SPI Geography · Free notes
Economic Geography of India: SPI Geography
India's resources, farming, minerals and industries account for 30 questions in the SPI bank, more than any other Geography chapter: one from the sample paper, one from Practice Paper 1 and 28 from the LWS mocks. Seven are MODERATE and none is HARD, and none is about transport despite the chapter's name. Almost every question is one fact from the Class 10 geography book, so these pages give each fact with the one beside it that the wrong option borrows: rabi against kharif, lignite against anthracite, electronics against information technology.
The handout has every subtopic, worked example, formula and trap with answers shown. The formula sheet is the chapter’s formulas and traps alone, on one page.
Subtopic notes
Resources, Conservation and Soils
5 questionsResources are sorted by where they come from, whether they run out and how far they are developed; using them without waste is conservation; soil is the resource that every crop grows in.
Crops and Farming
6 questionsIndia grows its crops in three seasons; each main crop needs its own heat, rain and soil; and farming also includes plantations and the rearing of silkworms, bees and fish.
Minerals and Energy
10 questionsMinerals form in set ways inside rocks and are mined in known belts; the energy we use comes from conventional sources such as coal and oil, and from newer non conventional ones.
Manufacturing Industries
9 questionsIndustries are grouped by their raw material, their role and their owners; a factory is set up where raw material, power, labour, capital and markets come together.
Formula & revision sheet
0 formulas · 12 reference tables · 23 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Formula & revision sheet
0 formulas · 12 reference tables · 23 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Reference tables (3)
Kinds of resources5 rows
| Basis | Kinds | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Biotic, abiotic | Fish is biotic; iron is abiotic |
| Running out | Renewable, non renewable | Forests are renewable; coal is not |
| Ownership | Individual, community, national, international | Village grazing ground is a community resource |
| Development | Potential, developed, stock, reserves | Water in a dam is a reserve |
| Who made it | Natural, human made | Soil is natural; a bridge is human made |
Conservation and sustainable development4 rows
| Name | What it is |
|---|---|
| Sustainable development | Meeting today's needs without harming the environment or the needs of the future |
| Brundtland Commission Report, 1987 | Brought in the idea of sustainable development |
| Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, 1992 | Adopted Agenda 21 |
| Agenda 21 | A world plan for sustainable development |
Soils of India5 rows
| Soil | Where | Mark of it |
|---|---|---|
| Alluvial | Northern Plains | Most widespread; rich in potash, phosphoric acid, lime |
| Black (regur) | Deccan trap: Maharashtra most, also Malwa, Saurashtra | Holds moisture; cracks; best for cotton |
| Red and yellow | Eastern and southern Deccan | Red from iron |
| Laterite | Areas of heavy rain and high heat | Has iron oxide and potash; poor in nitrogen, phosphate, calcium Heavy rain washes the other nutrients out. |
| Arid | Dry west, Rajasthan | Sandy and salty |
Watch out for (4)
- Mixing up stock and reserves→ Kinds of resources
- Thinking conservation means not using resources→ Conservation and sustainable development
- Thinking laterite is rich in nitrogen→ Soils of India
- Looking for black soil in the plains→ Soils of India
Reference tables (3)
The three cropping seasons3 rows
| Season | Sown | Harvested | Crops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kharif | Onset of the monsoon | September and October | Paddy, maize, cotton, jute, groundnut |
| Rabi | October to December | April to June | Wheat, barley, peas, gram, mustard |
| Zaid | Summer, between rabi and kharif | Before the monsoon | Watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber |
Main crops and what they need4 rows
| Crop | Season | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Rice | Kharif | Above 25 °C, high humidity, over 100 cm rain |
| Wheat | Rabi | Cool growing season, 50 to 75 cm rain, sunshine at ripening |
| Cotton | Kharif | Black soil, high heat, light rain, 210 frost free days, bright sunshine Cotton needs light rain, not heavy rain. |
| Jute (golden fibre) | Kharif | Fertile flood plain soils renewed each year, high heat |
Plantations and allied activities6 rows
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sericulture | Rearing silkworms for silk |
| Apiculture | Keeping bees for honey |
| Pisciculture | Breeding fish |
| Viticulture | Growing grapes |
| Horticulture | Growing fruits, vegetables and flowers |
| Plantation | One crop on a large estate, sold to industries and markets |
Watch out for (6)
- Mixing up rabi and kharif→ The three cropping seasons
- Taking zaid for a winter season→ The three cropping seasons
- Choosing wheat as India's staple→ Main crops and what they need
- Calling cotton the golden fibre→ Main crops and what they need
