Current Affairs 8th Class

Human Resources     Population is dynamic. It keeps on changing with time. In about the mid-nineteenth century, the world population was 1 billion. Hundred years later, it increased to about 2 billion and then in 30 years to 3 billion. By the end of the 20th century, it had reached 6 billion! In less than 40 years, the population doubled! The population is now growing at the rate of 1.3 per cent per year so it has been estimated that by 2025, it will reach 8 billion. In this context, is the population of a country is its greatest resource? Let us try to answer this question in this chapter.   MAN AS A RESOURCE   Our earth has mineral and power resources. Humans make use of these resources and produce useful products. They can use these resources either judiciously which helps in growth and development of a country or indiscriminately which hampers the future growth path. The all-round development of a country depends upon the capacity and quality of the population which is called the human resource. The capacity of the human resources depends on? (i) literacy,(ii) employment according to their abilities,(iii) availability and provision of balanced and nutritious food, (iv) proper tools and machines (v) skilled hard-working labour.   POPULATION DISTRIBUTION The way in which people are spread across the earth's surface is known as the pattern of population distribution. Look at the pie chart. Like other resources, human resources of the world are not evenly distributed. More than 90 per cent of the world's population is concentrated in about 10 per cent of the land. Almost three-quarter of the world's population lives in Asia and Africa.     Population density is a measurement of average number of people living in an area. It is calculated by dividing the total number of people living in an area by the measure of the area of land. It is usually shown as the number of people per square kilometre. Some areas have high density of population whereas some are uninhabited or sparsely inhabited. The density of population has little to do with the development of a country. For example, both Bangladesh and Japan are densely populated however, Japan is economically more developed than Bangladesh. Accordingly, we can roughly divide the world into three regions: (i) Densely populated areas, (ii) Moderately populated areas and (iii) Sparsely populated areas.   Densely populated areas- Places which are densely populated have habitable environment and a large number of people living in the area. South and south-east Asia/ Europe and north- eastern North America are densely populated areas. South and south-east Asia have fertile river valleys and industrial regions due to which they are densely populated. Europe and north- eastern North America are densely populated due to easy availability of mineral resources, development of industries and suitable climate.   Moderately populated areas-Those regions which are agriculturally developed, have improved infrastructure and industries are moderately populated. Deccan more...

  Industries Comparative Case Studies     The world's major industries are the iron and steel industry, textile industry and information technology (IT) industry. The first two are very old industries while the last one is an emerging industry. Iron and steel industry is located in Germany, China, Japan, USA and Russia. Textile industry is concentrated in India, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan. The major hubs of the IT Industry are the Silicon Valley in Central California, Bengaluru in India and Taiwan and South Korea. In this chapter, we will do a comparative study of three major industries: iron and steel industry, (between Jamshedpur, India and Pittsburg, USA ;) textile industry (between Ahmedabad, India and Osaka, Japan) and finally the information technology industry (between Bengaluru, India and the Silicon Valley, USA).   IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY   The iron and steel industry is a basic industry. It is the 'key' to other industries, since all other industries depend on it for their machinery and other product needs. For this reason, the production and consumption of iron and steel is often taken as an index of a nation's business activity and the standard of living of its people.   JAMSHEDPUR. JHARKHAND? INDIA     In India, the first iron and steel plant was set up in West Bengal at Kulti in 1870. Later, the Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO) was established at Sakchi, Jamshedpur, in 1907 by Jamshedji Tata, one of the pioneers of modern India. It is one of the largest integrated iron and steel works in Asia. It is a private sector industry. It started pig iron production in 1911 and steel in 1912. The first public sector iron and steel plant, now known as Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Works at Bhadrawati (Kamataka), was established in 1923.   Locational advantages for Jamshedpur Jamshedpur is strategically located and enjoys the following advantages:   ?      The place is only 32 km away from Kalmati station on the Bengal-Nagpur railway line. ?      Sakchi is ideally situated at the confluence of the rivers Subamarekha and Kharkai in Jharkhand about 200 km from Kolkata. ?      The iron ore comes from the districts of Singhbhum (Jharkhand) and Mayurbhanj mines (Odisha) located at a distance of just 75 km from Jamshedpur. Coal comes from Jharia and Raniganj coalfields which are about 180 km away. Limestone and dolomite come from Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Manganese is obtained from Keonjhar mines in Odisha. ?      A dam has been constructed on river Subamarekha to provide water. ?      The Damodar Valley project provides cheap and abundant hydroelectric power. ?      Since the iron and steel industry is labour-intensive1, it has the demand for a large number of skilled and unskilled labour. This region is densely populated and this cheap labour is available from more...

