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Maharashtra HSC Geography (MSBSHSE) study materials
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Maharashtra HSC Geography (MSBSHSE) practice questions

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Question 1Population Geography

In the study of population geography, which term refers to the number of live births per 1,000 persons in a population during a given year?

  1. Infant mortality rate
  2. Total fertility rate
  3. Crude birth rate Correct answer.
  4. Natural increase rate

Explanation

The crude birth rate expresses live births in a year as a proportion of the total mid-year population, conventionally per 1,000 persons. It is called 'crude' because it ignores age and sex composition. Total fertility rate instead measures births per woman over her lifetime.

Question 2Population Geography

A district records 24 births and 9 deaths per 1,000 population in a single year, with no migration. What is its rate of natural increase?

  1. 2.7 per cent
  2. 33 per 1,000
  3. 15 per 1,000 Correct answer.
  4. 24 per 1,000

Explanation

Natural increase equals the crude birth rate minus the crude death rate: 24 minus 9 gives 15 per 1,000. This figure is expressed per 1,000 population, not as a percentage. Migration is excluded by definition when only natural increase is measured.

Question 3Population Geography

Which stage of the demographic transition model is marked by high birth rates and high death rates that fluctuate, giving a stable or very slowly growing population?

  1. First stage Correct answer.
  2. Second stage
  3. Fourth stage
  4. Third stage

Explanation

In the first stage both birth and death rates are high, so population growth is minimal and totals fluctuate. The second stage sees death rates fall while birth rates stay high, producing rapid growth. Later stages are defined by declining and then low birth rates.

Question 4Population Geography

A population pyramid that is broad at the base and tapers sharply towards the top typically indicates which population characteristic?

  1. A stationary population with equal age groups
  2. An ageing population with a large elderly share
  3. A young population with high dependency on working-age groups Correct answer.
  4. A population dominated by working-age adults

Explanation

A wide base shows a large proportion of children, which points to high fertility and a young population. The sharp taper indicates relatively few elderly persons. Such a shape implies a high dependency ratio borne by the smaller working-age group.

Question 5Population Geography

Which of the following best describes the dependency ratio?

  1. The proportion of persons outside working age relative to those of working age Correct answer.
  2. The number of persons per square kilometre of land
  3. The difference between immigration and emigration
  4. The number of females per 1,000 males in a population

Explanation

The dependency ratio compares the young and old, who are assumed dependent, with the working-age population that supports them. It is usually expressed per 100 persons in the working ages. Sex ratio, density and net migration measure quite different things.

Question 6Population Geography

In the context of Indian census terminology, a person who has lived in a place for less than one year but intends to stay is classified as which type of migrant?

  1. Long-term migrant
  2. Return migrant
  3. Seasonal migrant
  4. Short-duration migrant Correct answer.

Explanation

Indian census practice distinguishes short-duration migrants, whose last residence was elsewhere within the past year, from long-term migrants, whose last residence was elsewhere more than a year ago. Intention to stay is not the deciding criterion. Seasonal and return migration are analytical categories, not census duration classes.

Question 7Population Geography

Which measure expresses the number of persons living per square kilometre of territory?

  1. Agricultural density
  2. Physiological density
  3. Arithmetic density Correct answer.
  4. Economic density

Explanation

Arithmetic density divides total population by total land area, giving persons per square kilometre. Physiological density instead relates population to cultivable land. Agricultural density counts farmers per unit of farmland.

Question 8Population Geography

A state has 60 million people, of whom 18 million are below 15 years and 6 million are above 64 years. What is its dependency ratio?

  1. About 40 per 100
  2. About 33 per 100
  3. About 150 per 100
  4. About 67 per 100 Correct answer.

Explanation

The dependent population is 18 plus 6, that is 24 million, while the working-age population is 60 minus 24, that is 36 million. Dividing 24 by 36 and multiplying by 100 gives about 67 dependents per 100 workers. Adding only the young or only the old would understate the ratio.

Question 9Population Geography

Which combination of factors most directly explains the rapid fall in death rates during the second stage of the demographic transition?

  1. A sharp fall in the marriage rate
  2. Improved food supply, sanitation and public health measures Correct answer.
  3. Large-scale emigration to frontier regions
  4. Rising female literacy and wider use of contraception

Explanation

Death rates fall in the second stage mainly because better nutrition, clean water, sanitation and basic medical care reduce mortality, especially among infants. Fertility decline belongs to the third stage. Emigration or marriage change affects numbers but not the mortality improvement itself.

