Thursday, August 30, 2007

ASSIGNMENT ON LIFELINES OF NATIONAL ECONOMY-ROADWAYS

Q. What the super highways?
A. These are the highways with 6-8 lanes to accommodate more traffic.
--These are built on the BOT—built, operate & transfer principle which means that once built they will be operational and incourse of time will be transferred to the govt.
--They are built to reduce time & distance between mega cities.
--they are implemented by NHAI-National Highway Authoriy of India.
Q. List the important super highway projects under taken by India.?
A. There are three super highway road development projects under taken by the govt.
1.GOLDEN QUADILATERAL SUPER HIGHWAYS:
The government has launched a major road development project linking Delhi –Kolkata- Chennai-Mumbai and Delhi by six lane super highways.
2. TheNorth – South corridors linking Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir) and Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu).
3. East – West Corridors connecting Silcher (Assam) and Porbandar (Gujarat) .
Q. Discuss the classification of roadways.
A. Roads are classified into six classes according to their capacity.
1- Super Highways – they are build to reduce time and distance between mega cities of India. These projects are implemented by NHAI –National Highway Authority of India.
2- National Highways – they link extreme parts of the country.
--these are primary road systems and are laid and maintained by CPWD – Central Public Work Department.
--no. of major national highways run in north – south and east – west directions.
-- Shershah Suri marg is historical national highway No. 1 between Delhi and Amritsar
3. State Highways – roads linking state capital with different district head quarters are known as state highways
--these roads are constructed and maintained by state public works department – PWD in states and U.T.’s.
4) District Roads – these roads connect district head quarters with other places of district
--are maintained by the zila prashid.
5) Other Roads – rural roads which link rural areas and villages with towns.
--they have received special impetus under Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojna – this scheme has made special provision that every village in the country is linked with a major town in the country by an all season motorable road .
6) BorderRroads –Border roads are on the borders of the country.
---Border Roads Organization, a government of India undertaking constructs and maintains roads in the bordering areas of the country. This organization was established in 1960 for the development of the roads of strategic importance in the northern and north – eastern border areas.
--These roads have improved accessibility in areas of difficult terrain and have helped in economic development of these areas.
Roads are also classified on the basis of type of material used for their construction such as metalled and unmetalled roads. Metalled roads are made of cement, concrete or even bitumen of coal therefore all weather roads unlike unmetalled roads which go out of season in rainy days.
Q.What is road density?What do you know about the road density of India?
A. The length of road per sq. km of area is known as density of roads.
--Distribution of roads is not uniform.
--Density of all roads varies from only 10 km in J&K TO 375km in Kerela with national average of 75 km(1996-97).
Q. What problems are faced by Indian roadways?
A Indian roadways faces number of problems:
a)Considering the volume of traffic & passengers, the road network is inadequate.
--about half the roads are unmetalled & this limits their usage in the rainy seasons.
--the national highways are inadequate too.
--the roadways are highly congested in the cities & most bridges and culverts are old & narrow.
--poor maintainence is yet another problem.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Lifelines of national economy--Notes.


THIS IS A MINDMAP OF VARIOUS MEANS OF TRANSPORT.CLICK FOR CLEARER VIEW.


Q. Why means of transport and communication are called the life lines of a country?/What is the importance of transport & communication?
A. We use different materials & services in our day to day life, some of the goods are available nearby while others are brought from distant places by the means of transport.
--movement of goods & services from their supply locations to demand locations necessitates the need for transport.
--the pace of development of the country depends upon the production of goods and services as well as their movement over space. It is the pre-requisite for fast development.
--dense & efficient network of transport & communication is a pre-requisite for the local, national, global trade today.
Q. Transport , communication & trade are complementary to each other. Comment.
A. Today the world has been converted into a large village with the help of fast & efficient moving transport. Transport has been able to achieve this with the help of equally developed communication system, and together they have promoted trade. Therefore we can say that three of them are complementary to each other.
--India today is well linked with rest of the world .Various means of transport & communication have contributing to the socio-economic progress in many ways. It has enriched our lives & added substantially to growing amenities and facilities for the comforts of life.
Q. What do you about Indian railways?
A. India has one of the largest roadway networks in the world –about 2.3 million km at present.
-they have preceded railways.
--Indian roadways have been classified into six type according to their capacity and material used for their construction.
Q. Roadways have an edge over the railways. Discuss how?
A. The growing importance of roadways over the railways is rooted in the following reasons.
a) construction cost is lower than the railways.
b) Roads can traverse comparatively more dissected and undulating topography.
c) Roads can negotiate higher gradients of slopes.
d) They are economical for few& smaller amount of goods over short distances.
e) They provide door to door services.
f) They can be used as feeders to other means of transport—provide link between railway stations, airports & seaports.
g) They prove very useful for perishable items & saves them their transporting time & cost.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Assignment on manufacturing industries

