As per the Census of 2011, which of the following statements about the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is correct?

The correct answer is B, Barren Island. This small uninhabited island in the Andaman Sea, north-east of the territorial capital, carries the only confirmed active volcano in India and in the whole of South Asia. It has erupted repeatedly in recent decades, and because the island has no permanent population the eruptions cause no loss of life.

Option A, Narcondam Island, is the most tempting wrong answer, because it too is a volcanic island of the same arc, but its volcano is dormant; Narcondam is better known as the only home of the Narcondam hornbill. Option C, Car Nicobar, is the administrative centre of the Nicobar district and lies just south of the Ten Degree Channel, but it has no volcano. Option D, Little Andaman, lies north of that channel and is known for the Onge tribe. Remember the pair: Barren is active, Narcondam is dormant.

The correct answer is C, Little Andaman and Car Nicobar. The Ten Degree Channel runs along the ten degree north parallel and divides the Andaman group from the Nicobar group, with Little Andaman on its northern side and Car Nicobar on its southern side. It is a busy sea lane and the single most asked channel from this topic.

Option A describes the Coco Channel, which lies between North Andaman and the Coco Islands belonging to Myanmar. Option B describes Duncan Passage, between South Andaman and Little Andaman. Option D describes the Nine Degree Channel, which is in Lakshadweep and separates Minicoy from the main group of those islands; mixing up the Nine Degree and Ten Degree Channels is the commonest mistake in this question, so link nine with Lakshadweep and ten with Andaman and Nicobar.

The correct answer is B, Saddle Peak. Saddle Peak rises to 732 metres in North Andaman and is the highest point in the whole union territory. It gives its name to Saddle Peak National Park, which protects the tropical evergreen forest on its slopes.

Option A, Mount Thullier, at 642 metres on Great Nicobar, is the highest point of the Nicobar group but not of the territory as a whole; the question is deliberately framed to catch candidates who remember only this name. Option C, Mount Harriet, in South Andaman, is a well known hill and a national park, since renamed Mount Manipur National Park, but it is much lower. Option D, Mount Diavolo, is a hill in Middle Andaman and is also lower than Saddle Peak. Learn the pair of figures together: 732 metres for Saddle Peak and 642 metres for Mount Thullier.

The correct answer is A, Great Nicobar. Indira Point lies at the southern tip of Great Nicobar, the largest island of the Nicobar group, and marks the southernmost land point of the Republic of India, a little above six and three quarter degrees north. It was earlier called Pygmalion Point and was partly submerged when the land subsided during the earthquake and tsunami of December 2004.

Option B, Little Nicobar, lies to the north of Great Nicobar and does not reach as far south. Option C, North Sentinel, is in the Andaman group far to the north and is famous as the home of the uncontacted Sentinelese. Option D, Middle Andaman, is in the middle of the Andaman group. A related point worth remembering is that Kanyakumari is the southernmost point of mainland India, while Indira Point is the southernmost point of the country including its islands.

The correct answer is B, Sri Vijaya Puram. The Government of India announced in September 2024 that the capital of the union territory would be renamed Sri Vijaya Puram, replacing a name that came from the colonial period. The new name was explained as a tribute to the islands' part in the freedom struggle and to the maritime history of the region.

Option C, Swaraj Puram, is close to Swaraj Dweep, which is the new name of Havelock Island given in 2018, so it is a well designed distractor. Option A, Shaheed Nagar, echoes Shaheed Dweep, the new name of Neil Island from the same 2018 decision. Option D, Netaji Nagar, echoes Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, the new name of Ross Island. Keep the four renamings separate: the capital is Sri Vijaya Puram, and Ross, Neil and Havelock are Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep.