Indian Geography

India produces a wide variety of spices including black pepper, cardamom, chillies, turmeric, ginger, cloves, etc. Indian spices are known for their quality and find a market all over the world.

Like rural settlements, urban settlements are classified on various bases. However, classification based on size and function are most common.

According to the census of India urban areas are those which satisfy the conditions given below.

Variations in house types or dwellings are mainly based on the building materials available. It is also based on topography and prevailing climatic conditions. In the rainy areas most of the roofs are slanting to both sides from the centre.

There are three factors that influence the type of settlements in India. These factors are (i) Physical (ii) Ethnic or cultural and (iii) Historical or defence.

Type refers to a category of things having some common features whereas pattern refers to a regular form or order in which a series of things occur. When we say settlement pattern, the term is strictly applied to the spatial arrangement or distribution of settlements within a given area.

In simpler term we can define settlement as any form of human habitation which ranges from a single dwelling to large city. The word settlement has another connotation as well as this is a process of opening up and settling of a previously uninhabited area by the people.

In accordance with UNDP Human Development Report, the Planning Commission of India came out with a similar kind of report in 2001. The report analysed human development situation in major states of India which include the then undivided Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

The various socio-economic indicators of India that are responsible for human development are health and education under social indicators and general economy with reference to per capital income and poverty.

According to Human Development Report 2005, India’s rank was 127 out of 177 countries of the world. All the 177 countries are grouped under three categories. These are high, medium and low.

Paul Streeten, a development economist identified six reasons in favour of the human development.

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index that measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development. These basic dimensions are a long and healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living.

Literacy is generally defined as a person’s ability to read, write and able to understand as well as to do some simple calculation. Despite this liberal definition, the rate of literacy in India is not very high.

Th Constitution of India recognises a number of castes and tribal groups. These castes and tribes are called Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) respectively.

Indian society is divided into a large number of religious communities. But, broadly there are seven major religions. The majority of people follow one of these seven major religions.

India has also great deal of linguistic diversity like physical environment. The languages spoken and their dialects number is in hundreds. In 1961 census, 1652 languages were listed as mother tongues in India.

Age-sex pyramid refers to the composition of population in terms of the age and sex of people. It gives an indication regarding the growth rate of population and the nature of population in terms of working and non-working sections.

Sex Ratio refers to the number of females per thousand males of an area. According to the Census of India 2001, there are only 933 females per thousand males. So, sex composition in India is unfavourable.

Population is divided into two parts - rural and urban on the basis of the size and occupation of settlements. The rural population consists of small sized settlements scattered over the countryside.

Consequences of migration are as diverse as the causes. The consequences are felt in both the regions i.e. the areas of origin of the migrants and the areas of destination. The consequences of migration can be grouped as economic, social and demographic.

Migration is a result of an inter-play of a large number of factors. Generally factors affecting migration can be grouped in to two categories of Push and Pull factors.

Out of 1.02 billion people in the country, 307 million (30%) were reported as migrants by place of birth. Migrants by place of birth are those who are enumerated at a village or town at the time of census other than their place of birth.

The growth of population depends upon the birth rate, death rate and migration. Movement of people from one area to the another area is called migration. Migration can be of a number of types.

The actual growth rate of population is not uniform in all parts of the country. The rate is higher in some parts than in others. The average decadal growth in the country was 21.39% during 1991-2001.

The growth of population in a region depends upon fertility, mortality and migration.

A minute observation shows that in each state there are variations in distribution of population and more than one category of population density is found. The geographical or spatial distribution becomes more clear by making an analysis of district level pattern.

Population data can be plotted and described or interpreted in a couple of ways depending upon its purpose. For finding out a broad distribution pattern, population is collected and plotted on the basis of large units like states or their major parts.

The spatial spread of population in India is not uniform. There are very wide regional variations. Many factors are responsible for these variations. All such factors affecting the population distribution and density may broadly be grouped into two major categories.

Population of the world or of any country is not uniformly distributed. The same is true about India also. Some parts of the country are densely populated, some parts moderately populated and some parts are sparsely populated.

India is the second most populous country in the world next only to China. On March 1, 2001 the total population of India was at 1027 million. This accounted for 16.7% of the world’s total population.

The services which involve the activities of buying and selling of goods are termed as trade. Like transport, communication, banking, it is also a tertiary service and an important infrastructure for the development of economy including agriculture and industry in the country.

Communication system contributes to the development of the economy, social relationships and also helps in promoting cultural unity. Internationally, it brings diverse people of the world close to one another.

Air transport is the fastest and highly convenient mode of transport, although it is more costly than other modes. One can cover a journey between Delhi and Bangalore in about two and a half hours by an aeroplane while this distance is covered in about 42 hours by a railway express train.

The Indian mainland together with its island groups has a long coastline of over 6100 km. This long coastline is dotted with 12 major ports managed by the central government.

Pipe line transport has been developed recently in India. It is the most convenient mode of transport for mineral oil, petroleum products and natural gas. Pipe lines connect oil and natural gas fields with refineries and the main market centres.

In order to boost economic development in the country the Government of India initiated a programme called National Highway Development Programme (NHDP).

Road density refers to the average length of roads per 100 square km. area. The road density in India is still very low compared to the developed countries.

Road transport is an old means of transport. It plays a significant role in carrying goods and people in all parts of the country. Particularly, the rural economy depends upon the road transport. The importance of roads has increased with the advent of auto vehicles.

Indian Railways constitute the major national means of transport.

There are regions of dense, moderate and sparse railway networks.

Indian railway network is the fourth largest in the world after Russia, the U.S.A. and Canada. In a vast country like India, it has brought the people of the farthest corners of the country closer to one another.

India is a vast country with long distances. A dense and efficient network of transport is essential to promote social cohesion, accelerate economic prosperity and ensure security and territorial integrity.

According to World Book Dictionary the term "infrastructure" denotes the essential elements forming the basis of a system or a structure. Infrastructure covers the resources, which strengthen the basis of the economy of a country.

The process of industrialization in India can be divided into two parts - before and after 1992. During first forty years after independence the Indian economy had diversified and expanded very fast. But this growth was characterized by rigid controls and regulations.

Industrial self reliance means that the people of India establish and operate industries with their own technical knowledge finances and using machines manufactured in our own country without depending on others.

There are regional variations in the levels of industrial development in India. Indian industries have concentrated in clusters at some locations. Most industrial regions in India have developed in the hinterlands of some major ports like Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.

Petro-chemicals industry is one of the fastest growing industries of India. This industry has revolutionised the industrial scene by providing the products which are substituting the traditional raw materials like wood, glass and metals.

Iron and steel industry is a basic industry and its products serve as a raw material for a number of other industries.

Sugar industry is the second largest agro-based industry of India. If we take Gur, Khandsari and Sugar together, then India becomes the largest producer of sugar product in the world. In 2003, there were about 453 sugar mills in the country.

The industrial development in India began with the establishment of first successful modern cotton textile mill at Mumbai in 1854. Since then the industry has witnessed a phenomenal growth. The numbers of mills increased from 378 in 1952 to 1782 by March 1998.