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Uttarakhand D.El.Ed study materials
Uttarakhand D.El.Ed study resources

Uttarakhand D.El.Ed: General Knowledge and Current Affairs: Uttarakhand First, Then India

Uttarakhand D.El.Ed · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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General Knowledge and Current Affairs: Uttarakhand First, Then India

General Knowledge and Current Affairs in the Uttarakhand D.El.Ed entrance test rewards dated, place-specific facts rather than vague familiarity. A large share of questions is Uttarakhand-specific - statehood, relief, rivers, protected areas, festivals and state schemes - while the rest tests Indian polity, the freedom movement, national geography, awards and recent events.

Uttarakhand: high-yield facts

  • Created on 9 November 2000 as the 27th state, carved out of Uttar Pradesh; it was named Uttaranchal and renamed Uttarakhand in 2007.
  • Interim capital: Dehradun. Legislative/summer capital: Gairsain (Bhararisain), Chamoli district.
  • 13 districts in two divisions, Garhwal and Kumaon.
  • Nanda Devi (7,816 m) is the highest peak wholly inside India; Kamet is the state's second.
  • The Kali (Sharda) forms the Nepal border; the Bhagirathi rises at Gaumukh near Gangotri, the Alaknanda at Satopanth.
  • Panch Prayag, downstream order: Vishnuprayag, Nandprayag, Karnaprayag, Rudraprayag, Devprayag. At Devprayag the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda merge to become the Ganga.
  • Corbett (1936) is India's oldest national park; Valley of Flowers (Chamoli, Pushpawati valley) has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005, and Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve is UNESCO-listed too. The five national parks are Corbett, Rajaji, Gangotri, Govind and Valley of Flowers.

Worked example

The Valley of Flowers National Park lies in which district and valley? Eliminate Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar - plains and terai, while this is a high alpine meadow. Nainital's high ground is Kumaon, but the park is Garhwal. That leaves Chamoli, drained by the Pushpawati, a tributary of the Lakshman Ganga. Answer: Chamoli district, Pushpawati valley.

Traps that cost marks

  • Counting Uttarakhand as the 26th state, or giving the renaming year as 2000 instead of 2007.
  • Writing Dehradun when the question asks for the legislative capital - that is Gairsain.
  • Confusing Devprayag with Rudraprayag: only Devprayag produces the Ganga.
  • Calling Corbett the largest national park rather than the oldest.