All 8 questions from UPSC Civil Services Mains Geography 2026 Paper II (400 marks total). Every stem reproduced in full, with directive-word analysis, marks, word limits, and answer-approach pointers.
8Questions
400Total marks
2026Year
Paper IIPaper
A
Q1
50MCompulsoryoutline
(a) On the outline map of India provided to you, mark the location of all of the following. Write in your QCA Booklet the significance of these locations, whether physical / commercial / economic / ecological / environmental / cultural, in no more than 30 words for each entry : 2×10=20
(i) Bitra Island
(ii) Lohit River
(iii) Dras
(iv) Kuno National Park
(v) Yadadri
(vi) Mahi Basin
(vii) Tamralipta
(viii) Toranmal
(ix) Raya Heritage City
(x) Varkala For question no. 1(a) (20 marks)
(b) Briefly describe the origin, distribution and economic significance of Cuddapah and Dharwar rock systems of India. (10 marks)
(c) Explain the vertical zonation of vegetation of the Himalayas. (10 marks)
(d) Describe the geographical conditions necessary for the growth of mangrove forests in India. Explain their ecological and economic significance. (10 marks)
हिंदी में पढ़ें
(a) आपको दिए गए भारत के रेखा-मानचित्र पर, निम्नलिखित सभी की स्थिति को अंकित कीजिए । अपनी क्यू.सी.ए. पुस्तिका में इन स्थानों में से प्रत्येक का भौतिक / वाणिज्यिक / आर्थिक / पारिस्थितिक / पर्यावरणीय / सांस्कृतिक महत्व अधिकतम 30 शब्दों में लिखिए :
(i) बित्रा द्वीप
(ii) लोहित नदी
(iii) द्रास
(iv) कूनो राष्ट्रीय उद्यान
(v) यदाद्रि
(vi) माही बेसिन
(vii) ताम्रलिप्त
(viii) तोरणमाल
(ix) राया हेरिटेज सिटी
(x) वर्कला प्रश्न सं. 1(a) के लिए (20 अंक)
(b) भारत में कडप्पा तथा धारवाड़ शैल समूहों की उत्पत्ति, वितरण और आर्थिक महत्व का संक्षेप में वर्णन कीजिए। (10 अंक)
(c) हिमालय की वनस्पति के ऊर्ध्वाधर क्षेत्रीकरण (अनुक्षेत्र-वर्गीकरण) की व्याख्या कीजिए। (10 अंक)
(d) भारत में ज्वारीय (मैंग्रोव) वनों के विकास के लिए आवश्यक भौगोलिक दशाओं का वर्णन कीजिए। उनके पारिस्थितिक तथा आर्थिक महत्व की व्याख्या कीजिए। (10 अंक)
Answer approach & key points
(a) Two linked tasks for each of ten entries: (1) mark the correct location on the outline map of India, and (2) write not more than 30 words on its physical/commercial/economic/ecological/environmental/cultural significance. All ten must be attempted: (i) Bitra Island, (ii) Lohit River, (iii) Dras, (iv) Kuno National Park, (v) Yadadri, (vi) Mahi Basin, (vii) Tamralipta, (viii) Toranmal, (ix) Raya Heritage City, (x) Varkala. (b) A compact note covering three things for BOTH the Cuddapah and the Dharwar systems: their origin (mode of formation and geological age), their spatial distribution in India, and their economic significance (minerals and materials). A comparative treatment is expected, not two unconnected paragraphs. (c) Explain how Himalayan vegetation changes with altitude - name the successive belts with their approximate altitudinal limits and characteristic species - and explain WHY the zonation occurs (lapse rate, precipitation, aspect), including the east-west contrast between the wetter Eastern and drier Western Himalaya. (d) Two parts. First DESCRIBE the geographical (climatic, hydrological, edaphic and geomorphic) conditions required for mangrove growth in India, with the resulting distribution. Second EXPLAIN their ecological significance and their economic significance separately.
