Prelims 2013 · archive
MediumConsider the following statements:
- 1.Natural gas occurs in the Gondwana beds.
- 2.Mica occurs in abundance in Kodarma.
- 3.Dharwars are famous for petroleum.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 and 2
Statements 1 and 2 are correct, so the answer is (a). Gondwana sediments hold natural gas: they contain all of India's coalbed methane (CBM) producing blocks, and Permo-Triassic Gondwana-age sandstone in the Krishna-Godavari basin holds commercial hydrocarbons. Koderma is the leading mica area. India's petroleum comes mostly from Tertiary rocks, not Dharwar rocks.
- ✓ 1. The Gondwana sediments of eastern India host the bulk of India's coal reserves and all the current CBM producing blocks. CBM is natural gas, mainly methane. In the Krishna-Godavari basin, the Permo-Triassic Mandapeta Sandstone, a Gondwana-age unit, also holds commercial hydrocarbon accumulations. Gondwana beds are best known for coal, but natural gas does occur in them.
- ✓ 2. Mica deposits are found along the northern edge of the Chota Nagpur plateau. The Koderma–Gaya–Hazaribagh belt of Jharkhand is the leading producer. 'Kodarma' is an alternative spelling of Koderma.
- ✗ 3. Most of India's petroleum occurs in anticlines and fault traps in Tertiary-age rocks. Dharwar rocks are very old metamorphic rocks that are valued for metallic minerals such as iron ore, manganese, gold and uranium, not petroleum.
- ✗ (b) This option leaves out statement 1, which is true. Gondwana sediments do contain natural gas, so 'Mica only' is incomplete.
- ✗ (c) It includes statement 3, which is wrong because Dharwar rocks are not a petroleum source.
- ✗ (d) Statements 1 and 2 are both correct.
Remember · Gondwana beds are mainly coal, but they also hold gas, including all of India's CBM blocks. Koderma is the leading mica area. Petroleum comes mostly from Tertiary rocks, while Dharwar rocks carry metallic minerals such as iron ore, manganese, gold and uranium.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 10 Contemporary India – II, Ch 5 (practise this chapter) · Class 10 Contemporary India – II, Ch 5 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 India: People and Economy, Ch 5 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- Coal Bed Methane (CBM) – Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas ↗ “The Gondwana sediments of eastern India host the bulk of India's coal reserves and all the current CBM producing blocks.”
- Krishna Godavari Basin – Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (National Data Repository) ↗ “Krishna-Godavari basin is a proven petroliferous basin with commercial hydrocarbon accumulations in the oldest Permo-Triassic Mandapeta Sandstone onland to the youngest Pleistocene channel levee complexes in deep water offshore.”
- NCERT Class 10 · Contemporary India – II, Chapter 5 “Mica deposits are found in the northern edge of the Chota Nagpur plateau. Koderma Gaya – Hazaribagh belt of Jharkhand is the leading producer.”
- NCERT Class 10 · Contemporary India – II, Chapter 5 “Most of the petroleum occurrences in India are associated with anticlines and fault traps in the rock formations of the tertiary age.”
- NCERT Class 12 · India: People and Economy, Chapter 5 “Uranium deposits occur in the Dharwar rocks. Geographically, uranium ores are known to occur in several locations along the Singbhum Copper belt.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2013, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·