KEY to the CSP-2015 Geography Test-5, 31.03.2015

KEY to the CSP-2015 Geography  Test-5, 31.03.2015

1.	d	21.	a	41.	a	61.	b	81	a
2.	b	22.	a	42.	c	62.	a	82	a
3.	a	23.	c	43.	a	63.	c	83	a
4.	c	24.	b	44.	b	64.	c	84	d
5.	d	25.	a	45.	b	65.	a	85	d
6.	b	26.	d	46.	c	66.	c	86	c
7.	d	27.	d	47.	d	67.	b	87	d
8.	d	28.	d	48.	c	68.	b	88	a
9.	c	29.	d	49.	a	69.	c	89	a
10.	a	30.	d	50.	b	70.	d	90	d
11.	a	31.	d	51.	b	71	c	91	b
12.	b	32.	c	52.	c	72	d	92	b
13.	c	33.	c	53.	b	73	b	93	b
14.	d	34.	d	54.	a	74	d	94	a
15.	b	35.	c	55.	a	75	d	95	c
16.	c	36.	a	56.	d	76	a	96	a
17.	c	37.	a	57.	b	77	c	97	b
18.	d	38.	d	58.	a	78	a	98	d
19.	c	39.	d	59.	a	79	d	99	a
20.	c	40.	a	60.	d	80	b	100	b

Dear Friends,

I know you must be anxious due to fast approaching exam. But, this test is very important from your exam point of view. Almost 70% questions [Around 13 to 15 questions] are coming from Indian Geography alone. Al-most all current related Geography questions are covered in this test. Be thorough with the map pointing of all the areas which have in news for the past few months, especially from January, 2015. For example, all the geographical forms in India-Bangla-Myanmar borders [Indo-Bangladesh land swap agreement, Vehicle movement agreement, military operation in Indo-Myanmar border etc.]; Indo-Nepal borders [Earth quake in Nepal and India]; Palk Strait [Fishing problem and Ramasethu project]; Bihar and UP [Elections]; Uranium and other atomic minerals, their mines and production facilities [Due to nuclear fuel supply agreement with Australia, extension with Kazakhstan and others] and so on. Best of luck…

Yours friendly

YADAGIRI. 

Explanation:

Q. 1. See the news paper item on this news/research given at the end.

2. Assam Hajong Lake a unique tortoise habitat situated in the Langting-Mupa reserve forest in North Cachar Hills district of Assam. It is the only natural tortoise habitat in Assam. On bank of the Hajong lake Tortoise Festival was organised every year. This festival aims to create awareness among the villagers surrounding villages of Hajong Lake about the safety of the endangered tortoise species available in the area

3. River Luni is an inland drainage system and doesn’t have its mouth in Gulf of Kutch.

5. Both statements are wrong. Gujarat [1054 KM] is the Indian state having longest coast line, followed by Andhra Pradesh [962], Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Odisha. The southernmost point of India which is located Nicobar Island is Indira point or Pygmalion or Parson Point and the southernmost part of Indian peninsula is Kanyakumari, not PIgmalion point given in the option.

 [Kanyakumari is the southern tip of Peninsula where the two seas, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean meet. The Vivekananda Rock memorial and the Periyar statue are located here]   

6. Dugong, a vulnerable marine mammal is the flagship mammal of the park. It is an important habitat for the Cetaceans: Indo-Pacific bottom nose dolphin, Finless porpoise, Spinner dohphin, Common dolphin, Risso’s dolphin, Melon-headed whale and Dwarf sperm whale. Larger whales include Sperm whale, Minke Whale, Bryde’s whale, Sei whale and critically endangered species including Humpback whale, Fin whale and Blue whale.  The park includes estuaries, mudflats, beaches and forests of the near shore environment. It also includes marine components such as coral reefs, seed weed communities, sea grasses, salt marshes and mangroves

8. There are 5 states [MP, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana, and Haryana] and 3 UTs in India [NCT of Delhi, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Chandigarh]   which are land locked. 5 Indian states, albeit different ones, share borders with China [J and K, HP, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and AP], Bangladesh [WB, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram], and Nepal [UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, WB and Sikkim]. 4 Indian states share borders with Bhutan [WB, Sikkim, Assam and AP] and Myanmar [AP, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram]. All the 5 land locked states mentioned above do not share borders with other countries and obviously no coast line. Hence, only statement 2 is correct.  

