Natural Resources and Their Use Class 8: Notes and Questions

What Natural Resources and Their Use is about

Weightage: CBSE sets no Class 8 Social Science paper or marks: Class 8 is assessed by your school, which teaches from NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond. School papers usually mix MCQs, short answers (2-3 marks), source or picture-based questions and longer answers (5 marks).Source: docs/research/cbse-8-2026-27.md (NCERT book list, Reprint 2026-27)

Key concepts

When does Nature become a resource?

NCERT section When does Nature become a Resource?

'Nature' here means all living and non-living things in our environment that humans did not create. An element of Nature becomes a resource when people use it to live or to make new things. A tree is part of the environment; when its wood is turned into furniture, we are treating it as a resource.

The book gives three conditions for something to count as a resource:
1. Technologically accessible: we must have the means to reach it (petroleum deep under the ocean may be out of reach).
2. Economically feasible: extracting it should not cost too much.
3. Culturally acceptable: for example, many communities would not cut trees in sacred groves.

Note the special meaning of 'exploitation' in this chapter: extraction, use and consumption of natural resources (not its usual negative sense).

Short definition (from the chapter's summary): natural resources are the materials and substances found in Nature that humans value. Even a plastic button can be traced back to Nature.

Worked example

Oil is known to lie under a deep part of the sea, but no company has the machines to drill there. Is it a resource right now? Explain using the chapter's conditions. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Recall the three conditions: technologically accessible, economically feasible, culturally acceptable.
2. Here the first condition fails: the technology is not available.

Answer: Not yet. To count as a resource, a material must be technologically accessible, economically feasible to extract and culturally acceptable. Since the oil cannot be reached with present technology, it is only a potential resource until the means to extract it become available at a reasonable cost.

Categories by use: life, materials, energy

NCERT section Categories of Natural Resources

Categorising means grouping things by shared features and giving the group a name, so we can talk about them quickly and clearly (like 'living' and 'non-living').

The first way to categorise natural resources is by use:

Category	What it means	Examples from the chapter
Essential for life	We cannot live without them and cannot make them ourselves	air, water, food grown from soil
For materials	Turned into useful or beautiful objects	wood (chair, statuette), marble, coal, gold
For energy	Power electricity, transport and production	coal, water, petroleum, natural gas, sunlight, wind

One resource can sit in more than one group: coal is used as a material and as an energy source; wood can be furniture or fuel.

Worked example

Place each in the chapter's use-based category: (i) groundwater for drinking (ii) marble for a temple floor (iii) wind turning a turbine. (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Drinking water keeps us alive: essential for life.
2. Marble is shaped into an object: material.
3. Wind produces electricity: energy.

Answer: (i) Groundwater for drinking: resource essential for life. (ii) Marble for a floor: resource for materials. (iii) Wind for a turbine: resource for energy.

Restoration, regeneration and renewable resources

NCERT section Renewable and non-renewable resources

Nature works in a restorative and regenerative way:

• Restoration: returning something to its original healthy state after damage (a cut heals; a forest recovers after a wildfire).
• Regeneration goes further: Nature creating new life and the conditions for it to thrive (a fallen tree decomposes, enriches the soil, and new plants grow). Nature's cycles produce no waste.

Renewable resources show this renewal over time: sunshine, rivers fed by rain and melting glaciers, forests, soil, wind, flowing water, timber.

The condition: they stay renewable only if we do not disturb the natural rhythm of restoration and regeneration. Harvest timber faster than trees grow and the forest is used up.

How cycles are being disturbed (book's examples):

• Fossil-fuel-driven industrialisation and cutting forests have contributed to rising temperatures; some Himalayan glaciers are melting faster than snowfall can replace them, threatening water for people in the plains who depend on this 'water tower'.
• Industrial waste dumped into rivers often cannot decay into food for any lifeform, so the river can become poisonous.
• Commercial over-fishing (e.g. tuna) where communities once paused fishing in the spawning season.

Ecosystem functions vs services: a forest naturally filters water, stops soil erosion and shelters animals (functions); when humans benefit from clean water, protected farms and pollinated crops, these are ecosystem services. A mature tree gives about 275 litres of oxygen a day; a person needs about 350 litres.

