Bihar Geography: Agriculture, Minerals & Population
54 questions · Bihar special · BPSC prelims pattern
How this test works
Click the option you think is right. It locks, turns green if correct or red if not, and the explanation opens underneath. Your score updates in the bar at the top as you go, and Calculate final score at the bottom gives the full breakdown. Choose Not attempted when you would only be guessing.
+1 mark — Correct answer
−1/3 mark — Wrong answer
0 — no penalty — Not attempted, the last option on every question
−1/3 mark — Row left completely blank in the real exam
Questions 7, 15, 17, 20, 30, 39, 45 and 54 carry a note where the key is dated, contested, or contradicts another question in the set.
Agriculture & Irrigation24 questions
1. The largest jute-producing district of Bihar is:
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Answer: (D) Purnia
Jute is grown in the humid north-eastern districts of the Kosi–Mahananda plain — Purnia, Katihar, Kishanganj and Araria — with Purnia the largest producer.
2. The Triveni Canal has been constructed on which river?
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Answer: (C) Gandak
The Triveni Canal takes off from the Gandak near Triveni in West Champaran and irrigates the Champaran districts.
3. Which of the following canal systems irrigates areas of Bihar?
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Answer: (B) Triveni Canal
Only the Triveni Canal serves Bihar. The Upper Ganga and Sharda canals irrigate Uttar Pradesh, and the Eastern Yamuna Canal serves the Doab.
4. What is the nature of agriculture in Bihar?
1. Subsistence
2. Commercial
3. Export-oriented
4. Self-sufficient
Select the correct code.
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Answer: (A) Only 1
Bihar’s farming is dominated by small and marginal holdings where most of the harvest is consumed by the household, which is what subsistence agriculture means. It is neither commercial nor export-oriented, and its dependence on the monsoon and on flood cycles keeps it from being reliably self-sufficient.
5. What is the main crop of the Chotanagpur Plateau?
1. Rice
2. Maize
3. Pulses
4. Wheat
Select the correct code.
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Answer: (A) Only 1
Rice is the principal crop of the Chotanagpur plateau, grown in terraced and low-lying fields during the monsoon. The plateau lay in undivided Bihar and is now in Jharkhand.
6. In Bihar, the belt of the jute industry is:
1. North-West plain of Bihar
2. North-East plain of Bihar
3. Central-South plain of Bihar
4. Damodar river valley
Select the correct code.
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Answer: (B) Only 2
The jute belt lies in the north-eastern plain, in Purnia, Katihar, Kishanganj and Araria, where heavy rainfall and annual flood silt suit the crop. The Damodar valley was in undivided Bihar and is now in Jharkhand.
7. What percentage of the total cultivated land of Bihar is irrigated?
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Answer: (C) 30% to 40%
The key places Bihar’s irrigated share of cultivated land between 30 and 40 per cent, reflecting the period when canals on the Kosi, Gandak and Son were the main source of irrigation.
Check this one. This figure comes from an older paper. Later state data put the irrigated share higher, largely because of the spread of private tubewells, so treat 30–40% as this paper’s key rather than a current statistic.
8. In Bihar, by production, the second crop after rice is:
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Answer: (A) Wheat
Rice and wheat are Bihar’s two largest crops by production, grown in the kharif and rabi seasons respectively, with maize third.
9. After Independence, the irrigated area in Bihar has increased by:
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Answer: (D) Ten times
The key credits a roughly ten-fold expansion since Independence, driven by the large canal projects on the Kosi, Gandak and Son and, later, by groundwater irrigation through tubewells.
10. Which type of bank has been proposed in Bihar for agriculture and rural development?
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Answer: (B) Agricultural Machinery Bank
Bihar’s agriculture road maps promoted farm-machinery banks, also run as custom hiring centres, so that small and marginal farmers could rent tractors, threshers and other equipment they could not afford to buy.
11. Which agro-climatic zone of Bihar has the maximum number of districts?
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Answer: (B) North-West
Bihar has four agro-climatic zones. Zone I, the North-West alluvial plain, has the most districts: thirteen, including the two Champarans, Saran, Siwan, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Samastipur.
