GS Paper I 2025 · Q17
15 marks · 250 words Women, population, poverty & urbanisation X-Ray · Core #23Discuss the distribution and density of population in the Ganga River Basin with special reference to land, soil and water resources.
Approach · directive: “discuss”
What it asks · Describe where people are concentrated in the Ganga basin and explain the pattern through relief, soils and water availability, noting regional variations.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Discuss the distribution and density of population across the Ganga basin — where it is high, where low
- Explain the pattern with special reference to land, soil and water resources, and the pressures density creates on them
Open with · The Ganga basin averages 520 persons per sq km against 312 for India (Census 2001, NMCG); land, soil and water explain this crowding.
Cover
- Density rises downstream: Bihar (1102), West Bengal (1029) and Uttar Pradesh (828) against India's 382 (Census 2011).
- Urban nodes along the river: Delhi, Kanpur, Varanasi, Patna, Kolkata; sparse Himalayan headwaters, Chambal ravines, Bundelkhand, Sundarbans.
- Land: a vast, flat alluvial plain eases farming, settlement and transport; broken relief cuts density.
- Soil: flood-renewed khadar and older bhangar alluvium sustain rice–wheat, sugarcane and jute; thin Bundelkhand soils hold few people.
- Water: perennial snow-fed rivers, groundwater and canals (Upper Ganga Canal) allow multiple cropping; floods (Kosi) and waterlogging repel settlement.
- Way forward: Namami Gange for river health, groundwater recharge, crop diversification and non-farm jobs.
Close with · Density is both the basin's asset and its burden; meeting SDG 6 here means managing river, aquifer and soil as one system.
Add value (verified)
- NMCG records the basin's average density at 520 persons per sq km against 312 for India as a whole (Census 2001).Demography of Ganga Basin — National Mission for Clean Ganga ↗“Average population density in the Ganga basin is 520 persons per square km as against 312 for the entire country (2001 census).”
- In Census 2011, India's density was 382 persons per sq km; Bihar (1102), West Bengal (1029) and Uttar Pradesh (828) lead the northern States.NCERT Class 12, India: People and Economy, ch. 1 Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition ↗“Among the northern Indian States, Bihar (1102), West Bengal (1029) and and Uttar Pradesh (828) have higher densities”
- NCERT places the Ganga plains among the world's most densely populated areas, while the Himalayan mountain zones are scarcely populated.NCERT Class 12, Fundamentals of Human Geography, ch. 2 The World Population: Distribution, Density and Growth ↗“The Ganga plains are among the most densely populated areas of the world while the mountains zones in the Himalayas are scarcely populated.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 16 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 325words · Minimalist IAS
The Ganga basin, India's largest river basin, averages 520 persons per sq km against 312 for India (Census 2001, NMCG). NCERT counts the Ganga plains among the most densely populated areas of the world; land, soil and water explain why.
Distribution and density
- East–west gradient: density rises downstream; in Census 2011, Bihar (1102), West Bengal (1029) and Uttar Pradesh (828) far exceeded India's 382.
- Urban nodes: Delhi, Kanpur, Varanasi, Patna and Kolkata line the river and its tributaries, adding dense urban clusters.
- Sparse zones: the Himalayan headwaters, Chambal ravines, Bundelkhand uplands and tidal Sundarbans hold far fewer people.
✏️ Map to sketch in the exam · Population density in the Ganga basin
- Shade: Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh = densest plains States (Census 2011: 828–1102 persons per sq km)
- Shade: Uttarakhand = sparsely peopled Himalayan headwaters
Draw on India's official outline (Survey of India boundary).
Land
- Flat alluvial plain: gentle gradients ease ploughing, settlement, roads and railways, so almost every hectare is farmed and inhabited.
- Broken relief: where hills, ravines or rocky uplands appear, density falls sharply.
Soil
- Renewable alluvium: floods renew khadar soils each year, while older bhangar terraces stay fertile, sustaining rice–wheat, sugarcane and jute.
- Poor soils, few people: Bundelkhand's thin, rocky soils and the Chambal badlands show the reverse pattern.
Water
- Perennial rivers: snow-fed rivers, monsoon rain and rich groundwater allow two or three crops a year; the Upper Ganga Canal spread irrigation and settlement.
- Too much water: the shifting Kosi, waterlogged tracts and saline delta patches repel dense settlement.
- Pressure on resources: fragmented holdings, falling water tables, river pollution and recurrent floods now strain the very base that drew people.
Way forward
- River health: Namami Gange's sewage treatment must keep pace with fast-growing riverside cities.
- Groundwater and crops: recharge structures and a shift from water-hungry crops protect aquifers.
- Beyond farming: non-farm jobs in small towns ease pressure on tiny holdings and floodplains.
Density is both the basin's asset and its burden; meeting SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation) here means managing river, aquifer and soil as one system.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 16 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
