Class 8 Social Science Chapter 1, Natural Resources and Their Use, opens NCERT’s Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part I, 2026-27) under the theme ‘India and the World: Land and the People’. It explains when nature becomes a resource, how resources are classified, the paradox of plenty, and stewardship through real Indian case studies.
What Class 8 Social Science Chapter 1 Covers
When does Nature become a Resource? and Categories of Natural Resources explain that an element of nature becomes a resource when humans can access and use it, then classify resources by use (essential for life, materials, energy) and into renewable and non-renewable resources.
Distribution of Natural Resources and the ‘Paradox of Plenty’ show how uneven resource distribution shapes trade, settlements and conflict, and why resource-rich regions do not automatically achieve high human development.
Responsible and Wise Use: Stewardship examines groundwater overexploitation in Punjab, the environmental cost of cement, and Sikkim’s transition to 100% organic farming.
Exercises in Chapter 1
- Questions and activities at the end of the chapter, after a Before we move on… recap.
Read Class 8 Social Science Chapter 1 Online
More Chapters
- Next: Chapter 2: Reshaping India’s Political Map
- Hindi medium: Class 8 Social Science Chapter 1 PDF in Hindi (Samaj Ka Adhyayan)
- All Social Science chapters and the other Class 8 books: Class 8 NCERT books 2026-27
- All Class 1 to 12 NCERT Textbooks: NCERT Books PDF (Class 1–12)
FAQ
What is the ‘Paradox of Plenty’ in Class 8 Social Science Chapter 1?
The situation in which regions rich in natural resources (such as minerals or forests) remain economically underdeveloped or face social and environmental distress.
Which case studies are in Class 8 Social Science Chapter 1?
Overexploitation of groundwater in Punjab, the case of cement production, and organic farming in Sikkim.