Asia - class-X

The Tibetan Plateau is widely referred to as the Roof of the World because of its extremely high elevation. It is located primarily in Tibet, which is part of China.

India shares its border with seven countries- Afghanistan and Pakistan to the north-west, China, Bhutan and Nepal to the north, Myanmar to the far East and Bangladesh to the east. Sri Lanka (from south-east) and Maldives (from south-west) are two countries with water borders.

Nepal is bounded by India from 3 sides - South, East and West. Nepal has boundaries with five of the Indian states. They are Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Altogether 26 out of 75 districts of Nepal have border linkages with India.

India shares a 1643 km long border with Myanmar.  Arunachal Pradesh,  Nagaland, Manipur,  Mizoram are the states which share the border with Myanmar while Assam shares the international border with Bhutan and Bangladesh.

A neighbouring country but not a part of Indian subcontinent is China. Politically,the Indian subcontinent is said to comprise of the following seven States(countries): India,Pakistan,Nepal,Bhutan,Bangla Desh, Sri Lanka and Maldives. There is no consensus about the limits of the Subcontinent.

The Maldives islands are situated to the south of the Lakshadweep islands of India.

Monoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing single crop year after year and all around the year in a field at a time.

A.  Tea and Rubber

The tea bush grows best in areas of abundant rainfall, gravelly soils well-drained hill-slopes (usually between 910-1,218 meters of altitude) in a warm climate. The leaves are handpicked involving a good deal of painstaking and methodical effort. The availability of an abundant supply of labour is essential for harvesting.

In Vietnam the French set up estates (planta­tions) in the Central Annamese Mountains under environmental conditions some­what similar to those prevailing in Indonesia. Rubber (natural) is the major planta­tion crop of Southeast Asia.

Dry farming is done in the region of scanty rainfall where rain is less than 50 cm. Under this method the land is terraced and divided into compartments and rainwater is allowed to move under a controlled condition. The land is deeply ploughed and repeated harrowings before sowing in order to conserve soil moisture are undertaken. This dry farming method is too expensive. 

India has three cropping season - Kharif, Rabi, and Zayad.

Ratooning is associated with Sugarcane crops.  This is the best method of growing sugarcane. In this method, after harvesting , the lower part of the plant and the roots are left as they were in the field. This give a new crop for the next year without fresh planting. This way the cane can be produced  for three successive years .

• The Mining Industry of India is a major economic activity which contributes significantly to the economy of  India.
• Indian mining industry provides job opportunities to around 10 lakh individuals.
  

The word agriculture is derived from two words, ager means field or soil and culture means the care of or tilling of the field. But agriculture is more than tilling of the field. Agriculture includes all productive efforts which are undertaken by man, having relatively permanent settlement to expedite and to improve upon the growth of vegetable and animal products for the benefit of man. 

The green revolution was launched in 1967-68. In the year 1966 High Yielding Varieties Program (HYVP) was introduced in the Kharif season. After this program, the production of food grains in 1967-68 was 25% higher than that of 1966-67.  This increase was more than the increase recorded the preceding 16 years of the plan period, so this time period is termed as green revolution.

In Indonesia  rice is the main crop. Rice is a staple crop in Indonesia and is a major part of their diet. 

Green Revolution was the time when Indian traditional agriculture system was replaced by modern HYV seeds and mechanization introduced in the agricultural fields. Due to Green Revolution agricultural productivity increased, the economic condition of farmers improved and import of food grain decreased and in many other ways, the green revolution influenced the life in India. Dr. M. S. Swaminathan is considered as the father of Indian Green Revolution. In his leadership the seeds of green revolution was shown in India and its impact changed the life of farmers as well as the Indians.  

 D.  (i), (iii) and (iv)

Animal husbandry is the farming or management of
animal livestock which includes various aspects such as animal's shelter,
feeding, health and disease control. As animal husbandry is scientific
management of farm animals, it serves many uses for human beings.

·         It helps in enhancing milk production

·         It increases egg production

·         It increases meat production

·         It increases fish production

·         It helps in proper management of agricultural wastes.

Animal husbandry is a branch of agriculture concerned with the care and management of livestock.  The word husbandry means the management of domestic affair. Animal husbandry deals with the increase in milk production , proper utilisation of animal wastes and protection of animals against diseases ,all of these. Livestock refers to farm animals (domesticated animals) such as cow, sheep, etc. kept by humans for a useful commercial purpose. When we use the word Animal in animal husbandry, we mean only those domesticated animals which are reared mostly for economic or for recreation purposes,such as cattle , buffalo , sheep, goat , camel, pig , horse,etc.It also includes poultry farming and fisheries.

