Explore topic-wise InterviewSolutions in .

Most industries are concentrated around coal mines because coal is an important source of energy. It is key mineral and fuel for the industries. It is used as a power resource in many industries. Many industries use it as a raw material. So most industries are concentrated around coal mines.

Mica deposits are found in Nellore, Guntur and Kadappa of Andhra Pradesh, in Bhilwara, Ajmer, Jaipur, Udaipur and Tonk of Rajasthan, in Koderma, Giridih, Dhanbad, Bokaro and Palamu of Jharkhand, in Aurangabad, Gaya, Navada, and Begusarai in Bihar, and also in Tamil Nadu (Coimbatore and Madurai) and Madhya Pradesh (Balaghat and Chhindwara). Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of mica followed by Rajasthan and Jharkhand.

Copper is found in Dharwar and Aravali ranges in the veins of metamorphic rocks. Copper is available in the form of sulphite and chalcopyrite ores. India has just 0.1% of copper deposit of the world. About 95% copper in India comes from Madhya Pradesh (Balaghat and Betul), Jharkhand (Singhbhum, Hajaribagh and Palamu), Rajasthan (Jhunjhunu, Alwar, Rajsamand, Bhilwara and Udaipur), Andhra Pradesh (Guntur and Kurnool) and Karnataka (Chitradurga). The Kolihan mines, Mandhan mines, Mosabani mines and Rakha mines are the famous copper mines in India.

Solar energy: Sun is the main source of energy on the earth. It is visible during most of the days of the year. The biosphere on the earth exists due to solar energy. Man has learnt to tap solar energy and use it in various forms. India has also progressed well in solar energy technology. India makes use of solar cookers for cooking, solar heater for heating the water and solar panels to generate electricity.

Solar energy in Gujarat: Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) has established a solar cold storage near Chhani (Vadodara) having capacity of 10 tonnes. A solar energy plant has been installed at Madhopur near Bhuj in Gujarat for desalination of saline ocean water. India including Gujarat makes use of solar panels to run street lights in villages that do not have electricity. The solar panels are also used to irrigate the farms and for running television.

A solar energy plant has been installed at Madhopur near Bhuj in Gujarat. This plant converts saline ocean water into drinking water.

GEDA has established a solar cold storage with a capacity of 10 tonnes near Chhani (Vadodara).

Gujarat gets maximum solar energy in India.

1. India is a tropical country; it has enormous possibilities of tapping solar energy.

2. Solar energy is an important alternate source.

3. Government should educate the people for maximum use of solar energy.

4. Government should give incentives and promote solar energy production in India.

5. The use of solar energy will be able to minimize the dependence of rural households on firewood and dung cakes.

6. It will contribute to environmental conservation.

7. The use of solar energy will reduce the pressure on conventional sources of energy.

1. Wind is an inexhaustible source of energy.
2. Windmills have been used for grinding grain and lifting water since times immemorial.
3. At present high speed wind rotate the windmill which is connected to a generator to produce electricity.
4. Wind farms are clusters of wind mill. They are located in coastal regins and in mountains passes where strong and steady win blows.
5. Wind farms are found in Netherland, Germany, Denmark, UK, USA and Spain, ‘ They are known for wind energy production.

Jhunjhunu, Alwar, Rajsamand, Bhilwara and Udaipur.

Bicycle does not use any fuel to run therefore using it does not produce any smoke or harmful gases in the atmosphere. Hence, it is eco-friendly.

Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu

Correct Answer is :(D) Iron

Correct Answer is : (A) Coal

'Gobar Gas Plants' are beneficial to the farmers in the form of energy and improved quality of manure.

Correct Answer is : (D) Copper

Anthracite coal and Bituminous coal:

Deposits of petroleum are found in the Brahmaputra and Surma basins of Assam, Sunderbans Delta in West Bengal, east coast of Odisha, Surashtra & Rajasthan, terai belt of Himalaya, mid-Gujarat, Mumbai Basin ,Godavari and Cauveri Delta, etc. About 90% of total petroleum production comes from Maharashtra, Assam, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The crude oil is sent to 24 large refineries through pipelines.

