1. India is the seventh largest country in the world. The north south extent is 3214km & E-W 2933Km. The mainland coastline is 6100 km long & including islands it is 7516 km long. Its geographical area is around 33 lakh sq km (or 328.72 million hectares). The southernmost point (Indira Point) is 6 degree 30 minutes north latitude.
2. Narcondam & Barren Island are volcanic islands of India. Most of the sandalwood of India comes from Karnataka.
3. The northernmost Himalayan ranges are called central Himalayas or Himadri. Beyond this range lies the Tibetan or Tethys Himalayas beyond with lies the Indus Tsangpo suture zone. To the south of the central or the Inner Himalayas lies the lesser or lower Himalayas or Middle Himalayas & is separated from the Greater Himalayas by a structural zone called Main Central Thrust. In between the Lower Himalayas (Middle Himalayas) & the Shivaliks lies the Main Boundary Thrust.
4. The Indus Suture Zone, ISZ (or Indus-Yarlung-Tsangpo Suture Zone) defines the zone of collision
between the Indian Plate and the Ladakh Batholith to the north. Between the Pir Panjal & the Zaskar range lies the valley of kashmir. Karakoram range, Ladakh range, Zaskar range from north to south. Important peaks of the Zaskar range are Kamet (highest), Nanda Devi & Gurla Mandhata.
5. The peaks above 8000 m in the himalayas in descending order are Mt Everest, Kanchenjunga, Makalu, Dhaulagiri, Mansalu, Cho Oyu, Nanga Parbat, Annapurna. Raman Peak is situated in Arabian Sea
6. The transhimalayas include the Karakoram & the Laddakh range. Karakoram range has its highest in peak K2 (or Qagir named after Chinese occupation). The highest peak of Kailash range is Mt. Kailash & that of Ladakh range is Mt. Rakaposhi.
7. The purvanchal (NE Himalayas) are divided into Purvu-NEFA (composed of Mishmi Hills & Patkai
Bum), Naga hills (Saramati is highest peak), Manipur Hills, North Cachar hills, Mizo hills (earlier known
as Lushai hills) & the Tripura hills.
8. The Garo, Khasi, Jaintia & the outlying Mikir & Rengma hills are structurally parts of peninsular plateau separated from the Indian peninsula by the Malda gap.
9. Bhabhar (in Punjab or Duars in Assam) lies to the north of Terai & is a pebble studded region which
causes many steams to get lost underneath which re-emerge in the Terai belt. Khadar is known as bet in punjab & Bhangar comprises of Kankars. The northern part of the punjab plains adjoinin the shivaliks
have witnesses intense erosion throgh boulder clanned streams called “Chos”.
10. In the pujab plain the area between rivers is called Doab & the river bluffs are called Dhayas. The thar desert has numerous features like dhrian (shifting sand dunes), sar (saline playa lakes), rohi (fertile tracts formed by rivers west of Aravallis) & dhands (alkaline lakes).
11. The east coast (or Coromandel coast) also known as Utkal ghat in orisssa & Payant ghat in Andhra & Tamil Nadu has two lagoon lakes (Pulicat lake north of Chennai & Chilka lake). The Eastern Ghats are broader whant the western ghats. Western ghat is divided into kathiawar, konkan & Malabar coast. It consists of Kayals (lagoons & backwaters largest being Vembnad lake). In karnataka the ghats are known as Kanara plain.
12. Madhya Bharat pathar is made of ancient vindhyan sediments through which the Chambal river has
formed badland. To the further east lies Bundelkhand upland.
13. North of Mahanadi lies the Baghelkhand plateau which is drained by tributaries of Son river. The
Chotanagpur plateau composed of granites & gneisses forms Jharkhand & is drained by Damodar. It has three lava hills of the Dalma, Porahat & Rajmahal. South of Chattisgarh basin (also called Mahanadi
basin) lies a region of rugged topography called Dandakaranya plateau. Garhjat hills are also called Orissa highlands & have their highest peak in Mehendragiri.
Physiographic divisions of the Peninsular Upland
1. North Central Uplands Aravalli Range, Rajasthan Uplands, Madhya Bharat Pathar
2. South Cental Highlands Malwa plateau, Vindhyan Scarplands, Vindhyan range, Narmada valley
3. Eastern Plateau Chotanagpur Plateau, Baghelkand plateau, Mahanadi basin, Dandakaranya, Garhjat Hills
4. Western plateau Maharashtra plateau, Satpura range
5. South Deccan Karnataka plateau, Telangana plateau
6. Meghalaya Mikir Uplands Meghalaya plateau, Mikir Hills
7. Western Ghats
8. Eastern Ghats
12. Madhya Bharat pathar is made of ancient vindhyan sediments through which the Chambal river has
formed badland. To the further east lies Bundelkhand upland.
