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RAS question

The 'Sambhar Salt Lake' is operated by:

Correct answer: (D) Hindustan Salts Ltd (Central Govt).

Sambhar Salt Lake is operated by Sambhar Salts Limited, a subsidiary of Hindustan Salts Limited, which is a Government of India undertaking.

  1. (A)

    Rajasthan Government

  2. (B)

    Private company

  3. (C)

    Local panchayat

  4. (D)

    Hindustan Salts Ltd (Central Govt)

Explanation

Sambhar Salt Lake is not run as a purely state, private, or panchayat-controlled asset. The Ministry of Heavy Industries page states that Sambhar Salts Limited was incorporated as a subsidiary of Hindustan Salts Limited for working the Sambhar Salt Sources. It also records that HSL holds 60% of SSL, while the Government of Rajasthan holds 40%, and that HSL itself is a Schedule C CPSE with 100% Government of India shareholding. This matches the MCQ explanation: the operational entity is Sambhar Salts Limited, under Hindustan Salts Limited, rather than a local body or a private company. Therefore the exam shorthand, Hindustan Salts Ltd (Central Govt), points to the correct institutional control.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) The Rajasthan Government is not the operator; the source records it as a 40% shareholder in Sambhar Salts Limited, while the lake is under SSL.
  • (B) A private company is not the operator because Sambhar Salts Limited is described as a subsidiary of Hindustan Salts Limited, and HSL is a Government of India-owned CPSE.
  • (C) A local panchayat is not supported by the official account, which assigns the working of the Sambhar Salt Sources to Sambhar Salts Limited.

Concept

This tests institutional control within Rajasthan's resource geography: knowing the lake is not enough; RAS often expects the operating agency behind a major resource site. The key is to connect Sambhar Salt Lake with Sambhar Salts Limited and Hindustan Salts Limited.

Source

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