Which of the following statements concerning Scheduled Castes (SC) population in India are correct ? 1. The highest percentage of SC population out of the total population of the state is found in Punjab 2. Bihar is the second largest state in respect of total SC population in India 3. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of SC population in India 4. Among the Indian states, the lowest percentage of SC population out of the total population of the state is found in Goa Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- (a)1, 2 and 3
- (b)1 and 3 only
- (c)2 and 4 only
- (d)1, 2 and 4
Correct — B, statements 1 and 3 only. On the 2011 Census, Punjab has the highest share of Scheduled Castes in its own population, at close to 32 per cent, which is far ahead of any other state and makes statement 1 correct. Uttar Pradesh has the largest Scheduled Caste population in absolute terms, a little over 4.13 crore, which makes statement 3 correct. The other two statements fail: the second largest SC population is in West Bengal, at about 2.15 crore against Bihar's 1.66 crore, and the lowest SC share among the states is nowhere near Goa. So only 1 and 3 stand.
- (a)1, 2 and 3 — The strongest trap, because it keeps both true statements and adds only statement 2. Bihar is third, not second — West Bengal's SC population of about 2.15 crore is larger than Bihar's 1.66 crore, even though Bihar's total population is bigger. Bengal's SC share of its own population, at roughly 23 per cent, is far higher than Bihar's, which is what makes the difference.
- (c)2 and 4 only — Selects the two statements that are both false and drops the two that are true, so it is wrong on every count.
- (d)1, 2 and 4 — Keeps only one true statement and adds both false ones. Statement 4 fails badly: Goa's SC share is about 1.7 per cent, while Mizoram is far lower at around 0.1 per cent, and Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland have no communities notified as Scheduled Castes at all. Goa is not the minimum on any reading.
Scheduled Castes are the communities specified for each state by presidential order under Article 341 of the Constitution, and the list differs from state to state. The Census counts them separately, and the two figures reported — the absolute number and the share of the state's population — behave quite differently. The absolute count follows total population size, so the large northern states dominate it. The share reflects social composition, so it is highest in Punjab and lowest in the north-eastern states, several of which have no notified Scheduled Castes because their populations are overwhelmingly Scheduled Tribes.
Every statement in this set is about one of those two measures, and mixing them up is exactly what the examiner is testing. Two errors are worth naming. The first is assuming that the state with the second largest total population must have the second largest SC population; Bihar is second in overall population but third in SC population, because West Bengal's SC share is much higher. The second is treating a small state as automatically the minimum on a percentage measure; the true floor lies in the north-east, where Mizoram is at about a tenth of a per cent and Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland have no Scheduled Castes notified at all. One point of dating: these are 2011 Census figures and they remain the latest published count, since the census due in 2021 was deferred, so a candidate today should still learn this table as the current one while remembering that it describes 2011.
- Punjab has the highest Scheduled Caste share of any state's population in the 2011 Census, at about 32 per cent.
- Uttar Pradesh has the largest absolute SC population, a little over 4.13 crore, followed by West Bengal at about 2.15 crore and Bihar at about 1.66 crore.
- Mizoram has the lowest SC share among states with notified Scheduled Castes; Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland have none notified at all.
- Scheduled Castes are specified state by state by presidential order under Article 341, so the list is not uniform across India.
Two true and two false, so the code is 1 and 3 only — option (b).
- Confusing the absolute SC count with the SC share of a state's population; the two rankings are almost unrelated.
- Assuming the second most populous state is automatically second on any population-derived list — Bihar is third on SC population, behind West Bengal.
Census-based statement sets are standard in NDA, and they almost always mix an absolute figure with a percentage figure in the same question, so keep both leaderboards separately in mind.
Which one of the following are the correct statements on the basis of Census-2001?
- (a) Bihar has the highest percentage of the Scheduled Castes of its population.
- (b) The decadal growth of population of India (1991-2001) has been below 20 %.
- (c) Mizoram is the Indian State with the least population.
- (d) Pondicherry has the highest sex ratio among the Union Territories.
Answer(d) Pondicherry has the highest sex ratio among the Union Territories.
The same claim tested a decade earlier and rejected — option (a) there proposes Bihar as the state with the highest SC share, and the answer confirms that the honour belongs to Punjab, exactly as statement 1 of this item says.
Consider the following Indian States : 1. Bihar 2. Rajasthan 3. Jammu and Kashmir 4. Haryana Which one of the following is the correct ascending order of the above States on the basis of percentage of State’s population to total population of India (based on census 2011) ?
- (a) 3 – 4 – 1 – 2
- (b) 4 – 2 – 1 – 3
- (c) 3 – 4 – 2 – 1
- (d) 2 – 3 – 4 – 1
Answer(c) 3 – 4 – 2 – 1
The same Census 2011 table asked as a state ordering, and a reminder that these items are built on shares of population rather than raw counts — the distinction that decides statements 2 and 4 here.
- practice — not a real PYQ
According to the 2011 Census, which state has the highest proportion of Scheduled Castes in its own population?
- (a)Uttar Pradesh
- (b)West Bengal
- (c)Punjab
- (d)Tamil Nadu
Answer(c) Punjab — at close to 32 per cent, well ahead of every other state.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Scheduled Castes are specified for each state by presidential order under which Article of the Constitution?
- (a)Article 330
- (b)Article 338
- (c)Article 341
- (d)Article 342
Answer(c) Article 341 — Article 342 does the same for Scheduled Tribes.