Bitra - smallest inhabited island of Lakshadweep, coral atoll/lagoon, Arabian Sea
Lohit - Arunachal Pradesh, tributary that helps form the Brahmaputra near Sadiya, Parshuram Kund
(a) The relationship between El Niño and the Indian monsoon is becoming complex under the conditions of global warming. Critically examine. (20 marks)
(b) Discuss the role of the private sector in the technological advancements of the defence industry in India. (15 marks)
(c) Explain the global supply chain for the fertilizer industry in India. How do international prices of key inputs affect domestic production? (15 marks)
हिंदी में पढ़ें
(a) भूमंडलीय तापन (ग्लोबल वार्मिंग) की स्थिति में एल-नीनो और भारतीय मानसून के बीच का सम्बन्ध जटिल होता जा रहा है। समालोचनात्मक परीक्षण कीजिए। (20 अंक)
(b) भारत में रक्षा उद्योग की तकनीकी प्रगति में निजी क्षेत्र की भूमिका की विवेचना कीजिए। (15 अंक)
(c) भारत में उर्वरक उद्योग के लिए वैश्विक आपूर्ति शृंखला की व्याख्या कीजिए। प्रमुख निवेशों की अन्तर्राष्ट्रीय कीमतें घरेलू उत्पादन को कैसे प्रभावित करती हैं? (15 अंक)
Answer approach & key points
(a) 'Critically examine' - first establish the classical El Nino-Indian summer monsoon teleconnection and its mechanism, then show with evidence that the relationship has become complex/non-stationary (weakening correlation, exceptions, ENSO flavours, competing drivers), and finally judge how global warming is reshaping it and what this means for forecasting. (b) 'Discuss' the private sector's contribution specifically to TECHNOLOGICAL advancement in India's defence industry - the enabling policy framework, concrete company-and-product examples, the geography of private defence clusters, and a balanced assessment of limitations. (c) Two parts. First EXPLAIN the global supply chain on which India's fertilizer industry depends - nutrient by nutrient (N, P, K), the source countries, the port-based plant geography and the shipping routes. Second explain the TRANSMISSION MECHANISM by which international input prices affect domestic production, subsidy, prices and nutrient use, with India's responses.
Walker circulation and Southern Oscillation
Kumar, Rajagopalan and Cane (1999) weakening ENSO-monsoon correlation
Indian Ocean Dipole (Saji and others, 1999); 1997 and 2019 as offset years
El Nino Modoki / central-Pacific El Nino (Ashok and others, 2007)
1997 normal monsoon under a strong El Nino versus the 2002 deficit under a weak El Nino
Fast tropical Indian Ocean warming and rising extreme rainfall over central India
Monsoon Mission dynamical forecasting
74 per cent FDI automatic route (2020) and Strategic Partnership model
(a) Examine the causes and consequences of crop diversification in India. How can crop diversification contribute to sustainable agriculture? (20 marks)
(b) India's vulnerability to maritime choke-points has increased sharply over time due to geopolitical tensions. Discuss. (15 marks)
(c) Efficient use of energy resources can resolve the energy crisis in India. Comment. (15 marks)
हिंदी में पढ़ें
(a) भारत में शस्य विविधीकरण के कारणों तथा परिणामों का परीक्षण कीजिए। सतत कृषि में शस्य विविधीकरण कैसे योगदान दे सकता है? (20 अंक)
(b) संकरे समुद्री मार्गों (चोक-प्वॉइंट्स) के प्रति भारत की संवेदनशीलता समय के साथ भू-राजनीतिक तनावों के कारण तेजी से बढ़ी है। विवेचना कीजिए। (15 अंक)
(c) ऊर्जा संसाधनों का कुशल उपयोग भारत में ऊर्जा-संकट का समाधान कर सकता है। टिप्पणी कीजिए। (15 अंक)
Answer approach & key points
(a) Three linked tasks: 'examine' the causes of crop diversification in India, 'examine' its consequences (both favourable and adverse), and then answer the explicit second question - how diversification can contribute to sustainable agriculture. An answer that treats only causes and consequences, or only sustainability, is incomplete. (b) Discuss, i.e. establish with evidence, that India's exposure to maritime choke-points has risen sharply over time, and that geopolitical tension is the driver. The answer must name the specific choke-points, quantify India's seaborne dependence, cite recent geopolitical episodes, and indicate India's responses. (c) 'Comment' on a strong claim - that efficiency alone can resolve India's energy crisis. The answer must agree in part (showing the real gains available from efficiency, with named institutions and schemes) and disagree in part (showing why demand growth, the rebound effect, fuel-import dependence and the supply mix mean efficiency is necessary but not sufficient), and then take a position.
