As per the Annual Report 2023-24 of the Ministry of Mines, Government of India, which of the following states are the major producer of Copper in the country?
- (a)Rajasthan and Gujarat
- (b)Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh
- (c)Jharkhand and Rajasthan
- (d)Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh
Correct — B, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. India's copper-ore output is led by Madhya Pradesh, home to the Malanjkhand mine in Balaghat (the country's largest single copper deposit), and by Rajasthan, with the Khetri-Kolihan belt in Jhunjhunu. Together these two states account for the bulk of national copper production, which is why they are named the major producers.
- (a)Rajasthan and Gujarat — Rajasthan is indeed a leading producer, but Gujarat is not a copper-ore producing state, so the pair is wrong.
- (c)Jharkhand and Rajasthan — Jharkhand's Singhbhum copper belt has declined sharply and no longer ranks among the top producers; Madhya Pradesh, not Jharkhand, is the other leader alongside Rajasthan.
- (d)Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh — Madhya Pradesh is correct, but Jharkhand's output has fallen; the second major producer is Rajasthan, giving Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Copper in India is mined from a few concentrated belts. The leading sources of copper ore are Madhya Pradesh (the Malanjkhand deposit in Balaghat) and Rajasthan (the Khetri-Kolihan belt in Jhunjhunu), while the once-important Singhbhum belt of Jharkhand has largely run down.
The question keys on current output rather than historical fame. Jharkhand's Singhbhum mines are the textbook name many students remember, but production there has dwindled; today Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan dominate, and Gujarat plays no part in copper mining at all.
- Madhya Pradesh leads copper-ore production through the Malanjkhand mine in Balaghat.
- Rajasthan is the other major producer, from the Khetri-Kolihan belt in Jhunjhunu.
- Jharkhand's Singhbhum copper belt has declined and no longer tops the list.
- Copper is a non-ferrous metal chiefly used for electrical wiring and alloys such as brass and bronze.
- Jharkhand's Singhbhum belt is historically famous but has declined; the current leaders are MP and Rajasthan.
- Gujarat is not a copper-ore producer, so any option pairing it with copper is wrong.
Copper production is tested as a 'which two states lead' item, baiting the historically famous but now minor Singhbhum belt.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Malanjkhand copper deposit, India's largest, is located in which state?
- (a)Rajasthan
- (b)Madhya Pradesh
- (c)Jharkhand
- (d)Karnataka
Answer(b) Madhya Pradesh — the Malanjkhand mine in Balaghat district is the country's largest copper deposit.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Khetri-Kolihan copper belt lies in which state?
- (a)Rajasthan
- (b)Gujarat
- (c)Jharkhand
- (d)Odisha
Answer(a) Rajasthan — the Khetri-Kolihan belt is in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan.