UPSC Prelims 2018— Question 13

**Concept and analysis:** The Aral Sea underwent a dramatic contraction during the twentieth century, principally because river flows from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya were heavily diverted for irrigation. The Black Sea has not experienced a comparable human-caused shrinkage of the kind described, and Lake Baikal remains a major freshwater lake rather than a recently dried-up water body. The question therefore points specifically to the Aral Sea. The question is testing precise UPSC-level identification rather than a broad association. The key is to distinguish the exact institutional, constitutional, historical, geographical, economic or scientific feature being asked. **Option-wise evaluation** **Option A:** Correct. It selects statements 1; these are the statements supported by the relevant constitutional, economic, historical, scientific or geographical facts. **Option B:** Incorrect. It selects 2 and 3, but that combination does not match the verified statement-level assessment; it either includes a false statement or omits a true one. **Option C:** Incorrect. It selects 2 only, but that combination does not match the verified statement-level assessment; it either includes a false statement or omits a true one. **Option D:** Incorrect. It selects I and 3, but that combination does not match the verified statement-level assessment; it either includes a false statement or omits a true one. **UPSC takeaway:** The safest way to solve this type of question is to anchor the answer in the defining feature of the concept and then test every option against that feature. Closely related institutions or terms are often used as distractors. In statement-based questions, do not judge the option as a whole before checking each statement independently. In factual questions, compare the wording of each option with the exact definition, location, institutional role, chronology or scientific property. The correct answer follows from that verification rather than from familiarity with a keyword.