9. Narcondam or Narcondum is a small volcanic island located in the Andaman Sea and is part of A and N archipelago. Its central peak rises some 710 m above mean sea level and formed of andesite. The island is part of the Andaman Island of Andaman and Nicobar islands. The island is small, covering an area of approximately 6.8 square kilometers. It was classified as an active volcano by Geological Survey of India. Saddle Peak is located on North Andaman Island in A and N islands of India. At 732 m, it is the highest point of the archipelago in the Bay of Bengal. It is surrounded by Saddle Peak National Park. It is the highest point of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Onge is one of the tribes living in A and N islands along with Jawarese, Andamanese and Nicobarese. Mandalay Jail is located in Myanmar on the banks of Irrawady river and Cellular jail is located in A and N islands.

11. The top 13 states in India by size are Rajasthan, MP, MR, UP, J and K, Gujarat, Karnataka, AP, Odhisa, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Bihar.

13. All the four famous religious places of Hindus, the “Char Dam” is located in Greater             Himalayas or Himadri. All of them are in Uttarakhand state.  The Kashmir and Kathmandu valleys are formed between Greater Himalayas and Lesser Himalayas. The dun valleys [Dehradoon] and duar valleys [Haridwar] are located between Lesser and outer Himalayas. Hence the correct option is “c”. 

The Spiti Valley is a desert mountain valley located high in the Himalaya Mountains in the north-eastern part of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The Middle Land", i.e. the land between Tibet and India. Lahaul and Spiti is surrounded by high mountain ranges. The Rohtang Pass, at 13,054 feet (3,979 m), separates Lahul and Spiti from the Kullu Valley.
The question is asked in the context of Char Dam  [ Chota chardam] Yatra going on now.  Don't get confused with the real Chardam in India- Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameshwaram. 

17. In India, black cotton soils or regur swells when wet and dry and crack when dry, thus, requires least tilling to facilitate aeration. The alluvial soils which are spread across the Indo-Gangetic Plains and East coast plains renew the alluvium every year and rich in minerals and thus require least use of fertilizers. The laterite soils, derive their colour due to oxides of iron, are the most drained/leached and therefore very poor in soluble salts and nutrients. Hence, they require maximum fertilizers. Hence all the statements are wrong.

[Additional information: The peaty soils have maximum accumulation of surface organic matter. The alkaline soils can be made cultivable by applying Gypsum. The regur or black soils derive their name, black cotton soil [or Chernozem in Europe] as they are highly suitable for cotton cultivation.] 

27. Rashtriya Gokul Mission aims to conserve and Develop Indigenous Breeds
Rs. 150 crore allocated for 2014-15: 

Rashtriya Gokul Mission is meant for enhancing the productivity of the indigenous cow and buffalo breeds of India through professional farm management and superior nutrition is immense, for this it is essential to promote conservation and development of indigenous breeds. The “Rashtriya Gokul Mission” aims to conserve and develop indigenous breeds in a focused and scientific manner. It is a focused project under National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development, with an outlay of Rs.500 crore during the 12th Five Year Plan. During 2014-15 Rs 150.00 crores will be allocated for development, preservation and conservation of indigenous breeds. 

The objectives of the Mission are to

ü  a) development and conservation of indigenous breeds

ü  b) undertake breed improvement programme for indigenous cattle breeds so as to improve the genetic makeup and increase the stock;

ü  c) enhance milk production and productivity;

ü  d) upgrade nondescript cattle using elite indigenous breeds like Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi, Deoni, Tharparkar, Red Sindhi and

ü  e) distribute disease free high genetic merit bulls for natural service.

