Which of the following was the correct ascending order of the States in the installed capacity of renewable energy up to December 2025?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — C, Tamil Nadu → Maharashtra → Rajasthan → Gujarat. Ascending puts the largest last, and as on December 2025 Gujarat led every State with about 42,583 MW of installed renewable capacity, roughly 16.5% of India's total. Rajasthan was an extremely close second at about 42,531 MW, with Maharashtra third (about 30,300 MW) and Tamil Nadu fourth (about 27,100 MW). Gujarat's edge comes from being strong on both legs of the portfolio — about 25,500 MW of solar and about 14,800 MW of wind, with Kutch district alone supplying nearly 7,500 MW of wind — whereas Rajasthan's capacity is overwhelmingly solar.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Almost exactly inverted — it makes Gujarat the smallest and Maharashtra the largest. Gujarat topped the December 2025 table and Maharashtra was third.  (b) It gets the top two right but swaps Tamil Nadu out for Karnataka. Karnataka's renewable capacity at end-2025 (roughly 24-26 GW) was behind Tamil Nadu's, so it does not belong in the leading group the question is testing; the official key accepts only option (c).  (d) Places Rajasthan above Gujarat. That is true for solar capacity alone — Rajasthan led solar with about 36 GW — but on total renewable capacity Gujarat was narrowly ahead in December 2025, and it widened the gap through 2026.

Concept: 'Renewable energy installed capacity' as reported by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy adds up solar, wind, small hydro, bio-power and (in the wider series) large hydro. Because the mix differs by State, rankings change with the metric: Rajasthan wins on solar because of the Thar's high irradiance and vast waste land, Gujarat wins on wind because of the Kutch–Saurashtra coast, and it is the sum of the two that decides the overall leader. India's total renewable capacity crossed about 2,58,000 MW by the end of 2025, with solar the single largest component.

State PCS 2026 Q10 — Geography PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2026 Q10 — Geography PYQ with Answer