ISC 2026 Geography Improvement Examination Question Paper for Class 12

About this paper

This is the ISC Class 12 Geography paper (code 853) from the 2026 Improvement Examination set by CISCE. It carries 70 marks, runs for three hours plus fifteen minutes of reading time, and has 13 compulsory questions in three sections, with internal choices in two questions of Section B and one of Section C. Section A is answered partly on an outline map of India, covering rainfall, a peninsula, a coastal plain, a river, an oil refinery and a jute-growing state, then short items on climate and nuclear power. Later questions use a monsoon wind map, a Census 2011 population-density graph, a sketch of a public-sector steel plant, a note on Kerala's fish catch and a passage on tourism at Dhordo in Kachchh.

Exam

ISC Class 12

Subject

Geography

Year

2026

Paper code

853

Maximum marks

70

Time allowed

3 hours + 15 min reading

Questions

13

Pages

12

Answers included

No, questions only

Paper pattern

• Section A

  14 marks

  Question 1, map work on an outline map of India (9 marks), and Question 2, short items including assertion–reason, an analogy and a reasoning item (5 marks); one mark per subpart

• Section B

  28 marks

  Questions 3–9, short answers of four marks each; internal choice in two questions

• Section C

  28 marks

  Questions 10–13, long answers of seven marks each; internal choice in one question

Topics covered

• Map work on India
• Physiography and soils
• Climate and the monsoon
• Forests and natural vegetation
• Agriculture
• Population distribution and policy
• Fisheries
• Energy resources
• Iron and steel industry
• Minerals and regional development
• Transport, ports and waterways
• Tourism

Questions from this paper

1. Forests are an index of prosperity of a nation. Justify the statement by giving two reasons.
2. Name any two mountain ranges that bikers would encounter travelling from Chandigarh through the Kullu valley into the barren mountains of Ladakh, and state one characteristic feature of each.
3. In 2023 the estimated volume of fish caught in Kerala was 6.33 lakh tons, a decline of 8% from the previous year's estimate. What could be the probable reasons for this decline?
4. Though the Kolkata port suffers from bends, bars and bores, it significantly contributes to international trade. Justify by giving three arguments.
5. Despite the presence of several perennial rivers in India, Indian waterways are limited. Support the statement with four arguments.
6. During 1970–80 the Indian government launched a nationwide campaign popularised through the slogan 'Hum do Humare do', which emphasised a two-child norm. Give one reason for launching this campaign, and state how such campaigns affected health care and population size in India.