- Thinking silk comes from a butterfly→ Plantations and allied activities
- Picking climate as what develops plantations→ Plantations and allied activities
Reference tables (3)
What minerals are and how they occur5 rows
| Where it forms | Form | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Igneous and metamorphic rocks | Veins and lodes in cracks, crevices, faults, joints | Tin, copper, zinc, lead |
| Sedimentary rocks | Beds or layers | Coal, gypsum, salt |
| Weathered surface rock | Residue left after soluble parts wash away | Bauxite Bauxite is the ore of aluminium. |
| Sand of valley floors | Placer deposits | Gold, silver, tin, platinum |
| Ocean water | Dissolved | Common salt, magnesium, bromine |
Where the main minerals are mined4 rows
| Mineral | Where it is mined |
|---|---|
| Mica | Koderma, Gaya and Hazaribagh belt (Jharkhand); Ajmer; Nellore |
| Copper | Khetri (Rajasthan); Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh); Singhbhum (Jharkhand) |
| Bauxite | Amarkantak plateau; Maikal hills; Panchpatmali in Koraput (Odisha) |
| Thorium | Monazite sands of Kerala Monazite is the thorium sand; uranium comes from Jharkhand and the Aravallis. |
Sources of energy, coal and oil4 rows
| Coal | What it is like |
|---|---|
| Peat | Lowest grade: little carbon, much moisture, gives little heat |
| Lignite | Low grade brown coal, soft, much moisture; main reserves at Neyveli, Tamil Nadu |
| Bituminous | The most popular coal for commercial use |
| Anthracite | The highest quality hard coal |
Watch out for (7)
- Placing gold among weathered residues→ What minerals are and how they occur
- Calling petrol the stuff of everyday things→ What minerals are and how they occur
- Mixing up thorium and uranium→ Where the main minerals are mined
- Taking Koderma for an iron or copper mine→ Where the main minerals are mined
- Calling lignite the best coal→ Sources of energy, coal and oil
- Thinking non renewable means non conventional→ Sources of energy, coal and oil
- Choosing Maharashtra as the oldest oil state→ Sources of energy, coal and oil
Reference tables (3)
How industries are classified5 rows
| Basis | Kinds | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Raw material | Agro based | Textiles, sugar, tea, coffee, edible oil |
| Raw material | Mineral based | Iron and steel, cement, aluminium, petrochemicals Petrochemicals are mineral based: they come from petroleum. |
| Role | Basic (key), consumer | Iron and steel is basic; toothpaste is consumer |
| Ownership | Public, private, joint, cooperative | SAIL public; TISCO private; Oil India joint; Maharashtra sugar cooperative |
| Bulk | Heavy, light | Iron and steel heavy; electrical goods light |
Where industries are set up3 rows
| Industry | Raw material | What decides its site |
|---|---|---|
| Aluminium smelting | Bauxite | Regular electricity and cheap, assured raw material Aluminium is made from bauxite, its ore. |
| Iron and steel | Iron ore, coking coal, limestone (about 4 : 2 : 1) | Heavy raw materials, so near the mines |
| Cement | Limestone, silica, gypsum | Bulky raw materials |
Textiles, iron and steel, electronics4 rows
| Industry | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Cotton textiles | First successful mill: Mumbai, 1854 |
| Spinning | Most spindles: China; India is second |
| Iron and steel | Tata Steel, Jamshedpur, 1907 Planned by Jamsetji Tata, set up by Dorabji Tata. |
| Electronics | Telephones, televisions, computers; Bengaluru is the electronic capital |
Watch out for (6)
- Calling textiles mineral based→ How industries are classified
- Treating a cooperative as the opposite of agro based→ How industries are classified
- Giving iron and steel for the electricity question→ Where industries are set up
- Placing early factories in today's tech cities→ Where industries are set up
- Picking information technology for telephones and computers→ Textiles, iron and steel, electronics
- Thinking India has the most spindles→ Textiles, iron and steel, electronics
Question weightage by concept
12 concepts · 30 questions — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
Question weightage by concept
12 concepts · 30 questions — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
| Concept | Qs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation and sustainable development | 2 | 7% |
| Soils of India | 2 | 7% |
| Kinds of resources | 1 | 3% |
| Concept | Qs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Main crops and what they need | 3 | 10% |
| Plantations and allied activities | 2 | 7% |
| The three cropping seasons | 1 | 3% |
| Concept | Qs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| What minerals are and how they occur | 4 | 13% |
| Where the main minerals are mined | 3 | 10% |
| Sources of energy, coal and oil | 3 | 10% |
| Concept | Qs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Textiles, iron and steel, electronics | 4 | 13% |
| Where industries are set up | 3 | 10% |
| How industries are classified | 2 | 7% |
Test yourself on a real paper
Sit a past SPI paper, timed and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.