UPSC Prelims 2016 Geography questions: topic-wise weightage
UPSC Prelims 2016 asked 4 geography questions in GS Paper I, spread over 2 topics. See the geography weightage for 2016 below, then attempt each question with the official answer and an explanation.
Geography 2016: questions by topic
- India: relief, rivers, lakes and monsoon2
- India: soils, vegetation, agriculture, minerals, energy, industry, population2
Counted from the 4 questions on this page, tagged by topic in the Battle IAS PYQ bank.
Seeing 4 Geography questions spread over 2 topics can feel overwhelming. That's exactly why the Battle IAS PYQ Book maps every question topic by topic, so you know what to study first. Download free sample
India: relief, rivers, lakes and monsoon 2
Which of the following is/are tributary/tributaries of Brahmaputra?
- 1. Dibang
- 2. Kameng
- 3. Lohit
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (d) & explanation
All three are tributaries (d). In Arunachal Pradesh, the Siang meets the Dibang (1) and the Lohit (3) near Sadiya, and from there the river is called the Brahmaputra. The Kameng (2), known as the Jia Bharali in Assam, rises near the Tawang area and joins the Brahmaputra from the north near Tezpur. Any option leaving out one of them is incomplete.
Other right-bank (northern) tributaries are the Subansiri, Manas and Sankosh; left-bank ones include the Burhi Dihing, Dhansiri and Kopili. Notice how the Tsangpo in Tibet becomes the Siang, then the Brahmaputra, and finally the Jamuna in Bangladesh.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Recently, linking of which of the following rivers was undertaken?
Answer (b) & explanation
The Godavari and Krishna were linked (b). In September 2015, Andhra Pradesh completed the Pattiseema lift irrigation scheme. It pumps surplus Godavari water into the Polavaram right main canal, which carries it about 174 km to the Krishna near Vijayawada (Prakasam barrage). It was the first river link actually finished in India. Cauvery–Tungabhadra (a), Mahanadi–Sone (c) and Narmada–Tapti (d) were not done then. The Par–Tapi–Narmada link has since been shelved.
Under the National Perspective Plan (1980), the Ken–Betwa link (MP–UP) is the first project under the national programme, and its foundation stone was laid in December 2024. Notice the debate around such links: they threaten forests like Panna Tiger Reserve.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
India: soils, vegetation, agriculture, minerals, energy, industry, population 2
In which of the following regions of India are shale gas resources found?
- 1. Cambay Basin
- 2. Cauvery Basin
- 3. Krishna-Godavari Basin
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (d) & explanation
All three basins have shale gas (d). Shale gas is natural gas trapped in fine-grained shale rock, and it is extracted by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking). Studies by the US EIA, ONGC and CMPDI have identified potential in the Cambay (Gujarat) (1), Cauvery (Tamil Nadu) (2) and Krishna-Godavari (Andhra Pradesh) basins (3). Other basins with potential include Assam-Arakan, the Gondwana basins (Damodar valley) and the Indo-Gangetic plains.
India's 2013 policy allowed ONGC and Oil India to explore shale in their existing blocks, and HELP (2016) now gives a single licence for all hydrocarbons. Notice the limits: fracking needs huge amounts of water and can pollute groundwater, which slows it down in water-stressed India.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Recently, which of the following States has explored the possibility of constructing an artificial inland port to be connected to sea by a long navigational channel?
Answer (d) & explanation
Rajasthan explored the idea (d). As a landlocked State, Rajasthan studied building an artificial inland port at Jalore. It would be joined to the Arabian Sea by a long navigation channel running through the Rann of Kutch and the Luni river area into Gujarat's Gulf of Kutch. The plan was to cut freight costs for its minerals, marble and farm goods. Andhra Pradesh (a) and Karnataka (c) already have sea coasts. Chhattisgarh (b) is landlocked but had no such plan.
Notice the related national ideas: Sagarmala, which develops ports and coastal shipping, and the National Waterways Act, 2016, which named 111 national waterways. Dry ports and freight corridors such as the Western DFC are the cheaper option for landlocked States.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
All years by topic
Every question from 2011 to 2026, grouped by syllabus topic, with year-wise trends.