Which state recorded the highest decadal growth rate of population in India during 2001 - 2011 ?
- (a)Uttar Pradesh
- (b)Rajasthan
- (c)Meghalaya
- (d)Bihar
Correct — C, Meghalaya. In Census 2011, Meghalaya recorded the highest decadal population growth among the states — 27.95% for 2001-2011, against an all-India figure of 17.7%. Bihar was second at 25.42%. (Among Union Territories, Dadra & Nagar Haveli grew fastest at about 55.9%, but the question asks only about states.)
- (a)Uttar Pradesh — India's most populous state and the one that added the largest number of people, but its decadal growth rate was 20.23% — high in absolute terms, not in rate.
- (b)Rajasthan — Grew at 21.31% — above the national average of 17.7%, but well below Bihar and Meghalaya.
- (d)Bihar — The most tempting choice at 25.42% — the highest among the large states, but still below Meghalaya's 27.95%.
Decadal growth rate is a percentage change over ten years, so a small state can top the table even though its absolute increase is modest. In Census 2011 the all-India decadal growth was 17.7%, down from 21.5% in 1991-2001. The high-rate end of the table was occupied by parts of the North-East and the Hindi belt; the low end by Kerala (4.91%) and Nagaland (-0.58%), the only state to record a fall in population.
Most aspirants reflexively answer Bihar or Uttar Pradesh, because those are the classic high-fertility states. The distinction being tested is rate versus absolute size — Meghalaya is small, so a modest addition of people produces the highest percentage. Instead of memorising a full ranking, hold a four-point extremes table for Census 2011: highest among states (Meghalaya), highest among UTs (Dadra & Nagar Haveli), lowest (Nagaland, negative) and the national figure (17.7%).
- All-India decadal growth 2001-2011: 17.7% (down from 21.5% in 1991-2001).
- Highest among states: Meghalaya 27.95%; Bihar second at 25.42%.
- Lowest: Nagaland at -0.58%, the only state with negative growth; Kerala had the lowest positive growth at 4.91%.
- Highest among Union Territories: Dadra & Nagar Haveli, about 55.9%.
- Except for 1911-1921, 2001-2011 was the first decade in which India added fewer people than in the previous decade.
Rate, not size: small-population Meghalaya tops the percentage table while Uttar Pradesh adds the most people.
- Confusing rate with absolute increase — Uttar Pradesh adds the most people, Meghalaya has the highest rate
- Forgetting Union Territories — Dadra & Nagar Haveli beat every state on rate, so read whether the question says 'state'
- Mixing the 1991-2001 national figure (21.5%) with the 2001-2011 figure (17.7%)
Census superlatives are asked as 'highest/lowest state for growth, density, sex ratio or literacy' — MPPSC repeats them almost verbatim across years, so learn the extremes table rather than the whole ranking.
The population growth rate in Kerala is the lowest among major Indian states. Which one of the following is the most widely accepted reason for this?
- (a) Kerala has made the highest investment in family planning
- (b) Kerala has the highest literacy rate in India
- (c) Kerala has invested heavily in promoting literacy and public health and placed high priority on social policies
- (d) The population pyramid in Kerala has relatively fewer women in the reproductive age group
Answer(c) Kerala has invested heavily in promoting literacy and public health and placed high priority on social policies
Same concept from the other end of the table — inter-state variation in population growth rate, and what drives a state to the top or bottom of it.
Consider the following statements : 1. Between Census 1951 and Census 2001, the density of the population of India has increased more than three times. 2. Between Census 1951 and Census 2001, the annual growth rate (exponential) of the population of India has doubled. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Same concept — reading census growth-rate and density series correctly across decades instead of assuming growth keeps accelerating.
According to the 2011 Census, which of the following States has the highest growth rate of population?
- (a) Arunachal Pradesh
- (b) Bihar
- (c) Meghalaya
- (d) Punjab
Answer(c) Meghalaya
Effectively the same question — MPPSC asked this identical Census 2011 fact in 2022, with the same answer (Meghalaya) and Bihar as the same trap.
Arrange the following districts of Madhya Pradesh in order of their decennial population growth rate during 2001–2011, as per the 2011 census. Arrange from the lowest to highest.
- (a) Anuppur, Mandsaur, Betul, Chhindwara
- (b) Anuppur, Betul, Chhindwara, Mandsaur
- (c) Betul, Chhindwara, Mandsaur, Anuppur
- (d) Betul, Anuppur, Chhindwara, Mandsaur
Answer(b) Anuppur, Betul, Chhindwara, Mandsaur
Same indicator, one level down — the 2001-2011 decadal growth rate of Census 2011, applied to Madhya Pradesh districts instead of states.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which state recorded a negative decadal population growth rate in Census 2011?
- (a)Kerala
- (b)Goa
- (c)Nagaland
- (d)Sikkim
Answer(c) Nagaland — about -0.58%, the only state whose population fell between 2001 and 2011.
- practice — not a real PYQ
As per Census 2011, the decadal growth rate of India's population during 2001-2011 was about:
- (a)21.5 per cent
- (b)17.7 per cent
- (c)14.6 per cent
- (d)24.8 per cent
Answer(b) 17.7 per cent — down from 21.5 per cent in 1991-2001.