  Industries     The word 'industry' refers to any economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials into finished products with the help of machines in factories. This process of changing the shape, form, size, texture and appearance of all primary product or raw material into the final product is called 'manufacturing'. We will learn about such industries in this chapter.   INDUSTRIES   Our earth is rich in resources provided by nature. These resources include forest products agricultural products and minerals. Some of these resources can be used directly but others have to be processed by manufacturing industries into finished products. They play an important role in modern times and satisfy man's growing needs and provide employment to millions of people in the world.   TYPES OF INDUSTRIES   Industries can be divided into three main types: ? (i) primary industries, (ii) secondary industries and (iii) tertiary industries. Sometimes, secondary industries are called manufacturing industries and tertiary industries are called service industries. Recently, tertiary industries have been sub-divided to give a fourth type-quaternary industries.   Primary Industries Primary industries involve extracting resources from the sea or land. This include forestry, farming, fishing, coal mining, oil drilling and hunting. They are located where the raw materials are available. These are particularly dependent on physical factors such as climate and geology.   Secondary Industries Secondary or manufacturing industries produce things for people by processing raw materials or assembling components. The raw materials may be obtained from the primary industry or by the products of other secondary industries. A fruit juice can is one such example.   Tertiary Industries These industries deal with services like teachers, doctors, lawyers, entertainers, professionals, etc. Health, administration, retailing and transport are called service industries   Quaternary Industries Quaternary industries are concerned with technological research and development. These help companies to function in a better way, such as Information Technology (IT) or Defence Research and Developmental Organisation (DRDO). etc.   CLASSIFICATION OF INDUSTRIES   Industries can also be classified on the basis of: (i) Raw materials used, (ii) Size, and (iii) Ownership Industries based on raw material Industries may be agro-based, mineral based, forest based or marine based depending on the raw materials used.     Agro-based industries utilise agricultural and animal based products as raw materials to make finished products. Cotton textile, sugar, vegetable oils, food processing, dairy products and leather industries are some of the examples. Mineral based industries depend on mineral ores for raw materials. The products of these industries feed other industries. Iron extracted from iron ore is the product of mineral based industry. Iron is used as raw material for the manufacture of various products such as railway coaches, heavy machinery, building material, etc. Another example of mineral based industry is cement and ship building industry. Industries which utilise forest products as raw materials are forest based industries. Industries manufacturing paper, furniture, rubber and pharmaceuticals are examples of forest based more...

  Agriculture     You often have bread and jam for breakfast. Roti and curry is common at lunch. Have you ever wondered where these come from? What bread and roti are made of? And where do we get our curries from? Well, bread is made from wheat flour which in turn is made from whole wheat. Wheat is grown in a farm by the farmer and so are rice, dal (lentils) and vegetables. The ripe crop is harvested and sold in the market. Growing crops involves various activities like sowing seeds, irrigating the field, removing weeds, applying fertilisers and manures and harvesting the crop when ripe. This process of cultivation of crops for food and fibre, and also rearing animals to sustain life is called agriculture. We will read about it in this chapter.   HUMAN OCCUPATIONS   The word agriculture is derived from Latin words 'ager' or 'agri' meaning soil and 'culture' meaning tilling or cultivation. Agriculture is commonly referred to as farming and was first practised to make up for the shortage of food obtained from the forests. Today agriculture not only provides us with food but also the raw materials for the manufacture of products such as fibre (cotton/jute) for cloth, rubber for tyres and pulp for paper. This transformation from a plant to a finished product we eat or use, involves three types of economic activities-primary, secondary and tertiary activities.   Agriculture, fishing, farming, mining and forestry come under primary activities or industries. They involve extracting resources from the earth. (Recall what you have learnt in Social and Political Life, class VI). Secondary activities include processing resources obtained from the primary activities, to make a product. This may involve, for example, manufacturing steel, making paper from wood pulp and baking of bread. Tertiary activities, on the other hand, provide support to the other two industries through various services. Transport, banking, advertising, insurance and trade are examples of tertiary activities.     AGRICULTURE   Agriculture is a primary activity of the economy. It includes growing different crops like-cereals, fruits, vegetables and flowers. This also includes rearing of livestock and other related activities. Still, more than 50 per cent of the world population is engaged in agriculture. If we look into the world map, all that we see in green colour which is usually plain land which is arable.     Geography Reveals The word 'farm ?is taken from the Old French word 'femme' meaning; to rent or lease and the Latin means 'firmare'to fix, settle, confirm or strengthen.   Factors affecting agriculture Favourable land and climate have affected agriculture significantly since ages. Plain regions of river valleys have supported agriculture, that is why our initial civilizations flourished in river valleys. Other than land there are various other factors that affect agriculture. Land is the basic requirement along with soil, water, sunlight, slope and favourable climate which are major physical factors more...

