Prasanna

On this page, you will find Our Environment Class 10 Notes Science Chapter 15 Pdf free download. CBSE NCERT Class 10 Science Notes Chapter 15 Our Environment will seemingly help them to revise the important concepts in less time.

CBSE Class 10 Science Chapter 15 Notes Our Environment

Our Environment Class 10 Notes Understanding the Lesson

1. Environment: Everything which surrounds us is environment. It may include living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components.

2. Biodegradable substances: Substances that can be slowly destroyed and broken down into very small parts by natural processes with the help of bacteria, fungi, etc. Example: Organic wastes like vegetable and fruit peels, dead plants and animals, etc.

3. Non-biodegradable substances: Substances which cannot be broken down or decomposed into the soil by natural agents are called non-biodegradable. Example: Plastics, polystyrene, metals, aluminium cans, toxic chemicals, paints, etc.

4. Problem due to Non-biodegradable substances: The non-biodegradable substances persist in the j environment for a long time as they are usually unreactive (inert) and may be harmful for the members of the ecosystem.

5. Same enzyme does not break-down everything (Reason for pollution by plastic):
Enzymes are highly specific in their action. Due to this specificity of the enzymes to act on a particular substrate only, many human-made materials like plastics are not broken down by the action of enzymes of bacteria or other saprophytes.
These materials are acted upon by physical processes like heat and pressure which makes them persistent for several thousand years.

6. Ecosystem: All the interacting organisms in an area together with non-living components form an ecosystem.

Types of Ecosystem
	Natural Ecosystem	Man-made Ecosystem
Terrestrial [on land]	Forest, Desert, Grassland	Cropland, Garden
Aquatic [in water]	Fresh water: River, Lake, Pond Marine: Sea, Oceans	Aquarium

On the basis of their position or role in the ecosystem, the organisms are classified as:

1. Producers: The organisms which can synthesise their own food by the process of photosynthesis in presence of sunlight, i.e., all green plants, blue green algae, some photosynthetic bacteria, etc.

2. Consumers: Consumers feed on producers or other consumers to survive. They directly or indirectly depend on producers for their food.

Types of Consumers
Herbivores	Carnivores	Omnivores	Parasites
Feed on plant or plant parts. Example: Rabbit, . Goat, Deer, etc.	Eat flesh Example: Lion, Tiger, etc.	Feed on both plants and flesh. Example: Crow, Man, etc.	Live on or inside the host to derive nourishment. Example: Plasmodium, lice, tapeworm, etc.

3. Decomposers: The organisms which breakdown (decompose) the dead remains of plants and animals or convert complex compounds into simpler ones so that they go into the soil and are used up again by the plants are called decomposers. Example: Fungi and bacteria. Decomposers help in the replenishment of the natural resources.

4. Role of Decomposers:
Decomposers breakdown the dead remains and waste products of organisms i.e., complex organic substances into simple inorganic substances that go into the soil and are used up once more by the plants.

5. Food Chain: Food chain refers to an arrangement of different biotic groups in a sequence of energy transfer. It consists of a series of organisms feeding on one another.

6. Food web: In nature, the food chains are interconnected with each other forming a web-like pattern. This network of food chains is called a food web.

• Trophic level: Each step or level of the food chain where transfer of energy takes place is called trophic level.
• First Trophic level: Autotrophs (Producers)
• Second trophic level: Primary consumers (Herbivores)
• Third Trophic level: Secondary consumers (Small carnivores)
• Fourth Trophic level: Tertiary consumers (Larger carnivores)

7. Flow of energy between various components of the environment

• Green plants capture 1% of the sunlight that falls on their leaves.
• The flow of energy is unidirectional in a food chain.
• Ten Percent Law: About 90% of energy is used by the present trophic level in its life processes like respiration, digestion, etc. and only 10% of energy is transferred to the next trophic level.
  .
• Food chains generally consist of only three or four steps: Only 10% of energy is transferred to the next trophic level, so the loss of energy at each step is so great that very little usable energy remains after four trophic levels.
• There are generally a big population at lower trophic levels of an ecosystem. The population of the producers is the highest in a food chain.
• The relationship among organisms can be shown as a series of branching lines called a food web instead of a straight line as each organism is generally eaten by two or more other kinds of organisms which in turn are eaten by several other organisms.

8. Biological Magnification: The pesticides and other chemicals used to protect our crops from diseases and pests get either washed down into the soil or into the water bodies. They enter the food chain on being absorbed by the plants along with water and minerals from soil or on being taken up by aquatic plants and animals from the water bodies.

These get accumulated progressively at each trophic level as they are not degradable. The maximum concentration of these chemicals gets accumulated in human bodies as humans occupy the topmost trophic level in a food chain. This phenomenon is known as biological magnification. Due to this, our food grains, vegetables and fruits contain varying amounts of pesticide residues.
Ozone: Ozone (O₃) is a molecule formed by three atoms of oxygen.

9. Bad Ozone: The ozone present in the troposphere (lower parts of atmosphere) is harmful for plants and animals.

10. Good Ozone: The ozone present in the stratosphere (higher levels of the atmosphere) is beneficial as it shields the surface of the Earth from ultraviolet (UV) radiation of the Sun which is highly damaging to organisms and can cause skin cancer in human beings.

11. Formation of Ozone:
High energy UV radiation act on oxygen (O₂) molecule and split apart some molecular oxygen (O₂) into free oxygen (O) atoms. These oxygen atoms then combine with the molecular oxygen to form ozone.

12. Reason of Ozone Depletion:
Excessive use of synthetic chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used as refrigerants and in fire extinguishers, caused ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere. In 1987, UNEP (United Nation Environment Programme) forged an agreement to freeze CFCs production at 1986 levels by all countries.

13. Ozone Hole: The decline of ozone layer thickness in Antarctica was first discovered in 1985 and was termed as Ozone Hole (thinning of ozone layer).

14. Management of Garbage:
Rapid industrialisation and the rise in demand of consumer goods have led to excessive garbage generation and problems of their disposal.

15. The methods of solid waste disposal are:

• Recycle: Non-biodegradable solid wastes like plastic, metal can be recycled.
• Reuse: Paper can be reused for making greeting cards, decorative articles, etc.
• Composting: Organic wastes filled into a compost pit can be converted into organic manure.
• Landfill: Wastes dumped in low lying area are compacted by rolling with bulldozers.
• Incineration: Burning wastes in incinerators.

16. Use of Disposable Paper cups: Instead of plastic cups, use of disposable cups made of clay called kulhads were suggested as an alternative. The use of kulhads on large scale results in loss of the fertile top soil. So, now disposable paper cups are being used instead of kulhads.

Class 10 Science Chapter 15 Notes Important Terms

Biodegradable substances: The substances which can be easily broken down into simpler substances by natural processes, e.g., wood, paper, etc.

Non-biodegradable substances: The substances which cannot be easily degraded into simpler substances by natural processes, e.g., plastics, DDT, etc.

Pollution: Any undesirable change in the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of air, water or soil is called pollution.

