RAS question
The Ankleshwar oil field is located in which state?
Correct answer: (D) Gujarat.
The Ankleshwar oil field is located in Bharuch district of Gujarat.
Explanation
Ankleshwar is a Gujarat oil field, specifically in Bharuch district, so the state asked for in the MCQ is Gujarat. Its importance comes from both location and petroleum geography: Ankleshwar is one of India's major onshore oil and gas producing fields, and it belongs to the Cambay, or Khambhat, basin. That basin is an important petroleum-producing region of Gujarat. The distractors name states that do have petroleum associations, but not this field: Assam is linked with fields such as Digboi and Naharkatiya, Maharashtra with the offshore Mumbai High field, and Rajasthan with the Barmer-Sanchor basin. The location marker for Ankleshwar remains Gujarat.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Assam is associated with oil fields such as Digboi and Naharkatiya, not Ankleshwar.
- (B) Maharashtra's key petroleum association here is Mumbai High, an offshore field, whereas Ankleshwar is in Gujarat.
- (C) Rajasthan is linked with the Barmer-Sanchor basin, but Ankleshwar belongs to Gujarat's petroleum region.
Concept
This tests the Indian geography theme of mineral and energy-resource distribution, especially mapping major oil and gas fields to states. It recurs in RAS because petroleum basins and flagship fields are standard location-based factual anchors.