Indian States and Union Territories

Polo originated in ancient Manipur, where it was known as 'sagol kangjei' (horse ball game). The sport spread from Manipur to the rest of the world during British colonial times, making Manipur the birthplace of modern polo.

Maharashtra became the first state in India to introduce environmental education as a separate compulsory subject in schools. This pioneering decision was taken in 2001, making environmental education mandatory from classes 1 to 12. Other states followed this initiative later.

Assam is the state surrounded by six of the Seven Sister States (Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and Meghalaya) and shares international borders with Bhutan and Bangladesh. This geographic description uniquely identifies Assam among the options.

Arunachal Pradesh is the easternmost state of India, located in the Northeast region. Due to its longitudinal position, it receives the first sun rays of the day in India as the sun rises in the east and moves westward. States like Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland are situated west of Arunachal Pradesh.

Sachin Tendulkar was born in Mumbai (then Bombay), Maharashtra. Maharashtra is his native and home state where he grew up and spent his entire life. This is basic biographical information.

Haryana became the first Indian state to achieve 100% village electrification in 2018 under the Saubhagya scheme. Gujarat, Kerala, and Punjab all achieved high rural electrification rates but Haryana was the first to complete electrification of all villages systematically.

Jharkhand was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on November 1, 2000, becoming India's 28th state. The creation fulfilled long-standing demands for a separate state for the tribal regions of the Chota Nagpur Plateau. UP, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab were not involved in this bifurcation.

Meghalaya has a predominantly tribal population with the Khasi, Jaintia, and Garo tribes being the major ethnic groups. The state's governance structure includes autonomous district councils for tribal communities, making it India's only state with a tribal majority.

A landlocked state has no coastline. Bihar is completely landlocked, bordered by Nepal, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. Gujarat has coastline along the Arabian Sea, Odisha (formerly Orissa) along Bay of Bengal, and West Bengal along Bay of Bengal. Option D is correct.

The Pagladiya Multipurpose Dam project is located in Assam, as the Pagladiya River flows through this northeastern state. The dam is part of Assam's infrastructure development for irrigation, flood control, and power generation. Other options like West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh have their own river systems but not the Pagladiya.

The 2011 census excluded both Jammu & Kashmir and Assam due to security reasons and special circumstances in these states. J&K had security concerns, while Assam faced issues with illegal immigration detection. This was the first time in independent India's census history that two states were excluded.

The Pagladiya Multipurpose Dam project is located in Assam. It's a major irrigation and flood control project on the Pagladiya River, which is a tributary of the Brahmaputra in Assam.

Jammu & Kashmir was excluded from the 1991 census due to insurgency, and Assam was also excluded that year due to disturbed conditions. This was the first and only time in independent India's history that states were excluded from the census exercise.

Gangtok is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is located in the eastern Himalayan range. Manipur's capital is Imphal, Arunachal's is Itanagar, and Jharkhand's is Ranchi.