Q. Why do we need cement industry?
A. Cement is essential for construction activity such as building houses, factories, bridges, roads airports, dams & for other commercial establishments.
Q. What are the requirements for the cement industry?
A. This industry requires bulky & heavy materials like limestone, silica, alumina & gypsum.
--coal & electric power are needed
--good transportation apart from rail transport.
Q. What do you know about the cement industry of India?
A. The first cement plant was set up in Chennai in 1904.
--the industry expanded after independence.
--decontrol of price & distribution since 1989 & other reforms led the cement industry make rapid advances in production, capacity, process & technology.
--there are 128 large plants & 332 mini cement plants in the country.
--India produces variety of cement.
--the industry has strategically located plants in Gujrat, that have suitable access to market in the Gulf countries.
--the improvement in the quality has found a available market in East Asia, Middle East, Africa & South Asia, besides demand in the country.
Q. What is the importance of the automobile industry?
A. It provides vehicles for quick transport of goods, services & passengers.
--Trucks, buses, cars, motorcycles, scooters, three wheelers and multi utility vehicles are manufactured in India which also bring in the income.
Q. Write about automobile industry expansion .
A. After the liberlisation , the coming of the new & contemporary models stimulated the demand for vehicles in the market which led to healthy growth of passengers cars, two & three wheelers.
--this industry has experienced a quantum jump in lat 15 years.
--Foreign & direct investment has brought new technology and aligned the industry with global developments.
--At present there are 15 manufacturers of passenger cars & multy utility vehicles, 9 commercial vehicles, 14 of two-three wheelers.
--the industry is located around Delhi, Gurgoan, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur & Bangalore.
Q. What all comes under electronic industry?
A. The electronic industry covers wide range of products from transistor sets to television, telephones, cellular telecom, pagers, telephone exchange, radars, & mant other equipments which are required by the telecommunication industry.
Q.Which is electronic capital of India?
Bangalore.
Q. List important centers for electronic goods.
A. Bangalore, Mumbai, Dehli, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow & Coimbatore.
Q. What are software technology parks?
A. these are technology centres which provide single window service and high data communication facility to software experts. There are 18 such technology parks.
Kindly refer to the map given in the book on page-77.
Q. What is the contribution of the electronic &Information technology industry?
A. The major impact of this industry has been on employment generation.
--upto March 2005, the IT industry employedover a million persons & the number is expected to increase eight-fold in next 4-5 years.
--30% of the people employed in this sector are women.
--the industry has been a major foreign exchange earner in last 2-3 years because of its fast growing BOP-Business Processes Outsourcing sector.
--continuing growth in the hardware & software is the key to the success in the IT industry in India.

Q. What is pollution?
A. Presence of undesieable substances in the air, water& on the land is termed as pollution.
Q. How many types of pollutions are there?
A. There are four types of pollutions viz., land, water, air & noise.
Q. What is air pollution and what are its causes ?
A. Presence of high proportion of undesirable gases such as sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide. Air borne particles contain both soild & liquid particles like dust, spraymist & smoke.
CAUSES--smoke emitted by chemicals & paper factories, brick kilns, refineries & smelting plants.
--burning of fossils fuels in big & small factories that ignore pollution norms.
--toxic leakages
--use of coal ,mineral oil,& gas emit lot of smoke.
Q. Writ about the harmful effects of the air pollution.
A. Toxic leakages can have very harmful effects –as happened in Bhopal gas tragedy.
--it adversely effects human health, animals & plant life, buildings and atmosphere as a whole.
--ozone layer depletion is also caused by it.
Q. What are the causes of water pollution?
A. It is caused by organic & inorganic industrial wastes & affluents discharged into the rivers.
--the main culprits are paper, pulp, chemical, textile & dyeing petroleum refineries, tanneries & electroplating industries that let out dyes, detergents, acids, salts & heavy metals.
--discharge of heavy metals like lead, mercury pesticides, fertilizers, rubber etc. in to water bodies is also very harmful.
--fly ash, phospo-gypsum& iron & steel slags are the major siold wates in India
.
Q. What is thermal pollution?
A. Thermal pollution of water occurs when hot water from factories & thermal plant is drained into rivers & ponds before cooling.
Q. What are the harmful effects of thermal pollution?
A. Waters from the nuclear power plants nuclear &power production facilities cause cancers, birth defects, miscarriages.
--soil & water get polluted.
--dumping wastes specially glass, harmful chemicals, industrial effluents, packaging ,salts and garbage
--ozone layer depletion is also caused by it.
Q. What are the causes of water pollution?
A. It is caused by organic & inorganic industrial wastes & affluents discharged into the rivers.
--the main culprits are paper, pulp, chemical, textile & dyeing petroleum refineries, tanneries & electroplating industries that let out dyes, detergents, acids, salts & heavy metals.
--discharge of heavy metals like lead, mercury pesticides, fertilizers, rubber etc. in to water bodies is also very harmful.
--fly ash, phospo-gypsum& iron & steel slags are the major siold wates in India.
Q. What is the cause of noise pollution also write its effects?
A. CAUSE—Industrial & construction activity, machinery, factory equipment, generators, saws and pneumatic & electric drills make lot of noise.
EFFECTS--It can cause hearing impairment, increased heart rate & blood pressure among other physiological effects.
--it results in irritation & anger.
--it is a irritant & source of stress.
Q. How do industries pollute the environment?
A. Industries are responsible for causing four types of pollutions. Polluting industries also include thermal power plants.

They cause harm in the following ways.
--By emitting harmful effluents & smoke into the air.
--Discharging large quantities of chemical waste & garbage into the water.
--Degradation of land.
--Contaminating underground water.
--Around the industries soon slums come into existence & the dwellers openly defecate & have open drainage which pollute the environment.
(explaination to the above points can be taken from the above mentioned questions.)
Q. Discuss the steps to be taken to minimize the environmental degradation.
A. –Minimising use of water for processing by reusing & recycling it in two or more successive stages.
-harvesting rain water.
-treating hot water and effluents before releasing them in ponds or rivers.
-over drawing of underground water resources also pose a threat & need to be regulated legally.
-Pariculate matter in the air can be reduced by fitting smoke stakes to factories with electrostatic precipitators, fabric filters, scrubbers and inertial seprators.
-smoke can be reduced by oil or gas instead of coal in the factories.
-machine & equipments can be used & generators should be fitted with silencers
-machinery should be redesigned to increase energy efficiency& reduce noise.
-noise absorbing material should be used apart from personal use of ear plugs & earphones.
Q. What are various stages involved in treating of industrial effluents.
A.--treatment of the industrial effluents can be done in three phases:
a)primary treatment by mechanical means. This involves screening, grinding, flocculation & sedimentation.
b)secondary treatment by biological process.
c)tertiary treatment by biological, chemical & physical processes. This involves recycling of waste water.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Assignment on manufacturing industries

Q. What do you know about Aluminium smelting industry?
A. It is the second most important metallurgical industry in India.
b) there are 8 aluminium smelting plants in India located in : Orissa—Nalco & Balco,
West Bengal, Kerela, UP, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra & Tamil Nadu.
c) in 2004 India produced over 600 million tons of aluminium.
d) Bauxite is the raw material used in this industry.
Q. Write properties of Aluminium.
A.-- It is light,
--resistant to corrosion,
-- a good conductor of heat,
--mallable and becomes strong when mixed with other metals.
Q. What is the utility of the aluminium?
A. It is used to manufacture aircrafts, untensils & wires.
--it is a good subsitute of steel, copper, zinc,& lead.
Q. What are the important factors in location of this industry?
--Bauxite—a raw material(is a bulky & dark reddish in coloured rock)
--regular supply of electricity at minimum cost.
Q. Write about the chemical industries in India.
A. It is a fast growing & diversifying industry of India. It is spread all over the country.
--contributes 3%of the GDP.
--is third largest in Asia & occupies 12th place in terms of size in the world.
--it comprises of both small scale & large manufacturing units.
--chemical industry is its own largest consumer as basic chemicals undergo processing to further produce other chemicals used for industrial application, agriculture or directly for consumer markets.
--it has both inorganic sectors & organic sector

INORGANIC includes Nitric acid, Alkalies, Caustic soda
--Soda ash—to manufacture glass, soaps, detergents, paper
--sulphuric acid—to manufacture fertilizers, synthetic fibers, plastics, adhesives, paints, dye stuff
ORGANIC CHEMICALS— include petrochemical and are used to manufacture synthetic fibres, synthetic rubbers, plastic, dye-stuff, drugs &pharmaceuticals. They are located near oil refineries or petrochemical plants.
Q. Which are different fertilizer industries?
A. This industry includes the production of
-- nitrogenous fertilizers—mainly urea—57 manufacturing units, 29 for urea
--phosphatic fertilizers-68 small units for single superphosphate
--ammonium phosphate-DAP,--9 units for ammonium sulphate as by product
--complex fertilisers
all these industries use the combination of nitrogen-N, phospate-P, Potash-k. The potash is entirely imported as the country does not have any reserves of commercially usable potash or potassium compounds in any form.
--At present there are 10 public sector undertakings & 1 in cooperative sector Hazira in Gujrat under the Fertiliser Cooperation of India.
Q. Name the states where we have fertilizer industry located?
A. After Green revolution the industry expanded to several other parts of the country. Gujrat, Tami Nadu, UP, Panjab & Kerela contributes half of the fertilizer production.
Besides other significant producers are Andhra Pradesh, orissa, Rajasthan, Bihar , Maharashtra, Assam, West Bengal, Goa, Delhi, MadhyaPradesh & Karnataka.


Wednesday, August 22, 2007

QUESTIONS ON MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES-IRON& STEEL INDUSTRY

Q. What are mineral based industries?
A. Industries that use minerals & metals as their raw material are called mineral based industries.
Q. Why do we call iron & steel industry a basic industry?
A. It is a basic industry since all the other industries—heavy, medium, light depend on it for their machinery.
--steel is needed to manufacture a variety of engineering goods, construction material, defence , medicine, telephonic, scientific equipment &variety of consumer goods.
Q. Production & consumption of steel is often regarded as the index of country,s .development. Comment.
A. It is an manufacturing industry therefore bring in profit.
--It indicates technological level of a country.
Why iron & steel is is a heavy industry?
Because the raw material as well as the finished goods are heavy & bulky entailing heavy transportation cost.
Q. What do you know about iron & steel industry in India?
A. It is a basic/ key industry.
--India ranks ninth among the worlds crude steel producers.—32.8 million tons
--India is the largest producer of the spong iron.
--Presently there are 10 primary integrated & many mini steel plants in India.
--over all production of steel is sufficient to meet the demands of the country
--Liberalisation & Foreign Direct Investment have given boost to the industry with the efforts of private entrepreneurs.
Q. What is the difference between mini steel plant & integrated steel plant?
a)Mini steel plants are smaller, have electric furnaces, use steel scrape & spong iron.
They produce mild & alloy steel of given specifications.
where as Integrated steel plnats are larger, handle every thing in one complex-from putting together raw material to steel making, rolling and shaping.
Q. What do you about SAIL & TISCO?
A. All public sector undertakings market their steel through steel authority of India—SAIL & TISCO markets its produce through Tata Steel.
Q. Where does India’s steel production stand in the world market today?
--In 1950’s China & India produced almost same quantity of steel.
--Today, China is the largest producer & the largest consumer of steel.
--In 2004, India was the largest exporter of the steel which accounted for 2.25% of global steel trade.
Q. What problems are faced by the iron & steel industry ?
A. Though India is an important producer of iron & steel in the world yet we are not able to perform to our full potential largely due to :
a) high cost & limited availability of coking coal
b) low productivity of labour
c) irregular supply of energy
d) poor infrastructure
e) there is need to allocate resources for research & development to produce steel more computatively.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Assignment on manufacturing industries & pictures of jute textile





THESE ARE THE PICTURES OF THE JUTE TEXTILE
AND ITS USAGE.
Q. Why most of the jute industries are located near river Hugli?
A. Most of the jute mills in West Bengal are located near river Hugli, in the narrow belt
Factors responsible for this location are: proximity of jute producing areas
b) inexpensive water transport
c) good network of railways, roadways & waterways to facilitate the movement of raw materials & finished goods.
d) abundant water for processing raw jute.
e) cheap labour from adjoining states of Bihar, Orissa, UP.
f) Kolkata provides banking, insurance & port facilities.
Q. Write about the jute textile industries in India.
A. India is the largest producer of raw jute and jute goods and has second place as an exporter after Bangladesh.
--There are about 70 jute mills in India & most of them are located in West Bengal.
--The jute industry supports 2.61 lakh works directly & 40 lakhs small & marginal farmers, many more are engaged indirectly.
--The main markets are U.S.A, Canada, Russia, United Arab Republic, UK, Australia.
Q. What are the challenges faced by the jute industry and what are their solutions?
A. Challenges from the synthetic fibre.
b) Stiff competition in the international market from Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, Philippnies & Thialand.
Solutions—The internal demand has increased due to the govt. policy of mandatory use of jute packing.
b) To stimulate demand the products need to be diversified.
c) The 2005 National jute policy was formulated to raise the productivity, to increase quality, ensure good prices to the farmers & enhancing the yield per hectare.
Q. Write about the sugar industry of India.
A.-- India is the second world producer of sugar but has the first place in the
production of gur & khandsari.
--There are 460 sugar mills in India spread over UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, TamilNadu Andhra Pradesh , Gujrat, Panjab, Haryana, &MP.
a) 60% of mills are in Bihar & UP.
b) This industry is seasonal in nature.
c) Is ideally suited to cooperative sector.
Q. Where should sugar mills be ideally located?
Sugar mills should be in proximity to the sugar producing areas because sucrose content in sugarcane start drying as soon as it is cut therefore they need to be quickly transported to the mills.
Q. Why in the recent years there is a tendency for the mills to shift & concentrate in the southern & western states?
This is because the cane produced here has higher sucrose content.
Cooler climate ensures longer crushing season.
Cooperatives are more successful in these states.
Q. What are the major challenges faced by the sugar industries?
A. Seasonal nature of the industry.
B) old and inefficient methods of production
c) transport delay in reaching cane to factories
d) need to maximize the use of baggase.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Assignment on manufatcturing industries


Q. What are agrobased industries?
A. Industries which use agriculture as their raw material are called agro based industries.For example—cotton, jute, silk, wollen textile, sugar and edible oil.
Q. How can we say that textile industry occupies a unique position in the Indian economy?
A. It has a unique position because:
a) It contributes significantly to the industrial production-14%
b )Employment generation—35 million persons; second largest after agriculture.
c) Brings in foreign exchange earnings—about 24.6%
d) Contributes 4% towards GDP.
e) The only industry which is self-reliant and complete in the value chain ie., from raw material to value added products.
Q. Discuss the growth of cotton textile industry in India.
A. In ancient India cotton textiles were produced with hand spinning and handloom weaving techniques.
--After the 18th century power looms came into use.
--The first textile mill was established in 1854.
--During world wars Indian cloth was in demand in UK hence the development of textile industry in India.
--Today there are 1600 cotton and human made fibre textile mills in India.-80% in the private sector and the rest in the public & cooperative sectors. There arer also thousands of small factories with 4 to 10 looms.
--As this industry has close links with agricultural and provides a living to farmers, cotton boll pluckers, workers engaged in ginning, spinning, weaving, dyeing, designing, packaging, tailoring and sewing.
--By creating demands it supports many industries such as chemicals, dyes, mill stores, packaging materials & engineering works.
--Spinning centers are centralized in Maharashtra, Gujrat, Tamil Nadu, weaving is highly decentralized to incorporate traditional designs.
--Hand spun khadi provides large scale employment to weavers in their homes as cottage industry.
--India exports yarns to Japan, U.S.A., Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka & African countries.
--India has second largest installed capacity of spindles in the world & we share one-fourth of world trade of cotton yarn .
Q. What are the major drawbacks or the problems faced by the cotton textile industry?
A. Our weaving, knitting and processing units can not use much of high quality yarn produced in the country thus low quality fabric.
b)Our trade in garments is only 4% of the world’s total.
c) There are large and modern factories but most of the production is in fragmented small units which cater to local markets. This mismatch is the major drawback of this industry.
Therefore our spinnres export yarn while our apparel/garments manufacturers import fabric.
d) Erratic power supply
e) Machinery needs to be upgraded in weaving, processing sectors.
f) low out put of labour.
g) Stiff competition from the synthetic fibre.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

