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BSEH Secondary Social Science study materials
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BSEH Secondary Social Science practice questions

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Question 1History: India and the Contemporary World

Which event is conventionally taken as the starting point of the Indian national movement's mass phase, when Gandhi launched a nationwide campaign of non-cooperation with British rule?

  1. The Salt March in 1930
  2. The Champaran Satyagraha in 1917
  3. The Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920 Correct answer.
  4. The Quit India Movement in 1942

Explanation

The Non-Cooperation Movement, launched by Gandhi with Congress approval in 1920, was the first nationwide mass campaign of the Indian national movement. It combined boycott of British institutions with Khilafat issues and was withdrawn after the Chauri Chaura incident in 1922.

Question 2History: India and the Contemporary World

The Rowlatt Act of 1919 was significant to the Indian national movement mainly because it

  1. granted dominion status to India
  2. created separate electorates for religious communities
  3. introduced the partition of Bengal
  4. allowed detention without trial and provoked widespread protest Correct answer.

Explanation

The Rowlatt Act empowered authorities to detain political suspects without trial, which Gandhi and others condemned as a denial of civil liberties. Nationwide hartals against it, notably in Punjab, set the stage for the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy.

Question 3History: India and the Contemporary World

In the context of the Indian national movement, what did the Lahore session of the Congress in 1929 resolve?

  1. To accept the Government of India Act 1935
  2. To boycott the Simon Commission only
  3. To support the partition of India
  4. To demand complete independence, or Purna Swaraj Correct answer.

Explanation

At Lahore in December 1929, under Jawaharlal Nehru's presidency, the Congress adopted Purna Swaraj as its goal and authorized the hoisting of the tricolour. Independence Day was then observed on 26 January 1930.

Question 4History: India and the Contemporary World

Which British policy of 1856 is widely cited as a major grievance that contributed to the outbreak of the Revolt of 1857?

  1. The Doctrine of Lapse Correct answer.
  2. The Subsidiary Alliance
  3. The Permanent Settlement
  4. The Vernacular Press Act

Explanation

The Doctrine of Lapse, associated with Lord Dalhousie, allowed the annexation of states where a ruler died without a natural heir, alarming princely families. It is commonly listed among the political causes of the 1857 revolt.

Question 5History: India and the Contemporary World

The term 'Satyagraha', central to Gandhi's method of political struggle, refers to

  1. holding firmly to truth through non-violent resistance Correct answer.
  2. armed rebellion against colonial rule
  3. economic boycott of foreign goods only
  4. constitutional petitioning of the British Parliament

Explanation

Satyagraha literally means holding on to truth, and Gandhi used it to describe non-violent resistance that appeals to the conscience of the opponent. It was first applied in South Africa and later in Champaran, Kheda, and Ahmedabad.

Question 6History: India and the Contemporary World

Which of these was a key provision of the Government of India Act 1919, also known as the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms?

  1. Abolition of the Indian Civil Service
  2. Grant of complete independence
  3. Introduction of dyarchy in the provinces Correct answer.
  4. Creation of Pakistan

Explanation

The 1919 Act introduced dyarchy, dividing provincial subjects into transferred and reserved categories so that elected Indian ministers handled some departments. It also expanded legislative councils, though real power remained with the Governor-General.

Question 7History: India and the Contemporary World

Who founded the Servants of India Society in 1905 to train Indians for public service and political work?

  1. Bipin Chandra Pal
  2. Gopal Krishna Gokhale Correct answer.
  3. Lala Lajpat Rai
  4. Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Explanation

Gokhale, a moderate Congress leader, established the Servants of India Society in Pune in 1905 to create a cadre of dedicated public workers. Gandhi regarded Gokhale as his political mentor.

Question 8History: India and the Contemporary World

The Simon Commission, appointed in 1927, was boycotted by Indian political parties primarily because

  1. it recommended immediate independence
  2. it was appointed by the Congress
  3. it abolished the princely states
  4. it contained no Indian members Correct answer.

Explanation

The all-British composition of the Simon Commission, which was to review the 1919 constitutional arrangements, was seen as an insult to Indian aspirations. Protests greeted it across India, and the slogan 'Simon Go Back' became widespread.