The Rashtriya Gokul Mission will be implemented through the “State Implementing Agency (SIA viz. Livestock Development Boards). State Gauseva Ayogs will be given the mandate to sponsor proposals to the SIA’s (LDB’s) and monitor implementation of the sponsored proposal. All Agencies having a role in indigenous cattle development will be the “Participating Agencies” like CFSPTI, CCBFs, ICAR, Universities, Colleges, NGO’s, Cooperative Societies and Gaushalas with best germ-plasm

Funds under the scheme will be allocated for:

ü  a) establishment of Integrated Indigenous Cattle Centres viz “Gokul Gram”;

ü  b) strengthening of bull mother farms to conserve high genetic merit Indigenous Breeds; c) establishment of Field Performance Recording (FPR) in the breeding tract

ü  d) assistance to Institutions/Institutes which are repositories of best germplasm;

ü  e) implementation of Pedigree Selection Programme for the Indigenous Breeds with large population;

ü  f) Establishment of Breeder’s Societies: Gopalan Sangh g) distribution of disease free high genetic merit bulls for natural service

ü  h) incentive to farmers maintaining elite animals of indigenous breeds;

ü  i) heifer rearing programme; award to Farmers (“Gopal Ratna” ) and Breeders’ Societies (“Kamadhenu” ); j) organization of Milk Yield Competitions for indigenous breeds and

ü  k) organization of Training Programme for technical and non technical personnel working at the Institute/Institutions engaged in indigenous cattle development.

Gokul Gram: 

Under this component it is proposed to establish Integrated Indigenous Cattle Centers or Gokul Grams in the breeding tracts of indigenous breeds. Gokul Grams will be established in: i) the native breeding tracts and ii) near metropolitan cities for housing the urban cattle. Gokul Gram will act as Centres for development of Indigenous Breeds and a dependable source for supply of high genetic breeding stock to the farmers in the breeding tract. The Gokul Gram will be self sustaining and will generate economic resources from sale of A2 milk, organic manure, vermi-composting, urine distillates, and production of electricity from bio gas for in house consumption and sale of animal products. The Gokul Gram will also function as state of the art in situ training centre for Farmers, Breeders and MAITRI’s. 

Each Gokul Gram will be set up by the EIA and function under the auspices of the SIA/ EIA or in a PPP mode. The Gokul Gram will maintain milch and unproductive animals in the ratio of 60:40 and will have the capacity to maintain about 1000 animals. Nutritional requirements of the animals will be provided in the Gokul Gram through in house fodder production. Disease free status of Gokul Gram will be maintained through regular screening of animals for important diseases like brucellosis, TB and JD. An inbuilt dispensary and AI centre will be an integral part of the Gokul Gram. Gokul Gram will also be set up near to metropolitan cities for managing urban cattle. Metropolitan Gokul Gram will focus on genetic upgradation of urban cattle. 

Cattle rearing have been a traditional livelihood in India and are closely linked to agricultural economy. India with 199 million cattle has 14.5% of the world cattle population. Of this, 83% i.e. 166 million are indigenous. Most of the indigenous cattle (about 80%) are non- descript and only 20% belong to breeds recognised by National Bureau of Genetic Resources. The cattle genetic resource of India is represented by 37 well recognized indigenous breeds and there are 13 recognised buffalo breeds. Indigenous cattle, in India, are robust and resilient and are particularly suited to the climate and environment of their respective breeding tracts. They are endowed with qualities of heat tolerance, resistance to diseases and the ability to thrive under extreme climatic stress and less than optimal nutrition. 

33. India has 7 UTs, administered by GOI through Lt. Governors or Administrators.  Out of 7, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Puduchchery are the top populous UTs. These two UTs have state assemblies and certain powers are transferred to them by the GOI. In NCT Delhi, except, Forest, land and Land and order, other subjects are transferred.  There are 3 land locked UTs in India- NCT of Delhi, Chandigarh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli which is land locked in Gujarath in northern side and south by Maharashtra. The UT of Puduchchery has total 4 enclaves, Yanam in near the mouth of Godavari in Andhra, and Puduchchery proper near Cuddalore, Karaikal near Nagapattinam in TN and Mahe in Kerala coast. All of them are on the coast. Hence, correct option is “c”.

35. Statement 1 is wrong and others two are correct. Atomic minerals are one of the promising Non- fossil energy resources found in the slate Rocks of Pre-Cambrian or Achaean Schist rocks. They are not fossil energy resources given in the option.

37. The mighty Western Ghats create a big barrier for advancing monsoon winds and cause maximum rain fall in them and make the Eastern Side of Sahyadri Ranges of Deccan, i.e, Northern Karnataka, Sholapur Beed, Osmanabad and Vidharba Plateau of India a rain shadow region. The Great Indian or  Thar desert is bounded and rain shadowed by the Aravalli ranges to the south-east, the Himalaya to the northeast, and the Kirthar and Sulaiman ranges to the west. The Agasthiyamalai hills cuts-off Tirunalveli district from the monsoons, creating a rain shadow region.

