Economics
The story of village of Palampur
Answer the following briefly.
1.What is the aim of production?
The aim of production is to produce the goods and services that we want.
2. What are the non-farming activities carried out in the village of Palampur?
Farming is the main activity in Palampur, whereas several other activities such as small
scale manufacturing, dairy, transport, etc. are carried out on a limited scale.
3. How did the spread of electricity help farmers in Palampur?
Most of the houses have electric connections. Electricity powers all the tube wells in the
fields and is used in various types of small business.
4. What do you mean by working capital?
Some money is always required for production to make payments and buy other necessary items. Raw materials and money in hand are called working capital.
5. What do you mean by Rabi crops?When are they sown and harvested?
Rabi crops are grown in winter and harvested in spring season, e.g. Potato, wheat, barley,mustard etc.
6. What do you mean by Kharif crops? When are they sown and harvested?
Kharif crops are sown in the rainy season and harvested in autumn. E.g., jawar and
bajra, sugarcane, cotton etc.
II. Answer the following questions
1. What is the difference between multiple cropping and modern farming methods?
To grow more than one crop on a piece of land during the year is known as multiple
cropping. E.g. sugarcane is sown along with wheat in winter season as sugar cane is
harvested once in every year. Modern farming methods are the use of improved
methods and techniques to be used in agriculture to increase yield per hectare. Use of
HYV seeds, insecticides, pesticides, electric tube wells etc are modern farming methods.
2. What is the Green Revolution? Which crop benefited the most due to the Green Revolution?
Green Revolution is the term given to the introduction of high-yielding varieties of
seeds and the increased use of fertilizers and irrigation which provided the increase in
production needed to make India self-sufficient in food grains, thus improving
agriculture in India. It was brought to India by the initiative of the Indian government.
Rice and wheat were the most benefited crops from the Green Revolution. It was started in 1960 in Punjab.
3. What are the non-farm production activities taking place in Palampur? Make a short
list.
(a) Dairy: Dairy is a common activity in many families of Palampur. People feed their
buffalos on various kinds of grass and the jowar and bajra that grow during the rainy
season. The milk is sold in Raiganj, the nearby large village. Two traders from Shahpur
town have set up collection cum chilling centers at Raiganj from where the milk is
transported to far away towns and cities.
(b) Small-scale manufacturing: Less than fifty people are engaged in manufacturing in
Palampur. Unlike the manufacturing that takes place in the big factories in the towns
and cities, manufacturing in Palampur involves very simple production methods and
are done on a small scale.
(c) The Shopkeepers: People involved in trade are not many in Palampur. The traders of Palampur are shopkeepers who buy various goods from wholesale markets in the
cities and sell them in the village.
(d) Transport: There are varieties of vehicles on the road connecting Palampur to Raiganj.Rickshaw Wallahs, tongawallah, jeep, tractor, truck drivers and people driving the traditional bullock cart and bogey are people in the transport services.
4. What are the four modern methods of farming which heralded the Green
Revolution? Write one harmful effect of Green Revolution.
Modern methods of farming are:
a. Multiple cropping.
b. Fertilizers and HYV seeds.
c. Irrigation.
d. Farm machinery.
Harmful effect:
a. Fertilizers pollute the groundwater.Modern farming methods requires more capital
b. Chemical fertilizers kill the micro- organisms in the soil.
4. Suggest methods to promote non-farm production activities in villages
1. Betterment in the Transport System
If the Transportation in Villages is promoted many people will get employment
opportunities and they won’t have to depend on agriculture always. After a good
Transportation system is set up, villagers can go to the cities for work.
2. Promotion of Dairy activities
Dairy is also a non-farm work; in villages setting up Dairy services can be started for
welfare of villagers.
3. Setting up Cottage Industries
In villages we can set up small scale industries for promotion of local handicrafts like
basket weaving, pottery etc.
4. Employment Schemes in Rural Areas
Government can set up new employment schemes in more and more villages to
ensure that everyone has something to do and get proper wages.
5.Modern farming methods require more inputs which are manufactured in industry. Do you agree?
i) The Green Revolution in the late 1960s introduced the Indian farmers to the cultivation of wheat and rice using High Yielding Varieties(HYV) of seeds compared to the traditional seeds.
ii) HYV seeds promised to produce much greater amounts of grain on a single plant. As a result, the same piece of land would produce far more quantities of food grains than that was possible earlier.
iii) Tube Wells were set up for irrigation, and the farmers use pesticides and chemical fertilizers in farming which are produced in industries.
iv) Farm machinery like tractors, threshers, harvesters, which made ploughing and harvesting faster, are also used as modern farming methods, which are also manufactured in the industries.
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