RAS question
Which plateau lies between the Aravalli and the Vindhya Range?
Correct answer: (C) Malwa Plateau.
The Malwa Plateau lies between the Aravalli Range and the Vindhya Range.
Explanation
The Malwa Plateau is the plateau asked for because it occupies the belt between the Aravallis to the northwest and the Vindhya Range to the south. Britannica describes this same setting in its account of India's inland regions, stating that the fertile, basaltic Malwa Plateau lies between the Aravallis and the Vindhya Range. Its drainage also supports the identification: the plateau is associated with rivers such as the Chambal, Betwa and Ken. Together, the boundary ranges and drainage pattern fix Malwa as the central Indian plateau in question, not a northeastern, southern or eastern plateau.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Meghalaya Plateau is in northeast India, so it does not fit a location framed by the Aravalli and Vindhya ranges.
- (B) The Deccan Plateau is south of the Narmada, not in the belt between the Aravallis and the Vindhya Range.
- (D) The Chota Nagpur Plateau is mainly in the Jharkhand region, east of the peninsular foreland, not between the Aravallis and the Vindhya Range.
Concept
This tests the physical geography of India's plateaus and hill ranges, especially the relative location of central Indian relief features. It recurs in RAS because Rajasthan-linked geography often requires locating the Aravalli system in relation to neighbouring plateaus and river basins.