Coal Supply to Power Plants Rises 36% From September Low

The correct answer is about 36%. The Ministry of Coal said that daily supplies of coal to the power sector have climbed roughly 36% from the low point reached in September, and that the October average is around 9% higher than the September average. That rise, together with stronger rail movement, is the ministry's main answer to reports of a looming power shortage. Option A, about 12%, is far below the stated improvement and matches no figure given. Option B, about 24%, is also invented and would understate the recovery the ministry described. Option D, about 48%, overstates it; no such number appears anywhere in the clarification. Candidates should keep the pair of percentages apart: the 36% figure measures the gain over the September trough, while the smaller 9% figure compares the whole of October with the whole of September.

The correct answer is 470 rakes a day. Rail loading of coal has averaged more than 465 rakes a day during October, and the ministry noted that the 470-rake target was met on three days running, which it treated as a sign that logistics had strengthened alongside production. Looking ahead, the ministry said loading held in the band of 465 to 475 rakes a day should support further stabilisation and then allow stocks to be rebuilt. Option A and option B name lower daily figures that the clarification never mentions, and both sit below even the monthly average already achieved. Option D names a figure well above the band the ministry wants sustained, so it cannot be the target that was reached. The number to memorise is the target of 470, distinct from the monthly average of more than 465.

The correct answer is 0.116 MT a day. The Ministry of Coal reported that the rate at which coal stocks at power stations were being drawn down slowed sharply, with the daily drawdown dropping by more than half from 0.243 MT a day in September to 0.116 MT a day in October. The ministry called the position one that is stabilising, while admitting that the rebuilding of stocks has not yet started. Option A, option C and option D are invented levels that appear nowhere in the clarification; option C would also imply a fall of far more than half, and options A and D would imply a much smaller slowdown than the one reported. For the examination hall the useful anchor is the comparison itself: a drawdown of 0.243 MT a day in September against 0.116 MT a day in October, a reduction of more than fifty per cent.