CDS (I) 2024 General Knowledge · Question 108 of 120

Correct — B, Indore and Surat. The stem's plural — 'cities were conferred' — is the clue that the top honour was shared, and in Swachh Survekshan 2023 Surat shared the title of India's cleanest city with Indore. Indore had by then held the first place for several consecutive rounds of the survey, and Surat, which had been placed second in the preceding years, drew level with it. The survey is the Government of India's annual cleanliness ranking of urban local bodies under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), and the field work is carried out by the Quality Council of India.

• (a)Varanasi and Prayagraj — The survey publishes many category results besides the headline one, which is why several cities can claim an award in the same year; but neither Varanasi nor Prayagraj took the overall cleanest-city title in 2023.
• (c)Prayagraj and Indore — Half right, which is what makes it dangerous. Indore is one of the two winners; the other is Surat, not Prayagraj.
• (d)Surat and Varanasi — Again half right. Surat is one of the two winners; the other is Indore, not Varanasi.

Swachh Survekshan is an annual survey that ranks cities on cleanliness, waste processing, sanitation status and citizen feedback, and it has grown from a few dozen cities in its first round to thousands of urban local bodies. Rankings are published in population bands and in special categories, so a city can be a category winner without being the overall cleanest, which is why so many places can honestly claim an award.

Two ideas make this item answerable even if the year's result has slipped your mind. First, read the grammar of the stem — a question that asks which cities, plural, took the cleanest-city award is telling you the award was shared. Second, Indore's run at the top is the single most repeated fact in this whole news cycle, so any option without Indore is unlikely, which removes option (a) and (d) at once and leaves you choosing Indore's partner. Keep the result time-stamped: cleanliness rankings are reissued every year and the format itself has since changed, with a Super Swachh League introduced for cities that have repeatedly finished at the top.

• In Swachh Survekshan 2023, Surat shared the title of India's cleanest city with Indore.
• The survey is conducted under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• Field assessment for the survey is carried out by the Quality Council of India.
• Indore had already been ranked the cleanest city in earlier rounds, with Surat placed second in 2020 and 2021.

• Missing the plural in the stem and looking for a single winner.
• Confusing a category award — cleanest Ganga town, best big city, cleanest cantonment — with the overall title.
• Quoting a ranking from the wrong year; these change annually.

As a straight recall of the year's winner, sometimes with the twist of a shared award. Learn the top two or three names and the year, not the whole table.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Swachh Survekshan is conducted under which mission of the Government of India?

  • (a)Smart Cities Mission
  • (b)Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban)
  • (c)AMRUT
  • (d)National Urban Livelihoods Mission

  Answer(b) Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) — the survey is its annual cleanliness ranking of urban local bodies.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which body carries out the field assessment for the Swachh Survekshan survey?

  • (a)NITI Aayog
  • (b)Quality Council of India
  • (c)Central Pollution Control Board
  • (d)National Sample Survey Office

  Answer(b) Quality Council of India — the survey's assessments are carried out by the QCI.