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Question 80 of 131 · Rivers, Lakes & Dams of India
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Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, India was allowed to use only about 20 percent of the total water carried by the:

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Answer: Option C — Indus river system

Detailed Solution

Under the Indus Waters Treaty (1960), India received the rights to use about 20 percent of the total water carried by the six rivers of the Indus system, while Pakistan received about 80 percent.

The treaty:

  • It was signed in Karachi on 19 September 1960 by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India and President Ayub Khan of Pakistan.
  • It was brokered by the World Bank, which is also a signatory.
  • It is often cited as one of the most successful water-sharing treaties in the world, as it survived several wars.

Division of rivers:

Eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas and Sutlej): allotted to India for unrestricted use. Their average flow is about 33 million acre-feet (MAF).

Western rivers (Indus, Jhelum and Chenab): allotted mainly to Pakistan, with an average flow of about 135 MAF.

India is allowed limited use of the western rivers for domestic use, non-consumptive uses, agriculture (up to specified limits) and run-of-the-river hydroelectric projects, without large storage.

Dispute resolution:

  • A Permanent Indus Commission, with one commissioner from each country, meets regularly.
  • Disputes can go to a neutral expert or a Court of Arbitration.
  • Projects that have caused disputes include the Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir, and earlier the Baglihar and Tulbul projects.

India's use of its share:

India has built projects such as Bhakra, Pong and Ranjit Sagar, the Indira Gandhi Canal and the Shahpur Kandi barrage to use the waters of the eastern rivers fully.

Recent developments:

  • In January 2023, India issued a notice to Pakistan seeking modification of the treaty.
  • In April 2025, after a terror attack in Pahalgam, India announced that it was keeping the treaty "in abeyance".

Why not the other options?

  • ✗The Ganga is shared with Bangladesh through the 1996 treaty.
  • ✗The Brahmaputra is shared with China and Bangladesh, but there is no water-sharing treaty of this kind.
  • ✗The Narmada flows entirely within India.

Quick tip

Remember: Indus Waters Treaty (1960, World Bank) = India gets the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej), about 20 percent of the system's water; Pakistan the western rivers.

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Rivers, Lakes & Dams of India — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Rivers, Lakes & Dams of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers India's drainage system: the Himalayan rivers (the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra systems), the peninsular rivers (Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Narmada, Tapi and Mahanadi), their tributaries and origins, waterfalls, lakes, and the major dams and multipurpose river projects. Exams ask about the origin of a river, its tributaries, the cities on its banks, and the river on which a dam is built. For example, the Bhakra Nangal Dam is on the Sutlej, the Hirakud Dam on the Mahanadi, and the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada. Remember that the Narmada and Tapi flow west into the Arabian Sea, while most peninsular rivers flow east. Practise the rivers, lakes and dams of India questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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