Geography Mock Test - 9

The Correct Answer is Mixed cropping. 

Important Points

• Mixed cropping refers to growing of two or more crops simultaneously either by mixing seeds or sowing component crop separately without any definite row arrangements.
• Intercropping, on the other hand, is a way of cultivating crops in which two or more crops simultaneously either by mixing seeds or sowing component crop separately with definite row arrangements.
• Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area but different seasons.
• It reduces reliance on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, and the probability of developing resistant pests and weeds.
• Intercropping is growing two or more crops simultaneously in a one season.
• Mixed farming is a type of farming that involves both the growing of crops and the raising of livestock.

The correct answer is Mediterranean region

Key Points

• Mediterranean forests can be found in the Mediterranean Sea region, Central Chile, the Southwest USA, Australia, and Africa.
• They include thick barks and waxy leaves that aid in reducing transpiration. 
• Mediterranean trees respond to dry summers because of these characteristics. 
• Mediterranean forests are known as the Orchards of the World because of their fruit production. 

• Figs, oranges, grapes, and olives are among the many citrus fruits grown here.

Hence, the correct answer is - Mediterranean region.

Additional Information

•  Tropical grasslands:
  • ​These occur on either side of the equator and extend till the tropics.
  • This vegetation grows in the areas of moderate to low amount of rainfall. 
  • The grass can grow very tall, about 3 to 4 metres in height.
  • Savannah grasslands of Africa are of this type.
• Coniferous forests:
  • In the higher latitudes (50° – 70°) of Northern hemisphere the spectacular Coniferous forests are found. These forests are also seen in the higher altitudes. 
  • They are tall, softwood evergreen trees.
  • Chir, pine and cedar are the important variety of trees in these forests.
• Temperate evergreen forests:
  • ​The temperate evergreen forests are located in the mid-latitudinal coastal region.
  • They are commonly found along the eastern margin of the continents, e.g., In south east USA, South China and in South East Brazil. 
  • They comprise both hard and soft wood trees like oak, pine, eucalyptus etc. 

The correct answer is the Tata Iron and Steel Company.

Key Points

Tata Iron and Steel Company 

• The first and one of the largest manufacturing plants in Asia is Tata Iron and Steel Company, also known as TISCO.
• Tata iron and steel Company is situated in Jharkhand which was founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1907 and is the oldest steel plant in India.
• Tata Iron and Steel Company or TISCO is the first iron and steel manufacturing plant in India which was founded and established by Jamsetji Tata and Dorabji Tata respectively on 26^th August 1907 at Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.
• Tata iron and steel Company started production of pig iron in the year 1911 and production of steel in the year 1912.
• Tata iron and steel Company made rapid progress during the First World War and by 1939, the largest steel plant was operated by Tata iron and steel Company within the British Empire.
• The establishment of Tata Iron and Steel Company at Jamshedpur includes various advantages like it is near to deposits of coal and manganese, iron ores, and even to Kolkata which provided a large market.
• An adequate water supply is ensured by the rivers Kharkai and Subarnarekha.
• The headquarters of Tata iron and steel company is in Mumbai, Maharashtra and its marketing headquarters are situated in Kolkata and West Bengal.

The correct answer is Geneva.
Key Points

• WTO is an international organization set up in 1995 by replacing the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) under the Marrakesh Agreement.
• The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations.
• The WTO has 164 members (including European Union) and 23 observer governments (like Iran, Iraq, Bhutan, Libya etc).
•  Its HQ is located in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Currently, WTO has 164 members and India is a founding member of WTO.
• Currently, the head (Director-General) of WTO is Roberto Azevedo.

 Important Points

Objectives of WTO

• To formulate and implement rules for international trade.
• To provide a platform for negotiating and monitoring further trade liberalization.
• To provide a platform for the settlement of disputes.
• Providing assistance to the developing, least-developed, and low-income countries in transition to adjust to WTO rules and disciplines through technical cooperation and training.
• To cooperate with the other major economic institutions (like UN, World Bank, IMF, etc) involved in global economic management.

Demographic transition is a model used to represent the transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as a country or a region. Demography is the study of how human population changes. The changes occur due to births, deaths, immigration, emigration, and natural ageing.

Mortality means death. The UN principles of the Vital Statistical System, 1950 defined death as the permanent disappearance of all evidence of life at any time after birth has taken place. Death does not include abortion and stillbirth. 

• The death rate has declined over the decades. Various factors, like the increasing level of literacy, urbanization, eradication of epidemics, besides the improved provision of healthcare facilities in urban, as well as rural areas in India, have resulted in a decline in death rates over a period of time. 
• With the spread of education in general and health education in particular, people are becoming health conscious. Moreover, advertisement of health messages on TV and radio has promoted education among people. All these have brought down death rates.
• The status of women in society has been improving. It is the women who take care of the health of their children and family. As women’s education is scaling up day by day, it has helped to reduce the death rate

• Birth Rate: The ratio of live births in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 population per year.
• Death rate: The ratio of deaths in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 population per year
• Life expectancy: Life expectancy at birth reflects the overall mortality level of a population. It summarizes the mortality pattern that prevails across all age groups in a given year – children and adolescents, adults and the elderly
• Level of education: levels of education are an ordered set of categories, intended to group educational programmes in relation to gradations of learning experiences and the knowledge, skills and competencies which each programme is designed to impart.

• Human Development Index is a statistical composite index developed by the United Nations.  
• This index measures various countries’ level of social and economic development.
• Components used in this index are such as average annual income and educational expectation, etc.
• The three basic components of human development that has been assessed in the index are:
  • A long and healthy life
  • Access to knowledge
  • A decent standard of living
• In the year 2020, the United Nation Development Programme introduced a new metric called the Planetary Pressures-adjusted HDI, or PHDI. These measures reflect the impact caused by each country’s per-capita carbon emissions and their material footprint.
• This index was developed by two prolific economists from Pakistan and India, namely Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen.