12. The Saran irrigation canal emerges from which river?
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Answer: (D) Gandak
The Saran canal system is part of the Gandak project, fed by the main western canal from the barrage at Valmikinagar.
13. Water from which river flows into the Triveni Canal?
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Answer: (C) Gandak
The Triveni Canal carries Gandak water. The Mayurakshi is a river of Jharkhand and West Bengal, and the Son and Kosi feed canal systems of their own.
14. The main food crops of Bihar are:
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Answer: (A) Rice, wheat, maize
Rice, wheat and maize are the state’s three main cereals. Tea is confined to Kishanganj, and coffee and groundnut are not significant crops in Bihar.
15. The net cultivated area as a percentage of the total area of Bihar is:
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Answer: (C) 80
The key gives 80 per cent.
Check this one. Bihar’s land-use statistics put net sown area at roughly 55–60 per cent of the geographical area, which points to (A) 60. A figure near 80 per cent matches gross cropped area, which counts land sown more than once. Check this against your source before memorising it.
16. Which districts of Bihar will benefit from the Kosi–Mechi link project?
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Answer: (C) Araria, Purnia, Kishanganj, Katihar
The Kosi–Mechi link carries surplus Kosi water to the Mechi, a tributary of the Mahananda, to irrigate the Seemanchal districts of Araria, Purnia, Kishanganj and Katihar.
17. In April 2022, a Geographical Indication (GI) tag was awarded to which of the following by the Government of India?
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Answer: (D) Mithila Makhana
Mithila Makhana received the GI tag, recognising the fox nut grown in the ponds and wetlands of the Mithila region.
Check this one. Most reports date the award to August 2022 rather than April. The answer is unaffected, but do not memorise the month from this stem.
18. The food crops of Bihar in order of area cultivated are:
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Answer: (C) Paddy, wheat, maize, pulses
By area, paddy leads in the kharif season and wheat in the rabi season, maize follows, and pulses trail all three.
19. What are the major crops of Bihar?
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Answer: (A) Rice, wheat and maize
Rice, wheat and maize are the major crops. Pulses, sugarcane and oilseeds are grown on far smaller areas, and cotton is negligible in the state.
20. In which district of Bihar is maize production the highest?
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Answer: (A) Muzaffarpur
Among these four options, the key picks Muzaffarpur.
Check this one. Current data put the Kosi–Seemanchal districts, such as Katihar, Purnia and Khagaria, well ahead of all four as Bihar’s leading maize producers. Answer (A) here, but do not carry “Muzaffarpur” into a question with different options.
21. In which district of Bihar is litchi production the highest?
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Answer: (C) Muzaffarpur
Muzaffarpur is Bihar’s litchi district and the home of the GI-tagged Shahi litchi. Sonpur and Chhapra are towns in Saran district rather than districts in their own right.
22. In which district of Bihar is fox nut (makhana) production the highest?
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Answer: (D) Madhubani
Of these options, only Madhubani lies in the makhana belt of Mithila, alongside Darbhanga, Purnia and Katihar. Darbhanga hosts the national research centre for makhana.
23. Bihar produces 71 per cent of India’s annual production of which of these?
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Answer: (C) Lychee
Bihar is India’s leading litchi producer. Estimates of its share vary by source and year, but the answer is litchi either way.
24. In which district of Bihar is wheat production the highest?
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Answer: (C) Rohtas
Rohtas, in the Son canal command area, leads in wheat and is also known as the rice bowl of Bihar.
Mineral Resources12 questions
25. The Kaimur Plateau is famous for which mineral?
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Answer: (B) Limestone
The Kaimur plateau, spanning Rohtas and Kaimur districts, holds Bihar’s main limestone deposits, which supplied the cement works at Banjari in Rohtas.
26. Gold is found in which of the following districts of Bihar?
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Answer: (D) Jamui
Gold occurs in Jamui district, in the Sono block around Karmatiya.
27. Which district of Bihar has the largest gold reserve?
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Answer: (B) Jamui
Jamui. Bihar holds about 44 per cent of India’s gold ore reserves, and nearly all of it lies in Jamui’s Sono area.