Ecosystem: The interaction of the living and non-living components of an area forms a unit called ecosystem.

Biotic: The living components of an ecosystem are called biotic. For example, predators, plants, parasites, etc.

Abiotic: The non-living components of an ecosystem are called abiotic. For example, temperature, humidity, etc.

Food chain: It is the sequence of organisms formed to transfer food energy by the act of eating or being eaten.

Food web: A network of food chains is called a food web.

Trophic level: Various steps in a food chain at which the transfer of energy takes place are called trophic levels.

Producers: The organisms which can synthesise their own food by the process of photosynthesis.

Consumers: The organisms which depend directly or indirectly on producers for their food requirements.

Decomposers: The organisms which break down the complex substances present in dead remains of plants and animals into simpler substances.

Biological magnification: The phenomenon in which the concentration of harmful toxicant goes on increasing at successive trophic levels, e.g., DDT.

On this page, you will find Sources of Energy Class 10 Notes Science Chapter 14 Pdf free download. CBSE NCERT Class 10 Science Notes Chapter 14 Sources of Energy will seemingly help them to revise the important concepts in less time.

CBSE Class 10 Science Chapter 14 Notes Sources of Energy

Sources of Energy Class 10 Notes Understanding the Lesson

Characteristics of a good fuel

• High calorific value (gives more heat per unit mass).
• Bums without giving out any smoke or harmful gases.
• Proper ignition temperature.
• Cheap and easily available.
• Easy to handle, safe to transport.
• Convenient to store.
• Burns smoothly.

Classification of sources of energy

1. On the basis of use

• Conventional sources of energy.
• Non-conventional sources of energy
• Conventional sources of energy are those which are used extensively and meet a major portion of our energy requirement.
  Examples:
  (a) Fossil fuels,(b) Thermal power plant,(c) Hydropower plant,(d) Biomass,(e) Wind energy.
• Non-conventional sources of energy are those which are not used as the conventional ones and meet our energy requirements only on a limited scale.
  Examples:
  (a) Solar energy,(b) Nuclear energy,(c) Tidal and wave energy,(d) Geothermal energy

2. On the basis of quantity available

• Renewable sources of energy
• Non-renewable sources of energy
• Renewable sources of energy are those which are inexhaustible i.e., which can be replaced as we use them and can be used to produce energy again and again.
  Examples:
  (a) Solar energy,(b) Wind energy
• Non-renewable sources of energy are those which are exhaustible and cannot be replaced once they have been used.
  Examples:  (a) Fossil fuel

Conventional sources of energy
1. Fossil fuels: Fossil fuels were formed millions of year ago, when plant and animal remains got buried under the Earth and were subjected to high temperature and pressure conditions.

Examples: Coal and petroleum
These are non-renewable sources of energy:

Pollution Caused by Fossil Fuels

• Released oxides of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur (acidic in nature) which causes acid rain that damages trees, plants, reduces fertility of soil.
• Produces large amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere which causes greenhouse effect leading to excessive heating of the Earth.

Controlling Pollution Caused by Fossil Fuels

• Increasing the efficiency of the combustion process.
• Using various techniques to reduce the escape of harmful gases and ashes into the surroundings.

2. Thermal Power Plant
A power plant which uses heat energy to generate electricity.

• Burning of fossil fuels produces steam to run turbines.
• Set up (power plants) near the coal and oil fields to minimise the cost of transportation and production.
• Transmission of electricity is more efficient.

3. Hydro Power Plants

• Dams are constructed to collect water flowing in high altitude rivers. The stored water has a lot of potential energy.
• When water is allowed to fall from a height, potential energy changes to kinetic energy, which
• rotates the turbines to produce electricity.

Advantages

• No environmental pollution
• Flowing water is a renewable source of electric energy.
• Construction of dams prevents flooding of rivers, provide water for irrigation.

Disadvantages

• Large areas of agricultural land, a vast variety of flora and fauna, human settlements get submerged in the water of reservoir formed by the dam.
• Large ecosystems are destroyed.
• Vegetation that submerged under water rots under anaerobic conditions and produces large amount of methane which is a greenhouse gas.
• Creates problems of satisfactory rehabilitation of displaced people.
• Dams are highly expensive to construct.
• Dams cannot be constructed on all river sites.

4. Biomass

The dead parts of plants and trees and the waste materials of animals are called Biomass.
(i) Wood: It is a biomass and used as a fuel for a long time.
Disadvantages

• Produces a lot of smoke on burning.
• Do not produce much heat.
• Thus by improvement in technology we can improve the efficiency of traditional sources of energy.
  For example, wood can be converted into much better fuel called charcoal.

(ii) Charcoal: When wood is burnt in a limited supply of air, then water and other volatile materials gets removed and charcoal is formed.

Charcoal is a better fuel than wood because

• it has a higher calorific value than wood.
• it does not produce smoke while burning.
• it is a compact fuel, easy to handle and convenient to use.

(iii) Cow dung: It is biomass but it is not good to burn cowdung directly as fuel because it

• produces a lot of smoke.
• does not burn completely, produces a lot of ash as residue.
• has low calorific value.
  by making biogas (or gobar gas) from cow dung, we get a smokeless fuel.

(iv) Biogas: It is mixture of gases produced during decomposition of biomass in the absence of oxygen.

• Methane is major component of biogas. Biogas contains 75% methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and hydrogen sulphide.
• Biogas is produced in a biogas plant using animal dung, sewage, crop residues, vegetable wastes, poultry dropping, etc.

Biogas plant: Construction and Working
The plant has dome like structure built with bricks. A slurry of cow dung and water is made in the mixing tank from where it is fed into the digester. The digester is a sealed chamber in which there is no oxygen. Anaerobic microorganisms that do not require oxygen, decompose or breakdown complex compound of cow slurry and produces methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and hydrogen sulphide.

Advantages of Biogas

• It is an excellent fuel as it contains upto 75% methane (CH₄).
• It burns without smoke.
•  Leaves no residue like ash in wood and coal burning.
• Heating capacity is high.
• It is also used for lighting.
• Slurry left behind is used as excellent manure rich in nitrogen and phosphorus.
• Safe and efficient method of waste disposal.

5. Wind energy

• Unequal heating of the landmass and water bodies by solar radiations generate air movement and causes wind to blow.
• Kinetic energy of the wind can be used:
  o to generate electricity by turning the rotor of the turbine, o to lift water from the well, o to run flour mills.
• But the output of a single windmill is quite small so a number of windmills are erected over a large area called wind energy farm.
• The minimum wind speed for windmill to serve as a source of energy is 15-20 km/per hour.

Advantages

• Eco-friendly
• Efficient source of renewable energy
• No recurring expenses for production of electricity.

Disadvantages

• Wind energy farms need large area of land.
• Difficulty in getting regular wind speed of 15-20 km/per hour.
• Initial cost of establishing wind energy farm is very high.
• High level of maintenance of blades of windmill.

Alternate or Non-conventional Sources of Energy
Day by day, our demand for energy is increasing, so there is a need for another source of energy.

