UPSC 2014 Geography PYQs with Answers

Under the old national highway numbering, NH 4 did not connect Chennai and Hyderabad, NH 6 did not connect Mumbai and Kolkata as stated, and NH 15 did not connect Ahmedabad and Jodhpur. None of the pairs is correct.

Kinnaur is not known for areca nut, Mewat is not a mango-production region in this pairing, and the Coromandel region is not known for soybean production. Hence none is correctly matched.

Integrated watershed development aims at soil and water conservation, rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and regeneration of natural vegetation. It does not involve linking perennial and seasonal rivers.

From south to north the cities are Jakarta, Singapore, Bangkok and Hanoi. Therefore the sequence is 3-4-1-2.

Turkey lies between/along the Black Sea to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the south, with the Aegean also on its west.

Mahadeo Hills are in central India and Mikir Hills are in north-east India. Cardamom Hills are in the Western Ghats, not the Coromandel Coast, and Kaimur Hills are not on the Konkan Coast.

The Lohit and Subansiri rivers flow through Arunachal Pradesh as part of the Brahmaputra river system. The Barak river is associated mainly with Manipur, Mizoram and Assam.

Seasonal reversal of winds between land and sea is the defining feature of the monsoon climate.

Deforestation exposes soil to wind and water erosion. Terrace cultivation is a soil-conservation method, and tropical climate by itself is not listed here as the associated cause in the same direct sense.

Changpas are pastoralists of Ladakh who rear Changthangi/Pashmina goats, and they are recognized as a Scheduled Tribe. They do not live mainly in Uttarakhand.

Coalbed methane is methane extracted from coal seams, but shale gas is mainly methane-rich natural gas, not only propane and butane. India has identified/assessed shale gas potential, so the second statement is also incorrect.

Oaks and rhododendrons are naturally found in Himalayan forest belts. Sandalwood is mainly associated with peninsular/tropical regions, not natural Himalayan growth.

The Ten Degree Channel separates the Andaman group from the Nicobar group in the Bay of Bengal.

Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative uses fewer seed canes/buds, supports wider spacing and efficient water use such as drip irrigation, and gives more scope for intercropping. It does not mean chemical or inorganic fertilizers are never used.