• Agriculture comes under the primary sector of economic activity.
• The primary sector includes the production and extraction of raw materials.
• The other activities which are related to this sector are mining, forestry, grazing, farming, hunting, fishing, quarrying, and gathering.
• The other three sectors of the economy include secondary, tertiary, and quaternary.

The correct answer is Port Said and Suez.

Key Points

• The Suez Canal is a man-made waterway that connects the Mediterranean Sea through the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean.
• It makes for a more direct shipping path between Europe and Asia, essentially facilitating the passage from the North Atlantic to the Indian Ocean without having to circumnavigate the continent of Africa.
• The waterway is crucial for international trade and, since it began in 1869, has been at the center of controversy as a result.
• The Suez Canal extends 120 miles southward from Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt to the town of Suez (located on the northern shores of the Suez Gulf).
• The canal divides the majority of Egypt from the Peninsula of the Sinai.
• It took 10 years to build, and on November 17, 1869, it was officially opened. 

 Additional Information

The correct answer is rice and wheat.

Key Points

Rice and wheat are the major food crops of India

• Rice is the main food grain of India. The country ranks second in the world in terms of rice production.
• Wheat is the second most important food grain cultivated in India. It also ranks second in the whole world in the production of wheat.
• In India, rice is grown in the eastern and western coastline regions, northeastern India and in the drainage basin of the Ganges River.
• Wheat in India is grown in areas where the average rainfall is 75 cm. The area should also have productive soil.
• Rice is grown in about 34% of the total cropped area of ​​the country. Rice production accounts for 42% of the total food crop production in the country.

Additional Information

• Rice is predominantly a Kharif or crop
  • It covers one-third of the total cultivated area of India.
  • It provides food to more than half of the Indian population. Rice is produced in almost all states
  • The top three rice producer states are West Bengal, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh.
• The Rabi season is the ideal time to grow wheat
  • It is the staple food in north and northwestern India.
  • It’s a winter crop and needs low temperature.
  • The top three states producing Wheat are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana.

The correct answer is All of the above.

Key Points

• Human migration is the movement of people from one place to another with the intention of settling, permanently or temporarily, at a new location.
• It is of various types such as:
  • Social migration occurs when people migrate somewhere for a better quality of life. Hence, option 1 is correct.
  • Political migration is the migration of people to escape political persecution or war.
  • Economic migration occurs when people migrate to find work or follow a particular career path.
  • Environmental migration occurs when people are forced to migrate due to natural disasters such as flooding, volcanic eruption etc.
• Net Migration is the total change in migrant numbers of in-migrants and out-migrants in an area. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Pull factors are the reasons why people towards a particular area. They include higher employment, more wealth etc.
• Push factors are the reasons why people leave an area.
  • e.g: Lack of services, lack of safety, high crime rate etc.
• According to the 2011 Census, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are responsible for the most number of migrants.
  • 20.9 million people have migrated outside these states.
  • They prefer Delhi and Mumbai for employment which makes them a migrant magnet.
  • Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Explanation:

The effect of irrigation is seen negatively on the human environment that project architecture cannot mix with the region.

Additional Information

Advantages of irrigation:

•  Irrigation plays a key role in increasing food production to feed the expanding population.
• Irrigation can ensure stable production in traditional dryland farming systems, subject to frequent vagaries of rainfall.
• Irrigation can prolong the effective growing period in areas with dry seasons, plant permitting multiple cropping and employment generation.
• With the security of cropping under irrigation, additional inputs like tillage, fertilizers, plant protection, etc. become economically feasible.
• Irrigation reduced the risk of expensive inputs being wasted by drought.

The adverse effect of Irrigation:

• Irrigation without appropriate drainage leads to land degradation, waterlogging, and soil salination leading to crop productivity.
• Groundwater pollution, especially with nitrate, due to the seepage of water carrying nitrate from applied fertilizer to the groundwater.
• Irrigation may lead to a colder and damper climate conducive to the outbreak of pests and diseases.

The correct answer is ​Groundnut.

Key Points

• India has three cropping seasons — Rabi, Kharif and Zaid.
• Rabi crops are sown in winter from October to December and harvested in summer from April to June.
  • Some of the important rabi crops are wheat, barley, peas, gram and mustard.
  • Though these crops are grown in large parts of India, states from the north and north-western parts such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are important for the production of wheat and other rabi crops.
  • Availability of precipitation during winter months due to the western temperate cyclones helps in the success of these crops.
  • However, the success of the green revolution in Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan has also been an important factor in the growth of the abovementioned rabi crops.
• Kharif crops are grown with the onset of monsoon in different parts of the country and these are harvested in September-October.
  • Important crops grown during this season are Paddy, Maize, Jowar, Bajra, Tur(Arhar), Moong, Urad, Cotton, Jute, Groundnut and Soybean. Hence, Groundnut is the correct answer.
  • Some of the most important rice-growing regions are Assam, West Bengal, coastal regions of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra, particularly the (Konkan coast) along with Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
  • Recently, paddy has also become an important crop of Punjab and Haryana.
  • In states like Assam, West Bengal and Odisha, three crops of paddy are grown in a year. These are Aus, Aman and Boro.
• In between the rabi and the Kharif seasons, there is a short season during the summer months known as the Zaid season.
  • Some of the crops produced during ‘Zaid’ are watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops.

The correct answer is the Fish oil manufacturing industry.

Key Points

Industries based on raw materials are divided into:

• agro-based industries;
• mineral industries;
• forest-based industries; and
• marine-based industries
• Agro-based industry uses plant and animal-based products as their raw materials.
• Food processing, oil, cotton textiles, dairy products and leather industries are examples of agro-based industries.
• Manufacturing fish oil and processing seafood are examples of marine based industries.

 Thus, we can say that the Fish Oil manufacturing industry is not an agro-based industry.

