• Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal.
• It is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the second largest brackish water lagoon in the world after The New Caledonian barrier reef.
Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• It is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian sub-continent.
Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• In 1981, Chilika Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• The lake is home to endangered Irrawaddy dolphins besides waterfowl, waders, etc.
• Two sites —Chilika Lake (Odisha) and Keoladeo National Park (Bharatpur) are protected as water-fowl habitats under the Convention of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention).

The order of cities from West to East is:
Jaipur. Bhopal, Lucknow and Raipur

Biosphere Reserves that lie South of Tropic of Cancer are:
• Panchmarhi
• Achanakmar-Amarkantak
• Simplipal
• Sunderban
• Nilgiri
• Gulf of Mannar
• Great Nicobar
• Agasthyamalai

Statement 1 is incorrect.
A Wildlife Sanctuary is a natural habitat, owned by the government or private agency, that safeguards a particular species of birds and animals.

• National parks are notified areas that cover a larger area of land which may cover multiple National Parks, Sanctuaries, and reserves as well.
• A National Park is highly restricted, random access to the general public is not allowed.
Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and its World Commission on Protected Areas, has defined it as a Category II type of protected area.

• Pin Valley National Park- Himachal Pradesh
• Kibber Wildlife sanctuary- Himachal Pradesh
• Dibru-Saikhowa National Park- Assam
• Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary- Gujarat

• The western coastal plains are an example of submerged coastal plain. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• Because of this submergence it is a narrow belt and provides natural conditions for the development of ports and harbours. Kandla, Mazagaon, JLN port Navha Sheva, Marmagao, Mangalore, Cochin, etc. are some of the important natural ports located along the west coast.
• The western coastal plains are narrow in the middle and get broader towards north and south. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
• The rivers flowing through this coastal plain do not form any delta. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

The hills arranged in North to South are:
Dafla hills
Pataki Bum
Naga hills
Mizo hills

A person has to pass through 5 states for reaching West Bengal from Rajasthan-
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.

• Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall in the eastern and southern part of the Deccan Plateau.
Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
• Along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghat, long stretch of area is occupied by red loamy soil.
• Yellow and red soils are also found in parts of Odisha and Chattisgarh and in the southern parts of the middle Ganga plain.
• The soil develops a reddish colour due to a wide diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks.
• It looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• The fine-grained red and yellow soils are normally fertile, whereas coarse-grained soils found in dry upland areas are poor in fertility.
• They are generally poor in nitrogen, phosphorous and humus.
Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

• Soil consists of three layers which are called horizons.
• ‘Horizon A’ is the topmost zone, where organic materials have got incorporated with the mineral matter, nutrients and water, which are necessary for the growth of plants.
• ‘Horizon B’ is a transition zone between the ‘horizon A’ and ‘horizon C’, and contains matter derived from below as well as from above. It has some organic matter in it, although the mineral matter is noticeably weathered.
• ‘Horizon C’ is composed of the loose parent material. This layer is the first stage in the soil formation process and eventually forms the above two layers.
• This arrangement of layers is known as the soil profile.

There are total 18 Biosphere Reserves in India.
1. Nilgiri – Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka
2. Nanda Devi – Uttarakhand
3. Nokrek – Meghalaya
4. Manas – Assam
5. Sunderban – West Bengal
6. Gulf of Mannar – Tamil Nadu
7. Great Nicobar – Southern most island of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
8. Similipal – Odisha.
9. Dibru-Saikhowa – Assam
10 Dehang Debang – Arunachal Pradesh.
11. Pachmarhi – Madhya Pradesh
12. Khangchendzonga – Sikkim
13. Agasthyamalai – Kerala
14. Achanakmar-Amarkantak – Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh
15. Kachchh – Gujarat
16. Cold Desert – Himachal Pradesh
17. Seshachalam – Andhra Pradesh
18. Panna – Madhya Pradesh

The ones in “bold” (11) are covered under UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme.

Statement 1 is incorrect because Tropical Deciduous forests are also called as monsoon forests.
Statement 2 is incorrect because the temperate forests are called Sholas in the Nilgiris, Anaimalai and Palani hills.

