Q130. Durgapur Steel Plant was established with assistance from which country?
[SSC MTS, 6 Feb 2026]
(A) Soviet Union
(B) United Kingdom
(C) Germany
(D) Japan
Answer: (B) United Kingdom
Explanation: Durgapur Steel Plant was built with British collaboration, unlike Bhilai, which received Soviet assistance, and Rourkela, associated with West German collaboration. The comparison is a recurring topic in Indian industrial-location and planning questions.
Q129. Which of the following was not initially included among the principal sectors of the Production Linked Incentive scheme?
[SSC MTS, 11 Feb 2026]
(A) Electronics manufacturing
(B) Leather goods
(C) Pharmaceutical products
(D) Telecom equipment
Answer: (B) Leather goods
Explanation: The Production Linked Incentive programme supports selected manufacturing sectors by linking incentives to incremental production. Electronics, pharmaceuticals and telecom equipment were among covered sectors, while leather goods were not included in the referenced list for this exam question.
Q128. Under Industrial Policy Resolution 1956, what was the intended role of private enterprise in Schedule B industries?
[SSC MTS, 5 Feb 2026]
(A) To supplement the state’s efforts
(B) To exclude the public sector completely
(C) To control atomic energy
(D) To eliminate mixed enterprises
Answer: (A) To supplement the state’s efforts
Explanation: Schedule B of the 1956 Industrial Policy Resolution listed industries expected to become progressively state-owned, while private enterprise could supplement public efforts. The policy distinguished strategic state-reserved activities from sectors allowing mixed participation.
Q127. Which statements about chemical-based industries are correct?
I. Synthetic fibre is an example of a chemical-based industry.
II. Salt, sulphur and potash industries use natural minerals.
[SSC GD Constable, 18 May 2026]
(A) Only I
(B) Only II
(C) Both I and II
(D) Neither I nor II
Answer: (C) Both I and II
Explanation: Chemical industries produce synthetic fibres and numerous industrial chemicals. Their inputs can include minerals such as salt, sulphur and potash, alongside petroleum-based feedstocks. This diverse raw-material base links them to textiles, agriculture and manufacturing.
Q126. Durgapur Steel Plant is situated near which river?
[RRB NTPC UG, 4 Sep 2025]
(A) Damodar
(B) Godavari
(C) Krishna
(D) Tapti
Answer: (A) Damodar
Explanation: Durgapur lies in the Damodar Valley of West Bengal. Its location benefits from eastern India’s coalfields, rail connections and access to the industrial infrastructure of the Damodar Valley, making it a significant planned steel-production centre.
Q125. Identify the steel plant from these facts:
(I) It was set up in 1964 with Russian collaboration;
(II) it receives iron ore from the Rourkela region;
(III) the Damodar Valley Corporation supplies water and hydel power.
[UPSC NDA I, 13 Apr 2025]
(A) Bhilai Steel Plant
(B) Bokaro Steel Plant
(C) Rourkela Steel Plant
(D) Durgapur Steel Plant
Answer: (B) Bokaro Steel Plant
Explanation: Bokaro Steel Plant in Jharkhand was developed with Soviet collaboration. It expanded India’s public-sector steel capacity and forms part of the resource-rich eastern industrial belt. Bhilai also had Soviet assistance, while Durgapur and Rourkela had other foreign partners.
Q124. Arrange these steel centres from east to west: Durgapur, Jamshedpur, Rourkela and Bhilai.
[UKPSC Lower PCS, 11 May 2025]
(A) Durgapur–Jamshedpur–Rourkela–Bhilai
(B) Bhilai–Rourkela–Durgapur–Jamshedpur
(C) Jamshedpur–Bhilai–Rourkela–Durgapur
(D) Rourkela–Durgapur–Jamshedpur–Bhilai
Answer: (A) Durgapur–Jamshedpur–Rourkela–Bhilai
Explanation: Durgapur is in West Bengal, Jamshedpur in eastern Jharkhand, Rourkela in Odisha and Bhilai in Chhattisgarh. Their geographic positions progress generally westward in that sequence, reflecting the broad spread of India’s eastern and central steel industry.
Q123. Which three raw materials are essential to an integrated iron and steel industry?
[DSSSB TGT, 7 Sep 2025]
(A) Iron ore, coking coal and limestone
(B) Cotton, jute and silk
(C) Bauxite, mica and gypsum
(D) Sugarcane, water and rubber
Answer: (A) Iron ore, coking coal and limestone
Explanation: Iron ore supplies iron, coking coal provides fuel and a reducing agent, and limestone acts as a flux to remove impurities. The bulky nature of these inputs strongly influenced the location of early Indian steel plants near mineral belts.
Q122. At which place was the Tata Iron and Steel Company established?
[DSSSB TGT, 8 Nov 2025]
(A) Rourkela
(B) Jamshedpur
(C) Bhilai
(D) Durgapur
Answer: (B) Jamshedpur
Explanation: Tata Iron and Steel Company, founded in 1907, developed its works at Sakchi, later known as Jamshedpur. The location offered proximity to iron ore, coal, water and transport, creating one of India’s major privately developed industrial cities.
Q121. Consider the statements about cotton textiles:
(1) The industry has spread beyond Gujarat and Maharashtra.
(2) Raw cotton is not a weight-losing raw material.
Which statement(s) is/are correct?
[UPSC CDS II, 14 Sep 2025]
(A) 1 only
(B) 2 only
(C) Both 1 and 2
(D) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2
Explanation: Cotton textiles initially concentrated in western India, benefiting from raw cotton, ports and humid conditions. Mills and decentralised weaving later spread to southern, northern and eastern states. Industrial geography now recognises a broad and diversified national distribution.
