Q20. Which PNGRB statements are correct?
I. It was India’s first regulator.
II. It promotes competitive gas markets.
III. Its appeals go to the electricity appellate tribunal.
[UPSC Civil Services Prelims, 2019]
(A) I and II only
(B) II and III only
(C) I and III only
(D) All three
Answer: B. II and III only
Explanation: The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board regulates specified downstream oil and gas activities and promotes competitive markets. It was not India’s first regulatory body. Its appellate arrangement links to the tribunal established under electricity legislation.
Q19. Which source of energy is renewable?
[CGPSC State Services Prelims, 2018]
(A) Coal
(B) Petroleum
(C) Biomass
(D) Kerosene
Answer: C. Biomass
Explanation: Biomass can be replenished through plant growth and the sustainable use of organic residues. Fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum and kerosene’s petroleum feedstock require geological timescales to form and are considered non-renewable.
Q18. Which resource was the largest contributor to Chhattisgarh mineral revenue in 2016–17?
[CGPSC State Services Prelims, 2018]
(A) Coal
(B) Limestone
(C) Iron ore
(D) Bauxite
Answer: A. Coal
Explanation: Coal is central to Chhattisgarh’s mining economy and supports major thermal power installations. The question focuses on mineral revenue for a particular financial year. Coalfields near Korba and other districts connect mining with electricity generation.
Q17. What solar-capacity goal did India set for 2022 under an earlier national programme?
[RPSC RAS Prelims, 2018]
(A) 20 GW
(B) 40 GW
(C) 60 GW
(D) 100 GW
Answer: D. 100 GW
Explanation: India’s earlier 2022 solar-energy ambition was 100 gigawatts, part of a wider 175-gigawatt renewable-power target. Subsequent policy milestones changed, so the figure should be understood in the historical context of that planning period.
Q16. Which town is associated with one of India’s earliest petroleum discoveries and refinery operations?
[WBCS Prelims, 2017]
(A) Duliajan
(B) Digboi
(C) Ankleshwar
(D) Kalol
Answer: B. Digboi
Explanation: Digboi in Assam became famous for pioneering petroleum production and refining during the colonial period. It forms part of the Assam petroleum region, distinct from offshore Mumbai High and Gujarat’s Cambay Basin deposits.
Q15. Which state agency promotes renewable and non-conventional energy in Rajasthan?
[RPSC RAS Prelims, 2016]
(A) Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited
(B) State Ministry of New Renewable Energy
(C) Centre for Renewable Energy Sources
(D) None of these
Answer: A. Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited
Explanation: Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited serves as a nodal organisation for renewable-energy development. The state’s high sunshine and open land make solar power especially important, alongside wind and energy-efficiency programmes.
Q14. What was the chief purpose of the government’s UDAY scheme?
[UPSC Civil Services Prelims, 2016]
(A) Loans to start-up solar entrepreneurs
(B) Electricity to each home by 2018 alone
(C) Replacement of all coal plants
(D) Financial turnaround of power distribution companies
Answer: D. Financial turnaround of power distribution companies
Explanation: Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana aimed to improve financial health and efficiency in state electricity distribution companies. Restructuring debt and improving operations were central elements. The scheme was not simply a programme to build renewable power stations.
Q13. Anushakti Vidyut Nigam Limited is a joint venture between NPCIL and which organisation?
[UPPSC Civil Services Prelims, 10 May 2015]
(A) NMDC
(B) NHPC
(C) BHEL
(D) NTPC
Answer: D. NTPC
Explanation: The nuclear-energy joint venture links Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited with NTPC, India’s major electricity company. Such partnerships are intended to support development of nuclear generating capacity using institutional experience in power projects.
Q12. At which site was India’s first nuclear power station established?
[Chhattisgarh PSC Prelims, 2014]
(A) Kalpakkam
(B) Kota
(C) Tarapur
(D) Narora
Answer: C. Tarapur
Explanation: Tarapur in Maharashtra was India’s first commercially operating nuclear-power site, starting in 1969. Kalpakkam, Rajasthan’s Rawatbhata and Narora developed later. Site identification is a frequent question in India’s energy-resource geography.
Q11. Which Indian hydropower project received an important Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in 2013?
[UPPSC Civil Services Prelims, 2013]
(A) Baglihar
(B) Kishanganga
(C) Sawalkote
(D) Salal
Answer: B. Kishanganga
Explanation: Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project is located in the Jhelum river system of Jammu and Kashmir. The project became the subject of international arbitration concerning river-water arrangements. It illustrates links between hydropower geography and transboundary governance.
Q10. Where is the Mumbai High offshore petroleum field located?
[SSC LDEO, 2012]
(A) Interior Deccan Plateau
(B) Western coastal plain
(C) Arabian Sea continental shelf
(D) Western Ghats
Answer: C. Arabian Sea continental shelf
Explanation: Mumbai High is an offshore hydrocarbon field beneath the Arabian Sea’s continental shelf. Platforms and subsea pipelines allow oil and associated gas production. It lies west of Mumbai, rather than on the mainland or inside the Western Ghats.
