The new alluvium deposited by floods in the Ganga plain is called:

Alluvial soil is the most widespread and important soil of India. It covers about 40-43% of the country's land area, mainly in the Northern Plains formed by the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra river systems, and also in the coastal plains and river deltas. It is formed from sediments (silt, sand and clay) carried and deposited by rivers.

Based on age, alluvial soil is divided into two types:

Khadar is the new or younger alluvium. It is deposited every year by floods on the floodplains near rivers. It is fine-grained, light in colour, rich in nutrients, free of kankar (lime nodules) and very fertile. It is ideal for intensive farming of crops such as rice, wheat and sugarcane.

Bhangar is the old alluvium. It lies on higher ground, above the flood level of rivers, so it is not renewed by fresh floods. It is darker, more clayey, and contains calcareous deposits called kankar. It is less fertile than khadar.

Alluvial soils are generally rich in potash and lime but poor in nitrogen and phosphorus. They support some of India's most productive agricultural regions, such as Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.

In the northern foothills of the Himalaya, the plains are divided into other belts:

• Bhabar: a narrow belt of pebbles and boulders at the foot of the Shiwaliks, where streams disappear underground.
• Terai: a wet, swampy, forested belt south of the Bhabar, where the streams re-emerge.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Bhangar is the older alluvium with kankar, found above flood levels.
• ✗Bhabar is the pebbly belt at the foot of the Shiwaliks.
• ✗Terai is the marshy belt south of the Bhabar.