Ch11 India Population - Solutions
CBSE Class 12 Geography
NCERT Solutions
Chapter 11
Population: Distribution, Density, Growth & Composition
1. Choose the right answer of the following from the given options.
(i) India's Population as per 2001 census is:
- 1028 million
- 3182 million
- 3287 million
- 20 million
Ans. (1) 1028 million (it is 1210.2 million according to 2011 census)
(ii) Which one of the following states has the highest density of population in India?
- West Bengal
- Kerala
- Uttar Pradesh
- Punjab
Ans. (1) West Bengal
(iii) Which one of the following states has the highest proportion of urban population in India according to 2001 Census?
- Tamil nadu
- Maharashtra
- Kerala
- Gujarat
Ans. (1) Tamil Nadu
(iv) Which one of the following is the largest linguistic group of India?
- Sino - Tibetan
- Indo - Aryan
- Austric
- Dravidian
Ans. (2) Indo - Aryan
2. Answer the following question in about 30 words.
(i) Very hot and dry; and very cold and wet regions of India have low density of population. In this light, explain the role of climate on the distribution of population.
Ans. Climate plays an important role in determining the density of population.Of all the climatic factors, twin elements of rainfall and temperature play the most important role in determining the population of an area.Extremes of climate discourage the concentration of population. Such climates include the too cold climate of Himalayas, and the too hot and dry climate of the Thar Desert. A moderate climate, on the other hand, is favourable for population.
As we move from the Ganga-Brahmaputra Delta in the east towards the Thar Desert in the west, the amount of rainfall and consequently the density of population decrease. The Assam valley in the north-east and the Circars coast on the Bay of Bengal has moderate density of population although these areas receive heavy rainfall. Similarly, southern face of the Himalayas is scarcely populated though this area receives sufficiently high rainfall.
(ii) Which states have large rural population in India? Give one reason for such a large rural population.
Ans. India has 640,867 villages according to the Census 2011 out of
which 597,608 (93.2 per cent) are inhabited villages.However, the distribution of rural population is not uniform throughout the country. But still, the states like Bihar and Sikkim have very high percentage of rural population.
The most important reason is both Bihar and Sikkim are highly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood.In Bihar the agriculture sector holds the key of the state’s economy by contributing more than one-fourth (26.51 percent) to GDP (at 1999 constant price) in 2008-09 and providing employment to 81 percent of workforce in the state.It also assumes great importance because near about 90 percent of the population of the state living in rural areas are directly or indirectly depend on agriculture activities for their livelihood.
Even the economy of Sikkim is linked with agriculture that serves as the source of livelihood and economic security of sizeable native population. The growth, however, has been restricted because of biotic and abiotic factors. It is estimated that over 80 per cent of the rural population depends on agriculture sector for economic, food, and nutritional security.
(iii) Why do some states of India have higher rates of work participation than others?
Ans. In India poor states have higher participation rate than others. But it is not a good signal. In these areas, women, children and the old people have to work so as to arrange a square meal for the family. Parents are unable to send their children to schools and use them as labourers in their fields. Morever, primary activities are labour intensive and hence demand more labour. Above all, working in primary activities does not require much training and specialised skill.
(iv) 'The agricultural sector has the largest share of Indian workers.' - Explain.
Ans. Yes, it is right that the agricultural sector has the largest share of Indian workers.The share of agriculture in employment was 48.9 per cent of the workforce. In other words Agriculture is the principal source of livelihood for more than 58% of the population of this country. As per the Economic Survey the sector share in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 17.4 in 2015-16. Agriculture sector provides great employment opportunities for rural people/youth on a large scale for their livelihood and also provides an entrepreneurship.
3. Answer the following question in about 150 words.
(i) Discuss the spatial pattern of density of population in India.
Ans. The spatial variation of population densities in the country which ranges from as low as 17 persons per sq km in Arunachal Pradesh to11,320 persons in the National Capital Territory
of Delhi.
Among the northern Indian States,Bihar (1106), West Bengal (1028) and and Uttar
Pradesh (829) have higher densities.
The availability of agricultural land, depth and quality of soils, and availability of water resources, coupled with favourable climatic conditions, surface configuration, possibility of easy transportation etc. have determined the patterns of population distribution in the country. The single largest concentration of population occurs in the plains of the north, particularly in the Ganga plain.
