Bihar State Exam Agriculture, Transport & Industries in Bihar Study Material: [Download Notes PDF]

Agriculture in Bihar State

• Bihar is primarily an agricultural state where farming is subsistent in nature.
• Foodgrains are the main crops.
• Gopalganj and Madhepura have the highest net sown area.
• There are three cropping seasons in Bihar.
• Kharif Crops
  • They are also called Bhadai and Aghani crops.
  • They are sown in May-June and harvested in September-October.
  • Important crops - Maize, Paddy and Jute.
• Rabi Crops
  • They are sown in October-November and harvested in March-April.
  • Important crops - Wheat, Gram, Rapeseed and Mustard.
• Zaid Crops
  • They are produced between Rabi and Kharif crop seasons.
  • Important crops - Muskmelon, Watermelon, Gourd etc.
• RICE
  • Main cereal crop of Bihar
  • Two crops are grown - Aus (Summer Crop) and Aman (Winter Crop)
  • Maximum area - Madhubani, Aurangabad and Rohtas
  • Maximum production - Rohtas, Aurangabad and West Champaran
  • Maximum productivity - Arwal, Rohtas and Sheikhpura
• WHEAT
  • The best suited is sandy soil having the capacity to retain moisture.
  • Ganga Diara and Bagmati plains are the most important.
  • Maximum area - Rohtas, East Champaran and Aurangabad
  • Maximum production - Rohtas, Kaimur and Siwan
  • Maximum productivity - Jahanabad, Patna and Gaya
• MAIZE
  • Light clay soil is best for maize e.g. Bal Sundari soil
  • Maximum area - Khagaria
  • Maximum production - Katihar, Madhepura and Khagaria
  • Maximum productivity - Katihar
• JUTE
  • Bihar ranks 2^nd in jute production after West Bengal
  • It requires alluvial soil with a large amount of rainfall.
  • Major district for jute production - Kishanganj and Purnea
• PULSES
  • Arhar, gram, urad, masoor, moong and khesari are grown.
  • Maximum area - Patna, Aurangabad and Muzaffarpur
  • Maximum production - Patna, Aurangabad and Nalanda
  • Maximum productivity - Kaimur
• Bihar is known for its Litchi and Mango production.
• Litchi of Muzaffarpur is famous all over India.

IRRIGATION

• The irrigation potential of Bihar is very high but utilization is very low.
• Proper irrigation helps in raising agricultural production thus bettering the lives of people.
• Bihar also receives a fair amount of rainfall.
• There is a however uneven distribution of both irrigation facilities and rainfall across various districts.
• The share of irrigation by Canals is 37% and Tubewells is 30% while wells and ponds account for 30%.
• Almost 3/4^th of the Canal irrigated area is in South Bihar.
• SONE CANAL
  • Eastern Sone Canal taken out from Barun - irrigates Patna, Jahanabad, Aurangabad and Gaya
  • Western Sone Canal has been taken out from Tishri - irrigate Ara, Buxar and Rohtas
• KOSI CANAL
  • Two canals took out from Hanuman Nagar reservoir
  • Eastern Kosi Canal - irrigates Purnia, Madhepura and Saharsa.
  • Western Kosi Canal - irrigates Darbhanga district.
• GANDAK CANAL
  • Two Canals took out from the dam at Valmiki Nagar
  • Saran Canal - irrigates Saran, Gopalganj and Siwan
  • Tirhut Canal - irrigates Muzaffarpur, Vaishali and East Champaran
• TRIVENI CANAL
  • It is taken out from Gandak River at Triveni.
  • It irrigates the West Champaran district.
• KAMLA CANAL
  • It is taken out from Kamla River in Darbhanga.
  • It irrigates mainly the Madhubani district.