Q9. The Uran gas-based power station is situated in which state?
[UPPSC Mains, 2010]
(A) Gujarat
(B) Karnataka
(C) Maharashtra
(D) Tamil Nadu
Answer: C. Maharashtra
Explanation: Uran is a gas-fired generating facility in Maharashtra’s Raigad district. Gas-based stations may respond more flexibly to electricity demand than some coal-fired units. Its fuel and location distinguish it from hydroelectric schemes.
Q8. Which country assisted in establishment of the Obra thermal power project?
[UPPSC Special Mains, 2008]
(A) United States
(B) Germany
(C) Japan
(D) Soviet Union/Russia
Answer: D. Soviet Union/Russia
Explanation: Obra Thermal Power Station is located in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh. Soviet technical collaboration supported its early development. The region also contains coal-power infrastructure linked to the wider Singrauli–Sonbhadra energy belt.
Q7. Which thermal power station–state pair is incorrectly matched?
[UPPSC Mains, 2006]
(A) Badarpur–Delhi
(B) Harduaganj–Uttar Pradesh
(C) Utran–Gujarat
(D) Paras–Andhra Pradesh
Answer: D. Paras–Andhra Pradesh
Explanation: Paras Thermal Power Station is located in Maharashtra rather than Andhra Pradesh. Badarpur was associated with Delhi, Harduaganj with Uttar Pradesh and Utran with Gujarat. The question assesses geographical matching of electricity-generating stations.
Q6. Match the power stations Kothagudem, Raichur, Mettur and Wanakbori with their states.
[UPSC Civil Services Prelims, 2005]
(A) Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat
(B) Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu
(C) Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka
(D) Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh
Answer: A. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat
Explanation: Kothagudem lay in undivided Andhra Pradesh when this paper was held and is now in Telangana. Raichur is in Karnataka, Mettur in Tamil Nadu and Wanakbori in Gujarat. State reorganisation can affect historical examination labels.
Q5. Ramagundam Super Thermal Power Station was in which state according to the 2004 administrative map?
[UP Lower Subordinate Services Prelims, 2004]
(A) Andhra Pradesh
(B) Jharkhand
(C) Madhya Pradesh
(D) Karnataka
Answer: A. Andhra Pradesh
Explanation: Ramagundam was within Andhra Pradesh in 2004; following Telangana’s formation in 2014 it lies in Telangana. The important thermal-power complex developed near coal resources. Historical PYQs must retain their original administrative context.
Q4. In which present-day state is Bokaro Thermal Power Station located?
[UPSC Civil Services Prelims, 2003]
(A) Bihar
(B) Chhattisgarh
(C) Jharkhand
(D) Odisha
Answer: C. Jharkhand
Explanation: Bokaro Thermal Power Station is in Jharkhand, within the Damodar Valley industrial and coal belt. The state’s coal and mineral resources support both electricity generation and metallurgical industries.
Q3. Which source contributed most to India’s energy supply among the given alternatives?
[UP Lower Subordinate Services Prelims, 2002]
(A) Nuclear power
(B) Petroleum
(C) Coal
(D) Hydroelectricity
Answer: C. Coal
Explanation: Coal dominated India’s conventional energy landscape in the period covered by this question, especially for thermal generation and industry. India’s more recent energy mix includes much larger renewable capacity, but historical PYQs need date-sensitive interpretation.
Q2. Which coalfields are located in the Damodar Valley: I. Jharia, II. Raniganj, III. Singrauli, IV. Sohagpur?
[UPPSC Prelims, 2002]
(A) I and II only
(B) II and III only
(C) I, II and III
(D) II, III and IV
Answer: A. I and II only
Explanation: Jharia and Raniganj belong to the Damodar Valley coal belt of Jharkhand and West Bengal. Singrauli lies in the Son basin region, and Sohagpur belongs to another central Indian coal-bearing area.
Q1. Match
Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh
with Kakrapar, Kaiga, Rawatbhata and Narora nuclear stations.
[UPPSC UDA/LDA Prelims, 2002]
(A) Gujarat–Narora; Karnataka–Kakrapar; Rajasthan–Rawatbhata; UP–Kaiga
(B) Gujarat–Kaiga; Karnataka–Rawatbhata; Rajasthan–Kakrapar; UP–Narora
(C) Gujarat–Kakrapar; Karnataka–Kaiga; Rajasthan–Rawatbhata; UP–Narora
(D) Gujarat–Kaiga; Karnataka–Kakrapar; Rajasthan–Narora; UP–Rawatbhata
Answer: C. Gujarat–Kakrapar; Karnataka–Kaiga; Rajasthan–Rawatbhata; UP–Narora
Explanation: Kakrapar is in Gujarat, Kaiga in Karnataka, Rawatbhata in Rajasthan and Narora in Uttar Pradesh. These four stations provide a useful north-to-south map of established Indian nuclear-power locations.
