20 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in every exam-style shape used in the paper. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markWhat proportion of the earth’s total water is freshwater, according to the chapter?
(A) About 17 per cent(B) About 60 per cent(C) About 71 per cent(D) About 3 per cent - 1 markWhat is India’s total utilisable water resource, after accounting for the 60 per cent that can be put to beneficial use?
(A) 1,869 cubic km(B) 4,000 cubic km(C) 1,122 cubic km(D) 690 cubic km - 1 markIn Punjab, what percentage of the total net irrigated area is irrigated through wells and tubewells?
(A) 51.3 per cent(B) 85 per cent(C) 32 per cent(D) 76.1 per cent - 1 markAs defined in the chapter, water quality refers to which of the following?
(A) The temperature of water(B) The total volume of water available(C) The purity of water, free of unwanted foreign substances(D) The rate of flow of a river - 1 markWhich river does the chapter name as the most polluted river in the country, between Delhi and Etawah?
(A) The Yamuna(B) The Ganga(C) The Sabarmati(D) The Gomti - 1 markHaryali, a watershed development project sponsored by the Central Government, is executed by which body?
(A) State Pollution Control Boards(B) Gram Panchayats, with people’s participation(C) The Ministry of Jal Shakti directly(D) Private industries - 1 markIn which year was the National Water Policy referred to in this chapter adopted?
(A) 2015-16(B) 1986(C) 1974(D) 2012
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): The total utilisable water resource of India (1,122 cubic km) is much smaller than the total water received from precipitation in a year (about 4,000 cubic km).
Reason (R): The National Water Policy, 2012 recommends treating water as an economic good after meeting pre-emptive needs such as drinking water and sanitation.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A(B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): River water pollution in India is generally worst during the summer season.
Reason (R): During the summer, the flow of water in rivers is low, so the concentration of pollutants increases.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A(B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch List-I (River) with List-II (Severely polluted stretch/city named in the chapter):
(i) Yamuna (ii) Sabarmati (iii) Gomti (iv) Musi
1) Lucknow 2) Hyderabad 3) Delhi-Etawah 4) Ahmedabad
(A) (i)-2, (ii)-1, (iii)-4, (iv)-3(B) (i)-4, (ii)-3, (iii)-2, (iv)-1(C) (i)-1, (ii)-2, (iii)-3, (iv)-4(D) (i)-3, (ii)-4, (iii)-1, (iv)-2 - 1 markMatch List-I (Water-harvesting initiative) with List-II (State/region named in the chapter):
(i) Neeru-Meeru (ii) Arvary Pani Sansad (iii) Compulsory household rainwater harvesting (iv) Kund or Tanka (traditional structure)
1) Tamil Nadu 2) Rajasthan 3) Andhra Pradesh 4) Alwar, Rajasthan
(A) (i)-1, (ii)-2, (iii)-3, (iv)-4(B) (i)-4, (ii)-1, (iii)-2, (iv)-3(C) (i)-3, (ii)-4, (iii)-1, (iv)-2(D) (i)-2, (ii)-3, (iii)-4, (iv)-1
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markConsider the following statements:
Statement I: India has more than 17 per cent of the world’s population but only about 4 per cent of the world’s water resources.
Statement II: Tensions and disputes over sharing water are becoming a contested issue only between neighbouring countries, never within India.
(A) Only Statement I is correct(B) Both statements are correct(C) Only Statement II is correct(D) Both statements are incorrect
5 Arrange in the Correct Order
Arrange in the Correct Order
- 1 markArrange the following in decreasing order of quantity:
(i) Total replenishable groundwater resources (ii) Total water received from precipitation in a year (iii) Total utilisable water resource (iv) Total water available from surface water and replenishable groundwater
(A) (iv), (ii), (i), (iii)(B) (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)(C) (ii), (iv), (iii), (i)(D) (iii), (i), (iv), (ii) - 1 markArrange the following in chronological order, earliest to latest:
(i) Environment (Protection) Act (ii) Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) (iii) Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act (iv) Water Cess Act
(A) (iii), (i), (iv), (ii)(B) (iii), (iv), (i), (ii)(C) (iv), (iii), (i), (ii)(D) (ii), (i), (iv), (iii)
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markAccording to the chapter, water is described as a ________ resource.
(A) cyclic(B) fossil(C) non-renewable(D) exhaustible - 1 markIn Rajasthan, rainwater harvesting structures built near or in the house or village are locally known as ________.
(A) Johad(B) percolation tanks(C) check dams(D) Kund or Tanka
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markWhich of the following rivers is NOT named among the country’s severely polluted rivers in the chapter?
