 we are here for a discussion of previous year questions that have been asked by UPSC in last 10 to 12 years of prelims examination. Civil services examination our subject is geography the entire questions that have been asked in last 10 to 12 years have been divided into few segments. I shall be discussing a particular set of questions and the total number of questions for discussion today here is 56. So starting with the first question over here question number one which one of the following pairs of islands is separated from each other by the 10 degree channel and options are and Amane Nikobar, Nikobar and Sumatra, Maldives and Lakshadeep, Sumatra and Java. Now it is a completely map based question if you need to answer that type of question and you want your answers to be correct you need a pragmatic and a comprehensive understanding of the map work for that without looking at the map you won't be able to able to arrive at the correct answer. 10 degree channel is separating which of the water bodies and Amane Nikobar, Nikobar, Sumatra, Maldives and Lakshadeep and Sumatra and Java. Let us have a look at the map over here. So look at this particular map when you look at this particular map here we are having Andaman and Nikobar islands between Andaman and Nikobar group of islands the water body that separates Andaman from Nikobar is 10 degree channel. The water body that separates Lakshadeep from Minikwai entire part of Lakshadeep from Minikwai that is 9 degree channel. The water body that separates entire Lakshadeep or you can say Minikwai from Maldives that is 8 degree channel. In the same manner the water body that separates Andaman and Nikobar or the southernmost part of Nikobar with Sumatra of Indonesia that is 6 degree channel that is great channel. So if you are having a pragmatic understanding about the map you will be able to answer this particular question. Coming back to the question which one of the following pairs of islands is separated by 10 degree channel. The answer shall be Andaman and Nikobar so option A shall be the correct answer. Between Nikobar and Sumatra as I showed you just now we are having the water body that is 6 degree channel alternatively known as great channel. Between Maldives and Lakshadeep the water body is 8 degree channel between Sumatra and Java. Sumatra and Java are the islands of Indonesia they are separated by a water body that is called as Sunda Strait okay. So the answer was option A. Coming to next question, question number 2. Turkey is located between Black Sea and Caspian Sea, Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Suez and Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Acaba and Dead Sea. Now again Turkey something that is a part of Middle East part of West Asia. This is one of the regions which cannot be left behind if you are preparing for UPSC. No matter whether the question comes up in your prelims or in the mains and if not in these two modules then in the interview they will be asking you on this particular region. This is a very important region always remains in the limelight. So again you need to look at the map for this particular question. Now have a look at the map of Turkey. This is Turkey old name is Anatolia north of Turkey we are having Black Sea south of Turkey. This is exactly the water body is called a Room Sea however it is a part of Mediterranean whether it is agency on this side that is also a part of Mediterranean. So Turkey is located between two water bodies Black Sea in the north and Mediterranean in the south on the eastern side it is a landmass on the western side again part of Mediterranean and part of continental Europe. So the answer shall be between Black Sea and Mediterranean. Again have a look at the question Turkey located between Black Sea and Caspian Sea. No Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea so option B Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea will become the right answer. It has nothing to do with Gulf of Soez and Gulf of Acaba that are part of Red Sea. So Citi and D cannot be there. This is a very important region this region remains in limelight be it related to Palestine be it related to Jerusalem Israel Middle East that is the hub for petroleum. Since because it is the hub for petroleum so it always remains at the centre of dispute. Moreover multiple religions originated from this particular region so remains at the centre of dispute very famous dispute between Israel and Palestine going on since decades and again at the centre of dispute recently this year we had a major earthquake in Turkey. Turkey and Syria loss of life took place loss of property took place due to all these reasons this region will again remain at the centre of discussion in your UPSC be it problems of main examinations so do not miss this particular region come what may. Coming to the next question question number three what is the correct sequence of occurrence of the following cities in Southeast Asia as one proceeds from north to south. Now the question arises again a map based question Southeast Asia what do we mean by South Asia which countries are included in Southeast Asia for that we again need to have a look at the map when we look at the map Myanmar Thailand Laos Vietnam Cambodia Malaysia Indonesia Singapore Brunei Philippines these all countries the member of ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations these countries are of Southeast Asia and the question is giving you four cities which you need to arrange in a particular order coming back to the question have a look what is the correct sequence of occurrence of the following cities in Southeast Asia as one proceeds from south to north so the correct sequence has been asked in the order south to north and options are Bangkok that is located in Thailand Hanoi located in Vietnam Jakarta that is in Indonesia and Singapore is in itself a country and is in itself a city as well have a look at this particular map again if you look over here if you look at Indonesia karta located at this particular location then Bangkok Thailand over here Hanoi present over here and another option over there was Singapore so Jakarta over here then Singapore then you are having Bangkok and then you are having Hanoi so if the order is south answer shall be Hanoi followed by Bangkok followed by Singapore followed by Jakarta but the question is asking south to north so you have to arrange them in an order that is starting from south so the southern most city will be Jakarta followed by Singapore followed by Bangkok followed by Hanoi so the answer shall be three four one and two looking at option three four one into option c shall become the right answer to this particular question moving to next question consider the following pairs places of pilgrimage and the location now it is a mass the following type of question you need to find that which of the pairs are correctly matched Shri Sailam Nallamala Shri Sailam is located on Nallamala Hills Nallamala Hills are located in Andhra Pradesh at the northern part of Nallamala Hills we are having the location of Shri Sailam so it is absolutely correct one statement two says that Omkaraeshwar on Satmala Hills now Omkaraeshwar is located on Mandhata Hills that is located in Madhura Pradesh it has nothing to do with Satmala Hills Satmala Hills are located close to Nasik district of Maharashtra and it is close to Thalgaard that connects Mumbai with Nasik so Satmala Hills located in Maharashtra Omkaraeshwar located in Madhura Pradesh it has incorrectly matched so it will be a wrong one Pushkar one of the famous pilgrimage places of Hinduism that is located in Rajasthan that is located on the western margin of Rabli's in Rajasthan very close to Pakistan border that is in Rajasthan and the location given over here is Mahadev Hills Mahadev Hills are a basically a mountain range which is a part of Central Cordillera it joins Satpura and it is located in Madhura Pradesh again Pushkar has nothing to do with Mahadev Hills because Mahadev Hills is in Madhura Pradesh and Pushkar is in Rajasthan so one is correctly matched two and three are incorrect so which of the above is correctly matched the answer shall be one only option A shall become the right answer moving on to next question question number five which one of the following countries of