13. North of Mahanadi lies the Baghelkhand plateau which is drained by tributaries of Son river. The
Chotanagpur plateau composed of granites & gneisses forms Jharkhand & is drained by Damodar. It has three lava hills of the Dalma, Porahat & Rajmahal. South of Chattisgarh basin (also called Mahanadi
basin) lies a region of rugged topography called Dandakaranya plateau. Garhjat hills are also called Orissa highlands & have their highest peak in Mehendragiri.
14. The Satpura range has three parts: Rajpipla hills in the western part, Mahadeo hills (highest peak
Dhupgarh near Panchmarhi) in the central part & Maikala range (highest peak Amarkantak) in the eastern reaches. Dhupgarh is the highest peak in entire Satpuras.
15. The Telangana or Andhra plateau has two parts: the Telangana & Rayalseema upland.
16. The highest peak of Anaimudi is the central point from which the three ranges radiate: Cardamom hills to the south, the Anamalai to the north & the Palni to the northeast. Thalghat (Kasara to Igatpuri), Bhorghat (between kalian & lonavala) & Palghat are the gaps in Sahyadris. Western ghats are block mountains formed by the downwarping of a part of the land into the Arabian sea & are steeper towards west. Cochin is connected to interior through the Palghat gap.
17. The Eastern Ghats are also known as Mehendragiri in Orissa. The Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu are the meeting point of the Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats & southern hills. Its highest peak is Dodabeta & it also includes Ooty hill station. Southwards of Nilgiri & separated from them by the Palghat gap are the Annamalail Hills.
18. The islands & passages from north to south are Coco Channel, North, middle & south Andamans, Duncan passage, little Andamans, Ten degree Channel, Car Nicobar, & Great Nicobar. In Lakshwadeep the sequence from north to south is Amindivi Island, Nine degree channel & Minicoy. B. Drainage
19. Satluj, Ravi, Chenab, Jhelum, & Indus (Sri Ram called Jubiliant Indra) from south to north. Gomati, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi & Mahananda are from west to east. Chambal, Sind, Betwa, ken & Son are in that order from west to east.
20. Sanskrit names Indus (Sindu), Jhelum (Vitasta), Ravi (Parushini), Beas (Vipasa) & Satluj (Satadru).
21. In Bangladesh Tista joins Brahmaputra on the right bank from where it is known as Jamuna.
22. Subernarekha & Brahmani both arise in the Chhotanagpur plateau & lie to the north of Mahanadi. The Baitrani is another stream of this system & its source lies in the Keonjhar plateau.
23. Bharatuzha (or Ponnani) is the longest river of Kerala. Periyar is second largest & Pamba falls into the Vembanad Lake. The penner originates in Karnataka (Kolar) & flows through Andhra Pradesh. The
Vaigai rises in kerala & receives diverted waters of the Periyar & ultimately joins Palk bay.
24. The dendritic pattern is best developed in the Indo Gangetic plains. Narmada flows between vidhyas & Satupura while Tapti lies to the south of Satpura. “Dhuandhar” falls (or marble falls) near Jabalpur on Narmada is famous. Pinnate pattern is found in Narmada & Tapti valleys. Naini Tal, Bhim Tal & Khewan Tal are Lakes of Kumaon. Kolleru lake is located in east Godavari district (A.P.). Loktak lake is in Manipur. Chitrakote falls is located on river Indravati in Bastar.
25. Cauveri is the least seasonal of all the rivers of the peninsular plateau. Karewas are lacustrine deposits of Kashmir. The Cardamom hills are part of Annamalai hills.
26. Lonar lake (Crater lake) is situated in Maharashtra. It is the largest crater in basaltic rock. Adams Bridge, is a narrow ridge of sand, mostly dry, which connects Mannar Island with Pamban Island
C: Climate, Vegetation & Soil
27. Jet Steams are of two types: Westerly jet streams which blow from west to east at a height of 12 km & easterly jet steams which blow from east to west at 13 km above. The tropical easterly jet exists over India during summer & disintegrates during winter.
28. Kalbaisakhi in West Bengal, Bordoichilla in Assam & Mango Showers in Peninsula. Tropical Cyclones occur in India during monsoon period. The average annual rainfall in India is 125 cm & most of it is orographic in nature.
