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

Nathula is a high mountain pass in Sikkim, near Nathang Valley on the India–Tibet border, approximately 27.4° N, 88.8° E. It is a strategic border point and main trade route between India and China, noted for border trade, security and connectivity.

Hutti is in Bagalkot district, Karnataka, near the Hutti River, approximately 16.5° N, 75.8° E. It is known for the Hutti Gold Mine, a gold-producing area significant for mining, employment and environmental regulation.

Ross Island is in Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, in the Bay of Bengal, approximately 11.7° N, 92.7° E. It was the British colonial capital of the Andamans and is now a heritage and coral-reef site, important for tourism and conservation.

Moreh is a border town in Moreh district, Manipur, on the India–Myanmar border near the Moreh–Myitkyina road, approximately 24.7° N, 93.9° E. It is significant for cross-border trade, connectivity and security with Myanmar.

Ramappa refers to the Ramappa Temple at Palampet in Mulugu district, Telangana, in the Godavari basin, approximately 18.9° N, 78.9° E. It is a 13th-century Kakatiya temple, significant as a cultural heritage site and UNESCO tentative-list monument.

Namdapha National Park is in West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, near Daporijo, approximately 27.7° N, 96.5° E. It is a major biodiversity hotspot in the Eastern Himalaya, significant for snow leopards, red pandas, tigers and eco-tourism.

Sela Tunnel is in West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, near Sela Pass on NH 37, approximately 27.7° N, 96.5° E. It is a road tunnel improving all-season connectivity, trade and strategic movement in the northeast.

Ennore Port is in Chennai district, Tamil Nadu, on the Bay of Bengal coast, approximately 13.2° N, 80.3° E. It is a major container and cargo port, significant for logistics, trade and port-led industrial development.

Ramagundam is in Khammam district, Telangana, in the Godavari basin, approximately 18.3° N, 79.9° E. It is an industrial and power town, significant for thermal power plants, coal-based energy and industrial growth.

Betwa River rises in Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh, approximately 25.5° N, 78.5° E, and joins the Yamuna near Prayagraj. It is a major Yamuna tributary, significant for irrigation, water supply and river-linking proposals.

Gondwana system of India consists mainly of sedimentary rocks—sandstones, shales, siltstones, conglomerates and coal-bearing formations—deposited in a large inland Gondwana basin from the late Carboniferous/Permian to the Jurassic, roughly 300 to 145 million years ago. It formed in fluvial, lacustrine, deltaic and coastal environments as the Indian landmass lay within the Gondwana supercontinent. The basin's stratigraphy records changing climate and sea-level conditions. The rocks are distributed across central and eastern India, especially the Deccan, Godavari, Mahanadi, Narmada, Son, Damodar and Jharia basins, with major outcrops in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Its red beds and laterites also support soil formation and construction materials. Economically, the system is vital because it hosts India’s major coal seams, along with iron ore, manganese, copper, uranium, bauxite, laterite, clay and building stones, making it central to energy, mining and industrial development.

Indian Earth Observation Satellite Technology supports weather forecasting and disaster management through continuous remote sensing. Geostationary INSAT-3D, 3DR and 3DS satellites carry a 19-channel sounder with 18 infrared and one visible channel, along with high-resolution imagers, providing data on clouds, temperature, moisture, wind and severe weather. Oceansat satellites monitor sea-surface temperature and ocean winds, while Resourcesat, Cartosat and RISAT provide land, water, topographic and all-weather radar data. RISAT is especially useful during cloudy monsoon conditions. These systems help forecast monsoon, cyclones, rainfall and drought, and support disaster management by mapping flood extents, landslide-prone areas, urban heat islands, forest fires and post-event damage, enabling early warning, response and recovery planning. They improve lead time for cyclone tracks and rainfall nowcasting. The data are used by IMD, NDMA and state disaster authorities, and also support climate studies, water-resource assessment and agricultural monitoring.

National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 established the NGT as a specialized statutory tribunal for environmental disputes, giving effect to the right to a clean environment under Article 21. It has original jurisdiction over cases involving the Forest Conservation Act, Wildlife Protection Act, Environment Protection Act and related environmental laws, and can grant injunctions, compensation, restoration orders and directions to public authorities. For forest conservation, the NGT has strengthened enforcement by hearing challenges to deforestation, mining, road projects and industrial clearances in forest areas, directing compensatory afforestation, restoration of degraded forest land, monitoring of forest-clearance conditions and protection of critical habitats. It can also direct forest departments to prepare action plans and report compliance. This has made forest clearance more accountable and has brought ecological concerns into development decisions. It has also encouraged litigation and public interest cases, though its impact depends on timely implementation, field monitoring and coordination with forest and revenue departments.