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GEOGRAPHY AND ECONOMICS

Important Tips on Geography

1. As the path of the earth is elliptical the distance between the sun and the earth will be minimum (is 147 million km) on January 3rd (perihelion) and will be maximum 152 million km on July 4 (Aphelion)

2. Earths axis is tilted 23 from a line perpendicular to the plane of ecliptic. So, earth attains equinoxes and solstice.

3. a. Summer solstice (Longest day in Northern Hemisphere) June 21 Sunrays Vertically falls on Tropic of cancer. b. Winter solstice (Longest day in southern Hemisphere) Sunrays vertically falls on Tropic of Capricorn (December 22) c. Vernal Equinox (Equal day and night length) sun rays vertically falls on equator (March 21) d. Autumnal Equinox (Equal day & night length) Sunrays vertically falls on Equator (September)

4. During solar eclipse the moon is bound to come in between the sun and the earth and during lunar eclipse the earth is bound to come between moon and the sun.

5. Latitudes (parallels) Horizontal Imaginarily lines on Earth.

6. Longitudes (meridians) Vertical Imaginarily lines on Earth

7. Equator 0 Latitudes passes through the center of Earth

8. Tropic of cancer 23 N Latitude

9. Tropic of Capricorn 23 S Latitude

10.Arctic Circle 66 N Latitude

11.Antarctic Circle 66 Latitude

12.Prime Meridian 0 Longitude passes through Greenwich

13.Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is based on the Prime Meridian

14.Indian standard time (IST) is based on the 82.5 E longitude which passes through Allahabad

15.International Date line is the 180 longitude (just opposite to prime meridian)

16.Each 1 Longitude is equal to 111 km

17.Earth completes one rotation of 360 in 24 hours. So, a person crossing Eastwards from prime meridian gains 4 minutes for every 1 longitude.

18.IST, which is located on 82.5 E longitude, is 5 hours (330 minutes) ahead of GMT.

INDIAN GEOGRAPHY

Location

The Indian mainland extends in the tropical and subtropical zones from latitude 84' north to 376 north and from longitude 687' east to 9725' east. The southernmost point in Indian Territory, the

Indira Point (formerly called Pygmallion Point) is situated at 630' north in the Nicobar Islands.

Area and Boundaries

India stretches 3,214 km from north to south and 2,933 km from east to west. The total length of the mainland coastline is nearly 6,100 km. Including that of the islands, is about 7,500 km. India is seventh largest country in the world. Indias neighbours in the north are China, Napal and Bhutan. To the north-west, India shares a boundary mainly with Pakistan and to the east with Myanmar, while Bangladesh forms and enclave within India.

The Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait separate India from Sri Lanka.

Physiography

India can be divided into three units the mountains in the north, the plains of northern India and the coast, and the plateau region of the south.

Himalayas

The total length of this chain is about 5,000 km. The Himalayas comprise a number of almost parallel ranges. The westernmost and the eastern most limits of this range are formed by the Indus Valley and the Brahmaputra Valley, respectively. The Great or Inner or Central Himalayas (Himgri) is the name given to the northernmost range which is also the highest. The other important peaks of this range are: Kanchenjunga (8,598), Makalu (8,481m) and Dhaulagiri (8,172m).

South of the Central Himalayas lies the Lesser Himalayas or Himachal or Middle Himalayas. The sub-Himalayas or the Siwaliks are the third and the lowest range of the system. They are also known as the Outer Himalayas. The newest range of the Himalayas, it separates the plains from the alluvium filled basins called duns and duars. North of the Great Himalayas lie the Trans Himalayas or Tibet Himalayas. The hilly region to the east of the Brahamaputra Valley is often called Purvachal.

The Plains of India

The vast plains of north are alluvial in nature and the westernmost portion is occupied by the Thar Desert. The northern

plain is known as the Ganga Brahmaputra Plain. The eastern coastal plain also known as the Coromandel Coastal Plain. Delta regions of rivers Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri. It is a broad fertile coastal lowland. The western coastal plain.

Peninsular Plateau

Area spreading south of the Indo Gengetic plain and flanked by seas on three sides. The Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats constitute its eastern and western boundaries, respectively. The rivr Narmada, divides the region into two parts: the Malwa Plateau in the north and the Deccan Plateau in the south. The northern part of the plateau is occupied by the Aravalli Ranges in west, Malwa region in the center and the Chhota Nagpur Plateau in the east. The deccan Plateau is divided into three major units the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats and the Deccan Trap. They include the Vindhyas and Satpuras in central India. The Western Ghats separate the Deccan Trap region from the Western Coastal Plain while the Eastern Ghats lie between the Eastern Coastal Plain and the Deccan Trap. The Western Ghats are connected to the Eastern Ghats by the Nilgiri Hills (Blue Mountains). South of these are the Annamalai Hills. Two branches of the Annamalai Hills are known as the Palani Hills and the Yelagiri (Cardamom) hills.