Question 9History: India and the Contemporary World

Arrange the following events in correct chronological order: (i) Jallianwala Bagh massacre, (ii) Partition of Bengal announced, (iii) Chauri Chaura incident, (iv) Dandi March.

  1. iii, ii, i, iv
  2. ii, iii, i, iv
  3. ii, i, iii, iv Correct answer.
  4. i, ii, iii, iv

Explanation

The Partition of Bengal was announced in 1905, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre occurred in 1919, Chauri Chaura in 1922, and the Dandi March in 1930. Placing these dates in sequence gives ii, i, iii, iv.

Question 10History: India and the Contemporary World

Gandhi's Champaran campaign in 1917 was directed against

  1. the Rowlatt Act
  2. the partition of Bengal
  3. the salt tax levied by the British
  4. the tinkathia system imposed on indigo cultivators Correct answer.

Explanation

In Champaran, Bihar, peasants were compelled under the tinkathia arrangement to grow indigo on part of their land for planters. Gandhi's inquiry and satyagraha led to an official committee and relief for the cultivators.

Question 11History: India and the Contemporary World

The Poona Pact of 1932, signed between Gandhi and B. R. Ambedkar, dealt with

  1. the partition of Punjab
  2. the abolition of the zamindari system
  3. reserved seats for depressed classes within a joint electorate Correct answer.
  4. the transfer of power to Indian ministers

Explanation

The Poona Pact replaced separate electorates for the depressed classes, which Gandhi had opposed through a fast, with reserved seats in general constituencies. It followed the Communal Award announced by Ramsay MacDonald.

Question 12History: India and the Contemporary World

Which statement best explains why the Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930 differed from the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1920?

  1. It demanded only the repeal of the Rowlatt Act
  2. It was confined to Bengal alone
  3. It deliberately broke specific laws, beginning with the salt law Correct answer.
  4. It relied entirely on petitions and council resolutions

Explanation

Civil disobedience meant openly violating unjust laws, symbolized by Gandhi making salt at Dandi in defiance of the salt monopoly. Non-cooperation had focused on boycott and withdrawal from British institutions rather than law-breaking.

Question 13History: India and the Contemporary World

The slogan 'Do or Die' is associated with which phase of the Indian national movement?

  1. The Swadeshi Movement of 1905
  2. The Quit India Movement of 1942 Correct answer.
  3. The Cripps Mission of 1942
  4. The Khilafat agitation of 1919

Explanation

Gandhi gave the 'Do or Die' call in his 8 August 1942 speech launching the Quit India Movement, demanding an orderly British withdrawal. The movement was suppressed swiftly with mass arrests of Congress leaders.

Question 14History: India and the Contemporary World

Under the Morley-Minto reforms of 1909, Indian members were introduced to legislative councils and separate electorates were granted to

  1. peasants
  2. Muslims Correct answer.
  3. factory workers
  4. women

Explanation

The Indian Councils Act 1909 enlarged legislative councils and introduced separate electorates for Muslims, a step that institutionalized communal representation. This was a significant departure from the principle of a single electorate.

Question 15History: India and the Contemporary World

A student argues that the Swadeshi Movement of 1905 marked a shift in Congress politics. Which evidence best supports this claim?

  1. It rejected the use of Indian-made goods
  2. It accepted the partition of Bengal as final
  3. It confined its activity to the legislative council
  4. It used mass boycott and indigenous enterprise beyond petitioning Correct answer.

Explanation

The Swadeshi Movement mobilized public meetings, boycotts of British goods, and promotion of Indian industry, moving beyond the moderate petitioning style. It also introduced new forms of protest such as picketing and the use of indigenous products.

Question 16History: India and the Contemporary World

Which of the following best describes the role of the Indian National Army (INA) in the freedom struggle?

  1. It was a constitutional body created by the 1935 Act
  2. It was a peasant organization in Bengal
  3. It was formed abroad with Japanese support to fight British rule Correct answer.
  4. It was a British Indian regiment loyal to the Crown

Explanation

The INA, reorganized under Subhas Chandra Bose in Southeast Asia, fought alongside Japanese forces against the British in the Second World War. Its trials at the Red Fort after the war stirred public sympathy and affected loyalty within the British Indian armed forces.

