Social Science Notes Class 6 English Medium 2026-27

Social Science Chapter 14. Economic Activities Around Us

CBSE Notes New Syllabus: Class 6

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Chapter 14. Economic Activities Around Us

This chapter explains how economic activities are classified into three sectors—primary, secondary and tertiary—and how these sectors are interconnected and depend on one another.

Chapter Review

Economic Activities

Economic activities are activities that create monetary value. Over time, economic activities have increased and become more diverse, including agriculture, manufacturing, banking, transportation, software development and many other services.

Economic Sectors

Economic activities with similar characteristics are grouped into broader groups called economic sectors. There are three main economic sectors:

• Primary Sector
• Secondary Sector
• Tertiary Sector

Primary Sector

The primary sector includes economic activities in which people are directly dependent on nature to produce goods.

• Agriculture
• Mining
• Fishing
• Raising livestock
• Forestry
• Greenhouse farming
• Fish farming

Examples: Cultivating grains and vegetables, collecting wood from forests, extracting coal from mines, obtaining fish from fisheries and getting eggs from poultry farms.

Secondary Sector

The secondary sector includes economic activities that depend on the outputs of the primary sector and transform raw materials into goods.

• Manufacturing
• Construction
• Processing of agricultural products
• Water supply
• Electricity production
• Solar power

Examples: Making flour from grains, extracting oil from groundnut, processing tea leaves, converting wood into furniture and paper, making clothes from cotton and automobiles from steel.

Tertiary Sector

The tertiary sector provides services that support people involved in the primary and secondary sectors. It is also called the service sector.

• Healthcare
• Banking
• Transportation
• Trade and logistics
• Communication
• Software development
• Education
• Hotels and restaurants
• Repair and maintenance services

Examples of Tertiary Activities

Truck drivers transport goods from farms to factories or markets. Doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers and pilots provide services. Mechanics, electricians and technicians also provide important services. Banking, communication, software development, transportation, retail and warehouse services are also part of the tertiary sector.

Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sectors – Difference

Interdependence Among Sectors

The three economic sectors are interconnected. They work together to convert natural raw materials into finished products for final consumption.

• The primary sector provides raw materials.
• The secondary sector processes raw materials and produces goods.
• The tertiary sector provides transportation, trade, banking and other services needed by both sectors.

AMUL – Dairy Cooperative

The chapter uses the example of Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) to explain the interdependence of the three sectors.

• Farmers obtain milk from cows and buffaloes – Primary Sector.
• Milk is processed into products such as milk powder, ghee, cheese and butter – Secondary Sector.
• Transportation, trading and retailing of these products – Tertiary Sector.

Cooperative

A cooperative is a group of people who voluntarily come together to meet their economic and social needs. The members collectively own the cooperative and take decisions together.

AMUL and Farmers

In the early 1940s, farmers in Anand district faced difficulties in selling milk and depended on middlemen. On the advice of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, they formed a cooperative to become independent of middlemen.

AMUL was set up in 1946 under the leadership of Tribhuvandas Patel and Dr. Varghese Kurien.

Role of the Cooperative

• Farmers collectively managed the production and sale of milk.
• They made decisions together.
• They shared different tasks.
• Their income gradually increased.
• They became less dependent on middlemen.
• Milk was processed into different products.
• Products were transported and sold across India and exported to other countries.

Middlemen

Middlemen are persons who buy goods from producers and sell them to consumers. They charge a fee for this service.

Pasteurisation

Pasteurisation is a process in which milk is preserved by heating it to a specific temperature to kill harmful bacteria.

Factory

A factory is a building or group of buildings where goods are manufactured or components are put together to make a final product.

Retail

Retail means the sale of goods in small quantities for use by the final consumer rather than for resale.

Export

Export means goods and services produced in one country and sold to buyers or consumers in another country.

Dairy Cooperative – From Farm to Plate

Making of a Textbook

The chapter also explains how all three sectors work together in making books.

• Wood from trees provides the raw material – Primary Sector.
• Wood pulp is transformed into paper and the paper is printed into textbooks – Secondary Sector.
• Transportation and selling of books involve the Tertiary Sector.

Importance of Interdependence

No sector can function completely independently. The three sectors depend on one another for raw materials, processing, transportation, trade and services.

Important Definitions

• Monetary Value – The value of something that can be measured in terms of money.
• Economic Sector – A broad group containing different economic activities.
• Primary Sector – Activities involving direct dependence on nature to produce or obtain goods.
• Secondary Sector – Activities involving the processing of raw materials into products.
• Tertiary Sector – Activities involving the provision of services that support primary and secondary sectors.
• Cooperative – A group of people who voluntarily come together to meet their economic and social needs.
• Middlemen – Persons who buy goods from producers and sell them to consumers.
• Pasteurisation – Heating milk to a specific temperature to kill harmful bacteria.
• Retail – Sale of goods in small quantities to the final consumer.
• Export – Selling goods or services produced in one country to buyers in another country.

Important Facts

• There are three main economic sectors: primary, secondary and tertiary.
• The primary sector depends directly on nature.
• The secondary sector transforms raw materials into goods.
• The tertiary sector is also known as the service sector.
• AMUL was set up in 1946.
• AMUL was established under the leadership of Tribhuvandas Patel and Dr. Varghese Kurien.
• The AMUL example shows the interdependence of all three sectors.
• Transportation, trading and retail are tertiary activities.

Quick Revision

• Primary → Nature → Raw Materials
• Secondary → Processing → Finished Goods
• Tertiary → Services → Support
• All three sectors are interconnected and interdependent.
• AMUL provides an important example of how the three sectors work together.
• The making of a textbook also involves all three sectors.

Chapter at a Glance

Natural Resources → Primary Sector → Raw Materials → Secondary Sector → Finished Products → Tertiary Sector → Transportation / Trade / Retail → Consumers