RAS question
Bengaluru (Bangalore) is known as the 'Silicon Valley of India' because of its dominance in:
Correct answer: (A) Information Technology and software industry.
Bengaluru is known as the Silicon Valley of India because it dominates information technology and the software industry in India.
Explanation
Bengaluru's Silicon Valley label is tied to its information technology base, not to a traditional heavy industry. The official Bengaluru Urban District history page says Bangalore is also called the IT capital of India because of its role as the nation's leading IT exporter. The city's dominance is in information technology and software. Familiar exam markers behind this identity include a high concentration of IT companies, software exports and tech start-ups, major IT clusters such as Electronic City, Whitefield and Manyata Tech Park, and firms such as Infosys, Wipro and TCS alongside global technology companies. For RAS, the key is to connect the city nickname with the correct industrial function.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Coal mining does not explain Bengaluru's nickname; coal centres include Dhanbad and Raniganj, not Bengaluru.
- (C) Steel production is the wrong industrial association here, as steel centres include Jamshedpur and Bhilai rather than Bengaluru.
- (D) Textile manufacturing does not account for the Silicon Valley tag; textiles are associated with Mumbai and Ahmedabad, while Bengaluru's label rests on IT and software.
Concept
Industrial geography includes the association between Indian cities and their dominant economic functions. RAS often uses city nicknames to compress wider facts about regional economic specialisation into one exam-ready clue.