Stretching from the river Yamuna in the west to the delta plains of West Bengal in the east, and bounded by the Himalayas in the north and the peninsular plateaus in the south, the Ganga plain is one of the most extensive and thickly populated regions of the world. On a geographic area of nearly 12 per cent of the country, the plain accounts for more than one-third of the population.
Other pockets of heavy concentration of population, though less extensive than the Ganga plain, can be seen in the southern parts of the Indian peninsula along the coastal plains of Kerala (860)and Tamil Nadu(555).
In addition, the deltas of the Mahanadi, the Godavari and the Krishna in the eastern coast also exhibit a thick concentration of population. By contrast, the whole of the upland plateaus, the Thar desert and the mountainous and hilly regions of the north and northeast contain very sparse population. The upland plateaus are characterized by rugged topography and poor soils. In addition, unfavorable climatic conditions and shortage of water for any large-scale agricultural activities have resulted in overall sparse population in the region.
Likewise, the mountainous character and difficult terrain, coupled with lack of connectivity and paucity of agricultural lands in the Himalayas and in the northeast, have led to sparse population. In the arid and semi-arid regions of the northwest population is highly clustered around water points. In the northeast, the Assam valley stands conspicuous with denser concentration of population as compared to the neighbouring hilly region.
(ii) Give an account of the occupational structure of India's population.
Ans.Occupations can be broadly classified into three categories, viz., primary, secondary and tertiary. (i) (a)The primary occupations include all those essential activities such as agriculture and allied activities like animal husbandry, forestry, fishery, poultry farming etc.
(b)Secondary activities include manufacturing industries composed of both large and small scale and mining.
(c)Tertiary activities include all other activities like transport, communication, banking, insurance, trade etc.
The occupational structure indicated the distribution as well as absorption of population into these various types of occupations.Occupational distribution of population reflects on the degree of development and the diversification achieved in an economy. Let us now turn our discussion on the occupational structure of India. The occupational structure of India clearly reflects a high degree of backwardness prevailing in Indian economy.
Occupational Structure during 1951-2001:
After independence and especially after the introduction of planning in India, attempt was made by the planning to accelerate the process of industrialisation and also to change the occupational structure by transferring a section of working force from agriculture to secondary and tertiary sectors.
1.During the period 1951-71, the proportion of work force engaged in the primary sector remained constant at 72.1 per cent. In-spite of heavy investment made on manufacturing and service sector during these two decades of planning the absorption capacity of secondary and tertiary sectors jointly remained the same at 28 per cent of the total work force.
2. Again during the next 1971-2000 period, the proportion of work force engaged in the primary sector declined marginally to 56.7 per cent. Another noticeable change that was recorded was that the proportion of cultivators declined from 50 per cent in 1951 to 38.4 per cent in 1991 and that of agricultural labourers increased horn 20 per cent to 26 per cent during the same period.
This shows the growing concentration of land in the hands of rich and well-to-do farmers and the transformation of small and marginal farmers into landless agricultural labourers. Moreover, the proportion of work force engaged in the secondary sector increased marginally from 11.2 per cent to 17.5 per cent during the 1971-2000 period and that of engaged in tertiary sector increased slightly from 16.7 per cent to 25.8 per cent during the same period.
3.The number of female workers is relatively high in primary sector, though in recent years there has been some improvement in work participation of women in secondary and tertiary sectors.
| Sector | Persons | % to total Workers | Male | Female |
| Primary | 234088181 | 58.2 | 42745598 | 91342583 |
| Secondary | 16956942 | 4.2 | 8744183 | 8212759 |
| Tertiary | 151189601 | 37.6 | 123524695 | 27664906 |
| Sectoral Composition of work force in India, 2001 | ||||
The participation rate in secondary and tertiary sector has registered an increase. it indicates a shift of dependence of workers from farm-based occupations to non-farm based ones, indicating a sectoral shift in the economy of the country.
4.There are regional variations in the occupational structure. For example, the states like Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland have very large shares of cultivators. On the other hand, states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Mahdya Pradesh have higher proportion of agricultural labourers.The highly urbanised areas like Delhi, Chandigarh and Pondicherry have a very large proportion of workers being engaged in other services.