(A) Sabarmati(B) Godavari(C) Gomti(D) Musi
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
Ralegan Siddhi is a small village in the district of Ahmadnagar, Maharashtra. It has become an example for watershed development throughout the country. In 1975, this village was caught in a web of poverty and illicit liquor trade. The transformation took place when a retired army personnel, settled down in the village and took up the task of watershed development. Work began with the percolation tank constructed in the village. In 1975, the tank could not hold water. The embankment wall leaked. People voluntarily repaired the embankment. The seven wells below it swelled with water in summer for the first time in the living memory of the people. A youth group called Tarun Mandal was formed. A Rs.22 lakh school building was constructed using only the resources of the village. No donations were taken.
- 1 mark(Based on the passage) In which district and state is Ralegan Siddhi located?
(A) Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh(B) Alwar, Rajasthan(C) Ahmadnagar, Maharashtra(D) Ahmedabad, Gujarat - 1 mark(Based on the passage) What was the name of the youth group formed in Ralegan Siddhi?
(A) Nyay Panchayat(B) Tarun Mandal(C) Gram Sabha(D) Jal Sena
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 markChoose the correct combination of statements:
(i) Water is a cyclic resource.
(ii) About 3 per cent of the earth’s total water is freshwater.
(iii) All of India’s freshwater is effectively available for human use.
(A) Only (i) and (ii)(B) Only (ii) and (iii)(C) Only (i) and (iii)(D) All are correct
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (D) The chapter states that approximately 71 per cent of the earth’s surface is covered with water, but freshwater constitutes only about 3 per cent of the total water.
- (C) Out of the 1,869 cubic km available from surface water and replenishable groundwater, only 60 per cent can be put to beneficial uses, so the total utilisable water resource is only 1,122 cubic km.
- (D) Of the total net irrigated area, 76.1 per cent in Punjab and 51.3 per cent in Haryana are irrigated through wells and tubewells.
- (C) The chapter defines water quality as the purity of water, or water without unwanted foreign substances.
- (A) The Yamuna river is the most polluted river in the country between Delhi and Etawah.
- (B) Haryali is being executed by Gram Panchayats with people’s participation, and aims at enabling the rural population to conserve water for drinking, irrigation, fisheries and afforestation.
- (D) The chapter’s box, ‘Highlights of India’s National Water Policy 2012’, gives the objective and salient features of the National Water Policy, 2012.
Assertion-Reason
- (B) Both A and R are the chapter’s own facts, but they are unrelated: R, about the National Water Policy’s treatment of water as an economic good, does not explain why the utilisable water resource is so much smaller than the precipitation received.
- (A) Both are the chapter’s own words: the concentration of pollutants in rivers especially remains very high during the summer season when the flow of water is low, so R correctly explains A.
Match the Following
- (D) The Yamuna is most polluted between Delhi and Etawah, the Sabarmati at Ahmedabad, the Gomti at Lucknow, and the Musi at Hyderabad.
- (C) Neeru-Meeru is in Andhra Pradesh, Arvary Pani Sansad is in Alwar (Rajasthan), compulsory household rainwater harvesting is in Tamil Nadu, and Kund or Tanka is Rajasthan’s traditional structure.
Statement-Based Questions
- (A) Statement I matches the chapter’s own figures exactly. Statement II is false: the chapter says these tensions and disputes are becoming contested issues among communities, regions and states, i.e. within India too, not only between countries.
Arrange in the Correct Order
- (C) 4,000 (precipitation) > 1,869 (surface + groundwater available) > 1,122 (total utilisable) > 432 (replenishable groundwater), i.e. (ii), (iv), (iii), (i).
- (B) The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act was passed in 1974, the Water Cess Act in 1977, the Environment (Protection) Act in 1986, and PMKSY was launched in 2015-16. So the order is (iii), (iv), (i), (ii).
Fill in the Blanks
- (A) The chapter opens by describing water as a cyclic resource, with abundant supplies on the globe.
- (D) These structures are locally known as Kund or Tanka, a covered underground tank.
Odd One Out
- (B) The chapter names the Yamuna, Sabarmati, Gomti, Kali, Adyar, Cooum, Vaigai, Musi and the Ganga (at Kanpur/Varanasi) as severely polluted; the Godavari appears earlier as a river whose flow has already been harnessed, not among the polluted rivers.
Passage-Based Questions
- (C) The passage states that Ralegan Siddhi is a small village in the district of Ahmadnagar, Maharashtra.
- (B) The passage states that a youth group called Tarun Mandal was formed in the village.
True / False
- (A) (i) and (ii) are the chapter’s own facts. (iii) is incorrect: the chapter says only a very small proportion of freshwater is effectively available for human use, not all of it.
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