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UPSC Civil Services Examination Indian and World Geography Flashcards
50 question-and-answer cards covering Indian and World Geography as it is examined in UPSC Civil Services Examination. 24 of them are printed below, taken from across the deck — no signup, no paywall on the preview.
24 sample cards from the Indian and World Geography deck
Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.
Name the major natural vegetation types of India by rainfall.
Tropical Evergreen (>200 cm rain), Tropical Deciduous/Monsoon (100-200 cm), Thorn forests & scrub (<70 cm), Montane forests (mountains), and Mangrove/Tidal forests (coasts/deltas).
What is black soil (regur) and which crop is it ideal for?
A clayey, moisture-retentive volcanic soil rich in lime, iron, magnesia, and alumina (formed from Deccan lava). It is ideal for cotton cultivation, hence 'black cotton soil'.
What is alluvial soil and why is it the most important Indian soil?
Soil deposited by rivers, rich in potash and lime but poor in nitrogen/humus; it covers the northern plains and coastal deltas, is highly fertile, and supports most of India's agriculture.
What is the demographic dividend?
The economic growth potential arising when a country's working-age population (15-64) is larger than its dependent (young + old) population, increasing the available labour force.
Distinguish between push and pull factors in migration.
Push factors drive people away from an origin (poverty, unemployment, disasters); pull factors attract people to a destination (jobs, better services, security).
What are the main types of rural settlement patterns?
Compact/nucleated, semi-compact, hamleted (fragmented), and dispersed/scattered settlements - determined by terrain, water availability, and security.
What is the difference between intensive and extensive agriculture?
Intensive agriculture uses high inputs of labour/capital on small land for high yield per hectare; extensive agriculture spreads lower inputs over large areas with high total but low per-hectare output.
What is the cropping calendar of Kharif, Rabi, and Zaid crops in India?
Kharif (sown June-July, harvested Sept-Oct): rice, maize, cotton, jute. Rabi (sown Oct-Dec, harvested Apr-May): wheat, gram, mustard. Zaid (summer, Mar-June): watermelon, cucumber, fodder.
What was the Green Revolution and which crops/states benefited most?
The 1960s-70s adoption of HYV seeds, irrigation, fertilizers, and mechanization that boosted food grain output, especially wheat in Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh.
What factors determine the location of an iron and steel industry?
Proximity to raw materials (iron ore, coking coal, limestone), water supply, cheap power, transport links, and markets - traditionally near coalfields/ore belts (e.g., Jharkhand-Odisha-Chhattisgarh).
What is the difference between basic infrastructure and the Golden Quadrilateral?
Infrastructure refers to basic physical/organizational facilities (roads, power, ports). The Golden Quadrilateral is the national highway network connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata in a quadrilateral.
In which geological formations are most of India's coal and petroleum found?
Coal is found mainly in Gondwana rock formations (Damodar, Son, Mahanadi valleys); petroleum occurs in Tertiary sedimentary rocks (Mumbai High, Assam, Gujarat basins).
What is the difference between metallic and non-metallic minerals, with Indian examples?
Metallic minerals contain metals (iron ore, bauxite, manganese, copper); non-metallic minerals do not (mica, limestone, dolomite, gypsum). India is a leading producer of mica.
What are the main sources of conventional vs non-conventional energy in India?
Conventional: coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower, nuclear. Non-conventional (renewable): solar, wind, biogas, tidal, and geothermal energy.
Where are the world's major reserves of crude oil concentrated?
The Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, UAE), plus Venezuela, Russia, USA, and Canada. The Persian Gulf region holds the largest conventional reserves.
Name the world's leading producers of gold, diamonds, and copper.
Gold: China, Australia, Russia. Diamonds: Russia, Botswana, DR Congo. Copper: Chile (largest), Peru, China.
What are the world's major fishing grounds and why are they productive?
The Grand Banks (NW Atlantic), North Sea, and NW Pacific. They are productive due to shallow continental shelves and the mixing of warm and cold currents, which enriches plankton.
What is an earthquake's focus and epicentre, and what scale measures its magnitude?
The focus (hypocentre) is the point of energy release inside the Earth; the epicentre is the point on the surface directly above it. Magnitude is measured on the Richter scale (energy) and intensity on the Mercalli scale.
What is a tsunami and what most commonly triggers it?
A series of large ocean waves caused by sudden displacement of water, most commonly triggered by undersea earthquakes (subduction-zone faulting), and also by volcanic eruptions or landslides.
What is the difference between a shield volcano and a composite volcano?
Shield volcanoes are broad, gently sloping cones from runny basaltic lava (e.g., Mauna Loa); composite (strato) volcanoes are steep, layered cones of lava and ash from viscous andesitic eruptions (e.g., Fuji).
Through which Indian states does the Tropic of Cancer pass?
Eight states: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura, and Mizoram.
What are latitudes and longitudes, and what is the significance of the Prime Meridian and the IDL?
Latitudes are parallel lines measuring distance N/S of the equator; longitudes are meridians measuring distance E/W of the Prime Meridian (0°, Greenwich). The International Date Line (~180°) marks the calendar day change.
Which countries does the Equator pass through in Africa, and what is its climatic significance?
In Africa it passes through countries like Gabon, Congo, DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya, and Somalia. The equatorial belt has hot, humid climate with convectional rainfall and dense rainforests.
What is the standard meridian of India and why is it used?
82°30'E longitude, passing through Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh). It is used as Indian Standard Time (IST), which is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of GMT, to provide a single time across the country.
What this deck covers
The Indian and World Geography deck follows the UPSC Civil Services Examination Indian and World Geography syllabus — 4 chapters and 15 topics — so questions land on material that is genuinely examinable rather than trivia around it. That works out to roughly 12.5 cards per chapter.
Answers are written to be recallable, not just readable — averaging about 178 characters, which is long enough to carry the reasoning and short enough to say out loud.
A deck like this earns its keep on the second and third pass. Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then use the cards to find the specific facts that have not stuck.
Indian and World Geography flashcards FAQ
How many Indian and World Geography flashcards are in this UPSC Civil Services Examination deck?
50 cards. This page previews 24 of them, sampled evenly across the deck so you can judge the difficulty before installing anything.
Are these UPSC Civil Services Examination flashcards free?
Yes. The preview here is free to read with no signup, and the full 50-card deck is free inside the Examius app.
What do the Indian and World Geography cards cover?
They follow the UPSC Civil Services Examination Indian and World Geography syllabus — 4 chapters and 15 topics — so the questions track what is actually examinable.
How should I use these flashcards?
Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then drill the deck. Examius schedules each card with spaced repetition, so cards you keep missing come back sooner and ones you know drift further apart.