Question 10Population Geography

In a population pyramid, a pronounced bulge in the 20 to 34 age bars that moves upward over successive censuses most likely reflects which phenomenon?

  1. An increase in the elderly dependency burden
  2. A large cohort passing through the age structure over time Correct answer.
  3. A decline in life expectancy at birth
  4. A sudden rise in infant mortality

Explanation

A bulge that shifts upward across censuses is the signature of a large birth cohort ageing through the pyramid. Its movement is a cohort effect, not a change in mortality or fertility at the time of each census. The elderly burden rises only when that cohort reaches older ages.

Question 11Population Geography

Which of the following is the best example of a push factor in migration studies?

  1. Attractive wages in the destination city
  2. High rural unemployment in the source region Correct answer.
  3. Improved transport links between two regions
  4. Better schools available at the destination

Explanation

Push factors are negative conditions at the place of origin that encourage people to leave, such as unemployment, drought or conflict. Pull factors are attractions at the destination. Transport links act as an enabling or intervening factor rather than a push.

Question 12Population Geography

Which statement correctly distinguishes emigration from immigration?

  1. Emigration is internal movement, while immigration is always international
  2. Emigration is movement into a region, while immigration is movement out of it
  3. Emigration is permanent movement, while immigration is always temporary
  4. Emigration is movement out of a region, while immigration is movement into it Correct answer.

Explanation

Both terms describe the same movement viewed from different ends: emigration is departure from the origin area and immigration is arrival in the destination area. Duration and the internal or international character are separate attributes. Confusing the two directions is the commonest error.

Question 13Population Geography

A country has a crude birth rate of 18, a crude death rate of 7 and net migration of minus 3 per 1,000. What is its annual rate of population change per 1,000?

  1. 8 Correct answer.
  2. 28
  3. 14
  4. 11

Explanation

Population change combines natural increase with net migration: 18 minus 7 gives 11, and adding net migration of minus 3 gives 8 per 1,000. Ignoring migration would overstate growth. The result is expressed per 1,000 persons, not as a percentage.

Question 14Population Geography

Which of the following best explains why the sex ratio in some Indian states is unfavourable to females?

  1. Higher female life expectancy at every age
  2. Son preference combined with sex-selective practices and differential care Correct answer.
  3. Balanced male and female migration to cities
  4. Equal inheritance rights for sons and daughters

Explanation

A low child sex ratio in parts of India is attributed mainly to son preference, sex-selective abortion and unequal care and nutrition for girls. Female life expectancy being higher would raise, not lower, the ratio at older ages. Migration and inheritance rules do not by themselves produce a deficit of girls.

Question 15Population Geography

Which of the following is the most appropriate measure for comparing fertility between two countries with very different age structures?

  1. The crude birth rate
  2. Population density
  3. The crude death rate
  4. Age-specific fertility rates or the total fertility rate Correct answer.

Explanation

The crude birth rate is distorted by age structure because a population with many young adults will show more births regardless of fertility behaviour. Age-specific fertility rates and the total fertility rate standardise for age composition. Death rate and density measure unrelated phenomena.

Question 16Population Geography

Which of the following best describes the concept of optimum population?

  1. The population at which births equal deaths
  2. The number of people per unit of cultivated land
  3. The size of population that, with given resources and technology, yields the highest per capita output Correct answer.
  4. The largest population that a region can support at subsistence level

Explanation

Optimum population is an economic concept: it is the number giving the maximum output or welfare per head for a given resource base and technology. It shifts when technology or resources change. Carrying capacity and stationary population are different ideas.

Question 17Population Geography

A city's population grows from 2 million to 2.5 million over ten years. Which statement about this growth is correct?

  1. It represents an increase of 20 per cent over the decade
  2. It represents an increase of 25 per cent over the decade Correct answer.
  3. It represents an increase of 50 per cent over the decade
  4. It represents an increase of 5 per cent over the decade

Explanation

The absolute increase is 0.5 million on a base of 2 million, which is one quarter, or 25 per cent. Percentage change is always calculated on the earlier base figure. Dividing by the later figure would give a different and incorrect result.

Question 18Population Geography

Which of the following best explains why a country may pass through the third stage of the demographic transition?

  1. Birth rates remain high because of early marriage
  2. Migration replaces natural increase as the only source of growth
  3. Death rates rise sharply because of epidemics
  4. Fertility falls as couples increasingly choose smaller families amid urbanisation and rising education Correct answer.