Southwest Asia does not open out to Mediterranean Sea again as I told you Central Asia Middle East always remains at the center of discussion in our examination when we are preparing for UPSC that to civil services examination now it is asking Southwest Asia does not open out to Mediterranean Sea and the four countries are given as Syria Jordan Lebanon and Israel now which of these countries are not having their coastline on Mediterranean again to answer this question you are supposed to look at a map have a look at a map of West Asia and it can see is there Turkey is having its border on Mediterranean Syria is having its border Lebanon is having its border Israel is having its border Jordan if you look at Jordan if you look at this particular map and you focus on this particular region of Jordan then Jordan is having a very small coastline over here that is on Gulf of Aqaba and Gulf of Aqaba is part of Red Sea if you look at this particular water body this is Gulf of Suez but these are not part of Mediterranean these are part of Red Sea so Gulf of Aqaba and Gulf of Suez they are part of Red Sea and Jordan is having its coastline on Gulf of Aqaba it has nothing to do with Mediterranean Sea then Iraq over here Iraq is having its coastline on Gulf of Persia it has nothing to do with Mediterranean Sea so you need to have a clear good understanding of the map if you want to answer such questions coming back to the question which one of the following countries of southwest Asia does not open out to Mediterranean Sea means simply which country is not having its coastline directly on Mediterranean so we just know so that Syria is having its coastline Lebanon is having its coastline Israel is having its coastline but Jordan is not having its coastline on Mediterranean rather it is having a very small coastline on Gulf of Aqaba which is a part of Red Sea and technically that will become a part of Indian Ocean right so here the answer shall be option B that is Jordan next question question number six recently linking of which of the following rivers was undertaken now this question was asked in 2016 when it was asked in 2016 at that time Godavari and Krishna linking was being carried out and so this question became relevant at that particular time it will not be relevant in 2023 or 2024 right however the answer to this particular question is Godavari and Krishna that is option B before boy coming to question number seven consider the following pairs famous places are they were given and the region is given Bodh Gaya and Bhagelkhand now Bodh Gaya is located between a region that is between Chotanakpur plateau and the plains of Bihar it has nothing to do with Bhagelkhand so it is incorrectly mad Khazurao one of the famous places that is located in Madhya Pradesh and yes it is very located in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh so it is a correct one Shirdi is located in the Aiman Nagar city of Maharashtra and Vithar based on the eastern side of Maharashtra it is quite far away from the Vithar region so it is incorrectly mad so one is incorrect two is correct three is incorrect the remaining part of the question Nasik on Malwa now Nasik is again located on the western side of Maharashtra very close to Thalghat and Malwa is on the northern side of these mountain ranges of central India so it is again it has nothing to do with that particular region Tirupati on Rael Seema Tirupati located on Palakonda hills that is the Tirumala Parvat again a sacred place of Hinduism that is located in south India in the state of Andhra Pradesh it is located on the Rael Seema plateau it is absolutely correct so going by the statements one was wrong two was correct and five is correct so two and five are correct which of the pairs given above are correctly matched two and five only option C C for cat shall become the right answer next question is question number eight C again the third question on the same region Mediterranean Sea is a border of which of the following countries every second year you will get a question on west Asia or Middle East or something related to that region in your prelims and if you are saved from that particular region in your prelims you get an answer in your main examination and if you will not get even there they will sit make you sit being seated in your in front and ask you one to one on this particular region don't skip the region this region very important area so Mediterranean Sea is border of which of the following countries again the options are Jordan Iraq Lebanon and Syria Jordan we saw it is not having its coastline on Mediterranean Iraq is having its coastline in Gulf of Persia it has nothing to do with Mediterranean Lebanon and Syria were having their coastline on Mediterranean so which of the countries are having border so Jordan is not having Iraq is not having but Lebanon and Syria are having their border so three and four only option C C for cat shall become the right answer question number nine which of the following has have shrunk immensely dried up in recent past due to human activities and options are RLC Black Sea and Lake Bakal now when these type of questions come up in your prelims examination and if you are not following the current affairs you won't be able to answer them there are n number of water bodies present throughout the world out of them many of these water bodies are drying out many of these water bodies are having definite uses some are used for multipurpose river valley projects some are used for simple simply portable water some are used for irrigation in number of uses are there now if you are not aware about the map work you won't be able to answer that because it has to be linked with climatology along with the contemporary happenings that are taking place in that particular region where is RLC located it is located in part of Central Asia two rivers make inland drainage at RLC they are Amudhari and Sridharia and both these rivers are over exploited rather immensely over exploited for irrigation for agriculture and for drinking water needs as a result RLC is immensely drying up you need to focus on this particular part of the question which is saying that it is immensely drying up it is not simply asking that which of the water potentially immensely what means it is drying up at an exhaustive rate so RLC becomes a part of that now Black Sea Black Sea is connected by a state of Bosporus to Marmarasi Marmarasi is connected by a state of Dardanelles to agency agency is the part and parcel of Mediterranean and Mediterranean is connected by a state of Gibraltar to Atlantic it means Black Sea is directly connected to Atlantic Ocean now what about it that is directly connected to Atlantic Ocean cannot dry out immensely however there is a problem of eutrophication due to which Black Sea is witnessing excessive evaporation moreover it is almost a landlocked sea surrounded on all sides by continental land mass so that may be a reason but that cannot be that cannot go with this particular statement that it is immensely drying up right Lake Baikal Lake Baikal is one of the deepest lake that is located in the region of Russia Lake Baikal is drying up but again if you compare the level of drying that is taking place in Aral Sea and Baikal they are not comparable so again the word immensely drying up will not go with Lake Baikal so the answer shall be option A one only that is Aral Sea have a look at the map over here you need to have a look this is the location of Black Sea sorry this is the location of Lake Baikal one of the deepest lakes of the world this is the location of Aral Sea we have said that in Amudarya trains and this is the location of Black Sea it is connected by a state of Bosporus Marmara Sea state of Dardanelles agency state of Gibraltar to Atlantic so you need to see the location also learn the location from east to west of west to east of Lake Baikal Lake Baikal Aral Sea Caspian Sea and Black Sea in the coming session you may get a question a probable question that arrange these water bodies from east to west of west whatever UPSC thinks that may be asked right so do work on this particular map properly so the answer is A only option A one only that is Aral Sea that was question number 9 coming to our next question that is question number 10 which one of the following is an