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India & Neighbouring Countries

General Awareness — Paper-I · Official 2026 Coverage

Useful for: SSC CGL

हिंदी में पढ़ें

Overview

This topic covers India’s land and maritime neighbours, boundary lines and key cooperation frameworks.

Key points

Land neighbours: Pakistan, Afghanistan (through PoK), China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar.
India shares its longest land border with Bangladesh.
Boundary lines: Radcliffe Line (India–Pakistan, India–Bangladesh), McMahon Line (India–China, east), Durand Line (Pakistan–Afghanistan).
The Palk Strait separates India and Sri Lanka.
Maritime neighbours include Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Explanation

BIMSTEC links Bay of Bengal countries; SAARC includes eight South Asian members.
Nathu La and Shipki La are passes on the India–China border.
States bordering Nepal: Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim.
The Indus Waters Treaty (1960) governs sharing of the Indus system with Pakistan.

Step by step

Identify the exact fact asked (person, year, article, place).
Recall it from a linked group, not in isolation.
Eliminate options from the wrong period or category.

Examples

India’s longest land border is with → Bangladesh.
The McMahon Line separates India and → China (eastern sector).
India and Sri Lanka are separated by → the Palk Strait.

Traps and advanced points

Trap: Thinking the longest border is with China or Pakistan.
Trap: Assigning the Durand Line to India.
Trap: Forgetting Afghanistan as a neighbour through PoK.

Quick revision

Bangladesh: longest border.
Radcliffe, McMahon, Durand.
Palk Strait.

Practice MCQs

India shares its longest international border with
1. Pakistan
2. China
3. Bangladesh
4. Nepal
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Answer: (c) Bangladesh. The India–Bangladesh border is about 4,096 km.
The Palk Strait separates India from
1. Bangladesh
2. Maldives
3. Myanmar
4. Sri Lanka
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Answer: (d) Sri Lanka. It lies between Tamil Nadu and northern Sri Lanka.
The McMahon Line is the boundary between India and
1. Pakistan
2. China
3. Nepal
4. Bhutan
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Answer: (b) China. It runs along the eastern Himalaya.
The Radcliffe Line marks the boundary between India and
1. China
2. Pakistan and Bangladesh
3. Nepal
4. Myanmar
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Answer: (b) Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was drawn at Partition in 1947.
The SAARC Secretariat is located in
1. Colombo
2. New Delhi
3. Dhaka
4. Kathmandu
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Answer: (d) Kathmandu. SAARC was founded in Dhaka in 1985.
Which Indian state does not share a border with Nepal?
1. Sikkim
2. Uttarakhand
3. Bihar
4. Assam
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Answer: (d) Assam. Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim border Nepal.

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Notes and questions are written by Kundali IQ for practice. They are not official papers; always check the latest official notification for the syllabus and pattern.