Ans: D 

Exp:

The Census in India is published by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, which comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs. According to the Census 2011, the growth rate (in per cent) for the Indian states is: 

• • Meghalaya comes up as the Indian state with an growth rate of 27.82%. Hence, Option (a) is incorrect
  • Mizoram registered a growth rate of 23.48%. Hence, Option (b) is incorrect
  • Arunachal Pradesh registered a growth rate of 26.03%. Hence, Option (c) is incorrect

• Nagaland registered the least percentage of growth. The decadal growth rate in Nagaland was around  (-) 0.47%. It is the only state that recorded negative population growth in the 2011 Census.  Hence, Option (d) is correct

• The Union Territory with the highest growth rate is Dadra and Nagar Haveli, with a growth percentage of 55.50%. 
• Lakshadweep is the Union Territory with the lowest rate of growth, which is 6.23%.

Ans: B

Exp:

Statement 1 is incorrect : India has now become the world’s most populous nation in April 2023, with a population of about 1.42 billion.  India’s population will continue to grow for several decades – the UN expects the population to peak around 2064 and then decline gradually.

Statement 2 is correct : India has a very uneven distribution of population and settlements. There are certain socio-economic and historical factors affecting the distribution of population, such as Industrialisation, transportation, urbanisation, the evolution of settled agriculture and agricultural development, and the pattern of human settlement. It is observed that the regions falling in the river plains and coastal areas of India have remained the regions of higher population concentration.

Statement 3 is incorrect: The national population density in India is around 382 persons per square kilometre. But the population is unevenly distributed. There has been a steady increase of more than 200 persons per sq km over the last 50 years, as the density of the population increased from 117 persons/ sq km in 1951 to 382 persons/sq km in 2011. However, the decadal growth rate of the population in India between 2001-2011 was 17.64%. It has decreased from 21.54% during 1991-2001 and, over the years, has not been steadily increasing, but there have been decades where it has risen very minutely and, in some cases, declined as well. In the last century, the period 1911- 1921 saw a negative growth rate in the population.

Ans: A

Exp: 

Statement 1 is correct: Total fertility rate(TFR) refers to the number of live births per woman completing her reproductive life if her childbearing at each age reflects the current age-specific fertility rates. It is usually calculated for women, referring to age groups 15-49 years.

• The concept of replacement level fertility is the level of fertility at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next. The ideal figure for replacement-level fertility is taken as requiring an average of 2.1 children per woman.

Statement 2 is incorrect: According to the National Family Health Survey, there has been a decline of total fertility in India over decades. Between 1992-93 and 2019-21, the TFR decreased by around 1.4,  from 3.4 children to 2.0 children per woman. Among women in rural areas, fertility rates have declined from 3.7 children in 1992-93 to 2.1 children in 2019-21. Similarly, among women in urban areas, the decline in TFR was from 2.7 children in 1992-93 to 1.6 children in 2019-21.

Statement 3 is incorrect: Although most of the states have achieved the replacement level or Target for the total fertility rate, some states, namely Meghalaya (2.91), Bihar (2.98), Uttar Pradesh (2.35), Jharkhand (2.26), and Manipur (2.17) have not achieved the target for replacement level fertility 

Ans: C

Exp:

Statement 1 is correct: In the year 1872, the first census was conducted non-synchronously in different parts of India. The Indian Census has been an attractive source of data for scholars and researchers in demography, economics, anthropology, sociology, statistics, and many other disciplines.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The responsibility of conducting the decadal census rests with the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. This organisation was created to prepare data on population figures, including vital statistics and census. Later, this office was also entrusted with the task of implementing the Birth and Death Registration Act, 1969, in the country.

Statement 3 is incorrect: There are repeated references to the Census exercise in the Constitution in the context of the reorganisation of constituencies for Parliament and state Assemblies.  But the Constitution does not say when the Census has to be carried out or what the frequency of this exercise should be. 

The Census of India Act of 1948, which provides the legal framework for carrying out the Census, also does not mention its timing or periodicity. There is, therefore, no Constitutional or legal requirement that a Census has to be done every 10 years.

Ans: C

Exp:

Statement 1 is incorrect: According to the recent Revision of World Urbanisation Prospects produced by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) the future increases in the size of the world’s urban population are expected to be highly concentrated in just a few countries. Three countries like, India, China and Nigeria, will contribute to around 35% of the projected growth of the world’s urban population between 2018 and 2050.

Statement 2 is incorrect: According to the UNDESA report, by 2030, the world could have 43 so-called megacities (those with more than 10 million inhabitants). New Delhi is projected to become the most populous city on the planet by the year 2028. At present, Tokyo (Japan ) is the world’s largest urban agglomeration, with a population of 37 million inhabitants, followed by New Delhi (29 million), and Shanghai (26 million). Mexico City and São Paulo.