CBSE Class 9 Social Science Economics Revision Notes Chapter 1

Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 Notes

The Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 notes outline The Story of Village Palampur, wherein farming is the main activity. In this Chapter 1 Economics Class 9 notes, students will get to know the major concepts of the chapter that are important for their final examination. Moreover, Class 9 Economics notes Chapter 1 will be a student’s last-minute revision guide providing all the necessary information without missing out on a single topic.

CBSE Class 9 Economics Revision Notes 2023-24

Get Access to CBSE Class 9 Economics Revision Notes for all chapters for the academic year 2023-24

The Story of Village Palampur Class 9 notes Economics Chapter 1: 

Access Class 9 Social Science Economics Chapter 1- The Story of Village Palampur notes: 

Economics Chapter 1 notes: 

These CBSE revision notes of Chapter 1 will highlight the necessity of farming with a story of a village that is well established, and farming is the main activity over there. Palampur is a hypothetical village’s story to introduce the materials needed for agricultural production, as farming is the main activity in the village. The village Palampur is well-connected to the nearby villages like Raiganj, which is just 3 km away from Palampur. Basically, the story of village Palampur is written to describe the importance of modern methods of farming and how farmers can earn income even on a small hectare of land. Land, labour, capital, and human capital are four major factors needed to commence production on a given piece of land. In these Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 notes, a student will know more about the initial three production factors in the village Palampur context.

Economics Class 9 Chapter 1: Main features of the village Palampur:

In villages across India, farming is the primary activity. The other production activities or non-farm activities include small manufacturing, transport, shop-keeping, and so on. The imaginary village Palampur will give you a detailed idea of the factors needed for the production of crops and how farmers can utilise small hectares of land to earn more.

Some of the main features of the village Palampur:

• Palampur is well-connected to nearby towns like Raiganj, which is just 3 km away from Palampur.
• Moreover, many types of land transport are available on this route, including bullock carts, bogeys, motorcycles, jeeps, tractors, and trucks.
• The village Palampur comprises 450 families in total, belonging to different castes. There are a  total of 80 families belonging to the upper caste, and they own the majority of land in the village. The Dalits (SCs) comprise one-third of the population and reside in one small corner of the village.
• Furthermore, most of the houses in the village have electricity connections. Thus electricity powers the tubewell, which is used for irrigation in farming and to run many other small businesses.
• The village has one high school and two primary schools for the students, which is of utmost importance for the development of a village.
• In addition to it, there is a primary healthcare centre owned by the government and one private dispensary where people with various illnesses are treated.

As mentioned above, farming is the main activity in Palampur. In fact, 75 percent of the working population depends on farm income, whether farmers or farm labourers. So, it is of primary importance to take into consideration the four factors of production:

• Land: The foremost requirement to produce crops is the availability of land, natural resources such as water, minerals, forests, etc. In Palampur, the land is fixed, which means farmers have to find out techniques to grow more crops and earn more on a small hectare of land.
• Labour: The second requirement for the production of goods and services is labour. There are some activities that require highly educated labour, while other activities like farming require labour who can perform manual tasks with knowledge limited to crops and farming. In the village of Palampur, 150 families do not own land. So medium and large-scale farmers hire farm labourers from landless families or families cultivating small plots.
• Capital: The third requirement is physical capital which is classified under two categories; fixed capital and working capital. Fixed capital includes tools and machines such as a farmer’s plough that can be used over a period of several years. Moreover, working capital simply means the raw material and the money in hand.

For instance, farmers in Palampur have to borrow money to arrange for the capital. They borrow from large farmers, village moneylenders or the traders who supply various inputs for cultivation. On the other hand, medium and large-scale farmers with more than 2 hectares of land have their own savings, which can be used as working capital, such as wages of farm labourers.