ASSIGNMENT ON MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES


Q. What is the contribution of industry to the economy?
---Over the last two decades share of the manufacturing sector has stagnated at 17%of GDP—out of total 27% for the industry which includes 10% of the primary industry.
---The trend of growth rate of manufacturing industries over the last decades has been 7% per annum where as desired rate is 12%.
---Since 2003 rate is 9 to 10 % and with the policy interventions by the govt. and renewed efforts by the industry to improve the productivity, economists predict that we will be able to achieve the target over next decade.
---NMCC—The National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council has been set up with this objective.
Q. What are the important factors for the location of an industry?
A. Industrial locations are complex in nature and are influenced by the availablility of
a) raw material b) labour, c)capital, d)market power, e)govt. policies and specialized labour, f)the key to decision of factory location is the least cost.
Factory is generally located where these factors are either available or can be arranged at lower cost.
Q.’ Industrialization and the urbanization go hand in hand’. Comment.
a) Wherever the industrial activity starts the urbanization follows.
b) Some times industries are located near the cities.
c) Cities provide markets and services such as banking, insurance, transport, labour, consultants and financial advices etc. to the industry.
d) Many industries tend to come together to make use of the advantages offered by the urban centers called AGGLOMERATION ECONOMIES.
Q. What do you understand by the agglomeration economies?
A. When infra-structure is developed in an area and different industries make use of it it is called agglomeration economy. Many industries tend to come together to make use of the advantages offered by the urban centers as roadways, facilities as water/electricity etc.
Gradually a large industrial agglomeration takes place.


Thursday, August 16, 2007

NOTES/ASSIGNMENT ON MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Q.What is manufacturing?
Production of goods in large quantities after processing from raw materials to more valuable products is called manufacturing.
Q. The economic strength of the country is measured by the development of the manufacturing industries. Justify the statement.
A. Manufacturing industries are considered the backbone of the development in general and of the economic development in particular. It is said so because.,
a)They not only help in modernising agriculture but also reduce heavy dependence of the people on agricultural income by providing them jobs in secondary and tertiary sectors.
b) Industrial development is a precondition for eradication of poverty and unemployment, which was also the main idea behind public sector & joint sector ventures. It also bring down regional disparities by establishing industries in tribal & backward areas.
c) Export of manufactured goods expands trade and commerce , & brings in foreign exchange.
d) Countries which produce goods of higher value are prosperous.
Q. Agriculture and industry move hand in hand. Comment.
A. Agriculture and industry are not exclusive of each other, they go hand in hand.
a) Agro industries in India have given boost to agriculture by raising their productivity.
b) Agro industries depend on agriculture for raw materials.
c) Agro industries are the buyers of products like irrigation pumps, fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides, plastics, pipes machines, tools etc.,
d) Develpoment and competitiveness of manufacturing industries have not only assisted agriculturalists in increasing production but have also made their production process efficient & easier.

RAPID FIRE ROUND--QUESTIONS

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN ONE WORD OR ONE SENTENCE.
Q1. Name four iron ore producing states of India.
Q2. For which purpose bauxite or aluminium is mainly used?
Q3. Name four coal producing states of India.
Q4. What is Neyveli famous for? Name the state it is in?
Q5. In which field is Kolar gold field located?
Q6. Name the river known for largest deposits of ‘Black Gold’ in India.

Q7. Name the raw material used for cement industry?
Q8.Which is the highest quality hard coal?
Q9. Khetri mines are famous for which minerals?
Q10. Which salt is formed due to evaporation?