Reasons for alternate sources of energy

• The fossil fuel reserves in the Earth are limited which may get exhausted soon if we use them at the current rate.
• Reduce the pressure on fossil fuels making them last for a much longer time.
• To reduce the pollution level and to save the environment.

(i). Solar Energy

• Sun is the ultimate source of energy.
• Energy obtained from the Sun is called solar energy.
• Energy received by the Earth per second per unit area from the Sun is known as solar constant.

Solar constant = 1.4 kJ/s/m² Solar energy devices: Devices using solar energy are:

• Solar cooker
• Solar cells
• Solar water heater
• Solar Cooker

Box Type Solar Cooker: It consists of a rectangular box which is made up of wood or plastic which is painted dull black.

• Inner walls of the box are painted black to increase heat absorption.
• Solar cookers are covered with glass plate and have mirror to focus the rays of the sun and achieve higher temperature. Glass plate traps solar radiation by greenhouse effect.
• Temperature inside the box increases 100°C-140°C in 2-3 hours.

Advantages

• Save precious fuel like coal, LPG, kerosene.
• Does not produce smoke.
• Nutrients of food do not get destroyed while cooking.
• Upto four food items can be cooked at the same time.
• Renewable
• Can be used in rural areas.

Disadvantages

• Solar cookers cannot be used at night.
• If the day sky is covered with clouds, even then solar cooker cannot be used.
• Direction of reflector of solar cooker changes from time to time to keep it facing the sun.
• Solar radiations are not uniform over the Earth’s surface.
• Cannot be used for frying or baking purpose.

(ii) Solar Cell

• Solar cells convert solar energy into electricity.
• A solar cell develops a voltage of 0.5-1 V and can produce about 0.7 W of electricity.
• A large number of solar cells are combined in an arrangement called solar cell panel.

Advantages

• Have no moving parts.
• Require little maintenance.
• Can work without any focussing device.
• Can be set up in remote and inacessible areas.

Disadvantages

• Manufacturing is expensive.
• Availability of special grade silicon for making solar cells is limited.
• Silver wire for interconnection of cells is expensive.

Uses of Solar Cell

• Artificial satellites and space probes use solar cells as the main source of energy.
• Radio, TV relay stations in remote locations use solar cell panels.
• Traffic signals, calculators and many toys are fitted with solar cells.

2. Energy from the Sea

	Tidal Energy	Wave Energy	Ocean Thermal Energy
Working: (i)	The phenomenon of high and low tide give us tidal energy.	Kinetic energy of huge waves near sea shore is trapped to generate electricity.	The difference in the temperature of water at the surface and deeper section of ocean is used to obtain energy in Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plants (OTEC).
(ii)	It is harnessed by constructing a dam across the narrow opening of the sea.	Wave energy is used for rotation of turbine and production of electricity.	The warm surface water is used to boil volatile liquid ammonia. The vapours of the liquid are used to run the turbine of generator to produce electricity.
Disadvantage:	The location where such dams can be built are limited.	Wave energy is viable only where waves are very strong.	Efficient commercial exploitation is very difficult.

3. Geothermal Energy

• ‘Geo’ means ‘earth’ and ‘thermal’ means ‘heat’.
• Geothermal energy is the heat energy from hot rocks present inside the earth.
• When underground water comes in contact with ‘hot spot’, steam is generated. Steam trapped in rocks is routed through pipes to a turbine and used to generate electricity.

Advantages

• Economical to use geothermal energy.
• Does not cause any pollution.

Disadvantages

• Geothermal energy is not available everywhere.
• Deep drilling in the earth to obtain geothermal energy is very difficult and expensive.

4. Nuclear Energy

• The energy released during a nuclear reaction is called nuclear energy.
• It can be obtained by two types of nuclear reactions:

(i) Nuclear fission
(ii) Nuclear fusion

(i) Nuclear Fission:

• ‘Fission’ means split up.
• The process in which the heavy nucleus of a radioactive atom (such as uranium, plutonium
  or thorium) split up into smaller nuclei when bombarded with low energy neutrons, is called nuclear fission.
• A tremendous amount of energy is produced.
• U-235 is used as a fuel in nuclear reactors in the form of uranium rods.

Working: In a nuclear reactor self sustaining chain reaction releases energy at a controlled rate, which is used to produce steam and further generate electricity.

(ii) Nuclear Fusion: When two nuclei of light elements (like hydrogen) combine to form a heavy nucleus (like helium) and tremendous amount of energy is released it is called nuclear fusion.

• Very-very high temperature and pressure is needed for fusion.
• Hydrogen bomb is based on this phenomenon.
• Nuclear fusion is the source of energy in the sun and other stars.

Advantages

• Production of large amount of useful energy from a very small amount of nuclear fuel.
• Does not produce greenhouse gases like C02.

Disadvantages

• Environmental contamination due to improper nuclear waste storage and its disposal.
• Risk of accidental leakage of harmful radiations.
• High cost of installation.
• Limited availability of nuclear fuel.

Environmental Consequences
Exploiting any source of energy disturbs the environment in some way or the other. Thus, the source we would choose depends upon the following factors:

• Ease of extracting energy from the source.
• Cost of extracting energy from the source.
• Efficiency of technology available to extract energy.
• The environmental damage caused by using that source.

On this page, you will find NCERT Class 9 Economics Chapter 4 Notes Pdf free download. CBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes Economics Chapter 4 SST Food Security in India will seemingly, help them to revise the important concepts in less time.

Food Security in India Class 9 Notes Social Science Economics Chapter 4

CBSE Class 9 Economics Chapter 4 Notes Understanding the Lesson

1. Food is essential for living. Food security means something more than getting two square meals. Food security is ensured in a country only if all of its citizens have enough nutritious food available, all persons have the capacity to buy food of acceptable quality and there is no barrier on access to food.

2. The people living below the poverty line might be food insecure most of the time while better off people might also be food insecure at the time of a national disaster or calamity like earthquake, drought, flood, etc.

3. Due to a natural calamity, total production of food grains decreases which creates shortage of food. Due to shortage of food, the prices goes up. In such a situation poor people fail to buy food. If this condition remains for a longer time, it may cause a situation of starvation. A massive starvation might take a turn of famine.

4. Although a large section of people suffer from food and nutrition insecurity in India, the worst affected groups are landless people with little or no land in rural areas and people employed in ill- paid occupations and casual labourers engaged in seasonal activities in the urban areas.

5. The social composition along with the inability to buy food also plays a role in food insecurity. The SCs, STs and some sections of the OBCs are prone to food insecurity. A great number of women are also food insecure.

6. The food insecure people are disproportionately large in some regions of the country, such as economically backward states with high incidence of poverty, tribal and remote areas, regions prone to natural disasters, etc.

7. Hunger is another aspect indicating food insecurity. The attainment of food security therefore involves eliminating current hunger and reducing the risks of future hunger.

8. Hunger may be chronic or seasonal. Chronic hunger is a consequence of diets persistently inadequate in terms of quantity and /or quality. Seasonal hunger is related to cycles of food growing and harvesting.