Question 17History: India and the Contemporary World

What was the main significance of the Cabinet Mission of 1946?

  1. It fixed the Radcliffe Line
  2. It granted immediate independence to undivided India
  3. It abolished the Muslim League
  4. It proposed a federal union with grouping of provinces Correct answer.

Explanation

The Cabinet Mission proposed a three-tier federal structure with provinces grouped into sections, while leaving the question of partition unresolved. Its plan shaped the Constituent Assembly that later drafted India's constitution.

Question 18History: India and the Contemporary World

Which of these was a consequence of the partition of Bengal announced in 1905?

  1. The British withdrew from India
  2. The Swadeshi and boycott movement gained momentum Correct answer.
  3. The capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi immediately
  4. The Congress split permanently into two parties

Explanation

The partition provoked widespread protest in Bengal, and the Swadeshi Movement with its boycott of British goods became a major expression of nationalist sentiment. The partition was annulled in 1911.

Question 19History: India and the Contemporary World

The Khilafat Movement in India during 1919-22 was primarily concerned with

  1. establishing a separate Muslim state
  2. reforming Hindu personal law
  3. opposing the partition of Bengal
  4. protecting the Ottoman caliphate after the First World War Correct answer.

Explanation

The Khilafat Movement sought to defend the position of the Ottoman Sultan as caliph after the Ottoman defeat in the First World War. Gandhi allied the non-cooperation campaign with the Khilafat leaders, briefly uniting Hindu and Muslim political action.

Question 20History: India and the Contemporary World

The Bardoli Satyagraha of 1928 is best remembered for

  1. founding the Indian National Congress
  2. launching the Quit India slogan
  3. ending the system of dyarchy
  4. resisting a revenue enhancement and earning Patel the title Sardar Correct answer.

Explanation

Bardoli peasants under Vallabhbhai Patel resisted an increase in land revenue, and the campaign's success led to Patel being called Sardar by the local women. It demonstrated the effectiveness of disciplined local satyagraha.

Question 21History: India and the Contemporary World

Between the Non-Cooperation Movement and the Civil Disobedience Movement, which factor most directly weakened the Congress's ability to sustain mass action?

  1. The absence of any peasant participation
  2. The Congress's rejection of all provincial elections
  3. The withdrawal of the first movement after Chauri Chaura and later communal divisions Correct answer.
  4. The refusal of Gandhi to write in newspapers

Explanation

The abrupt withdrawal of non-cooperation after the Chauri Chaura violence demoralized activists, and communal tensions later eroded the Hindu-Muslim unity seen in 1920-22. These factors shaped the more cautious strategy of the 1930s.

Question 22History: India and the Contemporary World

Which statement correctly distinguishes the moderates' approach from that of the extremists within the early Congress?

  1. Moderates supported partition of Bengal, while extremists opposed it
  2. Moderates relied on petitions and gradual reform, while extremists sought swaraj through mass agitation Correct answer.
  3. Moderates demanded immediate independence, while extremists accepted colonial rule
  4. Moderates rejected the legislative councils, while extremists joined them

Explanation

Moderates such as Gokhale and Naoroji worked through petitions, councils, and reasoned argument for gradual reform. Extremists such as Tilak, Lajpat Rai, and Pal demanded swaraj and used boycott, strikes, and mass mobilization, leading to the 1907 Surat split.

Question 23History: India and the Contemporary World

The Government of India Act 1935 is considered a milestone in Indian constitutional development mainly because it

  1. granted universal adult franchise
  2. provided for provincial autonomy with elected ministries responsible to legislatures Correct answer.
  3. introduced dyarchy in the provinces for the first time
  4. abolished the office of the Governor-General

Explanation

The 1935 Act granted provincial autonomy, with elected ministries responsible to provincial legislatures, while retaining a Governor's special powers. It also proposed an all-India federation that never came into being because princely states did not join.

Question 24History: India and the Contemporary World

Why is the Cripps Mission of 1942 generally regarded as a failure in the context of the freedom struggle?

