Which of the following were added in India as Ramsar Site in the year 2025? 1. Sakkarakottai Bird Sanctuary 2. Udhwa Lake 3. Rudrasagar Lake 4. Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary Select the answer using the code given below:
- (a)1 and 4
- (b)2 and 3 only
- (c)1 and 2 only
- (d)1, 2 and 3
Correct — C, 1 and 2 only. Of the four, Sakkarakottai Bird Sanctuary (Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu) and Udhwa Lake (Sahibganj district, Jharkhand) are the newly added wetlands, brought into India's Ramsar network in the recent 2024–25 round. Rudrasagar Lake in Tripura has been a Ramsar site since 2005, and Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh since 2021, so neither is a new addition. That leaves the pair 1 and 2.
- (a)1 and 4 — It includes Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary (Uttar Pradesh), which has been a Ramsar site since 2021 — not a new addition — so this pair is wrong.
- (b)2 and 3 only — It includes Rudrasagar Lake (Tripura), a Ramsar site since 2005, and drops Sakkarakottai — so it mixes in an old site while missing a genuinely new one.
- (d)1, 2 and 3 — It adds Rudrasagar Lake (Tripura, Ramsar site since 2005), which is a long-standing wetland and not part of the recent additions.
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (signed on 2 February 1971 at Ramsar, Iran) is the intergovernmental treaty for the conservation and 'wise use' of wetlands of international importance. India became a party in 1982, and its list of Ramsar sites has grown rapidly, crossing 85 wetlands by 2025 and reaching about 100 by early 2026. Fresh sites are usually publicised around World Wetlands Day (2 February).
The question mixes two brand-new additions with two long-standing sites, so it can be cracked by elimination. Anyone who remembers that Rudrasagar (Tripura, 2005) and Bakhira (Uttar Pradesh, 2021) are older Ramsar sites can rule out every option containing statements 3 or 4, which leaves only 1 and 2 — Sakkarakottai and Udhwa, the two recent entrants.
- The Ramsar Convention (2 February 1971) protects wetlands of international importance; India joined in 1982.
- Rudrasagar Lake, Tripura has been a Ramsar site since 8 November 2005 and hosts the Neermahal water palace.
- Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh has been a Ramsar site since 2021.
- Sakkarakottai Bird Sanctuary (Tamil Nadu) and Udhwa Lake (Jharkhand) are among India's most recent Ramsar additions, as the network crossed 85 sites by the time of the September 2025 exam.
- New-addition questions salt the list with older Ramsar sites — know at least a few designation years to eliminate them.
- Do not confuse Rudrasagar (Tripura) with any Uttar Pradesh wetland; state and year both matter.
Ramsar is tested as a 'which were added in [year]' list where distractors are genuine but older Ramsar sites, so the year is the discriminator.
India is a party to the Ramsar Convention and has declared many areas as Ramsar Sites. Which of the following statements best describes how we should maintain these sites in the context of this Convention?
- (a) Keep all the sites completely inaccessible to man so that they will not be exploited.
- (b) Conserve all the sites through ecosystem approach and permit tourism and recreation only.
- (c) Conserve all the sites through ecosystem approach for a period without any exploitation, with specific criteria and specific period for each site, and then allow sustainable use of them by future generations.
- (d) Conserve all the sites through ecosystem approach and allow their simultaneous sustainable use.
Answer(d) Conserve all the sites through ecosystem approach and allow their simultaneous sustainable use.
Same concept — the Ramsar Convention and India's Ramsar sites. UPSC tested the 'wise use' principle (conserve while allowing simultaneous sustainable use); this NDA question tests recognition of which specific wetlands were newly designated Ramsar sites.
Recently the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has submitted three nominations from India for Wetland City Accreditation (WCA) under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Which one among the following cities is not one among them?
- (a) Indore
- (b) Bhopal
- (c) Udaipur
- (d) Jodhpur
Answer(d) Jodhpur
Same Ramsar theme from a neighbouring paper — the 2024 item tested Wetland City Accreditation nominations under the Ramsar Convention, while the 2025 item tests newly designated Ramsar sites. Both reward tracking India's wetland-conservation current affairs.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Ramsar Convention, adopted in 1971, deals with the conservation of
- (a)coral reefs
- (b)wetlands of international importance
- (c)migratory bird flyways
- (d)tropical rainforests
Answer(b) wetlands of international importance — the Ramsar Convention is the treaty for wise use and protection of wetlands.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Rudrasagar Lake, a Ramsar site that hosts the Neermahal palace, is located in which State?
- (a)Uttar Pradesh
- (b)Tamil Nadu
- (c)Tripura
- (d)Jharkhand
Answer(c) Tripura — Rudrasagar Lake has been a Ramsar site since 2005 and carries the Neermahal water palace.