Simpson's Index of Diversification / Herfindahl index
Crop Diversification Programme (2013-14, under RKVY, for Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh)
Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)
National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm (2021)
Central Ground Water Board over-exploited blocks in Punjab
average operational holding 1.08 ha (Agriculture Census 2015-16)
horticulture output exceeding foodgrain output since about 2012-13
(a) Analyse the spatial distribution of India's automobile industry. How have the clusters like Chennai, Pune and Gurugram emerged as key auto-hubs ? (20 marks)
(b) Describe the role of energy pipelines in the industrial development and in reducing the regional imbalances in India. (15 marks)
(c) Divide India into agro-ecological regions and highlight the salient features of any one of them. (15 marks)
हिंदी में पढ़ें
(a) भारत के ऑटोमोबाइल (मोटर-गाड़ी) उद्योग के स्थानिक वितरण का विश्लेषण कीजिए। चेन्नई, पुणे और गुरुग्राम जैसे क्लस्टर (समूह) किस प्रकार प्रमुख ऑटो-हब के रूप में उभरे हैं ? (20 अंक)
(b) भारत में औद्योगिक विकास में तथा क्षेत्रीय असंतुलन को कम करने में ऊर्जा पाइपलाइनों की भूमिका का वर्णन कीजिए। (15 अंक)
(c) भारत को कृषि-पारिस्थितिक प्रदेशों में विभाजित कीजिए और उनमें से किसी एक प्रदेश की मुख्य विशेषताओं को रेखांकित कीजिए। (15 अंक)
Answer approach & key points
(a) Two explicit tasks: analyse the spatial distribution of India's automobile industry (the regional pattern, not a company list), and then explain the specific factors behind the emergence of the Chennai, Pune and Gurugram clusters as auto-hubs. Both parts carry weight; the three named hubs must each be dealt with. (b) Describe pipelines in two distinct roles: as an input to industrial development, and as an instrument for reducing regional imbalance. Named pipelines with the industries they created are expected; a critical note on the limits of pipelines as a balancing tool raises the answer. (c) Two tasks: first divide India into agro-ecological regions using a recognised classification (with the criteria on which it rests), and then highlight the salient features of any ONE of those regions. The candidate chooses the region; the divisions must be from an authoritative scheme, not invented.
Chennai as the 'Detroit of India' - Sriperumbudur, Oragadam, Maraimalai Nagar, Ennore; SIPCOT
Hyundai Sriperumbudur (1998), Renault-Nissan and Daimler at Oragadam, Ashok Leyland Ennore
(a) Analyse the consequences of circular migration in India. How does it influence both rural development and the urban economy ? (10 marks)
(b) Explain the government initiatives for the redevelopment of slum areas in the mega cities of India. (10 marks)
(c) Discuss how Panchayati Raj institutions play a crucial role in the empowerment of women in India. (10 marks)
(d) “India’s approach to the Indian Ocean is cooperative rather than coercive.” Critically examine the statement. (10 marks)
(e) Disaster risk reduction and community resilience are the two pillars that need to be prioritized in the flood prone areas of India. Critically analyse. (10 marks)
हिंदी में पढ़ें
(a) भारत में चक्रीय प्रवास के परिणामों का विश्लेषण कीजिए । यह ग्रामीण विकास तथा नगरीय अर्थव्यवस्था दोनों को कैसे प्रभावित करता है ? (10 अंक)
(b) भारत के बृहन्नगरों (महानगरों) में मलिन बस्ती क्षेत्रों के पुनर्विकास के लिए किए जा रहे सरकारी प्रयासों की व्याख्या कीजिए । (10 अंक)
(c) भारत में पंचायती राज संस्थाएँ महिला सशक्तिकरण में किस प्रकार महत्त्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाती हैं, विवेचना कीजिए । (10 अंक)
(d) “भारत का हिन्द महासागर के प्रति दृष्टिकोण सहयोगात्मक है न कि दबावपूर्ण ।” इस कथन का समालोचनात्मक परीक्षण कीजिए । (10 अंक)
(e) भारत के बाढ़ प्रभावित क्षेत्रों में आपदा जोखिम न्यूनीकरण तथा सामुदायिक प्रतिरोधक्षमता वे दो स्तंभ हैं, जिन्हें प्राथमिकता दिए जाने की आवश्यकता है । समालोचनात्मक विश्लेषण कीजिए । (10 अंक)
Answer approach & key points
(a) Analyse the consequences of circular migration and answer the explicit second question on its twin effect - on rural development at the origin AND on the urban economy at the destination. A compact note, not an essay, with named source-destination streams. (b) Explain - i.e. describe with reasons and named examples - the initiatives taken by government for redeveloping slums specifically in India's mega cities. Central schemes AND state/city-level models are expected; a short critical note on why redevelopment under-delivers lifts the answer. (c) Discuss how Panchayati Raj institutions empower women in India - the constitutional mechanism, the scale of participation, the demonstrated effects, and (for a 'discuss') the limits such as proxy rule and weak devolution. (d) Critically examine a claim - test whether India's Indian Ocean policy is genuinely cooperative rather than coercive. Evidence must be marshalled on both sides (doctrine and public goods versus 'Big Brother' perceptions and past interventions) and a reasoned verdict given. (e) Critically analyse a prescription - that disaster risk reduction and community resilience should be the two prioritised pillars in India's flood-prone areas. Both pillars must be examined separately with India-specific institutions and examples, and the answer must test whether the two alone are sufficient.
