Which one of the following coalfields is not located in Jharkhand?
- (a)Jharia
- (b)Ramgarh
- (c)Deogarh
- (d)Umaria
Answer
Why
Correct — D, Umaria. Jharia, Ramgarh and Deogarh are all coalfields in Jharkhand, one of India's richest coal-bearing states along the Damodar valley. Umaria, however, is a coalfield in Madhya Pradesh, in the Son valley belt of the South Rewa Gondwana basin, so it is the one not located in Jharkhand.
Why the others are wrong
- (a)Jharia — Jharia, near Dhanbad, is Jharkhand's most famous coalfield and India's chief source of coking coal, so it is in Jharkhand.
- (b)Ramgarh — The Ramgarh coalfield lies in Jharkhand in the Damodar valley belt, so it is not the exception.
- (c)Deogarh — The Deogarh coalfield is counted among Jharkhand's coalfields, so it does not fit a 'not located in Jharkhand' answer.
Concept
India's major coalfields of Gondwana age are concentrated in the Damodar valley of Jharkhand and West Bengal — Jharia, Bokaro, Giridih, Ramgarh, Karanpura and others. Madhya Pradesh has its own Gondwana coalfields, such as Singrauli, Sohagpur and Umaria, in the Son and Narmada valleys.
Three names belong to Jharkhand's Damodar-valley cluster, so the odd one out is the coalfield in another state. Umaria, part of Madhya Pradesh's coal belt, is that outlier.
Key facts
- Jharia in Jharkhand is India's most important coalfield and a major source of coking coal.
- Jharkhand's coalfields lie mainly along the Damodar valley.
- Umaria is a coalfield in Madhya Pradesh, not Jharkhand.
- Most of India's coal is of Gondwana age, found in the east-central states.
Study next
Common traps
- Assuming every well-known coalfield is in Jharkhand — Umaria is in Madhya Pradesh.
- Confusing Deogarh, a Jharkhand coalfield, with similarly named places elsewhere.
Asked as an odd-one-out on the location of coalfields.
Related PYQs
Match List I with List II and select the answer using the code given below the Lists: List I (City) A. Bewar B. Balaghat C. Bilaspur D. Ballary List II (Mineral) 1. Manganese 2. Mica 3. Iron-ore 4. Bauxite Code:
- (a) A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2
- (b) A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2
- (c) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
- (d) A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3
Answer(c) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
Same area — the distribution of minerals across Indian locations. That NDA item matches places to minerals; this one places coalfields in the right state.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which state is home to the Jharia coalfield?
- (a)West Bengal
- (b)Jharkhand
- (c)Odisha
- (d)Chhattisgarh
Answer(b) Jharkhand. - practice — not a real PYQ
Most of India's coal reserves are of which geological age?
- (a)Tertiary
- (b)Gondwana
- (c)Archaean
- (d)Deccan Trap
Answer(b) Gondwana.