The second largest river basin of India is
- (a)Mahanadi Basin
- (b)Narmada Basin
- (c)Godavari Basin
- (d)Kaveri Basin
Correct — C, the Godavari Basin. The Godavari drains roughly 3.1 lakh sq km, making its basin the second largest in India after the Ganga basin, and the largest of Peninsular India. The Godavari is also the longest river of the Peninsula (about 1,465 km), rising at Trimbak in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra and emptying into the Bay of Bengal — which is why it is nicknamed the 'Dakshin Ganga' (Ganga of the South).
- (a)Mahanadi Basin — The Mahanadi drains a far smaller area (about 1.4 lakh sq km) — a sizeable east-coast basin, but well below the Godavari.
- (b)Narmada Basin — The Narmada is a west-flowing river with a basin of under 1 lakh sq km — smaller than the Godavari and it does not even drain to the east coast.
- (d)Kaveri Basin — The Kaveri basin (about 0.8 lakh sq km) is the smallest of the four listed and lies further south; it is not the second largest basin of India.
A river 'basin' is the total land area a river and its tributaries drain, so basin questions rank rivers by catchment area, not just length. In India the Ganga basin is the largest; the Godavari basin comes second and tops all Peninsular rivers. The Godavari collects big tributaries such as the Pranhita, Indravati and Manjira, giving it a huge catchment across Maharashtra, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
The options mix east-flowing (Mahanadi, Godavari, Kaveri) and west-flowing (Narmada) Peninsular rivers. The trick is to pick the one with the widest catchment, not the closest name — anchor on the Godavari as the 'Dakshin Ganga', the biggest river of the south.
- Godavari basin (~3.1 lakh sq km) is India's second largest, after the Ganga.
- It is the largest river basin of Peninsular India.
- The Godavari is the longest Peninsular river (~1,465 km), called the 'Dakshin Ganga'.
- It rises at Trimbak (Western Ghats, Maharashtra) and drains east into the Bay of Bengal.
- Confusing 'longest river' with 'largest basin' — the metrics differ
- Assuming the Narmada (very famous, but west-flowing and smaller) has the bigger basin
MPPSC and UPSC ask this as 'largest/second-largest river basin', 'longest Peninsular river', or by ordering rivers by length/area. Anchor: Ganga #1, Godavari #2 (biggest in the Peninsula).
What is the correct sequence of the rivers—Godavari, Mahanadi, Narmada and Tapti in the descending order of their lengths?
- (a) Godavari—Mahanadi—Narmada—Tapti
- (b) Godavari—Narmada—Mahanadi—Tapti
- (c) Narmada—Godavari—Tapti—Mahanadi
- (d) Narmada—Tapti—Godavari—Mahanadi
Answer(b) Godavari—Narmada—Mahanadi—Tapti
Same concept — the Godavari's standing as the largest/longest Peninsular river, here tested by ranking Peninsular rivers by length.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Godavari is often called the 'Dakshin Ganga' mainly because it is:
- (a)the holiest river of north India
- (b)the longest and largest river of Peninsular India
- (c)a west-flowing river
- (d)a tributary of the Ganga
Answer(b) the longest and largest river of Peninsular India.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which is the largest river basin of India by catchment area?
- (a)Godavari basin
- (b)Ganga basin
- (c)Indus basin
- (d)Brahmaputra basin
Answer(b) Ganga basin — the Godavari basin ranks second.