The Bengal and Bihar get rain fall from the Bay of Bengal branch which comes from NE side after making a funnel between Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills in South and Mighty Himalayas on North. Hence, there is no obstruction in WB and Bihar to create rain shadow region.

The Shillong Plateau is a plateau in eastern Meghalaya state, northeastern India. The plateau's southern, northern, and western ridges form the Garo, Khasi, and Jaintia Hills respectively. Heavy rainfall is caused on these mountains due to Bay of Bengal branch of Indian Monsoon winds. But the parts of this plateau lying northern side of these hills are falling under a zone of rain-shadow region, due to obstruction caused by these mountains and making the funnel to move the monsoon winds towards western side of the country.  

39. The above rivers can be divided into Pre-Himalayan and Post-Himalayan. In that context, the Indus, Sutljej and Bhrahmaputra rivers were pre-Himalayan and the others originated with the growth of Himalayas. Peninsular India is the oldest part in India. Thus, the answer is “d”.

40. The largest rivers/river systems in India from the distance they travel in India are the Ganges [2500 km], the Godavari [1465], the Krishna [1400] Narmada [1300], Bhramaputra [885], the Kaveri [805], Indus [709 km] etc.  The tributaries are not taken here. If you take tributaries, Chenab is the longest in India with 1800 KM followed by Yamauna [1300 KM], Ghagra [1080] etc.

41. The day and night are almost equal at equator region and the difference is the least when compared to other regions in the world. In India, the nearest point to Equator is Indira Point or Pigmalian point at Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago and therefore the day and night timing differences are minimal at this point when compared areas falling in northern latitudes from here.

43. Epiphytes are those plants which live on other plants without being parasitic or otherwise harming the host plant. Examples of epiphytes include many ferns, mosses, orchids and bromeliads. They require high humidity and high rain fall areas for their survival and found in those areas which have these features, as they observe moisture from the air by special areal roots. Large numbers of epiphytes on a tree can intercept mineral nutrients before the host plant can. They are present abundantly in Western Ghats and Eastern Himalayas where the rainfall is more than 200cm per annum. They are also present in Western Himalayas, albeit in lesser numbers. No epiphytes found in Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests.   

44. The Western Ghats of Karnataka received very heavy rainfall and contain tropical evergreen forests represented by Rubber, ebony, Mahagony, iron-wood, bamboos etc. East to it would be the tropical moist deciduous forests represented by Teak, Sal, Sandalwood, mulberry, Mahua, Shisham etc. Further, east are the tropical dry deciduous forests represented by Babul, Palash, peepal trees etc. Hence, the answer is “b”. This is due to decreasing rainfall from Western parts of Western Ghats  towards the Rain shadow region.

45. According to India's 2013 forest survey report, the forest cover in top five states has increased, with the exception of Arunachal Pradesh. The top five states with forest cover are 1. Madhya Pradesh: 7.75 million hectares, 2.Arunachal Pradesh: 6.73 million hectares, 3. Chhattisgarh: 5.6 million hectares, 4. Maharashtra: 5.06 million hectares and Odisha: 5.03 million hectares.

46. According status of forest report, 2013, the States with maximum increase in forest cover are West Bengal [increase is 3810 sq.km], Odisha [1444 sq.km] and Kerala [622 sq.km]. The forest cover has decreased in Arunachal Pradesh.

[Additional information: Forest Survey of India (FSI) is a government organization in India under the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for conducting forest surveys and studies. The organization came into being in June, 1981. It is headquartered at Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The objective of the organization is monitoring periodically the changing situation of land and forest resources and presents the data for national planning; conservation and management of environmental preservation and implementation of social forestry projects.]

47. Mizoram in terms of percentage of forest to Geographical area with respect to total geographical area 90.38 percent had highest forest cover. In this aspect, Mizoram was followed by Lakshadweep with 84.56 percent.

48. Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest makes up about 42% in total forest cover in India.

49. Red Sandal wood is available only in Andhra Pradesh, not in Telangana. They are available in abundant numbers in Sheshachala range of Eastern Ghats spread in Chittoor and Kadapa [previously Cuddapah] districts. It is to be noted that Red Sandal Wood is different from Sandal Wood.

