CBSE Class 9 Social Science Economics Notes
Chapter 1 - The Story of Village Palampur
Agriculture is the most important sector of Indian Economy. The Indian agriculture sector accounts
for 18 per cent of India's gross domestic product (GDP) and employs 50% of the country's
workforce. India is the world's largest producer of pulses, rice, wheat, spices and spice products.
CBSE Class 9 Social Science Chapter 1 - The Story of Village Palampur discusses topics related
to the organisation of production, labour work, capital, crops production, transport, etc. All these
topics are covered in our CBSE Class 9 Economics notes of Chapter 1, which are prepared by our
subject experts. With these notes, learning Economics can be easy and effective. CBSE Class 9
Social Science Economics notes of Chapter 1 include all crucial concepts that help students to
learn the chapter properly.
Overview
Introduction to some basic concepts related to production through a hypothetical village called
Palampur where farming is the main activity. The village also has several other activities such as
small scale manufacturing, dairy, transport, etc, carried out on a limited scale.
Introduction
Palampur is fairly connected with a well-developed system of roads, transport, electricity, irrigation,
schools and health centres. The story of Palampur takes us through the different types of
production activities in the village. In India, farming is the main production activity across
villages.
Organisation of Production
The main aim of production is to produce goods and services, which require four essential
things.
1. Land and other natural resources such as water, forests, minerals.
2. Labour
3. Physical Capital such as tools, machines, buildings, raw materials and money.
A variety of raw materials are required while production, such as the yarn used by the weaver and
clay used by the potter. Money is also essential during production and both of them in hand are
called working capital. The fourth requirement is knowledge and enterprise to be able to put
together land, labour and physical capital and produce an output. Factors of production are
combining of land, labour, physical capital and human capital.
Farming in Palampur
1. Land is fixed
For Palampur, village farming is their main production and the wellbeing of these people is related
to production on the farms. But, there is a basic constraint in raising farm production. Land area
under cultivation is practically fixed.
2. Is there a way one can grow more from the same land?
In the rainy season, Kharif farmers grow jowar and bajra followed by the cultivation of potato
between October and December. In winter, farmers grow wheat and a part of the land is devoted to
CBSE Class 9 Social Science Economics Notes
Chapter 1 - The Story of Village Palampur
sugarcane harvested once every year. Due to well-developed irrigation, farmers can grow three
different crops. Electricity transformed the system of irrigation. Multiple cropping means to grow
more than one crop on a piece of land. Another way for higher yield is modern farming. In the later
1960s, the Green Revolution introduced the Indian farmer to cultivation of wheat and rice using
high yielding varieties (HYVs) of seeds.
3. Will the land sustain?
Modern farming methods have overused the natural resource base. Due to increased use of
chemical fertilisers, soil lost its fertility. Natural resources like soil fertility and groundwater are
destroyed and it is very difficult to restore them.
4. How is land distributed between the farmers of Palampur?
Land is important for any kind of farming. In Palampur, about one-third of the 450 families are
landless. Dalits have no land for cultivation. 240 families cultivate small plots of land less than 2
hectares in size. In Palampur, there are 60 families of medium and large farmers who cultivate
more than 2 hectares of land.
5. Who will provide the labour?
Small farmers cultivate their own lands. Medium and large farmers hire labourers to cultivate their
fields who come either from landless families or families cultivating small plots of land. Farm
labourers will not have any right over the crops grown on the land. They will be paid on wages for
their work which can be cash or in-kind e.g. crop. Sometimes labourers get meals also. Wages vary
from region to region, crop to crop, one farm activity to another. Farm labourers are employed on a
daily basis, or for one particular farm activity like harvesting, or for the whole year.
6. Capital needed in farming
Modern farming methods require a great deal of capital.
1. Most small farmers borrow money from large farmers or the village moneylenders or the traders
who supply various inputs for cultivation. The rate of interest on such loans is very high.
2. The medium and large farmers have their own savings from farming. They are thus able to
arrange for the capital needed.
7. Sale of Surplus Farm Products
The wheat the farmers produce from the land is retained in part for their family consumption and
they sell the surplus wheat. Only the medium and large farmers supply wheat to the market.
Non-Farm Activities in Palampur
25 per cent of the people working in Palampur are engaged in activities other than agriculture.
CBSE Class 9 Social Science Economics Notes
Chapter 1 - The Story of Village Palampur
1. Dairy — the other common activity
Other than agriculture, some people are engaged in dairy and the milk is sold in the nearby
village.
2. An example of small-scale manufacturing in Palampur
People are engaged in small-scale manufacturing which are carried out at home or in the fields.
This manufacturing involves very simple production methods.
3. The shopkeepers of Palampur
Traders of Palampur buy various goods from wholesale markets in the cities and sell them in the
village. General stores in the village sell a wide range of items like rice, wheat, sugar, tea, oil,
biscuits, soap, toothpaste, batteries, candles, notebooks, pen, pencil, even some cloth.
4. Transport: a fast developing sector
Transport services include rickshaws, tonga, jeep, tractor, truck drivers, traditional bullock cart
and bogey. They transport people and goods from one place to another, and in return get paid
for it.