The correct answer is Solar Energy.

Key Points

• Energy is one of the major parts of the economic infrastructure, being the basic input needed to sustain economic growth. There exists a strong relationship between economic development and energy consumption.
• The more developed country is, the higher is the per capita of energy consumption and vice-versa. Human civilization relies on different sources of energy.
• The two major sources of energy can be classified under:
  • Conventional Sources
  • Non-Conventional Sources

• Hence option 4 is correct.

Additional Information 

• Coal
  • Coal is the most important source of energy. There are more than 148790 coal deposits in India. Between 2005-2006, the annual production went up to 343 million tons.
  • India is the fourth-largest coal-producing country and the deposits are mostly found in Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, and Bengal.
• Oil and Natural Gas
  • Today oil is considered to be liquid gold and one of the crucial sources of energy in India and the world. Oil is mostly used in planes, automobiles, trains, and ships. It is mainly found in Assam, Gujarat, and Mumbai.
  • The total production of oil in India was 0.3 million tons in 1950-51, which increased up to 32.4 million tons in 2000-01.
• Nuclear Power
  • The fuel used in nuclear power plants is Uranium, which costs less than coal. Nuclear power plants can be found in Kaiga (Karnataka), Kota (Rajasthan), Naroura (UP), and Kalapakam(Chennai).
• Solar Energy
  • This is the energy that is produced by sunlight. The photovoltaic cells are exposed to sunlight based on the form of electricity that needs to be produced. The energy is utilized for cooking and distillation of water.

• The economic activities are divided into three sectors - primary, secondary, tertiary on the basis of the nature of economic activity
• The three-sector theory is an economic theory which divided into three sectors activity: extraction of raw material (Primary), manufacturing (Secondary) and services (Tertiary).

The correct answer is Brundtland Commission Report.

• Sustainable development was developed for the first time in the Brundtland Commission Report in 1987.
• The Brundtland Report was published by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987.
• According to the report, "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Additional Information

• The first Earth Summit, took place in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992.
• The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, Agenda 21, Convention on Biological Diversity, Forest Principles and the Framework Convention on Climate Change came out of the 1992 Earth Summit.

International Trade:

• The exchange of goods among people, states, and countries is referred to as a trade.
• The market is the place where such exchanges take place.
• Trade between two countries is called international trade.
• It may take place through the sea, air, or land routes.
• While local trade is carried in cities, towns, and villages, state-level trade is carried between two or more states.
• The advancement of international trade of a country is an index to its economic prosperity.
• It is, therefore, considered the economic barometer for a country.

Economic Prosperity:

• Economic prosperity means having the money necessary to fill your needs and many of your desires.
• A young broke person is not economically prosperous.
• For both countries and individuals, economic prosperity is the key element to the quality of life.
• It is also necessary for the nation to be competitive in the world economy.
• Economic growth is essential to allow countries to reduce and eventually eliminate extreme poverty.
• Growth also generates the resources countries need to address a wide range of other development challenges, such as poor health and inadequate education.

The production of raw goods, transport cost, and material are major indices of the location of the industry at a place. These are not directly related to international trade.

The correct answer is Aluminum.

Key Points

Aluminum

• Aluminum (Al) is a chemical element lightweight silvery-white metal of main Group 13 of the periodic table.
• Aluminum is the most abundant metallic element in Earth’s crust and the most widely used nonferrous metal.
• Because of its chemical activity, aluminum never occurs in the metallic form in nature, but its compounds are present to a greater or lesser extent in almost all rocks, vegetation, and animals.
• Aluminum is concentrated in the outer 16 km (10 miles) of Earth’s crust, of which it constitutes about 8 percent by weight, it is exceeded in amount only by oxygen and silicon.
• Bauxite ore is the main source of aluminum and contains the aluminum minerals gibbsite, boehmite, and diaspore.
• Aluminum is used in the United States in packaging, transportation, and building.
• Because it is a mixture of minerals, bauxite itself is a rock, not a mineral.

Additional Information

• Iron
  • Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be extracted.
  • There are four main types of iron ore deposits: massive hematite, which is the most commonly mined, magnetite, titanomagnetite, and pisolitic ironstone.
  • These ores vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red.
  • Iron is responsible for the red color in many of our rocks and the deep red sands of the Australian deserts and is a key ingredient in steelmaking.
• Copper
  • Commercial deposits of copper ores occur in almost every continent, 70 percent of the world’s known reserves are found in seven countries: Chile, the United States, Russia, Congo (Kinshasa), Peru, Zambia, and Mexico.
  • The greatest known reserve of copper ore in one body is the deposit at El Teniente mine in Chile.
  • Many lesser deposits are being exploited, such as those in Canada, China, Australia, and Europe.
  • Ore of Copper - Chalcopyrite, Chalcocite, Covellite, Bornite.
• Gold
  • The principal gold minerals that affect the processing of gold ores are native gold, electrum, Au-Ag tellurides, aurostibite, maldonite, and auricupride.
  • In addition, the submicroscopic (solid solution) gold, principally in arsenopyrite and pyrite, is also important.
  • The major ores of gold contain gold in their native form and are both exogenetic (formed at the Earth’s surface) and endogenetic (formed within the Earth).
  • The best-known of the exogenetic ores is alluvial gold.
  • Alluvial gold refers to gold found in riverbeds, streambeds, and floodplains.
  • It is invariably elemental gold and usually made up of very fine particles.

The correct answer is ​Lead.

Key Points

• Non-ferrous metals are metals or alloys that do not contain iron in appreciable amounts.
• Non-ferrous metals are used because of desirable properties such as low weight (e.g. Aluminium), higher conductivity (e.g. copper), non-magnetic property or resistance to corrosion (e.g. zinc).
• Some non-ferrous materials are also used in the iron and steel industries.
• For example, bauxite is used as a flux for blast furnaces, while others such as wolframite, pyrolusite and chromite are used in making ferrous alloys.
• India’s reserves and production of non-ferrous minerals are not very satisfactory.
• However, these minerals, which include copper, bauxite, lead, zinc and gold play a vital role in a number of metallurgical, engineering and electrical industries. 