• In mountainous areas, the decrease in temperature with increasing altitude leads to a corresponding change in natural vegetation.
• Mountain forests can be classified into two types, the northern mountain forests and the southern mountain forests.
• The Himalayan ranges show a succession of vegetation from the tropical to the tundra, which change in with the altitude.
• The southern slopes of the Himalayas carry a thicker vegetation cover because of relatively higher precipitation than the drier north-facing slopes. Hence, Statement 3 is correct.
• The southern mountain forests include the forests found in three distinct areas of Peninsular India viz; the Western Ghats, the Vindhyas and the Nilgiris.
• As they are closer to the tropics, and only 1,500 m above the sea level, vegetation is temperate in the higher regions, and subtropical on the lower regions of the Western Ghats, especially in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
• Such forests are also found in the Satpura and the Maikal ranges. Hence, Statement 4 is correct.

• Tropical evergreen forests are found in the western slope of the Western Ghats, hills of the northeastern region and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• They are found in warm and humid areas with an annual precipitation of over 200 cm and mean annual temperature above 22oC.
• Tropical evergreen forests are well stratified, with layers closer to the ground and are covered with shrubs and creepers, with short structured trees followed by tall variety of trees. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• In these forests, trees reach great heights up to 60 m or above.
• There is no definite time for trees to shed their leaves, flowering and fruition. As such these forests appear green all the year round. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.
• Species found in these forests include rosewood, mahogony, aini, ebony, etc.
• The semi evergreen forests are found in the less rainy parts of these regions.
• Such forests have a mixture of evergreen and moist deciduous trees.
• The undergrowing climbers provide an evergreen character to these forests.
• Main species are white cedar, hollock and kail.

The Tamil Nadu coast remains dry during southwest monsoon season.
There are two factors responsible for it:
(i) The Tamil Nadu coast is situated parallel to the Bay of Bengal branch of southwest monsoon. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
(ii) It lies in the rainshadow area of the Arabian Sea branch of the south-west monsoon. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

• There are three main reasons for the excessive cold in north India during the cold weather season :
(i) States like Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan being far away from the moderating influence of sea experience continental climate. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
(ii) The snowfall in the nearby Himalayan ranges creates cold wave situation; and
(iii) Around February, the cold winds coming from the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan bring cold wave along with frost and fog
over the northwestern parts of India. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• As the summer sets in and the sun shifts northwards, the wind circulation over the subcontinent undergoes a complete reversal at both, the lower as well as the upper levels.
• By the middle of July, the low pressure belt nearer the surface [termed as Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)] shifts northwards, roughly parallel to the Himalayas between 20° N and 25° N. By this time, the westerly jet stream also withdraws from the Indian region.
Hence, statement 1 and 2 are correct.
• The ITCZ being a zone of low pressure, attracts inflow of winds from different directions.
• The maritime tropical airmass (mT) from the southern hemisphere, after crossing the equator, rushes to the low pressure area in the general southwesterly direction. It is this moist air current which is popularly known as the southwest monsoon.
• The pattern of pressure and winds as mentioned above is formed only at the level of the troposphere.
• An easterly jet stream flows over the southern part of the Peninsula in June, and has a maximum speed of 90 km per hour.
Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• In August, it is confined to 15o N latitude, and in September up to 22o N latitudes.
• The easterlies normally do not extend to the north of 30o N latitude in the upper atmosphere.

• The western cyclonic disturbances which enter the Indian subcontinent from the west and the northwest during the winter months, originate over the Mediterranean Sea and are brought into India by the westerly jet stream. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
• An increase in the prevailing night temperature generally indicates an advance in the arrival of these cyclones disturbances.
Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

States sharing boundary with Nepal are:
Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal

• The Peninsular drainage system is older than the Himalayan one. This is evident from the broad, largely-graded shallow valleys, and the
maturity of the rivers. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
• Most of the major Peninsular rivers except Narmada and Tapi flow from west to east.
• The Chambal, the Sind, the Betwa, the Ken, the Son, originating in the northern part of the Peninsula belong to the Ganga river system.
• The other major river systems of the Peninsular drainage are – the Mahanadi the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri.
• Peninsular rivers are characterised by fixed course, absence of meanders and non-perennial flow of water. The Narmada and the Tapi which flow through the rift valley are, however, exceptions. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

• The Brahmaputra, one of the largest rivers of the world, has its origin in the Chemayungdung glacier of the Kailash range near theMansarovar lake.
• The Sarda or Saryu river rises in the Milam glacier in the Nepal Himalayas where it is known as the Goriganga.
• The Yamuna, the western most and the longest tributary of the Ganga, has its source in the Yamunotri glacier on the western slopes of Banderpunch range.
• The Indus also known as the Sindhu, is the westernmost of the Himalayan rivers in India. It originates from a glacier near Bokhar Chu (31°15′ N latitude and 81°40′ E longitude) in the Tibetan region at an altitude of 4,164 m in the Kailash Mountain range.