Rajasthan Geography Questions

The correct answer (A), (C), and (D)

Key Points Aw or Tropical Humid Region:

• The southern parts of the Dungarpur district and Banswara come under the region.
• Here, arid tropical grasslands and Savanna regions are found along with deciduous trees of monsoon type.
• The Winter season is arid and cool whereas summers experience scorching heat.
• Rainfall also mainly occurs in the summer season.
• The temperature is more than 18-degree celsius in the coldest month records.

CWG Climatic Region:

• The south-eastern areas of Aravalli are part of the region.
• Rains are limited to a few monsoon months only.
• Seasonal winds do not bring rains to this region during winters.

Bwhw Climatic Region:

• The region has an arid-hot desert climate with very scanty rainfall.
• On the contrary, the process of evaporation is very active.
• Thus, these areas are known as desert regions, limited to western parts of the Thar Desert.
• North-western Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, western Bikaner, and western parts of the Ganganagar district are included in this category.

Bshw Climatic Region:

• This climatic region is semi-arid, where winters are dry and even in summers there is no sufficient amount of rainfall.
• Vegetation is of steppe type, characterized by thorny bushes and grasses.
• This region comprises the districts of Barmer, Jalore, Jodhpur, Nagaur, Churu, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, and Hanumangarh.​​

Important Points

Koppen climate classification: The Koppen climate classification divides climates into four main climate groups in respect of Rajasthan, with each group being divided based on vegetation.

The correct answer Banswara District 

Key Points

District-wise distribution of the tribal population

• District-wise distribution of the tribal population shows that they have their highest concentration in Banswara district (72.3 percent), followed by 65.1 percent and 47.9 percent in Dungarpur and Udaipur districts respectively.
• Nagaur ( 0.2 percent) preceded by Bikaner (0.4 percent) has the lowest share of tribal population in the total population.

​Rajasthan as per the 2011 census

• The second major tribe, Bhil has a share of 99 percent of all ST population in Barmer district followed by Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Rajsamand (95 percent) districts.
• The Scheduled Tribes of the State have registered considerably lower sex ratio both in total as well as in the 0-6 yrs
  • As per the 2001 census, the Scheduled Tribe (ST) population of Rajasthan State is 7,097,706 constituting 8.4 percent of the total ST population of India.
• The Scheduled Tribes of the State constitute 12.6 percent of the total population (56,507,188) of the State.
• It holds 12th position among all States and UTs in respect of the percentage share of ST population to the total population.
• The ST population has registered a growth rate of 29.6 percent during 1991-2001 which is 1.2 percent higher than the growth of the total population.
• The Scheduled Tribes are overwhelmingly rural as 94.6 percent of them inhabit rural areas whereas 76.6 percent of the total population of the state live in villages.

Important Points

• Out of twelve (12) tribes scheduled for the State, Mina is the most populous tribe, having a population of 3,799,971 constituting 53.5 percent of the total ST population followed by Bhil (2,805,948).
• Mina and Bhil together constitute 93 percent whereas Garasia, Damor, Dhanka & Saharia combine to form 6.6 percent of the total ST population.
• Six tribes, Bhil Mina, Naikda, Kathodi, Patelia, Kokna, and Koli Dhor along with the generic tribes constitute the residual 0.3 percent of the total tribal population.
• Among the twelve STs, Koli Dhor is the smallest tribe with a population below 100 preceded by Kokna (405), Patelia (1,045), Kathodi (2,922) etc.  

The correct answer A-(iv), B-(i), C-(iii), D-(ii)

Key Points

White cement factory:

• The white cement factory is situated in Gotan, Nagaur district of Rajasthan.
• This is just a variety of ordinary cement and it is prepared from such raw materials which are practically free from colouring oxides of iron, manganese, or chromium.
• For the burning of this cement, oil fuel is used instead of coal.
• It is white in colour and it is used for floor finish, plasterwork, ornamental work, etc. It should not be set earlier than 30 minutes.

lead-zinc:

• The lead-zinc deposits are in Rajpura-Dariba. It is located about 75 kilometres northeast of Udaipur, in the state of Rajasthan. 

Chambal Fertilizers and Chemicals:

• Chambal Fertilizers and Chemicals, one of the largest private-sector fertilizer producing companies in Bharat, is located in Kota.
• It s three hi-tech nitrogenous fertilizer plants are located at Gadepan in the Kota district of Rajasthan.

Textile:

• Bhilwara is famous for its textile in the Indian state of Rajasthan.
• It has the highest number of textile companies and highest textile production in Rajasthan.
• That's why it's called the 'textile city of Rajasthan'. 
• From a cotton textile point of view, Bhilwara is called the Manchester of Rajasthan.

The correct answer is Sirohi.

Key Points

• In the Sirohi district of Rajasthan, sub-tropical hilly forests are found.
• Sub-tropical Hill Forests have semi-evergreen and some evergreen species of trees.
• Sirohi District is broken up by hills and rocky ranges.
• The granite massif of Mount Abu divides the district into two portions, running from north-east to south-west.
• The southwest corner of the district is drained by the Sukri River, an intermittent stream that drains the western slope of Mount Abu.
• Sirohi district has 5,136 square kilometre Geographical Area, out of which 17.76% is the forest cover.
• It has a population density of 202 inhabitants per square kilometre.

The correct answer is Behror, Bhimmal, Surajgarh, Dhond, Shri Madhopur.

