Distribution of Mineral Belts in India: Relevance in UPSC Prelims

Just like diversity of culture, language and traits India is diverse in terms of mineral distribution. The uneven distribution of the minerals is the most striking feature Indian minerals. Some areas mark the abundance of minerals while some others are completely scarce of this valuable asset. The questions related to mineral belts have high importance in UPSC Prelims Exam. Atleast 1-2 questions are asked in UPSC Prelims exam every year from this section. The pattern and nature of questions can be revealed from the Previous Year Papers of UPSC Prelims. Not only the prelims this section is significant in the mains exam too. Through this article we will dig deeper into strategy and planning pertaining to this section from Prelims point of view.

Before delving into strategy of preparation let’s have a look over the Distribution Of Mineral Belts in India. The abundance of minerals depends on availability of rainfall up to a larger extent. The high rainfall areas of India are having scarcity of limestone, gypsum and salts as they are soluble in water and hence they are flowing away with water. Opposite to this the Northern Plains Of India has completely concealed the bedrocks owing to thick layers of alluvium.

The Himalayas have a rich diversity of rocks but the extraction of minerals is not an easy cakewalk due to complexity of its geological structure. The mining in this region is not viable economically because of several reasons such as difficult terrain, lack of infrastructure, human resource unavailability etc.

The area lying in peninsular India and central India is rich in minerals and famous for its mining activities. The Chota Nagpur plateau is known as the mineral heart land of India. This region possesses India’s 100 per cent Kyanite, 93 per cent iron ore, 84 per cent coal, 70 per cent chromite, 70 per cent mica, 50 per cent fire clay, 45 per cent asbestos, 45 per cent china clay, 20 per cent limestone and 10 per cent manganese. However, many changes have taken place in the recent years. After this belt the minerals are found in Central and southern part of India which is also rich in many precious minerals.

For the preparation of this section it is advisable to go through the NCERT geography book where one can find the extensive account of minerals. The questions that are asked in UPSC Prelims can be classified into following types:

1. The questions related to the ores of minerals. Mostly the minerals and their corresponding ores are asked for matching. So all the ores of minerals should be memorized efficiently.
2. The questions related to place of origin of certain minerals for an example iron ore is found in Bellary, Bailadila, Kudremukh etc.Similarly coal is found in Raniganj, Jharia etc. All the places and corresponding minerals should be marked on map to memorize it easily.
3. Questions based on maps.
4. Questions based on minerals and Industries
5. Questions based on mineral belt and tribes residing in these belts

The best strategy is to prepare short notes and flow charts to comprehend all the information related to this. The maps should be scanned thoroughly and places should be marked accordingly. However the entire exercise could be cut short with GS Score Fact File of Mineral Belts in India. This fact file consolidates all the related information of minerals and its places and properties accordingly. This fact file can be downloaded from GS Score website. This fact file contains all possible questions that can be fruitful from exam point of view.