Worked example

'River water is renewable only as long as glaciers and forests exist.' Explain this statement. (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Rivers are fed by rain and melting glaciers; forests help hold and release water.
2. If glaciers melt faster than snowfall replaces them, or forests are cut, the natural cycle is disturbed.
3. Then the river's supply can fall, so a renewable resource can become scarce.

Answer: A river keeps flowing because it is regularly refilled by rain and melting glaciers, with forests helping the cycle. This makes river water renewable. But if rising temperatures make glaciers melt faster than they are replaced, or forests are cleared, the natural rhythm of renewal is broken. The river may then shrink, so it stays renewable only while its sources are protected.

Non-renewable resources

NCERT section Non-renewable resources

Non-renewable resources form over very long periods and cannot be replaced as fast as we use them.

Examples: fossil fuels (coal and petroleum) and minerals and metals such as iron, copper and gold.

India's coal: India has large coal reserves and mines them to meet rising energy needs, but estimates say they may last about another 50 years, while demand for electricity keeps growing with population and development. Until cleaner options are widely available, coal must be used judiciously (carefully, without waste).

Renewable vs non-renewable at a glance:

	Renewable	Non-renewable
Renewal	Restored by natural cycles over time	Formed over very long periods; not replaced at our rate of use
Examples	sunlight, wind, flowing water, timber, soil	coal, petroleum, iron, copper, gold
Risk	Overuse breaks the cycle	Stock runs out
What we must do	Use within the rate of regeneration	Use wisely; shift to renewables

Worked example

Why does the chapter say India must use its coal judiciously even though it has large reserves? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Coal is non-renewable; reserves may last about 50 more years.
2. Demand for electricity keeps rising with population and development.

Answer: Coal is non-renewable, and estimates suggest India's reserves may last only about another 50 years. Since electricity demand keeps growing, careful use of coal stretches it until sustainable alternatives become widely available.

Uneven distribution and its effects

NCERT section Distribution of Natural Resources and its Implications

Natural resources are not spread evenly across the world or even within a country. This shapes:

• Settlements: industries near resources create jobs; townships grow; modern facilities reach the area.
• Costs: people in resource-rich areas have sometimes been displaced, and sacred places threatened, leading to conflict.
• Trade: national and international trade depends on where resources lie. Combined with skill, they produce unique goods such as Wootz steel; trade helped large empires grow in India.
• Disputes: Nature ignores political borders. Sharing Kaveri water among Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry needed negotiation and careful management. The Brahmaputra (Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet, Jamuna in Bangladesh) is shared across countries. Many wars have been fought to control resources.

Map (Fig. 1.11): coal, oil, iron ore and bauxite are concentrated in particular regions, e.g. oil at Digboi and Mumbai High; coal at Jharia, Raniganj, Korba, Neyveli; iron ore at Bailadila, Kudremukh, Ballari; bauxite at Koraput, Amarkantak.

Worked example

Give one benefit and one cost when an industry is set up near a natural resource. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Benefit: jobs for local people, townships and modern facilities.
2. Cost: displacement of residents; threat to sacred places; conflict.

Answer: Benefit: it creates jobs for local people, and townships with modern facilities grow around it. Cost: people living in the resource-rich area may be displaced from their homes, and their sacred places may be threatened, which can lead to conflict.

The 'paradox of plenty'

NCERT section The 'Paradox of Plenty'

Having plenty of natural resources does not automatically make a country rich. Some resource-rich regions grow slowly. Economists call this the 'natural resource curse' or 'paradox of plenty'.

Why it happens: the economy often fails to build industries that turn raw resources into higher-value products, so it sells raw materials cheaply. (You will see more in the chapter 'Factors of Production'.)

India has generally avoided the curse by investing in industries that process its resources for its growing needs.

The lesson: resources are only a starting point. Human knowledge, good governance and strategic planning decide whether they become lasting benefits or temporary windfalls. The book's summary adds that the curse can be overcome by investing in technology and skills.