Some of the refineries are at Guwahati, Barauni, Vadodara, Haldia, Mathura, Digboi and Jamnagar. Deposits of natural gas are in Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. Natural gas production in India is managed by the public sector company Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC). This company provides natural gas for electricity generation (38%), fertilizer production (33%), and to other industries and for domestic fuel, country’s 91% production of natural gas comes from Maharashtra (71%), Gujarat (11%), Assam (7%) and Rajasthan (2%).

Lignite coal

Sedimentary rock.

Correct Answer is : (C) Raniganj

Makrana city of Rajasthan is also known as the marble city.

Solar Energy:

1. Sun provides heat and light energy every day.
2. Solar energy trapped from the sun is used in solar cells to produce electricity.
3. These cells are joined into solar panel to generate power for heating and lighting purpose.
4. The technology of utilising solar energy benefits tropical countries with abundant sunshine.
5. Solar energy is also used in solar heaters, solar cookers, solar dryers along with community lighting and traffic signals.

Biogas to solve energy Problem:

(i) Availability of raw material.

(ii) Awareness to be created about biogas.

(iii) It will reduce the burden on conventional sources of energy.

(iv) Educate the rural people about the use of biogas.

(v) It is a renewable source of energy.

(vi) Eco-friendly.

(vii) Model structures to be introduced by the government agencies at a subsidised rate.

Bio gas is produced from shrubs, farm waste, animal and human wastes.

(D) Dolomite

India is the fifth country in the world to produce energy through wind energy.

Minerals are non -renewable resources and once depleted cannot be replenished for further usage. Thus, it is important that we conserve this so that future generations can also benefit from its use. One of the most important manners in which minerals can be conserved is through the funding of researches that can develop new technology that avoids the wastage of minerals and provides ways for maximum utilization.

Correct Answer is : (A) Bauxite

(A)  Uranium

Correct Answer is : (B) Odisha

Minerals have immense contribution in Indian economy. We cannot imagine even our day to day life without minerals.

Significance of minerals in the Indian economy can be explained as follows:

1. Minerals supply raw materials to key industries like iron and steel industry, automobile industry, pharmaceuticals industry, paint, tanneries, chemicals, etc. 

2. Coal and petroleum are the important fuels, and industry cannot function without fuels. Coal is the main fuel being used in industries. Coal is primarily used in thermal power plants and in iron and steel industry. In fact, coal is so important for industry that it is called the mother of industries. 

3. Iron ore is essential for almost all industries because iron is an integral component for all the machines and tools. Moreover, iron is used in making large buildings and factories. 

4. Iron is also important for making farm equipment’s. 

5. Other metals are also useful for making various products and hence minerals of these metals are important. 

6. By promoting industries minerals help in employment generation. Many minerals earn valuable amount of foreign exchange through export.

1. Natural gas is found with petroleum deposits.
2. It is released when crude oil is brought to the surface.
3. It is used as a domestic and industrial fuel.
4. Russia, Norway, UK and the Netherlands are the major producers of natural gas in the world.
5. Jaisalmer, Krishna-Godavari delta. Tripura and some areas off shore in Mumbai have natural gas resources in India.
6. Very few countries in the world have sufficient natural gas reserves of their own.

Anthracite type of coal contains the highest percentage of carbon.

Iron ore is considered to be the foundation of industrial economy.

The gas produced by decomposition of agriculture waste, molasses (remains of sugarcane), other vegetation, dung and human excreta is called biogas. It mainly contains methane, methane is an inflammable gas which is primarily used for cooking. After extracting biogas, the material that remains behind in the biogas pit is used as an excellent natural fertilizer. We can keep our villages clean by producing biogas and also obtain natural fertilizer. In India, Uttar Pradesh stands first in biogas production, Gujarat ranks second.

