Indian Geography Questions and Answers

Answer: D

Udaipur lies in the Sub-humid Southern Plain Zone.

Of Rajasthan's ten agro-climatic zones, zone IVa, the Sub-humid Southern Plain and Aravalli Hills, covers Udaipur, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh and Sirohi districts, with moderate rainfall and hilly terrain.

The Arid Western Plain covers Barmer and Jodhpur, the Irrigated North Western Plain covers Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh, and the Semi Arid Eastern Plain covers Jaipur, Ajmer, Dausa and Tonk.

Answer: A

The key gives Bikaner.

The Nagauri is a draught breed named after Nagaur district, its home tract. Its breeding tract extends into neighbouring Jodhpur district and the Nokha tehsil of Bikaner district. Of the places offered, Bikaner is the only one within that tract.

Hanumangarh in the north, Kota in the south-east and Udaipur in the south lie outside the breed's range.

Answer: C

About 70% of Rajasthan's irrigation comes from Taps and tube wells, that is, wells and tube wells.

Groundwater drawn from wells and tube wells is by far the main source of irrigation in Rajasthan, accounting for around seven-tenths of the irrigated area. (The option's word 'taps' has to be read as wells here, since taps are not a source of irrigation.)

Canals, led by the Indira Gandhi Canal and the Gang and Bhakra systems, irrigate most of the rest. Ponds, lakes, nadis and bawdis are traditional water sources that irrigate only a small share.

Answer: B

The lake that is not a salt-water lake is Kolayat.

Kolayat lake in Bikaner district is a freshwater lake, sacred to the sage Kapil Muni and the site of a fair on Kartik Purnima.

Didwana (Nagaur), Sambhar (Jaipur and Nagaur) and Pachpadra (Barmer) are all salt lakes where common salt is produced; Sambhar is India's largest inland salt lake.

Answer: B

The suffix 'sar' reflects the availability of water.

In western Rajasthan sar means a pond, lake or water source, from the Sanskrit sarovar. In the desert districts of Bikaner, Jaisalmer and their neighbours, settlements grew where water could be found or stored, so many village names end in -sar, such as Lunkaransar.

The suffix has no link to jungles, occupations or city gates, which explains why it is concentrated in the arid zone where water decided where people could live.

Answer: B

Guru Shikhar is in Sirohi.

Guru Shikhar (1722 m), the highest peak of the Aravalli range and of Rajasthan, lies on the Abu plateau near Mount Abu in Sirohi district, in the south-west of the state.

Bikaner, Jodhpur and Sri Ganganagar are in the sandy plains of the Thar to the north and west, far from the high Aravallis.

Answer: C

The forests found only around Abu are Sub-tropical Mountain Forests.

Mount Abu, at over 1200 m with higher rainfall and cooler temperatures than the rest of Rajasthan, supports sub-tropical (semi-evergreen) hill forest with species such as mango, jamun and bamboo. Rajasthan has no other area high and wet enough for this forest type.

Tropical thorn forests cover the arid west and tropical dry deciduous forests the Aravalli and south-eastern areas, so both are widespread, not confined to Abu.

Answer: D

The affected area is More than 60%.

Surveys by the Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur, show that most of western Rajasthan is affected by desertification: about 18 per cent severely and around two-thirds slightly to moderately, mainly through wind erosion and the drifting of sand, together with water erosion, salinity and loss of vegetation.

Figures of 40 or 45 per cent, or less than 30 per cent, understate the problem; only 'More than 60%' fits the measured extent.

Answer: C

The key gives Jowar.

Zaid crops are grown in the short season between the main rabi and kharif crops, with irrigation; in the zaid rabi period (roughly March to June) Rajasthan's farmers grow summer fodder and vegetable crops, including jowar for fodder.

Mustard, rapeseed and taramira (rocket) are the classic rabi oilseeds of Rajasthan, sown in October-November and harvested in March-April, so none of them is a zaid crop. That leaves jowar as the only option grown in the zaid season.

Answer: C

The key's answer is 40%, the option nearest to Rajasthan's share.

Rajasthan is India's largest wool producer. The Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2024 put its output for 2023-24 at about 16,013 thousand kg out of 33.69 million kg for the country, a share of roughly 47.5 per cent. Older Rajasthan study texts quote a round 40 per cent.

Of the four options, 40% is the closest to either figure, and the question asks only for an approximate value. 20% would make Rajasthan one producer among several, and 56% and 65% overstate its lead. Current data sit a little above the keyed figure, so the key is best read as the nearest option rather than an exact one.