RAS question
Barmer district in Rajasthan is famous for the production of which energy resource?
Correct answer: (B) Petroleum (crude oil).
Barmer district in Rajasthan is especially associated with petroleum, specifically crude oil production from the Barmer-Sanchore Basin.
Explanation
Barmer is linked to petroleum because the Barmer-Sanchore Basin has active crude oil production by Cairn/Vedanta. The Directorate of Petroleum, Government of Rajasthan, lists crude oil production from fields including Mangla, Bhagyam and Aishwariya, and notes that commercial production from Mangla began on 29 August 2009. This supports why the district is identified with petroleum rather than a generic mineral or fuel category. Major discoveries in the Barmer-Sanchore Basin make these fields central to Rajasthan's crude oil output. So, in an RAS geography question, Barmer should immediately cue crude oil or petroleum production.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Coal does not fit Barmer because Rajasthan's coal deposits are at Barsingsar in Bikaner, not in Barmer.
- (C) Natural gas alone is too narrow: the Barmer-Sanchore Basin is connected with crude oil production, while gas is only part of the wider hydrocarbon setting.
- (D) Uranium is not the Barmer association here because Rajasthan's uranium deposits are in Sikar and Jhunjhunu districts.
Concept
This tests the Rajasthan geography theme of district-wise energy and mineral resources. It recurs in RAS because Barmer's petroleum fields are a standard way to link physical geography with Rajasthan's resource economy.