A.  Primary Sector

The primary sector makes direct use of natural resources. This includes agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining. In contrast, the secondary sector produces manufactured goods, and the tertiary sector produces services. The primary sector is usually most important in less-developed countries, and typically less important in industrial countries.

Tin           -   Malaysia

C.  Cereals and Pulses

In northern region, growth in food grain production came primarily from growth in rice and wheat. More than one - fourth of the food grain production was rice, which rose at a surprising rate exceeding 10 percent a year during the entire green revolution period.
Wheat production during this period also grew rapidly at 6.4 percent a year, there was a substantial movement out of pulses, which is reflected in growth rates of - 7.6 and - 14.4 percent in area and production, respectively, in
1975/76 - 1983/84.

Green Revolution is a unique event in the agricultural history of India. Green Revolution replace the traditional agricultural system and introduced HYV seeds and mechanization in the agricultural field. The production of crops increased more than three times. In India's Green Revolution wheat and rice are the main crops. The HYV seeds of other crops have either not been developed so far at all, or they are not good enough for farmers to risk their adoption.

Agriculture is the most important occupation of the people in the Monsoon lands.  Much of the monsoon forest has been cleared for agriculture to support the very dense population. Subsistence agriculture is the major occupation , Farming is the dominant occupation of the  Indian sub - continent. The lndian economy is heavily dependent on agriculture and the livelihood of the Indian farmer largerly depends on the Monsoon rains. 70% of the Indian population depends on farming, either directly or indirectly.Around 58% of the total employment in the country is through agriculture. Also, the agricultural sector in our country contributes to around 18% of the GDP. Good rains during the season result in bountiful crops which further benefit the farmers. A major portion of the country's crop area is completely dependent on Monsoon rains as they are not equipped with methods of manual irrigation.Indian economy gains due to good Monsoon rains in the country

In the Amur Valley of the Russia Agriculture is the most important economic activity.

Livestock is defined as the farm animals raised especially in a farm for the use of human kind. India is the country with largest number of livestock. Livestock includes cattle, horses, pigs, etc.

The Green Revolution in India began in the mid-1960s and gained significant momentum through the late 1960s, particularly with the introduction of high-yielding variety seeds in 1966-1967.

Green Revolution was introduced in India in year 1967.  The Green Revolution largly means increasing production of food grains by using High Yield Variety seeds. This enabled India in self sufficiency in food grain production.

Excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides during the Green Revolution led to long-term degradation of soil health and a reduction in natural soil fertility.

Operation Flood

Ginning is a process of collecting and separating raw cotton from the seeds of the cotton balls.

Shifting Cultivation:

About 75% of China's cultivated area is used for food crops. Rice is China's most important crop, raised on about 25% of the cultivated area. The majority of rice is grown south of the Huai River, in the Zhu Jiang delta, and in the Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces.

The National Mineral Policy of India was announced in 1993 to liberalize the mining sector and encourage private investment.

This method includes the use of high yielding varieties of seeds, sowing the seeds in a raised nursery-bed and transplanting the seedlings in rows so as to make weeding and fertilizing easy. The Japanese method of rice cultivation has been successfully adopted in the main rice-producing regions of India.

A plantation is a large-scale farm that specializes in cash crops. The characteristic features of this type of farming are large estates or plantations, large capital investment, managerial and technical support, scientific methods of cultivation, single crop specialization, cheap labour, and a good system of transportation which links the estates to the factories and markets for the export of the products. tobacco, cotton, rice, indigo, and sugarcane are some of the crops grown.

In the year 1955 Thimpu is declared as the capital of Bhutan.  It covers an area of 26.1 square km. It is the largest city in Bhutan.

The 38th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 38 degree north of the Earth's equatorial plane .The 38th parallel north has been especially important as it is demarcation line between North Korea and South Korea at the end of World War II.

A landlocked state or landlocked country is a sovereign state entirely enclosed by land, or whose only coastlines lie on closed seas. There are currently 49 such countries, including five partially recognized states.

China is the most populous country in the world. According to 2010 census, the population of China is 1.411 billion. It is approximately 18.2% of world population. Due to the implementation of birth control measures now the growth rate is only 0.59% according to 2010 census report. Its growth rate is 159th position in the world.

Polar regions are the coldest region in the world. They are covered with ice throughout the year. Their temperature is less than 10 degrees C throughout the year. So animals in this region are found with fur-bearing. The fur of their body protects them from freezing cold and make them feel warm.