NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 – The Story Of Village Palampur

There is scope for development in India since more than 60% of our population is still in primary occupation, mainly farming. The NCERT Solutions for class 9 Economics chapter 1 takes the children on a virtual tour by creating a story and realistic characters to bring out the hard facts of the production process in a village. To dwell on production, we will consider a hypothetical village called Palampur in NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Economics Chapter 1. The main occupation of Palampur is farming grains and other food products. The rest of the people are involved in small scale industries like dairy, transport etc. This village is chosen as a model to make the students aware of the resource requirements, challenges of production and how it provides services to the villagers. The vicious cycle ends up widening the economic disparity inherent in our society. 

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Social Science Economics Chapter 1 provides detailed and authentic answers to all the textbook questions. Through those, the students can understand, remember and retain answers to NCERT questions and thus, perform well in exams

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Key Topics Covered In NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Economics Chapter 1

The tabular representation below covers the topics under NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Economics Chapter 1

A brief of the topics covered under NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 is as under. 

1.1 Introduction

The NCERT Economics Class 9 Chapter 1 revolves around a typical Indian village called Palampur, where farming is the main occupation and secondary manufacturing is still underdeveloped. This village has done well for itself, having basic amenities like electricity, road, transport, health centre, schools and irrigation for farming. With the stage set, Chapter 1 takes us through the different production activities in Palampur, showcasing the need to preserve natural resources, the effects of modern techniques in farming, the imbalance in the demand and supply of labour, and non-farming activities being the need of the hour. 

1.2 Three prongs of production

There are three essentials of a production process as explained in the NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Economics Chapter 1:-

• The land is where production activities like farming, manufacturing, forestry etc., occur. Natural resources like soil minerals, water, trees etc., are utilised from the land. Land soil is a perishable resource if not nurtured with care.
• Human resources are the labour force which performs tasks like ploughing fields, cutting trees, harvesting crops, operating machinery and supervising the production activity.
• Capital can be fixed assets like buildings, tools, machines, computers, generators, vehicles, etc. Or they can be operating expenses like raw materials, money, water and electricity, which are utilised in production.

1.3 Approach to improved farming

Through NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 students learn that practically every production activity in Palampur required electricity, be it farming, factories, dairy or retail stores. It was an advantage for farmers to have electrical tube wells which could supply water more efficiently throughout the year, rather than pinning hopes on rainfall to irrigate their land. The farmers were able to do away with the age-old Persian wheel mechanism of physically drawing water from the wells.

With irrigation in place, the farmers looked at other challenges to maximise using the available cultivable land. That is how multiple cropping came to existence, as elaborated in the NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Economics Chapter 1. Different crops were grown in different seasons and various portions of land, making it possible to get at least 3 to 4 varieties of produce from the same ground over a year. 

Subsequently came the Green Revolution and its modern method of farming which introduced the farmers to high yielding seeds. This phenomenon tripled the production but, at the same time, demanded high quantities of water and increased usage of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides to protect the crop. The NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 tells us about the pitfalls of this method. 

The rich harvests made farmers rich. They could now afford more machinery, synthetic fertilisers and pesticides for more produce. The influx of chemicals led to the depletion of soil fertility. We further learn in the NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 that the non-biodegradable chemicals kill the beneficial bacteria and microorganisms in the soil and eventually get washed down to lakes and rivers, thus polluting the environment. Increased and continuous groundwater use affects the water table; another negative on the environment.

1.4 Land distribution in Palampur

As is the case in most villages in India, there is an unequal division of land in Palampur. Of the 450 families residing, one third are the poor Dalits and SC community, who do not own any cultivable land. They end up as farm labourers. About 240 families are the small and medium farmers who own about 2 hectares (1 hectare = 100 square metres) or lesser land. The remaining population of landlords and large farmers have above 2 hectares of land each. Land distribution is crucial as it gives us insight into each family’s yield capability. From the NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Economics Chapter 1, we see that the less  privileged villagers borrow money at high interest to invest in their farms or make ends meet. Unable to clear debts in time, they end up as daily wage workers or even giving up their land to the big farmers or moneylenders.

1.5 Daily wages 

Medium and large farmers often hire labourers who come from landless families or the families of small farmers. They work for daily wages, in cash or kind (meals or food crops). The NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Economics Chapter 1  mentions that in March 2019, the government had directed that a daily wage labourer is entitled to a minimum of Rs. 300/- per day. But due to pressures of clearing their debts, the landless families, small farmers and sometimes the medium farmers end up working at much lower wages than their entitlement.

1.6 Means of capital for small, medium and large farmers

Usually, the surplus (after consumption for their own family and some kept for the future) from the harvest is sold in nearby markets to generate cash. The raw material, tools and machinery for the next round of production are purchased. The NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 talks about how large farmers can reinvest easily and deposit money in their bank accounts. Medium farmers may not have enough to start an account in a bank, as their surplus is limited. On the other hand, small farmers and landless families are literally in a ‘hand to mouth’ situation and end up borrowing more and more money. 

1.7 Small scale industries and their growth

The poor wages and unemployment often drives the labour toward big towns or cities seeking better opportunities. In NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Economics Chapter 1, we see that people are engaged in other employment like dairy farming, shopkeeping, transport, small scale manufacturing industries and computer centres. Some of these do not require heavy investments, and the operating costs are also not very high. These activities help the low-income family with their daily needs and not depend totally on farming.

1.8 Role of government 

The NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 brings out the role of the government’s help to uplift the economically backward section of the village. Budding entrepreneurs should have access to loans at lower interest rates. The government needs to support non-farming activities by providing necessary infrastructure like markets, roads, transport facilities etc. Education and essential health care facilities are another impetus that the governing bodies should look into for the community’s economic development. 

NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 Exercises &  Solutions

NCERT Solutions provide detailed and authentic answers to all the textbook questions. Through those, the students can understand, remember and retain answers to NCERT questions and thus, perform well in exams

The practical exercises offered in the NCERT Economics Class 9 Chapter 1 make learning more interesting for the students. The team at Extramarks believes in this theory to impart knowledge to the students and make them strong in the subject so that each student performs very well in their CBSE examinations. Students may refer to the essential questions and answers given in the link below.

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Key Features of NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Economics Chapter 1

The NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 explains the production activities through an example of a typical village in India. Students learn about the integrals of production, i.e. land, labour and capital. This chapter explains electricity requirements, measures to increase output, the economic disparity, exploitation of the labour force and non-farming methods as an alternative occupation. 

NCERT Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 has been put together by experienced teachers and experts from Extramarks to include actual production and economic development aspects in a village. There are sufficient examples, tables and illustrations to make every student understand the subject. The team at Extramarks have ensured that the syllabus of NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 is as per NCERT guidelines.