Lead:

• Lead has a low melting point and low tensile strength.
• It is typically used in electrical power cables, batteries and soldering.

Additional Information

• Ferrous metal is any metal that is primarily composed of iron and has magnetic properties.
• Ferrous metal is known for its hardness, durability and tensile strength. ​
• Ferrous minerals account for about three-fourths of the total value of the production of metallic minerals.
• They provide a strong base for the development of metallurgical industries.
• ​Due to their magnetic properties, ferrous metals are also widely used in various appliances and engines.
• India exports substantial quantities of ferrous minerals after meeting the internal demands.
• Examples: iron ore, manganese, nickel and chromite. 

The correct answer is 1, 2 and 3 only.

Key Points

• The indicators that can be used to access the health status of a country are the following:
  • Infant mortality rate: It is the number of infant deaths for every 1,000 live births.
    • It is the measure of human infant deaths in a group younger than one year of age.
    • As per the 2011 census, it is 44/1000. 
  • Maternal mortality rate: It is the number of registered maternal deaths due to birth or pregnancy-related complications per 100,000 registered live births.
    • As per the Sample Registration System report on 12/02/2021, by Registrar General of India, the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India is 113/ 100,000 live births SRS 2016-18.
  • Life expectancy: It refers to the number of years a person is expected to live based on the statistical average.
    • It varies by geographical area and by era.
    • India’s life expectancy (for a baby born in 2021) is 69 years and 4 months.
      • It is less than the world’s average lifespan of 72.81 years.
    • Hence, option 4 is correct.
  • Nutritional levels: It refers to the contents of food and the impact of its constituents on the body. 
    • It is essential in maintaining the performance of a neonatal, growing child or grown person.
  • Incidence of communicable and non-communicable diseases: It refers to the vulnerability rate of people towards diseases causing disruption in regular growth.

Note:- Life expectancy, education, and per capita income are indicators of the Human Development Index (HDI). 

• Farming is the process of systematic and controlled growth of plants or livestock in order to obtain food materials and other raw materials.
• The process of agriculture was initiated thousands of years ago, as civilizations became a part of human life, farming became an everyday chore for the people.
• There are two types of farming based on the terrains in which the crops are cultivated.
• They are known as wetland farming and dryland farming.

• Deccan plateau is a rain deficient region having rainfall less than 100 cm.
• Dryland farming is a farming technique in which we conserve water through proper cropping, irrigation and soil management techniques.

Thus, dry farming in India is extensively practised in Deccan region.

The correct answer is Green Revolution.

Key Points

• Green Revolution refers to a period when Indian agriculture was converted into an industrial system due to the adoption of modern methods and technologies such as the use of High Yielding Variety Seeds, irrigation facilities, pesticides, and fertilizers.
• M.S. Swaminathan is considered the "Father of Green Revolution" in India.
• HYV seeds were developed by Prof. Norman Borlaug.
• The term Green Revolution was first used by William Gaud and Norman Borlaug is the Father of the Green Revolution in the world. 
• It commenced in 1965 that led to an increase in food grain production (most useful for wheat production), especially in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

Additional Information 

The correct answer is Denmark.

Key Points

• A group of farmers forms a cooperative society by pooling in their resources voluntarily for more efficient and profitable farming.
• Individual farms remain intact and farming is a matter of cooperative initiative.
• Co-operative societies help farmers, to procure all important inputs of farming, sell the products at the most favourable terms and help in the processing of quality products at cheaper rates.
• The co-operative movement originated over a century ago and has been successful in many western European countries like Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Italy etc.
• In Denmark, the movement has been so successful that practically every farmer is a member of a co-operative.

Alfred Weber developed a least-cost theory of industrial placement that attempts to explain and forecast the industry's macro-scale locational pattern. It highlights that businesses want a location with the lowest transportation and labour costs.  Important Points

The assumptions employed to develop the least cost theory of industrial location.

• The study unit is a single nation with a single consumption centre. (III. A market exists only at specific places.)
• Water, sand, clay, and other natural resources are all around us.
• Some natural resources, such as iron ore, gasoline, and others, are found only in specific areas. (I. Raw materials occur at only a few locations.)
• Labour isn't everywhere, but it does have a set position and isn't mobile. (II. Labour supply is immobile.)
• The climate is similar to that of the rest of the world.

​Hence, assumptions I, II and III are correct regarding the development of the least-cost theory of industrial location

Concept:

• The ecosystem's most valuable, necessary, and abiotic component is water.
• Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the process of collecting and storing rainwater instead of letting it runoff.
• It is a low cost and eco-friendly technique for preserving every drop of water by guiding the rainwater to borewells, pits and wells.
• Capturing the rainwater help in: 
  • Recharge of local aquifers
  • Reduction of urban flooding
  • Availability of water in water-scarce areas.

Explanation:

• Water harvesting is a practice to conserve water by collecting rainwater in an organized way.
• The rainwater is not allowed to flow and get wasted but collected in tanks.
• The main purpose however is not the collection but the enhancement of groundwater level.  
• The collected water through tubes is made to recharge groundwater.
• Maintenance of groundwater is long term sustainable structure for water conservation.
• So, water harvesting is used to increase the groundwater level by an organized collection of groundwater.
• So, water harvesting is a method that increases the groundwater level.
• Rainwater harvesting leading to groundwater recharge also results in a better quality of groundwater. 
• Water harvesting is an old practice in India and is now considered a more efficient way of water management than dams.  
• People are adopting this method and it is also being encouraged by the administration and government. 