51. The water Divide or Watershed is the highest position which acts as a barrier for flow of water or provides a slope from such height. The flow of rivers depends on the presence of watershed. Since Indian watershed is starting at HP and Uttarkhand border, the rivers northern to the line flow towards north-west and then towards south west to reach Arabian Sea. Example, the Indus river system. All the rivers eastern to Watershed such as Yamuna, Ganges and others flow towards east. Similarly, at the middle of the India, the loop is formed by Narmada and Tapti rivers to flow in gorges towards west. In the penisnulsar India, the Watershed runs almost parallel to the Western Ghats on their eastern borders and therefore most of the rivers flow towards east and some small rivers which are western to watershed such as Sharavati in Karnataka, periyar and Pamba in Kerala flow towards west to join Arabian Sea. 

54. The Vegetation found in the Eastern Himalayas from bottom around 900m to top are as under

1.    Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest represented by Teak and Sal

2.    Sub-tropical vegetation in the elevation of 900 to 1800 m, represented by Oak, Chestnut etc

3.    Temperate Vegetation starts from 1800 and goes up to 2700 m, represented by Maple, Oak, Birch, Magnolia etc

4.    Cold temperate Vegetation from 2700m to 3660m, represented by coniferous forests

5.    Alpine Vegetation from 3660 to 4800m, represented by Silver fir, Juniper etc

6.    Tundra Vegetation such as mosses, grasses, shrubs, meadows etc. from 4800mto 5100m.

You should know what it starts around 900m and what it ends, and then you can find answer easily.   In this case, from the options Tropical deciduous is the first category and therefore the option should start with 1. There are two possible answers- either “a” or “b”. The vegetation at the top most elevation, we know is mosses which are given option 2. Hence, answer is “a”. 

55. Viti-culture is commercial cultivation of grapes, but not Wine-yards, though wine is made out of grapes in foreign countries in big numbers. Floriculture, commercial rearing of flowers is a sub-set of Horticulture. Apiculture is commercial rearing of honey bees. Sericulture is commercial rearing of silk worms and they are sold at cocoon stage from which silk is extracted by the companies with those facilities.

59. The red and yellow soils are most suited for coarse grains, Pulses and oil seeds. They are lacking in Nitrogen, Phosphorus and organic matter or humus. These zonal soils are rich in oxides of iron. They are distributed mostly in peninsular India, including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Santhal paraganas and Chotanagpur plateau of Jharkhand. The option given in “a” is correct. 

60. The Lateritic soils are not rich in nitrogen and potash. They would generally found in tropical regions which seasonal rainfall. Heavy rainfall promotes leaching whereby lime and silica are leached away and making the soils rich in oxides of iron and aluminum. These soils are concentrated in Vidndhyan Plateau, Satpura, Mahadeo and Maikal ranges in Madhya Pradesh, Malabar Coast, Odisha Coast and Meghalaya.  For the reasons explained above, Laterite soils can’t be found in Rajasthan and UP where the rainfall is not heavy, though most of the UP and parts of Rajasthan is irrigated due to Ganges and Indira Gandhi Canal respectively. The correct option is “d”.

Coffee, Tea and Cashew nuts grow well in these soils as they require well drained lands and non-standing water, but heavy rainfall.

62. The major tea producing area in India is North-Eastern India. The major places are Bhramhaputra, Surma valleys in Assam and Sadia area; Meghalaya and northern hilly areas of West Bengal such as Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Bihar. This area accounts for 75% of tea production. In South India, tea is cultivated in Nilgiri hills, cardmom and Annamalai hills of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu which account for about 20% of the tea production in India. The western Himalayan area such as Kumaon and Dehradun areas of Uttarakhand and Khangra Valley and Mandi areas of Himachal Pradesh comes in third place, accounting for 5% of the tea production in India. The brands name such as famous Assam and Darjeeling tea has more demand in the international market.