Explanation

The third stage is defined by declining birth rates while death rates are already low. Urban living, higher female education, later marriage and greater acceptance of family planning raise the cost of large families and reduce desired family size. Rising deaths or persistently high births describe other stages.

Question 19Population Geography

Which of the following most accurately describes the difference between a refugee and an internally displaced person?

  1. A refugee crosses an international border, while an internally displaced person remains within the home country Correct answer.
  2. A refugee moves voluntarily for work, while an internally displaced person is forced to move
  3. A refugee stays within the home country, while an internally displaced person crosses a border
  4. A refugee is always a long-term migrant, while an internally displaced person is always short-term

Explanation

Both groups are forced to flee, but the legal distinction turns on location: refugees are outside their country of nationality and so fall under international protection, whereas internally displaced persons remain inside their own state. Voluntariness and duration do not distinguish them.

Question 20Population Geography

A country's population pyramid has a base narrower than the bars for ages 15 to 29. Which interpretation is most defensible?

  1. Fertility has recently declined, producing smaller younger cohorts Correct answer.
  2. Life expectancy has fallen sharply among the elderly
  3. Large-scale immigration has occurred among older adults
  4. Infant mortality has suddenly increased among the youngest children

Explanation

A narrowing base means fewer births in the most recent years than in the preceding period, pointing to declining fertility. The older bars reflect the larger cohorts born earlier. Mortality change among the elderly affects the top of the pyramid rather than the base.

Question 21Population Geography

Two districts have the same arithmetic density, but district A has most of its land under desert while district B has fertile plains. Which conclusion is most reasonable?

  1. Physiological density cannot be computed for either district
  2. District B has a higher physiological density because its land is fertile
  3. District A has a higher physiological density and a heavier pressure on usable land Correct answer.
  4. Both districts face identical pressure on agricultural land

Explanation

Physiological density divides population by cultivable land, so when much of a district is desert the same population presses on far less usable land. District A therefore has a higher physiological density despite equal arithmetic density. Fertile plains spread the same population over more arable land.

Question 22Population Geography

A country in the fifth stage of the demographic transition would most likely exhibit which set of characteristics?

  1. Birth rates below death rates, an ageing population and natural decrease Correct answer.
  2. Falling death rates with high birth rates
  3. High and fluctuating birth and death rates
  4. Birth rates well above death rates with a youthful population

Explanation

In the fifth stage total fertility falls below replacement, so births drop below deaths and natural increase turns negative. The age structure ages rapidly and the working-age share shrinks. High birth rates with falling deaths describe the second stage instead.

Question 23Population Geography

A government wants to reduce a high dependency ratio caused mainly by a large child population. Which policy mix would most directly achieve this over the medium term?

  1. Encouraging emigration of working-age adults
  2. Expanding family planning, girls' education and child health so that fertility falls Correct answer.
  3. Increasing birth incentives to enlarge future cohorts
  4. Raising the retirement age while ignoring fertility

Explanation

A child-driven dependency burden falls when fewer children are born relative to the working-age group, which family planning, female education and lower child mortality achieve. Raising the retirement age addresses old-age dependency, not child dependency. Emigration of workers would worsen the ratio.

Question 24Population Geography

Which reasoning best explains why the crude death rate of a developed country with an ageing population can be higher than that of a younger developing country, even though its age-specific mortality is lower?

  1. The developed country's health care is actually inferior at every age
  2. The crude death rate is unaffected by age composition
  3. The age structure effect: a larger elderly share raises deaths despite better survival at each age Correct answer.
  4. The developing country records fewer deaths because of undercounting alone

Explanation

The crude death rate is a weighted average of age-specific rates, so a population with many elderly persons records more deaths even when survival at each age is better. This is the age composition effect, and it is why standardised rates are used for comparison. Undercounting may occur but does not explain the general pattern.

Question 25Settlement Geography

In the study of settlement geography, which term describes a settlement pattern where houses are scattered over a wide area rather than clustered together?

  1. Compact settlement
  2. Circular settlement
  3. Dispersed settlement Correct answer.
  4. Linear settlement

Explanation

A dispersed settlement is one in which dwellings and farmsteads are spread out across the countryside, often separated by fields, rather than grouped in a tight cluster. It is typical of hilly, forested or pastoral regions where each household occupies its own land. Compact, linear and circular settlements all describe arrangements of buildings grouped in a recognisable shape.

Question 26Settlement Geography

A village grows along both banks of a river with houses strung in a narrow band following the water. Which settlement pattern does this illustrate?

