Aspirant Academy

Geography

Key Points at a Glance

Natural Resources of India: Water, Vegetation, Soil, Minerals, Power

Paper II · Unit 3 Section 1 of 11 0 PYQs 29 min
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Key Points at a Glance

  1. India's Total Forest Cover

    • Total forest cover (including tree cover): 8,09,537 sq km
    • Equals 24.62% of total geographic area (FSI, State of Forest Report 2021)
    • National Forest Policy 1988 targets 33% coverage (one-third of land)
    • Forest Survey of India (FSI) is the official measuring body

  2. 5 Major Types of Natural Vegetation

    • Tropical Evergreen — >200 cm rainfall; Western Ghats, NE India
    • Tropical Deciduous — most widespread; 75–200 cm rain; sal, teak
    • Tropical Thorny/Scrub — arid zones; <75 cm rain; khejri, babool
    • Montane Forests — altitudinal zones in Himalayas
    • Tidal/Mangrove Forests — coastal deltas

  3. Tropical Moist Deciduous — India's Largest Forest Type

    • Largest forest type by area in India
    • Sal (Shorea robusta) dominates eastern India: Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh
    • Teak (Tectona grandis) dominates central-western India: MP, Maharashtra, Karnataka
    • Both are high-value commercial timber species

  4. 6 Major Soil Types (ICAR/NBSS&LUP)

    • Alluvial — 43% of cultivated land; most productive; Ganga-Indus plains
    • Black/Regur — 15%; Maharashtra, MP, Gujarat; cotton soil
    • Red/Laterite — 18%; Peninsular plateau
    • Arid/Desert — <250 mm rain; W. Rajasthan, Gujarat
    • Forest/Mountain — Himalayas
    • Saline/Alkaline — waterlogged areas

  5. India's Water Availability

    • Total annual water availability: ~1,869 BCM
    • Utilizable water: ~1,123 BCM (690 BCM surface + 433 BCM groundwater)
    • India is one of the world's largest groundwater users
    • Accounts for ~25% of global groundwater extraction

  6. Coal Reserves — World's 4th Largest

    • Total reserves: ~344 billion tonnes
    • 90% is bituminous/sub-bituminous coal from Gondwana formations
    • Damodar Valley (Jharia, Raniganj — Jharkhand/West Bengal) is India's richest coalfield
    • India is the world's 2nd largest coal producer (~900 MT/year)

  7. India's Installed Power Capacity (March 2024)

    • Total installed capacity: ~950 GW
    • Renewable energy: ~195 GW (solar ~82 GW, wind ~45 GW, hydro ~47 GW)
    • India holds the world's 3rd largest solar capacity
    • COP26 commitment: 500 GW non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030

  8. Bauxite (PYQ 2023)

    • India is the world's 5th largest bauxite producer and 5th in reserves (~3.5 billion tonnes)
    • Odisha — Panchpat Mali (Kalahandi), Koraput (largest deposits)
    • Andhra Pradesh — Visakhapatnam; Gujarat — Jamnagar
    • Maharashtra — Kolhapur

  9. Petroleum Reserves — Key Basins

    • Bombay High (offshore Mumbai) — ~60% of domestic crude production; ONGC-operated
    • Assam — Digboi (India's oldest oilfield, 1889); Duliajan
    • Krishna-Godavari Basin — deep water KG-D6 block (Andhra Pradesh)
    • Rajasthan — Barmer-Sanchore Basin (Cairn India/Vedanta fields)

  10. Sundarbans — India's Largest Mangrove Forest

    • Area on Indian side: 4,260 sq km (West Bengal + Bangladesh delta)
    • UNESCO World Heritage Site and Ramsar Wetland
    • Home to the Royal Bengal Tiger (~100 on Indian side)
    • Formed by the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta system

  11. Iron Ore — World's 4th Largest Reserves

    • Total reserves: ~28.5 billion tonnes
    • Top producing states: Odisha (55%), Jharkhand (25%), Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Goa
    • Key mines: Bailadila (Dantewada, CG), Kiriburu (Singhbhum, JK), Hospet-Bellary (Karnataka)
    • Both haematite and magnetite types present

  12. Mica — India's Global Dominance

    • India was once the world's largest mica producer
    • Still accounts for ~60% of global sheet mica supply
    • Jharkhand (Hazaribagh) and Rajasthan (Bhilwara, Ajmer) are major producers
    • Uses: electrical insulation, electronics, cosmetics