artificial lake and options are Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, Kulleru, Andhra Pradesh, Nyanital, Uttarakhand and Renuka Himachal Pradesh which of them is an artificial lake means a man made lake Kodaikanal Tamil Nadu that is a man made lake that was made somewhere in 1863 it is in the shape of a star it is having very less depth almost 3 meters deep on an average and that is a man made lake that is located in Tamil Nadu so the answer shall be option A Kodaikanal if you look at Kulleru Kulleru is a natural lake that is located in between the deltas of Godavari and Krishna in between the deltas of Godavari and Krishna in Andhra Pradesh we are having this lake that is Lake Kulleru it is a natural lake Nyanital in Uttarakhand one of the famous illustrations of Kumau Himalayas that is located in Nyanital is the name of the district as well the specific spot is also called as Nyanital the lake over there is Nani Lake or it is called as Nyanital in Uttarakhand it is also a natural lake that is formed in a Senkline so it is a Senkline lake that is located in Uttarakhand Renuka Lake is located in Himachal Pradesh it is also a natural lake it is known for its cast formations number of cast landforms are present over there it is having its relevance as per Hindu mythology Hinduism as well so Renuka Lake is also a natural lake so the answer shall be option A that is Tamil Nadu question number 11 Siachen Glacier is situated to options are east of Aksai chain east of Leh north of Gilgit north of Nubra valley east of Aksai chain Siachen Glacier is located on the western side of Aksai chain so that cannot be the answer east of Leh Leh is located slightly south slightly east of Siachen so Siachen can be northwest of Leh it cannot be east of Leh north of Gilgit again Gilgit is located on the western side of Siachen so it can be on the eastern side of Gilgit it cannot be on the north of Gilgit north of Nubra valley now Nubra is a river that originates from Siachen it is a tributary of river Shio and Shio is a tributary of Indus so north of Nubra valley it is will be the right answer correct answer to this particular question again you need to have a look at a map of Siachen Glacier have a look Siachen Glacier Aksai chain Aksai chain over here the option was saying on east of Aksai chain how it can be east of Aksai chain that will be west of Aksai chain this round is Siachen Glacier so that will be west of Aksai chain another option was on the west of Gilgit Gilgit is present over here so it will be on the east of Gilgit right other option was Leh so it is located on the north of Leh but option was not on the north of Leh so it is north west of Leh it is correct north of Nubra valley here we are having the river Shio and here somewhere here we are having the river Nubra so it will be located on the northern side of Nubra valley so that will be the correct answer to this particular question so option D north of Nubra valley will be the correct answer again you can verify with the map if you get a question in your claims examination that is based on the map do look at the map only then you will be having a clear-cut understanding about that particular question next question question number 12 consider the following pairs river Mekong flows into rivers are giving and flows into are given so river and flows into Mekong Andaman Sea Thames Irish Sea Volga Caspian Sea Zambezi Indian Ocean now if you look at this particular rivers Mekong it drains and makes a delta close to Ho Chi Min city and drains in South China Sea there is nothing to do with Nandaman Sea so it will be a wrong one Thames Thames is flowing through the city of London it is considered as a sacred river like in India we are having Narmada we are having Godavari we are having Ganga which are holy and sacred in the same manner Thames is considered as sacred in London it drains towards North Sea Irish Sea look at it on the opposite side of North Sea Irish Sea it is so incorrectly matched Volga Caspian Sea now Volga is a river that drains in the northern part of Caspian in fact this river Volga adds so adds so much of fresh water in the northern part of Caspian that the entire salinity of Caspian on the northern part changes so Volga drains in Caspian Sea it is correct it is one of the largest rivers of Euro Zambezi in Indian Ocean Zambezi is a river that makes the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe in fact this river was chosen to divide that country and it divided into two countries Zambia and Zimbabwe and it drains into Indian Ocean so it is a correct one so one is wrong two is wrong three is correct four is correct so option three and four option C C4 CAD shall be the right answer again you can have a look at the map of the world rivers if you look at the rivers over here then the options over here were Mekong see over here this particular river this river is Mekong it is raining in South China Sea and Aman Sea is located over here so Mekong has nothing to do with and Aman Sea another river was Thames Thames is not shown in this particular map this water body is North Sea and this water body is Irish Sea but Thames is flowing flowing eastward so it rains in North Sea nothing to do with Irish Sea other option was River Zambezi this is River Zambezi dividing Zambia and Zimbabwe see these two countries are divided and training in Indian Ocean so it is a correct one other option was having a look at the question again Volga Volga this is the river Volga draining in the northern part of Caspian as a result the northern part of Caspian records low salinity the southern part of Caspian records high salinity because of addition of fresh water by Volga so this is the role of map in your prelims examination question may or may not appear from geography but again a map will be playing a role in that and geography is the only subject we have you will be following atlas so here the answer is three and four three and four only option c c4 cat becomes the right answer next question is question number 13 which one of the following lakes of West Africa has become dry and turned into a desert which of the following lakes of West Africa has become dry so question is means mentioning about West Africa now you need to know the locations of the lakes Lake Victoria Lake Fagubin Lake Oguta and the last option is Lake Volta now if you look at these four options three options over here and one option over here Lake Volta Lake Victoria that is not located in West Africa in fact and Lake Victoria located on equatorial area it is on equatorial area it receive immense amounts of immense amount of convection rainfall so it is not at all becoming dry and the question is has become dry and turned into a desert it means it is almost dry or rather it is all gone Lake Fagubin where is it located now this Lake Fagubin is located on the northern side of Mali rather southwestern part of Sahara desert northern part of country Mali and this lake has turned into a desert in fact it has mingled with the desert of Sahara so this is the answer to this particular question that is option be Lake Fagubin Lake Oguta Lake Oguta is located in Nigeria on the southern part of Nigeria again it is close to equatorial area and receive immense amount of precipitation in the form of conventional rainfall so Lake Oguta cannot be answered and if you look at the fourth option that is Lake Volta Lake Volta is a man-made lake that is located on river Volta in the country Ghana it is also having immense amount of water so that cannot be the answer again in this particular question you can have a look at the map work if you look at this particular map then this is Lake Victoria this is the location of Lake Victoria this is Lake Volta which we are talking about right here we are having this lake that is called a Lake Oguta and here we are having this lake that is Lake Fagubin so the question was asked on these particular lakes and the answer is Lake Fagubin of Mali that is the correct answer to this particular question so the answer was option B before Boil Lake Fagubin question number 14 the term Levant often heard in news roughly corresponds to which of the following regions the term Levant is a holy term it basically demarcates an area that is located on the east of Italy the land of Rising Sun the eastern shores of