (a) origin—biotic and abiotic; (b) exhaustibility—renewable and non-renewable; (c) ownership—individual, community, national, and international; (d) status of development—potential, developed, stock, and reserves.

Resource planning is a complex process involving: (i) identification and inventory of resources across regions through surveying and mapping; (ii) evolving a planning structure with appropriate technology and institutional setup; (iii) matching resource development plans with overall national development plans.

India has enormous diversity in resource availability. Some states like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are mineral-rich, Rajasthan has solar and wind energy, Arunachal Pradesh has water resources, and Ladakh has cultural heritage but lacks water and infrastructure. Balanced resource planning at national, state, and local levels is essential to address regional imbalances.

Sustainable economic development means development should take place without damaging the environment, and development in the present should not compromise with the needs of future generations, as endorsed at the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit.

Major soil types include: alluvial soils (northern plains, river deltas), black soils (Deccan plateau, ideal for cotton), red and yellow soils (eastern and southern Deccan), laterite soils (tropical regions with intense leaching), arid soils (dry regions, sandy and saline), and forest soils (hilly and mountainous areas).

Alluvial soils contain adequate proportions of potash, phosphoric acid, and lime ideal for growing sugarcane, paddy, wheat, and pulse crops. They are deposited by Himalayan river systems (Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra) and are widely spread across northern plains and eastern coastal deltas, making regions of alluvial soils intensively cultivated and densely populated.

Black soils develop deep cracks during hot weather due to their composition of extremely fine, clayey material. These cracks help in proper aeration of the soil, though the soils are sticky when wet and difficult to work unless tilled immediately after the first shower or during pre-monsoon period.

Soil erosion is the denudation of the soil cover and subsequent washing down. It occurs due to human activities like deforestation, overgrazing, mining, construction, and defective farming methods, as well as natural forces like wind, water, and glaciers. Running water creates gullies, flowing water causes sheet erosion, and wind causes wind erosion.

Soil erosion can be controlled through: (i) terrace cultivation cutting steps on slopes; (ii) contour ploughing along contour lines to decelerate water flow; (iii) strip cropping with grass strips between crops to break wind force; (iv) planting shelter belts (rows of trees) to stabilize sand dunes; (v) afforestation on large scale; (vi) proper management of grazing.

As of 2019-20, India's land use is distributed as: net sown area 45.64%, forest area 23.41%, other uncultivated land 9.06%, permanent pastures and grazing land 5.40%, fallow land 4.49%, barren and waste land 3.67%, land put to non-agricultural uses 3.90%, and current fallow 1.02%.

Forest area has changed only marginally from 1960-61 to 2019-20. The current forest area (23.41%) is far lower than the desired 33 per cent outlined in the National Forest Policy (1952), which was essential for maintenance of ecological balance. Land degradation from mining, deforestation, overgrazing, and improper irrigation has hindered forest expansion.

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