definition of circular / seasonal / short-duration migration; Jan Breman's 'footloose labour'
Census 2011 internal migrants (about 45 crore) versus NSS short-term migrant estimates - the undercount
named streams: Bihar/eastern UP/Odisha/Jharkhand to Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Surat, Punjab-Haryana, Kerala
Beed-Marathwada sugarcane cutters; brick kilns and construction
remittances; feminisation of agriculture; left-behind children and elderly
contractor-mediated recruitment (mukadam / jamadar) and debt bondage
Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act 1979 and the OSH Code 2020
e-Shram, One Nation One Ration Card, Affordable Rental Housing Complexes
COVID-19 2020 return migration
Census 2011 slum population of about 6.55 crore
Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1956
JNNURM (2005) - BSUP and IHSDP; Rajiv Awas Yojana (2011)
PMAY-Urban (2015) and its In-Situ Slum Redevelopment vertical; PMAY-U 2.0
(a) Examine the trends in fertility rates across Indian states over time. How are they projected to evolve by 2050 ? (20 marks)
(b) Soil and water conservation are the major challenges in the development of hill areas of India. Explain. (15 marks)
(c) With reference to the international boundary between India and Bangladesh, discuss the related issues and challenges. (15 marks)
हिंदी में पढ़ें
(a) समय के साथ भारतीय राज्यों में प्रजनन दर की प्रवृत्तियों का परीक्षण कीजिए । 2050 तक उनमें कैसे परिवर्तन की सम्भावना है ? (20 अंक)
(b) भारत के पर्वतीय क्षेत्रों के विकास में मृदा तथा जल संरक्षण मुख्य चुनौतियाँ हैं । व्याख्या कीजिए । (15 अंक)
(c) भारत और बांग्लादेश के मध्य अन्तर्राष्ट्रीय सीमा के संदर्भ में सम्बन्धित मुद्दों तथा चुनौतियों की विवेचना कीजिए । (15 अंक)
Answer approach & key points
(a) Two explicit tasks: examine the trend of fertility rates across Indian states over time (the national decline plus the inter-state differential, with figures), and then state how fertility is projected to evolve by 2050, with the sources and the uncertainty in those projections. Consequences should be indicated but the core is trend plus projection. (b) Explain - give reasons and evidence for - the proposition that soil and water conservation are the major challenges in developing India's hill areas. Both soil and water must be treated, with the physical and human causes, the measures attempted, and why the challenge persists. (c) Discuss, with reference to the India-Bangladesh international boundary, the issues and challenges connected with it - the legal-historical evolution, the physical difficulty of demarcating and managing it, the security and human problems, and the cooperative and connectivity dimension.
