Consider the following statements : A. Luni Basin and Shekhawati region are the Sub-regions of Rajasthan Bangar. B. Ghaggar Plain covers mostly Hanumangarh and Ganganagar district. C. Nagaur uplands have salty lakes and inland drainage. D. Aravalli ranges are rich in all types of minerals. Select the correct answer using the codes given below : Codes :
- (1)A and B
- (2)A, B and C
- (3)B, C and D
- (4)A, B, C and D
Answer
Why
Correct — option (2), A, B and C.
Statement A is correct. In a widely used physiographic scheme, Rajasthan's western sandy plain has an arid core, Marusthali, and a semi-arid eastern belt, Rajasthan Bangar (also spelt Bagar). The Luni basin (Godwar tract) and the Shekhawati tract of inland drainage are both sub-regions of the Bangar.
Statement B is correct. The Ghaggar plain, built of the Ghaggar river's alluvium, lies mainly in Hanumangarh and Sri Ganganagar districts in the far north.
Statement C is correct. The Nagaur upland is a tract of the Bangar with sandy hills and low saline depressions, where high heat and evaporation leave salt and soda deposits. Its seasonal streams drain inland instead of reaching the sea.
Statement D fails on one word: all. The Aravallis are rich in metallic minerals such as zinc-lead and copper. But Rajasthan's lignite lies in Tertiary sedimentary basins in the west, and its crude oil comes mainly from the Barmer–Sanchore basin.
A, B and C are true and D is false, so the code is A, B and C.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)A and B — This code accepts A and B but rejects C, which is true.
The Nagaur upland is a Bangar sub-region with salt lakes and inland drainage. Its low depressions hold salt and soda deposits, and its seasonal streams do not reach the sea. Leaving C out treats a correct description of that tract as false.
- (3)B, C and D — This code rejects A and accepts D, so it gets two statements wrong.
A is true: the Luni basin and the Shekhawati tract are sub-regions of Rajasthan Bangar. D is false because it says "all types". D would be true only if it said rich in metallic minerals, the narrower claim that holds for the Aravallis — and even then this code would fail, because it rejects A.
- (4)A, B, C and D — A, B and C are true, but D is an overstatement.
The Aravallis hold metallic ores such as zinc-lead at Zawar and copper at Khetri. Fossil fuels are a different story: Rajasthan's lignite lies in Tertiary basins falling in Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Nagaur and Jalore districts, outside the Aravalli rocks. "All types of minerals" cannot stand.
Concept
A widely used scheme divides Rajasthan into four physiographic divisions: the western sandy plain, the Aravalli range and hilly region, the eastern plain, and the south-eastern Hadoti plateau.
The western sandy plain has two parts. Marusthali is the arid core of the Thar, with dune tracts and a dune-free rocky tract. East of it lies Rajasthan Bangar, a semi-arid belt that grades towards the Aravallis.
The Bangar has four sub-regions: the Ghaggar plain in the north, the Shekhawati tract of inland drainage, the Nagaur upland with its salt lakes, and the Luni basin or Godwar tract in the south, drained by the Luni and its tributaries.
RPSC's 2024 Prelims syllabus opens the Geography of Rajasthan with "Major physiographic regions and their characteristics". Each region is defined by a bundle of traits: its districts, its drainage, its soils and its resources.
Rajasthan Bangar matters because it is the transition zone. It lies between the dune-covered Marusthali and the Aravallis, so its sub-regions mix desert features, such as inland drainage and salt lakes, with river alluvium in the Ghaggar and Luni plains.
The mineral map is the other half of the picture. The Aravallis carry the metallic ores, while the western sedimentary basins hold the lignite and crude oil.
Key facts
- In a widely used physiographic scheme, Rajasthan's western sandy plain divides into the arid Marusthali and the semi-arid Rajasthan Bangar (Bagar).
- Rajasthan Bangar's sub-regions are the Ghaggar plain, the Shekhawati inland-drainage tract, the Nagaur upland and the Luni basin (Godwar tract).
- The Ghaggar plain of Rajasthan lies mainly in Hanumangarh and Sri Ganganagar districts.
- The Nagaur upland has low depressions with salt and soda deposits, and inland drainage.
- Rajasthan's lignite occurs in Tertiary basins — Barmer–Sanchore, Jaisalmer and Nagaur — falling in Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Nagaur and Jalore districts.
Three true statements, A, B and C, give option (2).
Study next
Common traps
- "Rich in all types of minerals" fails on the word "all". The Aravallis are rich in metallic minerals, but lignite and crude oil lie in sedimentary basins of the west.
- Godwar and Shekhawati are regional names as well as physical tracts. In a physiography stem they are sub-regions of Rajasthan Bangar, not districts or tourist circuits.
- Rajasthan Bangar (also spelt Bagar), the semi-arid belt east of Marusthali, is not Vagad, the Dungarpur–Banswara tract of the south. The names look alike in English spelling.
A question can give statements about the sub-regions and slip in one overstated line, as this one does with "all types of minerals".
A question can also ask which tracts belong to the Thar, match sub-regions to their districts, or list features — inland drainage, salt lakes, alluvium — and ask for the region.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2021, 2018 and 2016 here once those papers are published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which sub-region of Rajasthan Bangar lies mainly in Hanumangarh and Sri Ganganagar districts?
- (a)Luni basin
- (b)Ghaggar plain
- (c)Nagaur upland
- (d)Shekhawati tract
Answer(2) — The Ghaggar plain, built of the Ghaggar river's alluvium, covers mainly Hanumangarh and Sri Ganganagar. Option (1), the Luni basin, is the southern sub-region drained by the Luni. Option (3), the Nagaur upland, is the central tract with salt lakes. Option (4), the Shekhawati tract, is the inland-drainage tract around Jhunjhunu, Sikar and Churu. - practice — not a real PYQ
Consider the following statements : A. Rajasthan's lignite occurs in sedimentary basins of western Rajasthan. B. The Aravalli region of Rajasthan is rich in metallic minerals. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
- (a)Only A
- (b)Only B
- (c)Both A and B
- (d)Neither A nor B
Answer(3) — A is correct: lignite lies in Tertiary basins such as Barmer–Sanchore, Jaisalmer and Nagaur. B is correct: the Aravallis hold metallic ores such as zinc-lead at Zawar and copper at Khetri. Options (1) and (2) each reject a true statement, and option (4) rejects both.