Minimalist IAS
Geography

Prelims · Geography · 9 questions

India: climate, soils & vegetation

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

India: climate, soils & vegetation questions per year: 2016: 0, 2017: 0, 2018: 1, 2019: 1, 2020: 0, 2021: 1, 2022: 0, 2023: 1, 2024: 0, 2025: 0, 2026: 1 Asked in 5 of 11 years · most in 2026 (1)

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UPSC syllabus: “Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.” Sub-topics in the detailed syllabus →

समाचारों में कभी-कभी दिखाई देने वाले ‘रेड सैंडर्स (Red Sanders)’ के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :

  1. 1.यह दक्षिण भारत के एक भाग में पाई जाने वाली एक वृक्ष जाति है।
  2. 2.यह दक्षिण भारत के उष्णकटिबंधीय वर्षावन क्षेत्रों के अति महत्त्वपूर्ण वृक्षों में से एक है।

उपर्युक्त कथनों में से कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं?

Read this question in English

With reference to 'Red Sanders', sometimes seen in the news, consider the following statements:

1. It is a tree species found in a part of South India.

2. It is one of the most important trees in the tropical rain forest areas of South India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only · (b) 2 only · (c) Both 1 and 2 · (d) Neither 1 nor 2

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (a) केवल 1

Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) is endemic to a small tract of the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh, so it is found only in a part of South India. It grows in dry deciduous forest, not in tropical rainforest, so statement 2 is wrong.

  • ✓ 1. The IUCN describes it as an Indian endemic tree with a restricted range in the Eastern Ghats, in a distinct tract of forest in Andhra Pradesh.
  • ✗ 2. It grows in dry deciduous forests, on dry, hilly and often rocky ground, and is not a tree of the tropical rainforests of South India.

Remember · Red Sanders: endemic to the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh; a dry-deciduous-forest tree, not a rainforest one; IUCN Endangered and listed under CITES Appendix II.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

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