RAS question
Which industrial corridor is being developed with Japanese collaboration for its dedicated freight corridor backbone?
Correct answer: (B) DMIC (Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor).
The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor is being developed with Japanese collaboration, with the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor serving as its transport backbone.
Explanation
DMIC is a major India-Japan collaboration in which JICA provides financial and technical support. The Western Dedicated Freight Corridor forms the backbone of the project. The DPIIT page on the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme frames industrial corridors around major transport corridors, including the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors, and lists the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor as one of the corridors being developed. That combination separates DMIC from corridors whose backbone or external support is different. The decisive pairing is Japan-backed collaboration plus the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) CBEC is a smaller corridor and is not primarily backed by Japan, so it does not match the Japan-backed Western Dedicated Freight Corridor pairing.
- (C) VCIC is the first phase of the East Coast Industrial Corridor in the DPIIT list, and it is linked to ADB support rather than Japanese collaboration.
- (D) AKIC is a separate corridor in the DPIIT list, with freight-corridor support distinct from DMIC's Japan-backed Western Dedicated Freight Corridor link.
Concept
This tests infrastructure-led industrial development under India's industrial corridor programme. RAS repeats it because corridor backbones, external partners and named regional corridors are standard map-and-economy linkages.