Options 1 and 3 are correct. Options 2 and 4 are incorrect. Sikkim and Darjeeling Himalayas are best suitable for tea plantations due to –
1. Moderate slope
2. Thick soil cover with high organic content
3. Well distributed rainfall throughout the year
4. Mild winters

• Statements 1 and 3 are incorrect. Statement 2 is correct.
• Statement 1 is incorrect. The Peninsular Plateau is a triangular-shaped tableland. The River Narmada divides the peninsular plateau into two parts. They are the central highlands and Deccan Plateau.
• Statement 2 is correct. The black soil area in the Deccan plateau is known as the Deccan trap. It is formed due to volcanic eruptions. This soil is good for cotton and sugarcane cultivation.
• Statement 3 is incorrect. The Deccan plateau is broadly divided into (a) The Western Ghats and (b) The Eastern Ghats.

• Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is incorrect.
• Traditional Large-Scale Industrial Regions are based on heavy industry, often located near coal-fields and engaged in metal smelting, heavy engineering, chemical manufacture or textile production. These industries are now known as smokestack industries. Traditional industrial regions can be recognized by:
1. High proportion of employment in the manufacturing industry.
2. High-density housing, often of inferior type, and poor services.
3. Unattractive environment, for example, pollution, waste heaps, and so on.
4. Problems of unemployment, emigration and derelict land areas caused by closure of factories because of a worldwide fall in demand.

• Statement 1 is correct. The sugar industry is seasonal because of the seasonality of raw materials.
• Statement 2 is incorrect. India stands second as a world producer of sugar but occupies first place in the production of gur and khandsari.
• Statement 3 is incorrect. The crop yield is low in Northern India than in Southern India. Uttar Pradesh’s yield is low, but in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu the yield is high.
• The sugar industry is the second most important agro-based industry in India. Brazil is the top country with sugar cane production in the world. As of 2018, sugar cane production in Brazil was 746 million tonnes that account for 39.20% of the world’s sugar cane production. The top 5 countries (others are India, China, Thailand, and Pakistan) account for 73.70% of it.
• India accounts for about 19 percent of the world’s production of sugarcane. But it occupies only 2.4 percent of total cropped area in the country.
• This industry employs more than 4 lakh persons directly and a large number of farmers indirectly.
• The development of the industry on modern lines dates back to 1903 when a sugar mill was started in Bihar. Subsequently, sugar mills were started in other parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. In 1950-51, 139 factories were in operation. The number of sugar factories rose to 662 in 2010-11.
• Sugarcane is a weight-losing crop. The ratio of sugar to sugarcane varies between 9 to 12 percent depending on its variety. Its sucrose content begins to dry during haulage after it has been harvested from the field. Better recovery of sugar is dependent upon its being crushed within 24 hours of its harvesting. Sugar factories hence are located within the cane producing regions. Maharashtra has emerged as a leading sugar producer in the country and produces more than one-third of the total production of the sugar in the country
• Uttar Pradesh is the second-largest producer of sugar. The sugar factories are concentrated in two belts –the Ganga-Yamuna doab and the Tarai region. The major sugar-producing centers in the Ganga -Yamuna doab are Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Baghpat, and Bulandshahr districts; while Kheri Lakhimpur, Basti, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Bahraich are important sugar-producing districts in the Tarai region.
• The country’s second-largest sugar producing state is Maharashtra. Karnataka is the country’s third-largest sugar producing state.

• Statement 1 is correct and statement 2 is incorrect.
• Statement 1 is correct. In India, the dryland farming is largely confined to the regions having annual rainfall less than 75 cm. These regions grow hardy and drought resistant crops such as ragi, bajra, moong, gram and guar (fodder crops) and practice various measures of soil moisture conservation and rain water harvesting. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
• Dryland Agriculture refers to growing of crops entirely under rainfed conditions.
• Based on the amount of rainfall received, dryland agriculture can be grouped into three categories:
1. Dry Farming: Cultivation of crops in areas where rainfall is less than 750 mm per annum
2. Dryland Farming: Cultivation of crops in areas receiving rainfall above 750 mm
3. Rainfed Farming: Cultivation of crops in regions receiving more than 1,150 mm.
• Soil moisture dynamics in Dryland: During rainy period, a portion of the rain received goes as runoff and remaining part enters the soil. It generally percolates to the lower layers and sometimes, goes beyond the root zone of crops. After the rain, the surface soil gradually dries out either due to evaporation or transpiration or due to both.

• Option B is correct.
• Cotton is a Fibre Crop. Cotton is a tropical crop grown in kharif season in semi-arid areas of the country. Cotton requires clear sky during flowering stage.
• India ranks second in the world in the production of cotton after China.
• Cotton occupies about 4.7 per cent of total cropped area in the country. There are three cotton growing areas, i.e. parts of Punjab, Haryana and northern Rajasthan in north-west, Gujarat and Maharashtra in the west and plateaus of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in south.
• Leading producers of this crop are Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana Per hectare output of cotton is high under irrigated conditions in north-western region of the country. Its yield is very low in Maharashtra where it is grown under rainfed conditions.

Statements 2 and 3 are correct. Statement 1 is incorrect. Chotanagpur plateau represents the north-eastern projection of the Indian Peninsula. Mostly in Jharkhand, northern part of Chhatisgarh and Purulia district of West Bengal. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
This plateau is composed mainly of Gondwana rocks. Hence statement 3 is Correct.
The plateau is drained by numerous rivers and streams in different directions and presents a radial drainage pattern. {Drainage Pattern} Hence, statement 2 is correct.
Rivers like the Damodar, the Subarnrekaha, the North Koel, the South Koel and the Barkar have developed extensive drainage basins.

Option A is correct. Surface sea temperature and humidity are directly related to the formation of cyclones. Due to sluggish air over BoB, Sea surface temperature does not fall hence it keeps the average temperature high. It makes the possibility high. Later topography of eastern coast does not deflect the wind direction hence they hit the East coast.

Option B is correct. Ahmedabad is often refered as the Manchester of India because of its leading texttile manufacturing. Hence B is the Correct answer.

Option B is correct. Waste-Land is any land which is left fallow (uncultivated) for more than five years is included in this category. It can be brought under cultivation after improving it through reclamation practices.