Worked example

Country P exports raw iron ore and imports steel goods. Country Q has less ore but makes and exports machines. Which is closer to the 'paradox of plenty', and why? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Paradox of plenty: resource-rich but slow growth.
2. Cause: no industries that add value to resources.
3. P sells raw ore and buys finished goods: little value added at home.

Answer: Country P. It has plenty of iron ore but sells it raw and buys back finished steel goods, so the extra value (and jobs and income) is created elsewhere. This is the paradox of plenty: abundant resources without matching prosperity. Q gains more by using skills and technology to make high-value products.

Stewardship: restoring renewables

NCERT section Restoration and regeneration of renewable resources

Stewardship means caring for resources responsibly so that renewables can restore and regenerate, and non-renewables are used judiciously. Careless use has led to pollution, biodiversity loss (decline in the variety of life) and climate change.

Groundwater: in most states farmers draw groundwater faster than the water table refills, raising costs and finally causing shortages; many growing cities may soon run short. Remedies: traditional water harvesting, reviving ponds and tanks, cutting waste, treating and reusing water.

Soil: improper use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides degrades soil. Traditional farming treated soil as part of Mother Earth, using cow dung and natural fertilisers, mulching and multi-cropping.

Caselet: Punjab (home of the Green Revolution, which helped India become self-sufficient in food):

• From the 1960s, high-yielding wheat and paddy needed more water than traditional seeds.
• Free power led to over-pumping; chemical pesticides and fertilisers came into use.
• Result: in a large part of the state, groundwater is out of reach down to about 30 metres; chemicals have seeped into it, causing health hazards; almost 80% of Punjab's area is classified 'over-exploited'.
• Food security was gained in the short term; the long-term damage will take time to heal. The problem is not limited to Punjab.

Caselet: Sikkim (Pema's family farm): falling yields and debts from costly chemicals; the state promoted organic farming; yields first dropped while the soil recovered; the family used compost, neem and garlic pest repellents and multiple crops; after about five years the farm thrived. In 2016 Sikkim became a 100 per cent organic state: biodiversity returned, tourism rose, and farmers' incomes grew by about 20 per cent on average.

Vṛikṣhāyurveda: ancient Indian plant science (vṛikṣha = tree; ayurveda = science of life), formalised in Surapala's text around the 10th century CE: plants for soil types, seed care, irrigation by species and season, natural pest control, crop rotation and mixed cropping, and ploughing that keeps soil moist and alive.

Worked example

Explain three causes of groundwater depletion in Punjab. (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. High-yielding wheat and paddy (from the 1960s) needed more water.
2. Free electricity encouraged over-pumping.
3. Extraction far faster than recharge: about 80% of the area over-exploited.

Answer: 1. From the 1960s farmers adopted high-yielding varieties of wheat and paddy, which needed much more water than traditional seeds, so they pumped more groundwater. 2. Free power encouraged over-pumping. 3. Water was drawn far faster than it could be recharged, so in a large part of the state the water table sank below about 30 metres and almost 80% of the area is now classed as over-exploited.

Judicious use of non-renewables and fair access

NCERT section Responsible and judicious use of resources

For non-renewables, the aim is to make them last long enough for humanity to find sustainable alternatives, and to switch to renewable energy wherever possible.

The case of cement: needed for houses, schools, bridges, roads and airports, but listed among the most polluting industries. Its fine dust harms lungs of people and animals, settles on leaves and reduces crop yields, and pollutes soil and water. The Central Pollution Control Board has issued guidelines for cement factories. Alternatives: stone and mud, plant-based materials, recycled plastic waste (e.g. mud buildings by the Auroville Earth Institute; Jaisalmer fort, a 12th-century mud structure later refurbished with sandstone).

International Solar Alliance: India and France launched it in 2015 (the book also names it the International Alliance for Solar Energy, IASE) for sunshine-rich countries. India has helped direct large funds and expertise to solar projects in developing nations. Bhadla Solar Park (Rajasthan) symbolises the shift; the book notes one large Rajasthan solar park can meet about 15% of the state's current electricity needs.

Fairness: access to resources, even water and clean air, is often unfair: many city areas lack regular drinking water, and air pollution hurts those least able to protect themselves.