Islands of India

The territorial limits of India include 247 islands, of which 204 lie in the Bay of Bengal and 43 lie in the Gulf of Mannar and the Arabian Sea. All the islands in the Arabian Sea are coral islands are surrounded by coral reefs.

Himalayan Rivers

The most important river system is the Indus network. The River Indus rising beyond the Himalayas, dominates this system. It is joined by the rivers Shyoke, Shigar and Gilgit in Jammu and Kashmir. The important tributaries including the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej join it after entering Pakistan. The second major system in the Ganga. The Ganga, the head stream, is constituted of two major rivers Bhagirathi and Alaknanda, which combine at Dev Prayag to form the Ganga. The Yamuna, which joins the Ganga at Allahabad is the major tributary. Other tributaries of the Ganga include Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi from the north and Damodar and Son from the south. The important tributaries of the Yamuna include the Chambal, Betwa and Ken (all from the south). The Brahmaputra is the third major system in the north. The Brahmaputra, the head

stream, rises in Tibet, where it is called Tsangpo, and enters the Indian territory under the name Dihang. The Subansiri, Kameng, Dhansiri, Manas and Teesta are the major rivers joining it from the north and Burhi Dihing, Disang, and Kopoli join it from the south. The Lohit is also and important tributary of the Brahmaputra.

Rivers of Peninsular India Flowing into the Bay of Bengal

These comprise five groups. The Mahanadi system of the main river of the same name and its tributaries, the important ones being the Seonath, Hasdeo, Mand, Jonk and Tel. The second is the Brahmani and Subernarekha system. The third system the Godavari is the largest in the peninsular region. The Manjira, Penganga, Wardha, Pranhita, Indravati and Sabari are the main tributaries of this river. The Krishna is the second largest east-flowing system of the peninsular region. The Kaveri system is the southernmost. Its principal tributaries are the Hemavati, Lokpawni, Shimsa, Akrawati, Lakshmantirtha and Bhawani.

West-flowing Rivers of the Peninsular Region

There are three major rivers flowing into the Arabian Sea from the peninsular region. These are Narmada, Tapti, Sabarmati system.

In addition to these, there are some small rivers flowing westwards from the Western Ghats. The important ones among these are the Mandovi, Zuari and Rachol in Goa, Kalinadi, Sharavati, Tadri and Netravati in Karnataka and Baypore, Ponnar, Periyar and Pamba in Kerala.

Climate

Even though India is termed a monsoon country, the climate is far from uniform, with variations being spatial as well temporal.

The Seasons

In India, the cycle of monsoon divides the year into four seasons. Beginning mid March, hot and dry weather. The weather is followed by hot, wet weather from June to September. In May, southwest monsoon. From mid-September to mid-December is the cool, dry season. Latter part of December and in January by the arrival of the westerly depressions which cause some rain in the northern parts of India. This is known as the cool, wet season.

INDUSTRIES 1. Steel & Iron Industries (Place/State/Aided Country)

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a. Jamshedpur Bihar (Private Sector) b. Bokaro Jharkhand (Russia) c. Bhilai Madhya Pradesh (Russia) d. Rourkela Orissa (Germany) e. Durgapur West Bengal (U.K.) 2. Petroleum Industries

a. Ankaleshwar, Kaoli Gujarat b. Manali, Kaveri Delta T.N. c. Madhura (Uttar Pradesh), Digboi (Assam)

3. Cotton Industries

a. Ahmedabad Gujarat b. Surat Maharastra c. Bombay Maharastra d. Dhariwal (Woolen carpet) e. Kanpur

4. Fertilizer Industry

a. Sindri (Bihar), Nangal Punjab

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5. Railway Industries

a. Rail Engine b. Rail coach Factory

- Chittaranjan - Perambalur

6. Paper Industry

a. Nepanagar b. Titanagar

7. Atomic Energy

a. Trombay Maharastra b. Ranapratap sagar Rajasthan (Rawabhatta) c. Narora Uttar Pradesh d. Kalpakkam Chennai e. Kagrapara Gujarat f. Kaiga Karnataka g. Kudamgulam Tamilnadu