The Story of Village Palampur:  Key concepts: 

There are key concepts which we learn from the story of village Palampur about the three factors of production and how they can be used efficiently. Let’s list some of the key concepts:

• The land is fixed in the hypothetical village Palampur:  

As mentioned above, 75 percent of the population in Palampur is dependent on farming, including farmers and farm labourers. However, the primary constraint is that the area of land in Palampur is fixed. Since the year 1960, there has been no expansion in the land area under cultivation. Hence, the key hurdle for the farmers of Palampur is to convert the wastelands into cultivable lands and use different crop growing techniques to use the land efficiently.

No land area in Palampur is left idle. In the rainy season, Kharif farmers grow jowar and bajra. These plants are used as cattle feed. It is followed by the cultivation of potatoes between the months of October and December. Moreover, in the winter season or rabi season, wheat is sown. From the wheat produced, farmers keep some for their family’s consumption and sell the surplus in the wheat market of Raiganj. Sugarcane is also grown in Palampur once every year, and the raw form of sugarcane known as jaggery is sold to the traders of Shahpur.

Palampur has a very efficient irrigation system, which makes it possible for farmers to grow three crops in a year on the same piece of land. The electricity supply is uninterrupted. Hence, with the installation of tubewells by the mid-1970s, the entire cultivable land (200 hectares) was irrigated. So, in Palampur, farmers use the technique of multiple cropping.

Additionally, after the introduction of High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) seeds, the production of crops increased because now the same plant will produce more grains than before. For example, in the village Palampur, the yield of wheat went up to 3200 kg per hectare with the use of HYV seeds, from 1300 kg produced by the traditional seeds.

Moreover, one-third of the 450 families residing in Palampur are landless, which simply means 150 families do not own land. Of the remaining population, 240 families cultivate small plots of land less than 2 hectares in size. On the other hand, more than half of the area of Palampur is covered by large cultivable lands owned by 60 families, including medium and small farmers who cultivate large plots of land exceeding 2 hectares in size.

• Labour in Palampur: 

Small farmers cultivate their own land along with their families. However, medium to large-scale farmers hire farm labourers. These farm labourers comprise people from landless families or families cultivating small plots of land.

Farm labourers have no right over the crop or land. Instead, they are paid wages, which vary from crop to crop, region to region, and from one farm activity to another (sowing and harvesting). Moreover, farm labourers might be employed on a daily basis or for a particular activity like harvesting.

The minimum wage of the farm labourer is INR 115, according to the Government of India (April 2011). However, due to heavy work competition in Palampur, labourers also agree to work for lower wages.

• Capital needed for farming: 

The majority of the small farmers borrow money in Palampur from large farmers, village money lenders or from traders who supply various inputs for cultivation. Plus, the rate of interest on these loans is very high. Unlike small farmers, large farmers have their own savings to be used as working capital.

Medium and large-scale farmers supply products like wheat to the traders at the Raiganj market. Because large farmers cultivate large areas of land, they are left with more surplus wheat to be sold in the market.

The money they get after selling the surplus is saved for farming activity in the next season, and some are given as loans to small farmers. Moreover, they might also utilise the money to buy trucks, which is fixed capital.

• Other non-farm activities in Palampur: 

1. Dairy is one of the most common non-farm activities in the village of Palampur. The milk produced by buffalos is sold in Raiganj. Two traders have set up their own collection cum chilling centres at Raiganj, from where the milk is transported to other cities and towns.
2. Less than fifty people are engaged in the manufacturing activity of Palampur. Manufacturing in Palampur is done on a small scale with simple production methods. They are mostly carried out at home or in the fields with the help of family members.
3. Transport is another important activity in Palampur. As there is a variety of vehicles found on the road connecting Raiganj to Palampur, there are people involved in transportation services, including rickshaw wallahs, tonga wallahs, jeeps, tractors, truck drivers and people driving the traditional bullock cart and bogey.

These notes will help students easily grasp the CBSE syllabus of Chapter 1, Economics, and in a shorter time span.  Extramarks also provides NCERT book notes, including formulas and CBSE previous year question papers.

Did you know? 

Apart from the riverine plains, coastal regions in our country are well-irrigated. On the other hand, plateau regions such as the Deccan plateau have low levels of irrigation. Of the total cultivated area in the country, a little less than 40 per cent is irrigated even today.