65. The Chambal ravines that consist of sharp, steep, mud hillocks stretch across three states - Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh alone has 68,833 hectares of these ravines. To tap into their economic potential, the state's Bharatiya Janata Party government has rewritten the script of the "Madhya Pradesh Vision Document 2018" and revived the "Ravine Reclamation Project". In the new plan, called "Integrated Approach for the Reclamation of Ravines in the Chambal Region of Madhya Pradesh", the state government eyes the ravines mostly along the rivers Chambal, Sindh, Betwa and Kwari as well as the tributaries of Yamuna (Chambal is Yamuna's tributary). In geographical sense, the ravines are called as “bad land topography” which are barren. The Government plan is to level them and create new arable land along the tributaries of Yamuna in MP.

68. Gujarat remained the top cotton producing state in the country — 108 lakh bales in 2014-15 season, even as the other states witnessed a bumper annual production. According to the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), the total production in the country during the season was 390 lakh bales, against 370 lakh bales in 2013-14. Maharashtra remained second, recording a production of 83 lakh bales, followed by Telangana (57 lakh bales), Karnantaka (30 lakh bales), Andhra Pradesh (27 lakh bales), Haryana (25 lakh bales), Rajasthan (17 lakh bales), Punjab (14 lakh bales), Tamil Nadu (5 lakh bales), Orissa (4 lakh bales) and others two lakh bales.

69. Kerala is the largest producer of black pepper and cardamom. AP is the largest producer of red chillies and turmeric. Karnataka is the largest producer of areca or betel nut.

70. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is home to 4 Negrito and 2 Mongoloid tribes. Those belonging to the Negrito origin – the Great Andamanese, the Onge, the Jarawas and the Sentinelese - are still at hunting-gathering stage of economy. [These 4 groups thought to have travelled to the Andaman Islands from Africa up to 60,000 years ago.]

         The Mongoloid origin, Nicobarese, has accepted the challenge of change and have prospered and multiplied. The Nicobarese are mainly horticulturist and pig-herders inhabiting large permanent villages mostly close to sea shore. They are not divisible into tribes, but there are distinctions, chiefly territorial. Nicobarese families are patriarchal and as a rule live jointly. This joint family is known as Tuhet. There is no individual ownership, but the Tuhet owns land, coconut and pigs. Love marriage is very common and the age of marriage is sufficiently high. Their population is in thousands. They are NOT recognized as PVTGs.

 The members of the other Mongoloid community, the Shompen, still shy away from outsiders and they are the least understood PTGs in India and perhaps world.

76. The Socio-Economic Caste Census, 2011 has been done by the Ministry of Rural Development and the then Planning Commission as the Nodal Agencies. It is NOT done under the Census of India act 1948.

[Additional information: The Socio-Economic Caste Census, 2011 has followed the following criteria in Rural Areas

1.    Automatically Exclude some households (based on income/assets)

2.    Automatically Include some households

3.    For the remaining houses: rank them based on seven deprivation factors.

1. Automatically exclude some households (based on income/assets):

The households with Vehicle, Kisan Credit Card with credit limit of Rs. 50k and above, Any member is Government employee, Any member is earning more than Rs.10k per month, Paying income tax/Professional tax, House has pucca walls and roof + Three or more rooms, Own a refrigerator, Own Landline phone, Owns irrigated land above a limit etc. are automatically excluded in the list.

2. Automatically include some households:

The household with any of the following will be included automatically: Households without shelter; Destitute/ living on alms; Manual scavengers; Legally released bonded labourers and

Primitive tribal groups

3. Ranking of remaining households based on the following 7 deprivation indicators

          1. Households with only one room, kucha walls and kucha roof

          2. No adult member between the ages of 16 and 59

          3. Female headed households with no adult male member between 16 and 59

          4. Households with disabled member and no able bodied adult member

          5. SC/ST household

          6. Households with no literate adult above 25 years

          7. Landless households deriving a major part of their income from manual casual labour

Households with the highest deprivation score will be first included in the BPL list and be given benefit of Government welfare schemes on a priority basis.

The Socio-Economic Caste Census, 2011 has followed the following criteria in Urban Areas

It is a similar a three stage process to identify the urban poor – automatic exclusion, automatic inclusion and a scoring index. A family stands to be automatically excluded if it has either a four room house or possess any one of the asset such as four wheeler, AC set, laptop or any three of the following assets fridge, landline phone, washing machine or a two wheeler]

77. The extent of and approach to deprivation captured by the SECC 2011 contrasts with the poverty estimates of the erstwhile Planning Commission, which were income-based. As per the Commission’s last estimate, in 2011-12, 25.7 per cent of India’s rural population was below the poverty line [with an income below Rs.816 per capita per month]. As per SECC 2011, more than 50% households are deprived of one or other 7 parameters of deprivation used. [The deprivation among the SCs and STs is mad public. The deprivation of OBCs or castes is not known as the caste related deprivation has not been released] 

78. With 44% production of wool, Rajasthan leads all states in India. Rajasthan is followed by Jammu & Kashmir (13 percent), Karnataka (12 percent) Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana (23 percent). Other pairs are correct.