  1. Its offer of dominion status was conditional and fell short of Congress demands Correct answer.
  2. It proposed immediate and complete independence for a united India
  3. It granted separate electorates to labour unions
  4. It was rejected by the British Cabinet itself

Explanation

The Cripps Mission offered dominion status after the war with an option for provinces to stay out of the union, which the Congress found inadequate and the Muslim League considered unsatisfactory on Pakistan. Its failure paved the way for the Quit India Movement.

Question 25History: India and the Contemporary World

Which pairing of a nationalist leader with their associated contribution is historically accurate?

  1. Gopal Krishna Gokhale with the Quit India call
  2. Dadabhai Naoroji with the drain theory of wealth Correct answer.
  3. Subhas Chandra Bose with the Poona Pact
  4. B. R. Ambedkar with the Champaran inquiry

Explanation

Naoroji's 'Poverty and Un-British Rule in India' developed the drain theory, arguing that colonial transfers of wealth impoverished India. His analysis became a foundational economic critique of British rule.

Question 26History: India and the Contemporary World

Which session of the Indian National Congress first demanded 'Purna Swaraj' (complete independence) as its goal?

  1. The Lahore session of 1929 Correct answer.
  2. The Calcutta session of 1928
  3. The Nagpur session of 1920
  4. The Karachi session of 1931

Explanation

At the Lahore session in December 1929, presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress adopted complete independence as its goal and authorised the hoisting of the tricolour on the banks of the Ravi. The pledge was formally observed as Independence Day on 26 January 1930.

Question 27History: India and the Contemporary World

Which institution did the British establish in 1875 with the aim of giving Indians access to modern scientific and technical education under Indian management?

  1. The Hindu College at Calcutta
  2. The Deccan Education Society
  3. The Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science Correct answer.
  4. The Aligarh Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College

Explanation

Mahendra Lal Sircar founded the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science in Calcutta in 1876, with the declared purpose of cultivating science among Indians independently of government initiative. It is regarded as a landmark in Indian scientific nationalism.

Question 28History: India and the Contemporary World

The Rowlatt Act of 1919 provoked widespread protest in India mainly because it

  1. transferred law and order entirely to elected provincial ministers
  2. abolished the separate electorates granted in 1909
  3. imposed a tax on all salt produced in India
  4. allowed detention without trial for a fixed period and trial without jury Correct answer.

Explanation

The Rowlatt Act empowered the government to arrest and detain persons suspected of sedition without trial and to try cases without juries, which nationalists saw as a denial of civil liberties. Gandhi responded with a nationwide hartal, which set the stage for the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy.

Question 29History: India and the Contemporary World

Which of these was the immediate trigger for the launch of the Quit India Movement in August 1942?

  1. The failure of the Cripps Mission and the advance of Japanese forces towards India's borders Correct answer.
  2. The announcement of the partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon
  3. The rejection of the Nehru Report by the Muslim League
  4. The passage of the Government of India Act 1935

Explanation

After the Cripps Mission failed in April 1942 and Japanese troops reached the Indian frontier, the Congress Working Committee passed the Quit India resolution at Bombay on 8 August 1942. Gandhi gave the call for orderly British withdrawal under the slogan 'Do or Die'.

Question 30History: India and the Contemporary World

Which feature of the Permanent Settlement introduced by Lord Cornwallis in 1793 most directly affected the position of the cultivator?

  1. The state transferred revenue collection to village panchayats elected by the cultivators
  2. The state fixed the revenue demand with zamindars in perpetuity and left the ryot to negotiate with them Correct answer.
  3. The state collected revenue directly from each ryot on an annually revised assessment
  4. The state replaced cash revenue with a fixed share of the harvest collected in kind

Explanation

Under the Permanent Settlement the revenue demand was fixed permanently with the zamindars, who became proprietors of the land. The cultivator's customary rights were left unprotected, and the zamindar could enhance rents, which worsened the position of the ryot.

Question 31History: India and the Contemporary World

A historian argues that the revolt of 1857 was more than a sepoy mutiny. Which evidence most strongly supports this claim?

