MPPSC 2026 Prelims Paper-I · Question 71 of 100

Correct — C, (a)-(ii) (b)-(i) (c)-(iv) (d)-(iii). Chambal → Parvati: the Parvati is one of the Chambal's main right-bank feeders, along with the Kali Sindh and the Kshipra (the Banas joins from the left). Tons (Tamsa) → Belan: the Tons rises at Tamas Kund near Maihar, crosses the Rewa plateau and, after receiving the Belan in the Vindhyan foothills, joins the Ganga below Prayagraj. Narmada → Tawa: the Tawa is the Narmada's largest tributary, joining it near Bandrabhan in Narmadapuram (Hoshangabad) district and impounded by the Tawa Dam. Kshipra → Gambhir: the Gambhir is the small Malwa stream of the Ujjain area, dammed to supply Ujjain city with drinking water. Two anchors settle the whole question — Tawa belongs to the Narmada and Parvati to the Chambal — and only option C gets both right.

• (a)(a)-(iii) (b)-(ii) (c)-(i) (d)-(iv) — Breaks the two firmest pairs at once: it hands the Tawa to the Kshipra and gives the Narmada the Belan. The Tawa is the Narmada's largest tributary and drains the Satpura slopes, nowhere near the Kshipra's Malwa catchment.
• (b)(a)-(iii) (b)-(iv) (c)-(ii) (d)-(i) — Puts the Tawa with the Tons and the Parvati with the Narmada. The Tons belongs to the Ganga system in the Rewa–Baghelkhand tract, while the Tawa is a south-bank Satpura stream of the Narmada — the two lie on opposite sides of the state.
• (d)(a)-(i) (b)-(iii) (c)-(ii) (d)-(iv) — Again pairs the Narmada with the Parvati and the Kshipra with the Tawa, and additionally gives the Chambal the Belan — a Vindhyan stream of the Tons basin far to the east of the Chambal's catchment.

Madhya Pradesh's rivers belong to three separate drainage systems, and matching questions are really testing basin membership, not river names. The Ganga system takes the largest share: the Chambal (fed by the Kshipra, Parvati, Kali Sindh and Banas) and the Betwa flow into the Yamuna, while the Tons (Tamsa) and the Sone reach the Ganga directly. The Narmada and the Tapi flow west into the Arabian Sea through rift valleys, the Narmada collecting Satpura-fed tributaries such as the Tawa. The south-east of the state drains to the Godavari through the Wainganga. Fix the basin first and most match-lists collapse.

The setter loads the list with a well-known pair and three obscure ones. Here the giveaway is Tawa–Narmada, a fact every MP aspirant knows; the moment you place it at (c)-(iv), options A, B and D all fall. Parvati–Chambal is the second anchor. You never actually have to settle Kshipra–Gambhir on its own knowledge — it follows by elimination, which is exactly how a matching question should be attacked: lock the pairs you are sure of, then let the code options do the rest. Beware that more than one river in western India is called 'Gambhir'; the one here is the Malwa stream of the Ujjain area, not the Gambhiri of eastern Rajasthan.

• Tawa — the largest tributary of the Narmada; the Tawa Dam lies in Narmadapuram (Hoshangabad) district
• Parvati, Kali Sindh, Banas and Kshipra — tributaries of the Chambal, which itself joins the Yamuna
• Tons (Tamsa) — rises at Tamas Kund near Maihar, drains the Rewa plateau and joins the Ganga; the Belan is its tributary
• The Belan valley, in the Vindhyan foothills of the Tons basin, is a well-known Stone Age archaeological tract
• Basin rule of thumb: Chambal–Betwa–Tons → Ganga system; Tawa → Narmada (Arabian Sea); Wainganga → Godavari

• Assuming every major river of Madhya Pradesh feeds the Narmada — most of the state actually drains to the Ganga through the Chambal, Betwa, Tons and Sone
• Confusing the Tons (Tamsa) of Baghelkhand with the Tons of Uttarakhand, a Yamuna headstream
• Treating 'Gambhir' as a single river — the name is shared by more than one stream in western India

MPPSC almost always asks this as a full List-I/List-II match with a code, sometimes flipping the lists (tributary → main river, or river → town). UPSC prefers the statement form — 'consider the following pairs: tributary river – main river, which are correctly matched' — but the knowledge tested is identical.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Tawa river is the largest tributary of which of the following rivers?

  • (a)Narmada
  • (b)Chambal
  • (c)Tapi
  • (d)Son

  Answer(a) Narmada — the Tawa drains the Satpura slopes and joins the Narmada in Narmadapuram district.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which one of the following rivers of Madhya Pradesh does NOT ultimately drain into the Ganga system?

  • (a)Chambal
  • (b)Betwa
  • (c)Tons (Tamsa)
  • (d)Tawa

  Answer(d) Tawa — it joins the Narmada, which flows west into the Arabian Sea; the other three reach the Ganga directly or through the Yamuna.