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GeographyEasyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GK

The All India Census was 1. first attempted in 1872 2. regularly undertaken since 1881 3. always undertaken as a five-year exercise Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 and 3 only
  3. C.1 and 2 only
  4. D.1, 2 and 3

Correct answer

C. 1 and 2 only

Explanation

The correct answer is C, 1 and 2 only. The first census was attempted in 1872 and it has been held regularly every ten years since 1881.

The census of 1872 was carried out under Viceroy Lord Mayo, but it was not taken at the same time across the country and did not cover all areas, so it is called the first attempt. The first synchronous and complete census was held on 17 February 1881 under Lord Ripon, with W. C. Plowden as the Census Commissioner. Since then a census has been taken once every decade, without a break until 2011, the fifteenth in the series and the seventh after Independence. It is conducted by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Ministry of Home Affairs, and census is a Union List subject.

Option A is wrong because statement 2 is also correct. Option B is wrong because statement 3 is false; the Indian census is a ten-yearly, not a five-yearly, exercise. Option D is wrong for the same reason.

Exam tip: 1872 first attempt (Lord Mayo), 1881 first synchronous census (Lord Ripon), decennial ever since.

Practice Questions

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Q2.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2025, GKHard

Identify the climate type based on the given below characteristics : 1. The annual precipitation is low and is around 15 cm. 2. The development of pronounced winter anticyclones and their weakening in summer sets in monsoon-like reversal of wind in this region. 3. Polewards, summer temperatures are low. Select the answer from the options given below:

  1. A.Subtropical steppe
  2. B.Humid sub-tropical climate
  3. C.Cold climate with dry winters
  4. D.Tundra climate
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Cold climate with dry winters

All three features match the Dw type of Köppen's scheme, found mainly over north-eastern Asia. In the Dw climate, an intense high-pressure system, the Siberian anticyclone, builds up over the frozen land in winter and sends cold, dry winds outward.

Q3.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2025, GKMedium

Which of the following statements with reference to lines of latitudes is/are correct ? 1. The distance between two successive latitudes changes slightly from the equator to the poles. 2. If parallels of latitude are drawn at an interval of one degree, the total number of parallels thus drawn, including the equator, will be 179. Select the answer using the code given below :

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 only
  3. C.Both 1 and 2
  4. D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Both 1 and 2

The Earth is slightly flattened at the poles, and the poles themselves are points, not lines. Because the Earth is an oblate spheroid, a degree of latitude is a little shorter at the equator, about 110.6 km, than near the poles, about 111.7 km.

Q5.GeographyAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2017, GATMedium

Consider the following Indian States : 1. Bihar 2. Rajasthan 3. Jammu and Kashmir 4. Haryana Which one of the following is the correct ascending order of the above States on the basis of percentage of State's population to total population of India (based on census 2011) ?

  1. A.3-4-1-2
  2. B.4-2-1-3
  3. C.3-4-2-1
  4. D.2-3-4-1
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 3-4-2-1

By Census 2011, Jammu and Kashmir had the smallest share of India's population among these four, then Haryana, then Rajasthan, and Bihar the largest.