29. Tropic of Cancer passes through Mizoram, Tripura, W. Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, M.P. Rajasthan & Gujarat. Gulf of Mannar lies on the east coast of Tamil Nadu.
30. Other classifications of the climate of India were given by Subramanyam & Sivaramakrishnaiah
(discomfortable to most comfortable), Kendrew & Stamp (18 C isotherm basis), BLC Johnson.
31. Jowar & Ragi are very popular on red soils.
32. Tropical Deciduous is the most widely distributed vegetation in India. Lakshwadeep has zero percent forest area & Andamans & Nicobar Islands have 87 percent. Mizoram, Arunachal & Nagaland have more than 80 percent forest cover. J & k has around one percent. Maximum Teak & Sal come from the forests of M.P & Chhattisgarh.
33. The term social forestry was first used by National Commission on Agriculture in 1976 & involves
planting trees on farms among other things.
34. Kaziranga National Park, Keoladeo National Park, Nanda Devi Biosphere reserve, Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve are identified as having outstanding universal value.
35. The biosphere reserves of India in order of their establishment from oldest to recent are Nilgiri, Nanda Devi, Nokrek (Meghalaya), Great Nicobar Islands, Gulf of Mannar, Manas, Sunderbans, Simlipal (Orissa), Dibru-Saikhowa (Assam), Dehang-Debang (Arunachal), Pachmarhi, Khangchendzonga, Agasthyamalai
36. Magnetite occurs at Daltonganj in palamau district (Jharkhand).
37. Net sown area is around 46 % of total land in area. In India net sown area is 142 million hectares & total cropped area is 187 million hectares. Ludhiana has highest yields of wheat & west Godavari is most important for rice cultivation in Andhra Pr. Pearl fishing is done at Tuticorin.
38. The contributors to petroleum production are Mumbai (65 %), Gujarat (18 %), Assam (16 %) & Tamil Nadu (1.37 %). Same trend of states is there in case of gas production with a little different %ages.
39. Petroleum Refining is done at Guwahati, Barauni, Koyali, Haldia, Mathura, Digboi, Panipat, Chennai,
Narimanam, Bongaigaon, Mumbai (HPCL, BPCL), Vishakhapatnam, Kochi, Numaligarh (Assam) & Tatipaka (ONGC-Andhra Pr). Tertiary coal is better than Gondwana coal.
40. Jharia coalfield (Dhanbad district, Jharkhand) alone accounts for 35 % of Indian production.
41. Only a few non-metallic minerals are significant in the mining economy. Limestone accounts alone for two-thirds of the total value under the group.
42. Nuclear power plants in India are at Tarapur, Rawatbhata, Kalpakkam, Narora (UP), Kaiga (Karnataka) & Kakarapara (Gujarat). Requirements for these reactors are fulfilled by the Nuclear Fuel complex located at Hyderabad & Heavy water plant at Vadodara. Eight heavy water plants are operational in India at Vadodara, Thal, Nangal, Tuticorin, Kota, Talcher, Hazira, Manuguro. A number of research reactors have been built to carry R&D in this field which include Apsara, Cirus, Zerlina, Purnima (I, II, & III), Dhruva & Kamini.
43. India is fifth in wind energy after Germany, USA, Denmark & Spain. Asia’s largest wind farm is located at Lamba in Gujarat. Tamil Nadu has highest installation of wind turbines.
44. Geothermal energy – Tattapani field (Chhattisgarh), Puga Valley (J & K), Manikaran Area (H.P.)
45. The farourable sites for ocean energy are Gulf of Cambay, Gulf of Kachchh & estuary of Hugli. India’s first tidal power plant is at Kandla. The fist solar energy plant & solar plant both are at Bhuj.
46. Hazira-Bijaipur-Jagdishpur pipeline transports liquid gas from the South Bassein offshore field off
Mumbai to Jagdishpur and Aonla, deep in the mainland in Uttar Pradesh.
47. Cropped area in a year under consideration is known as net sown area. The gross cultivated area includes the net sown area used more than once a year. Cropping intensity is given by total cropped area divided by net sown area.
48. West Bengal produces three crops of rice every year viz Aus, Aaman & Boro. Arabica coffee is grown at an altitude of around 750-1500 metres & Robusta around 300-600 metres.
49. The largest producing state for silk is Karnataka (60%), Andhra Pradesh (17%), Assam & Bihar. The fertilizer consumption is highest for Punjab (185 kg/ha), followed by Tamil Nadu & Andra Pradesh. Orissa has the lowest consumption.
50. Irrigation in India – Wells & Tubewell (56%), Canal (32%), Tank (6%) , Others (6.5%). Uttar Pradesh leads in Canal irrigation as well as Tubewell irrigation. Andhra Pradesh leads in Tank Irrigation. Tamil Nadu has developed highest proportion of its irrigation potential (95%).
51. The fish production in India during 2004-05 was around 6.4 Million Tonnes. Inland fisheries account for around 50 % of the total fish cash. Kerala leads in marine fish catch.
52. India with 18.5 crore cattle and 10 crore buffaloes ranks first in cattle and buffalo population in the world. India accounts for 15 % of world’s cattle & 57% of world’s buffalo population.
53. Mulching (ploughing in of crops), retting (fresh water treatment of Jute) & ratooning (using the same root for crop growth as in sugarcane) are some of the practices of agriculture.
54. Eutrophication is a process where water bodies receive excess nutrients that stimulate excessive plant growth choking weaker species & altering species composition.
55. The scientific name of Teak (Tectona Grandis) & Sal (Shorea Robusta). Sal is used for railway sleepers & Deodar for pencils
56. Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides for the conservation and wise use of wetlands
57. During the second five year plan, Iron & Steel plants were set up at Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), Rourkela
(Orisaa), & Durgapur (W. Bengal) & two aluminium plants were established at Hirakud (INDAL) &
Renukoot (Hinalco). During the fourth plan a steel plant was set up at Bokaro (Jharkhand). The
Vishakhapatnam steel project is the first on-shore steel project built during 6th plan. The Bhilai & Bokaro steel plants were built with Russian collaboration & they are the two biggest in that order.
58. M/s Jessops, Kolkata & Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Bangalore also manufacture rail coaches &
electrical multiple units.
59. India imports 40 % of its copper requirement from abroad. Most of the gold in India occurs in the form of veins in Dharwar schists.
60. Currency paper come from Hoshangabad in M.P & defense vehicles from Jabalpur. Cochin shipyard is the largest in India & built with Japanese assistance.
61. The east-west corridor extends from Silcher in Assam to Porbander in Gujarat. Kerala has the highest density of roads & J&K has the least. Goa has the highest density of surfaced roads. Maharasthra is the state with highest road length followed by Tamil Nadu, M.P & U.P.
62. Konkan railway runs from Roha in Maharashtra to Mangalore in Karnataka (760 Km long). It has Asia’s longest rail tunnel. Rail route per unit area is highest in Punjab and least for J&K. Rail route per unit population is highest for Gujarat & lowest for Tripura.
63. Buckingham Canal in Andhra Pradesh & Cumberjua Canal in Goa were once very important. Grand
Anicut canal is in Thanjuvar, Tamil Nadu. India has over two million square km of EEZ. Overall share of Indian Vessels in overseas trade is 32 % only. Maharashtra (53) has the maximum no of minor ports (184 in all), followed by Gujarat (40).
64. The ports are Kandla, Mumbai, Nhava Sheva, Mormugao, Mangalore, Kochi, Tuticorin, Chennai, Ennore (newest), Vishakhapatnam, Paradip, Haldia, Kolkata. Jawaharlal Nehru port has been developed at Nhava Sheva off the Mumbai port. Haldia decongests Kolkata & Ennore (25 Km north of Chennai & newest port) helps Chennai (Artificial shallow port) tackling its cargo. Paradip (Orissa) has the deepest harbour.
65. The New Mangalore port is used to export iron ore from Kudremukh & iron ore from Bailadila
(Chhattisgarh) is exported through Vishakhapatnam port. Marmagao port is situated at the entrance of the estuary of river Zuari in Goa. Dandakarnya is known for iron-ore deposits.
66. Prasar Bharati was created by merging Door-Darshan & All India radio in 1997. Indian postal system is the largest in the world with more than 1.5 lakh post offices. Rajdani channel (yellow boxes) for letters emanating from Delhi for state capitals. Metro Channel (light blue box). QMS was introduced in 1975 & works on the basis of PIN numbers.
67. India’s imports stand at around 36000 crores & exports at 29300 crores. Trade deficit is around 6500 crores. Exports are around 10.7 % of GDP. It is just 0.6 % of world trade. Foreign Debt is around 18% of GDP. It is 8th largest debted country in the world.
68. India produces around 90 million tonnes of milk every year (Buffalo 50%, Cow 46%, Goats 4%). M.P has the largest number of cattle followed by U.P & Bihar & West Bengal.
69. India’s Diesel power stations are located at Naharkatiya (Assam), Barauni (Bihar), Dhuvaran (Gujarat) & Trombay. The first Fertilizer-manufacturing unit was set up in 1906 at Ranipet near Chennai.
