Pariksha SaathiLesson 8 of 10 · Madhya Pradesh General Knowledge
Agriculture, Minerals and Industries of Madhya Pradesh
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Farming seasons and crops
Agriculture is the main occupation of the state. In the kharif season, sown with the monsoon, the main crops are soybean, rice, maize, jowar, cotton, urad and tur; in the rabi season, sown after the rains, they are wheat, gram, lentil (masur) and mustard. The black soil of Malwa and the Narmada valley suits soybean and wheat, the red and yellow soils of the east suit rice, and the Chambal plains grow mustard and wheat.
Leading crops
Madhya Pradesh is called the Soya State because it led the spread of soybean cultivation in India from the 1970s, centred on Malwa; the ICAR Indian Institute of Soybean Research is at Indore. The state has long been India's leading producer of pulses, especially gram. Sharbati wheat of Sehore and the Malwa region is famous across the country. Nimar (Khargone and Barwani) is the cotton belt, Burhanpur is known for bananas, Mandsaur and Neemuch grow opium poppy under licence along with isabgol and garlic, and tribal districts such as Dindori grow the millets kodo and kutki. The Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwavidyalaya at Jabalpur, founded in 1964, is the state's oldest agricultural university.
Diamonds and coal
Panna district has been modern India's main source of diamonds. They occur in a kimberlite pipe at Majhgawan, where the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) set up a mechanised mine, and in gravels and conglomerates that local people dig on lease. Coal occurs in the Gondwana basins: Singrauli, headquarters of Northern Coalfields Limited, Sohagpur (Shahdol), Johilla (Umaria), Pench-Kanhan (Chhindwara) and Pathakheda (Betul). Singrauli's coal feeds the Vindhyachal super thermal power station of NTPC, and the region is called the energy capital of India. Satpura (Sarni) and Sanjay Gandhi (Birsinghpur) are other thermal power stations.
Metals and other minerals
Malanjkhand in Balaghat district has one of India's largest copper deposits, mined open-cast by Hindustan Copper Limited. Balaghat and Chhindwara produce manganese from Dharwar rocks, mined by MOIL. Limestone from Katni, Satna, Rewa, Damoh and Maihar supports a large cement industry and has made Satna a cement city. Bauxite occurs at Amarkantak and in Katni, Mandla, Balaghat and Shahdol, rock phosphate in Jhabua and Sagar, and dolomite, fireclay, pyrophyllite and diaspore in several districts. The marble of Bhedaghat near Jabalpur is famous.
Public sector and security industries
The Security Paper Mill at Narmadapuram (formerly Hoshangabad) makes paper for currency notes and other security documents, and the Bank Note Press at Dewas prints currency notes. NEPA Mills at Nepanagar in Burhanpur district was India's first newsprint mill. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has a major plant at Bhopal, and Jabalpur is a defence production centre with the Gun Carriage Factory, the Vehicle Factory and the ordnance factory at Khamaria. The Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology at Indore works on lasers and particle accelerators.
Industrial areas
Pithampur in Dhar district, near Indore, is called the Detroit of India for its automobile units. Mandideep near Bhopal and Malanpur near Gwalior are other industrial areas. Indore is the commercial capital of the state, and Nagda in Ujjain district has a large viscose fibre plant. The Bhilai steel plant, built with Soviet help when Durg was part of Madhya Pradesh, has been in Chhattisgarh since 2000, so it is a trap answer in questions about Madhya Pradesh.
Handloom textiles
Chanderi in Ashoknagar district weaves light silk-and-cotton saris with zari borders and small butis. Maheshwar on the Narmada weaves Maheshwari saris with reversible borders, a tradition encouraged by Ahilyabai Holkar. Bagh print of Dhar district is hand-block printing with natural dyes, named after the village of Bagh. Bherugarh near Ujjain is known for batik and block prints, and Bhopal for zari-zardozi embroidery and the beaded batua purse.
Key facts
- MP is called the Soya State; the ICAR Indian Institute of Soybean Research is at Indore.
- MP has long led India in pulses, especially gram; Sharbati wheat of Sehore is famous.
- Crop belts: cotton in Nimar, bananas in Burhanpur, opium poppy and isabgol in Mandsaur-Neemuch, kodo and kutki millets in Dindori.
- Panna: modern India's main source of diamonds; NMDC set up a mechanised mine on the Majhgawan kimberlite pipe.
- Coal: Singrauli (Northern Coalfields headquarters, NTPC Vindhyachal), Sohagpur (Shahdol), Johilla (Umaria), Pench-Kanhan (Chhindwara), Pathakheda (Betul).
- Copper: Malanjkhand (Balaghat), Hindustan Copper Limited; manganese: Balaghat and Chhindwara (MOIL).
- Limestone from Katni, Satna, Rewa, Maihar and Damoh feeds the cement industry; Satna is the cement city.
- Currency chain: Security Paper Mill, Narmadapuram (paper) and Bank Note Press, Dewas (printing); NEPA Mills, Nepanagar, was India's first newsprint mill.
- Industry places: Pithampur (Detroit of India), Mandideep, Malanpur, BHEL Bhopal, ordnance factories at Jabalpur, RRCAT Indore.
- Textiles: Chanderi (Ashoknagar), Maheshwari (Maheshwar), Bagh print (Dhar), Bherugarh batik (Ujjain). Trap: the Bhilai steel plant is in Chhattisgarh.
Quick revision
Kharif: soybean, rice, maize, cotton, urad, tur; rabi: wheat, gram, masur, mustard; Soya State, soybean research institute at Indore; leading pulses producer; Sharbati wheat of Sehore; Panna diamonds (Majhgawan, NMDC); coal at Singrauli (NCL, Vindhyachal), Sohagpur, Pench-Kanhan; Malanjkhand copper; Balaghat manganese; Satna cement; Security Paper Mill Narmadapuram, Bank Note Press Dewas, NEPA Nepanagar; BHEL Bhopal; Pithampur Detroit of India; Chanderi, Maheshwari, Bagh print; Bhilai is in Chhattisgarh.