Arrange in descending order the following States in terms of their population as per the provisional data Census 2011: 1) Andhra Pradesh 2) Bihar 3) Maharashtra 4) Uttar Pradesh Select the correct answer from the codes given below:

The correct order is Uttar Pradesh (199.8 million) > Maharashtra (112.4 million) > Bihar (104.1 million) > Andhra Pradesh (84.6 million), which is option B, 4, 3, 2, 1. These are the Census 2011 provisional figures, with Andhra Pradesh counted as the undivided state that still included Telangana.

• Option A (2, 4, 1, 3) is wrong because it places Bihar above Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh above Maharashtra.
• Option C (2, 3, 1, 4) is wrong because Bihar is nowhere near the largest state; Uttar Pradesh is the most populous.
• Option D (4, 2, 3, 1) is wrong because Bihar (104.1 million) is smaller than Maharashtra (112.4 million), so the 2 and 3 positions are reversed.

The concept is simply the ranking of states by population, which keeps coming back in UPPSC Prelims. For Mains, the same data links to demographic dividend, urbanisation and the pressure on public services in the Hindi heartland states.

Since the 2014 bifurcation, Andhra Pradesh is much smaller (about 49 million in the 2011 framing), so any current ranking would change. For this exam year, however, the 2011 undivided figure applies.

Trap: aspirants often recall the post-2014 Andhra Pradesh, or they swap Bihar and Maharashtra because both are large states with figures close to 100 million.