RAS question
Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RVUNL) is primarily responsible for:
Correct answer: (C) Power generation.
Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited, or RVUNL, is primarily responsible for power generation in Rajasthan.
Explanation
RVUNL is the Rajasthan government’s main power generation company, operating thermal, hydro and other power plants. The official Rajasthan Foundation page supports this institutional role by explaining that the old Rajasthan State Electricity Board earlier handled generation, transmission and distribution together, but was restructured on 19 July 2000 into separate companies. In that split, generation was assigned to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd. (RVUNL), while transmission and distribution were assigned to different entities. So the key exam distinction is not the broad electricity sector but the specific function: RVUNL produces power; it is not the utility named for transmitting it across the grid or distributing it to consumers.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Power distribution is handled by DISCOMs such as Jaipur, Ajmer and Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam, not by RVUNL.
- (B) Power equipment manufacturing is not RVUNL’s assigned role; the question’s explanation identifies RVUNL as a generation company.
- (D) Power transmission belongs to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Ltd., while RVUNL was separated for generation.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan Economy’s power-sector institutional map: generation, transmission and distribution are separate public-utility functions. RAS repeats this because similar-sounding state electricity companies are easy to confuse in infrastructure and public-sector questions.