28. The finest quality of the mineral mica is obtained from:
1. Dhanbad
2. Hazaribagh
3. Jharia
4. Kulti
Select the correct code.
Show answer
Answer: (B) Only 2
The finest ruby mica comes from the Hazaribagh–Kodarma belt, which lay in undivided Bihar and is now in Jharkhand. Dhanbad and Jharia are coalfields, and Kulti is a steel town in West Bengal.
29. In Bihar, iron ore is extracted from:
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Answer: (D) Singhbhum district
Iron ore was mined in Singhbhum, at Noamundi and Gua, in undivided Bihar. The district is now in Jharkhand.
30. Which district of Bihar has reserves of mica?
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Answer: (E) None of the above / More than one of the above
The key marks (E), holding that none of the four listed districts is a mica district. Present-day Bihar’s mica lies mainly in Nawada and Jamui.
Check this one. Many Bihar geography texts include southern Gaya in the mica belt alongside Nawada and Jamui, which would make (C) correct. The key follows a narrower reading, so check your source.
31. Which of the following minerals are found in Bihar?
1. Coal
2. Iron
3. Manganese
4. Petroleum
Select the correct code.
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Answer: (B) 1 and 2
The key credits coal and iron. Manganese is not a mineral of note in Bihar, and petroleum has been explored for but not produced.
32. Bihar’s coal reserves as on 1 January 2003 were (in million tonnes):
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Answer: (C) 160
The Geological Survey of India put Bihar’s coal reserves at about 160 million tonnes once the major coalfields had gone to Jharkhand in 2000.
33. The estimated coal reserve of Bihar is:
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Answer: (D) 16 crore tonnes
Sixteen crore tonnes is the previous question’s 160 million tonnes, written in the Indian numbering system.
34. Gold is found in which district of Bihar?
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Answer: (B) Jamui district
Gold occurs in Jamui district, in the Sono block around Karmatiya.
35. Jamui, in Bihar, is known for its:
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Answer: (B) Gold reserve
Jamui is known for gold: its Sono area holds the country’s largest estimated gold ore reserve.
36. Consider the following statements:
1. Kaimur, Munger and Rohtas districts have limestone deposits in Bihar.
2. Quartzite is available in large quantities in Lakhisarai, Munger and Nalanda districts.
3. Pyrites deposits are abundantly available in Rohtas district of Bihar.
Which of the above statements are correct?
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Answer: (D) 1, 2 and 3
All three hold. Limestone is found in Kaimur, Munger and Rohtas, quartzite in the ridges of Lakhisarai, Munger and Nalanda, and pyrites at Amjhor in Rohtas.
Population & Urbanisation18 questions
37. Which of the following districts recorded the highest growth of population during 2001–2011?
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Answer: (C) Madhepura
Madhepura recorded the highest decadal population growth among Bihar’s districts in 2001–2011.
38. Choose the correct order of the following districts of Bihar in ascending level of urbanisation.
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Answer: (A) Nalanda < Munger < Patna
Census 2011 put urbanisation at roughly 16 per cent in Nalanda, 28 per cent in Munger and 43 per cent in Patna.
39. What is the female literacy rate of Bihar as per Census 2011?
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Answer: (D) 51.50%
The final Census 2011 figure for female literacy in Bihar is 51.50 per cent, the lowest of any state.
Check this one. Question 54 asks the same thing, and its key gives 52.66 per cent, which is not a Census figure. The provisional 2011 number was 53.33 per cent and the final one 51.50 per cent. Learn 51.50.
40. What is the ratio of rural to urban population in Bihar?
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Answer: (D) 80:20
Only about 11 per cent of Bihar lives in towns (question 44), so the true split is nearer 89:11. Of these options, 80:20 is the only one pointing the right way.
41. According to 2011 population density, Bihar’s position is:
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Answer: (A) First in India
At 1,106 persons per square kilometre in 2011, Bihar is the most densely populated state in India.
