9. Economic Activities

Odd one: Factory — farming, mining and fishing depend directly on nature and are primary activities. A factory processes raw materials, so it is a secondary activity.

Odd one: Health — dairy products, textiles and paper are made by processing raw materials, so they are secondary activities. Health is a service, so it is a tertiary activity.

Odd one: Animal husbandry — banking, transport and education are services, so they are tertiary activities. Animal husbandry depends on nature, so it is a primary activity.

• ✓ a) Making sugar from sugarcane
• b) Collecting fruits
• c) Serving in a bank
• d) Animal husbandry

Answer: Making sugar from sugarcane is related to secondary economic activity.

• a) Primary economic activities
• b) Secondary economic activities
• ✓ c) Tertiary economic activities
• d) All of the above

Answer: Tertiary economic activities are also called the ‘service sector’.

1. Meaning: Primary activities depend directly on nature. Secondary activities are process-based activities in which raw materials are converted into new products.
2. Products: Primary activities give products directly from nature, such as crops, fish, minerals and forest products. Secondary activities give finished goods, such as sugar, cloth, paper and steel.
3. Dependence: Primary activities depend on natural factors such as soil, water, climate and minerals. Secondary activities depend on primary activities for their raw materials.
4. Value: Primary products usually have lower value. Processing makes goods more durable, high-quality and useful, so their value increases.
5. Location: Primary activities are found mostly in rural areas. Secondary activities are found mostly in industrial areas and towns.
6. Examples: Agriculture, mining, fishing and animal husbandry are primary. Food processing, construction, the dairy industry and the textile industry are secondary.

1. Type of activity: The textile industry is a secondary economic activity. Transport is a tertiary economic activity.
2. Nature: The textile industry processes raw material and produces goods. Transport produces no goods; it provides a service.
3. Raw material: The textile industry needs raw materials such as cotton, wool, silk and jute. Transport needs vehicles, roads, railways, ships and fuel.
4. Output: The textile industry produces yarn, cloth and garments. Transport carries raw cotton to the mills and the cloth to markets and customers.
5. Relation: Transport supports the textile industry by connecting the farmer, the factory and the market.

Primary economic activities depend directly on nature. Farmland, forests, pastures, rivers, lakes, the sea coast and mineral deposits are all found mainly in rural areas. Agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, mining and collecting forest products can be carried out only where these resources exist, and most rural people earn their living from them. Hence primary economic activities are found in large numbers in rural areas.

Tertiary activities do not produce goods; they provide services. Sugarcane has to be carried from the fields to the sugar factory, and sugar from the factory to markets and customers. For this, transport, communication, trade, banking and storage are needed. Without these services, the products of primary and secondary activities could not reach the people who need them. Tertiary activities thus connect and support primary and secondary activities. Hence they are supplementary to them.

Countries where primary and secondary activities dominate the workforce are considered developing. In India a large part of the workforce still depends on agriculture and other primary activities, while industries (secondary) and services (tertiary) are growing steadily. Education, technology, infrastructure and income are improving, but not yet to the level of developed countries, where most people work in the service sector. Hence India is a developing country.

This answer will differ from house to house. Check the labels and packets of items at home with your parents. A sample answer:

• Tea — Assam or West Bengal (Darjeeling).
• Sugar — Maharashtra or Uttar Pradesh.
• Rice — Punjab, West Bengal or the Konkan.
• Apples — Himachal Pradesh or Jammu and Kashmir.
• Spices such as pepper and cardamom — Kerala.
• Cotton clothes — Maharashtra, Gujarat or Tamil Nadu.
• Mobile phone and television — many are assembled in India, while some parts and brands come from other countries such as China and South Korea.

This shows that the things we use every day are produced in many different regions and reach us through transport and trade.

• Farming: Farming has become modern. Tractors, drip irrigation, improved seeds and mobile apps for weather and market prices are now used in place of the plough and oxen.
• Land use: Some farmland has been used for factories, roads and housing, so many people have moved from farming to work in industries.
• Services: Banking, shopping, bill payments and booking tickets are now done online through mobile phones.
• Skills and income: Traditional occupations have changed with education and training. For example, a tailor can become a fashion designer and earn more.
• Transport and communication: Better roads, vehicles and the internet have connected villages with towns and markets.
• New occupations: Work in computers, mobile repair, online delivery, tourism and food processing has increased.

Economic activities keep changing with education, infrastructure and technology. Knowledge, skills and new technology are needed to succeed in any occupation today.