  1. Dispersed pattern
  2. Rectangular pattern
  3. Radial pattern
  4. Linear pattern Correct answer.

Explanation

A linear pattern develops where the site forces growth along one axis, such as a river, road or canal, so the built-up area forms a long narrow strip. The riverbank site explains why the houses string out rather than spreading evenly. Rectangular and radial patterns require a planned grid or converging roads, which are not described here.

Question 27Settlement Geography

Which of the following is the most reliable criterion for distinguishing an urban settlement from a rural one in Maharashtra?

  1. The population size and density together with the main economic activity of residents Correct answer.
  2. The size of the surrounding farmland
  3. The presence of a gram panchayat
  4. The number of temples in the settlement

Explanation

Census practice treats a settlement as urban when it combines a minimum population size, high density and a majority of workers engaged in non-agricultural activity. No single feature such as a building type is decisive. Population size, density and occupational structure must be read together to classify a settlement.

Question 28Settlement Geography

A settlement located at the meeting point of a river and a major road grows into a busy trading town. Which term best describes this locational advantage?

  1. A break-of-bulk point
  2. A nodal location Correct answer.
  3. A defensive site
  4. A dry point

Explanation

A nodal location is a point where routes or transport lines converge, making it a natural focus for trade, collection and distribution. A junction of river and road gives such a focus because goods and people change direction there. Break-of-bulk and dry-point sites describe different specific situations.

Question 29Settlement Geography

Which of these functions is most characteristic of a central business district within a city?

  1. Quarrying and stone crushing
  2. High land values with retail, banking and office activities Correct answer.
  3. Large open plots used for dairy farming
  4. Scattered isolated farmsteads

Explanation

The central business district concentrates commercial activity where accessibility is highest, and competition for that access pushes land values to a peak. Retail, finance and offices can afford these rents because they depend on passing trade and face-to-face contact. Farming, quarrying and isolated dwellings are rural or peripheral uses.

Question 30Settlement Geography

According to the concentric zone idea of urban structure, which zone lies immediately outside the central business district?

  1. The zone of transition containing mixed and deteriorating housing Correct answer.
  2. The zone of large estates and golf courses
  3. The rural farmland beyond the city
  4. The outer commuter suburbs

Explanation

In the concentric zone model the ring next to the central business district is a transition zone where older housing mixes with small workshops and commerce. It is characterised by ageing buildings and changing land use. The commuter zone and farmland lie much farther out.

Question 31Settlement Geography

A city grows outward from its centre along several main highways, producing a star-like shape. Which model of urban structure does this most closely resemble?

  1. The sector model
  2. The multiple nuclei model
  3. The concentric zone model
  4. The star or radial model Correct answer.

Explanation

The star or radial model describes a city whose built-up area extends outward in wedges along main transport routes, leaving open land between the arms. Growth is guided by accessibility along those corridors. The concentric and sector models explain internal differentiation rather than this overall star outline.

Question 32Settlement Geography

Which statement best explains why rural settlements in the Konkan coastal plain of Maharashtra tend to be small and dispersed?

  1. The hilly terrain, forest cover and scattered cultivable patches favour isolated homesteads Correct answer.
  2. The region has very large irrigated plains suited to compact villages
  3. The area is densely urbanised, leaving no space for villages
  4. The soil is uniformly deep and flat, encouraging planned nucleated villages

Explanation

Dispersed settlement arises where physical conditions make it hard to cluster, such as uneven ground, forest and small separated plots of fertile land. In such terrain each family lives near its own field and water source. Flat, irrigated plains with uniform soil instead encourage nucleated villages.

Question 33Settlement Geography

Which of the following best describes a conurbation?

  1. A continuous urban area formed when neighbouring towns expand and merge Correct answer.
  2. A rural service centre serving surrounding farms
  3. A planned residential suburb on the edge of one city
  4. A single village with a weekly market

Explanation

A conurbation is a continuous built-up area created when several once-separate towns grow and coalesce, so their boundaries blur into one urban mass. Each component retains its own identity within the larger whole. A single village, a suburb or a service centre involves only one settlement.

Question 34Settlement Geography

A district census shows that 68 per cent of workers in a town are engaged in manufacturing, trade and services. What does this figure most directly indicate?

  1. The town has a predominantly agricultural workforce
  2. The town has no working population
  3. The town is a purely rural settlement
  4. The town has a largely non-agricultural, urban-type occupational structure Correct answer.