8. Space Research Centres a. Tumbha Rocket launching station

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b. Bangalore Indian Space Research Organization c. Ahmedabad Space Application center d. Sriharikota (A.P.) Rocket launching station e. Mahendragiri (T.N) Liquid propulsion centre 9. Defence Related Industries

a. Combat Vehicles Avadi b. Aeronautic development Bangalore c. Nuclear Medicine & allied science Delhi

10 Electrical and Electronics Industries

a. BHEL

- Ranipur (Hariduwar) (Uttaranchal) - Ramachandrapuram (Hyderabad) - Thiruverumbur (Trichy) - Bharat Heavy Plate & Vessel (Visakapatnam)

b. HMT

- Jalahali Bangalore - Pinjur Punjab - Kalamasethi Kerala - Gukatpatti Andrapradesh

13. Medical Related Industries

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a. Pasteur Institute Mumbai, Kunnoor b. Hindustan antibiotics Pimpri (Poona), Rishikesh (U.P) c. Hoffkins Institute Mumbai

Training Institutes

1. National Defence Academy (Poona) 2. Indian Military Academy 3. Defence Services Staff College 4. Officers Training School 5. Air Force Academy 6. Air Force Administrative College 7. Indian Naval Academy 8. Indian Police Academy

Khadak

Vas

la

- Dehradun - Willington (TN) - Chennai - Hyderabad - Coimbatore - Coachin - Hyderabad

9. Lal Bahadur Sastri Institute of Administration Mussouri

Cities on River Banks

Cities Allahabad

River Triveni Sangamam

Cities Hyderabad Musi

River

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Lucknow Ludhiana Srinagar Surat Delhi Kanpur Jamshedpur Vijayawada

Gomti Sutlej Jhelum Tapti Jamuna Ganga Subamarekha Krishna

Culcutta Madura Lahore Baghdad Paris Washington Ayodhya Haridwar, Varanasi, Patna

Hoogly Yamuna Ravi Tigris Seon Potomac Sarayu Ganga

Nasik Karachi New York

Godavari Indus Hundson

Yangoon Cairo

Irawati Nile

Sanctuaries & National Parks

Bandipur Corbett

Karanataka Uttranchal

Chandraprabha Uttar Pradesh Shivpuri sanctuary Madhya Pradesh Rajasthan

Dachigam

Jammu Kashmir

& Ghana Bird Sanctuary Hazaripagh

Gir Part

National Gujarat

Jharkhan

Jaldapara

Bangal

Kanga National Madhya

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Park Kasiranga National Park Madumalai Tamilnadu Assam Maras Sanctuary Parambikulum Sanctuary Mukambika Karnataka Periyar Sanctuary Rajaji Sanctuary Uttar Pradesh Ratambhore Tiger Resort Sariska Sanctuary Sunderbans West Bengal Rajasthan Simillipal Sanctuary

Pradesh Assam

Kerala

Kerala

Rajasthan

Orissa

Nandankannan Orissa Zoo

Venad Sanctuary

Kerala

Alipore Zoo

Calcutta

Hill Stations

1. Uttranchal 2. West Bengal

- Almora, nainital, Mussorie - Darjeeling, Kalimpong - Dalhouise, Kulumanali, Simla

3. Himachal Pradesh 4. Kashmir 5. Rajasthan

- Srinagar, Gulmarg - Mount Abu

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6. Jharkand

- Ranchi - Panchmarhi

7. Madhya Pradesh

Famous Sites

Ajanta (Maharastra)

Aurangabad Lingaraj Temple Orissa

Birla Planetarium Calcutta Dal Lake Srinagar Silka Lake Orissa Sambhar Rajasthan Dilwara Temple Rajasthan Ellora Cave Maharashtra Golgumbag Maharastra Hawa Mahal Jaipur Kajuraho Madhya Pradesh Konark Sun Temple Orissa Sarnath Uttar Pradesh Jaganath Temple Orissa

Gometeswar Statue Karnataka Amarnatha cave Kashmir Bulandarwasa Fatepur Sikri Charminar Hyderabad Gateway of India Bombay India Gate Delhi Jog Falls Karnataka Lal Bagh Bangalore Shalimar Bagh Kashmir Sanchi Stupa Madhya Pradesh Howrah Bridge West Bengal