9. India is aiming at self-sufficiency in food grains since Independence. The Green Revolution which took place in agriculture resulted in the increased production of food grains especially wheat and rice.

10. The increase in food grains was, however, disproportionate. It was highest in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. But production of food grains has dropped in states like Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Assam, etc.

11. Since the advent of the Green Revolution in the early 70s, famine-like situation has never occurred even during adverse weather conditions. India has become self-sufficient in food grains during the last thirty years because of a variety of crops grown all over the country.

12. To ensure availability of food to all sections of the society the Indian government carefully designed food security system which is composed of two components: (a) buffer stock and (b) Public Distribution System.

13. Buffer stock is the stock of food grains, namely wheat and rice procured by the government through Food Corporation of India (FCI). The FCI purchases wheat and rice from the farmers at a pre-announced price and store them in granaries. This is done to distribute food grains in the deficit areas and among the poorer section of society at a price lower than the market price.

14. The food procured by the FCI is distributed through government-regulated ration shops called the Public Distribution System (PDS). Ration shops are now present in most localities, villages, towns and cities,

15. In addition to PDS, various poverty alleviation programmes were also started which comprised a component of food security. Some of these programs are-Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS); Food-For-Work (FFW); Mid-Day-Meals, Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), etc.

16. In addition to the role of the government in ensuring food security, there are various cooperatives and NGOs also working intensively towards this direction.

17. The cooperative societies set up shops to sell low priced goods to poor people. For example, Mother Dairy in Delhi. AMUL is another success story of cooperatives in milk and milk products from Gujarat.

18. In Maharashtra, the Academy of Development Science (ADS) has facilitated a network of NGOs for setting up grain banks in different regions.

Food Security in India Class 9 CBSE Notes Important Terms

Food security: It means availability, accessibility and affordability of food to all people at all times.

Famine: Extreme scarcity of food.

Starvation: Suffering or death caused by lack of food.

Malnutrition: Lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right things, or being unable to use the food that one does eat.

Hunger: A feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, compelled with the desire to eat.

Buffer stock: The stock of food grains.

Granary: A storehouse for threshed grain.

On this page, you will find NCERT Class 9 Economics Chapter 3 Notes Pdf free download. CBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes Economics Chapter 3 SST Poverty as a Challenge will seemingly, help them to revise the important concepts in less time.

Poverty as a Challenge Class 9 Notes Social Science Economics Chapter 3

CBSE Class 9 Economics Chapter 3 Notes Understanding the Lesson

1. Poverty is a major challenge faced by independent India. It has many dimensions, normally, this is measured through the concept of ‘Poverty line’.

2. A common method used to measure poverty is based on the income or consumption levels. A person is considered poor if his or her income or consumption level falls below a given ‘minimum level’ necessary to fulfil basic needs.

3. What is necessary to satisfy basic needs is different at different times and in different countries. Therefore, poverty line may vary with time and place.

4. While determining the poverty line in India, a minimum level of food requirement, clothing, footwear, fuel and light, educational and medical requirement, etc; are determined for subsistence.

5. These physical quantities are multiplied by their prices in rupees. The present formula for food requirements while estimating the poverty line is based on the desired calorie requirement.

6. The calorie needs vary depending on age, sex and type work that a person does. The accepted average calorie requirement in India is 2400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2100 calories per person per day in urban areas.

7. For the age 2011-12, the poverty line for a person was fixed at ? 816 per month for the rural areas and? 1000 for the urban areas.

8. In the year 2011-12, a family of five members living in rural areas and earning less than about? 4,080 per month will be below the poverty line. A similar family in urban areas would need a minimum of ? 5,000 per month to meet their basic requirements.

9. The poverty line is estimated periodically by conducting sample surveys which are carried out by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).

10. There is substantial decline in poverty ratios in India between 1993-94 and 2004-05 but the number of poor remained at about 407 million which further declined to 269 million in 2011-12.

11. The social groups which are most vulnerable to poverty are scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households. Among the economic groups, the rural agricultural labour households and the urban casual labour households are the most vulnerable groups. In poor families, women, elderly people and female infants are considered poorest of the poor.

12. The proportion of poor people is not the same in every state of India. Bihar and Odisha continue to be the two poorest states with poverty ratios of 33.7 and 37.6 per cent respectively.

13. In states like Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and West Bengal there has been a significant decline in poverty. States like Punjab and Haryana have also succeeded in reducing poverty to a great extent.

14. There has also been a substantial reduction in global poverty. But it is marked with great regional differences. Poverty declined substantially in China and Southeast Asian countries but in countries of I South Asia i.e. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan, the decline has not been rapid.

15. In Sub-Saharan Africa, poverty rose from 51 per cent in 1981 to 47 per cent in 2008. In Latin America, the ratio of poverty remained the same.

16. The causes of widespread poverty in India are—the low level of economic development under the British colonial administration, high growth rate of population, huge income inequalities and socio­cultural and economic factors.

17. Removal of poverty has been one of the major objectives of Indian developmental strategy. The government is focusing on the promotion of economic growth. It has also started many anti-poverty schemes/programmes.

18. There are many schemes which are formulated to affect poverty directly or indirectly. Some of them are – Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, (MGNREGA), Prime Minister Rozgar Yozana (PMRY), Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP), Swarnajayaanti Gram Swarozgar Yozana (SGSY), Pradhanmantri Gramodaya Yozana (PMGY), and Antyodaya Anna Yozana (AAY).

19. Poverty has certainly declined in India. But poverty reduction is still India’s most compelling challenge. Poverty reduction is expected to make better progress in the next ten to fifteen years.

20. Even though we will be able to provide the minimum necessary in terms of income to all people by the end of the next decade, but the target will move on for many of the bigger challenges that still remain. For example, providing health care, education and job security for all and achieving gender equality and dignity for the poor. These are some of the issues which also need to be focused.

Poverty as a Challenge Class 9 CBSE Notes Important Terms

Poverty: The state of being extremely poor.

Poverty line: The estimated minimum level of income needed to secure the necessities of life.

Challenge: Something that needs great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully and therefore tests a persons’ ability.

Human poverty: A situation in which people have food, clothing and shelter but don’t have proper education, self-confidence, gender equality and dignity.

Poverty alleviation: Removal of poverty.

On this page, you will find NCERT Class 10 Geography Chapter 3 Notes Pdf free download. CBSE Class 10 Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 3 SST Water Resources will seemingly, help them to revise the important concepts in less time.

Resource and Development Class 10 Notes Social Science Geography Chapter 3

CBSE Class 10 Geography Chapter 3 Notes Understanding the Lesson

1. Water is a valuable resource. It is essential for life on the earth. Human body contains 70% of water. Plants cannot grow without water. Other living beings including micro-organisms cannot survive without water.

2. Three-fourth of the earth’s surface is covered with water and water is a renewable resource. Still there are many countries and regions around the globe that suffer from acute water crisis. The reason is that only a small proportion of it accounts for freshwater (2.5 per cent) that we can put to use.