Mediterranean that is the term that is used for that is the region for which the term is used as Levant and the options are region along the eastern Mediterranean shores region along North African shores is stretching from Egypt to Morocco region along Persian Gulf and Horn of Africa the entire coastal areas of Mediterranean so the correct answer to this particular question will be option A region along eastern Mediterranean shores that will be the right answer so the region along the eastern side of Italy having the shore of Mediterranean basically part of West Asia that will become be termed as Levant so for 14 option A shall be the right answer question number 15 consider the following countries Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan Uzbekistan which of the above have borders with Afghanistan Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan have nothing to do with Afghanistan, Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan three four and five are having borders with Afghanistan apart from that Afghanistan is also having border with Iran with Pakistan with India and China so these seven countries share borders with Afghanistan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan that is number three four and five along with Iran Pakistan India and China again you can have a look at the map of Afghanistan have a look at this particular map if you look at the map of Afghanistan you will find that Afghanistan is having border with Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Tajikistan China India Iran Pakistan these are the countries which are having borders with Afghanistan so you need to select the correct answer the correct answer was Turkmenistan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan if you look at the remaining sections then the remaining sections are Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan are not present in this particular map Azerbaijan is a part of Caucasus country that is located between Black Sea and Caspian Sea Georgia Armenia and Azerbaijan Kyrgyzstan is located on the northern side of these countries so it has nothing to do with the border of Afghanistan so three four and five three four and five option C C for cat shall be the right answer question number sixteen consider the following pairs wetlands are given and a location are given so Hukera wetland in Punjab Hukera wetland is located close to the city Srinagar any Jammu and Kashmir region it is located very close to the river so it is in Kashmir region it has nothing to do with Punjab so it is around one Renuka wetland in Himachal Pradesh we just just now discussed in one of the questions Renuka lake that is located in Himachal Pradesh it is a Ramsar site it is a correct one so two is correct one is wrong Rudra Sagar lake is in Tripura now Rudra Sagar lake is called as Neer Mahal it is also a Ramsar site that is located in Tripura it is absolutely correct Sastamkota lake is not in Tamil Nadu it is located in Kerala it is on the bank of this lake there is a temple that is called as Sastar temple that is located in Kerala very famous temple in Kerala so one was correct I think so one was Hukera wetland Punjab know it was wrong Renuka where two was correct and three is correct so two and three are correct and two are wrong how many pairs given Ababa correctly match only two pairs option B B for boy shall be the right answer now in these type of alternatives which UPSC is introduced recently one pair two pair three pair UPSC is eliminating the trick of elimination so it need to be very sincere in your preparation for your prelims examination especially question number 17 consider the following states Andhra Kerala Himachal Tripura how many of the Ababa generally known as a tea producing states now question is appearing quite general when it appeared student got confused what do we mean by tea producing states in general in general there is a tea board under a ministry of commerce and industry that tea board will certify which of the states are generally known as tea producing states however here Andhra is not a part of that Kerala Himachal and Tripura are part of that apart from that Karnataka is a part of that Tamil Nadu is part of that West Bengal is part of that Assam is part of that so Kerala Himachal and Tripura will be the correct answer two three and four so how many of the Ababa generally known as only three states option C C for cat shall be the right answer question number 18 consider the following pairs reservoirs are given and the states are given so Ghat Prabha Ghat Prabha is located on river Krishna it has nothing to do with Telangana it is located in the state of Karnataka Gandhi Sagar is located on river Chambal and it is located in Madhya Pradesh the state is correct Indra Sagar in Andhra Pradesh this was a bit tricky Indra Sagar is basically a dam the reservoir that is located on river Naramada and it is located in Madhya Pradesh Indra Sagar Uravallam is another dam that is located on in the this particular state that is Andhra Pradesh and that was used for Godavari Krishna link project right but here Indra Sagar is given the complete name is not given and Indra Sagar as a complete name for reservoir is located in Madhya Pradesh that is on river Naramada so it will be a wrong one meth on that it is located on river Barakarae close to Dhanbar district in Chharkhand so it has nothing to do with Chhattisgarh so it is also a wrong one so one is wrong three is wrong four is wrong how many of the pairs given above are not correctly matched so three pairs are not correctly matched so only three pairs option C C4CAT shall be the right answer to this particular question question number 19 consider the following statements Gujarat has the largest solar park in India is it so the largest solar park in India is located in Rajasthan that is the Badla national and that is the Badla solar park that is in Rajasthan Kerala has a fully solar powered international airport the first fully solar powered international airport is of Pochina and that is located in Kerala so the statement is absolutely correct Goa is the largest floating solar photovoltaic project in India Goa is not having that Telangana is having that it is Ramagundam floating solar photovoltaic project right it is not in Goa so one is wrong three is wrong two is correct so two only option B before Boa shall be the right answer question number 20 in India the problem of soil erosion is associated with which of the four here the keyword that you need to focus over here very important keyword is in India the problem now the options are terrace cultivation terrace cultivation will be a problem of soil erosion when terrace cultivation is there it will check soil erosion the steps will be created on the slope will be formed on the slope and so the surface runoff or the running of the soil particles down the slope will be reduced will be minimized so it will not cause soil erosion rather it will prevent soil erosion so it will not go with that deforestation yes pelling of trees that deforestation will result in soil erosion that is absolutely correct tropical climate here the cushion becomes tricky and what is the trick over here in India the problem of soil erosion is associated with which of the following tropical climate means heavy rainfall heavy rainfall will cause soil erosion secondly tropical climate means tropical cyclones that will create result in soil erosion tropical climate means strong winds it will again may result in soil erosion so tropical climate may become a parameter to say that the region is affected by soil soil erosion but the cushion is saying talking only about India and India is having almost 90 percent of the area under tropical climate and 10 percent of the area under temperate climate but the region of India which is under tropical climate is not prone to erosion the region of India which is not under tropical climate is prone to erosion and thereby tropical climate will not be an answer to this particular question that will not go with the language of the question and so two only option two that is option b before boy two only shall be the right answer to this particular question question number 21 with reference to agricultural soils consider the following statements a high content of organic matter in soil drastically