Geographical Superlatives

Largest State (area) Rajasthan

Largest State (Population) U.P

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Densest State (Population) West Largest forest Assam Bengal Largest Coastal area Gujarat Largest (Kashmir) Largest Delta Sunderban Largest Dam Hakra Nangal (Sutlej) Highest (Maharadi_ Highest Tower Qutb Minar Largest Mosque Jumma Musjid Largest Dome Golgumbaz Largest Corridor Dam Hirakud Largest Zoo Alipore Zoo Lake Ular Largest Desert Thar

lake Largest rainfall Mausinram

Rameshwaram Temple Largest Gopuram Srirangam Fastest Train Satapti Largest Road Grand Trunk Highest falls Jog falls (Gersoppa falls) Largest Museum Calcutta Largest traveling train

(Indian Museum)

Himsagar express

Agriculture

Tea Paddy, Tobacco Potato, Sugarcane, Wheat

- Assam - Andhra Pradesh - Uttar Pradesh

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Raw silk, Sandalwood, Coffee Cotton Groundnut Spices, Rubber Jute Pulses Apple, Saffron

- Karnataka - Gujarat

- Gujarat - Kerala - West Bengal - Madhya Pradesh - Kashmir

Agriculture Crops

Rabi Crop (Winter)

- Sown October, November - Reap March, April Ex: Wheat, Barley, Gram, Mustard, linseed

Kharif crop (Summer)

- Sown in June, July - Reap in November, December Ex: Maize,

rice, cotton, millets

Geographical Surnames

Blue Mountain Nilgris

Assams Sorrow - Brahmaputra

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Japan of South India Sivakasi Scotland Dindugul Spa of South India Courtallam Oxford of South India of Tamilnadu

Bihars Sorrow Kosi Garden city Bangalore

Spice garden of India Kerala Land of 5 rivers Punjab

Palayamkottai City of Palaces Calcutta Pink City Jaipur Granary of T.N. Tanjore Sugar bowl of India Damodar Sister of India

Manchester of South India Seven Coimbatore

Northeastern states

Manchester of North India Kalinga Orissa Kanpur Manchester of India Mumbai Kamarupam Assam

Commercial Capital of India Venice of East Allappey Mumbai Gateway of India Mumbai Gateway Tuticorin Bengals Sorrow Damodar of Tamil Nadu

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ECONOMICS

1. Bank rate refers to the rate at which banks rediscount bills with RBI 2. Ensure social justice is not an objective of the monetary policy of RBI 3. Open market operation of RBI refers to trading in securities. 4. The new definition of fiscal deficit was suggested by Chakravarthy Committee 5. RBI does not transact the business of Nagaland government 6. Total number of banks nationalized so far is 20. 7. The first bank managed by Indians was Oudh Bank 8. At present each bank branch serves on an average a population of 15000 9. National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) deals with electronic shares. 10.USA is accounts for the largest imports from India. 11.India borrowed from IMF is 1991 under CCFF 12.The Uruguay Round of GATT was its 8th round 13.Indias external debt is today (Economic Survey 1997-98) 92.9 billion 14.Indias debt is 24% percentage of GDP 15.The 9th Plan envisages a total investment of Rs.18000 crores.

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16.The legitimacy of East India Companys act of using permits rested on a royal command issued to the Company by Farrukhsiyar. 17.The book Poverty and Un-British rule in India was written by Dadabhai Naoroji on Indian poverty and economy under British rule. 18.16 per cent is the percentage of Indias population to the world population. 19.1921 is known as Year of the Great Divide with regard to population growth in India. 20.The birth rate measures the number of births during a year per 1000 of population. 21.The only state in India having a sex ratio of above 1,000 is Kerala. 22.The maximum number of people in India work in the primary sector. 23.Structural unemployment arises due to heavy industry bias. 24.Disguised unemployment refers to more persons employed for a job which a few can accomplish. 25.The nature of usual status unemployment is chronic 26.The Planning Commission of India was established in 1950 27.The planning Commission of India is an advisory body

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28.The ex-officio chairman of the Planning Commission of India is the Prime Minister. 29.According to World Development Report the low income group of countries had together only 5 per cent of world GNP. 30.India has 2.4% or worlds geographical area and 16% of world population. 31.At the present rate of growth India is expected to overtake China by 2050. 32.The country which had the first official family planning programme was India. 33.The Cairo conference in population Development (1994) emphasized Target-free approach towards family welfare. 34.Usual status (US) unemployment of calculated with reference to a period of one year. 35.Chronic unemployment is measured using US date. 36.The backlog of unemployment estimated at the beginning of 8th plan (April 1992) was 23 million. 37.Estimated new labour force that will be added during 8th plan period was 58 million. 38.The backlog of estimated unemployment at the beginning of 9th plan (April 1997) is 7.5 million 39.The net addition to labor force envisaged in the 9th Plan will be 53 million

