Population, Agriculture, Irrigation, Minerals, Energy & Industry of Maharashtra — Practice

Question 1

Which district of Maharashtra had the highest sex ratio in Census 2011, and why?

Accepted Answer

Ratnagiri, because many men migrate to Mumbai for work, leaving a larger share of women in the district.

Question 2

Where is India's first nuclear power station, and when was it commissioned?

Accepted Answer

At Tarapur in Palghar district, Maharashtra, in 1969.

Question 3

Which market in Nashik district is known for onions?

Accepted Answer

Lasalgaon, among Asia's largest onion markets.

Question 4

Which region of Maharashtra holds most of its coal, and why?

Accepted Answer

The Wardha valley in eastern Vidarbha (Chandrapur, Yavatmal, Nagpur), because it lies on Gondwana rocks rather than the Deccan basalt.

Question 5

What is MIHAN, and where is it?

Accepted Answer

The Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur, a logistics hub and special economic zone around the airport.

Question 6

Match: Atal Setu, Samruddhi Mahamarg, Jawaharlal Nehru Port.

Accepted Answer

Atal Setu: the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, India's longest sea bridge, opened January 2024. Samruddhi Mahamarg: the Mumbai-Nagpur expressway, fully opened 2025. Jawaharlal Nehru Port: India's largest container port, at Nhava Sheva.

Question 7

Describe the cropping pattern of Maharashtra and its regional variation. (~150 words)

Accepted Answer

Maharashtra's farming is largely rain-fed and follows soils and rainfall. The black soils of Vidarbha, Marathwada and Khandesh carry cotton and soybean in the kharif season, and Maharashtra has the largest area under cotton in India. The plateau grows rabi jowar, especially in Solapur and Ahilyanagar, with tur and gram as the main pulses. Irrigated western Maharashtra, from Kolhapur and Sangli to Pune and Ahilyanagar, grows sugarcane, while the Konkan and eastern Vidarbha, with higher rainfall, grow rice. Horticulture is a strength: grapes and onions in Nashik, pomegranates in Solapur, oranges in Nagpur, bananas in Jalgaon and Alphonso mangoes and cashew in the Konkan. The pattern's weakness is the spread of water-intensive cane into drought-prone areas.

Question 8

Maharashtra has the most large dams in India yet a low share of irrigated area. Explain and suggest remedies. (~250 words)

Accepted Answer

Maharashtra holds roughly two-fifths of India's large dams, but only about a fifth of its cropped area is irrigated. There are four causes. The uneven basalt terrain of the plateau keeps canal commands small and costly, and the rock stores little groundwater. Many reservoirs lie in the rain shadow and fill poorly in weak monsoon years. Many projects were started and left incomplete for years, so potential created was not turned into potential used. And sugarcane, which needs water all year, takes a disproportionate share of available water. The remedies follow. Completing projects already begun, especially their distribution networks, should come before new sanctions. Drip and sprinkler irrigation, made standard for cane, and volumetric water pricing would stretch supply. Watershed development and groundwater recharge on the Ralegan Siddhi and Hiware Bazar model, scaled by programmes such as Jalyukt Shivar, would help rain-fed areas. The Water Resources Regulatory Authority, created in 2005, can share water fairly between upstream and downstream regions such as Nashik and Marathwada. Storage without distribution and demand management does not irrigate fields.

Question 9

Why is industry concentrated in a few belts of Maharashtra, and what has the state done about it? (~150 words)

Accepted Answer

Industry is concentrated in the Mumbai-Thane-Pune-Nashik triangle because of the port, the financial centre, skilled labour, early infrastructure and the head start of the colonial economy. This has left Marathwada and Vidarbha behind. The state's response has been to spread industrial land through MIDC estates in every district, to build nodes such as AURIC at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and MIHAN at Nagpur, to offer higher incentives in less developed regions under its industrial policies, and to link regions with infrastructure such as the Samruddhi Mahamarg. The results are mixed: new hubs have grown, but investment still favours the western belt, which is why regional imbalance remains a live issue.

Practice — Population, Agriculture, Irrigation, Minerals, Energy & Industry of Maharashtra

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