UPSC Mains 2022 GS Paper 1 Q6: model answer
Discuss the natural resource potentials of ‘Deccan Trap’.
What the question wants
Discuss the natural resources the Deccan Trap region offers.
How to structure it
Discuss: resource by resource.
- What the Trap is
- Soils and agriculture
- Minerals and stone
- Water and other
- Limits
How to think it through
The Deccan Trap is basalt lava laid layer upon layer like a staircase ('trap' comes from Swedish 'trappa', stairs). Basalt weathers into black cotton soil, which is the region's real treasure. Then add stone, bauxite caps, groundwater limits and tourism.
Model answer
The Deccan Trap covers about 5 lakh sq km of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, formed by fissure eruptions about 66 million years ago. 'Trap' comes from the Swedish word for stairs, after its step-like hills.
Resource potential
- Black (regur) soil: rich in lime, iron, magnesia and potash; holds moisture; ideal for cotton, soybean, sugarcane, jowar and pulses.
- Building stone: basalt for construction, roads and railways; historic forts and the Ajanta–Ellora caves.
- Bauxite and laterite: weathered caps in Kolhapur and the Amarkantak plateau.
- Semi-precious stones: agate and chalcedony in Khambhat.
- Groundwater in fractured and weathered basalt; dug wells sustain farming.
- Fertile valleys of the Godavari, Krishna and Tapi support orchards, such as Nashik's grapes.
- Hydropower and reservoirs: Koyna, Jayakwadi.
- Forests, wind and tourism: Western Ghats edges, Mahabaleshwar, wind farms on plateaus.
Limits
- Basalt aquifers store little water; overuse causes drought in Marathwada.
- Black soil cracks and erodes; needs careful management.
The region's fortune rests on its soil and stone, wisely managed.
Draw: Map of the Deccan Trap extent with cotton belt and key sites.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
Fissure eruption, Réunion hotspot, regur, laterite, Koyna, Khambhat agates, basalt aquifer.
Where most answers lose marks
- Calling the Trap mineral-rich in metals. Its main wealth is soil and stone.
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Question text as printed in the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) question paper. The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.
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