  1. The greased cartridge issue offended both Hindu and Muslim sepoys
  2. Discontented zamindars, peasants and taluqdars joined the rebels in Awadh and other regions Correct answer.
  3. The British recaptured Delhi in September 1857 after a prolonged siege
  4. The revolt began at Meerut and spread to Delhi within a few days

Explanation

The participation of landed groups, peasants and local notables alongside sepoys shows that grievances extended beyond military service conditions into wider concerns about revenue policy and dispossession. This breadth is the strongest evidence for treating 1857 as a popular uprising rather than a purely military affair.

Question 32History: India and the Contemporary World

Which of the following best explains why the Home Rule Leagues founded in 1916 by Tilak and Annie Besant mattered for the national movement?

  1. They organised the first boycott of British goods in the twentieth century
  2. They created the first all-India agitation for self-government that reached beyond educated urban elites Correct answer.
  3. They secured immediate dominion status for India through negotiation with the British
  4. They merged the Congress and the Muslim League into a single political party

Explanation

The Home Rule Leagues used pamphlets, public meetings and vernacular propaganda to carry the demand for self-government to a wider audience across regions. Their methods and reach anticipated the mass mobilisation style later adopted by Gandhi.

Question 33History: India and the Contemporary World

Which of the following statements correctly describes the working of dyarchy under the Government of India Act 1919?

  1. Provincial subjects were divided into transferred subjects run by Indian ministers and reserved subjects run by the governor Correct answer.
  2. All provincial subjects were placed under ministers responsible to the electorate
  3. The central legislature was made fully elected with no official majority
  4. The secretary of state for India was abolished and replaced by a high commissioner

Explanation

Dyarchy divided provincial administration into transferred subjects administered by Indian ministers responsible to the legislative council and reserved subjects administered by the governor with his executive council. The arrangement proved difficult because finance and law and order remained reserved.

Question 34History: India and the Contemporary World

Which of these best explains why the Swaraj Party was formed within the Congress in 1923?

  1. To contest elections and obstruct the government from within the legislatures after the withdrawal of non-cooperation Correct answer.
  2. To campaign for the abolition of the zamindari system
  3. To organise a fresh mass boycott of foreign cloth throughout India
  4. To negotiate a federal constitution with the princely states

Explanation

C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru founded the Swaraj Party to enter the legislative councils and wreck the reforms from inside, since the Non-Cooperation Movement had been suspended in 1922. The party's council work marked a shift from boycott to parliamentary obstruction.

Question 35History: India and the Contemporary World

Which of the following pairs of a colonial-era institution and its purpose is correctly matched?

  1. Elphinstone College, Bombay - training Indian princes in military science
  2. Fort William College, Calcutta - training British civil servants in Indian languages and customs Correct answer.
  3. Serampore Mission Press - printing official government gazettes only
  4. Asiatic Society of Bengal - organising Indian nationalist propaganda abroad

Explanation

Fort William College was established at Calcutta in 1800 to train young British officials of the East India Company in Indian languages, law and customs. It became an important centre for orientalist scholarship in the early nineteenth century.

Question 36History: India and the Contemporary World

Which of these best captures the significance of the Lucknow Pact of 1916 for the national movement?

  1. It committed the Congress to complete independence for the first time
  2. It produced a joint Congress-League scheme of constitutional reforms and agreed shares of representation Correct answer.
  3. It ended the separate electorates that had been granted to Muslims in 1909
  4. It created a federal union of British India and the princely states

Explanation

The Lucknow Pact was an agreement between the Congress and the Muslim League on a common set of constitutional demands and on the proportion of elected seats for Muslims in provincial legislatures. It briefly symbolised Hindu-Muslim political cooperation during the First World War years.

Question 37History: India and the Contemporary World

Which statement best explains why the British government sent the Simon Commission to India in 1927?

  1. It was tasked with fixing the boundary between India and Burma
  2. It was required to review the working of the 1919 Act before introducing further constitutional reforms Correct answer.
  3. It was intended to negotiate the transfer of power to Indian leaders after the war
  4. It was appointed to investigate the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and punish officials

Explanation

Under the terms of the Government of India Act 1919, a commission was to be appointed after ten years to report on the working of the constitutional system. The all-British composition of the Simon Commission provoked the boycott slogan 'Simon Go Back'.