(a) Why is it difficult to improve the quality of air during the winter season in the Gangetic plain ? Critically evaluate with suitable examples. (20 marks)
(b) Deforestation in the upper reaches of a river augments the magnitude of soil erosion. Elaborate your answer citing the example of any North Indian river. (15 marks)
(c) Assess the role of geographical isolation in preserving tribal culture, as well as hindering their socio-economic development in India. (15 marks)
हिंदी में पढ़ें
(a) गंगा मैदान में शीत ऋतु में वायु की गुणवत्ता में सुधार करना कठिन क्यों है ? उपयुक्त उदाहरणों के साथ आलोचनात्मक मूल्यांकन कीजिए । (20 अंक)
(b) नदी के ऊपरी प्रवाह क्षेत्र में विनिर्वनीकरण मृदा अपरदन के परिमाण में वृद्धि करता है । किसी उत्तर भारतीय नदी के उदाहरण द्वारा अपने उत्तर को विस्तार से स्पष्ट कीजिए । (15 अंक)
(c) भारत में जनजातीय संस्कृति के संरक्षण, साथ ही उनके सामाजिक-आर्थिक विकास में बाधा उत्पन्न करने में भौगोलिक अलगाव की भूमिका का आकलन कीजिए । (15 अंक)
Answer approach & key points
(a) Explain why winter air-quality improvement is so hard specifically in the Gangetic plain - i.e. the meteorological trap, the winter chemistry, the diverse source mix and the governance mismatch - and then critically evaluate, with named examples, why the measures actually tried have not worked. (b) Elaborate the causal chain from upper-catchment deforestation to increased soil erosion, and then anchor it in a named North Indian river. The example is compulsory - a general answer without one named river and its documented sediment or channel behaviour is incomplete. (c) Assess the dual role of geographical isolation for India's tribal communities - how it has preserved their culture AND how it has hindered their socio-economic development. Both halves must be argued with named tribes, regions, data and institutions, and an assessment (a judgement) offered at the end.
temperature inversion and collapsed mixing height / ventilation coefficient
Indo-Gangetic Plain as a topographic bowl bounded by the Himalaya
secondary inorganic aerosol (sulphate, nitrate, ammonium) and the fog-haze radiative feedback
paddy stubble burning; Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009 and the delayed transplanting window
residential biomass burning for cooking and heating
Commission for Air Quality Management (statutory, 2021)
Graded Response Action Plan (2017, revised 2022)
National Clean Air Programme (2019) and the 131 non-attainment cities
smog towers, odd-even, anti-smog guns as low-efficacy measures
Happy Seeder / Super Seeder; Pusa bio-decomposer
ICMR-Lancet estimate of about 1.67 million air-pollution-attributable deaths in India in 2019
(a) Critically examine the strategic, economic and ecological impacts of the proposed ‘Great Nicobar Project’. (20 marks)
(b) Poor road infrastructure and inadequate public transport system remain the key issues in Indian metropolitan areas. Discuss with suitable examples. (15 marks)
(c) Critically examine the environmental and economic consequences of India’s rise as a global data centre hub. (15 marks)
हिंदी में पढ़ें
(a) प्रस्तावित ‘ग्रेट निकोबार प्रोजेक्ट’ के सामरिक, आर्थिक और पारिस्थितिक प्रभावों का समालोचनात्मक परीक्षण कीजिए । (20 अंक)
(b) खराब सड़क अवसंरचना तथा अपर्याप्त सार्वजनिक परिवहन तंत्र भारतीय महानगरीय क्षेत्रों में प्रमुख समस्या बने हुए हैं । उपयुक्त उदाहरणों सहित विवेचना कीजिए । (15 अंक)
(c) भारत के ग्लोबल डाटा सेंटर हब के रूप में उभरने के पर्यावरणीय तथा आर्थिक परिणामों का समालोचनात्मक परीक्षण कीजिए । (15 अंक)
Answer approach & key points
(a) Critically examine the proposed Great Nicobar Project under three explicitly named heads - strategic, economic and ecological impacts - weighing benefits against costs under each, and arriving at a reasoned verdict. The project must first be described accurately; the social/tribal and hazard dimensions belong under the ecological-environmental head. (b) Discuss two linked deficits in Indian metropolitan areas - road infrastructure and public transport - with suitable named examples, their consequences, and the policy response and its gaps. Generic urban-problem writing without named cities and schemes will not do. (c) Critically examine both the environmental AND the economic consequences of India's emergence as a global data-centre hub - stating the phenomenon and its geography, weighing gains against costs under each head, and arriving at a qualified verdict rather than a celebration.
International Container Transhipment Terminal at Galathea Bay; greenfield airport; township; power plant
NITI Aayog conception; ANIIDCO implementation; cost of the order of Rs 72,000 crore
Six Degree Channel; proximity to the Strait of Malacca; Indira Point as India's southernmost point
Andaman and Nicobar Command (tri-service, 2001)
transhipment currently routed through Colombo, Singapore and Port Klang; Vizhinjam as competition
Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve (1989; UNESCO MAB since 2013); Campbell Bay and Galathea national parks