Geography (Part-3) (CDS-Solved Paper)

These terms are derived from Sangam Literature which mentions about geographical landscapes.

Kurinchi It is the name of mountainous region in South India. This name is taken from a famous flower ‘Kurinji.’

Palai In classical Tamil literature, palai means Arid region. This region is considered a wasteland. People inhabiting this region are known as eyiner, maravar and kalvar.

Neithal It refers to sea-shore. The seashore affords many examples of compelling charm of Sangam poetry and the extraordinary freshness of its realism. The inhabitants were known as parathavar, nulaiyar and umanar.

Mullai It refers to the land of forest (which includes pastoral region). Mullai or Jasmine is the flower of forests. The inhabitants were known as kovalar, ayar and idaiyar. Hence, statement (c) is correct.

The word ‘Syzygy’ is often used in reference to the Sun, Earth and either the
Moon or a planet, where the latter is in opposition. Solar and lunar eclipses
occur at the time of syzygy.

Demoiselles These are rock pillars which stand as resistant rocks above soft rocks as a result of differential erosion of hard and soft rocks.

Zeugen A table-shaped area of rock found in arid and semi-arid areas formed when more resistant rock is reduced at a slower rate than softer rocks around it.

Dreikanter It is a type of ventifact that typically forms in desert or periglacial environments due to the abrasive action of blowing sand. A wind gap is a gap through which a waterway once flowed that is now dry as result of stream capture.

Guindy National Park is a protected area in Chennai (Tamil Nadu). It is the smallest National Park of India.

Namdapha National Park is the third largest National Park in India in terms of area. It is located in the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot in Arunachal Pradesh.

Jaldapara National Park is situated at the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas in Northern-West Bengal and on the bank of river Torsa.

Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary is located in the little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. The endangered wild ass sub-species Indian Wild Ass (Khur) (Equushemionus Khur) belonging to Asiatic Wild Ass species On ager (Equushemionus) can be spotted. Hence, options (d) is correct.

Shola forests are tropical montane forests found in Southern Western Ghats (Nilgiri hill region) separated by rolling grasslands in high altitudes. These forests consists of dwarf trees growing 25-30 feet. The vegetation that grows in these forests are evergreen. The origin of shola forests has been subject to scientific debate. Usually, Shola forests and grasslands are found in a ratio of 1: 5. Hence, option (d) is not correct.

The Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) is located in capital city of Kerala i.e. Thiruvananthapuram.

In 1991 by recognising its potential, it was made a ‘Grant-in-aid’ institute of the Government of Kerala and renamed as Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Development of Education, Science and Technology.

It was the first institute in the country to be named after Rajiv Gandhi. Hence, statement (a) is incorrect.

Headquarters of Central Inland Water Transport Corporation is located at Kolkata. It was established in the year  1967 as a Public Sector Undertaking under the Comparies Act, 1956. Headquarters of Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is located at Noida, U.P.

It was constituted under IWAI Act, 1985. National Island Navigation Institute is located at Patna (Bihar). It was been setup by IWAI to develop human resoruce for Island water transport sector.

First National Inland waterway (NW-1) was between Haldia and Allahabad (1620 kms long) on Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system.

Pir Panjal range of Jammu and Kashmir Himalayas is a part of Lesser or Middle Himalayas or Himachal. The Himalayas can be divided into four Kashmir and Ladakh region, namely, Trans-Greater Himalayas or Himadri, Lesser Himalayas (Pir Panjal Ranges) and the Shiwaliks (Jammu hills).

The sceric Kashmir valley lies between the great Himalaya in the North and Pir Panjal range in the South. Hence, option (d) is correct.

Due to presence of iron oxides, laterite soils are generally red in colour. Laterite soils have low content of nitrogen, potash, phosphorous lime and magnesia.

They are well developed on highlands of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya etc, (and not plains of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh).

Plantation crop like cashew nuts and tapioca grow well in this soil. Hence, statements 1 and 4 are correct.