3. The freshwater is mainly obtained from surface run off and groundwater that is continually being renewed and recharged through the hydrological cycle.

4. India receives nearly 4 per cent of the global precipitation and ranks 133 in the world in terms of water availability per person per annum. By 2025, it is predicted that large parts of India will live in absolute water scarcity.

5. Although the availability of water resources varies over space and time, water scarcity in most cases is caused by over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access to water among different social groups.

6. Water scarcity may be an outcome of large and growing population and consequent greater demand for water. A large population means more water for domestic use as well as to produce more food grain. To facilitate higher food grain production, water resources are being over-exploited to expand irrigated areas and dry-season agriculture. This leads to falling groundwater levels.

7. The growing number of industries has made matter worse by exerting pressure on existing freshwater resources. Multiplying urban centres with large and dense populations and urban lifestyles have also aggravated the problem.

8. There are many regions in India where scarcity is due to bad quality of water. Water in these regions get polluted by domestic and industrial wastes, chemicals, pesticides, and fertilisers used in agriculture.

9. Now it has become essential to conserve and manage our water resources, to safeguard ourselves from health hazards, to ensure food security and so on. Over-exploitation and mismanagement of water resources will impoverish this resource and cause ecological crisis.

10. Previously dams were seen as a way to conserve and manage water. Dams were traditionally built to impound rivers and rainwater that could be used later to irrigate agricultural fields. Today, the purpose behind building dams has been multiplied. Dams are built not just for irrigation but for electricity generation, water supply for domestic and industrial uses, flood control, etc.

11. In recent years, people have opposed multi-purpose projects and large dams due to a variety of reasons. Regulating and damming of rivers affect their natural flow causing several problems for human beings as well as for aquatic life. Also, big dams have mostly been unsuccessful in controlling floods at the time of heavy rainfall.

12. Water harvesting system is considered both socio-economically and environmentally viable. In ancient India, along with sophisticated hydraulic structures, there existed an extraordinary tradition of water-harvesting system. Roof-top rainwater harvesting was commonly practised to store drinking water particularly in Rajasthan.

13. In the semi-arid and arid regions of Rajasthan, almost all the houses traditionally had underground tanks or tankas for storing drinking water.

14. Rainwater stored in tankas can be an extremely reliable source of drinking water when all other sources are dried up, particularly in the summers.

15. Rooftop rainwater harvesting is being successfully adapted in many parts of rural and urban India to store and conserve water. Tamil Nadu is the first state in India which has made rooftop rainwater harvesting structure compulsory to all the houses across the state.

Water Resources Class 10 CBSE Notes Important Terms

Glacier: A mass or river of ice moving very slowly.

Aquifer: A layer of water-bearing rock or soil.

Dam: A barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment.

Groundwater: Water obtained from a depth of more than 15 metres.

Multi-purpose project: A large-scale hydro project serving a number of purposes such as irrigation, flood control, etc.

Rainwater harvesting: A technique of gathering, accumulating and storing of rainwater for different uses.

Hydro-electricity: Electricity produced by using water power.

Drip irrigation: A type of irrigation in which water gets dropped in the form of drips close to roots of the plants in order to conserve the moisture.

Water Scarcity: A situation in which water is not sufficiently available to meet the needs of the people.

On this page, you will find NCERT Class 9 Economics Chapter 2 Notes Pdf free download. CBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes Economics Chapter 2 SST People as Resource will seemingly, help them to revise the important concepts in less time.

People as Resource Class 9 Notes Social Science Economics Chapter 2

CBSE Class 9 Economics Chapter 2 Notes Understanding the Lesson

1. Population becomes human capital when there is investment made in the form of education, training and medical care. Human capital is the stock of skill and productive knowledge.

2. Higher incomes are earned because of the higher productivity of the more educated or the better-trained persons, as well as the higher productivity of healthier people. Society also gains indirectly because the advantages of a more educated or a healthier population spreads to those also who themselves were not directly educated or given health care.

3. Human capital is superior to other resources like land and physical capital because it is human resource that can make use of land and capital. The large population of India can be turned into a productive asset by investment in human capital.

4. Investment in human resource via education and medical care can give high rates of return in the future in the form of higher earnings and greater contribution to society. Countries like Japan have invested in human resources. They did not have any natural resources. These countries are developed countries because they have invested on people especially in the field of education and health.

5. People have been engaged in various economic activities which have been classified into three main sectors-primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary sector includes agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishing, etc. Secondary sector includes manufacturing. Trade, transport, communication, tourism, etc. come under tertiary sector.

6. Economic activities are also called market activities as they involve remuneration. Non-market activities are the production for self-consumption. The earning of any individual in the market depends mainly on education and skill. Since a majority of women lack good education and skill so they are paid low compared to men.

7. The quality of population depends upon the literacy rate, health of a person, indicated by life expectancy and skill formation acquired by the people of the country. The quality of the population ultimately decides the growth rate of the country. Educated and healthy people are an asset.

8. Education is an important input for the growth of an individual. Education also contributes towards the growth of society. It enhances the national income, cultural richness and increases the efficiency of governance. Sarva Siksha Abhiyan is a significant step towards providing elementary education to all children in the age group of six to fourteen years.

9. The health of a person helps him to realise his potential and the ability to fight illness. An unhealthy person becomes a liability. So, improvement in health status of the population has the priority of the country.

10. Unemployment is a big problem in our country. In rural areas, there is seasonal and disguised unemployment. Urban areas have mostly educated unemployment.

11. Unemployment leads to wastage of manpower resource. People who are an asset for the economy turn into a liability. Unemployment tends to increase economic overload. The dependence of the unemployed on the working population increases. The quality of life of an individual as well as society is adversely affected.

12. The employment structure is characterised by self-employment in the primary sector. Agriculture is the most labour absorbing sector of the economy. In recent years there has been a decline m the dependence of population on agriculture. Some of the surplus-labour in agriculture has moved to either the secondary or tertiary sector.

People as Resource Class 9 CBSE Notes Important Terms

Population: All the inhabitants of a particular place.

Human Capital: The stock of skill and productive knowledge embodied in people.

Investment: Purchase of goods that are not consumed today but are used in future to create wealth.

Physical Capital: Wealth in the form of money or other assets owned by a person or organization.

Liability: A person or thing whose presence or behaviour is likely to put one at a disadvantage.

Vocational Education: Educational training that provides practical experience in a particular occupational field, agriculture home economics, industry.

Illiterate: One who is unable to read or write.

Asset: A useful or valuable thing or person.

Elementary education: A period of formal education following pre-school but before high school.

Life expectancy: The average period that a person may expect to live.

Subsistence level: A standard of living or wage that provides only the bare necessities of life.

Biotechnology: The exploitation of biological processes for industrial and purposes, especially the genetic manipulation micro-organisms for the production of antibiotics, hormones, etc.

Surplus: An amount of something left over when requirements have been met.

