Regional Profiles of India

A one-page revision by region, linking relief, climate, resources and economy. Use it before answering "regional geography" questions or writing a mains answer.

1. The northern mountain region (J&K, Ladakh, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal)

• Relief: Himalaya, Trans-Himalaya and Karakoram. See Himalayas.
• Climate: cold, snowy winters; western disturbances in the west; heavy monsoon in the east.
• Rivers: Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra headwaters; glacial sources.
• Economy: horticulture (apple, saffron, walnut), hydropower, tourism, pastoralism; fragile ecology.
• Hazards: earthquake, landslide, cloudburst, GLOF.

2. The northern plains (Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP, Bihar, West Bengal)

• Relief: alluvial plain; see Northern Plains.
• Climate: continental, extremes of temperature, monsoon rain with a west-to-east increase.
• Economy: wheat and rice, sugarcane, dense population, industry along the plains.
• Issues: groundwater depletion in Punjab-Haryana, floods in Bihar, air pollution.

3. The western desert and arid region (Rajasthan, Kutch)

• Relief: Thar, Aravallis. See Thar Desert.
• Economy: bajra, livestock, minerals, solar and wind energy, salt, tourism.
• Issues: water shortage, desertification; Indira Gandhi canal brought change.

4. The central highlands and Deccan (MP, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka plateau)

• Relief: peninsular plateau. See Plateau.
• Soil: black, red and laterite.
• Economy: minerals, coal, steel, power, cotton, pulses.
• Issues: drought in Marathwada and Vidarbha, mining displacement, tribal rights.

5. The western coast and Ghats (Gujarat to Kerala)

• Relief: narrow coastal plain, Western Ghats. See Coastal Plains.
• Climate: heavy monsoon on the windward side.
• Economy: ports, petrochemicals, fisheries, plantation crops, tourism, IT.
• Issues: floods and landslides in Kerala, coastal erosion.

6. The eastern coast and deltas (West Bengal to Tamil Nadu)

• Relief: wide plain and deltas.
• Climate: cyclones, retreating monsoon rain in Tamil Nadu.
• Economy: rice, aquaculture, ports, steel, petrochemicals.
• Issues: cyclones and storm surge, river-water disputes (Cauvery, Krishna).

7. The north-east (Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura)

• Relief: Brahmaputra valley, Purvanchal hills.
• Climate: heavy rain, humid.
• Economy: tea, oil, bamboo, forests; connectivity through the Siliguri corridor ("Chicken's Neck"); Act East Policy.
• Issues: floods and erosion, landslides, jhum cultivation, border issues.

8. The islands

• Andaman and Nicobar: strategic, tropical rainforest, tribal groups; Lakshadweep: coral atolls. See Islands.