UPSC Indian Geography 5 (Old Year Questions)

Ans b
Dul Hasti Power Station is the second project to be executed by NHPC in the state of Jammu and Kashmir after Selal Stage-II. It is a run-of-the-river scheme which will produce 390MW of power. The project is constructed on river Chandra, a tributary of river Chenab. The project headquarter is located at Kishtwar in district Doda of J&K. The concrete gravity dam is situated in village Dul and the Power hose is located in village Hasti. The project will generate 1928 million units of power in a 90% dependable year. The commercial production started on 07/04/2007.

Ans d
The Chambal River is a tributary of the Yamuna River in central India. Two tributaries of Narmada river are Hallon and Banjar. Sone river is the principal southern tributary of the Ganges river, rising in Madhya Pradesh. The Manas River is a major tributary of the Brahmaputra River flowing through Assam. It is named after Manasa, the serpent god in Hindu mythodology

Ans b
Kapildhara (Kapil waterfalls on Narmada river) : Six km northwest of Narmadakund is situated the famous waterfall called Kapildhara with a fall of about hundred feet. According to scriptures, Kapil Muni lived here. There is a scene of natural beauty with mountains and dense forest down hills. Jog Falls created by the Sharavati River falling from a height of 253 meters (829 ft) is the highest plunge waterfall in India and the 7th deepest in the world. Located in Shimoga District of Karnataka state, these segmented falls are major tourist attraction. The Shivanasamudram Falls is on the Cauveri River. The island town of Shivanasamudra divides the river into twin waterfalls. This creates the fourth largest island in the rivers course. This is a segmented waterfall. Segmented waterfalls occur where the water flow is broken into two or more channels before dropping over a cliff, resulting in multiple side by side waterfalls. It has an average width of 849 meters, a height of 90 m

Ans a
The first even Desalination Plant in the country to produce one lakh litres per day freshwater based on Low Temperature Thermal Desalination principle was successfully commissioned in May 2005, at Kavaratti, Lakshadweep islands. A 10-lakh (1 million) litre per day (MLPD) barge-mounted (offshore) desalination plant with a new design was commissioned in April 2006, near Chennai.

Ans c
The Nilgiri (Blue Mountains), often referred to as the Nilgiri Hills, are a range of mountains with at least 24 speaks above 2,000 metres in the western most part of Tamil Nadu. The Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary is located where the Nilgiri Hills, the offshoot of the Western Ghats meet the Eastern Ghats.

Ans a
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Marine Life-Islands harbor more than 1,200 species of fish, 350 species of echinoderms, 1,000 species of mollusks and many more lower forms of life. Among vertebrates dugongs, dolphins, whales, salt water crocodiles, sea turtles, sea snakes, etc., are common. The great Himalayan range has a very interesting variety of fauna that includes the wild sheep and goats, markhor, ibex, shrew and tapir.

Ans c
In India, 9 States share the coastline: Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa.

Ans a
The albedo of an object is the extent to which it diffusely reflects light from the sun. It is therefore a more specific form of the term reflectivity. Albedo is defined as the ratio of diffusely reflected to incident electromagnetic radiation. It is a unitless measure indicative of a surface’s or body’s diffuse reflectivity. The world is derived from Latin albedo “whiteness”, in turn from albus “white”. The range of possible values is from 0 (dark) to 1 (bright). The albedo of planets, satellites and asteroids can be used to infer much about their properties. The albedo of an object will determine its visual brightness when viewed with reflected light. For example, the planets are viewed by reflected sunlight and their brightness depends upon the amount of light received from the sun and their albedo. Mercury receives the maximum amount of sunlight, but its albedo is only 0.1 so it is not as bright as it would be with a higher albedo. Geometric Albedo of Earth is 0.367 and its bond albedo is 0.29. Geometric Albedo of Mercury is 0.138 and its bond albedo is 0.119.

Ans b
Malta is small and densely-populated island nation comprising an archipelago of seven islands, three of which are inhabited. It is located in the Mediterranean Sea in Southern Europe just 93 km (58 miles) south of Sicily, giving the country a warm, Mediterranean climate; and 288 km (179 miles) to its south is North Africa.

Ans a
Andaman and Nicobar Islands has 9 National Parks spread over 1153.938 sq. km. Arunachal Pradesh has 2 National Parks: Namdhapa National Park (1985.23 sq km) and Mouling National Park (483 sq km). Assam has following National Parks: Kaziranga National Park (430 sq km) known for the horned rhinoceros; Manas National Park (360 sq km) known for the Majestic Tigers; Orang National Park. Meghalaya has following National Parks: Balphakram National Park (220 sq km) and Nokrek National Park.

Ans b
Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (India), in the Himalayan Mountains in the northern part of the country, includes as core zones the Nanda Devi National Park/World Heritage site and the Valley of the Flowers National Park. Local communities in the Lata-Tolma-Malari and Pindari areas are benefiting from the development of alternative sources of income, such as ecotourism, and from the improvement of a rich variety of agricultural activities.

