CBSE · Class 10 · Geography · Chapter 1
Resources and Development — Class 10 Geography (CBSE) explained
- Board exam 2026-27
- 4 lessons
- 31 scenes
- About 26 min
- Updated
Quick answer
Resources and Development is Chapter 1 of CBSE Class 10 Geography. It covers resource transformation, international action for sustainability, conditions for resource development, fallow periods and cropped-area measures, land use factors and data coverage and soil classification and alluvial distribution. AI Lessons teaches it in 4 narrated lessons (about 26 minutes) with an AI tutor and board-pattern practice.
What you’ll learn
Lesson 1: Resources and Sustainable Development
6 min- What Makes Something a Resource?
- Human Beings Connect Nature, Technology and Institutions
- Four Bases for Classifying Resources
- Read the Natural and Human Resource Tree
- What Goes Wrong with Indiscriminate Resource Use?
- Development Without Compromising the Future
- The Rio Earth Summit and Agenda 21
Lesson 2: Resource Planning and Land Utilisation
6 min- Different Regions Have Different Resource Strengths
- The Three Stages of Resource Planning
- Resources Alone Do Not Ensure Development
- Resource Conservation: Need, Not Greed
- Land Resources and India's Relief Features
- How Land Utilisation Is Classified
- Fallow Land, Net Sown Area and Gross Cropped Area
Lesson 3: Land Use, Land Degradation and Soil Formation
6 min- What Determines Land Use, and What Is Reported?
- Compare Land Use in 1960-61 and 2019-20
- Net Sown Area and the Forest Requirement
- Human Activities and Land Degradation
- Industrial Damage and Land Conservation Measures
- Soil Formation and the Soil Profile
- Soil Classification and the Spread of Alluvial Soils
Lesson 4: Soil Types, Soil Conservation and Practice
8 min- Alluvial Soils: Texture, Age and Fertility
- Black Soil: Regions, Moisture and Cultivation
- Red and Yellow Soils: Why the Colour Changes
- Laterite Soil: Leaching, Humus and Crop Use
- Arid Soils: Dryness, Salts and Kankar
- Forest Soils Change with Mountain Position
- Soil Erosion: Gullies, Sheets and Wind
- Contour Ploughing, Terraces, Strips and Shelter Belts
- Apply the Chapter: Projects, Discussion and the Puzzle
- Chapter Recap: Explain, Classify and Practise
Key concepts
- Resource transformation
- Human Beings are at the centre, connected to all three.
- International action for sustainability
- One major objective is that every local government should draw its own local Agenda twenty-one.
- Conditions for resource development
- The availability of resources is a necessary condition for a region's development.
- Fallow periods and cropped-area measures
- Current fallow is land left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year. Other than current fallow is land left uncultivated for the past one to five agricultural years.
- Land use factors and data coverage
- Land use is determined by physical and human factors. Physical factors include topography, climate and soil types.
- Soil classification and alluvial distribution
- Alluvial soil is the most widely spread and important soil. The entire northern plains are made of it.
- Alluvial soil properties
- Old alluvial soil is Bangar, and new alluvial soil is Khadar. Bangar has a higher concentration of kanker nodules.
- Types and causes of soil erosion
- Soil erosion is the denudation of soil cover and its subsequent washing down. Soil formation and erosion usually occur together in balance.
Exam focus
- Board exam
- CBSE assesses this chapter in the 2026-27 year-end board examination.
- Syllabus
- Resources and Development. Learning outcomes: enumerates how the resources are interdependent, justify how planning is essential in judicious utilisation of resources and the need to develop them in India; infer the rationale for development of resources; analyse and evaluate data and information related to non-optimal land utilization in India; suggest remedial measures for optimal utilization of underutilized resources. Map work: Resources and Development - identify major soil types.
- Map work
- Map item for the board: identify major soil types (on the official Survey of India map).
- Paper pattern
- Social Science 80 marks, 3 hours, 38 questions; Section B Geography 20 marks (17 + 3 map pointing). VSA 2 marks (<=40 words), SA 3 marks (<=60 words), LA 5 marks (<=120 words), case-based 4 marks (3 sub-questions, <=100 words); map question in Geography 3 marks.
- Question style
- About 50% of board questions are competency-focused.
- Practice in the app
- 130 board-pattern questions with marking schemes: 36 multiple choice (1 mark), 30 very short answer (2 marks), 38 short answer (3 marks), 8 long answer (5 marks) and 18 case-based (4 marks).
Sample questions with marking points
Board-pattern questions from the AI Lessons practice set for this chapter. The marking points show what an examiner looks for; full model answers are in the app.
Very short answer2 marks
An arid area faces land degradation from overgrazing and unstable sand dunes. Suggest one suitable measure for each problem.
Marking points
- Recommends control of overgrazing or proper grazing management.1
- Recommends growing thorny bushes to stabilise sand dunes. Accept planting shelter belts as an alternative.1
Short answer3 marks
A survey team groups all soils solely by colour. State two other criteria it should consider, and explain why India has a variety of soil types.
Marking points
- Names one additional criterion: factors of formation, thickness, texture, age, chemical properties or physical properties.1
- Names a second distinct additional criterion from the same list.1
- Explains that India's varied relief, landforms, climatic realms and vegetation contribute to different soil types.1
Long answer5 marks
A region is rich in minerals but has not achieved comparable economic development. As a planning adviser, recommend five linked measures for planning and developing its resources.
Marking points
- Identification and inventory through surveying, mapping, and qualitative and quantitative estimation or measurement.1
- Appropriate technological development for resource development.1
- Improvement in the quality of human resources or provision of appropriate skills.1
- Suitable institutional set-up or institutional changes to support implementation.1
- Matching regional resource development plans with overall national development plans.1
Frequently asked questions
What does Resources and Development cover in Class 10 Geography?
It covers resource transformation, international action for sustainability, conditions for resource development, fallow periods and cropped-area measures, land use factors and data coverage and soil classification and alluvial distribution. AI Lessons teaches it in 4 lessons: Resources and Sustainable Development, Resource Planning and Land Utilisation, Land Use, Land Degradation and Soil Formation and Soil Types, Soil Conservation and Practice.
Is Resources and Development in the CBSE Class 10 board exam?
Yes. CBSE assesses Resources and Development in the 2026-27 year-end board examination.
What are resources?
Resources are a function of human activities. Human beings transform materials available in the environment into resources and use them.
Which action by a local government fulfils a major objective of Agenda 21?
Draw up its own local Agenda 21. A major objective of Agenda 21 is that every local government should draw its own local Agenda 21.
Which soil type is the most widely spread and important soil in India?
Alluvial soil. Alluvial soil is the most widely spread and important soil in India, covering the entire northern plains and occurring in other regions too.
Which group contains only the river systems that deposited the alluvial soils of the northern plains?
Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra. The northern plains' alluvial soils were deposited by the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra river systems.
What is bad land?
The land becomes unfit for cultivation and is called bad land.
How does AI Lessons teach Resources and Development?
As 4 narrated, animated lessons (31 scenes, about 26 minutes in all), with an AI tutor that knows the step you are on and board-pattern practice with marking schemes. The full lessons open after sign-in on an AI Lessons account.
Watch the full lesson
Resources and Development, as a narrated, animated lesson
4 lessons · 31 animated scenes · about 26 minutes, with an AI tutor that knows the step you are on and 130 board-pattern questions with marking schemes.
Lessons open after sign-in. A parent or guardian holds the account and adds each child.