India's largest inland saltwater lake is:

Sambhar Lake, in Rajasthan, is the largest inland saltwater lake in India. It lies about 80 km south-west of Jaipur, spread across the Jaipur, Nagaur and Ajmer districts.

Features of the lake:

• It is an elliptical, shallow lake; when full, it covers about 190 to 230 square km, but its area shrinks greatly in the dry season.
• Its depth varies from a few centimetres to about 3 metres.
• It is fed by seasonal rivers, mainly the Medtha (Mendha), Rupangarh, Khari and Khandel.
• It lies in a depression of the Aravalli region.

Salt production:

Sambhar is one of India's major sources of inland salt.

Salt is produced by evaporating the lake water in salt pans. Sambhar Salts Ltd., a joint venture of Hindustan Salts Ltd. (a Government of India company) and the Rajasthan government, manages production.

Salt production here dates back many centuries; the Mughals and later the Rajput rulers of Jaipur and Jodhpur controlled it.

Wetland importance:

• Sambhar Lake was designated a Ramsar site (wetland of international importance) in 1990.
• In winter, it attracts thousands of flamingos and other migratory birds from northern Asia and Siberia.
• In November 2019, about 18,000 to 20,000 migratory birds died at the lake because of avian botulism, a bacterial disease.

Legends and culture:

• According to legend, the goddess Shakambhari Devi, the patron deity of the Chauhan Rajputs, turned a forest into a plain of silver, which people later asked her to change into salt.
• The Shakambhari Mata temple stands near the lake.

Threats:

Illegal salt extraction, encroachment and reduced water inflow threaten the lake.

Other salt lakes of Rajasthan:

Didwana, Pachpadra, Lunkaransar and Kuchaman.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Chilika Lake (Odisha) is a coastal brackish-water lagoon.
• ✗Loktak Lake (Manipur) and Dal Lake (Srinagar) are freshwater lakes.