Key Points

• Rajasthan can be divided into three hydrogeological units namely, unconsolidated sediments, semi-consolidated sediments and consolidated rocks.
• Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) under the Ministry of Water Resources and State Governments jointly estimated replenishable groundwater resources.
• Some of the parts of Rajasthan have been categorized as “Over exploited”. Over-exploited assessment units of Rajasthan are- Behror, Bansur, Kathumar, Kishangarh, Kotkasim, Laxmangarh, Mandawar, Neemrana, Rajgarh, Ramgarh, Reni, Thanagazi, Tijara, Umrain.
• Central Ground Water Authority of India has put a total ban on the exploitation of groundwater in Behror, Bhimmal, Surajgarh, Dhond, Shri Madhopur.
• Dudu, Sambhar, Chaksu, Jamwa Ramgarh and Kotputli blocks are affected by salinity problems. Further many areas in Jaipur have problems with fluoride contamination in groundwater.

Additional Information

• Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) is the apex organization of the Ministry of Water Resources dealing with groundwater and related issues.

The correct answer is 2002-03.

Key Points

• In 2002-03, Rajasthan faced one of the worst droughts of the century.
• This was the fifth continuous drought year in the state and all the 32 districts are affected.
• The state received only 220.4 mm rainfall up to 30th September, against the normal of 518.6 mm of the overall monsoon.
• The overall state rainfall deficit was -57.5% and the rainfall deviation ranges from -90.1% in the Bikaner district to -32.0% in the Jhalawar district.
• In 2016, Rajasthan was in the grip of a water crisis with 19 out of the 33 districts being famine-affected.
• The government sent water trains to parched Bhilwara and tankers to other areas facing an acute shortage.
• 90 per cent of water-related schemes in the state was dependent on ground water but the ground water table was going down therefore surface water is also being used.

The correct answer is It starts and expands due to over ploughing, deforestation and improper management of soil and water.

Key Points

• Desertification is a type of land degradation in dry lands that reduces biological productivity due to natural or anthropogenic factors causing them to become more arid.
  • In western Rajasthan, desertification activities lead to the destruction of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity.
  • The desert of Rajasthan is much less than other deserts located at similar latitudes of the world.
  • It starts and spreads due to over-plowing, deforestation and improper management of soil and water.

Additional Information

• Desertification is severe in hot and dry northwest India which includes the Thar Desert.
  • Desertification has affected about 70 percent of the state. Wind erosion, a major process of desertification in the state, has affected 44.41 percent of the area.
  • Vegetation erosion and water erosion also affect desertification.
  • Sand movement and dust storms due to wind erosion and deposition are characteristic of the Thar.

The correct answer is A - i, B - ii, C - iii, D - iv.

Key Points

•  Aridisols soil
  • These are CaCO₃-containing soils of arid regions that exhibit subsurface horizon development.
  • They are characterized by being dry most of the year and limited leaching.
  • They contain subsurface horizons in which clays, calcium carbonate, silica, salts, and/or gypsum have accumulated.
• Inceptisols soil
  • It exhibits minimal horizon development.
  • They are more developed than Entisols, but still lack the features that are characteristic of other soil orders.
  • A sizable percentage of Inceptisols are found in mountainous areas and are used for forestry, recreation, and watershed.
  • They occur in cool to very warm and humid to subhumid climates, from the arctic to the tropics.
  • They are found in Semi-arid and humid regions.
• Alfisols soil
  • They are moderately leached soils that have relatively high native fertility.
  • These soils have mainly formed under forest and have a subsurface horizon in which clays have accumulated.
  • They are primarily found in temperate humid and subhumid regions of the world.
• Vertisols
  • They are clayey soils that have deep, wide cracks for some time during the year.
  • They shrink as they dry and swell as they become moist.
  • The natural vegetation is predominantly grass, savanna, open forest, or desert shrub.
  • They are found in Humid and super-humid regions.

Soil distribution:

The correct answer is ​Lunkaransar.

Key Points

• Rajasthan on 3 October 2014 became the first state of India to start an olive refinery.
• The refinery was established at an expense of 3.75 crore rupees in the Lunkaransar area of Bikaner. Hence, Option 1 is correct.
• The olive oil produced in the refinery will be marked under the brand name Raj Olive Oil and would be made available in the market after some time.
• Rajasthan is one of the leading states that cultivate olive.
• The state started cultivation of olive in 2007 under an olive cultivation project that was launched during the previous tenure of Vasundhara Raje as the Chief Minister of the state.
• The project was started by taking the assistance of Israel and planted 1.12 lakh saplings in 7 agro-climatic zones.

Additional Information

• At present, Olive has been planted in 282 hectares of land in districts like Jhunjhunu, Nagaur, Bikaner, and other districts of the state.
• The state has seven leading varieties namely Barnea, Arbequina, Cortina, Picholine, Picual, Coraniki, and Frontoy.
• Now the government wants to increase the area to 5000 hectares so that the refinery would get more fruits to increase production.
• Olive is a small tree and belongs to the Oleaceae family.

The correct answer is Rajasthan Dry Region.

Key Points

• Rajasthan Dry Region has been classified as ‘Western Dry Region’ among the 15 Agro-Climatic zones of India.
• In 1988 the Planning Commission came up with a growth strategy based on a holistic approach of area planning for long-term resource efficiency and sustainability.
  • During the late nineteen eighties, a consensus seemed to have been achieved on the primacy of topography for a regional division of India.
  • Based on this notion the Planning Commission proposed 15 agro-climatic zones, these have still existed wide variation in a geographical area, population density, soil types, and crops are grown.
  • To increase the degree of homogeneity in agro-climatic factors, these 15 zones were further sub-divided into 73 subzones based on more specific soil types, topography, climate, and cropping pattern characteristics.