  Mineral and Power Resources     To some extent our present civilisation has evolved by the use of minerals and energy resources. They provide the raw material to industries and energy to machinery; on which modern life depends. During the Stone Age, man used stones to make weapons. Then came the Bronze Age when man learnt the art of smelting ores. The Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age. This period was characterised by a widespread use of iron. In this chapter we will learn about various mineral and power resources.   MINERAL RESOURCES   Our earth has some natural substances in rocks soil and sea beds. These natural substances found in nature, that have a definite chemical composition are called minerals. Minerals can be identified on the basis of their physical properties such as colour, lustre, density, hardness and chemical properties such as solubility.   TYPES OF MINERALS   There are over 3,000 different minerals found on earth. They are classified mainly as metallic and non-metallic minerals based on their composition. Minerals from which metals can be profitably extracted are called ores. Minerals that contain metal are called metallic minerals while rest of them are called as non-metallic minerals. Metallic minerals are also of two types,. Ferrous and Non Ferrous.         Extraction of minerals The extraction of minerals from the earth is called mining. The method used for mining depends upon the depth at which the minerals are found. Minerals present near the earth's surface are simply dug out. It is called quarrying. Minerals which are present at shallow depth can be taken out by removing the surface layer. It is one of the easiest and cheapest methods of extracting minerals. This method is known as the open cast mining. To extract minerals which are present at great depths, a deep hole called shaft is dug. It is known as shaft mining. Deep wells are bored to obtain mineral oil like petroleum, and natural gas which occur far below the earth's surface by the process called drilling.   DISTRIBUTION AND UTILITY OF METALLIC AND NON-METALLIC MINERALS Minerals are not evenly distributed over the earth. They are concentrated in particular areas, where rocks are formed. Some are found in igneous rocks, some in metamorphic rocks while others are found in sedimentary rocks. Iron ore in north Sweden, copper and nickel deposits in Ontario (Canada) and iron, nickel, chromite and platinum in South Africa are some examples of minerals found in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Limestone deposits of the Caucasus region of France and manganese deposits of Georgia and Ukraine are some examples of minerals found in sedimentary rocks.   IRON   Iron is the most abundant and useful metal. It makes up five per cent of the earth's crust. It has hardness, strength and ductility. It is used for making steel. Steel is used for making engines, ships, tanks, more...

  Natural Resources-Land Soil, Water, Vegetation and Wildlife     We have learned in the previous chapter that land, air, water, sunlight, soil, minerals, natural vegetation and wildlife; are all natural resources. Since early days, man lias been using these resources for his survival and development. Trees have been felled to provide wood, cellulose, paper, resins, medicines, etc. Wind, sunlight, running water, etc., have been used to extract energy from them. Domestication of animals changed man's life too. In this chapter, we will read in detail about these natural resources and how they help us.   LAND   Land is the most important natural resource. It supports all living organisms including plants and animals. All our needs are fulfilled through land. We make our houses, grow crops, develop transport etc. on the land. However, the earth has a limited supply of land. Only about 30 per cent of the earth's surface is land, and a small percentage of this land can be used by people. This scarcity of land makes it a resource.     If you look at the figure given below, you will notice that most of the world's land is not suitable for our use. Some regions are too hot, or too cold or too dry. Others are mountainous or covered by swamps and forests. Thus, not more than 20 per cent land is available to satisfy our various needs.   Q. why is there such a small percentage of usable land available to us?   Land can be classified on the basis of ownership as private land and community land. Private land is owned by individuals whereas community land is owned by communities for common use. The community land is also called common property resource.   As the world's population increases and the economy expands, the demand for land increases. Therefore, we find ways to increase the supply of usable land to meet the growing needs. For this, we make better use of the existing usable land. The land supply can be increased by land reclamation.   Land Reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. This is done by draining swamps, restoring derelict land and creating new land by landfill methods.   Fact File The world is losing 0.64 hectare of forest land and adding 2.8 people every second? In the last century, we had lost 58,000,000 km2 land due to deforestation and 55,000,000 km2 land due to improper agricultural practices!   LAND USE   Land use simply means "how we use our land". We use land for?agriculture, grazing, industry, transport and settlement purposes. All of these are land use types. Land use changes with time because our requirement and ability to utilize various resources also gets changed. Earlier earth was in a natural form, full of forests, deserts, rivers, lakes and grasslands only. As it was humanized, man started using land to satisfy his various needs. First, he started agriculture, then more...

