Daily Quiz #76 UPSC Prelims Marathon – January 31, 2020

Explanation: Buckingham canal:
•Buckingham canal (258 km) is along coastal Andhra Pradesh.
•It is a part of National Waterway (NW)-4.
•National waterway – 4 connects the state of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
•It runs along Krishna, Godavari Rivers and Commanur, Buckingham Canals along the Coromandal Coast.
Indira Gandhi Canal:
•The Indira Gandhi Canal is the longest canal in India and the largest irrigation project in the world.
•Indira Gandhi Canal is 649 km long and consists of Rajasthan feeder canal and Rajasthan main canal and runs through 167 km in Punjab and Haryana and remaining 492 km in Rajasthan.
•The canal is one of the project of Green revolution in India and also runs through The Great Thar Desert.

Explanation: Top 5 States in terms of total coal reserves in India are: Jharkhand > Odisha > Chhattisgarh > West Bengal > Madhya Pradesh. On the basis of carbon content it can be classified into following three types:
•Anthracite: It is the best quality of coal with highest calorific value and carries 80 to 95% carbon content. It ignites slowly with a blue flame and found in small quantities in Jammu and Kashmir.
•Bituminous: It has a low level of moisture content with 60 to 80% of carbon content and has a high calorific value. Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have deposits of Bituminous.
•Lignite carries 40 to 55% carbon content and is often brown in colour with high moisture content thus, gives smoke when burnt. Rajasthan, Lakhimpur (Assam) and Tamil Nadu has deposits of Lignite.
•Peat is the first stage of transformation from wood to coal with low calorific value and less than 40% carbon content.

Coal reserves are widely distributed across India
•The Damodar Valley Coalfield- It is the largest coal reserve in India. The coalfield area includes the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal. Jharia of Jharkhand is the largest coalfield of India. Most of the coking coal in India is obtained from here. Other coalfields in Jharkhand are Jayanti, Bokaro, Karanpura, Ramgarh, Giridh, Auranga, Hutar, Deltenganj and Deogarh. Major coalfields in West Bengal are Raniganj (oldest coalfield of India) and Dalingkot in Darjeeling district.
•The Son Valley Coalfield- The region of Madhya Pradesh and some areas of Uttar Pradesh are included in it. Prominent coalfields in the Son Valley are Singrauli, Sohagpur, Umaria, Pench, Ramkola and Tatapani.
•The Mahanadi Valley Coalfield- The areas of Chhattisgarh and Odisha are included in it. Major coal mining areas in Chhattisgarh are Korba, Jhilmil, Chirmiri, Vishrampur, Lakhanpur, Sonhat, Birampur and Sonhat. Talcher, Rampur-Himgir and Ib river coalfield is the prominent coalfields in Odisha.
•The Godavari Valley Coalfield- The region is in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Major coalfields in the region are Singreni, Tandoor and Sasti.
•The Wardha Valley Coalfield- Kampti, Wunfield, Chandrapur, Yavatmal, Nagpur are major coal mining areas located in Maharashtra.
•The Satpura Coalfield- The region is in the Satpura range, south of the Narmada river. Major coal mining centres are Ghorbari, Mahapani and Patharkheda.
•The Rajmahal Coalfield- Major coal-mining centre in the Rajmahal range is Lalmatia where open-cast mining is practised.

Explanation: The climate of India is described as a monsoon type. This type of climate is found in south and southeast Asia. However, there are variations in climatic conditions in the country itself. The coastal regions of India show the least amount of difference between the temperatures of night and day. In the interior regions, the difference in temperatures of day and night is huge.
The climate of India depends greatly on monsoon winds. The monsoons usually happen due to the differential heating of land and water.
•The Advancing Monsoon (Rainy Season) or South west Monsoon: By early June, the trade winds of the southern winds bring abundant moisture to the country. The windward side of the Western Ghats receives very heavy rainfall, more than 250 cm. The monsoon is known for its uncertainties. While it causes heavy floods in one part, it may be responsible for droughts in the other. It is also irregular in arrival and retreat.
•Retreating Monsoons (Transition Season) or North-east Monsoon: During October-November, the monsoons become weaker. The sun moves towards the south. By the beginning of October, monsoon withdraws from the Northern Plains. There is a transition from hot rainy season to dry winter season.

Explanation: The Geological Survey of India (G. S. I.) first published the seismic zoning map of the country in the year 1935. With numerous modifications made afterwards, this map was initially based on the amount of damage suffered by the different regions of India because of earthquakes. Following are the varied seismic zones of the nation, which are prominently shown in the map:
•Zone – II: This is said to be the least active seismic zone.
•Zone – III: It is included in the moderate seismic zone.
•Zone – IV: This is considered to be the high seismic zone.
•Zone – V: It is the highest seismic zone.

Explanation: Sikkim and Meghalaya are the only two states in India to share border with just one state. Sikkim shares border with West Bengal while Meghalaya shares border with Assam.
Uttar Pradesh is the only state which has maximum number of neighbouring state. Uttar Pradesh shares border with 9 states, which are Uttarakhand, HP, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, MP, Chattishgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand.
The second highest number of neighbouring states is 7. Both Assam and Chattishgarh shares border with 7 other states.