On this page, you will find NCERT Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 Notes Pdf free download. CBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes Economics Chapter 1 SST The Story of Village Palampur will seemingly, help them to revise the important concepts in less time.

The Story of Village Palampur Class 9 Notes Social Science Economics Chapter 1

CBSE Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 Notes Understanding the Lesson

1. Farming is the main production activity in the village. Other activities are small scale manufacturing, dairy, transport, etc. However, these activities are carried on a limited scale.

2. All the production activities need various types of resources such as natural resources, man-made items, human effort, money, etc. These resources are combined to produce the desired goods and services in the village.

3. There are four requirements for production of goods and services-land, labour, physical capital and human capital. These are called factors of production.

4. Land area under cultivation is practically fixed in the village. However, over the years there have been many important changes in the way farming is practised. These have allowed the farmers to produce more crops from the same amount of land. But in raising production a great deal of pressure has been put on land and other natural resources.

5. The new ways of farming need less land, but much more capital. The medium and large farmers are able to arrange for capital during the next season. But the small farmers, who constitute about 80 per cent of total farmers in India, find it difficult to obtain capital.

6. Small farmers have small size of plots, so their production is not enough. These farmers have to do additional work as farm labourers to feed themselves and their families.

7. Labour being the most abundant factor of production, it would be ideal if new ways of farming used much more labour. But such a thing has not happened. The use of labour on farms is limited. The labour, looking for opportunities is thus migrating to neighbouring villages, towns and cities. Some labour has entered the non-farm sector in the village.

8. At present, the non-farm sector in the village is not very large. Though there is a variety of non-farm activities in the villages, the number of people employed in each is quite small.

9. Unlike farming, non-farming activities require little land. People with some amount of capital can set up non-farm activities. To obtain capital, one can either use his own savings, or can take a loan. It is important that loan be available at low rate of interest so that even people without saving can start some non-farm activity.

10. Another thing which is essential for expansion of non-farm activities is to have markets where the goods and services produced can be sold. In Palampur, the neighbouring villages, towns and cities provide the markets for milk, jaggery, wheat, etc.

11. Opportunities for non-farm activities in villages would increase if they get connected to towns and cities through good roads, transport and telephone.

The Story of Village Palampur Class 9 CBSE Notes Important Terms

Goods: In economics, good are materials that satisfy human wants and provide utility.

Services: A system supplying a public need such as transport, communications, or utilities, such as electricity and water.

Production: The action of making or manufacturing from components or raw materials, or the process of being so manufactured.

Land: Primary input and factor of production which is not consumed but without which no production is possible.

Physical capital: A factor of production or input into the process of production, such as machinery, buildings or computers.

Fixed capital: That portion of the total capital outlay that is invested in fixed assets such as land, buildings, vehicles, plant and equipment, that stay in the business almost permanently, or over many years.

Working capital: Raw materials and money in hand are called working capital.

Human capital: The skills, knowledge, and experience possessed by an individual or population, viewed in terms of their value or cost to an organisation or country.

Pesticide: A substance used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or to animals.

Multiple cropping: Growing more than one crop on a price of land during the year.

Capital: Wealth other than land which is used in production of goods or services.

On this page, you will find NCERT Class 9 Civics Chapter 6 Notes Pdf free download. CBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 6 SST Democratic Rights will seemingly, help them to revise the important concepts in less time.

Democratic Rights Class 9 Notes Social Science Civics Chapter 6

CBSE Class 9 Civics Chapter 6 Notes Understanding the Lesson

1. Elections and institutions are major elements of a democratic government, no doubt, but if these two elements are combined with a third element called enjoyment of rights, the government becomes more democratic.

2. Citizens democratic rights are important and they should not be violated in any circumstances. We need rights because we cannot lead a smooth life without them.

3. All of us want to live happily, without fear and without being subjected to degraded treatment. For this we expect others to behave in such a way that does not harm us or hurt us. Equally, our actions should not harm or hurt others. So a right is possible when one makes a claim that is equally possible for others.

4. Rights have to be recognized by the society we live in. What is recognized by the society as rightful becomes the basics of rights.

5. When the socially recognized claims are written into law they acquire real force and they become enforceable. We can then demand their application. When fellow citizens or the government do not respect these rights we can approach courts to protect our rights.

6. A democracy can run smoothly if its citizens have certain rights, such as the right to vote, the right to be elected to government, etc.

7. Rights also protect ministries from the oppression of majority. They ensure that the majority cannot do whatever it likes.

8. It is the duty of the government to protect the citizens’ right. But sometimes elected governments may not protect or may even attack the rights of their own citizens. That is why some rights are placed higher than the government, so that the government cannot violate them.

9. In India, like most other democracies in the world, the basic rights of the citizens are written down in the Constitution. Some rights which are fundamental to our life are given a special status and are called Fundamental Rights.

10. Our Constitutions provides for six Fundamental Rights—Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right to Freedom of Religion, Right against Exploitation, Cultural and Educational Rights and Right to Constitutional Remedies.

11. These are the rights that are essential for an individual to develop his or her personality and lead a life with dignity. These rights are important for the very sustenance of a democracy. If people are not free and equal they cannot enjoy their Fundamental Rights.

12. The Fundamental Rights in the Constitution are important because they are enforceable. We have the right to seek the enforcement of these rights. This is called the Right to Constitutional Remedies. This itself is a fundamental right and makes other rights effective.

13. Fundamental rights are guaranteed against the actions of the Legislatures, the executive and any other authorities instituted by the government. There can be no law or action that violates the Fundamental Rights.

14. The Supreme Court and High Courts have the power to issue directions, orders or writs for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights. They can also award compensation to the victims and punishment to the violators.

15. In recent years anyone can approach the courts if public interest is hurt by the actions of government. This is called Public Interest Litigation (PIL). Under the PIL any citizen or group of citizens can approach the Supreme Court or a High Court for the protection of public interest against a particular law or action of the government.

16. Apart from the Fundamental Rights, our Constitution and law offers many other rights too like Right to Freedom of Press, Right to Information and Right to Education.

17. Now school education has become a right for Indian citizens. The governments are responsible for providing free and compulsory education too all children up to the age of 14 years.

18. Recently the Supreme Court has expanded the meaning of the Right to Life to include the Right to Food. Our Constitution provides many more rights, which may not be Fundamental Rights. For example, Right to Vote in elections is an important Constitutional right.

19. With the expansion of democracy all over the world, the scope of rights has expanded. The Amnesty International is an organization that brings out independent reports on the violation of Human Rights all over the world.

Democratic Rights Class 9 CBSE Notes Important Terms

Right: Reasonable claim of a person recognised by society and sanctioned by law.

Claim: Demand for legal or moral entitlements a person makes on fellow citizens, society or the government.

Amnest International: An International Human Rights organization that brings out independent reports on the violation of Human Rights all over the world.

Trafficking: Selling and buying of men, women or children for immoral purposes.

Dalit: A person who belongs to the castes which were considered low and not touchable by others.

Ethnic group: A human population whose members usually identify with each other on the basis of a common ancestry.