reduces its water holding capacity is it so if organic matter is more if humus content is more it will increase the water holding capacity so it will a wrong one it will not reduce soil does not play any role in the sulphur cycle the rocks disintegrate sulphur is there in the soil sulphur reacts with oxygen sulphate is formed sulphate is taken up by the plants which is transformed into organic matter that organic matter again decomposes and add to the soil so soil is playing the role it is cannot be said that soil does not play any role so it is also a wrong one irrigation over a period of time can contribute to the salinization of some agricultural lands yes if over irrigation is done or continuously the field is irrigated then infiltration of water take place when infiltration take place water seeps down when the water seeps down by the capillary actions salts are pulled up the salts move up and over a period of time irrigation may result in salinization of that particular region recently not recently around six to seven years back a research was conducted around the canals in northern India various canals around the northern in the region of north India were assessed and all around the canals it was found that water is seeping out continuously because the banks of the canals are not having concrete structures they were mud canals and water was seeping out due to that salinization was taking place so it is a correct one so one is wrong two is wrong three is correct so three only option b before boy shall be the right answer question number 22 which one of the following regions of India has a combination of mangrove forest evergreen forest and deciduous mangrove is also there so coastal area has to be there evergreen forest is there so the climate of evergreen forest has to be there and deciduous forest is also present now north coast of Andhra now the coastal area of Andhra will not be having all these three categories south west of Bengal very close to Andhra coast only it will also not be having all these southern Saurashtra southern Saurashtra the southern part of Gujarat known the northern side of Maharashtra on the bank of having its coastline on Arabian sea that cannot also have all these three type of forests evergreen forest will not be found over there Andhra Manenikobar now Andhra Manenikobar is having the coastal area it is having the plain area it is having the mountains as well all the type of land forms are present mostly on Andhra Manenikobar and so it will be having mangrove forest yes evergreen forest yes and deciduous forest yes so all the three forests will be found on Andhra Manenikobar so option d d4 dog shall be the right answer question number 23 consider the following states Arunachal Himachal and Mishoram in which of the states do tropical wet evergreen forest of earth so first criteria is tropical and it has to be wet evergreen it means it has to meet the criteria of rainfall as per wet evergreen so Arunachal Himachal and Mishoram the clear answer Himachal Pradesh cannot have that much of precipitation in the form of rain drops it can have precipitation in the form of snowfall but not in the form of rain drops so Arunachal and Mishoram will be the correct answer one and three only option cc4 cat shall be the right answer to this particular question question number 24 consider the following states Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha and what is the question with reference to the states mentioned above in terms of percentage of forest cover to the total area of the state which one of the following is the correct ascending order ascending order means minimum to maximum now if you look at all these states Maharashtra is having almost this percentage as almost 16 percent Madhya Pradesh is having almost 25 percent Odisha 33 percent and Chhattisgarh 41 percent now how to know that how to remember that how can we know that so forest report it comes every two years you need to follow that forest report of 2021 is out in the market you need to follow that if you are appearing for 2023 or 2024 prelims examination you need to have a clear cut in ascending of that particular report so here the order shall be three two four and one so three two four and one option cc4 cat shall be the right answer all India forest cover what is our status of all India forest cover almost 24.62 it is between 24 and 25 percent that is the all India figure 25 if you travel through the Himalayas you are likely to see which of the following plants naturally growing there now the question is becoming tricky naturally growing there oak, rhododendrons and sandalwood everything can be grown over there but when we talk about natural growth then oak and rhododendron will be a part of that sandalwood will not be a part of that it requires a dry clay right so one and two only option a a for apple shall be the correct answer question number 26 with the reference to red sandals red sandals is red sandalwood sometimes in the news consider the following statement red sandals is found on eastern gods it is a tree species found in parts of south India yes it is found in parts of south India specifically on eastern gods it is one of the most important trees in the tropical rainforest red sandals is red sandalwood it has nothing to do with tropical rainforest it will go in grow well in hot less rain or absence of rain will be suitable for that right so one will be correct two will be wrong so one only option a a for apple shall be the right answer to this particular question next question question number 27 in which of the following regions of India are you most likely to come across the great indian hornwheel in its natural habitat great indian hornwheel great indian hornwheel was added to ioc and red list in 2018 and so it was very much relevant great indian hornwheel is reducing in number why because loss of habitat because of deforestation that is a problem that is happening it is found in the stretches of Himachal Pradesh Nepal northeast of india indonesia parts of western gods very cold climate is not suitable very hot climate is not suitable however the foothills and the lowest stretches of Himalayas are suitable for that so have a look sand deserts of northwest india nothing to do with sand desert right higher Himalayas in Kashmir higher Himalayas means perennial cover of snow so it cannot sustain that salt marshes of western Gujarat salt marshes will again be having a typical type of climate which will not be suitable western gods however becomes the most suitable answer to this particular question for great indian hornwheel so option d d4 dog western gods is the right answer question number 28 consider the following statements asiatic lion and naturally found in india only yes it is found only in gear forest of Gujarat so it is naturally found only in india so it is the correct one double hummed camel is naturally found in india only it is not naturally found in india it is a naturally specific of gobid desert of china right so it will be a wrong one one horned rhinosauri naturally found in india yes but it is written only it is also found in napa so the statement will become wrong so one is correct two is wrong three is wrong which of the statements are correct so one only option a a for apple shall be the right answer number 29 and if ants consider the following statements now you are referring to indian elephants consider the following statements the leader of an elephant group is a female yes she is called as a matriarch it is called as a matriarch that is a female always a female it is a correct one the eldest the oldest and called as matriarch the maximum the station period can be 22 months almost two years is the maximum the station period so 22 months will be given will be correct it is highest for mama in case of all the members it is highest for elephant only so it is a correct one an elephant can normally go on carving till the age of 40 years only no it can carve even after that so it is the wrong one among the states in india the highest elephant population is found in karnataka not kerala highest elephant population is in karnataka so three is wrong four is wrong one and two are correct which of the statement given above is accurate so one and two only should be the answer so one and two only option a a for apple shall be