The largest biogas plant of Gujarat has been installed at Methan village near Siddhpur in Patan district. This plant runs with co-operation of villagers. Other bio-gas plants in operation are located at Rudratal of Daskroi taluka of Ahmedabad and at Dantiwada in Banaskantha districts. People have also started setting up plants that are operated individually or collectively.

Correct Answer is : (C) Bauxite

The natural resources should be used carefully in a planned manner. No resource should be wasted. These should be used so that the future generations can also use these.

India is the second largest country of iron ore deposits after Russia. Five types of iron ores are found in India and they are magnetite, hematite, ciderite and laterite. The total iron ore deposit in India is 2300 crore tonne which is 20% of the world’s deposit. Out of total iron ore deposit in India magnetite (60 to 70% iron) is 8%, hematite (70 to 80% iron) is 85% and rest 7% is composed of other types of iron ore. 

Production in distribution of iron ore in India is as follows:

1. Odisha: Odisha has 30% of the country’s iron ore deposits and it produces about 28% of iron in India. Deposits of hematite iron ore are present in-Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh and Keonjhar districts. Gurumahisini, Sulempat and Badam hills of Mayurbhanj district, Baspani, Thakurani and Kiruburu of Keonjhar district are the main mines of iron in Odisha. Iron ore from Odisha is exported to Japan and other countries from ports at Vishakhapatnam and Paradip. 

2. Karnataka: Karnataka has 25% of country’s iron ore deposit and it produces 26% of iron. Deposits of hematite iron ore are present in Bellary, Chikmaglur, Chitradurga and Shimoga districts. Bababudan hills, Kalahari, Kemangudi and Kudremukh are the major mines of iron in Karnataka. Iron and steel plants are present at Bhadravati and Vijaynagar. 

3. Chhattisgarh: This is the third largest producer of iron in India. Chhattisgarh has 16% of iron ore deposits in India and it contributes 15.02% of total iron production. Deposits of hematite ore are present in Bastar, Durg, Dantewada, Bilaspur and Rajnandgaon districts.

Magnetite, hematite, ciderite and laterite.

Since minerals are useful for humans, hence they are called mineral resource.

Conservation means the management of the resources for the benefit of the present as well as future generation. It does not mean the total curtailment of consumption but rather the controlled use of resources for greater benefits. Conservation of resources primarily includes reduction of wastage, controlled use and increased benefits. The term ‘sustainable development’ is frequently used to express the approaches to resource conservation. The importance of resource conservation has been provided in the following points –

a) Resource conservation is needed to maintain the essential ecological processes and life support system which in turn ensures the survival of all living species.

b) It is needed to satisfy the future need as a growing population size causes an increased demand for resources.

c) Finite nature of conventional resource forms like fossil fuels makes it imperative that resources are conserved to expand the time span of usage.

d) Resource conservation reduces environmental pollution and hence is important as environmental quality affects all species on earth.

Methods of resource conservation include the following –

a) Substitution – Development of substitutes is a major principle of resource conservation. Non -renewable energy resources like fossil fuels may be substituted with renewable energy resources.

b) Recycling – Certain resources can be recycled up to a certain limit and hence the declining trend in its quantity can be arrested for a time span. Iron is such a resource. If iron scraps are recycled in the iron and steel industry it can lower the dependence on raw iron.

c) Alternative technology – Alternative technology can protect the material environment, create a longer lifespan for finite resources and increase satisfaction from the same amount. It needs to be environmentally friendly and less exploitative for it to be successful.

d) Reduction of wastage – if wastages are reduced, a greater quantity of resources are available for consumption, and it will lead to resource conservation.

e) Development of awareness – No conservation programme can be successful if the people are not involved. Awareness regarding the importance of resources is imperative for its conservation.

f) Increased efficiency – Increased resource demand is met by the increased functional resource value from the same quantity of resource input. For e.g., modern fuel-efficient cars can cover longer distances for the same amount of petrol.