42. What is the literacy rate of Bihar according to Census 2011?
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Answer: (B) 61.80%
Bihar’s final 2011 literacy rate was 61.80 per cent. The distractor 71.20 per cent is the male literacy rate, and 51.50 per cent the female rate.
43. According to Census 2001, the total population of the new state of Bihar was:
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Answer: (C) 82.998 million
Census 2001 counted 82,998,509 people in the state as reconstituted after Jharkhand’s separation.
44. The urban population of Bihar is what percentage of its total population?
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Answer: (A) 11.29%
Census 2011 recorded 11.29 per cent of Bihar’s population as urban, among the lowest shares of any state.
45. What percentage of India’s total population lives in Bihar?
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Answer: (D) 8.60% / 8.04%
Bihar held 8.60 per cent of India’s population in 2011.
Check this one. Option (D) lumps two figures together. 8.60 per cent is the 2011 share; the 2001 share was about 8.07 per cent. If a question gives them separately, the 2011 answer is 8.60.
46. The district of Bihar with the highest sex ratio as per Census 2011 is:
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Answer: (B) Gopalganj
Gopalganj recorded the highest sex ratio in Bihar in 2011, at 1,021 females per 1,000 males, one of the few districts where women outnumbered men.
47. Which district of Bihar recorded the highest density of population (per sq. km) as per Census 2011?
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Answer: (A) Sheohar
Sheohar, the state’s smallest district by area, recorded the highest density at 1,882 persons per square kilometre.
48. As per Census 2011, the child sex ratio in Bihar was:
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Answer: (A) 935
The final Census 2011 child sex ratio for Bihar was 935. The provisional figure had been 933, which is why it sits among the options as a trap.
49. In Census 2011, which of the following districts of Bihar had the highest percentage of Scheduled Tribe population?
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Answer: (A) Katihar
Katihar has the highest share of Scheduled Tribes among Bihar’s districts, reflecting its Santhal and Oraon communities.
50. What is the sex ratio of Bihar as per Census 2011?
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Answer: (A) 918
The final 2011 sex ratio was 918 females per 1,000 males. The provisional figure was 916, which is why it appears as a distractor.
51. Which of the following statements about the sex ratio in Bihar between Census 2001 and Census 2011 is correct?
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Answer: (C) Both the overall sex ratio and the child sex ratio decreased
Both fell. The overall sex ratio slipped from 919 to 918, and the child sex ratio from 942 to 935.
52. Which of the following statements regarding Bihar during 2001–2011 is correct?
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Answer: (A) The percentage growth of population decreased, but Bihar’s share of India’s total population increased
Decadal growth slowed from 28.62 per cent in 1991–2001 to 25.42 per cent in 2001–2011, but Bihar still grew faster than India as a whole, so its share of the national population rose from about 8.07 to 8.60 per cent.
53. As per Census 2011, the population density of Bihar (per sq. km) was:
Show answer
Answer: (D) 1106
The final 2011 density was 1,106 persons per square kilometre, the highest of any state.
54. According to Census 2011, the female literacy rate in Bihar was (per cent):
Show answer
Answer: (C) 52.66
The key gives 52.66 per cent, the closest of these four options to the actual figure.
Check this one. This contradicts question 39. The final Census 2011 female literacy rate for Bihar is 51.50 per cent (provisional: 53.33). None of these options is exactly right; 52.66 is simply the nearest.
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1 D · 2 C · 3 B · 4 A · 5 A · 6 B · 7 C · 8 A · 9 D · 10 B · 11 B · 12 D · 13 C · 14 A · 15 C · 16 C · 17 D · 18 C · 19 A · 20 A · 21 C · 22 D · 23 C · 24 C · 25 B · 26 D · 27 B · 28 B · 29 D · 30 E · 31 B · 32 C · 33 D · 34 B · 35 B · 36 D · 37 C · 38 A · 39 D · 40 D · 41 A · 42 B · 43 C · 44 A · 45 D · 46 B · 47 A · 48 A · 49 A · 50 A · 51 C · 52 A · 53 D · 54 C
Scoring: +1 correct, −1/3 wrong, 0 for not attempted, −1/3 for a row left blank.