RAS question
Under the Indus Water Treaty (1960), India has full rights over which rivers?
Correct answer: (A) Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej (Eastern Rivers).
Under the Indus Waters Treaty, India has full rights over the Eastern Rivers: Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.
Explanation
The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan with the help of the World Bank, which is also a signatory. Its core allocation is river-wise, not basin-wide: the Eastern Rivers, namely Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, are allocated to India, while the Western Rivers, namely Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, are allocated to Pakistan. India therefore has full rights over Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The treaty still allows each country certain uses on rivers allocated to the other, so India may have limited permitted uses on the Western Rivers, but that does not change the basic river-wise allocation.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Indus, Jhelum and Chenab are the Western Rivers allocated to Pakistan, not the rivers over which India has full rights.
- (C) The treaty does not give India full rights over all six rivers; it separates the Eastern Rivers for India from the Western Rivers for Pakistan.
- (D) Ravi, Beas and Sutlej are the Eastern Rivers allocated to India under the treaty.
Concept
The Indus Waters Treaty uses a river-allocation logic that remains a standard India geography and international-agreements theme. It recurs in RAS because it links drainage geography with India-Pakistan water-sharing arrangements.