Lokasangraha (Bhagavad Gītā): rising above personal desires to act for the wellbeing of all: the attitude of a steward.

Worked example

How does the International Solar Alliance reflect responsible use of resources? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Shifts energy use from non-renewable fossil fuels to renewable sunlight.
2. Helps sunshine-rich developing countries with funds and expertise.

Answer: It moves countries from non-renewable fossil fuels towards solar energy, a renewable resource, which saves coal and petroleum for longer. Launched by India and France in 2015, it also shares finance and technical know-how with sunshine-rich developing nations.

Natural Resources and Their Use in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Topics in this chapter

• Distribution, Overuse and Stewardship of Resources
• What Makes Nature a Resource, and Its Categories

Natural Resources and Their Use: key facts

Resource test

Element of Nature + technologically accessible + economically feasible + culturally acceptable = resource

Sacred groves fail the cultural test; deep-sea oil may fail the technology test.

Two ways to categorise

• •By use: life
• •materials
• •energy. By renewal: renewable
• •non-renewable

One resource can fit several use-categories.

Renewable condition

Rate of use ≤ rate of restoration and regeneration

Break this and a renewable resource gets depleted (timber, groundwater, fish).

Numbers to remember

Coal	about 50 more years
Tree	about 275 L oxygen/day vs person 350 L
Punjab	almost 80% area over-exploited; water below about 30 m
Sikkim	100% organic in 2016; incomes up about 20%
ISA	2015 (India and France)

Figures as printed in the NCERT book.

Key terms

• •Exploitation (here) = extraction, use and consumption
• •Biodiversity loss = decline in the variety of life
• •Arghyam = offering, usually water, made in respect or gratitude
• •Lokasangraha = acting for the wellbeing of all

Natural Resources and Their Use: map work

The places on the official CBSE map list for this chapter. Find each one on an outline map of India and practise marking it.

How the school exam asks Natural Resources and Their Use

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Tricks to remember Natural Resources and Their Use

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

• Three tests for a resource

  'TEC': Technologically accessible, Economically feasible, Culturally acceptable.

  Use it when: Defining when Nature becomes a resource.

• Use-based categories

  'LME': Life, Materials, Energy (think 'Let Me Explain').

  Use it when: First way of categorising resources.

• Punjab's problem chain

  'Seeds, Switch, Spray, Sink': thirsty high-yield Seeds, free power Switch, chemical Spray, water table Sinks.

  Use it when: Causes and effects of the Punjab caselet.

• Sikkim's cure

  'C-N-M': Compost, Neem-garlic repellents, Multiple crops; 5 years to thrive; 100% organic; incomes +20%.

  Use it when: The Sikkim caselet in a long answer.

• Mineral map

  'Digboi Drills, Jharia Juggles coal, Bailadila Bends iron, Koraput Keeps bauxite'.

  Use it when: Map work from Fig. 1.11.

Natural Resources and Their Use: exam-level solved questions

Ordered from exam level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Case-study practice (Section E style)

Read the situation, then answer every part. In a school exam set on the board pattern this is a 4-mark question split into 1 + 1 + 2 marks.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is split into step marks. Show every step: a right final answer alone rarely earns full marks.

Where students lose marks in Natural Resources and Their Use

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

• ✗Mistake: Calling all renewable resources 'unlimited'

  Students remember 'renewable = never runs out'.

  Wrong working

  Groundwater is renewable, so it can never run out.

  Right working

  Groundwater is renewable only if we draw it no faster than it is recharged; in Punjab over-extraction has depleted it.

  ✓Do this: Always add the condition: the natural rhythm of renewal must not be disturbed.

  Usually costs: 1-2 marks.

• ✗Mistake: Using 'exploitation' only in its negative sense

  Everyday meaning.

  Wrong working

  Exploitation of resources is always wrong.

  Right working

  In this chapter, exploitation means extraction, use and consumption of natural resources; overexploitation is the problem.

  ✓Do this: Distinguish exploitation from overexploitation.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Explaining the paradox of plenty as 'lack of resources'

  Mixing up cause and condition.

  Wrong working

  Some countries are poor because they lack resources.