Important Points Advantages of rainwater harvesting: 

• East to maintain.
• Reduces flooding
• Reduces soil erosion.
• Encourages the conservation of both water and energy.  
• Improves the quality and quantity of groundwater.
• Improves the groundwater level by recharging.
• Suitable for irrigation purposes.
• Reduces the demand for groundwater.
• Reduces water bill.

Disadvantages of rainwater harvesting:

• High input cost.
• It may attract mosquitoes and other waterborne diseases if not installed properly.
• Unpredictable rainfall.
• Regular maintenance is required.
• Storage limitations are one of the major drawbacks of rainwater harvesting systems.

Thus, the advantage of rainwater harvesting is the improvement of groundwater level, quality and quantity.

A resource is a source or supply from which a benefit is produced and that has some utility. Resources can broadly be classified upon their availability — they are classified into renewable and non-renewable resources.

Non-renewable resources:

• A non-renewable resource (also called a finite resource) is a natural resource that cannot be readily replaced by natural means at a pace quick enough to keep up with consumption. 
• These resources take millions of years to get renewed.
• An example is a carbon-based fossil fuel.
• The original organic matter, with the aid of heat and pressure, becomes a fuel such as oil or gas.
• Earth minerals and metal ores, fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas), and groundwater in certain aquifers are all considered non-renewable resources, though individual elements are always conserved.

Thus, it is clear that non-renewable resources take millions of years to get renewed.

 ​

• Renewable resources: 
  • Renewable energy is energy derived from natural resources that replenish themselves in less than a human lifetime without depleting the planet’s resources.
  • These resources – such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, biomass, and thermal energy stored in the earth’s crust – are available in one form or another nearly everywhere.
  • They are virtually inexhaustible.
  • And, what is even more important, they cause little climate or environmental damage.
• Solar energy:
  • Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar heating, photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture, molten salt power plants, and artificial photosynthesis.
  • It is an essential source of renewable energy, and its technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on how they capture and distribute solar energy or convert it into solar power.
  • Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power, and solar water heating to harness the energy.
  • Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light-dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.
• Human resources:
  • Human resource refers to the people who are part of the workforce.
  • The human resource plays a significant role in the economy of a country by contributing to productivity.
  • The other resource becomes useful because of the input by the human resource.

Concept:

Population pyramid

• People of each age range live in the area.
• There exists a probability of more females than males in the older age group as females are expected to show a longer life expectancy.
• It is an indication of reproductive capabilities and the likelihood of the continuation of species.
• It throws light on the extent of development and also tells how many.
• ​A population pyramid is used to show the age-sex structure of the population.
• The shape of the population pyramid reflects the characteristics of the population.

Explanation:

• A broad-based pyramid suggests that younger age groups make up a substantial proportion of the population.
• While a narrow or pointed top indicates that senior individuals make up a tiny part of the population.
• The left side shows the percentage of males while the right side shows the percentage of women in each age group.

A broad-based, pyramid-shaped age structure is characteristic of a population that is: growing rapidly.

The Correct Answer is Weathering.

 Key Points

• Weathering is part of a process of breakdown of rock and transport of the resulting materials.
• This overall process is often referred to as erosion.
• Weathering is related to the formation of soil and not erosion.

 Additional Information

Intercropping 

• Intercropping is the cultivation of two or more crops simultaneously on the same field.
• The most common goal of intercropping is to produce a greater yield on a given piece of land by making use of resources or ecological processes that would otherwise not be utilized by a single crop.

Mulching

• Mulch is simply a protective layer of a material that is spread on top of the soil.
• Mulches can either be organic such as grass clippings, straw, bark chips, and similar materials, or inorganics such as stones, brick chips, and plastic. 

 Contour ploughing

• Contour ploughing is the farming practice of plowing and/or planting across a slope following its elevation contour lines.

The correct answer is 1, 2 and 3.

Key Points

• In India, about 60% of the total net sown area comes under rainfed lands.
• Rainfed crops account for 48 per cent area under food crops and 68 per cent under non-food crops.
• Rain-fed areas account for 89 per cent of millets production, 88 per cent of pulses, 73 per cent of cotton, 69 per cent of oilseeds (which include groundnut and Sesamum) and 40 per cent rice production in the country. Hence 1, 2, and 3 all are correct.
• Coarse cereals, which are grown in rainfed areas, only had 3,200 crore rupees worth of procurement between 2001 to 2012.
• Also, they support 64 per cent of cattle, 74 per cent of sheep and 78 per cent of the goat population.

The sources of energy can be divided into two. Renewable and non-renewable sources. The major types of sources of renewable energy are:

• Solar energy from the sun
• Geothermal energy from the heat inside the earth
• Wind energy
• Biomass from plants
• Hydropower from flowing water

Geothermal energy:

• Geothermal energy is heat within the earth.
• The word geothermal comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and thermal (heat). 
• Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source because heat is continuously produced inside the earth.
• People use geothermal heat for bathing, heating buildings, and generating electricity.

Hot Spring:

• Hot springs are heated by geothermal heat, heat from the Earth's interior.
• In volcanic areas, water may come into contact with very hot rock heated by magma. 
• Hot springs in active volcanic zones may produce superheated water, so hot that immersion can result in injury or death.

Hence, option 2 is the correct answer.

Wind energy: 

• Wind power or wind energy is the use of wind to provide mechanical power through wind turbines to turn electric generators for electrical power.
• Wind power is a popular sustainable, renewable energy source 

Solar energy: 

• Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies.
• For example, solar heating, photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture, molten salt power plants, and artificial photosynthesis.

Tidal energy: 

• Tidal energy is power produced by the surge of ocean waters during the rise and fall of tides. 
• Tidal energy is a renewable source of energy.

The correct answer is cultivation of grapes.
Key Points

• Viticulture refers to the branch of science, which involves the study and cultivation of grapes.
• When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture.

Additional Information

• The rearing of silkworms to produce raw silk is called sericulture.
• Olericulture is the science of vegetable growing, dealing with the culture of non-woody plants for food.
• The breeding, rearing, and transplantation of fish by artificial means is called pisciculture.

The correct answer is Bihar.

Key Points

• For census 2011, a person aged seven and above, who can both read and write with understanding in any language, is treated as literate.
• A person, who can only read but cannot write, is not literate.
• In the censuses before 1991, children below five years of age were necessarily treated as illiterates.
• The results of the 2011 census revealed that there has been an increase in literacy in the country.
• The literacy rate in the country is 74.04%, 82.14% for males, and 65.46% for females.
• Kerala retained its position by being on top with a 93.91% literacy rate, closely followed by Lakshadweep (92.28%) and Mizoram (91.58%).
• Bihar with a literacy rate of 63.82% ranks last in the country preceded by Arunachal Pradesh (66.95%) and Rajasthan (67.06%).
• Today, the female literacy levels according to the Literacy Rate 2011 census are 65.46% where the male literacy rate is over 8

The correct answer is Rural. 

• Hamlet is associated with the rural settlement.

Key Points

• Rural settlements in India can broadly be put into four types:
  • Clustered, agglomerated, or nucleated
  • Semi-clustered or fragmented
  • Hamleted
  • Dispersed or isolated.

Important Points

• A hamlet is made up of several dispersed homesteads occupied by people (generally hundreds in number) who are engaged in primary activities like farming, hunting, and fishing. 
• Usually, all settlers in a hamlet are centred around a single economic activity.
• In the hamleted settlement, the hamlets are spread over the area with intervening fields and the main or central settlement is either absent or has a weak influence on adjoining areas.
• Hamelted settlement is fragmented into several units physically separated from each other.
• Generally, a large village is segmented by social and ethnic factors. 
• In India, such segmented villages are more frequently found in the middle and lower Ganga plain, Chhattisgarh, and lower valleys of the Himalayas.

The correct answer is a process of change in a society's population over time.

Key Points

• Demographic Transition is a process of change in a society's population over time.
• It can be used to describe and predict the future population of any area.
• It shows changes in birth rate and death rate and consequently on the growth rate of population.
• It is the relationship between economic development and population growth.
• Demographer Warren Thompson first introduced the demographic transition model in 1929.

Important Points

• The three stages of demographic transition are:
  1. The first stage has high fertility and high mortality because people reproduce more to compensate for the deaths due to epidemics and variable food supply.
     • It is characterised by a high birth rate, death rate and low rate of population growth.
  2. The Second Stage is called the stage of Population Explosion.
     • Fertility is still high at the start of the second stage, but it gradually decreases.
  3. Fertility and mortality both drop dramatically in the third stage.
     • It has a declining birth rate, a low and stable mortality rate, and a rapidly growing population.

Concept:

Soil erosion:

• It is a process in which the top fertile layer of soil is lost. Due to soil erosion, the soil becomes less fertile. The top layer of soil is very light which is easily carried away by wind and water. The removal of topsoil by the natural forces is known as soil erosion.
• Various agents like wind, water, deforestation, overgrazing by cattle, etc. cause soil erosion.
• Soil subsidence means a process characterized by downward displacement of surface material caused by natural phenomena such as removal of underground fluids, natural consolidation, or dissolution of underground minerals, or by man-made phenomena such as underground mining.
• Landslide, also called landslip, is the downslope movement of a mass of rock, debris, earth, or soil.
• Landslides occur when gravitational and other types of shear stresses within a slope exceed the shear strength of the materials that form the slope.

The correct answer is Bailadila mine.
Key Points

• Bailadila mine:
  • Bailadila-14 mine is the first large-scale open cast mechanized iron ore mine in India for which a detailed project report was prepared by National Mineral Development Corporation(NMDC).
  • It is located near Kirandul town in the Dantewada district of southern Chhattisgarh.
  • The mine has the distinction of having a unique down-the-hill conveyor system passing through a tunnel to transport iron ore from the crushing plant to the processing plant.
  • Longest conveyor system in mining in India with a single downhill conveyor of 2.5 km length passing through a 2.2 km long tunnel with a gradient of 50 which is driven from both ends through difficult terrain and strata.
  • The new mines are initially targeting 15 Million Tonnes Per Annum(Mtpa), Run-of-mine(ROM).
  • National Mineral Development Corporation(NMDC) is in the process of getting regulatory approvals for operating these mines.
  • NMDC's mining lease for Bailadila was recently auctioned and NMDC was successful in retaining their right to mine with deposits so we do not expect any disruption to Bailadila's production in 2020.

Additional Information

• Ratnagiri mine:
  • Ratnagiri Mining AND Shipping Private Limited is a Non-govt company, incorporated on 14 March 1956. 
  • It's a private unlisted company and is classified as a company limited by shares.
  • The company's authorized capital stands at Rs 1.0 lakhs.
  • Ratnagiri Mining AND Shipping Private Limited are majorly in Mining & Quarrying business for the last 65 years and currently, company operations are active.
• Jaipur mine:
  • Jaipur Mines and Minerals limited (JMML) is one of the leading and progressive undertakings of the Government of Rajasthan.
  • It occupies a place of pride in the production and marketing of non-metallic minerals of India.
  • JMML is a multi-mineral and multi-location enterprise engaged in the mining of Rock Phosphate, Lignite, SMS grade Limestone and Gypsum.
  • JMML is not only the leader in the Mining & Selling of Rock Phosphate, Gypsum across the country but also a global pioneer in technology in open cast mining and mineral beneficiation of Carbonate Rock Phosphate.
• Sundergarh mine:
  • Sundargarh mine occupies a prominent position in the mineral map of Odisha and is rich in iron ore, limestone, and manganese.
  • Sundergarh is a town in the Sundergarh district of the Indian state of Odisha.
  • Sundargarh is recognized as an industrial district in Odisha.
  • Steel, fertilizer, cement, ferrovanadium, machine-building, glass, china-clay plants and factories, and spinning mills are some of the major industries of this district.

The correct answer is 1 and 2.

Key Points

Based on principle, there are two main types of drip irrigation. They are

• Sub-surface drip irrigation where water is applied below the soil surface through narrow tubes.
  • Narrow plastic tubes are buried in the soil at a depth between 20 and 50 cm, deep enough so as not to interfere with normal tillage or traffic.
• Surface drip irrigation where water is applied directly to the soil surface.
  • This is a more common method and uses a very large range of drip emitter devices.

The correct answer is a Net cultivated area in the year + Area cultivated more than once.

Key Points

• The total cultivated area means the Net cultivated area in the year + Area cultivated more than once.
• The cumulative area sown once and also more than once in a given year is the gross cropped area (GCA).
  • The region counted is double in GCA when the crop is cultivated on an area of land twice.
  • Gross cropped area is divided by net sown area.
  • It includes the part of the net sown area which is used for two or three crops in a year.

Additional Information

• The physical extent of land on which crops are sown and harvested is known as the net sown area.
  • The increase in net area sown is a recent phenomenon due to the use of culturable wasteland for agricultural purposes.
  • Before which it was registering a slow decrease.
  • There are indications that most of the decline had occurred due to the increases in area under nonagricultural use.
  • The net sown area is the proportion of the total areas of the country which is used for growing crops.

The correct answer is Nomadic herding.

Key Points

• Primitive Subsistence Farming is practiced on small patches of land with the help of primitive tools like hoe, dao and digging sticks.
  • This type of farming depends on monsoon, natural fertility of the soil and suitability of other environmental conditions.
  • It includes shifting cultivation and nomadic herding.
• Nomadic herding is the type of farming in which herdsmen move from place to place with their animals for fodder and water.
  • It is practiced in the semi-arid and arid regions of Sahara. Central Asia and some parts of India like Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir.
  • This type of movement arises in response to climatic constraints and terrain.

 Thus, we can say that herdsmen moving from place to place is an example of Nomadic herding.

Hamleted Settlements:

• Sometimes settlement is fragmented into several units physically separated from each other bearing a common name.
• These units are locally called panna, para, palli, nagla, dhani, etc. in various parts of the country.
• This segmentation of a large village is often motivated by social and ethnic factors.
• Such villages are more frequently found in the middle and lower Ganga plain, Chhattisgarh and lower valleys of the Himalayas. Hence Option 1 is the correct answer.

A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic solid, with a definite chemical composition, and an ordered atomic arrangement. This may seem a bit of a mouthful, but if you break it down it becomes simpler. Minerals are naturally occurring. They are not made by humans.

Key Points

Characteristics of a mineral:

• Created by natural processes: 
  •            Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic solids with definite chemical composition and a crystal lattice structure.
  • Although thousands of minerals in the earth have been identified, just ten minerals make up most of the volume of the earth’s crust—plagioclase, quartz, orthoclase, amphibole, pyroxene, olivine, calcite, biotite, garnet, and clay
•            Definite chemical composition: 
  • Each mineral has its own specific combination of atoms that cannot be found in any other mineral.
  • For example, salt is a mineral that consists of sodium and chlorine ions bonded together in a repeating pattern.
  • Diamonds, on the other hand, have only one type of atom: carbon. 
•   Minerals are exhaustible: 
  • Minerals are truly exhaustible natural resources. 
  • Natural minerals are formed after a very long period of time.
  • The formation of minerals requires a natural condition with a very high temperature and pressure which is very difficult to provide.
  • So minerals are limited in the quantity.
•  Minerals are unevenly distributed: 
  • India is a country with rich natural resources.
  • However, these minerals are unevenly distributed due to variations in geological structures and various natural processes.
  • For example, Most of the coal, metallic and nonmetallic minerals are found in Peninsular India.​

Hence, the correct answer is They are inexhaustible.

The correct answer is Present generation fulfils it's needs while considers the need of future generation as well.

Key Points

• Sustainable development aims to balance our economic, environmental, social needs, and universal health, allowing prosperity for now and future generations.
• It meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
• It calls for concerted efforts towards building an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient future for people and the planet.

Additional Information

• The three elements of sustainable development are economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection.
  • Economic Sustainability: The main agenda is equal economic growth that generates wealth for all, without harming society and the environment.
    Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions.
  • Social Sustainability: It included gender equality, development of people, communities, and cultures to help achieve a reasonable and fairly distributed quality of life, healthcare, and education across the world.
  • Environmental Sustainability: It is the protection and rational use of natural resources.
    Aspects such as environmental conservation, saving water, investment in renewable energy, supporting sustainable mobility, and innovation in sustainable construction and architecture, contribute to achieving environmental sustainability on several fronts.

• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by 193 nations in September 2015 at the UN summit are a set of quantifiable objectives across social, economic, and environmental dimensions, all to be achieved by 2030.
• The SD goals are
  • No Poverty.
  • Zero Hunger.
  • Good Health and Well-Being.
  • Quality Education.
  • Gender Equality.
  • Clean Water and Sanitation.
  • Affordable and Clean Energy.
  • Decent Work and Economic Growth.
  • Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.
  • Reduced Inequalities.
  • Sustainable Cities and Communities.
  • Sustainable Consumption and Production.
  • Climate Action.
  • Life Below Water.
  • Life on Land.
  • Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.
  • Partnerships for the Goals.

Biogas is an energy resources has the least environmental impact during its lifecycle.

Important Points Biogas:

• Biogas is an environmentally friendly, renewable energy source.
• It’s produced when organic matter, such as food or animal waste, is broken down by microorganisms in the absence of oxygen, in a process called anaerobic digestion.
• For this to take place, the waste material needs to be enclosed in an environment where there is no oxygen.
• It can occur naturally or as part of an industrial process to intentionally create biogas as a fuel.

