UPSC Prelims 2021 Geography questions: topic-wise weightage
UPSC Prelims 2021 asked 7 geography questions in GS Paper I, spread over 3 topics. See the geography weightage for 2021 below, then attempt each question with the official answer and an explanation.
Geography 2021: questions by topic
- Climate and oceans3
- India: relief, rivers, lakes and monsoon3
- India: soils, vegetation, agriculture, minerals, energy, industry, population1
Counted from the 7 questions on this page, tagged by topic in the Battle IAS PYQ bank.
Seeing 7 Geography questions spread over 3 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
Climate and oceans 3
Consider the following statements :
- 1. The Global Ocean Commission grants licences for seabed exploration and mining in international waters.
- 2. India has received licences for seabed mineral exploration in international waters.
- 3. ‘Rare earth minerals’ are present on seafloor in international waters.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Statements 2 and 3 are correct (b). Statement 1 is wrong: licences for the deep seabed beyond national limits come from the International Seabed Authority (Kingston, Jamaica), set up under UNCLOS. The Global Ocean Commission was only an advocacy group. Statement 2 is right: India holds ISA contracts for polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (since 1987 as a pioneer investor) and for polymetallic sulphides on the Indian Ocean ridge. Statement 3 is right: seabed nodules and muds contain rare earth elements.
Notice India's Deep Ocean Mission (2021) and Samudrayaan, which plans to send people to 6,000 m in the submersible Matsya-6000.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
- 1. In the tropical zone, the western sections of the oceans are warmer than the eastern sections owing to the influence of trade winds.
- 2. In the temperate zone, westerlies make the eastern sections of oceans warmer than the western sections.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (c) & explanation
Both statements are correct (c). Statement 1 is right: in the tropics, the trade winds blow from east to west, piling warm surface water on the western side of oceans, while cold water upwells on the eastern side, near South America and Africa. Statement 2 is right: in temperate latitudes, the westerlies carry warm currents, such as the North Atlantic Drift, towards the eastern side of the oceans. That is why north-west Europe is mild in winter, while places at the same latitude in eastern Canada are frozen.
Notice that when the trade winds weaken, warm water moves east across the Pacific: that is El Niño, which often weakens India's monsoon. Cold eastern currents include the Humboldt and Benguela.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to the water on the planet Earth, consider the following statements :
- 1. The amount of water in the rivers and lakes is more than the amount of groundwater.
- 2. The amount of water in polar ice caps and glaciers is more than the amount of groundwater.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 2 is correct (b). About 97% of Earth's water is salty, in the oceans. Of the 2.5–3% that is fresh, roughly 69% is locked in ice caps and glaciers, about 30% is groundwater, and only about 1% is surface water in lakes, rivers and swamps. Statement 1 is wrong: rivers and lakes hold far less water than groundwater. Statement 2 is right: ice caps and glaciers hold more water than groundwater.
Notice that Antarctica holds most of the world's ice. India has about 18% of the world's population but only about 4% of its freshwater. India is the largest user of groundwater in the world.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
India: relief, rivers, lakes and monsoon 3
With reference to the Indus river system, of the following four rivers, three of them pour into one of them which joins the Indus direct. Among the following, which one is such river that joins the Indus direct?
Answer (d) & explanation
The Sutlej joins the Indus directly (d). Among the Punjab rivers, the Jhelum joins the Chenab first. The Ravi then joins the Chenab. The Chenab then joins the Sutlej, which has already received the Beas. The combined stream, called the Panjnad ("five rivers"), meets the Indus near Mithankot in Pakistan. So the Sutlej carries the water of all the others into the Indus. Options (a), (b) and (c) are wrong because the Chenab, Jhelum and Ravi all reach the Indus only through the Sutlej.
Notice the Indus Waters Treaty (1960): India controls the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej); Pakistan gets the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab). India put the treaty in abeyance in April 2025; a Hague court called this invalid in August 2026, but India rejects that ruling.
Many answer the Chenab because it collects the Jhelum and the Ravi. But the Chenab itself flows into the Sutlej before reaching the Indus.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to India, Didwana, Kuchaman, Sargol and Khatu are the names of
Answer (d) & explanation
They are saline lakes (d). Didwana, Kuchaman, Sargol and Khatu are saline lakes in the Thar region of Rajasthan, along with the larger Sambhar, India's biggest inland salt lake. These lakes fill in the monsoon and dry out in summer, leaving salt that is harvested as common salt. They are not glaciers (a), which are in the Himalaya; not mangrove areas (b), which are on the coasts; and, apart from Sambhar, not Ramsar sites (c).
Notice that Sambhar is a Ramsar site (1990), known for flamingos and a mass bird death from avian botulism in 2019. Rajasthan's inland drainage includes the Luni, which ends in the Rann of Kachchh.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following rivers :
- 1. Brahmani
- 2. Nagavali
- 3. Subarnarekha
- 4. Vamsadhara
Which of the above rise from the Eastern Ghats?
Answer (b) & explanation
The Nagavali and Vamsadhara rise from the Eastern Ghats (b). Item 2 is right: the Nagavali rises in the Eastern Ghats of Kalahandi district, Odisha, and reaches the Bay of Bengal near Srikakulam. Item 4 is right: the Vamsadhara also rises in the Eastern Ghats of southern Odisha and enters the sea at Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Item 1 is wrong: the Brahmani, formed by the South Koel and Sankh, rises on the Chota Nagpur plateau. Item 3 is wrong: the Subarnarekha also rises on the Chota Nagpur plateau near Ranchi.
Notice the Vamsadhara River Water Disputes Tribunal, which settled the Andhra–Odisha dispute. Other Eastern Ghats rivers include the Rushikulya, known for olive ridley turtle nesting.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
India: soils, vegetation, agriculture, minerals, energy, industry, population 1
The black cotton soil of India has been formed due to the weathering of
Answer (b) & explanation
Black cotton soil formed from fissure volcanic rock (b). Black (regur) soil formed from the weathering of basalt lava that poured out through long fissures about 66 million years ago to build the Deccan Traps. It is rich in iron, lime, magnesium and potash, but poor in nitrogen and phosphorus. It holds moisture well, swells when wet and cracks when dry, so it ploughs itself. It suits cotton, hence its name. Brown forest soil (a), granite and schist (c), and shale and limestone (d) give rise to other soils.
Notice that black soil covers much of Maharashtra, western Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Red soil forms from granite and gneiss, and laterite from heavy leaching.
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.