Wednesday, August 15, 2007

ASSINGNMENT ON MINERALS & ENERGY RESOURCES

Q. What is the difference between hydroelectricity and thermal electricity?
A. HYDRO ELECTRICITY—it is generated by fast flowing water, and is a renewable resource, where as THERMAL ELECTRICITY is generated from coal, petroleum and naturalgas which are non renewable resources.
b)India has number of multipurpose projects to gernerate electricity as Bhakra nangal, Damodar valley, the Kopili hydle project etc., and for thermal power we have 310 thermal power plants in India.
c)Hydle power is pollution free where as thermal power leaves lot of smoke.
Q. What do you know about nuclear / atomic power?
A. It is obtained by altering the structure of atoms, when such alteration is made energy is released in the form of heat and it is used to generate electricity.
Uranium and Thorium (found in Rajasthan & Aravalli hills) are used to generate this power.
Monazite sands of Kerela are also rich in thorium.
Q. List six Nuclear Power stations in India
1. RawaBhata- Rajasthan
2. Kakrapara- Gujrat
3. Tarapur- Maharashtra
4. Kaiga- Karnataka
5. Kalpakkam- Tamilnadu
6. Naraura.- Uttar Pradesh
Q. Why do we need non-conventional sources of energy?
A. The growing consumption of energy has made the country dependent on fossil fuels, which will not last long.
b) Rising prices of oil and gas has created uncertainties regarding supply of energy in the future, which in turn also has repercussions on the economy.
c)Fossil fuels are causing serious pollution problems.
d) India is blessed with an abundance of sunlight, water, wind and biomass—from which energy can be generated.
Q. Why do you think that solar energy has bright future in India?
A. India is a tropical country and thus receives enormous sunlight.
b) Solar energy is more developed in western India as it receives unperturbed sun light and has clear skies.
c) Solar energy is fast becoming popular in remote and rural areas as it is cheaper & is pollution free.
d)It is expected that solar energy will be able to minimize the dependence of rural household on fire wood and dung cakes, which in turn will contribute to environmental conservation and adequate supply of manure in agriculture.
Q. Where is the largest solar power plant located in India?
A. Madhapur, near Bhuj in Rajasthan.
Q. What do you know about wind power resources in India?
A. India now ranks as a “wind super power” in the world.
--The wind farm cluster is located in Tamil Nadu from NAGARCOIL toMADURAI.
--There are also wind farms in Karnataka, Gujrat, Kerela, Maharashtra, Lakshadweep.
--NAGARCOIL & JAISALMER are effective wind farms in the country.
Q. How is biogas produced?
A. Shrubs, farm waste, animal and human waste are used to produce biogas for domestic consumption in the rural areas. Decomposition of the organic material yields gas which has higher thermal efficiency and is known as biogas.
Q. How is biogas useful to us? OR
Biogas is the most efficient use of cattle dung. Comment.
A. Biogas has higher thermal efficiency in comparison to the kerosene, dung cake, and charcoal.
b) It is pollution free.
c) There is not much cost factor involved in its generation.
d) The plants using cattledung are called ‘GOBAR GAS PLANTS’ in rural India.
These are providing twin benefits to the farmers—in the form of energy and improved quality of manure ( as it improves the quality of manure and prevents the loss of trees)
Q. How can we generate tidal energy?
Oceanic tides can be used to generate tidal energy. During high tide water flows into the inlet and gets trapped when the gate is closed. After the tide falls the water retained by the floodgate flows back to the sea via a pipe that carries it through a power generating pipe.
Q. Tidal power generation—
In India Gulf of Kuchchh provides ideal conditionds for utilizing tidal energy.
A 900 mw tidal energy plant is setup by the National power Corporation.
Q. What is Geothermal energy?
A. It is the heat and electricity produced by using the heat from the interior of the earth.
It exists because the Earth grows progressively hotter with the increasing depth.
Where the geothermal gradient is high, high temperatures are found , groundwater in such areas absorbs heat from the rocks and becomes hot and gets converted into steam when it rise to the earth surface. This steam is used to drive turbines and generate electricity.
Q. Geo thermal power generation..
A. Two experimental projects are have been set up in India to harness this power.
1. located in Parvati valley near Manikaran in Himachel Pradesh.
2. In Puga valley in Ladakh.

Monday, August 13, 2007

ASSIGNMENT ON MINERALS&ENERGY RESOURCES

Q.1 What is the importance of coal?
A In India coal is abundantly available fossil fuel.
(b) It provides substantial energy needs of the nation.
© It is used for power generation to supply energy to industry and domestic needs.
(d) India is highly dependent on coal for its commercial energy requirements.
(e) It is used as fossil fuel.
Q2 How is coal formed?
A .It is formed due to the compression of plant material over millions of years. It’s different forms depend on the degrees of compression and the depth and time of burial.
Q3 Write about different types of coal
(1) Peat – formed by decaying plants in swamps
--it has low carbon content and high moisture contents.
--It has low heating capacity.
(2) Lignite – is low grade brown coal
--is soft with high moisture content.
--Reserves – in Neyveli in Tamil Nadu.
--It is used for generation of electricity
(3) Bituminous – it is most popular coal in commercial use
--is high grade coal with special value for smelting iron in blast furnaces.
(4) Anthracite – is the highest quality hard coal.
Q. Coal occurs in rock series of two main geological ages in India, name them.
A. Two main geological ages are Gondwana – over 200 million years in age. Major resources of this coal which are metallurgical coal are located in the Damodar valley (West Bengal,Jjharkhand)
Jharia, Rani ganj, Bokaro.
The Godavari, Mahanadi, son and Wardha valleys have also coal deposites.
Asssam , ArunachalPradesh and Naga land.
Q. Why are heavy industries and thermal power stations located on or near the coal fields?
A.Because coal is bulky material which loses weight on use as it is reduced to ash.
Q. What are the uses of petroleum ?
A. it is the energy source.
(b) it provide fuel for the heat and lightning.
© lubricants for machinery.
(d) raw materials for manufacturing industry.
(e) petroleum refineries act as nodal industry for synthetic textile, fertilizer and chemical industries .
Q. Where do we find petroleum ?
A. Petroleum occurrences in India are associated with anticlines and fault traps in the rock formations of tertiary age .
(b) In the regions of folding , anti clines it occurs where oil is trapped in the crest of up fold.
© It is also find in fault traps between porous and non porous rock.
Q. Write about the distribution of petroleum production in India.
A. (1) 63% of production is from mumbai high.
(2) 18% from Gujrat – Ankeleshwar oil field
(3)16% from Assam – Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran- Hugrijan oil fields.
Q. Why is natural gas called ‘ fuel for the present century’/
A. Natural gas is an clean energy resource.
b)It is used as a source of energy & as an raw material in the petrochemical industry.
c)It is considered an environment friendly fuel because of low carbon dioxide emissions.
d) Power and fertilizers are the key users of natural gas.
e)Compressed natural gas for veheciles to replace liquid fuels is gaining wide popularity.
Q. What do you know about the natural gas reserves in India?
A. Large reserves of natural gas have been discovered in the Krishna- Godavari basin.
b) Gulf of Cambay.
c) Andaman & Nicobar islands.d) Hazira-Vijaypur-Jagdishpur cross country pipeline Mumbai High and Bassien with the fertilizer, power and industrial complexes in western and northern India.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Some useful& interesting pictures of non-conventional sources of energy.