  Resources     Look and see the beautiful world around you. The flowers blooming in the garden, the bees and butterflies humming on them, the carpet of grass, the soft breeze, the warmth of the Sun, the flowing streams, the snow-covered mountain tops, the moonlit night, the chirping birds in their nests, and the blue sky. Nature's gifts are many. Some of the things that nature provides us are essential for our survival on the earth while some others satisfy our wants.   Since time immemorial, humans have struggled hard and extracted materials from nature which could be processed into products. With the passage of time, humans have made unbelievable progress on the technological and the economic front. These developments have raised their standard of living. All this has been possible due to the availability of various resources.   WHAT ARE RESOURCES? Resources can be defined as all those features of the environment, which help us to produce things that satisfy our needs and are finally used by us. The term resources usually refer to natural substances which occur in the air, water or on the land. These natural resources include raw materials (such as, fuels and minerals), rain, wind, sunlight, soil and vegetation. Sometimes, we widen the scope of this term and include human resource as well. The human resources include labour and human skills. In this way, natural resources become 'resources' when we start using them to fulfil our needs.   NATURAL RESOURCES   Natural resources are all those useful raw materials that we get from the earth. This means human action turns naturally available things like?air, water, soil and forest, into resources. We use and modify natural resources in ways that are beneficial to us. On the basis of their origin, use and function; natural resources can be classified into different types.     TYPES OF NATURAL RESOURCES   Natural resources can be classified into different groups depending on:   ?      Level of development and use ?      Origin ?      Stock (availability) ?      Distribution   We can sub divide these categories in the following way:   Resources according to the level of development and use On the basis of development and use, we can divide natural resources into: (A) Actual resources and (B) Potential resources.   (A)  Actual resources are those resources whose quantity (amount of reserves) is known and which are currently being used. The coal deposits of Ruhr, Westphalia in Germany, Damodar Valley coalfields in the states of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha (India), oil in the Middle- East, iron ore in the Krivoy Rog in the Ukraine, are few examples of actual resources. The quantity of these reserves is known (estimated) and these are being used at present.     Coal an actual resources       Windmill a potential resource   more...

  Independence and Aftermath     Freedom and independence came to India with a heavy price. The journey after independence was not a smooth one either. The young nation had suffered the throes of partition at its very birth. Many challenges lay ahead?both within the country and outside. After overcoming many obstacles, today, India is emerging as the world's largest democracy and one of the fastest-growing economies of the world.   Two nations were created on 14th August, 1947. India, the largest democracy in the world, came into being; symbolising a new hope, a new promise to the millions of people who had till then been under the British flag.   CHALLENGES BEFORE INDEPENDENT INDIA   REHABILITATION OF REFUGEES The partition caused mass movement of people across the borders. Due to partition, millions of people were uprooted and had to flee from their homes. Eight million refugees crossed the newly drawn border to reach India. There were millions of refugees without a home. Delhi received the largest number of refugees. The new government now had a big responsibility of rehabilitating them. There was shortage of almost everything; from food to medicines, from industry and infrastructure to skilled manpower and from housing to distribution systems. Thus, a massive nationwide program, was launched for relief and aid.     INTEGRATION OF PRINCELY STATES   Till independence, a large part of India was under the British government and was referred to as the British India. There were about 560 states called 'Princely States' that were ruled by maharajas or nawabs. Also, a few territories were under the control of the French and the Portuguese.     According to the Indian Independence Act of 1947, monarchy was abolished and the Princely States had to join either India or Pakistan. Most of them joined the Indian Union. Sardar Vallabhai Patel played a major role in the integration of the Princely States.   History Reveals The Nizam of Hyderabad wanted his state to remain independent. Indian troops were sent to Hyderabad in a military operation with the code name 'Operation Polo' to take control of the state. The Nizam, then agreed to accede to the Indian Union.   The unification of India was incomplete without the inclusion of French and Portuguese enclaves. The French territories were acceded to India in November 1954. However, the Portuguese refused to leave India. An uprising in Dadra and Nagar Haveli threw off the Portuguese rule there. In 1961, the Indian army liberated Goa, Daman and Diu from the Portuguese control.   DRAFTING A CONSTITUTION more...