the right answer despite having large reserves of coal why does india imports millions of tons of coal india is having large reserves of reserves of coal but what is the need to import the coal india is not having first of all very good quality of coal there is a demand supply mismatches there we need good quality cooking coal for our thermal power plants we need them we need them for metallurgy we need them for iron and steel industry so it is required so have a look at the statements it is a policy of india to save its own coal reserves for future and imported from other countries for the present use nothing like that so it is the wrong one most of the power plants in india are coal based yes still india is having its maximum share of power generation from thermal power plant based on coal and they are not able to get sufficient supplies of coal from within the country they are not able to meet their demands from domestic supplies and so they are dependent on imported it is a correct one steel companies need large quantity of cooking coal which has to be imported yes steel companies need large quantity and that needs to be imported so one is wrong two and three are correct which of the statements are correct so two and three only option b before boy shall be the right answer to this particular question question number 32 recently there has been a concern over the short supply of group of elements elements called rare earth metals why rare earth metals are known as rare earth metals they are not rare in reality they are found in abundance they are not rare do not get confused ever by that term china which is the largest producer of these elements has imposed some restrictions on their export yes at that time china has imposed the restrictions so it is a correct one other than china australia canada and chili these elements are not found in any country they are found in many of the countries india is having almost 6 percent of rare earth metals india is producing 1 percent of the total production so it is there usc produces its second largest in production and usc is not mentioned over here so it will be a wrong one so first was correct two is wrong rare earth metals are essential for the manufacture of various kinds of electronic items and is a growing demand for these elements rare earth metals found used in mobile phones electronic gadgets laptops ipads each and every electronic device is having use of rare earth metals so it is a correct one so one is correct three is correct one in three only option cc4 cat shall be the right answer question number 33 which of the following is are the possible consequences of heavy sand mining in riverbeds riverbeds what is sand mining when the river moves it carries the sediments along and the sediments are deposited both on the banks of the river and the bed of the river that sand is mined out for construction purposes for road building for various type of activities various type of uses sand mining is carried out in riverbeds what are the possible consequences that you need to understand decrease salinity in river in the sand mining when the sand mining will be carried out some particles of sand will move in river water it will increase the turbidity so how the salinity will decrease it will increase the salinity so it will be a wrong one pollution of groundwater yes when the sand mining is carried out machines operate on diesel then they move over there they release the effluents directly into the atmosphere the water pollution takes place by removal of sand natural filtration of groundwater underground water is not possible so it results in pollution of groundwater it is a correct one lowering of the water table when less water will infiltrate down water table will move down so it is also a correct one so one is wrong two and three are correct so two and three only option before boy shall be the right answer question number 34 consider the following statements in India state governments do not have the power to auction non coal mines state government is having the complete power on minor minerals non coal mines in the state government is having the power entrepreneurs and jharkhand do not have gold mines is it so both entrepreneurs harkhand are having gold mines so it is a wrong one one was statement one is wrong one statement two is wrong Rajasthan has iron ore mines in Rajasthan Jaipur Udaipur Bharatpur Alwar Dhosa all these are locations where iron ore mines are there so it is a correct one which of the statement given above is our correct three only should be the answer have a look at the options so three only option D D for dog shall be the right answer question number 35 consider the following minerals bentonite chromite kyanite silimonite what is bentonite it is plastic clay in India which of the above is are officially designated as major minerals now what are major minerals how can they be differentiated from minor minerals any mineral can be categorized as a minor mineral and all those minerals which are not categorized as minor minerals are major minerals that is the definition in India there is no specific definition of major minerals so any mineral which is not categorized as a minor mineral will become a major mineral and the question is asking which of these are major minerals so what is bentonite bentonite is plastic clay it was notified as a minor mineral right and so it is in the category of minor minerals so that cannot be the answer minor minerals are like sand, silt, clay which are used in construction which are used for road making which are used for various activities these are considered as minor minerals chromite what is chromite Fe Cr204 that is chromite that is the only viable financially viable ore of chromium that is chromite that is the ore of chromium it is not categorized as a minor mineral what is kyanite and what is silimonite both are basically aluminum silicates right Al2O3 they are aluminum silicates they differ kyanite and silimonite differ from each other in terms of their crystal structure physical properties but the chemically they are more or less same they are also not categorized as minor minerals so 2, 3 and 4 will be categorized as major minerals which has been which has been asked in the question so 2, 3 and 4 option D default book shall be the right answer question number 36 in the context of global oil prices Brent crude oil is of frequently referred to in the news what does this term apply Brent crude oil is basically a crude oil from North Sea it is a benchmark for international pricing we are basically having 2 major benchmarks for crude oil one is Texas which is called as West Texas Intermediate and one is Brent crude Brent crude is also known as London Brent because it is close to London that is called as London Brent right Brent crude oil is used for pricing as an international benchmark by OPEC countries West Texas Intermediate is used by USA Brent crude oil is having higher content of sulphur Texas crude oil is having less content of sulphur it is having almost 0.37% of sulphur and Texas that is in USA that crude oil is having only 0.24% of sulphur how to categorize the crude oil crude oil categorized basically on three parameters one is the content of sulphur one is the specific gravity and their location right Brent crude oil is heavier crude oil it is having high specific gravity as compared to Texas it is having more sulphur content more sulphur content and so it is called as SAR crude oil S O U R SAR crude oil Texas crude oil is called as sweet crude oil and it is called as lighter crude oil so that is light crude oil this is heavy crude oil right it is a major classification of crude oil yes it is sourced from North CES it does not contain sulphur it contains 0.37% of sulphur so it is a wrong one so one and two are correct so one and two only option before boy shall be the right answer question number 37 which of the following is are the characteristics characteristics of Indian coal Indian coal high ash content yes Indian coal is having 5 to 45 percent of ash content good coal is having 15 percent of ash content internationally Indian coal is lacking on that so it is a correct one low sulphur content low ash fusion temperature Indian coal is having low sulphur content it is correct it is having low ash fusion temperature no it is having