Explanation

Occupational structure is a key criterion for classifying settlements: when most workers are in non-primary activities such as manufacturing, trade and services, the settlement has an urban occupational profile. A high share in these sectors signals urban rather than agrarian functions. The figure says nothing about the total size of the workforce.

Question 35Settlement Geography

Which factor is the main reason why many large settlements in Maharashtra grew at sites where transport routes crossed?

  1. Crossing points had the coolest climate in the region
  2. Such sites offered better protection from wild animals
  3. Such sites guaranteed a supply of mineral ore
  4. Crossing points created high accessibility that attracted trade and population Correct answer.

Explanation

Where routes cross, accessibility is high, so goods, people and services concentrate there and trade flourishes. This concentration attracts population and functions, and the settlement grows. Climate, wildlife and minerals are unrelated to the advantage of a route junction.

Question 36Settlement Geography

Which of these is a recognised problem created by rapid urban growth in large Indian cities?

  1. A surplus of planned open spaces
  2. A decline in the number of migrants arriving
  3. A falling demand for housing
  4. The growth of slums and pressure on water supply and sanitation Correct answer.

Explanation

When population grows faster than housing and infrastructure, informal slum settlements appear and services such as water, drainage and waste disposal are overstretched. These are among the most widely documented consequences of rapid urbanisation. Housing demand rises rather than falls, and open space is usually lost.

Question 37Settlement Geography

A town's population doubles in twenty years while its water lines and sewerage are not extended. Which consequence is most directly implied?

  1. A reduction in the number of households
  2. A fall in the density of built-up areas
  3. Improved sanitation coverage for all residents
  4. A widening gap between service capacity and population needs Correct answer.

Explanation

Infrastructure has a fixed capacity, so when population rises without matching investment the demand for services exceeds supply. The result is a growing mismatch between what the system can deliver and what residents need. Density rises rather than falls, and household numbers increase.

Question 38Settlement Geography

Which term describes the movement of people from rural areas to towns and cities?

  1. Rural-to-urban migration Correct answer.
  2. Emigration
  3. Commuting
  4. Transhumance

Explanation

Rural-to-urban migration is the permanent or long-term movement of people from villages to cities, usually in search of work, education or better services. It is a major driver of urban growth in India. Transhumance, commuting and emigration describe different kinds of movement.

Question 39Settlement Geography

A state plans new towns to absorb overspill population from an overcrowded metropolis. Which strategy does this represent?

  1. Rural resettlement of farmers
  2. Development of satellite towns Correct answer.
  3. Increase in agricultural density
  4. Expansion of the central business district

Explanation

Satellite towns are planned settlements near a large city that take some of its excess population and economic activity, easing congestion in the core. They are located beyond the main built-up area but remain linked to the metropolis. Resettlement of farmers, agricultural density and CBD expansion do not address overspill.

Question 40Settlement Geography

Which combination of features would most strongly support classifying a settlement as a nucleated rural village rather than a dispersed one?

  1. Isolated homesteads each surrounded by its own plot
  2. Scattered huts beside separate wells across a hillside
  3. Houses grouped around a temple, well and chowk with fields beyond the built-up area Correct answer.
  4. A long strip of houses along a highway with no centre

Explanation

A nucleated village has its dwellings clustered around a focus such as a temple, well or open square, with cultivated land lying outside the built-up area. Grouping around shared facilities is the defining sign of nucleation. Isolated homesteads, highway strips and scattered hillside huts all indicate dispersed or linear forms.

Question 41Economic Geography

Which crop is the most important commercial crop of Maharashtra and is grown mainly on black cotton soil in Vidarbha and Marathwada?

  1. Cotton Correct answer.
  2. Rice
  3. Tea
  4. Jute

Explanation

Cotton is the leading cash crop of Maharashtra, thriving on the regur (black cotton) soils of Vidarbha and Marathwada, where rainfall is moderate. Rice needs heavy rainfall and is concentrated in Konkan and eastern Vidarbha, while tea and jute require humid conditions not found in the cotton belt.

Question 42Economic Geography

The sugar industry of Maharashtra is concentrated mainly in which region?

  1. The eastern Vidarbha rice belt
  2. The Konkan coastal plain
  3. The Deccan trap plateau of western Maharashtra around Kolhapur and Solapur Correct answer.
  4. The northern Konkan creek area

Explanation

Sugarcane needs a long frost-free growing season, irrigation and well-drained soil, which the plateau districts of western Maharashtra such as Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara and Solapur provide through canal and well irrigation. The Konkan coast is too humid and saline, and Vidarbha is dominated by cotton and rice rather than sugarcane.