79. The eastern India receives more rainfall and has high temperatures which adversely affect the milk producing cattle and soft grass. Further, due excess population and cultivation of food grains, create deficiency of land for fodder cultivation. Thus, the eastern India is poor in milk production. The top milk producing states in India are UP, AP, Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat.

80. Seafood exports from India touched an all-time- high of Rs.33,441.61 crore for the year 2014-15, recording a growth of 11 per cent over the previous year. The volumes at 10,51,243 tonnes showed a growth of 7 per cent. In dollar terms the export value stood at $5.51 billion, up by 10 per cent year-on-year. Frozen shrimps continued to be the flagship product in the seafood exports accounting for a share of 34 per cent in quantity and 67 per cent in dollar value of the total exports. Vannamei or white leg shrimp [which was imported few years before] grown in aquaculture farms was the main item under shrimps. Frozen fish was the second largest exported item accounting for a share of 29 per cent in quantity and 11 per cent in dollar value. Almost 75 per cent of the exported items came from the aquaculture farms and while the rest was contributed by the sea catch.

USA was the largest buyer of seafood products with 26 per cent share followed by South East Asia with 25.7 per cent share.  EU took the third position with 20 per cent. Among the ports, Pipavav in Gujarat came first in seafood exports in quantity while Visakapattanam or Vizag in AP bagged the top position among the ports in value.

82. Sagar Mala project is a strategic and customer-oriented initiative of the Government of India to modernize India's Ports so that port-led development can be augmented and coastlines can be developed to contribute in India's growth.

[Additional information: Transshipment ports: Transshipment or transshipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to yet another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g., from ship transport to road transport), known as trans-loading. This would save lot of time for the big vessels which need not reach the coastal port to off-load the goods which takes lot of time and congestion. Further, certain big ships can’t enter all ports due to depth of water is not sufficient for them.

India’s tiny state of Kerala will soon have another international container transshipment terminal (ICTT) at Vizhinjam near Thiruvananthapuram to add to the one run by Dubai’s DP World Ltd at Cochin port, located a few nautical miles away]

88. Ennore Port, officially renamed Kamarajar Port Limited, is located on the Coramandel Coast about 24 km north of Chennai Port. Chennai and it is the 12th major port of India, and the first port in India which is a public company. The Kamarajar Port Limited is the only corporatized major port and is registered as a company. The Centre holds a stake of about 68 per cent in the Kamarajar Port Limited and the remaining 32 per cent is held by the Chennai Port Trust. Krishnapatnam is a minor port developed under Built-Operate-Share and Transfer method. It is also governed by Companies Act, but not Port trust act, but it is a minor port.

Kandla and Cochin are major ports governed by the Port Trust Act. The advantage of being company for a port is investment through sale of shares to QIBs or other companies. Further, they can sell or lease their lands to augment their incomes which are not under Port Trust Act.  

92. The region of Kashmir, the western and central Himalayas, North Bihar, the North-East Indian region and the Rann of Kutch fall in this zone.

96. The Dharwar System of rocks are the earliest formed sedimentary rocks, found today in metamorphic forms. These rocks do not contain fossils and are found in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya and Rajasthan. They occur also in the central and northern Himalayas. Schists, slates, quartzites and conglomerates are some of the rocks. This system carries minerals like gold, manganese ore, iron ore, chromium, copper, uranium, thorium, mica and building materials like granites, marbles, quartzites and slates.

The Vindhyan System of rocks stand over the Cuddapah rocks and cover large areas in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. This system contains rocks like lime stones, sandstones, shales and slates which are useful as building materials.
(v) Gondwana System of rocks contain coal deposits and have marks of climatic changes from arctic cold to tropical and desert conditions. These rocks are found mainly in the Damodar, the Mahanadi and the Godavari valleys of the peninsula.