  Right working

  The paradox is that resource-rich regions can still grow slowly, often because they do not develop industries that add value.

  ✓Do this: Say 'rich in resources, yet slow growth', then the reason.

  Usually costs: 1-2 marks.

• ✗Mistake: Writing only problems in a stewardship answer

  Problems are easier to recall than solutions.

  Wrong working

  Groundwater is falling, soil is degraded and cement pollutes.

  Right working

  Groundwater can be revived by water harvesting and reuse; soil by compost, mulching and multi-cropping; cement pollution reduced by CPCB guidelines and mud or recycled materials.

  ✓Do this: Pair every problem with a remedy from the book.

  Usually costs: 2 marks in a 5-mark answer.

• ✗Mistake: Wrong partners or year for the solar alliance

  Guesswork.

  Wrong working

  India and the USA launched the solar alliance in 2005.

  Right working

  India and France launched it in 2015.

  ✓Do this: Remember 'France, fifteen'.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

NCERT exercise guide: Natural Resources and Their Use

What each exercise in the NCERT chapter tests, how to approach it, and a question of the same kind solved step by step. Questions here are written in our own words.

Practice questions on Natural Resources and Their Use

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQExam level

   Which pair is correctly matched?
   (a) Wind: resource for materials (b) Marble: resource essential for life (c) Petroleum: resource for energy (d) Air: resource for materials

   Hint

   Think of the main use.

   Answer

   (c) Petroleum: resource for energy

2. Q2 · 1 mark · Very short answerExam level

   Name two states that share the waters of the Kaveri river.

   Hint

   Four in all.

   Answer

   Any two of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry (UT).

3. Q3 · 1 mark · Very short answerExam level

   What is Wootz steel an example of, according to the chapter?

   Hint

   Resources plus skill.

   Answer

   A unique product created by combining natural resources with human knowledge and skills, which supported trade.

4. Q4 · 1 mark · MCQExam level

   Which body has issued guidelines for cement factories to reduce pollution?
   (a) Election Commission (b) Central Pollution Control Board (c) NITI Aayog (d) Reserve Bank of India

   Hint

   Pollution control.

   Answer

   (b) Central Pollution Control Board

5. Q5 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

   A tree gives about 275 litres of oxygen a day and a person needs about 350 litres. What does this comparison suggest about cutting trees in a crowded city?

   Hint

   One tree is not enough for one person.

   Answer

   Even one mature tree does not supply one person's daily oxygen need, so a crowded city needs many trees; cutting them reduces an important ecosystem service.

6. Q6 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

   Why do resource-rich areas sometimes see conflict even when industries bring jobs?

   Hint

   Who bears the costs?

   Answer

   Local people may be displaced from their homes and their sacred places threatened, so the benefits (jobs, townships) come with costs that can lead to conflict.

7. Q7 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

   Explain how industrial waste can break Nature's cycle of restoration and regeneration in a river.

   Hint

   In Nature's cycles there is no waste.

   Answer

   In Nature's cycles, waste such as a fallen tree decays and becomes food for other life. Much industrial waste dumped into rivers cannot decay into food for any lifeform. It accumulates, the river turns poisonous and can no longer support life, so its natural restoration stops.

8. Q8 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

   How does Vṛikṣhāyurveda show sustainable agriculture? Give three practices it recommends.

   Hint

   Seeds, irrigation, pests, crops, ploughing.

   Answer

   Any three: choosing plants suited to each soil type; careful seed collection, storage and treatment; irrigation suited to species, growth stage and season; natural pest repellents and companion plants; crop rotation and mixed cropping; ploughing that keeps soil moist and supports fungi, bacteria and earthworms.

9. Q9 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder exam level

   Assertion (A): India has generally avoided the natural resource curse.
   Reason (R): India has invested in industries that convert resources into higher-value products.
   (a) Both true, R explains A (b) Both true, R does not explain A (c) A true, R false (d) A false, R true

   Hint

   Cause of the curse.

   Answer

   (a) Both true and R explains A.

10. Q10 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

    A city's poorer neighbourhoods get tanker water twice a week while richer areas have 24-hour taps, and the poor live next to a polluting factory. Which idea in the chapter does this illustrate, and what would a steward do?