Transport in Bihar State

ROADWAYS

• Roadways are the most common means of transport used by people.
• Development of the people cannot be achieved without adequate roads.
• In terms of road length per lakh population, it is just over 200 km compared to the national average of 358 km.
• However, in terms of road density of 210 km per 100 sq. km, Bihar is much ahead of other states except Kerala and West Bengal
• The total length of National Highways is 4595 km.
• The longest NH in Bihar is NH-31 of which 393 km is in Bihar.
• East-West Corridor
  • It connects Porbandar to Silchar.
  • It passes through 10 districts.
  • Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnia, Araria, Supaul, Madhepura, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran and Gopalganj
  • It crosses the Gandak River in Bihar.
  • It consists of NH-27.
• Golden Quadrilateral
  • It passes through 4 districts.
  • Kaimur, Rohtas, Aurangabad and Gaya.
  • It crosses the Sone River in Bihar.
  • It consists of NH-2 which connects Delhi to Kolkata.
• Major NHS :
  • NH-19 - Chhapra to Patna
  • NH-57 - Muzaffarpur to Purnia
  • NH-82 - Gaya to Mokama
  • NH-85 - Chhapra to Gopalganj
  • NH-98 - Patna to Rajhara. AIIMS Patna is on this NH.
• Major Road Bridges :
  • Mahatma Gandhi Setu on Ganga river in Patna
  • Vikramshila Setu on Ganga river in Bhagalpur
• Major Rail-Road Bridges :
  • Rajendra Setu on Ganga river in Mokama
  • Nehru Setu on Sone river in Dehri-i-Koh
  • Abdul Bari Bridge on Sone river connecting Koilwar and Bhojpur
  • Ganga Rail-Road Bridge on Ganga river connecting Patna and Sonepur

RAILWAYS

• Railways started developing quite early in Bihar by the East India Company in 1860-62.
• Bihar has three railway lines
  • North-Eastern Railway - North Bihar
  • East Central Railway - South Bihar
  • North-East Frontier Railway ­- ­­­North-East Bihar
• The headquarters of the East Central Railway is located in Hajipur in the Vaishali district of Bihar.

AIRWAYS

• There are two international airports in Bihar.
  • Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport, Patna
  • Gaya International Airport - It was mainly developed for Buddhist tourism in Gaya.

WATERWAYS

• Waterways are the cheapest means of transport.
• It is environment friendly and fuel-efficient.
• National Waterway-1 that connects Allahabad to Haldia passes through Bihar.
• Bihar Steamer Service is available at Bararighat in Bhagalpur
• Ara Canal is also used for navigation purposes.

INDUSTRIES in Bihar State

• Most of the industries are agro-based.
• The First Sugar manufacturing company was set up by the Dutch in 1840.
• Bihar State Milk Cooperative Federation (CONFED)
  • It was established in 1983.
  • SUDHA brand is marketed by CONFED.
• The tea industry in Bihar is mostly concentrated in the Kishanganj district.
• Bhagalpur region has great potential for Silk Industry.
• Jute Park is being set up at Maranga in the Purnia district.
• The leather industry is concentrated in Muzaffarpur and Mokama. Due to only a few working industries, most of the raw materials find a way to Kolkata, Kanpur and Chennai.
• Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA)
  • It was constituted under the B I A D Act 1974 to promote industrialization in Bihar.
  • It has 4 regional offices in Patna, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur and Bhagalpur.
• Bharat Wagon and Engineering Company Limited
  • It is a PSU located in Mokama
  • It manufactures rail wagons.
• Barauni Refinery
  • It is located in Begusarai.
  • It was established in 1964 with the help of the USSR.
  • It is owned by Indian Oil Corporation.
  • It receives oil from the Numaligarh oilfield in Assam.

• Major Industrial locations in Bihar
  • Mokama - Leather, Rail Wagons
  • Digha - Leather, Beer
  • Bihta - Sugar
  • Patna - Cracker, Cotton Textile
  • Bhagalpur - Tussar Silk
  • Munger - Gun, Cigarette
  • Gaya - Sugar, Lac, Cotton Textile, Leather
  • Dumraon - Cotton Textile, Laltern
  • Bihar Sharif - Tobacco
  • Darbhanga - Paper
  • Samastipur - Paper mill, Sugar
  • Katihar - Jute, Matchstick
  • Dalmianagar - Cement
  • Hajipur - Plywood 

Agriculture, Transport & Industries in Bihar Study Material (English PDF)

Agriculture, Transport & Industries in Bihar Study Material (Hindi PDF)

Most Important Study Notes

More from us

Free मे पढ़े GS/GK Study Notes और अपनी तैयारी को मज़बूत करे

Free मे पढ़े Daily/Weekly/Monthly/Yearly करेंट अफेयर्स

NCERT Books तथा उनकी Summary Free मे Download करे