What is the percentage of population of Uttar Pradesh to India’s population as per Census 2011?

Work it out directly. India's population in Census 2011 was 1,210,854,977 and Uttar Pradesh recorded 199,812,341. Dividing UP by India gives about 16.5 per cent, so C is correct.

• A) 14.2 is too low. It understates UP's weight by about two percentage points.
• B) 15.5 is a near miss created by a digit change. The census arithmetic gives 16.5.
• D) 18.2 overstates the share. UP is the largest state, but it is not close to one-fifth of India.

The core concept is the demographic weight of states in the federation. UP's share matters for Lok Sabha representation, since it sends 80 of 543 members. This links to the population-based delimitation and the freeze under the 84th Amendment, a recurring Mains theme on federalism and representation.

Trap: candidates confuse the 2011 figure with the 2001 share of about 16.2 per cent, or mix up population share with area share. Census 2021 has been postponed, so 2011 remains the reference for this question.