Which of the following sets of Indian States are landlocked and do not have an international boundary?
- (a)Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh
- (b)Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana
- (c)Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana
- (d)Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
Correct — B, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. The question asks for two conditions at once — no coastline, and no border with another country — so a State must clear both. These five do. Chhattisgarh is ringed by Indian States on every side, Haryana likewise, Jharkhand likewise, Madhya Pradesh is the largest interior State and touches only Indian neighbours, and Telangana since 2014 is enclosed by Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In fact these five are the complete list for India. Every other interior State fails the second condition: Punjab and Rajasthan meet Pakistan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand meet China, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Sikkim meet Nepal, and the north-eastern States meet Bangladesh, Myanmar, China or Bhutan.
- (a)Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh — Andhra Pradesh has roughly a thousand kilometres of Bay of Bengal coastline, so it is not landlocked at all and the set fails on its first member.
- (c)Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana — Himachal Pradesh is landlocked but shares an international boundary with Tibet, on the Chinese side of the line, in its Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts. It fails the second half of the question.
- (d)Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh — This set carries both errors at once — Andhra Pradesh is coastal, and Himachal Pradesh has an international boundary with China.
A State can be interior in two different senses, and this question separates them. Being landlocked means having no sea frontage; having no international boundary means touching no foreign country. India has many landlocked States but only five that are also entirely surrounded by other Indian States: Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Telangana. Delhi, a Union Territory rather than a State, is in the same position.
The fastest way through the item is elimination on one word each. Andhra Pradesh appears in two of the four sets and is coastal, which removes both at a glance. Himachal Pradesh appears in two sets and touches China, which removes both. What survives is option (b), and it survives without needing the full list to be recalled. That is the shape of most such set questions — one disqualifying member is enough, and looking for the member that fails is faster than checking the member that passes. Telangana's presence is the only recent element: before its creation in June 2014 the territory was part of Andhra Pradesh, which is coastal, so an older list of interior States would not have contained it.
- The States that are landlocked and share no international boundary are Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Telangana.
- Andhra Pradesh, with a long Bay of Bengal frontage, is one of India's coastal States.
- Himachal Pradesh borders Tibet through Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur, so it is landlocked but not interior in the sense the question means.
- Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh on 2 June 2014 and is bounded by Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
- Punjab and Rajasthan touch Pakistan; Uttarakhand touches China and Nepal; Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Sikkim touch Nepal — none of them qualifies.
One disqualified member removes an entire option, which is why elimination beats recall here.
- Reading 'landlocked' alone and ignoring the second condition about an international boundary.
- Forgetting that Telangana joined the interior list only in 2014, when it separated from coastal Andhra Pradesh.
- Treating Himachal Pradesh as interior because it is deep in the hills; its northern edge is an international boundary.
As a set-selection item, as 'which State does not share an international boundary', or as a match of States to the country they border.
Which of the following sets of States shares boundary with Telangana?
- (a) Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra
- (b) Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh
- (c) Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh
- (d) Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra
Answer(d) Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra
The same fact from the inside. Naming Telangana's four neighbours is naming four Indian States and no foreign country, which is precisely why Telangana belongs in the qualifying set here.
The Tropic of Cancer passes through how many coastal and landlocked States of India, respectively?
- (a) 1 and 7
- (b) 2 and 6
- (c) 2 and 5
- (d) 3 and 5
Answer(b) 2 and 6
The same coastal-against-landlocked division, counted along a line of latitude instead of listed. Both items reward keeping a mental map of which States touch the sea.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following States shares no international boundary?
- (a)Himachal Pradesh
- (b)Bihar
- (c)Jharkhand
- (d)Rajasthan
Answer(c) Jharkhand — Himachal Pradesh meets China, Bihar meets Nepal and Rajasthan meets Pakistan.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following States is landlocked?
- (a)Odisha
- (b)Telangana
- (c)Karnataka
- (d)West Bengal
Answer(b) Telangana — the other three all have a coastline; Telangana lost its sea access when it separated from Andhra Pradesh in 2014.