Writ: A formal document containing an order of the court to the government issued only by High Courts or the Supreme Courts.

Summon: An order issued by a court asking a person to appear before it.

Covenant: Promise made by individuals, groups or countries to upload a rule or principle. It is legally binding on the signatories to the agreements or statement.

On this page, you will find NCERT Class 9 Civics Chapter 5 Notes Pdf free download. CBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 5 SST Working of Institutions will seemingly, help them to revise the important concepts in less time.

Working of Institutions Class 9 Notes Social Science Civics Chapter 5

CBSE Class 9 Civics Chapter 5 Notes Understanding the Lesson

1. In a democracy the rulers have to follow some rules and procedures. They have to work with and within institutions.

2. Three institutions are those that play a key role in major decisions-legislature, executive and judiciary. These institutions together carry on the work of government.

3. A democracy works well when these institutions perform functions assigned to them. The Constitution of any country lays down basic rules on the powers and functions of each institution.

4. In India, a national assembly of elected representatives is called Parliament. At the state level this is called Legislative or Legislative Assembly.

5. Parliament is the final authority for making laws in any country. It is the highest forum of discussion and debate on public issues and national policy in any country.

6. In our country, the Parliament consists of two houses-The council of states or the Rajya Sabha and the house of the people or the Lok Sabha. The President of India is a part of the Parliament.

7. Our Constitution gives the Rajya Sabha some special powers over the states. But on most matters, the Lok Sabha exercises supreme power.

8. The Lok Sabha controls the Council of Ministers. Only a person who enjoys the support of the majority of the members in the Lok Sabha is appointed the Prime Minister.

9. The executive execute the policies of the government. In a democratic country, two categories make up the executive-the political executive and the permanent executive or civil services.

10. Persons working in civil services are called civil servants. They remain in office even when the ruling party changes. These officers work under political executive and assist them in carrying out the day to day administration.

11. The political executive has more power than the non-political executive. It means the minister is more powerful than the civil servant. The reason behind this is that the minister is elected by the people and thus empowered to exercise the will of the people on their behalf.

12. Prime Minister is the most important political institution in the country. The President appoints the leader of the majority party or the coalition of parties that commands a majority in the Lok Sabha, as Prime Minister.

13. After the appointment of the Prime Minister, the president appoints other ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister. There are about 60 to 80 Ministers of different ranks-Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State with independent charge and Minister of State.

14. The cabinet works as a team. The ministers may have different views and opinions, but everyone has to own up to every decision of the cabinet. The Cabinet is assisted by the cabinet secretariat.

15. The Prime Minister is the most powerful within the cabinet. He/She chairs cabinet meetings and coordinates the work of different departments. His decisions are final in case of disagreements between departments.

16. In recent years the rise of coalition politics has imposed certain constraints on the power of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister of a coalition government cannot take decisions as he likes.

17. The President is the head of the state. In our political system the head of the state exercises only nominal powers. His/her functions are to a large extent ceremonial . He supervises the overall functioning of all the political institutions in the country so that they operate in harmony to achieve the objectives of the state.

18. All governmental activities take place in the name of the President. All laws and major policy decisions of the government are issued in his/her name. All major appointments are made in the name of the President.

19. In the last comes the judiciary. It included all the courts at different levels in a country. The Indian judiciary consists of a Supreme Court for the entire nation, High Courts in the states, District Courts and the courts at local level.

20. The Supreme Court controls the judicial administration in the country. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the country.

21. In India, courts are independent of the legislature and the executive. The judges do not act on the direction of the government or according to the wishes of the party in power.

22. The judiciary in India is one of the most powerful in the world. The Supreme Court and the High Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution of the country.

23. The powers and the independence of the Indian judiciary allow it to act as the guardian of the Fundamental Rights.

24. Anyone can approach the courts of public interest is hurt by the actions of government. This is called public interest litigation. The courts intervene to prevent the misuse of the government’s power to make decisions.

Working of Institutions Class 9 CBSE Notes Important Terms

Government: A set of institutions that have the power to make, implement and interpret laws so as to ensure an orderly life. It administers and supervises over citizens and resources of a country.

Office memorandum: A communication issued by an appropriate authority stating the policy or decision of the government.

State: Political association occupying a definite territory, having an organised government and possessing power to make domestic and foreign policies. Governments may change, but the state continues.

Legislature: An assembly of people’s representatives with the power to enact laws for a country.

Executive: A body of persons having the authority to initiate major policies, make decisions and implement them on the basis of the Constitution and laws of the country.

Political institution: A set of procedures for regulating the conduct of government and political life in the country.

Coalition government: A government formed by an alliance of two or more political parties, usually when no single party enjoys majority support of the members in a legislature.

Reservations: A policy that declares some positions in government employment and educational institutions ‘reserved’ for people and communities who have been discriminated against, are disadvantaged and backward.

Judiciary: An institution empowered to administer justice and provide a mechanism for the resolution of legal disputes. All the courts in the country are collectively referred to as judiciary.

On this page, you will find NCERT Class 9 Civics Chapter 4 Notes Pdf free download. CBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 4 SST Electoral Politics will seemingly, help them to revise the important concepts in less time.

Electoral Politics Class 9 Notes Social Science Civics Chapter 4

CBSE Class 9 Civics Chapter 4 Notes Understanding the Lesson

1. The most common form of democracy in our times is for the people to govern through their representatives. These representatives are elected bodies.

2. Elections are necessary and useful in a democracy. All democratic countries hold elections.

3. Elections are all about political competition. This competition takes various forms. The most obvious form is the competition among political parties.

4. Although an electoral competition has many demerits, our Constitution makers opted for free competition in elections as the way to select our future leaders. The did so because this system works better in the long run.

5. Regular electoral competition provides incentives to political parties and leaders. They know that if they raise issues that people want to be raised, their popularity and chances of victory will increase in the next elections.

6. If a political party is motivated only by desire to be in power, even then it will be forced to serve the people.

7. In India, Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections are held regularly after every five years. After five years the term of all the elected representatives comes to an end.

8. Elections are held in all constituencies at the same time, either on the same day or within a few days. This is called a general election. Sometimes by-elections are held to fill the vacancy caused by death or resignation of a member.

9. Our country is divided into different areas for purposes of elections. These areas are called electoral constituencies. The voters who live in an area elect one representative.

10. For Lok Sabha elections, the country is divided into 543 constituencies. The representative elected from each constituency is called a Member of Parliament or an MP.

11. Similarly, each state is divided into a specific number of Assembly Constituencies. In this case, the elected representative is called the Member of Legislative Assembly or a MLA.

12. In Panchayat and Municipal Elections, each village or town is divided into several wards. Each ward elects one member of the village or the urban local body.

13. Some constituencies are reserved for people who belong to the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). This system of reservation was extended later to other weaker sections at the district and local level.

14. In a democratic election, the list of those who are eligible to vote is prepared much before the election and given to everyone. This list is called the Voters’ List.

15. In our country, all the citizens aged 18 years and above can vote in an election. Every citizen has the right to vote, regardless of his /her caste, religion or gender.