Question 43Economic Geography

Mumbai's cotton textile industry developed in the nineteenth century primarily because of which combination of advantages?

  1. Abundant coal reserves and iron ore within the city
  2. Cheap hydroelectricity from hill dams and local wool supply
  3. Port facilities, humid climate, capital and nearby cotton-growing areas Correct answer.
  4. Proximity to tea gardens and jute fields

Explanation

Mumbai combined a natural harbour for importing machinery and exporting cloth, a humid climate that reduced thread breakage, access to capital and labour, and rail links to the cotton tracts of the Deccan. The city has no coal or iron ore reserves of its own, and tea and jute are not grown nearby.

Question 44Economic Geography

Which port handles the largest volume of India's petroleum and container cargo and lies in Maharashtra?

  1. Kandla
  2. Visakhapatnam
  3. Marmagao
  4. Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva) Correct answer.

Explanation

Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhava Sheva, across the harbour from Mumbai, is a leading container port of India and serves the Mumbai-Pune industrial hinterland. Kandla is in Gujarat, Marmagao in Goa and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, so only Nhava Sheva belongs to Maharashtra.

Question 45Economic Geography

In the context of Maharashtra's economy, what does the term 'service sector' chiefly include?

  1. Sugarcane crushing and cotton ginning
  2. Banking, insurance, information technology and tourism Correct answer.
  3. Coal mining and thermal power generation
  4. Wheat and jowar cultivation

Explanation

The service (tertiary) sector covers activities that provide services rather than goods, such as banking, insurance, IT, trade, transport and tourism. Manufacturing belongs to the secondary sector, while mining and farming belong to the primary sector.

Question 46Economic Geography

Which of the following is a major industrial region of Maharashtra centred on petrochemicals and refining?

  1. The Nagpur-Wardha belt
  2. The Ratnagiri coast belt
  3. The Nanded-Latur belt
  4. The Mumbai-Pune belt Correct answer.

Explanation

The Mumbai-Pune industrial belt hosts refineries, petrochemical complexes and engineering units, supported by ports, pipelines and skilled labour. Nagpur-Wardha is chiefly a cotton and food-processing centre, Nanded-Latur is agro-based, and Ratnagiri has no comparable refinery cluster.

Question 47Economic Geography

Which of these is an example of a cottage or household industry in Maharashtra?

  1. Handloom weaving of Paithani sarees Correct answer.
  2. An automobile assembly unit
  3. A cement factory
  4. A large integrated steel plant

Explanation

Cottage industries are small, often family-run units using local raw material and simple tools, such as handloom weaving of Paithani sarees in Yeola. Steel, automobile and cement plants are capital-intensive factory industries of the modern sector.

Question 48Economic Geography

Why is the sugar industry of Maharashtra described as a 'cooperative' industry?

  1. Factories are owned and run by joint-stock companies registered abroad
  2. The state government owns every sugar mill in the region
  3. Farmers pool their cane and capital to own and manage the mills Correct answer.
  4. Mills operate only during drought years

Explanation

In Maharashtra, cane growers form cooperative societies that raise capital, build mills and share profits, which keeps cane supply and crushing closely linked. This differs from company-owned mills elsewhere and from full state ownership, and crushing is a seasonal activity, not a drought-only one.

Question 49Economic Geography

A new fruit-processing plant is to be set up in the Konkan region. Which location factor is most decisive for this choice?

  1. Availability of iron ore
  2. Presence of coal seams
  3. Proximity to raw material to reduce spoilage Correct answer.
  4. Availability of cotton lint

Explanation

Fruits such as mango and cashew are perishable, so processing units locate close to orchards to cut transport time and spoilage losses. Iron ore, coal and cotton are irrelevant to a fruit-processing plant, making proximity to the raw material the decisive factor.

Question 50Economic Geography

Which statement best explains why the Mumbai High (Bombay High) field is important to Maharashtra's economy?

  1. It supplies offshore crude oil and natural gas that feed refineries and fertiliser plants Correct answer.
  2. It is a coal field supplying thermal power stations
  3. It produces bauxite for aluminium smelting
  4. It is a major source of iron ore for export

Explanation

Mumbai High is an offshore hydrocarbon field in the Arabian Sea whose crude and gas support refineries and gas-based fertiliser and power units in the region. It is not a source of iron ore, bauxite or coal, which come from entirely different geological settings.