UPPSC 2021 Prelims GS Paper-I · Question 111 of 150

Correct — D, Hapur. Among the four districts listed, Hapur has the smallest area (about 660 sq km). It is also one of Uttar Pradesh's newest districts, carved out of Ghaziabad in 2011 (first named Panchsheel Nagar, later Hapur), and small size is a hallmark of such recently created districts. The other three are much larger, so Hapur is clearly the smallest of the given options.

• (a)Hamirpur — A Bundelkhand district of roughly 4,300 sq km — several times larger than Hapur.
• (b)Hardoi — One of UP's larger districts at around 5,900 sq km, far bigger than Hapur.
• (c)Hathras — Though itself a small western-UP district (about 1,750 sq km), it is still noticeably larger than Hapur, so it is not the smallest here.

District area in Uttar Pradesh varies widely because districts are administrative units repeatedly reorganised over time. When several new districts were carved out of larger ones in the 2000s and 2010s, the offshoots tend to be compact. Hapur, separated from Ghaziabad in 2011, is one such small district. The question only asks which of the four given options is smallest — not which is UP's smallest overall.

Read the stem carefully: it says 'among the following', so you compare only Hamirpur, Hardoi, Hathras and Hapur. Even a student who cannot recall exact areas can reason that Hapur, a very recent and compact carve-out near Delhi, is likely the smallest, while Hardoi and Hamirpur are large, well-known districts.

• Hapur (~660 sq km) is the smallest of the four options
• Hapur was created in 2011 from Ghaziabad (originally Panchsheel Nagar)
• Hardoi (~5,900 sq km) and Hamirpur (~4,300 sq km) are much larger
• Note: some sources cite Bhadohi (~1,015 sq km) as UP's overall smallest district — so answer 'smallest among these'

• Confusing 'smallest among the options' with 'smallest district of UP overall' (that is usually cited as Bhadohi)
• Assuming a well-known name like Hardoi or Hamirpur must be small — both are large

UPPSC frequently asks UP-specific 'which district is largest/smallest by area or population' items; always check whether the stem limits the comparison to the listed options.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh was carved out of which of the following districts?

  • (a)Meerut
  • (b)Ghaziabad
  • (c)Bulandshahr
  • (d)Gautam Buddha Nagar

  Answer(b) Ghaziabad — created in 2011, initially named Panchsheel Nagar.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which of the following is the largest district of Uttar Pradesh by area?

  • (a)Sonbhadra
  • (b)Lakhimpur Kheri
  • (c)Hardoi
  • (d)Prayagraj

  Answer(b) Lakhimpur Kheri — the largest district of UP by area.