India: relief, rivers & drainage

Answer: (a) Only one

Only statement 1 holds. The Jhelum flows through Wular Lake, but Kolleru gets its direct inflow from the Budameru and Tammileru streams rather than the Krishna, and Kanwar Lake belongs to the meander belt of the Burhi Gandak, which is a different river from the Gandak.

• ✓ 1. The Jhelum rises at Verinag, flows past Srinagar and then through Wular Lake before it crosses into Pakistan.
• ✗ 2. Kolleru lies between the Krishna and Godavari basins, but the rivers feeding it directly are two seasonal streams, the Budameru and the Tammileru, along with about 30 drains and channels.
• ✗ 3. Kanwar Lake (Kabartal) in Begusarai, Bihar, is part of a wetland complex in the lower reaches of the meandering Burhi Gandak; the Burhi Gandak and the Gandak are separate rivers.

Remember · Wular Lake: Jhelum. Kolleru: fed by Budameru and Tammileru, between Krishna and Godavari deltas. Kanwar/Kabartal: Burhi Gandak meanders, Bihar's first Ramsar site (2020).

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) Rann of Kutch

The Rann of Kachchh was once a shallow part of the Arabian Sea. A geological shift closed off its connection with the sea, leaving a vast seasonal marshy salt desert that fills with water in the monsoon and dries into a white salt flat in summer.

• ✓ (d) The Rann was a shallow part of the Arabian Sea until a geological shift closed its connection with the sea; it is now a huge seasonal marshy salt desert in Gujarat, made up of the Great Rann and the Little Rann.
• ✗ (a) Bhitarkanika in Odisha is a mangrove forest. NCERT notes that mangroves grow along coasts in salt marshes, tidal creeks, mud flats and estuaries, so it is a coastal tidal wetland, not marshland left behind by a retreating sea.
• ✗ (b) Marakkanam in Tamil Nadu is known for its coastal salt pans, where salt is made from seawater; these are small human-made works, not a vast natural marshland.

Remember · Rann of Kutch: former shallow part of the Arabian Sea, cut off by a geological shift; now a seasonal marshy salt desert (Great Rann and Little Rann) in Gujarat.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 5 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) None

Each statement pairs a hill with the wrong range. Amarkantak is where the Vindhya and Satpura (Maikal) ranges meet, the Biligirirangan Hills in southern Karnataka link the Eastern and Western Ghats, and the Seshachalam Hills in Andhra Pradesh belong to the Eastern Ghats.

• ✗ 1. The Narmada rises on the Amarkantak plateau and flows west between the Satpura to the south and the Vindhya to the north; Amarkantak joins the Vindhya and Satpura systems, while the Sahyadri (Western Ghats) lie far to the south-west.
• ✗ 2. The Satpura range lies in central India and marks the northern edge of the Deccan plateau; the Biligirirangan Hills are in Chamarajanagar district of southern Karnataka, where the Eastern and Western Ghats come together.
• ✗ 3. The Seshachalam Hills, home to the Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve and Tirumala, are in Andhra Pradesh and are part of the Eastern Ghats. The southern end of the Western Ghats is formed by the Anaimalai and Cardamom hills of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Remember · Amarkantak: Vindhya–Satpura junction, source of Narmada and Son. Biligirirangan: meeting of Eastern and Western Ghats. Seshachalam: Eastern Ghats, Andhra Pradesh.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect

Statement-I is correct: India is the world's largest user of groundwater, taking more than a quarter of the global total. Statement-II is wrong because most of that water goes to irrigation, not to drinking water and sanitation.

• ✓ Statement-I India is the largest groundwater user in the world, drawing an estimated 230 cubic kilometres a year, which is over a quarter of the global total.
• ✗ Statement-II Agriculture accounts for about 92 per cent of India's groundwater use (NCERT); drinking water and other domestic needs take only a small share. The high extraction is driven by irrigation, so the stated reason is false.

Remember · India draws over a quarter of the world's groundwater, but about nine-tenths of it goes to irrigation, not to drinking water and sanitation.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 India: People and Economy, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error