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
Why
Correct — C, A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3. Two firmly known pairs decide the question. Balaghat district in Madhya Pradesh is one of India's leading manganese-ore areas, so Balaghat (B) goes with manganese (1); and Ballary (Bellary) in Karnataka is a famous iron-ore mining district, so Ballary (D) goes with iron-ore (3). Only option (c) keeps both of these correct, and with manganese and iron-ore taken, the remaining minerals fall to Bewar with mica (2) and Bilaspur with bauxite (4). The two anchors by themselves rule out every other code.
Why the others are wrong
- (a)A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2 — It rightly pairs Balaghat with manganese, but it makes Ballary go with mica; Ballary is an iron-ore district, so this pairing is wrong.
- (b)A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2 — It pairs Balaghat with bauxite and Ballary with mica, both wrong — Balaghat is manganese and Ballary is iron-ore.
- (d)A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3 — Bewar-mica and Ballary-iron-ore are right here, but it makes Balaghat go with bauxite instead of manganese, so it fails on the strongest anchor.
Concept
India's minerals are concentrated in belts, and matching a mining centre to its mineral rests on knowing those belts. Manganese comes chiefly from Madhya Pradesh (Balaghat) and adjoining Maharashtra and Odisha; iron-ore from Karnataka (Ballary), Chhattisgarh (Bailadila) and the Odisha-Jharkhand belt; mica from the Koderma, Nellore and Rajasthan belts; and bauxite, the ore of aluminium, from Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
The reliable way to crack a four-pair match is to lock the pairs you are sure of and let them eliminate options. Balaghat-manganese and Ballary-iron-ore are textbook facts, and they leave only option (c). The remaining Bewar-mica and Bilaspur-bauxite pairs then follow, so there is no need to be certain of the two weaker pairs to reach the answer.
Key facts
- Balaghat district in Madhya Pradesh is one of India's leading manganese-ore producers.
- Ballary (Bellary) in Karnataka is a major iron-ore mining district.
- Mica is mined mainly in the Koderma belt (Jharkhand), the Nellore belt (Andhra Pradesh) and the Rajasthan belt.
- Bauxite, the ore of aluminium, is mined in Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
The two anchors (Balaghat-manganese, Ballary-iron-ore) leave only option C, which then fills in Bewar-mica and Bilaspur-bauxite.
Study next
Common traps
- Confusing Balaghat (manganese) with diamonds — diamonds come from Panna/Majhgawan, not Balaghat.
- Mixing up the iron-ore and manganese belts, or pairing Ballary with a mineral other than iron-ore.
Asked as a city-to-mineral or mineral-to-state match, or as statements about which mineral a mining centre is known for.
Related PYQs
Match List I (Minerals) with List II (Location) and select the correct answer: List I: (A) Coal (B) Copper (C) Manganese (D) Lignite List II: 1. Giridih 2. Jayankondam 3. Alwar 4. Dharwar
- (a) A-1 B-4 C-3 D-2
- (b) A-2 B-3 C-4 D-1
- (c) A-1 B-3 C-4 D-2
- (d) A-2 B-4 C-3 D-1
Answer(c) A-1, B-3, C-4, D-2 — Giridih coal, Alwar copper, Dharwar manganese, Jayankondam lignite.
The same mineral-to-location matching skill, including a manganese pairing (the Dharwar belt) — cracked, like this item, by anchoring on the mineral centres you know for certain.
Consider the following statements: 1. Balaghat is known for its diamond mines. 2. Majhgawan is known for its manganese deposits. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(d) Neither 1 nor 2 — Balaghat is manganese (not diamond) and Majhgawan/Panna is diamond (not manganese).
Directly confirms the anchor of this match — Balaghat is a manganese centre, not a diamond one — which is exactly why Balaghat pairs with manganese here.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Balaghat district in Madhya Pradesh is chiefly known for the mining of which one of the following minerals?
- (a)Manganese
- (b)Diamond
- (c)Gold
- (d)Coal
Answer(a) Manganese — Balaghat is one of India's leading manganese-ore belts. - practice — not a real PYQ
Ballary (Bellary) in Karnataka is an important mining centre for which one of the following minerals?
- (a)Iron-ore
- (b)Mica
- (c)Bauxite
- (d)Copper
Answer(a) Iron-ore — Ballary lies in a major iron-ore district of Karnataka.