Indian Geography - Practice Test (1) - UPSC MCQ

1. Kundermukh- Karnataka

2. Bor- Maharashtra

3. Pilibhit- UP

4. Achanakmar- Chhattisgarh

The Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure,1908, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice.

The NGT has the power to hear all civil cases relating to environmental issues and questions that are linked to the implementation of laws listed in Schedule I of the NGT Act. These include the following:

1. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974;

2. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977;

3. The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980;

4. The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981;

5. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986;

6. The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991;

7. The Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

This means that any violations pertaining only to these laws, or any order / decision taken by the Government under these laws can be challenged before the NGT. Importantly, the NGT has not been vested with powers to hear any matter relating to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and various laws enacted by States relating to forests, tree preservation etc. Therefore, specific and substantial issues related to these laws cannot be raised before the NGT. You will have to approach the State High Court or the Supreme Court through a Writ Petition (PIL) or file an Original Suit before an appropriate Civil Judge of the taluk where the project that you intend to challenge is located.

In most countries, only national or federal government can constitute national parks, but inIndia, state governments have the power to constitute national parks. In fact, national parks can only be constituted or abolished through state legislation, whereas wild sanctuaries are created through an order of a competent authority, who can be the chief conservator of forests or a minister of a state. Thus, it is evident that national parks have greater degree of permanency than a wildlife sanctuary

- Markhor: Not endemic to India. It is native to the mountainous regions of Central Asia, including parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

- Brown Palm Civet: Endemic to India, specifically found in the Western Ghats. It is known for its unique habitat in the tropical forests of this region.

- Yellow Fronted Barbet: Not endemic to India. It is found in Sri Lanka and southern India, but is not exclusive to India.

Thus, the correct answer is B: Only 2.The brown palm civet (Paradoxurus jerdoni) also called the Jerdon's palm civet is a palm civet endemic to the Western Ghats of India.

Prior to 2002 these forest regions were not recognized under any of the existing laws. But in 2002 an amendment was brought in Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 to include Sacred Grooves under the act.

Endemic to northeast India and Bhutan, golden langurs are one of the world's most endangered primates. In Assam, most of their population is outside protected areas. Long-term survival of populations depends on genetic exchange. However, much of the golden langur population occurs in fragmented forests.
The takin, also called cattle chamois or gnu goat, is a large species of ungulate of the subfamily Caprinae found in the eastern Himalayas. 
The Himalayan black bear (Ursus thibetanus laniger) is a subspecies of the Asian black bear found in the Himalayas of India, Bhutan, Nepal, China and Pakistan.

All three rivers are tributaries of Brahmaputra

• Indravati and Pranahita are the left bank tributaries of Godavari river.​

About River Godavari​

• The Godavari river is the largest river of Peninsular India.
• It is also called Dakshin Ganga.
• It covers the state of Maharastra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and parts of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Union Territory of Puducherry (Yanam) having a total area of ~ 3 lakh Sq.km.
• The Godavari River rises from Trimbakeshwar in the Nashik district of Maharashtra.
• Left Bank Tributaries:
  • Dharna, Penganga, Wainganga, Wardha, Pranahita, Pench, Kanhan, Sabari, Indravati etc.
• Right Bank Tributaries:
  • Pravara, Mula, Manjra, Peddavagu, Maner etc.

Vamshadhara

• River Banshadhara is an important east-flowing river between Rushikulya and Godavari, in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
• The river originates in the border of Thuamul Rampur in the Kalahandi district and Kalyansinghpur in Rayagada district of Odisha
• It runs for a distance of about 254 kilometres, where it joins the Bay of Bengal at Kalingapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

Pennar

• The Pennar rises in the Chenna Kasava hill of the Nandidurg range, in Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka and flows towards east eventually draining into the Bay of Bengal.
• The total length of the river from origin to its outfall in the Bay of Bengal is 597 km.
• The Pennar basin extends over states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka having an area of ~55 thousand Sq.km.

North Andaman- Wet evergreen forest

Middle Andaman – Moist deciduous forest

Littoral and mangrove forests are also found in Andaman

Namdapha National park is the largest protected area in the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot in Arunachal Pradesh. The habitat changes wit hincreasing altitude from tropical moist forests to Montane forests, temperate forests and at the higher elevations to alpine meadows and perennial snow.

The Tropical Moist Deciduous are typical monsoon forests with teak and sal as dominant species.

Due to large depositional activity, Sundarban has no coral reefs.

Barak is one of the major rivers of south Assam which rises in Manipur and flows through Mizoram and Assam.

Sandalwood is a threatened species indigenous to South India and grows in the Western Ghats and a few other mountain ranges such as Kalrayan and Shevaroy hills.

Pune is on the leeward side of the Western Ghats, it means that it lies in a rain shadow area. But Mumbai lies on the windward side and receives heavy rainfall. Vidarbha region experiences semi – arid climate as it is located in a rain shadow region.

Southwest Monsoon accounts for around 85% of India’s total rainfall.

In northern India, there is light rainfall during winter. This is caused by the cyclonic storms which originate in the Mediterranean Sea and travel towards India. These winds are called western disturbances. They cause heavy snowfall in the higher reaches of the Himalayas and rainfall in the plains. They result in a cold wave in northern India.

Chattisgarh out of the given cities is not affected much by the Arabian Sea branch of Monsoon.

The Inter tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), known by sailors as the doldrums, is the area encircling the earth near the equator where the northeast and southeast trade winds converge.

During the hot weather period i.e from March to May the Eastern and North-eastern states of the subcontinent like West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha (parts) and Bangladesh experience a dramatic appearance of a special type of violent thunderstorm known as Nor’wester. In Bengal it is known as ‘Kal Baisakhi’ Apart from its destructive effects like sudden rise in wind speed, lightning, thunder and hail the rainfall associated with the storm although small in amount, is extremely helpful for the pre-Kharif crops like jute, paddy, summer till and a large number of vegetables and fruits and the sudden drop in temperature gives relief after unbearable midday heat.

Land heats and cools more rapidly than the sea. During the day the land gets heated and the air over the land being hotter and lighter than that over the sea, a low pressure area is created over the land.The hot air rises and cool air from the sea reaches towards the land, which is referred as sea breeze. At night the land rapidly loses its heat faster than the sea. The air over the sea is therefore warmer and lighter than over the land and a breeze blows but from the land towards the sea.

Rajasthan dry region is a western dry region classified by the Planning Commission.

El Nino is the name given to the warm ocean currents along the Pacific coast of South America that arise every few years at about Christmas time. The El Nino phenomenon is a part of a chain of meteorological events that extends from the eastern Pacific to northern Australia, Indonesia and into the heartland of India. There is a rather weak correlation between El Nino and the Indian monsoon rains.

As per koppen's classification of climate, North East India including North Bengal has Humid Sub - tropical climate with dry winter.

Wetlands comprise shallow ponds and marshy areas, covers almost entirely in aquatic vegetation. It provides both storm water attenuation and treatment as it detain flows for an extended period to allow sediments to settle,
and to remove contaminants by facilitating adhesion to
vegetation and aerobic decomposition.

India is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of biodiversity. This natural variation in life is also reflected in the demography of the land. Aravali hills is not a biodiversity hotspot.

The Convention on Wetlands is known as Ramsar Convention. The Convention was named after the Iranian city of Ramsar where this intergovernmental treaty was adopted in 1971. The treaty came into force in 1975. Ramsar convention provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

Sustainable development is the type of development that fulfils the criteria of meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

The transitional zone between two different communities is known as ecotone. It has some of the characteristics of each bordering biological community and often contains species not found in the overlapping communities.