Advantages:

• Biogas is a green energy source in form of electricity and heat for the local grid.
• Considerable environmental advantages - less emission of the greenhouse gasses methane, CO₂, and nitrous oxide.
• Environmentally friendly recirculation of organic waste from industry and households.
• Fewer odor inconveniences when spreading slurry on the fields - fermented slurry smells considerably less than normal slurry and the smell decreases faster.
• Plants absorb fermented slurry better, increasing the yield on the fields.
• Protection of subsoil water - improved nitrogen exploitation reduces leaching and thereby drinking water contamination.
• Reduced costs for artificial fertilizer.

Hence, biogas is the correct answer.

The correct answer is Between 15 to 65 years of age.

• Helping age is the range of ages at which people are typically engaged in either paid or unpaid work.
• It typically sits between the ages of adolescence and retirement.

Key Points

1. The working-age population is defined as those aged 15 to 65. This indicator measures the share of the working-age population in the total population.
2. The working-age population measure is used to give an estimate of the total number of potential workers within an economy.

Hence, Age between 15 to 65 represents the composition of the working-age population.

The correct answer is option 2.

Key Points

• The cotton textile industry is the fastest-growing sector in the textile industry. The cotton textile industry occupies a significant role in the Indian economy.
• The establishment of the cotton textile industry at a location depends on many factors such as the availability of raw cotton, demand, transportation, etc.
• Maharashtra is the leading producer of cotton textiles in India. Mumbai is called as 'cotton polos' of India'
• Gujarat is the second-largest producer of cotton textiles after Maharashtra. Ahmedabad is called 'Mthe anchester of India' and it is also the second-largest center of the cotton textile industry after Mumbai.
• In Tamil Nadu state Coimbatore is called 'Manchester of South India' because it is the most important cotton textile center.
• Kanpur is called 'Manchester of Uttar Pradesh'.

The correct answer is All of these.

Key Points

• Soil conservation, Control overgrazing, and Control on deforestation are useful to control desertification.

Additional Information

Method to control desertification

• Sustainable Land Use.
• Soil conservation.
• Control overgrazing.
• Protection of vegetative cover which would prevent soil erosion.
• Alternative Farming and Industrial Techniques.
• Establish economic opportunities outside drylands.
• The practice of Sustainable Agriculture.

The correct answer is Mining.

Key Points

• The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, hunting, fishing, and mining.
• When we produce a good by exploiting natural resources, it is an activity of the primary sector.
• Since most of the natural products we get are from agriculture, like dairy, fishing, forestry, this sector is also called agriculture and related sector. 
  • Out of these, forestry, poultry farming, and animal husbandry come under the primary sector.
• The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in developing countries than it does in developed countries.

Additional Information

• The main sectors of the economy are:
• Primary sector – extraction of raw materials – mining, fishing, and agriculture.
• Secondary/manufacturing sector – concerned with producing finished goods, e.g. Construction sector, manufacturing, and utilities, e.g. electricity.
  • Quarrying and manufacturing are included in the secondary sector.
• Service / ‘tertiary’ sector –  concerned with offering intangible goods and services to consumers. This includes retail, tourism, banking, entertainment, and  I.T. services.
  • Trade, transport, communication, banking, education, health, tourism, services, insurance, etc. are included in the tertiary sector. 
• Quaternary sector (knowledge economy, education, research, and development).

The correct answer is Total internal reflection.

Important Points

Total Internal reflection:

• The total reflection of light from a higher refractive index medium to back in its medium at an angle more than a critical angle known as total internal reflection.
  • It always happens when light travels from denser medium to rarer medium.

• Optical fiber: It is a very thin fiber made of glass and plastic having a radius of the order of a micrometer (10-6 m).
  • It works on the principle of Total Internal Reflection.
  • It is lightweight, fast, and useful for long-distance data and light transmission with very few losses.
  • A bundle of such thin fibers forms a light pipe.

Additional Information

• Scattering of light: The phenomenon in which the particles in a colloid scatter the beams of light that are directed at them is called scattering of light.
• Refraction: When a ray of light passes from one medium to another it suffers a change in direction at the boundary of two media is called refraction.
• Reflection: The phenomena in which light ray is sent back into the same medium from which it is coming, on interaction with boundary, is called reflection.

Concept:

• Transport means to move goods and people from one location to another by using different means of transportation.
• The means of transportation are bus, train, aeroplane, ship, car, train etc.

Explanation:

Factors of choosing the means of transport:

​Speed of transport:

• The speed with which any particular commodity can be moved by any particular means is extremely important.
•  In terms of transportation speed, air travel is the fastest and most efficient mode of transportation.

Cost of transport:

• When it comes to choosing a mode of transportation, the cost of transporting commodities is of the utmost importance.
• The cost of transportation varies according to distance.
• As a result, the greater the distance, the greater the transportation cost.

Regularity of service:

• Regularity here refers to the continuity of movement throughout the year.
• The regularity of transportation is greatly influenced by the weather.

​The flexibility of service:

• Flexibility here refers to mean the ease and integrity with which commodities can be moved by any specific mode of transportation.
• Road transport, whether by car or truck, is the most adaptable mode of movement.
• Air and water transportation, on the other hand, are both rigid in nature.

Thus, the aeroplane is used to travel over a long distance in a short time.

A population pyramid shows the percent of males and females in a country with their age groups.

Key Points

• An interesting way of studying the population composition of a country is by looking at the population pyramid, also called an age-sex pyramid.
• A population pyramid shows:
  • The total population divided into various age groups, e.g., 5 to 9 years, 10 to 14 years.
  • The percentage of the total population, subdivided into males and females, in each of those groups.
• Therefore, a population pyramid shows the percent of males and females in a country with their age groups.
• Given below is a diagram to represent 'Population Pyramid':

​

Hence, we can conclude that a population pyramid the percent of males and females in a country with their age groups