Solution (c)

Statement Analysis:

Solution (c)

Statement Analysis:

Solution (b)

Basic Info:– Some of the important passes of the region are Zoji La on the Great Himalayas, Banihal on the Pir Panjal, Photu La on the Zaskar and Khardung La on the Ladakh range.

Solution (b)

Basic Info:

From the map given above, it can be seen that the order of rivers (tributaries of India) from south to north is-

▪ Sutlej
▪ Beas
▪ Ravi
▪ Chenab
▪ Jhelum

Solution (c)

Statement Analysis:

Solution (a)

Statement Analysis:

Solution (c)

Statement Analysis:

Three major geological events in the distant past have shaped the present drainage systems of Peninsular India:

Solution (b)

Statement Analysis:

 The Meghalaya and Karbi Anglong plateau stand detached from the main Peninsular Block.

 The Meghalaya plateau is further subdivided into three: (i) The Garo Hills; (ii) The Khasi Hills; (iii) The Jaintia Hills, named after the tribal groups inhabiting this region.

Solution (a)

Basic Info:

The Indian Desert:
-To the northwest of the Aravali hills lies the Great Indian desert. It is a land of undulating topography dotted with longitudinal dunes and barchans.

– This region receives low rainfall below 150 mm per year; hence, it has an arid climate with low vegetation cover.

– It is because of these characteristic features that this is also known as Marusthali.

– Underlying rock structure of the desert is an extension of the Peninsular plateau, yet, due to extremely arid conditions, its surface features have been carved by physical weathering and wind actions.

– Some of the well pronounced desert lands feature present here are mushroom rocks, shifting dunes and oasis (mostly in its southern part).

– The lakes and the playas have brackish water which is the main source of obtaining salt.

Solution (b)

Basic Info:

North to south: Karakoram-Ladakh-Zaskar-Pir Panjal- Shiwalik

Solution (c)

Statement Analysis:

The Geological Survey of India has classified rock systems of the country into 4 major divisions:

• The Archaean Rock System
• The Purana Rock System
• The Dravidian Rock System
• The Aryan Rock System

Solution (a)

Important points:

The Godavari is the largest Peninsular river system. It is also called the Dakshin Ganga. 

It rises in the Nasik district of Maharashtra and discharges its water into the Bay of Bengal.

– Its tributaries run through the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. It is 1,465 km long with a catchment area spreading over 3.13 lakh sq. km 49 per cent of this, lies in Maharashtra, 20 per cent in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and the rest in Andhra Pradesh. 

–The Penganga, the Indravati, the Pranhita, and the Manjra are its principal tributaries.

– Amravati is a major tributary of river Cauvery.

-The Godavari is subjected to heavy floods in its lower reaches to the south of Polavaram, where it forms a picturesque gorge. It is navigable only in the deltaic stretch. The river after Rajamundri splits into several branches forming a large delta.

Solution (d)

Basic Info:

Cratons are part of the earth’s continental crust which has attained stability and was least affected by deformation during the later periods. They are generally found in the interiors of the tectonic plates.

They are characteristically composed of ancient crystalline basement rock, which may be covered by younger sedimentary rocks.

They have a thick crust and deep lithospheric roots that extended as much as a few hundred kilometers into the earth’s mantle.

A shield is a part of craton where the basement rock crops out at the surface.

There are five major cratons in India:

• Bastar Craton
• Dharwar Craton
• Singhbhum Craton
• Aravalii Craton
• Bhundelkhand Craton

Solution (c)

Basic Info:

The Peninsular Plateau
Rising from the height of 150 m above the river plains up to an elevation of 600-900 m is the irregular triangle known as the Peninsular plateau. 

Delhi ridge in the northwest, (extension of Aravalis), the Rajmahal Hills in the east, Gir range in the west and the Cardamom Hills in the south constitute the outer extent of the Peninsular
plateau.
However, an extension of this is also seen in the northeast, in the form of Shillong and Karbi-Anglong plateau.

Peninsular India is made up of a series of patland plateaus such as the Hazaribagh plateau, the Palamu plateau, the Ranchi plateau, the Malwa plateau, the Coimbatore plateau, and the Karnataka plateau, etc.

This is one of the oldest and the most stable landmass of India. The general elevation of the plateau is from the west to the east, which is also proved by the pattern of the flow of rivers.

Solution (b)

Basic Info:

Smaller rivers flowing towards the west:

Shetrunji, Bhadra, Dhadhar, Sabarmati, Mahi, Vaitarna, Sharavati, Mandovi, Juari, Bharatpuzha, Periyar, Pamba are some of the smaller rivers flowing towards the west.

Smaller rivers flowing towards the east:

 Subarnrekha, Baitarni, Brahmani,  Vamsadhara,  Penner,   Palar and Vaigai are important rivers.

Solution (b)

Basic Info:

The Islands:  There are two major island groups in India – one in the Bay of Bengal and the other in the Arabian Sea. 

The Bay of Bengal island groups consists of about 572 islands/islets. These are situated roughly between 6°N- 14°N and 92°E -94°E.

The two principal groups of islets include Ritchie’s archipelago and Labyrinth Island.

The entire group of islands is divided into two broad categories – the Andaman in the
north and the Nicobar in the south. They are separated by a water body which is called
the Ten-degree channel.

Some smaller islands are volcanic in origin. Barren island, the only active volcano in India is also situated in the Nicobar islands.

These islands receive convectional rainfall and have an equatorial type of vegetation.

Solution (c)

Basic Info:

The Western Ghats are locally known by different names such as Sahyadri in Maharashtra, Nilgiri hills in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and Anaimalai hills and Cardamom hills in Kerala.

 They lie parallel to the western coast and causes orographic rain by facing the rain bearing moist winds to rise along the western slopes of the Ghats.

Western Ghats are comparatively higher in elevation and more continuous than the Eastern Ghats. Their average elevation is about 1,500 m with the height increasing from north to south.

Anaimudi (2,695 m), the highest peak of Peninsular plateau is located on the Anaimalai Hills of the Western Ghats.

Solution (b)

Basic Info:

The coastal areas of seas, bays, creeks, rivers, and backwaters which get influenced by tides up to 500 m from the high tide line (HTL) and the land between the low tide line (LTL) and the high tide line have been declared as coastal regulation zone (CRZ) in 1991.

The coastal regulation zones have been declared by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change under the Environment Protection Act 1986.

High Tide Line: HTL means the line on the land up to which the highest water line reaches during the spring tide.

Low Tide Line: It means the line on the land up to which the lowest water line reaches during the spring tide.

CRZs have been classified into 4 zones for the purpose of regulation:

CRZ-I: includes ecologically sensitive areas, where no construction is allowed except activities for atomic power plants, defense.

CRZ-II: includes designated urban areas that are substantially built up. Construction activities are allowed on the landward side only.

CRZ-III: includes relatively undisturbed areas, mainly rural areas. No new construction of buildings allowed in this zone except repairing of the existing ones. However, constructions of dwelling units in the plot area lying between 200-500m of the high tide line is allowed.

CRZ-IV: includes the water area covered between Low Tide Line and 12 nautical miles seaward. Except for fishing and related activities, all actions impugning on the sea and tidal water will be regulated in this zone.

Solution (a)

Basic Info:

From the north to the south, the northern plains can be divided into three major zones:

• The Bhabar
• The Tarai
• The alluvial plains.

The alluvial plains can be further divided into the Khadar and the Bhangar:

Bhabar: Bhabar is a narrow belt (8-10km wide) which runs in the west-east direction along the foot of the Himalayas from the river Indus to Teesta. Rivers which descend from the Himalayas deposit their load along the foothills in the form of alluvial fans. These fans consisting of coarser sediments have merged together to build up the piedmont plain/the Bhabar.

Tarai: It is a 10-20 km wide marshy region in the south of Bhabar and runs parallel to it. The Tarai is wider in the eastern parts of the Great Plains, especially in the Brahmaputra valley due to heavy rainfall. It is characterized by the re-emergence of the underground streams of the Bhabar belt.

Bhangar: It is the older alluvium along the river beds forming terraces higher than the flood plain. Dark in colour, rich in humus content and productive. The soil is clayey in composition and has lime modules (called kankar)

 ‘The Barind plains’ in the deltaic region of Bengal and the ‘bhur formations’ in the middle Ganga and Yamuna doab are regional variations of Bhangar. 