Thus, from the above discussion, we can establish that resource conservation is the need of the hour and there are a variety of ways in which it can be achieved.

The first oil well of India was dug in 1766 in Assam. In Gujarat, oil was first found at Lunej in Kheda district in 1958. The oil fields of India from where oil is extracted are divided into five zones. They are:

1. Northeast
2. Gujarat
3. Bombay High
4. Eastern Coast and
5. Oil fields of Rajasthan.

Coal and mineral oil are conventional but non-renewable sources of energy. This means they are available in limited quantity and will exhaust one day. To overcome this problem, the world started means to conserve them and find out alternative sources of energy. As a result man started making use of alternate sources such as wind energy, solar energy biogas, tidal energy and geothermal energy.

All these are renewable energy resources or say inexhaustible energy resources. Many countries have already started making use of these energy resources. US, Russia, France, Canada, Australia, Netherlands and Japan are advancing in this field effectively. In 1981, India formed ‘Commission for Additional Sources of Energy (CASE) for identifying and using renewable sources of energy. In Gujarat, Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) is working in this direction.

Energy resources can be classified on a variety of basis like nature of their transaction, availability, etc. The most important classification is based on the conventionality in deriving the energy. According to this, energy resources are of two types –

a) Conventional energy resources

b) Non-conventional energy resources.

In a developing country like India, the economy is highly dependent on conventional resources. The developments of non-conventional sources of energy in India have been undertaken in the following manner –

A) Solar Thermal Energy – India being a tropical country has vast amounts of free sunlight which can be converted to solar thermal energy through technology. This energy can be further utilized to not only generate electricity for commercial purposes but also for individual uses through the use of solar cookers and solar water heaters. Although the initial cost was high , currently with lowered costs for the required technology , solar power is becoming popular in industrial and individual uses.

B) Wind Energy - Wind energy is another very important, clean and renewable source of energy which is slowly making its presence felt in India. Wind farms in Tamil Nadu (from Nagercoil to Madurai), Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra and Lakshadweep are contributing towards the energy requirement in the country.

C) Biogas – Biogas originating from the anaerobic decomposition of bio-degradable materials is renewable and cleaner than other forms of energy. Its most popular use is as domestic fuel in rural areas. ‘Gobar gas plants’ that use the dung of cattle is an efficient use of manure and provides farmers not only with energy but also improved fertilizers.

D) Tidal energy - There are currently proposals for using tidal energy in India as the country has a vast coastline - about 6000 km and a number of places where we can conveniently harness energy from oceans.

E) Geothermal energy - The energy that is generated and stored in the earth is called geothermal energy. It is mostly used for electricity production and is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly energy source. But it is limited to areas with hot springs. Two experimental projects to harness this source has been set up in India. One is in Parvati Valley near Manikarn in Himachal Pradesh. The other is in Puga Valley, Ladakh.

Water power, solar energy, wind power, geothermal energy and tidal energy.

In Gujarat, wind farms are located at Lamba village near Jamnagar, Sea- coast near Mandavi in Kutch.

Solar energy and Bio-gas can change the traditional lifestyle of villages of India.

Karnataka has 25% of country’s iron ore deposit and it produces 26% of iron. Deposits of hematite iron ore are present in Bellary, Chikmaglur, Chitradurga and Shimoga districts. Bababudan hills, Kalahari, Kemangudi and Kudremukh are the major mines of iron in Karnataka. Iron and steel plants are present at Bhadravati and Vijaynagar.

Chhattisgarh: This is the third largest producer of iron in India. Chhattisgarh has 16% of iron ore deposits in India and it contributes 15.02% to total iron production. Deposits of hematite ore are present in Bastar, Durg, Dantewada, Bilaspur and Rajnandgaon districts.