very high ash fusion temperature so it is a wrong one so one and two goes with Indian coal three will not go so one and two only option A for apple shall be the right answer in fact high ash fusion temperature is reducing or degrading the quality of competitiveness of Indian coal right question number 38 in which of the following regions of India are shale gas resources found now shale gas resources india is having six identified regions of shale gas resources camber basin kaveri basin krishna godavari basin then asam arakan basin then in the kinetic basin basin have a look at the map i will show you all up on this particular section these six regions are predominantly identified for shale gas resources camber basin over here krishna godavari basin over here kaveri basin over here damodar valley that is gondwana basin over here indogangetic basin over here and asam arakan basin over here coming back to the question so all three are there so all three one two three option d4 dog shall be the right answer question number 39 the term west xxas intermediate sometimes found in new refers to a grade of we just now discussed that in preceding question so it is crude oil option a a for apple crude oil shall be the right answer question number 40 with reference to two non-conventional energy sources called coal bed methane and shale gas consider the following statements coal bed methane is pure methane gas it is a natural gas extracted from coal seems that is correct but it is a natural gas while shale gas is a mixture of propane and butane only it is having other hydrocarbons only it is not only propane and butane other hydrocarbons also there what is shale gas it is having carbon dioxide nitrogen hydrogen hydrogen hydrogen sulfide that can be extracted from fine grain sedimentary rocks however the statement will become wrong in india abundant coal bed methane sources exist no but so far no shale gas sources have been found we have just now seen six shale gas sources so it is also wrong so both the statements are wrong which of the statements are correct neither one or two option d4 dog shall be the right answer question number 41 in india the steel production industry requires the import of salt matter what is salt matter that is k no 3 potassium nitrate where it is used it has no use in a steel industry where it is used fertilizer industry fire crackers on the probably then gun powder food preservatives nothing to do with a steel industry rock phosphate rock phosphate is what phosphoride content of phosphate is there phosphorus is there diammonium phosphate again finding use in for fertilizer industry cooking coal cooking coal is one of the primary requirements of a steel industry and india lacks that so it is imported from other countries so option c c4 cat shall be the right answer question number 42 consider the falling crops of india cow pea what is cow pea lobia green gram moong a pulse pigeon pea aarhar which of the above is are used as a pulse fodder and green manure now here there is a discrepancy which of the above is are used as a pulse fodder and green manure cow pea that is lobia it can be used as a pulse yes as a fodder yes as a green manure yes green gram also goes with all the three options and pigeon pea also goes with all the three options in reality in actuality in reality whatever that is practical and it is being practiced in india all three can be used as a pulse all three can be used as a fodder all three can be used as green manure but the discrepancy is that upsc has given a different answer and the correct answer is 1 2 and 3 upsc has given the answer as 1 and 3 only so this is a discrepancy in the answer key that has been given by upsc but nothing can be done for that so the correct answer shall be 1 2 and 3 question number 43 consider the falling crops of india ground nut cesium perl millet which of the above are is are predominantly rainforest crop or crops so what is ground nut ground nut is a basically purely a kharif crop as far as you can crop cesium till it is grown as a kharif crop in north india and as a ravi crop in some parts of south india and bihar perl millet bajada basically what a kharif crop so which of these are rainforest all three will become rainforest crops 1 2 and 3 option d for dog shall be the right answer question number 44 many transplanted seedlings do not grow because the new soil does not contain favorable minerals if you are transplanting then you are all you must have already done that soil testing it cannot be the answer most of the root hairs grip the new soil too hard it cannot be the answer if they will grip hard it will be good for the plant most of the root hairs are lost during transplantation leaves gets damaged during transplantation not leaves gets damaged during transplantation it happens but that is not a reason for seedlings not growing however most of the root hairs are lost as a result absorption of nutrients minerals and water from the soil becomes less and that becomes the reason so option c c 4k most of the root hairs are lost during transplantation becomes the right answer to this particular question question number 45 which of the following practices can help in water conservation in agriculture as in 2017 reduce or zero tillage of land tillage means plowing of land if that will not be done inter particle is placed in the soil will be less and so infiltration of water will be reduced and so it will result in water conservation it is a correct one applying gypsum before irrigating the field now when gypsum is applied it helps in carbon sequestration one ton of just some approximately sequesters around 0.26 ton of carbon dioxide right it will attract the clay particle it will make the clumps it will make infiltration easier and faster and so water will penetrate down at a faster rate so this cannot result in water conservation as per UPSC allow allowing crop residue to remain in the field if the crop residue will remain in the field it is exposure to sunlight it is exposure to moving air that is wind will be less and so evaporation from the soil will be comparatively less so it will result in water conservation right so the answer is 1 and 3 only that is the answer that has been given by UPSC however there was a discrepancy again some of the people were having this opinion and it was still it is still debatable that adding gypsum will also result in water conservation but primarily it may also not result in water conservation so whatever answer key that has been given by UPSC finally considered as correct in this particular question so 1 and 3 only shall be the right answer have a look at the options over here so 1 and 3 only option CFO catch shall be the right answer question number 46 with reference to the circumstances in Indian agriculture the concept of conservation agriculture assume significance which of the following fall under the conservation agriculture now conservation agriculture is basically a technical term that is having three basic parameters number one minimum tillage the land should be covered with crop residue and rotation of crops must be practiced at a increased rate it means concept of monoculture must be avoided have a look at the options avoiding the monoculture practices yes adopting minimum tillage yes avoiding the cultivation of plantation crop nothing related to conservation agriculture using crop residues to cover the soil surface I told you that adopting a spatial and temporal crop sequencing of crop rotations yes so 1 2 4 and 5 are the correct options as per the demand of the question again here the options are not having the correct option as 1 2 4 and 5 1 is monoculture practices and third is crop rotation both are end to name of each other right so avoiding monoculture of practicing crop rotation is one and the same right so 2 4 and 5 as per the option becomes the most ideal answer to this particular question so 2 4 and 5 option C C for cat shall be the right answer to this particular question question number 47 with reference to the cultivation of kharif crops in India in the last five years consider the following statements now these type of questions will can be answered if you are following economic survey the question must have been asked in some particular year last five years from that particular year now if the question comes