GS-1 GEOGRAPHY 21013-2024 PYQ SEGREGATION

I have segregated 98 questions of GS-1 Geography asked between Mains 2013-2024 and arranged them
topic-wise. I have identified the main theme of each question and marked it in bold. Focus on repeated themes.

Geomorphology

Q1: What do you understand by the theory of continental drift? Discuss the prominent evidences in its support.
(2013)

Q2: Why are the world’s fold mountain systems located along the margins of continents? Bring out the association
between the global distribution of fold mountains and the earthquakes and volcanoes. (2014)

Q3: Explain the formation of thousands of islands in Indonesian and Philippines archipelagos. (2014)

Q4: Define mantle plume and explain its role in plate tectonics. (2018)

Q5: Mention the global occurrence of volcanic eruptions in 2021 and their impact on the regional environment.
(2021)

Q6: Briefly mention the alignment of major mountain ranges of the world and explain their impact on local weather
conditions, with examples. (2021)

Q7: Describe the characteristics and type of primary rocks. (2022)

Climatology

Cyclone:

Q1: The recent cyclone on the east coast of India was called “Phailin”. How are the tropical cyclones named across
the world? (2013)

Q2: Tropical cyclones are largely confined to South China Sea, Bay of Bengal and Gulf of Mexico. Why? (2014)

Q3: Discuss the meaning of colour-coded weather warnings for cyclone prone areas given by India Meteorological
Department. (2022)

Q4: What is sea surface temperature rise? How does it affect the formation of tropical cyclones? (2024)

Monsoon:

Q1: How far do you agree that the behaviour of the Indian monsoon has been changing due to humanizing
landscape? Discuss. (2015)

Q2: What characteristics can be assigned to monsoon climate that succeeds in feeding more than 50 percent of the
world population residing in Monsoon Asia? (2017)

Q3: Why is the South-West Monsoon called Purvaiys’ (easterly) in Bhojpur Region? How has this directional seasonal
wind systems influenced the cultural ethos of the region? (2023)

Climate Change:

Q1: Bring out the causes for the formation of heat islands in the urban habitat of the world. (2013)

Q2: Major cities of India are becoming vulnerable to flood conditions. Discuss. (2016)

Q3: The process of desertification does not have climate boundaries. Justify with examples. (2020)
Q4: Account for the huge flooding of million cities in India including the smart ones like Hyderabad and Pune.
Suggest lasting remedial measures. (2020)

Q5: Discuss the consequences of climate change on the food security in tropical countries. (2023)

Core Concepts:

Q1: What do you understand by the phenomenon of temperature inversion in meteorology? How does it affect the
weather and the habitants of the place? (2013)

Q2: Major hot deserts in northern hemisphere are located between 20-30 degree north and on the western side of
the continents. Why? (2013)

Q3: Discuss the concept of air mass and explain its role in macro-climatic changes. (2016)

Q4: How does the cryosphere affect global climate? (2017)

Q5: Troposphere is a very significant atmosphere layer that determines weather processes. How? (2022)

Q6: What is the phenomenon of ‘cloudbursts’? Explain. (2024)

Q7: What is a twister? Why are the majority of twisters observed in areas around the Gulf of Mexico? (2024)

JOIN LATEST ETHICS BATCH JOIN ETHICS TEST SERIES

JOIN LATEST ETHICS BATCH + ETHICS TEST SERIES JOIN LIVE ESSAY BATCH + ESSAY TEST SERIES

JOIN LATEST ETHICS BATCH + LIVE ESSAY BATCH JOIN PRELIMS + MAINS CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR
+ ESSAY TEST SERIES 2026

Oceanography

Ocean Currents:

Q1: Explain the factors responsible for the origin of ocean currents. How do they influence regional climates, fishing
and navigation? (2015)

Q2: How do ocean currents and water masses differ in their impacts on marine life and the coastal environment?
Give suitable examples. (2019)

Q3: What are the forces that influence ocean currents? Describe their role in the fishing industry of the world. (2022)

Others:

Q1: Most of the unusual climatic happenings are explained as an outcome of the El-Nino effect. Do you agree?
(2014)

Q2: Account for variations in oceanic salinity and discuss its multi-dimensional effects. (2016)

Q3: Discuss the geophysical characteristics of Circum-Pacific Zone. (2020)

