UPSC 2012 Geography PYQs with Answers

Oryx is adapted to hot arid habitats, while chiru or Tibetan antelope lives in cold high-altitude steppes and semi-deserts. Chiru is poached for shahtoosh wool, not musk, and the distribution statements are incorrect.

National Parks have the strictest protection among the listed categories, and extraction/collection of biomass by local people is generally not permitted. Biosphere reserves and wildlife sanctuaries can have more flexible zonation or regulated use.

Tropical savanna climates have distinct wet and dry seasons, with rainfall concentrated in the high-sun season and a marked dry period.

The monsoon arrives earlier and lasts longer in southern India, so duration generally decreases northward. In the northern plains, rainfall decreases from the wetter east toward the drier west.

Bandipur, Manas and Sunderbans are Tiger Reserves. Bhitarkanika is famous for mangroves and crocodiles, not as a Tiger Reserve.

The Pole Star indicates north. To go east, he should face a direction such that north is on his left; therefore he should walk keeping the Pole Star to his left.

India imports coal because domestic supply has often been insufficient for coal-based power plants and because steel plants require high-quality coking coal, much of which is imported. It is not mainly a policy of saving domestic reserves for the future.

The lower atmosphere is heated mainly from the Earth's surface, and thinner upper air holds less heat. Moisture generally decreases with height, so statement 2 is incorrect.

Deep gorges, sharp river bends, parallel ranges and steep unstable slopes are all features of active uplift and youthful relief in the Himalayas. Together they indicate young fold mountains.

Groundnut, sesamum and pearl millet are widely grown under rainfed conditions in India, especially in semi-arid regions. Hence all three are predominantly rainfed crops.

Gujarat has the largest wetland area among Indian states, helped by extensive coastal and salt-marsh wetlands. Nationally, inland wetlands occupy a larger area than coastal wetlands, so statement 2 is incorrect.

Ocean currents are influenced by Earth's rotation through Coriolis force, winds/pressure systems and density differences caused by salinity and temperature. Earth's revolution is not a direct controlling factor.

Cowpea and green gram can be used as pulses, fodder and green manure. Pigeon pea is chiefly a pulse and does not fit all three uses in the same way.

Arunachal Pradesh lies near the relevant latitude, has very high forest cover and a significant protected-area network. The other listed states do not match all the clues together.

Mixed farming means integrating crop cultivation with livestock rearing on the same farm. It is different from mixed cropping or simply growing cash and food crops.

Demographic transition begins with high birth and death rates, moves to high birth rate with falling death rate, and later reaches low birth and low death rates. Thus the order is 2, 3, 1.

CFCs were used as blowing agents in plastic foams, cleaning solvents for electronic components and propellants/pressurizing agents in aerosols. Tubeless tyre production is not the relevant listed use.

The National Water Mission promotes water-use efficiency, recycling and technologies such as desalination where appropriate. It does not mandate interlinking all Himalayan and peninsular rivers or reimbursing farmers for bore-wells and pumps.

Under PESA, Gram Sabha is empowered to safeguard community resources and prevent land alienation in Scheduled Areas, and ownership of minor forest produce is recognized. The requirement for recommendation before mining lease/prospecting licence is for specified processes and not every mineral in the broad form stated here.