India is considered to have one of the richest land and soil resources in the whole world. It is also considered to be the vital assets that form the backbone of the country’s economy, agriculture, and the overall development of the country. India has millions of hectares of arable land, which makes it one of the largest cultivable land areas in the world. The richness of soils ranges from fertile alluvial soils to the Indo-Gangetic Plains and to the red and laterite soils. Land and soil resources are also one of the most studied topics in any competitive examination, be it UPSC, JKPSC, SSC, and JKSSB. This also helps a person to know the geography of the nation in depth. Anyone who is genuinely curious about knowing their land, or anybody who is preparing for the upcoming examinations, this topic holds a very vital role in the geography portion. We have highly researched these important MCQs for all those who want to prepare seriously and smartly and want to secure their chance in the upcoming examination, whichever one they are preparing for.
Which basic conditions must be satisfied for any element to be considered a human resource?
a) Availability, knowledge, demand
b) Knowledge, technical skills, demand
c) Demand, money, people
d) Storage, usage, knowledge
Correct Answer: (b) Knowledge, technical skills, demand
Why was water considered a source of energy only after hydel power knowledge was developed?
a) Because it was always useful naturally
b) Because human knowledge gave it importance
c) Because water was rare earlier
d) Because rivers were not flowing before
Correct Answer: (b) Because human knowledge gave it importance
What is the main reason why resources are related to human well-being and not just availability?
a) Resources are always unlimited
b) Human demand and skills make them valuable
c) Natural resources are useless to people
d) Only governments decide their use
Correct Answer: (b) Human demand and skills make them valuable
Which land category includes casuarina trees, bamboo, thatching grass, bushes, and small groves?
a) Net sown area
b) Forest area
c) Miscellaneous tree crops and groves
d) Barren land
Correct Answer: (c) Miscellaneous tree crops and groves
Which type of land includes natural or planted stands of trees with a height of at least five metres?
a) Barren land
b) Fallow land
c) Forest area
d) Net sown area
Correct Answer: (c) Forest area
Which land category includes land once cultivated but not cultivated for the last five years?
a) Current fallow
b) Culturable waste land
c) Net sown area
d) Barren land
Correct Answer: (b) Culturable waste land
Which land category is used for buildings, roads, railways, or put to non-farm activities?
a) Land put to non-agricultural use
b) Current fallow land
c) Barren land
d) Miscellaneous land
Correct Answer: (a) Land put to non-agricultural use
Which land cannot be cultivated at all except at a very high cost and effort?
a) Unculturable land
b) Net sown land
c) Current fallow
d) Forest land
Correct Answer: (a) Unculturable land
What is the name of land left without cultivation for one agricultural year or less?
a) Other fallow land
b) Current fallow land
c) Net sown land
d) Barren land
Correct Answer: (b) Current fallow land
Which land was cultivated earlier but now left fallow for not less than one year and not more than five?
a) Current fallow
b) Other fallow land
c) Miscellaneous land
d) Forest land
Correct Answer: (b) Other fallow land
Which category of land represents the total area where crops and orchards are grown in one year?
a) Net sown area
b) Forest area
c) Culturable waste land
d) Miscellaneous tree land
Correct Answer: (a) Net sown area
India’s arable land covers approximately how much area in million hectares?
a) 200 million hectares
b) 167 million hectares
c) 140 million hectares
d) 90 million hectares
Correct Answer: (b) 167 million hectares
Which proportion of India’s surface area is cultivable, and is one of the highest in the world?
a) One-fourth of the surface area
b) Half of the surface area
c) Two-thirds of the surface area
d) Three-fourths of the surface area
Correct Answer: (b) Half of the surface area
Which land use pattern in India has shown an increase due to afforestation drives in recent years?
a) Fallow land
b) Forest area
c) Net sown area
d) Land under buildings
Correct Answer: (b) Forest area
Which human factor is mainly responsible for the rise in non-agricultural land use in India?
a) Soil erosion
b) Industrialisation and urbanisation
c) Deforestation by floods
d) Salinity of soil
Correct Answer: (b) Industrialisation and urbanisation
Which report estimates that one-third of the world’s arable land is lost to erosion?
a) UNCCD Report
b) FAO Report
c) World Bank Report
d) UNESCO Report
Correct Answer: (a) UNCCD Report
Which natural causes can lead to land degradation apart from human interference?
a) Overgrazing and mining
b) Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, droughts
c) Roads and industrial pollution
d) Cutting forests and irrigation faults
Correct Answer: (b) Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, droughts
Which area in India is badly affected by wind erosion as mentioned in the lesson?
a) Western Ghats
b) Rajasthan desert region
c) Chotanagpur plateau
d) Punjab plains
Correct Answer: (b) Rajasthan desert region
Which soil erosion type is common in the Chambal Valley, Chotanagpur, and Gujarat regions?
a) Wind erosion
b) Sheet erosion
c) Gully erosion
d) Sea erosion
Correct Answer: (c) Gully erosion
Which land use problem has emerged because of urban encroachment on fertile agricultural land?
a) Soil salinity
b) Decline in agricultural land
c) Increase in pastures
d) Increase in soil fertility
Correct Answer: (b) Decline in agricultural land
In which year was the National Wasteland Development Board constituted by the Government of India?
a) 1990
b) 1985
c) 2000
d) 1975
Correct Answer: (b) 1985
Which state has recorded the highest wasteland percentage in India according to remote sensing data?
a) Gujarat
b) Rajasthan
c) Jammu and Kashmir
d) Sikkim
Correct Answer: (c) Jammu and Kashmir
Which sustainable practice involves integrated management of crops, livestock, soil, water, and biodiversity?
a) Zero till farming
b) Sustainable land management
c) Fallow land farming
d) Industrial farming
Correct Answer: (b) Sustainable land management
Which soil type in India is most fertile, formed by river deposits and covers the Ganga-Brahmaputra plains?
a) Red soil
b) Alluvial soil
c) Black soil
d) Laterite soil
Correct Answer: (b) Alluvial soil
Which government scheme was launched in 2015 to guide farmers about soil nutrients and fertilisers?
a) Soil Quality Programme
b) Soil Health Card Scheme
c) Green Revolution Scheme
d) National Fertiliser Mission
Correct Answer: (b) Soil Health Card Scheme