Ans b
The Coffee Board of India is an autonomous body, functioning under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. The Board serves as a friend, philosopher and guide of the coffee industry in India. Its headquarter is located at Bengaluru The Rubber Board is s statutory body constituted by the Government of India, under the Rubber Act 1947, for the overall development of the rubber industry in the county. Its headquarter is located at Kottayam. The Tea Board of India, a commodity board under the administrative control of the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, was established by the enactment of the Tea Act, 1953. Its headquarter is located at Kolkata. The Government of India established the Tobacco Board, in place of Tobacco Export Promotion Council, under the Tobacco Board Act of 1975. The Board came into existence from 1-1-1976 with its head quarters at Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Ans b
Silver fir (Abies pindrow, Spach) and Spruce (Picea smithiana, Boiss), commonly referred as high level conifers. These species extend throughout Western Himalayas from Afghanistan to Nepal chiefly at 7,000 to 12,000 ft. but sometimes descending below and up in cool ravines. Spruce and Silver fir is also common in Bhutan with its multiple uses. Juniper is found in Europe, southwestern Asia up to the Himalayas, and North America, where it grows from southern coastal sites to more northerly moorland and mountainous regions.

Ans a
Namchik-Namphuk Coalfields are located in Arunachal Pradesh and are under Arunachal Pradesh Mineral Development and Trading Corporation Limited (were setup in 1991). Other important coalfields in North Eastern Region are Makum coalfields in Assam, West Darrangiri, Langrin, Siju and Bapung coalfields in Meghalaya.

Ans d
Chhattisgarh region is as well known for its rich cultural heritage as for its abundant deposits of natural resources. A variety of mineral resources are fond in this region, diamond, gold, iron-ore, coal, corundum, bauxite, dolomite, lime, tin, granite to name a few. Deposits of cumberlite pipe found in Pailikhand and Deobhog area and gold deposits in Sonakhan area of Raipur district have evoked investor interest. High quality iron-ore deposits are found in the Bailadila hill rangesas well as in Dalhi-Rajhara. Abundant deposits of lime stone are found in the district of Raiput, Bilaspur, Durg and Bastal facilitating the growth of several large cement plants in the area.

Ans d
Chikmangalur is situated in south western part of Karnataka. In Chickmagalur district, the major commercial crop is coffee. Other commercial crops are Pepper, Cashew nuts etc. Mandya District is an administrative district located in Karnataka, India. Mandya District is bounded on the south by Mysore District, on the west by Hassan District, on the north by Tumkur District and on the east by Bangalore District. Mandya, the district headquarters has gained importance because of the Mandya sugar factory, which is now one of the biggest in India. It has a processing capacity of 5,000 tons of cane per day and was established 1933-1934.

Ans c
NTPC’s hydro project, 4×130 mw Tapovan Vishnugarh hydroelectric project, will cost Rs 3,425 crore. The board of directors has given approval to develop the project as a merchant power plant. It will be implemented during the 11th Plan. The project has been accorded mega status NTPC secured the project through MoU route from Uttaranchal government. The project is being set up across River Dhauliganga in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. It is located near Joshimath on Rishikesh-Badrinath Road and involves construction of a barrage at Tapovan, 15 km from Joshimath on Joshimath-Malari Road. It is expected to generate 2558.37 million kwn annually, in a normal year.

Ams b
The Omkareshwar Multipurpose Project is proposed d/s of ISP on the Narmada River, near Village Mandhta District Khandwa with an installed capacity of 520 MW with designed annual energy generation of 1166 million units in initial stage and annual irrigation of 2.83 Lac. Ha on a culturable Command Area (CCA) of 1.47 Lac. Ha. Total Catchment Area at the Dam site is 64880 sq.km. Generation of power at Omkareshwar Project is directly related to the regulated release of water from Indira Sagar Project, hence it is one of the beneficiary project of Indira Sagar Project. Project has been commissioned in November 2007.

Ans b
Tehri Hydro Complex comprised the 1000 MW Tehri Dam and HPT (Stage-I), the 1000 MW pump storage plant, and the 400 MW Koteshwar Dam and HPP. Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) was incorporated on July 12th, 1988 to plan, promote, organize, execute, operate and maintain Hydro Power Project in Bhagirathi-Bhilangna Valley in Uttar Pradesh as a joint venture of Government of India and Government of Uttar Pradesh both sharing the cost of power component (20% of Stage-I cost) of the project in the ratio of 75:25 respectively. The irrigation component is to be funded entirely by the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

Ans c
The immediate objective of the NPP 2000 is to address the unmet needs for contraception, health care infrastructure, and health personnel, and to provide integrated service delivery for basic reproductive and child health care. The medium-term objective is to bring the TFR to replacement levels by 2010, through vigorous implementation of inter-sectoral operational strategies. The long-term objective is to achieve a stable population by 2045, at a level consistent with the requirements of sustainable economic growth, social development, and environmental protection.