Planning-Based Questions
The three layers tested
First, settlement and demography: how Census India classifies a town - a statutory town has a municipality, corporation or notified area; a census town needs population ≥ 5,000, density ≥ 400 persons per km², and at least 75% of male main workers in non-agricultural work - plus urban agglomerations, migration and population projection by arithmetic, geometric and incremental-increase methods. Second, the planning framework: perspective plan → development (master) plan → zonal plan → layout plan → building plan, together with development control rules covering floor area ratio (FAR), ground coverage, setbacks, height and density. Third, plan theory and practice: Howard's garden city, Perry's neighbourhood unit, road hierarchy from arterial to local streets, per-capita norms for water, open space and schools, GIS and remote sensing, environmental impact assessment, and the 74th Constitutional Amendment's District and Metropolitan Planning Committees.
Traps
Densities are quoted per hectare while plots are in square metres - convert first. Net density excludes roads and public land; gross density includes them. FAR caps total built-up area, ground coverage caps the footprint, and the two together fix the number of floors. A master plan alone does not authorise construction on a plot; that needs a layout or building sanction. Census-town thresholds are frequently shuffled in options.
Worked example
Plot 500 m², ground coverage 45%, FAR 1.5. Footprint = 0.45 × 500 = 225 m². Total built-up = 1.5 × 500 = 750 m². Floors = 750 ÷ 225 = 3.33, so three full floors are permissible. Rule of thumb: permissible floors = FAR ÷ coverage fraction, rounded down.