The four segments of the Golden Quadrilateral join the following cities : A. Delhi – Mumbai B. Mumbai – Chennai C. Chennai – Kolkata D. Kolkata – Delhi Consider the length of the above segments in descending order and select the correct answer using the codes given below : Codes :
- (1)C, D, A, B
- (2)C, D, B, A
- (3)D, C, B, A
- (4)D, C, A, B
Answer
Why
Correct — option (1), C, D, A, B.
The four sides of the Golden Quadrilateral are not equal. Their commonly published lengths add up to 5,846 km, the length given for the whole project.
C, Chennai–Kolkata, is the longest side at 1,684 km. D, Kolkata–Delhi, comes next at 1,453 km, then A, Delhi–Mumbai, at 1,419 km. B, Mumbai–Chennai, is the shortest at 1,290 km. Longest to shortest, that reads C, D, A, B.
A map check supports the extremes. The Chennai–Kolkata side runs up the long east coast through Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The Mumbai–Chennai side cuts across the peninsula through Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, a shorter run.
Fix the two extremes first: C is longest and B is shortest. Only option (1) starts with C and ends with B. That matters because the middle pair is close — Kolkata–Delhi is longer than Delhi–Mumbai by only 34 km.
Why the others are wrong
- (2)C, D, B, A — This gets the top two right but swaps the bottom pair. It places Mumbai–Chennai (1,290 km) above Delhi–Mumbai (1,419 km).
The real gap is 129 km the other way. Mumbai–Chennai is the shortest side of the Golden Quadrilateral, so any correct descending code must end with B, and this one ends with A.
- (3)D, C, B, A — This swaps both pairs. It makes Kolkata–Delhi longer than Chennai–Kolkata, and Mumbai–Chennai longer than Delhi–Mumbai.
It is the stem's A, B, C, D listing read backwards, so the printed order of the segments gives no clue to their lengths. Chennai–Kolkata (1,684 km) is the longest side, and Mumbai–Chennai (1,290 km) the shortest.
- (4)D, C, A, B — The bottom half is right: Delhi–Mumbai (1,419 km) above Mumbai–Chennai (1,290 km). The top pair is swapped.
Kolkata–Delhi, at 1,453 km, is the second-longest side, not the longest. The east-coast Chennai–Kolkata side exceeds it by 231 km, so a correct code must begin with C.
Concept
The Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) is a highway network linking four metropolitan cities: Delhi in the north, Kolkata in the east, Chennai in the south and Mumbai in the west.
Its sides were widened to four or six lanes under Phase I of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP), implemented by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
The total length is 5,846 km. By side: Delhi–Mumbai 1,419 km, Mumbai–Chennai 1,290 km, Chennai–Kolkata 1,684 km and Kolkata–Delhi 1,453 km.
Alongside the GQ, the NHDP took up two long corridors: the North–South Corridor from Srinagar to Kanyakumari and the East–West Corridor from Silchar to Porbandar. The two corridors cross at Jhansi.
RPSC's 2024 Prelims syllabus lists "National Highways & Major Transport Corridors" under the Geography of India. The GQ and the two NHDP corridors fall under that head.
Together they form a mental map of India's trunk roads: the GQ rings the four metropolitan corners of the country, and the two corridors cut across it north to south and east to west.
The Delhi–Mumbai side of the GQ passes through Rajasthan, with Jaipur and Udaipur among the cities on it, which gives the topic a direct state link.
Key facts
- The Golden Quadrilateral links Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and has a total length of 5,846 km.
- Chennai–Kolkata, along the east coast, is the longest side of the Golden Quadrilateral at 1,684 km.
- Mumbai–Chennai, across the peninsula, is the shortest side of the Golden Quadrilateral at 1,290 km.
- Kolkata–Delhi (1,453 km) and Delhi–Mumbai (1,419 km) differ in length by only 34 km.
- The Golden Quadrilateral was taken up under Phase I of the National Highways Development Project, implemented by NHAI.
Total 5,846 km. Only option (1) starts with C and ends with B.
Study next
Common traps
- Kolkata–Delhi and Delhi–Mumbai differ by only 34 km. A code that swaps just this pair looks right at a glance, so this pair needs the exact figures.
- Kolkata–Delhi (1,453 km) is the second-longest side, not the longest. The east-coast Chennai–Kolkata side is longer by 231 km, so a code that opens with D is wrong.
- The stem asks for descending order. The same facts in ascending order give the mirror sequence B, A, D, C, so check the direction word before matching a code.
A question can rank the four sides of the Golden Quadrilateral by length, as this one does.
A question can also name cities and ask which lie on the North–South or East–West Corridor, or ask for a corridor's end points or its meeting point.
A question can arrange corridor cities in geographical sequence, sometimes from a map marked with numbers.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2023, 2016 and 2013 here once those papers are published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which segment of the Golden Quadrilateral is the shortest?
- (a)Delhi–Mumbai
- (b)Mumbai–Chennai
- (c)Chennai–Kolkata
- (d)Kolkata–Delhi
Answer(2) — Mumbai–Chennai is 1,290 km. Option (1), Delhi–Mumbai, is 1,419 km. Option (4), Kolkata–Delhi, is 1,453 km. Option (3), Chennai–Kolkata, is the longest side at 1,684 km. - practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following cities is one of the four corner cities of the Golden Quadrilateral?
- (a)Hyderabad
- (b)Nagpur
- (c)Kolkata
- (d)Jhansi
Answer(3) — Kolkata is the eastern corner, with Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai as the others. Option (1), Hyderabad, and option (2), Nagpur, lie on the North–South Corridor. Option (4), Jhansi, is where the North–South and East–West corridors meet.