up in 2023 or 2024 then the current economic survey will help you out however as per that year area and the rice cultivation is the highest yes that is very much true area and the cultivation of joie is more than that of whole seeds oil seeds is having far more area as compared to joie joie so it is the wrong one area of cotton cultivation is more than that of sugar cane cotton cultivation is always having much more area than sugar cane it is the correct one sorry cotton cultivation is having the statement says that area of cotton cultivation is more than that of sugar cane it is absolutely correct and area in the sugar cane cultivation has steadily decreased no it is it has in fact increased so statement one was correct two was wrong three was correct so one three only option a a for apple shall be the right answer question number 48 within the following groups of plants were domesticated in the new world and introduced in the old world now what is new world and what is old world take Atlantic ocean as a boundary line the continents located on the western side of Atlantic ocean are considered as the new world and on the eastern side of Atlantic ocean are called considered as the old world so Europe Asia Africa these are old world and the new world is North America South America Caribbean islands Anglo America right offices are tobacco cocoa rubber tobacco cotton rubber cotton coffee sugar cane rubber coffee wheat if you look at cotton cotton is not something that was introduced in India if you are talking about the new world and old world it means somewhere at the end of medieval Indian history and a start of the period of modern history these products or these crops must have been introduced in our country India cotton is known since ancient times even we find the mention of cotton in Harappan culture same goes for wheat so wheat and cotton are known in our country since Harappan times so it has nothing to do with old world and new world and it was not introduced in our country or in the old world by the new world countries right so cotton cannot be there wheat cannot be there if you eliminate cotton and wheat the only option left is tobacco cocoa and rubber so option A tobacco cocoa and rubber becomes the right answer to this particular question question number 49 the crop is subtropical in nature a hard frost is injurious to it it requires at least 210 frost free day 210 frost free days goes only with cotton and 50 to 100 centimeters of rainfall for its growth a light well-drained soil capable of retaining moisture is ideally suited for the cultivation of the crop which one of the following is the crop cotton jute sugarcane tea jute 50 to 100 centimeter of rainfall more than 200 150 centimeter of rainfall required sugarcane highly water intensive crop tea rainfall throughout the year so cotton is the right answer option A cotton shall be the right answer to this particular question question number 50 50 with reference to the current trends in the cultivation of sugarcane in India consider the following statements a substantial saving in seed material is when bud chip settings are raised in a nursery and transplanted in the main field yes when the nursery is prepared and then they are transplanted in the main field it reduces the demand of the seed and the reduction is almost by 80 percent you won't imagine so it is a correct one when direct planting of sets is done the germination percentage is better with single-budget sets as compared to sets with many buds no when many buds are there germination percentage will be better so it is the wrong one if bad weather conditions prevail when sets are directly planted single-budget sets have better survival as compared to large sets again wrong if large sets are there multi-budget sets are there they will be having a better chance so it is also wrong one sugarcane can be cultivated using seedlings prepared from tissue culture tissue culture means vegetative propagation yes it can be prepared so one is correct and four is correct so one in four only option C C4 cat shall be the right answer question number 51 Southeast Asia has captivated attention of global community over space and time as a geo strategically significant region yes which among the following is the most convincing explanation for this global perspective Southeast Asia the region that we discuss man Myanmar Thailand Laos Vietnam Cambodia Malaysia Singapore Indonesia Philippines Brunei that area it was a hot theater during the Second World War so how it will become a strategically significant region its location between the Asian powers of China and India no it was the arena of superpower confrontation during the Cold War period no its location between the Pacific and Indian Ocean and its pre-eminent maritime character each and every country of Southeast Asia is having a huge role to play in South China Sea East China Sea Indian Ocean and that entire region so its location between Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean and its pre-eminent maritime character yes that is the main reason for this particular region to have a strategically important position so option D D for dog shall be the right answer question number 52 between India and East Asia the navigation time and distance can be greatly reduced by which of the following deepening the Malacca states between Malaysia and Indonesia by deepening of Malacca state how will the time be reduced it has nothing to do with that so it cannot be there opening a new canal across the crab is tumors between the Gulf of Siam and Andaman Sea yes crab peninsula that is located in the country Malaysia a canal can be built it will reduce the time to circumnavigate the entire region of Malacca state and that can be helpful so two will go with a demand of the cushion one will not do work so two only option B before boy shall be the right answer so question number 53 with reference to the Indus river system of the following four rivers three of them pour into one of them with joins the Indus direct among the following which one is such river that joins the Indus direct again I will like you to have a look at this particular map of Indus river system Indus originating from here draining in this manner Sattlaj originating close to Indus and draining in this manner Sattlaj is the main river Jhelum joins Senap Ravi joins Senap, Chenaap joins Sattlaj and Sattlaj joins Indus Vyas joins Sattlaj that is Indus river system now if you have a look at the question which one is such river that joins Indus direct Chenaap it joins Sattlaj Jhelum it joins Senap Ravi it joins Senap Sattlaj is the river that joins Indus directly so option D D for dog shall be the right answer question number 54 with reference to India Ditwana, Kuchaman, Sargol and Khatu are the names of glaciers, mangroveria, ramsa sites, salinates they are all pliers they are salt water lakes and all are present in Rajasthan, Ditwana, Kuchaman, Sargol, Khatu Khatu is also a very famous pilgrimage so they are salinates option D D for dog shall be the right answer question number 55 consider the falling rivers Brahmini, Nagavani, Subandhareka, Vamsarhara and what is the question which of the above rise from the eastern Ghats okay Brahmini Brahmini rises from the Rachi region in Jharkhand that is not part of eastern Ghats Nagavani rises from Kalahandi of Odisha that is a part of eastern Ghats Subandhareka again rises from Chotanakpur region in Jharkhand area that is not a part of eastern Ghats and Vamsarhara yes it rises on eastern Ghats of Odisha so one is not there three not there two and four are there so having a look at the answers options two and four option B before boy shall be the right answer and the last question for this session with reference to India the terms Halvi ho koi pertain to dance forms of northwest india musical instrument pre sorry keep minting tribal language they are basically Halvi is known in Maharashtra Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Andhra these are these are a tribal language ho that is West Bengal, Bangladesh, Kui that is southeast of Dravidian region that is also a tribal language so the correct answer to this particular question is all these are tribal language that is option D for dog is the right answer that is tribal language that's all for this particular session thank you