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India: Physical Environment

Class 11 · Geography

Ch 3 · Drainage System

Real UPSC Prelims questions from 2016–2026, linked to this book. Try each one first, then open the answer. 2026 answers follow UPSC's provisional answer key.

Prelims 2016 · Q28

Which of the following is/are tributary/tributaries of Brahmaputra?

  1. 1.Dibang
  2. 2.Kameng
  3. 3.Lohit

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. (a)1 only
  2. (b)2 and 3 only
  3. (c)1 and 3 only
  4. (d)1, 2 and 3
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (d)

NCERT answers it: Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 3 (Drainage System).

India: Physical Environment (ch 3): the Brahmaputra's left-bank tributaries include the Dibang and the Lohit, and its right-bank tributaries include the Kameng. All three are Brahmaputra tributaries. So (d).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2016), question 28 ↗

Prelims 2017 · Q30

With reference to river Teesta, consider the following statements:

  1. 1.The source of river Teesta is the same as that of Brahmaputra but it flows through Sikkim.
  2. 2.River Rangeet originates in Sikkim and it is a tributary of river Teesta.
  3. 3.River Teesta flows into Bay of Bengal on the border of India and Bangladesh.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a)1 and 3 only
  2. (b)2 only
  3. (c)2 and 3 only
  4. (d)1, 2 and 3
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (b)

NCERT answers it: Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 3 (Drainage System).

India: Physical Environment (ch 3): the Tista joins the Brahmaputra inside Bangladesh, so it does not flow into the Bay of Bengal on the border — statement 3 is false. Every option except (b) contains 3. So (b).

Beyond NCERT: the Teesta itself rises inside Sikkim, from the glacial lake Khangchung Chho below the Teesta Khangse glacier, so statement 1 is false. The Rangit is one of its right-bank tributaries (statement 2). Source: Government of Sikkim (Forests & Environment), State of Environment 2007 – Sikkim, ch 3 'Water Resources', incl. Table 3.1

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2017), question 30 ↗

Prelims 2019 · Q38

Consider the following pairs:

Glacier : River

  1. 1.Bandarpunch : Yamuna
  2. 2.Bara Shigri : Chenab
  3. 3.Milam : Mandakini
  4. 4.Siachen : Nubra
  5. 5.Zemu : Manas

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

  1. (a)1, 2 and 4
  2. (b)1, 3 and 4
  3. (c)2 and 5
  4. (d)3 and 5
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (a)

NCERT answers it: Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 3 (Drainage System).

India: Physical Environment (ch 3): the Yamuna rises in the Yamunotri glacier on the Banderpunch range (pair 1 right). But the Milam glacier is the source of the Sarda, not the Mandakini (pair 3 wrong). Only (a) has 1 without 3. So (a).

Beyond NCERT: pair 5 is wrong too: the Zemu glacier lies in the Zemu Chu basin, part of the Teesta basin in Sikkim, so it feeds the Teesta, not the Manas. Source: Government of Sikkim, State of Environment 2007 – Sikkim, ch 3 (glacier tables from the Glacier Atlas of Teesta Basin; Table 3.1 lists Zemu Chhu as a right-bank tributary of the Teesta)

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2019), question 38 ↗

Prelims 2022 · Q25

Consider the following pairs:

Peak : Mountains

  1. 1.Namcha Barwa — Garhwal Himalaya
  2. 2.Nanda Devi — Kumaon Himalaya
  3. 3.Nokrek — Sikkim Himalaya

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

  1. (a)1 and 2
  2. (b)2 only
  3. (c)1 and 3
  4. (d)3 only
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (b)

NCERT answers it: Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 3 (Drainage System); Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 5 (Natural Vegetation).

How to solve it with NCERT: Class 11 India: Physical Environment, ch 3, places Namcha Barwa where the Brahmaputra bends round the eastern Himalaya, far from Garhwal, so pair 1 is wrong. Ch 5 lists the Nokrek biosphere reserve in Meghalaya, not Sikkim, so pair 3 is wrong. That leaves (b).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2022), question 25 ↗

Prelims 2024 · Q6

With reference to the Himalayan rivers joining the Ganga downstream of Prayagraj from West to East, which one of the following sequences is correct?

  1. (a)Ghaghara – Gomati – Gandak – Kosi
  2. (b)Gomati – Ghaghara – Gandak – Kosi
  3. (c)Ghaghara – Gomati – Kosi – Gandak
  4. (d)Gomati – Ghaghara – Kosi – Gandak
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (b)

NCERT answers it: Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 3 (Drainage System).

The one fact NCERT doesn't give: NCERT's list of the Ganga's left-bank tributaries (Ramganga, Gomati, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi, Mahananda) runs from west to east. You can confirm it on the drainage map in the same chapter.

Class 11 India: Physical Environment, ch 3, gives the list in that order. Answer (b).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2024), question 6 ↗

Prelims 2026 · Q25

Identify the river of the Indian sub-continent on the basis of the following information:

  1. 1.It has an antecedent drainage system.
  2. 2.It flows through three countries.
  3. 3.It originates in the Tibetan Plateau and is an important river for irrigation.
  4. 4.It does not form distributaries.

Select the answer from the following:

  1. (a)Brahmaputra
  2. (b)Indus
  3. (c)Sutlej
  4. (d)Teesta
Show answer

UPSC's provisional answer: (c)

NCERT answers it: Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 3 (Drainage System).

How to solve it with NCERT: Class 11 India: Physical Environment, ch 3: the Satluj rises near Mansarovar in Tibet, is an antecedent river, and feeds the Bhakra Nangal canals. It ends in the Panjnad, which joins the Indus in Pakistan, so it crosses three countries. Answer (c).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2026), question 25 ↗

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