Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (Geography) – June 5, 2020

The Indian Standard Meridian passes through mostly 5 states which are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

NOTE: British India did not adopt the international standard time zones until 1905 when the meridian passing through Allahabad at 82.5º east (of Greenwich Meridian) longitude was picked as the central meridian for India, corresponding to a single time zone for the country at 5 hours and 30 minutes in advance of GMT. This went into force on January 1, 1906. However, Calcutta time was officially maintained as a separate time zone until 1948. Bombay time was maintained but only informally until about 1955. After independence and the partition of British India, Pakistan stayed on Indian Standard Time for three years and adopted Pakistan Standard Time at 5 hours in advance of GMT in 1951.

Chilli is one of the most important commercial crops of India. It is grown almost throughout the country. There are more than 400 different varieties of chillies found all over the world. It is also called as hot pepper, cayenne pepper, sweet pepper, bell pepper, etc. Its botanical name is “Capsicum annuum”.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Chillies are known from pre-historic times in Peru. They are believed to have originated in the tropical America. It is also said that chillies have originated in the Latin American regions of the New Mexico and Guatemala as a wild crop around 7500BC, as per the remains of the pre-historic Peru. The people native to these places domesticated this crop in and around 5000 BC. Chilli is said to be the first ever domesticated crop in America. The Portuguese brought capsicum from Brazil to India during the year 1584. Chillies became popular in the whole of Asia rapidly and native Asians started cultivating this crop as well. The south Asian climate suited this crop, and since its introduction in the 16 century has been increasingly cultivated in south Asia.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The world’s hottest chilli “Naga Jolokia” is cultivated in hilly terrain of Assam in a small town Tezpur, India.

Central Water Commission (CWC):

Statement 1 is incorrect: CWC (erstwhile Central Waterways, Irrigation and Navigation Commission) was established in 1945 by the Government on the advice of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Member (Labour) in Viceroy’s Executive Council. The credit for the establishment of CWINC is attributed to Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, under whose able guidance the then Labour Department constituted the Commission. He not only raised the concept and argued for the necessity of having such a technical body at the Centre but also laid down its objectives, organisational structure and programme. The final proposal for establishment of CWINC was prepared by the Department with the help of Rai Bahadur A.N. Khosla, the Consulting Engineer for Irrigation. Dr. Khosla was subsequently appointed as founder Chairman of the CWINC.

Statement 2 is correct: Central water Commission has divided the country into 20 rivers basins comprising 12 major and 8 composite river basins.

NOTE: Since then CWC has evolved as a premier technical organisation in the country in the field of Water Resources and now has entered into 75^th Year of service to the nation.

Sirsi Arecanut: For the first time in the arecanut sector, ‘Sirsi Supari’ grown in Uttara Kannada has received the Geographic Indication (GI) tag. It is cultivated in Yellapura, Siddapura and Sirsi taluks. Totgars’ Cooperative Sale Society Ltd., Sirsi, is the registered proprietor of the GI. The arecanut grown in these taluks have unique features like a round and flattened coin shape, particular texture, size, cross-sectional views, taste, etc. These features are not seen in arecanut grown in any other regions.

Tobacco: Most of the tobacco growing areas are concentrated in Ongole, Kaikalur, Addanki, Chirala, Giddalur areas of Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh.

NOTE: Celery crop is cultivated mainly in the states of Punjab (Jallandhar, Gudaspur and Amritsar districts), Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh (Ladhwa and Saharanpur districts) over an area of about 5000 ha. About 90% of the total produce comes from Punjab.

Red soils.

Statement 1 is correct: Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall in the eastern and southern part of the Deccan Plateau. Along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghat, long stretch of area is occupied by red loamy soil. Yellow and red soils are also found in parts of Odisha and Chattisgarh and in the southern parts of the middle Ganga plain.

Statement 2 is correct: The soil develops a reddish colour due to a wide diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks. It looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form.

Statement 3 is incorrect: The fine-grained red and yellow soils are normally fertile, whereas coarse-grained soils found in dry upland areas are poor in fertility. They are generally poor in nitrogen, phosphorous, Potassium and humus.

Nearly one-third of the area in the country with sandalwood distribution is in Tamil Nadu with the state covering an area of 3,040sqkm spread across several districts. India has a total area of 9,000sqkm of sandalwood distribution spread across eight states with Karnataka having the maximum area of 5,245sqkm. Apart from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, states like Kerala (15 sqkm), Andhra Pradesh (200 sqkm), Odisha (25 sqkm), Madhya Pradesh (33 sqkm), Maharashtra (33 sqkm) and Rajasthan (sparse) have sandalwood trees distributed across a few districts.

coal reserves in India.

Statement 1 is correct: Anthracite is the best quality of coal which carries 80 to 95 per cent carbon content. It ignites slowly with a blue flame. It has the highest calorific value. It is found in small quantity in Jammu and Kashmir.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Lignite is often brown in colour. It carries 40 to 55 per cent carbon content. It is an intermediate stage which happens during the alteration of woody matter into coal. It has high moisture content so it gives smoke when burnt. It is found in Rajasthan, Lakhimpur (Assam), and Tamil Nadu.

Statement 3 is correct: Odisha has the second largest coal reserves in the country and it carries more than 24 per cent of the total coal reserves. It produces about 15 per cent of the total coal production of India. Most of the coal deposits of the state are found in Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, and Sundargarh districts. Talchar coalfield of Odisha stretch over Dhenkanal and Sambalpur districts covers an area of about 500 sq km.

The Rajasthan Bagar region (Bagar refers to the semi-desert area which is west of Aravallis. Bagar has a thin layer of sand. It is drained by Luni in the south whereas the northern section has a number of salt lakes) have a number of short seasonal streams which originate from the Aravallis. These streams support agriculture in some fertile patches called Rohi.

Tripura is a north-eastern state of India. It has many rivers. The name of the main 11 rivers of Tripura are: Bijay, Deo, Dhalai, Feni, Gumti, Haora, Juri , Khowai, Longai, Manu, Muhuri. All rivers are originated from hill ranges of Tripura and they are totally rain fed. Truly speaking all rivers of Tripura is ephemeral. They are not comfortable for boat. They generate an annual flow of almost 793 million cubic meter of water. Fenni and Langai are shared by two Indian states, Tripura and Mizoram. Agartala , the capital of Tripura is on the bank of the river Haora. Almost all rivers of Tripura flow into Bangladesh. The Khowai, Dhalai, Manu, Juri and Longai flow towards the north. The Gumti, Howra flow towards the west. The Muhuri and Feni flow towards the south west.