  The National Movement       After the Revolt of 1857, the English East India Company was replaced by the British Crown. Many Indians were optimistic and expected a new beginning but the British continued their oppressive and repressive policies. The Indians realised that their welfare was not a matter of concern for the British government. This gradually led to the development of nationalist feeling. The stage was now set for India's independence and only a final step was needed to achieve this goal.     After the Battle of Plassey, India was politically and economically controlled by the English East India Company. India was converted to a British colony. The British ruled India to promote their own interests. They utilised the resources of India for their own advantage. Indians realized this, and the realisation led to the development of anti-British sentiments and the birth of nationalism. A current of national feeling was generated in the minds of the people. The spirit of nationalism did not develop overnight. It developed because of the repressive policies of the British. The very concept of nationalism arose to meet the challenge of the foreign rule. There were three distinct phases of the National Movement,     ?The Era of Early Nationalism (1875-1905), the Era of Assertive Nationalism (1905-1919) and the Era of Mahatma Gandhi (1919-1947).     THE ERA OF EARLY NATIONALISM (1878-1905)   GROWTH OF NATIONALISM The British continued to exploit India economically. They introduced policies which ruined agriculture. Trade and industries also declined. Educated Indians gradually realised that the economic policies of the British were only meant to increase poverty in India. Thus, anti-British feelings gradually arose and gave rise to the development of nationalist spirit amongst the Indians. The British were arrogant and regarded themselves as superior to the Indians. They showed contempt towards the Indians, insulted them and treated them like slaves.     Lord Lytton introduced policies which led to further discontentment among the Indians. He passed the Vernacular Press Act in 1878. According to this Act, Indian newspapers could not write anything against the British. Another act was the Arms Act that forbade Indians from carrying arms or weapons. These rules were not applicable to the British.   Lord Ripon introduced the Ilbert Bill in 1883 which proposed an amendment for the existing laws in the country. The Bill proposed that Indian magistrates would be given the power to try cases that involved British offenders in criminal cases at the district level; this was disallowed at that time. This led to much protest by the British community who opposed the bill and it had to be modified. Indians realised that they would never get the same rights as the British. This aroused feelings of nationalism among the Indians.   The second half of more...

  Changes in the Arts   'When you look at a painting, what do you see?' asked the art teacher in the class. The students replied, 'the person or the object which is in the painting'. 'Then you missed the actual message, the teacher said. 'You should try to visualise the story behind the picture, or the message the picture is trying to convey.' Art in any form?sculpture, painting, photography and even architecture?is a reflection of an artist's mind. An artist from a developed country is likely to depict castles and flourishing fields while an artist from a war-torn nation might depict barren farms and burning towns in his/her work.   Colonial rule had its impact in every sphere of life in India. It influenced art, architecture and painting too. Later on, as the camera became popular, photography also underwent change. New styles, materials and techniques were introduced in all spheres of visual arts. Indian art forms underwent an amazing zevolution from 1870 onwards.   COLONIAL ART   People developed a taste for naturalism following the increased exposure to the European style of painting. The painters learnt to represent objects as they appeared, which led to realism. They created an illusion of depth by making distant objects smaller and also changed the shape of the object, giving a three- dimensional effect. They also began to use oil as a medium for painting.   Many British painters travelled to India. They made paintings of-monuments, landscapes, local flora and fauna, dancing girls in princely courts, costumes and different native occupations. The British painters did not always appreciate the beauty of the Indian countryside and the people. Almost always, the subjects of the painters had a hint of British superiority, praise of the colonial rule and admiration of its powers. All forms of paintings by the British artists showed India as a wild, unexplored and untouched land waiting to be discovered by the British.   History Reveals Tilly Kettle arrived as the first British professional painter in India.   DEVELOPMENT OF IMPERIAL ART   Portrait Paintings In the second half of the eighteenth century, many portrait painters moved to India. These painters looked for patronage among the European community in the major cities. To make a living, they painted portraits of East India Company officials. They moved to Indian courts to paint princes, their relatives and officials. Unlike the miniature paintings which were popular during the Mughal rule, these were more realistic and natural. They portrayed the power, status and wealth by the sheer size of the painting. These paintings were large in size. Many officials and officers sought to commemorate their period in India so they welcomed the artists. Others wished to give paintings as gifts to family or friends.   Activity Look at both the portraits given below. The one on the left is more...