16. Political parties nominate their candidates who get the party symbol and support. Party’s nomination is often called party ‘ticket’.

17. Every person who wishes to contest an election has to fill a nomination form and give some money as security deposit. Recently, a new system of declaration has been introduced on direction from the Supreme Court. Every candidate has to make a legal declaration, giving details of his/her assets and liabilities, educational qualification, etc.

18. In our country election campaigns take place for a two week period between the announcement of the final list of candidates and the date of polling.

19. During election campaigns, the candidates contact their voters, political leaders, address election meetings and political parties mobilize their supporters.

20. The final stage of an election is the day when the voters cast their vote. That day is usually called the election day. Nowadays electronic voting machines EVMs are used to record votes.

21. Once the polling is over, all the EVMs are sealed and taken to a secure place. A few days later, on a fixed day, all the EVMs from a constituency are opened and the votes secured by each candidate are counted.

22. The candidate who secures the highest number of votes from a constituency is declared elected. In a general election, counting of votes in all constituencies takes place at the same time, on the same day. Within a few hours of counting, all the results are declared and it becomes clear as to who will form the next government.

23. In our country elections are conducted by an independent and very powerful Election Commission or EC. It enjoys wide-ranging powers. It takes decisions on every aspect of conduct and control of elections from the announcement of elections to the declaration of results. It can reprimand the j government and administration for their lapses.

24. People’s participation in election is usually measured by voter turnout figures. Turnout indicates the percent of eligible voters who actually cast their vote.

25. In India the poor, illiterate and underprivileged people vote in larger proportion as compared to the rich and privileged sections. This is in contrast to western democracies.

26. The final test of the free and fair election is its outcome. The electoral outcomes are usually accepted as people’s verdict by the defeated party.

27. There are many limitations and challenges of Indian elections. Some of them are-candidates and parties with a lot of money may not be sure of their victory but they do enjoy a big and unfair advantage over smaller parties, some families tend to dominate political parties, etc.

28. Citizens, social activists and organizations have been demanding reforms in our electoral system.

Electoral Politics Class 9 CBSE Notes Important Terms

Constituency: Voters in a geographical area who elect a representative to the legislative bodies.

Code of conduct: A set of norms and guidelines to be followed by political parties and contesting candidates during election time.

Rigging: Fraud and malpractices indulged by a party or candidate to increase its voters.

Booth capturing: Supporters or hired musclemen of party or a candidate gain physical control of a polling booth and cast false votes by threatening everyone or preventing genuine voters from reaching the polling booth.

Turnout: The percentages of eligible voters who cast their votes in an election.

Incumbent: The current holder of a political office.

Level playing field: Condition in which all parties and candidates contesting in an election have equal opportunities to appeal for votes and to carry out election campaign.

On this page, you will find NCERT Class 9 Civics Chapter 3 Notes Pdf free download. CBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 3 SST Constitutional Design will seemingly, help them to revise the important concepts in less time.

Constitutional Design Class 9 Notes Social Science Civics Chapter 3

CBSE Class 9 Civics Chapter 3 Notes Understanding the Lesson

1. In a democracy the rulers are not free to do what they like. There are certain basic rules that the citizens and the government have to follow. All such rules together are called Constitution.

2. Constitution is the supreme law that determines the relationship among people living in a territory and also the relationship between the people and government.

3. All countries that have constitutions are not necessarily democratic. But all countries that are democratic will have constitutions.

4. South Africa attained independence from the apartheid government in 1994 and Nelson Mandela became the first president of the country.

5. A big task was ahead before the party that ruled through oppression and the party that led the freedom struggle to sit together to draw up a common Constitution.

6. After two years of discussion and debate they came out with one of the finest constitutions the world has ever had. This Constitution gave to its citizens the most extensive rights available in any country.

7. The South African Constitution inspires democrats all over the world. The people of the country played an important role in it. They along with the leaders worked together and finally transformed better experiences into the binding glue of a diverse nation.

8. Like South Africa, India’s Constitution was also drawn up under very difficult circumstances. The making of the Constitution for a huge and diverse country like India was not an easy affair. The makers of the Constitution had anxieties about the present and the future of the country.

9. Prominent leaders like Rajendra Prasad and Dr B. R. Ambedkar played an important role in the making of the Constitution. They were inspired by the ideals of French Revolution, the practice of parliamentary democracy in Britain and the Bill of Rights in the US. The socialist revolution in Russia had also its impact on the leaders.

10. The drafting of the document called the Constitution was done by the Constituent Assembly. It had 299 members who wrote the Constitution. The Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November, 1949 but it came into effect on 26 January 1950.

11. The Constituent Assembly worked in a systematic, open and consensual manner. First some basic principles were decided and agreed upon. Then a draft of Constitution was prepared for discussion.

12. The Preamble of the Constitution reads like a poem on democracy. It contains the philosophy on which the entire Constitution has been built. It is the soul of the Indian Constitution.

13. Some of the key words used in the Preamble of our Constitution are-sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic, justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.

14. The Constitution of India is a very long and detailed document. Therefore, it needs to be amended quite regularly to keep it updated. The Constitution makers made provisions to incorporate changes from time to time. These changes are called constitutional amendments.

15. The Constitution describes the institutional arrangements in a very legal language. Like any Constitution, the Indian Constitution lays down a procedure for choosing persons to govern the country.

16. It decides who will have how much power to take which decisions. And it puts limits to what the government can do by providing some rights to a citizen that cannot be violated.

Constitutional Design Class 9 CBSE Notes Important Terms

Apartheid: The official policy of racial separation and ill-treatment of blacks followed by the government of South Africa between 1948 and 1989.

Domination: The exercise of power or influence over someone or something, or the state of being so controlled.

Treason: The crime of betraying one’s country, especially by attempting to kill or overthrow the sovereign or government.

Racial discrimination: When a person is treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of his/her race, colour, ethnic origin, etc.

Segregation: The action or state of setting someone or something apart from others.

Constitution: Supreme law of a country, containing fundamental rules governing the politics and society in a country.

Preamble: An introductory statement in a Constitution which states the reasons and guiding values of the Constitution.

Citizens: People living in a territory.

Diverse: Showing a great deal of variety.

Universal Adult Franchise: It means all citizens whose age is above 18 have the right to vote.

Constituent Assembly: An assembly of people’s representatives that writes a Constitution for country.

Draft: A preliminary version of a legal document.

Clause: A distinct section of a document.

Philosophy: The most fundamental principles underlying one’s thoughts and actions.

Untouchability: A status of certain social groups (Dalits) confined to menial and despised jobs.

Tryst: A meeting or meeting place that has been agreed upon.

Secular: Not connected with religions or spiritual matters.

Democratic: A form of government where people enjoy equal political rights, elect their rulers and held them accountable.

Republic: A state which has an elected or nominated President rather than a monarch.

Liberty: Absence of unreasonable restrictions on the citizens in what they think, how they wish to express their thoughts, etc.

Fraternity: Friendship and mutual support within a group.