TIDAL ENERGY GENERATING TURBINES



WIND MILL FARM


GEO THERMAL POWER GENERATION


THE POWER GENRATION PROCESS





WOMEN USING BIOGAS


BIOGAS TANK







HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER



SOLAR POWER




























Friday, August 10, 2007

ASSIGNMENT ON MINERALS AND ENERGY RESOURCES

Q1.Write properties of mica?
It is a mineral made of thin series of plates or leaves and can easily split into thin sheets.
b) it can be clear ,black, green, red yellow, or brown.
c) due to its di electric strength, low power loss factor, insulating properties and resistence to high voltage mica is used as an indispensable mineral in the electric and electronic industries.
Q2. Where are mica deposits are found?
A. They occur in the northern edge of the Chotanagpur plateau.
b)Jharkhand-- Koderma Gaya-Hazaribagh belt—the leading producer.
c) In Rajasthan- in Ajmer.
d)Andhra Preaesh-in Nellore belt.
Q3.where will we find limestone?
A. In association with rocks composed of calcium carbonates or calcium and calcium and magnesium carbonates.
It is found in sedimentary rocks of most geological formations.
Q4.What are uses of limestone?
Lime stone is the basic raw material for the cement industry and essential for smelting iron ore in the blast furnace.
Q5.What are the hazards posed by mining?
The impact of mining on the environment and the health of miners is very dangerous.
a)The dust and the noxious fumes inhaled by the miners make them vulnerable to pulmonary diseases.
b) Risk of collapse of mine roofs,
c) Inundation and fires in coal mines are a constant threat to the miners.
d) Water sources in the region get contaminated due to mining.
e) Dumping of wastes lead to degradation of land, soil, and air.
f)Industrial effluents also degrade the streams and rivers.

Q6.Why do we need to conserve minerals?
We need to conserve minerals because of the following reasons:
a)There is strong dependence of industry and agriculture upon mineral deposits & substances manufactured by them.
b)Minerals require millions of years to be created and concentrated ---the formation process is
slow in comparison to the rapid consumption.
c)Minerals are finite and non-renewable.
d)Continued extraction of ores leads to increasing costs as minerals are found in greater depth.
Q7.What efforts are being made to conserve minerals?
Concerted efforts are to be made in order to use our minerals resources in planned and sustained manner.
b)Improved technologies need to be constantly evolved to allow use of low grade ores at low cost.
c)Recycling of metals, using scrape metal, and other substitutes are the important steps in
conservation of minerals resources for the future.
Q8.What are energy resources and why do we need them?
Energy is capacity to do work, energy resources are those resources which produce energy.
Energy is required for all activities.
a) It is needed to cook, to provide light and heat.
b) To propel vehicles, and to drive machinery in industries.
Q9. Why conservation of energy resources is required?
Energy is the basic requirement for economic development.
b)Every sector—agriculture, industry, transport, commercial or domestic needs input of energy.
c)Various development plans require increasing amount of energy to remain operational.
d)Consumption of energy has been constantly rising.
Thus there is an urgent need to develop sustainable path of energy development.

Q10. List measures for conservation of energy?
A.-- Adopt a cautious approach for the judicious use of limited resources.
-- Concerened citizens should use public transport system,
--switch off electricity when not in use,
--use power saving devices and non-conventional sources of energy.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

ASSIGNMENT ON MINERALS&ENERGY RESOURCES

ASSIGNMENT:
Q1. Write about the utility of manganese?
A. Manganese is used in the manufacturing of steel and ferrous-manganese alloy.
It is also used in manufacturing of bleaching powder, insecticides, and paints.
Q2. Which state is the largest producer of manganese ores in India.
A. Orissa, it accounts for one-third of the total production in India.
Q3.What are non-ferrous minerals? Why are they important?
A. Minerals which do not contain iron are called non-ferrous minerals. We do not have satisfactory reserves of these minerals but they play vital role in number of metallurgical, engineering and electrical industries. Some of such minerals are copper, bauxite, zinc, lead and gold.
Q4. Write properties of copper. Also write its utility.
A. It is malleable, ductile, and a good conductor of heat and electricity.
Utility—It is mainly used in electrical cables, electronics and chemical industries.
Q5. List the regions where copper is found.
A. a)The Balaghat mines in MP produce 52% of India’s copper.
b)The Singhbhum district of Jharkhand
c)The Khetri mines in Rajasthan.
Q6.Write a note on Bauxite.
A. Though several ores contain aluminium, it is from Bauxite that Alumina and Aluminium is obtained.
B. Bauxite deposits are found in the rocks rich in aluminium silicates.
C. Properties of aluminium: It is extremely light, combines the strength of metals, has good conductivity and great malleability.
Q7. Where do we find Bauxite deposits in India?
A. a) Deposits---mainly in Amarkantak pleatue, Maikal hills and pleatue regions of Bilaspur-Katni.
b) Orissa is the largest Bauxite producing state in India-45% of total production.
c) Panchpatmali deposits in Koraput district are important reserves.