70. General Fertility ratio is the number of live births in a year per thousand of women of normal reproductive age group. Replacement or reproduction ratio is the number of female babies born per thousand of female population in the reproductive age group. The infant mortality rate is expressed as the number of deaths of children below one year per thousand of live births. Maternal mortality rate refers to the number of female deaths due to maternity causes per ten thousand of live births.
71. Primary, Secondary & Tertiary sex ratio refers to the sex ratio at conception, Birth & Enumeration
respectively. There is no doubt that more males are born than the females in case of all mammals including humans all over the world.
72. Percentage of Urban population in India is 27.78% & rural 72.22 %. Surat has the distinction of
experiencing the highest growth rate among the 35 metropolitan cities during 1991-2001. Madurai grew
with the slowest pace. Haryana experienced an increase in the population growth rate during the period
1991-2001.
73. Tamil Nadu has the highest urbanization among the top ten populous states.
74. India’s age composition is 0-15 years (36.5%), 15-59 years (56.7%) & above 60 (6.8 %). The dependency ratio is higher in rural areas than urban.
75. The sex ratio of the country is 933. Rural areas have more favourable sex ratio (946) compared to 901 of urban areas. Sex ratio registered sharpest decline during 1961-71.
76. In India the workers are: main workers (30.5 %), Marginal workers (8.7%) & non-workers (60.8%). Proportion of main workers (>183 days employment a year) is lowest in Kerala (26%) & highest in Arunachal Pradesh (38%).
77. Scheduled caste – highest population in U.P followed by West Bengal. Punjab has the highest proportion of scheduled caste. There is no scheduled caste population in Nagaland & Andamans. Among UTs highest SC population is in Delhi. Madhya Pradesh has the highest tribal population followed by Maharashtra & Orissa. Goa (376 people only) has the least ST population. Punjab, Haryana have no ST population. Mizoram (95%) & Lakshadweep (93%) have the highest percentage of tribal population.
78. The scheduled languages arranged in descending order of the number of speakers is Hindi, Bengali,
Teulgu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Assamese, Sindhi, Nepali, Konkani, Manipuri, Kashmiri & Sanskrit.
79. North Indian languages including Gujrati, Marathi, Oriya, Bengali, & Assamese belong to Aryan group. Dravidian group includes Tamil, Kannada, Telugu & Malayalam. Austric languages are spoken by tribal groups of Meghalaya, Jharkhand & Western Satpura. Sino Tibetan languages prevalent in North eastern states: Tibeto Himalayan (Bhutia, Kinnauri), Arunachal (Aka, Dafla, Miri & Abor) & Naga-Myanmari (Bodo, Naga & Kuku group).
80. According to 2001 census: Hindu (80.5%), Muslim (13.4%), Christian (2.3%) & Sikh (1.8%). Hindu population proportion is highest in Himachal, Muslim in J&K, Christians in Kerala, Buddhist & Jain in Maharashtra
81. Overall literacy of India is 65.38 %. Male literacy is 75.85 % & Female 54.16 %. Lowest literacy levels are 47.53 % in Bihar to 90.92 % in Kerala. The proportion of children of eligible age group enrolled in primary schools is lowest in Uttar Pradesh & highest in Sikkim. Literacy is 80 % in Urban areas & 60 % in rural areas.
82. Environmental Imact I = PAT (population * Affluence * Harmful technology used in production). Poverty is higher in rural areas.
83. For whole India, the average distance among villages is 2.52 km. Average density of villages is highest in West Bengal, Bihar & U.P in that order. The maximum proportion of no of villages fall in the 500-999 category (25%), followed by 200-499 (24.3%) & less than 200 (18%). However the maximum population percentage is in 2000-5000 (30%) & 1000-2000 (26%).
84. The 35 million cities of India support more around 38 % of the total urban population. Chhattisgarh & Orissa do not have million cities.
85. The proportion of slums population to total population is highest in Meghalaya (41%) & lowest in Kerala (1.8%). Among the million plus cities highest proportion of slum population is in Mumbai & least in Patna. Maharashtra has highest slum population.
86. India grew at a rate of 1.93 % during the period 1991-2001. The population of the country rose by 21.34 % during 1991 - 2001.
87. Human activities are allowed in Sanctuary but not in National parks. Moreover sanctuaries are species specific while National parks are habitat oriented.
88. Badrinath is situated on the banks of river Alaknanda.
89. Rabaris are pastoralists in Gujarat. The highest Christian population is in Nagaland. Largest number of villages is in U.P.
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