Which of the following district is not a part of ‘Desert Triangle’ in Rajasthan?

Correct — option (3), Barmer.

A triangle has three corners, and a 1997 Lok Sabha answer gives Rajasthan's Desert Triangle three cities: Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer.

That written answer, given on 4 August 1997 by the Minister of Tourism, describes a proposal Rajasthan prepared in 1992 for tourism infrastructure in the Desert Triangle of Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer, seeking funds from Japan's Overseas Economic Co-operation Fund.

On that reading, three of the four options are the triangle's corners, and the district outside it is Barmer.

The sources do not all agree. A later Lok Sabha answer, of 22 March 2001, says the identified travel circuit Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-Bikaner-Barmer is also known as “desert triangle of Rajasthan”, which would include Barmer. RPSC's key marks Barmer, which matches the three-city version.

The idea to remember: Desert Triangle in the 1997 Lok Sabha answer and on RPSC's key = Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer; a 2001 answer adds Barmer.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Jodhpur — Jodhpur is one of the three corners of the Desert Triangle. The Lok Sabha answer of 4 August 1997 names the triangle as Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer, and the 2001 answer also includes Jodhpur.
• (2)
  Bikaner — Bikaner is the northern corner of the triangle. Both Lok Sabha answers, of 1997 and 2001, include it in the Desert Triangle.
• (4)
  Jaisalmer — Jaisalmer is the western corner of the triangle, named in both the 1997 and 2001 Lok Sabha answers.

A tourist circuit links nearby places so that visitors can travel between them on one route. In the 1997 Lok Sabha answer, the Desert Triangle joins three cities: Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer.

On a map, Bikaner is the northern corner, Jaisalmer the western and Jodhpur the south-eastern. Barmer lies south of both Jaisalmer and Jodhpur, outside that triangle.

Wider groupings of the desert region exist. The 1997 Lok Sabha answer says a later proposal, for feasibility studies through Japan's JICA on an Integrated Area Development Plan for the “Desert Circuit”, covered Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Barmer, Bikaner and Nagaur districts.

Key facts

• Lok Sabha, 4 August 1997: Rajasthan's 1992 proposal was for tourism infrastructure in the Desert Triangle of Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer.
• The 1992 proposal sought assistance from Japan's Overseas Economic Co-operation Fund.
• Lok Sabha, 22 March 2001: the circuit Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-Bikaner-Barmer is described as also known as the desert triangle.
• Lok Sabha, 4 August 1997: a later “Desert Circuit” proposal covered Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Barmer, Bikaner and Nagaur districts.
• Lok Sabha, 8 March 2002: the Desert Triangle tourism proposal posed for the 1995-96 OECF loan package was not considered by the Government of Japan.

Common traps

• Counting every desert district into the triangle: in the 1997 Lok Sabha answer, Barmer and Nagaur appear in the wider Desert Circuit, not in the three-city Desert Triangle.
• Treating one source as the only version: a 2001 Lok Sabha answer includes Barmer, while the 1997 answer and RPSC's key use three cities.
• Reading “triangle” loosely: a triangle has three corners, and the three in the 1997 answer are Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Rajasthan's 1992 proposal for tourism infrastructure in the Desert Triangle, described in the Lok Sabha on 4 August 1997, sought assistance from

  • (a)Overseas Economic Co-operation Fund, Japan
  • (b)Asian Development Bank
  • (c)World Bank
  • (d)European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  Answer(1) — The Minister of Tourism's answer says the proposal was prepared for funding assistance from the Overseas Economic Co-operation Fund, Japan. Options (2), (3) and (4) are not named in that answer.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which group of cities forms the Desert Triangle of Rajasthan tourism, as named in the Lok Sabha answer of 4 August 1997?

  • (a)Jaipur, Ajmer, Udaipur
  • (b)Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer
  • (c)Barmer, Jalore, Sirohi
  • (d)Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu
  Answer(2) — The answer names the Desert Triangle as Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer. Options (1) and (3) contain none of the three, and option (4) has Bikaner but pairs it with Churu and Jhunjhunu.