(a) On the outline map of India provided to you, mark the location of all of the following. Write in your QCA Booklet the…

(a) Locations on the map

(i) Tarangambadi, Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu, lies on the Bay of Bengal, approximately 11.0° N, 79.9° E. A Danish trading post from 1620 (Fort Dansborg) and site of the first Protestant mission in India (1706), significant for heritage and maritime culture.

(ii) Mahe, approximately 11.7° N, 75.5° E, at the mouth of the Mahe (Mayyazhi) river on the Arabian Sea, is a former French enclave, now a district of Puducherry UT surrounded by Kerala, significant for its political and cultural status.

(iii) Bomdila, West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, lies approximately 27.3° N, 92.4° E, near the Bhutan border. It lies on the road to Tawang via Sela Pass, with a major Buddhist monastery, significant for strategic access and cultural heritage.

(iv) Dhola-Sadiya Bridge (Bhupen Hazarika Setu, 9.15 km, opened 2017) crosses the Lohit in Tinsukia district, Assam, approximately 27.8° N, 95.6° E. It is strategic for military and civilian access to eastern Arunachal Pradesh.

(v) Talakaveri, Kodagu district, Karnataka, lies approximately 12.4° N, 75.5° E, on the Brahmagiri hills at the source of the Kaveri River. It is a pilgrimage and river-origin site, significant for ecology and water resources.

(vi) Satkosia is a gorge of the Mahanadi through the Eastern Ghats in Angul district, Odisha, approximately 20.6° N, 84.8° E. It is a tiger reserve and gharial sanctuary, significant for river ecology and wildlife.

(vii) Dholavira is a Harappan city on Khadir Bet in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, approximately 23.9° N, 70.2° E. A UNESCO World Heritage Site (2021), significant for its reservoirs and water management.

(viii) Sonamarg is a glacial valley on the Sindh river in Ganderbal district, Jammu and Kashmir, approximately 34.3° N, 75.3° E, on the Srinagar-Leh highway below Zojila. The Z-Morh tunnel (2025) gives it all-weather access, significant for tourism and strategy.

(ix) Maliku Atoll (Minicoy), Lakshadweep, approximately 8.3° N, 73.0° E, is India’s southernmost Lakshadweep atoll, separated from the Maldives by the Eight Degree Channel, significant for maritime security, coral ecology and its Mahl-speaking culture.

(x) Gangasagar, Sagar Island, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, lies approximately 21.7° N, 88.1° E, where the Ganges meets the Bay of Bengal. It hosts the Gangasagar Mela at Makar Sankranti and is significant for estuarine ecology and coastal erosion.

(b) Particulate pollution in Delhi NCR

Delhi NCR’s extreme particulate pollution persists because the region’s flat, enclosed topography and winter temperature inversions trap fine particles, while low wind speeds reduce dispersion. Emissions are high and continuous: vehicular traffic, construction dust, industrial activity, brick kilns, domestic biomass, and seasonal crop-residue burning in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. On peak post-harvest days stubble smoke can contribute a large share of Delhi’s PM2.5, while dust and vehicles dominate the rest of the year. Transboundary smoke, inadequate enforcement, rapid urbanisation, and limited green cover compound the problem. The combination of meteorological stagnation, multiple local sources, and weak long-term mitigation makes PM2.5 episodes recurrent and health-threatening. Control is split across Delhi, three neighbouring states and many agencies, which is why the Commission for Air Quality Management (Act of 2021) and the Graded Response Action Plan were created, but measures remain largely episodic.

(c) Physiography, climate and biodiversity

India’s biological diversity is explained by its varied physiography and climate. The Himalayas, Western and Eastern Ghats, Deccan Plateau, Indo-Gangetic plains, coasts, and islands create distinct habitats, altitudinal zones, and ecological barriers. Latitude and monsoon rainfall produce gradients from arid Thar to wet Western Ghats and tropical northeast, while temperature and seasonality shape forests, grasslands, deserts, and wetlands. These physical and climatic variations support different biomes, species assemblages, and high endemism, especially in mountain and coastal regions. The resulting mosaic of niches, from alpine meadows to mangroves, explains India’s rich flora and fauna. With about 2.4% of the world’s land, India holds roughly 7–8% of recorded species and parts of four global biodiversity hotspots: the Himalaya, Indo-Burma, the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, and Sundaland (Nicobar Islands).

(d) Desertification, soil desiccation and soil loss

Desertification, as defined by the UNCCD, is land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas from climatic variations and human activities. It reduces vegetation cover and organic matter, exposing soil to direct sun and wind. With less plant transpiration and shade, soil moisture evaporates faster, causing desiccation and loss of soil structure. Wind and water erosion then remove the dried, loose topsoil, while salinisation and crusting may follow. Reduced infiltration increases runoff, and nutrient loss lowers fertility. The process becomes self-reinforcing: drier, bare soil supports fewer plants, which further weakens soil binding and accelerates land degradation. Over time, productive land in semi-arid regions becomes less capable of sustaining crops, pasture, or livestock. ISRO’s Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas (2021) found about 97.85 million ha, nearly 30% of India’s geographical area, degraded in 2018–19.