Q4: How are the fjords formed? Why do they constitute some of the most picturesque areas of the world? (2023)

Environmental Geography

Q1: What are the consequences of spreading of ‘Dead Zones’ on marine ecosystem? (2018)
Q2: Assess the impact of global warming on coral life systems with examples. (2019)

Q3: Discuss the causes of the depletion of mangroves and explain their importance in maintaining coastal ecology.
(2019)

Q4: What are the environmental implications of the reclamation of the water bodies into urban land use? Explain
with examples. (2021)

Himalayas / Western Ghats

Landslides:

Q1: Bring out the causes for more frequent landslides in the Himalayas than in Western Ghats. (2013)

Q2: “The Himalayas are highly prone to landslides”. Discuss the causes and suggest suitable measures of mitigation.
(2016)

Q3: Differentiate the causes of landslides in the Himalayan region and the Western Ghats. (2021)

Glaciers:

Q1: Bring out the relationship between the shrinking Himalayan glaciers and the symptoms of climate change in the
Indian sub-continent. (2014)

Q2: How will the melting of Himalayan glaciers have a far-reaching impact on the water resources of India? (2020)

Tourism:

Q1: The states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are reaching the limits of ecological
carrying capacity due to tourism. Critically evaluate. (2015)

Q2: How can the mountain ecosystem be restored from the negative impact of development initiatives and tourism?
(2019)

Others:

Q1: There is no formation of deltas by rivers of the Western Ghats. Why? (2013)

Location of Industries & Resources

Agriculture/Crops/Vegetation:

Q1: Do you agree that there is a growing trend of opening new sugar mills in the Southern states of India? Discuss
with justification. (2013)

Q2: Analyze the factors for highly decentralized cotton textile industry in India. (2013)

Q3: Whereas the British planters had developed tea gardens all along the Shivaliks and Lesser Himalayas from Assam
to Himachal Pradesh, in effect they did not succeed beyond the Darjeeling area. (2014)

Q4: Why did the Green Revolution in India virtually by-pass the eastern region despite fertile soil and good
availability of water? (2014)

Q5: Mention the advantages of the cultivation of pulses because of which the year 2016 was declared as the
International Year of Pulses by United Nations. (2017)

Q6: Defining blue revolution, explain the problems and strategies for pisciculture development in India. (2018)
Q7: Discuss the factors for localization of agro-based food processing industries of North-West India. (2019)

Q8: Examine the status of forest resources of India and its resultant impact on climate change. (2020)

Q9: Describing the distribution of rubber-producing countries indicate the major environmental issues faced by
them. (2022)

Q10: Identify and discuss the factors responsible for diversity of natural vegetation in India. Assess the significance
of wildlife sanctuaries in rain forest regions of India. (2023)

Q11: From being net food importer in 1960s, India has emerged as a net food exporter to the world. Provide reasons.
(2023)

JOIN LATEST ETHICS BATCH JOIN ETHICS TEST SERIES

JOIN LATEST ETHICS BATCH + ETHICS TEST SERIES JOIN LIVE ESSAY BATCH + ESSAY TEST SERIES

JOIN LATEST ETHICS BATCH + LIVE ESSAY BATCH JOIN PRELIMS + MAINS CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR
+ ESSAY TEST SERIES 2026

Energy:

Q1: With growing scarcity of fossil fuels, the atomic energy is gaining more and more significance in India. Discuss
the availability of raw material required for the generation of atomic energy in India and in the world. (2013)

Q2: It is said the India has substantial reserves of shale oil and gas, which can feed the needs of country for quarter
century. However, tapping of the resources doesn’t appear to be high on the agenda. Discuss critically the availability
and issues involved. (2013)

Q3: What are the economic significance of discovery of oil in Arctic Sea and its possible environmental
consequences? (2015)

Q4: “In spite of adverse environmental impact, coal mining is still inevitable for development”. Discuss (2017)

Q5: Petroleum refineries are not necessarily located nearer to crude oil producing areas, particularly in many of the
developing countries. Explain its implications. (2017)

Q6: India has immense potential of solar energy though there are regional variations in its developments. Elaborate.
(2020)

Q7: Discuss the multi-dimensional implications of the uneven distribution of mineral oil in the world. (2021)

Q8: Examine the potential of wind energy in India and explain the reasons for their limited spatial spread. (2022)

Manufacturing:

Q1: Account for the change in the spatial pattern of the Iron and Steel industry in the world. (2014)

Q2: What is the significance of Industrial Corridors in India? Identifying industrial corridors, explain their main
characteristics. (2018)

Q3: Can the strategy of regional-resource-based manufacturing help in promoting employment in India? (2019)

Q4: Account for the present location of iron and steel industries away from the source of raw material, by giving
examples. (2020)
Q5: Despite India being one of the countries of the Gondwanaland, its mining industry contributes much less to its
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in percentage. Discuss. (2021)

Water:

Q1: India is well endowed with fresh water resources. Critically examine why it still suffers from water scarcity.
(2015)

Q2: The effective management of land and water resources will drastically reduce the human miseries. Explain.
(2016)

Q3: In what way micro-watershed development projects help in water conservation in drought-prone and semi-arid
regions of India? (2016)

Q4: “The ideal solution of depleting groundwater resources in India is water harvesting system.” How can it be made
effective in urban areas? (2018)

Q5: What is water stress? How and why does it differ regionally in India? (2019)

Q6: Why is the world today confronted with a crisis of availability of and access to freshwater resources? (2023)

Q7: The groundwater potential of the gangetic valley is on a serious decline. How may it affect the food security of
India? (2024)

ChatGPT Prompt for Geography Value Addition

Q1: Critically evaluate the various resources of the oceans which can be harnessed to meet the resource crisis in
the world. (2014)

Q2: Why is India taking a keen interest in the Arctic region? (2018)

Q3: How does the melting of the Arctic ice and glaciers of the Antarctic differently affect the weather patterns and
human activities on the Earth? Explain. (2021)

Q4: Comment on the resource potentials of the long coastline of India and highlight the status of natural hazard
preparedness in these areas. (2023)

Misc.:

Q1: How does India see its place in the economic space of rising natural resource rich Africa? (2014)

Q2: What are the main socio-economic implications arising out of the development of IT industries in major cities
of India? (2021)

Q3: Discuss the natural resource potential of ‘Deccan trap’. (2022)

Human Geography (Population, Urbanization, Communication, Transport)

Urbanization & Issues:

Q1: Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are the three Mega cities of the country but the air pollution is much more serious
problem in Delhi as compared to the other two. Why is this so? (2015)

Q2: Smart cities in India cannot sustain without smart villages. Discuss this statement in the backdrop of rural urban
integration. (2015)
Transport:

Q1: Enumerate the problems and prospects of inland water transport in India. (2016)

Q2: In what way can floods be converted into a sustainable source of irrigation and all-weather inland navigation in
India? (2017)

Q3: How is efficient and affordable urban mass transport key to the rapid economic development of India? (2019)

Q4: The interlinking of rivers can provide viable solutions to the multi-dimensional inter-related problems of
droughts, floods and interrupted navigation. Critically examine. (2020)

Q5: Mention the significance of straits and isthmus in international trade. (2022)

Communication:

Q1: Why is the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) needed? How does it help in navigation? (2018)

Population Issues:

Q1: Why did human development fail to keep pace with economic development in India? (2023)

Q2: Why do large cities tend to attract more migrants than smaller towns? Discuss in the light of conditions in
developing countries. (2024)

Q3: What is the concept of a ‘demographic winter’? Is the world moving towards such a situation? Elaborate. (2024)

Misc/Current Affairs

Q1: South China Sea has assumed great geopolitical significance in the present context. Comment. (2016)

Q2: Present an account of the Indus Water Treaty and examine its ecological, economic and political implications in
the context of changing bilateral relations. (2016)

Q3: How does the Juno Mission of NASA help to understand the origin and evolution of the Earth? (2017)

Q4: What are aurora australis and aurora borealis? How are these triggered? (2024)

JOIN LATEST ETHICS BATCH JOIN ETHICS TEST SERIES

JOIN LATEST ETHICS BATCH + ETHICS TEST SERIES JOIN LIVE ESSAY BATCH + ESSAY TEST SERIES

JOIN LATEST ETHICS BATCH + LIVE ESSAY BATCH JOIN PRELIMS + MAINS CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR
+ ESSAY TEST SERIES 2026