UPSC Prelims 2021— Question 44

Kuchaman, Sargol and Khatu are saline lakes in Rajasthan's arid/semi-arid landscape. Their names are associated with saline-water bodies rather than glaciers, mangroves or Ramsar sites. The question tests regional physical geography and the distribution of inland saline lakes in western India. The final answer-key position for Set C identifies option D as the correct option. Option A — glaciers — is not correct because it does not satisfy the specific condition tested in the question; it represents an alternative that is contradicted, incomplete, or less precise than the accepted answer. Option B — mangrove areas — is not correct because it does not satisfy the specific condition tested in the question; it represents an alternative that is contradicted, incomplete, or less precise than the accepted answer. Option C — Ramsar sites — is not correct because it does not satisfy the specific condition tested in the question; it represents an alternative that is contradicted, incomplete, or less precise than the accepted answer. Option D — saline lakes — is correct because it is the alternative that matches the constitutional, historical, geographical, scientific or economic principle established above. For PYQ interpretation, the distinction between the correct alternative and merely related facts is important. UPSC often places plausible distractors beside the precise statement that matches the underlying rule, chronology, definition or empirical relationship. The answer should therefore be read against the exact wording of the question rather than against a broadly related fact.