Q8. What do you mean by non metallic minerals? Give some examples.
A. Minerals which do not contain metals or do not have metallic properties are called non metallic minerals. For example..mica, limestone, salt, potash, sulphur, granite, marble, sandstone, etc.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

ASSIGNMENT ON MINERALS


Q1.What is rat hole mining?
A.Coal mining done by family members in a form of long narrow tunnel is known as rat hole mining. It is done in Jowai and Cherapunjee.
Q2.What is the difference between open pit mine and quarry?
A.Open pit mine is a large hole in the ground containing minerals, where as the quarry is an area or earth surface that has been dug up to obtain minerals.
Q3.How are the minerals distributed in India?
Minerals are very unevenly distributed in India. These variations exist because of the differences in the geological structure, processes and time involved in the formation of minerals.
a)Peninsular rocks contains reserves of coal, metallic minerals, mica, and many other non-metallic minerals.
b)Sedimentary rocks on the eastern and western flanks of peninsula—in Gujrat and Assam have petroleum deposits.
c)Rajasthan with the rock systems of peninsula has the deposits ofmany non-ferrous minerals.
d)Alluvial plains of north are devoid of minerals.
Q4.What factors are essential for the effective economic viability of a reserve?
Concentration of mineral the ore, the ease of extraction, and closeness to the market are the factors.
Q5.What is the importance of ferrous minerals?
Ferrous minerals account for three -fourth of total value of production of metallic minerals.
b) They provide strong base for the development of metallurgical industries.
c) India exports substantial quantity of ferrous minerals after meeting internal demands.
Q6.Iron ore is the basic mineral and backbone of the industrial development. Give reasons to prove the statement
Iron ore is of great utility to us as., all machines and machine parts are made of iron.
b) It is used to make bridges, buildings
c) it provides raw material to many industries
d) is also useful in making alloys.
Q7. Difference between hematite and magnetite.
Magnetite is the finest ore with 70% of iron content where as Hematite has lower iron content-50-60%.
b)Magnetite has excellent megnatic qualities and is important for electrical industry, whereas Hematite is important in terms of quantity.
Q8. List major iron ore belts of India.
The major iron ore belts are:
ORRISA-JHARKHAND BELT— Orissa-high grade ore is found in Badampahar mines in the Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar districts.
In Jharkhand — Singhbhum district, it is mined in Gua nad Noamundi.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

visuals of open pit mines/quarry

Dear students take a look at these visuals for better understanding of the concepts.First two pictures are of QUARRY and other two are of OPEN PIT MINES.



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Monday, August 6, 2007

MINERALS AND ENERGY RESOURCES-ASSIGNMENT


Dear students this time I am furnishing you with not only the questions but with the answers too.Do make the best use of the same.
ASSIGNMENT
Q1.What is a mineral?
Ans. Mineral is a homogenous, naturally occurring substances with a definable internal structure.
Q2.What are rocks?
A. Rocks are the combinations of homogeneous substances called minerals.
Q3.Name a rock which consist of single mineral.
A. Limestone.
Q4.Write the factors on which formation of minerals depend?
Physical and chemical conditions.
Q5.What is the difference between a geographer and a geologist?
A.1.Geographer is the one who studies geography i.e.., the study of physical features of the earth and of human activity, where as a geologist is the one who studies geology that deals with the physical structure and substances of the earth.
2.Goegraphers study minerals as a part of the earth’s crust for better understanding of the landforms, distribution of resources and associated economic activities, where as the geologists are interested in the formation of the minerals ,their age & physical &chemical composition.
Q6.How are minerals found?
a.Minerals are found in the form of ores—an accumulation of any mineral mixed with other elements.
Q7. In which forms do the minerals occur?
A. Minerals occur in various forms as..
1. a)In Igneous and Metamorphic rocks: here they occur in cracks, crevices(narrow openings), faults or joints.
b) smaller occurrences are called veins and the larger-lodes.
c) formed from the solidification of lava.
d) Examples —tin, zinc, lead, copper.
2.In Sedimentary rocks:
a) in beds or layers.
b) formed as result of deposition, accumulation and concentration in horizontal strata.
c) Examples--Coal and some forms of iron ore and gypsum, potash salt and sodium salt. (these are formed as a result of evaporation especially in arid regions)
3. a)This formation involves decomposition of surface rocks and removal of soluble constituents, leaving a residual mass of weathered material containing ores.
b) Bauxite is one such example.
4 .a) some occur in alluvial deposits in sand and valley floors and base of hills—Placer deposits.
b) contains minerals which are not eroded by water.
c) Gold, silver, platinum.
5.In the ocean waters and in its beds.
a) Examples-- Common salt, magnesium and bromine in ocean water, Manganese nodules in the bed.

Saturday, August 4, 2007

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