    Hint

    Distribution and access.

    Answer

    It illustrates unfair distribution of and access to basic resources like water and clean air, which hits those least able to protect themselves. A steward, in the spirit of lokasangraha, would push for fair water supply to all areas and for pollution controls on the factory.

11. Q11 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

    Your school wants to cut its electricity bill and its use of non-renewables. Draw up a three-point plan using ideas from the chapter.

    Hint

    Switch, save, harvest.

    Answer

    1. Install rooftop solar panels to switch from coal-based electricity to a renewable source. 2. Save power: switch off lights and fans, use efficient appliances. 3. Harvest rainwater and reuse water for gardens, reducing pumping. Together these use non-renewables judiciously while renewables are used within their limits.

12. Q12 · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

    'Punjab won food security quickly but now pays a long-lasting price.' Evaluate this statement and suggest how both goals can be balanced.

    Hint

    Gains, costs, then balance.

    Answer

    Gains: the Green Revolution in Punjab fed a large share of India and helped make the country self-sufficient in food. Costs: water-hungry HYV wheat and paddy, free power and chemicals led to over-pumping; in large areas groundwater is below about 30 m, almost 80% of the area is over-exploited, and chemicals in groundwater cause health hazards. Balance: grow less water-hungry crops, end wasteful free pumping, harvest rainwater and revive ponds, cut chemical use through compost and mixed cropping (as in Sikkim and Vṛikṣhāyurveda). The statement is fair: short-term gains were real, but sustaining them needs stewardship now.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1. 1.What are natural resources?Show answer

   Materials and substances that occur in Nature and are valuable to humans.

2. 2.Name the three conditions for something to be called a resource.Show answer

   Technologically accessible, economically feasible, culturally acceptable.

3. 3.What are the three use-based categories?Show answer

   Resources essential for life, for materials and for energy.

4. 4.Define restoration.Show answer

   Returning something to its original healthy state after it has been damaged.

5. 5.How is regeneration different from restoration?Show answer

   It goes beyond repair: Nature creates new life and conditions for it to thrive.

6. 6.How long may India's coal reserves last, according to estimates in the book?Show answer

   About another 50 years.

7. 7.What is the 'paradox of plenty'?Show answer

   Resource-rich regions growing slowly; plenty of resources does not automatically make a country rich.

8. 8.Which four states/UT share the Kaveri waters?Show answer

   Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

9. 9.What share of Punjab's area is classed as over-exploited for groundwater?Show answer

   Almost 80%.

10. 10.When did Sikkim become a 100 per cent organic state?Show answer

    2016.

11. 11.Who wrote a text on Vṛikṣhāyurveda around the 10th century CE?Show answer

    Surapala.

12. 12.What does lokasangraha mean?Show answer

    Rising above personal desires to act for the wellbeing of all (Bhagavad Gītā).

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

• ☐Resource = part of Nature that humans use; must be accessible, feasible and acceptable.
• ☐By use: life (air, water, food), materials (wood, marble, gold), energy (coal, sun, wind).
• ☐Renewable: sun, wind, flowing water, timber, soil; only while renewal is undisturbed.
• ☐Non-renewable: coal, petroleum, iron, copper, gold; India's coal may last about 50 years.
• ☐Ecosystem functions (forest filters water) become ecosystem services when humans benefit.
• ☐Uneven distribution shapes jobs, townships, displacement, trade (Wootz steel) and disputes (Kaveri, Brahmaputra).
• ☐Paradox of plenty: rich in resources, slow growth; India avoided it by building industries.
• ☐Punjab: HYV seeds, free power, chemicals; almost 80% over-exploited; water below about 30 m.
• ☐Sikkim: compost, neem-garlic, mixed crops; 100% organic 2016; incomes up about 20%.
• ☐Cement: highly polluting; CPCB guidelines; mud, stone, recycled alternatives.
• ☐ISA: India and France, 2015; Bhadla Solar Park.
• ☐Lokasangraha: act for the wellbeing of all; be stewards of Nature.

Natural Resources and Their Use: frequently asked questions