Consider the following pairs : Country Resource-rich in I. Botswana : Diamond II. Chile : Lithium III. Indonesia : Nickel In how many of the above rows is the given information correctly matched?
- (a) Only one
- (b) Only two
- (c) All the three ✓ UPSC's answer
- (d) None
Why the answer is (c)
• Botswana is among the world's largest producers of diamonds by value, from mines such as Jwaneng and Orapa run by Debswana; diamonds dominate its exports — row I is correct.
• Chile holds the world's largest lithium reserves and is the second-largest producer, extracting brine from the Salar de Atacama in the 'lithium triangle' — row II is correct.
• Indonesia is the world's largest nickel producer and has banned raw-ore exports to build a domestic battery industry — row III is correct.
• All three countries are central to critical-mineral supply chains that India's National Critical Mineral Mission seeks to access.
• Hence all three, option (c).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) Only one
- All three rows, not one, are correct.
- (b) Only two
- All three are correct, not two.
- (d) None
- Each country is indeed rich in the listed resource.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025, held on 25 May 2025. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.