Khadar: Composed of newer alluvium and forms the flood plains along the river banks. Light in colour, sandy in texture and more porous. Found near the riverbeds.

A new layer of alluvium is deposited by river flood almost every year. This makes them the most fertile soils of Ganges.

Solution (c)

Basic Info:

Gulf and Strait are two important geographical features on earth’s surface. Both these features are connected to the water. A gulf is a deep inlet of the sea, surrounded by land, with a narrow mouth whereas a strait is a narrow waterway that connects tow large water bodies. 

A gulf is a deep inlet of the sea with a narrow mouth, which is almost surrounded by land. Gulf can be defined as a portion of the sea that penetrates the land. Gulfs over the world can vary extensively in depth, size, and shape. Gulf is sometimes also known as a large bay. However, a bayis always larger and deeply indented than a gulf. Bays, as well as gulfs, make excellent trading centers and harbors due to their shape.

A strait is a naturally formed narrow waterway that connects two large bodies of water. A strait can be formed by tectonic shifts or land that has been subsided or been eroded.

Solution (b)

Statement Analysis:

Context – Government has approved the PLI Scheme for Textiles

Solution (d)

Statement Analysis:

Context – The Union Cabinet approved structural and process reforms in the Telecom sector

Solution (c)

Statement Analysis:

Context – RBI recently announced new guidelines for card tokenization.

Solution (d)

Regulatory Sandbox refers to live testing of new products or services in a controlled/test regulatory environment for which regulators may (or may not) permit certain regulatory relaxations for the limited purpose of the testing.

Context – RBI announced opening of third cohort under Regulatory Sandbox.

Solution (c)

Statement Analysis:

Context – Tamil Nadu government announced India’s first conservation reserve for Dugongs in Palk Bay

Solution (b)

From the ratio 3 : 5 : 7, the ages of three boys are 3x, 5x and 7x.

Average age of three boys = 30

(3x + 5x + 7x) / 3 = 30

15x = 90

x = 6

Age of the first boy = 3x =  3(6)  =  18

Age of the first boy = 5x =  5(6)  =  30

Age of the first boy = 7x =  7(6)  =  42

So, the age of the youngest boy is 18 years.

Solution (c)

Original weight of Akshay= 76.4 kg. 

He is going to reduce his weight in the ratio 7:6.

We can use the following hint to find his new weight, after it is reduced in the ratio 7 : 6. 

Original weight/New weight = 7 /6

76.4/New weight = 7/6

New weight = (76.4 * 6  )/7 ->  By cross multiplication

His new weight is=  (458.4) / 7= 65.48  kg.

Solution (c)

Sum of the terms in the given ratio is 

=  3 + 5

=  8

So, no. of boys in the school is

=  560 * (3/8)

=  210 

No. of girls in the school is

=  560 *(5/8) 

=  350

Given : Number of new girls admitted in the school is 22

Let x be the no. of new boys admitted in the school.

After the above new admissions, 

No. of boys in the school  =  210 + x

No. of girls in the school  =  350 + 22  =  372

Given : The ratio after the new admission is 2 : 3.

Then, we have

(210 + x): 372  =  2 : 3

Use cross product rule. 

3(210 + x) = 372 * 2    

630 + 3x = 744

3x = 744-630 = 114

x = 38

So, the number of new boys admitted in the school is 38.

Solution (d)

Write the items in the ratios as fractions. Blue shirts are 24 in number 

Red shirts / Blue Shirts = 3/4

Red shirts/24 = 3/4

Red shirts = (3 * 24) / 4 = 18 shirts

Similarly , Green shirts / Blue shirts = 5/4

Green shirts / 24 = 5/4

Green shirts = (5 * 24)/4 = 30 shirts

The total number of shirts would be 18 + 24 + 30 = 72 shirts

Hence, Option(d) is the right answer.

Solution (d)

The paragraph describes how Europe changed its internal structure and transformed itself into a united whole using peaceful mechanism in the new multi-polar world. Option d captures all key ideas in the paragraph. 

The paragraph is specific to the time after Soviet decline and emergent unification of Germany– a multi-polar world. Options a and c do not include this idea. The paragraph explains how Europe changed its internal structure by adjusting its differences by peaceful mechanisms. Option d does not include this.