97. THE CUDDAPAH SYSTEM (THE PURANA GROUP)

The Cuddapah system is made of shales, slates, limestone and quartzite. The rocks are generally without fossils. The Cuddapah formations, named after the district of Cuddapah in Andhra Pradesh are sedimentary-metamorphic formations.

The Cuddapah System occurs in the (i) Cuddapah and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh, (ii) Chhattisgarh, (iii) Rajasthan-Delhi to the south of Alwar, and (iv) the Lesser Himalayas in the extra-Peninsular region.

At places the Cuddapah formations are six thousand metres in thickness. The enormous thick-ness of these rocks indicates the sinking of beds of the basin with growing sedimentation.
The principle rocks of the Cuddapah System are sandstones, shales, limestone, quartzites slates, inferior quality of iron-ore, manganese ore, asbestos, copper, nickel, cobalt (Delhi System), marble, jasper, building material and stones for interior decoration. The metallic contents in the ores of Cuddapah rocks are, however, low and at places uneconomical for extraction.

They are the places of limestone and thus cement industries flock around them.

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Q.1. Note on Western Ghats and rainfall across the states:

In a recent study of rainfall trends using remotely sensed satellite data and actual field data from the Indian Meteorological Department of the Western Ghats region over the past 14 years, it was found that during the monsoon months of June, July, August, September, the average rainfall was more over Karnataka than Maharashtra and Kerala.

The Western Ghats run parallel to the Arabian Sea coast for approximately 1,600 km from the Maharashtra-Gujarat border to the southern tip of Kerala.

There are several reasons for this. First, the mountain topography in Karnataka is broader than the narrow topography of the Ghats in Maharashtra. Due to the greater width of the mountains, the rain bearing winds have to necessarily travel a longer distance and have more time for the drops to coalesce and precipitate as rainfall, resulting in higher rainfall. In contrast, the narrow width of the Ghats in Maharashtra allows the rain-bearing wind to cross over to the leeward side rapidly before precipitation can occur. As for Kerala, the Ghats there are in the form of isolated mountains, where the rain-bearing winds can easily cross over to the leeward side through the gaps in between without precipitation occurring.

Second, the slope of the mountain has a direct bearing on the possibility of precipitation. This is borne out by the Ghats of Karnataka where the mountains are gently sloping, compared to the steep slopes of the Ghats in Maharashtra and Kerala.

The air parcel will retain its energy and speed for a longer time when the slope is gradual. This will provide sufficient vertical motion to cloud droplets to grow by collision–coalescence process and hence form precipitation.

Third, the gentle slope provides a greater area for sunlight absorption and heating leading to greater convection when compared with an abrupt slope i.e. less Ghat area such as that of the Maharashtra and Kerala Ghats.

Fourth, the continuous mountain range presents a greater barrier to rain-bearing winds than a range comprising isolated mountains with gaps in between where the winds can easily pass to the leeward side. Unlike in the case of Kerala, the Ghats in Maharashtra and Karnataka are continuous.

In the International Journal of Climatology, Ms Sayli A. Tawde and Ms. Charu Singh present the results of the study of the effects of topography of the western Ghats on the rainfall that the Ghats receive during the summer monsoon or the southwest monsoon. Ms Sayli A. Tawde, presently a PhD student in the Centre for Atmospheric & Ocean Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, has carried out this work as a part of her M. Tech project under the supervision of Ms. Charu Singh, a scientist at Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Department, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, ISRO, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Interestingly, the study found that often areas of heavy rainfall were far away from the summits of the mountains, as much as 50 km away.

“The reason for this is that there is more chance of rainfall occurring at the foot of the mountain as there is greater depth for the moisture in the clouds to coalesce into big drops which finally reach the ground,” notes Ms Tawde in an email to this correspondent.

The Andes mountains of Chile run parallel to Chile’s Pacific coast and boast of some of the highest peaks in the world. Lying in the rain shadow of the mountains is the Atacama desert — one of the most desolate, barren and hostile deserts in the world. Most of the precipitation from rain bearing winds falls on the windward side or on the mountains themselves and hence the barrenness of the Atacama desrert. Had the western ghats been as lofty as the Andes or the Himalayas, the mountains and the rain shadow region would not boast of the dense vegetation and rich biodiversity of flora and fauna as they do now.

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