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40.The percentage of population below the age of 15 in India as per 91 census is 35 41.Employment in manufacturing sector in India grew between 1972 and 1992 by 44% 42.Specific schemes for employment generation was evolved for the first time in 6th Plan 43.The national income of a nation is the sum total of factor incomes. 44.The difference between the GNP and NNP is equal to the capital depreciation 45.The national income in India is estimated by the Central Statiscal Organization 46.The philosophy behind economic planning recognizes that markets and price system alone cannot ensure human welfare 47.National Planning Committee (1938) was chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru 48.The Planning Commission was set up in accordance with the directive principles in Article 39. 49.Structural Planning refers to changing existing institutions or creating new ones 50.First Plan adopted Harrod Domar model 51.The phenomenon known as green revolution began to manifest during Annual Plans (1966-69)

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52.A substantial hike in family planning outlay was provided in 4th Plan 53.Selective disinvestments of public sector as an objective was included for the first time in 8th Plan. 54.The purpose of the tenancy reform legislation was to afford security of tenure to tenants, enact fixation of air rent, conferment of ownership right of tenants in some cases. 55.Central Cooperative Bank is operates at the district level. 56.The percentage of people below poverty line as per the most recent estimate (1994) using Lakdawala methodology is 37.3%. 57.National income is arrived at by adding to Net Domestic Product, net inflow from abroad. 58.The product method of calculating National Income is otherwise known as Value-added method. 59.Relative poverty refers to a situation where a person falls behind others 60.Use of energy requirements (calorie) as a measure of poverty in India was made for the first time by Dandekar and Rath 61.The concept of P index as a measure of income shortfall was proposed by Amartya Sen 62.The Squared Poverty Gap (SPG) has been used to estimate the severity of poverty in 9th Plan

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63.Human Poverty Index (HPI) measures the deprivation as a composite index of knowledge, basic need and standard of living. 64.The state which has the lowest percentage of persons below the poverty line is Punjab. 65.After the launch of the New Economic Policy, rural poverty increased initially but declined in 1993-94. 66.The present base year for calculating whole sale price index is 1993-94 67.Demand pull factors for inflation can be developmental expenditure 68.Agriculture in India today provides livelihood to 64% percentage of labor force directly 69.Agriculture contributes 28% percentage of GDP in India today 70.Indias per capita net availability of food grains per day is 539 gm 71.The net production of total food grains in 1998 was 195 million tones 72.The impact of Green Revolution was felt most in the case of wheat 73.permanent settlement was a feature of Zamindari system 74.In order to give constitutional protection state land reforms laws have been put in the Constitutions 9th schedule.

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75.Under co-operative joint farming farmers poor their land but ownership continues with the individual farmers. 76.As an economy develops the share of agriculture in the national product declines. 77.Command Area Development programme was launched to ensure better utilization of irrigation potential. 78.In 1951-52 institutional credit accounted for 7% 79.Commercial banks finance rural credit directly and through Rural Banks 80.Import of Terminator seeds is banned by the Government because these seeds contain genetically engineered properties to prevent further multiplication 81.There are at present 6836 regulated markets in the country. 82.NAFED is an organization of marketing agency for inter-state marketing of agricultural produces 83.The agency charged with the responsibility of buffer stocking is Food Corporation of India. 84.Land Development Banks form a part of the Cooperative credit structure. 85.The latest information about agricultural markets is collected and published by the National Council of Applied Economic Research.

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86.Crop insurance is the monopoly of General Insurance Corporation 87.The Greening of the East refers to spread of Green Revolution to non-traditional areas of eastern India. 88.The maximum level of stocking indicated in buffer stock policy is 22 million tones. 89.The total subsidy under targeted PDS will be Rs.2400 crore 90.The concept of joint sector was recognized by industrial Policy Statement 1973 91.The Hazari Committee submitted its report in 1967. It pointed out the misuses of industrial licenses 92.The industrial Licensing Policy Inquiry Committee which submitted its report in 1969 is popularly known as Dutt Committee 93.The concept of joint sector implised cooperation between public sector and private sector industries 94.The number of central Government undertakings (excluding banks, financial institutions and departmental undertakings) as on March 31, 1996 was 243 95.Fiscal Policy is connected with public revenue and expenditure 96.Excise is the largest single source of the Governments earning from tax revenue

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97.Customs duty is not shared by the Central Government with the states 98.Land revenue is not a Central Government tax 99.Market forces deciding investment and consumption is not a feature of mixed economy 100. The cause for a steep decline in population in India in

1921 census was influenza