Question 38History: India and the Contemporary World

Which of these best explains the significance of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact of March 1931?

  1. The Congress agreed to abandon the boycott of British cloth permanently
  2. The government agreed to abolish the salt tax immediately
  3. The government agreed to release political prisoners and the Congress agreed to suspend civil disobedience and attend the Second Round Table Conference Correct answer.
  4. The government conceded complete independence to India within one year

Explanation

Under the pact the government released satyagrahis not charged with violence and allowed the manufacture of salt for private use in coastal areas, while the Congress called off civil disobedience and joined the Second Round Table Conference. It was the first time the colonial state negotiated with the Congress on something like equal terms.

Question 39History: India and the Contemporary World

A candidate claims that the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946 proposed a fully partitioned India. Which evidence from the plan refutes this claim?

  1. It recommended that the Constituent Assembly be nominated entirely by the British
  2. It recommended that the princely states accede to Pakistan only
  3. It proposed the immediate transfer of power to two independent dominions
  4. It proposed a three-tier federal union with autonomous provinces and grouping of provinces, while rejecting a separate sovereign Pakistan Correct answer.

Explanation

The Cabinet Mission rejected the demand for a sovereign Pakistan and instead proposed a union of India with a weak centre, grouped provinces and a Constituent Assembly elected by provincial legislatures. Partition was not part of the plan; it came only with the Mountbatten Plan of June 1947.

Question 40History: India and the Contemporary World

Which of these best explains why the tribal and peasant movements of the nineteenth century are often studied separately from the organised national movement?

  1. They arose from local grievances over land, forest laws and revenue and usually lacked an all-India political programme Correct answer.
  2. They were funded and directed by the Indian National Congress from its inception
  3. They were confined to the princely states and never occurred in British India
  4. They were exclusively religious movements with no economic demands

Explanation

Movements such as the Santhal hool of 1855-56 and the Indigo Revolt of 1859 grew out of specific grievances against landlords, moneylenders and colonial forest and revenue regulations. Their aims were local and immediate, so historians treat them as distinct from, though related to, the later nationalist struggle.

Question 41Geography: Contemporary India – Resources, Land, Water, Agriculture and Minerals

In the NCERT classification of resources, a resource that is present in a region but has not yet been surveyed and mapped for its potential is best described as which type?

  1. Developed resource
  2. Stock
  3. Potential resource Correct answer.
  4. Reserve

Explanation

Potential resources exist in a region and could be used in the future, but their quantity and quality have not been fully assessed. Once surveyed and found usable with present technology, they become developed resources. Stock and reserve refer to materials whose use depends on technology and feasibility, not merely on lack of survey.

Question 42Geography: Contemporary India – Resources, Land, Water, Agriculture and Minerals

Which pair correctly matches a renewable resource with a non-renewable resource drawn from the same broad category of natural resources?

  1. Tidal energy and solar energy
  2. Solar energy and coal Correct answer.
  3. Hydel power and geothermal energy
  4. Wind energy and biogas

Explanation

Solar energy is continuously replenished by nature, while coal is a fossil fuel formed over millions of years and is exhausted once mined. The other pairs either place two renewables together or reverse the classification. Renewable status depends on the rate of replenishment compared with the rate of consumption.

Question 43Geography: Contemporary India – Resources, Land, Water, Agriculture and Minerals

According to the land-use categories used in Indian land revenue records, which category covers all land put to agricultural use, including groves and land under crops?

  1. Land put to non-agricultural uses
  2. Net sown area Correct answer.
  3. Barren and waste land
  4. Culturable waste land

Explanation

Net sown area is the total land actually sown with crops in a year, and it includes land under orchards and groves within the reporting village. Culturable waste and barren land are not under crops, and non-agricultural land is used for buildings, roads and similar purposes.

Question 44Geography: Contemporary India – Resources, Land, Water, Agriculture and Minerals

What does the term 'revenue land' denote in the context of Indian land-use statistics?

  1. Land owned exclusively by the central government
  2. Land for which land revenue records are maintained by the state Correct answer.
  3. Land that is exempt from all state taxation
  4. Land reserved only for forest plantation

Explanation

Revenue land is land for which the village revenue records are kept, and land-use statistics are compiled mainly from these records. It does not mean tax-exempt land, nor land owned only by the centre, nor land earmarked for plantations. Areas outside revenue records, such as some forest land, are reported separately.

Question 45Geography: Contemporary India – Resources, Land, Water, Agriculture and Minerals

Which soil type is described as being rich in iron and aluminium, low in nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter, and typically forming on the Deccan lava plateau?

  1. Black soil Correct answer.
  2. Arid soil
  3. Laterite soil
  4. Alluvial soil

Explanation

Black soil, also called regur, develops on the basaltic lava plateau of the Deccan and is rich in iron, aluminium, lime and magnesia but poor in nitrogen, phosphorus and humus. Its high clay content makes it moisture-retentive and suitable for cotton. Alluvial and laterite soils have different origins and nutrient profiles.

Question 46Geography: Contemporary India – Resources, Land, Water, Agriculture and Minerals

Which of the following is a kharif crop sown with the arrival of the monsoon and harvested in autumn?

  1. Paddy Correct answer.
  2. Gram
  3. Wheat
  4. Mustard

Explanation

Kharif crops are sown at the onset of the south-west monsoon and harvested in September and October; paddy, maize, jowar, bajra and cotton belong to this season. Wheat, mustard and gram are rabi crops grown in the winter with the help of irrigation or residual moisture.

Question 47Geography: Contemporary India – Resources, Land, Water, Agriculture and Minerals

Which of the following is a conventional, non-conventional distinction correctly applied to energy sources?

  1. Coal is conventional while solar energy is non-conventional Correct answer.
  2. Both coal and solar energy are conventional
  3. Both coal and solar energy are non-conventional
  4. Solar energy is conventional while coal is non-conventional

Explanation

Conventional sources such as coal, petroleum, natural gas and firewood have long been in common use, while non-conventional sources such as solar, wind, tidal and geothermal energy are newer alternatives. The classification depends on established large-scale use, not on whether the source is renewable.

Question 48Geography: Contemporary India – Resources, Land, Water, Agriculture and Minerals

Which statement correctly describes the difference between a stock and a reserve of a mineral resource?

  1. A reserve is the part of a stock usable with present technology, while stock may await future technology Correct answer.
  2. A reserve is always larger than the total stock of the same material
  3. Stock and reserve are identical terms for proved mineral deposits
  4. A stock is the part of a reserve usable today, while a reserve awaits future technology

Explanation

Stock refers to all materials in the environment that could satisfy human needs but cannot be used for want of appropriate technology. Reserve is the subset of that stock which can be put to use with existing technical know-how and is economically viable. Reserves therefore cannot exceed the stock from which they are drawn.

Question 49Geography: Contemporary India – Resources, Land, Water, Agriculture and Minerals

A state reports that its net sown area has remained nearly constant for a decade while its gross cropped area has risen steadily. Which explanation is most consistent with these figures?

  1. The state is converting cropland into industrial estates
  2. Farmers are bringing large areas of barren land under the plough
  3. Large areas of forest are being cleared for new farmland
  4. Farmers are taking more than one crop a year from the same fields Correct answer.

Explanation

Gross cropped area counts every crop sown in a year, so it can exceed net sown area when land is cropped more than once. If net sown area is stable but gross cropped area rises, the increase must come from higher cropping intensity through multiple cropping. Land conversion or forest clearance would change net sown area itself.

Question 50Geography: Contemporary India – Resources, Land, Water, Agriculture and Minerals

Which combination of physical factors best explains the concentration of black soil in the Deccan trap region?

  1. Basaltic parent rock weathered in a semi-arid climate with poor drainage Correct answer.
  2. Granitic parent rock weathered under heavy monsoon leaching
  3. Wind-blown sand accumulated along a desert margin
  4. River-deposited silt laid down in a flat flood plain

Explanation

Black soil forms from the weathering of basaltic lava in a climate with moderate rainfall and poor drainage, which allows clay and iron compounds to accumulate. Granite weathering under heavy leaching produces laterite, river silt produces alluvium, and wind-blown sand produces arid soils. Parent rock and climate together determine the soil type.