Lighthouse Tourism Grows to 18.63 Lakh Visitors in 2024-25

The correct answer is 205. India maintains 205 lighthouses along a coastline that stretches beyond 11,000 km, and these towers are looked after by the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. Their first duty remains the safe passage of vessels, and every one of them now runs on solar power. Option A, 155, is lower than the real count and does not match the figure placed on record. Option C, 255, and option D, 305, are both higher than the actual number and would wrongly suggest a far larger network than the one India operates. Candidates should pair this count with two other numbers from the same account: 75 lighthouses have already been developed as tourism destinations and 25 more have been proposed for such development, so the tourism network is a subset of the 205 and not a separate set of towers.

The correct answer is Lothal, Gujarat. The Lighthouse Museum of 77 metres forms part of the National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal, an archaeological site tied to ancient seaborne trade, and it is estimated at ₹266.11 crore. The complex will also hold a 5D dome theatre, a Coastal States Pavilion, a Museotel, an eco resort and a Maritime Research Institute developed with the Indian Maritime University. Option A is wrong, though it is the closest distractor: Mahabalipuram supplies the design inspiration for the Lothal museum and has its own lighthouse museum, but the 77-metre tower is not there. Option C is wrong because Visakhapatnam is getting a separate new lighthouse museum, with 3,156 square metres of land earmarked at its old lighthouse area. Option D is wrong because Fort Aguada in Goa is known for the light-and-sound projection show and for hosting the first Indian Lighthouse Festival in 2023.

The correct answer is the Brahmaputra. Four lighthouses are being established along this river at Pandu, Bogibeel, Silghat and Biswanath Ghat, and together they will be the first lighthouse infrastructure India places on an inland waterway rather than on the sea coast. Each tower will rise to 20 metres, the combined outlay is about ₹84 crore, and each will carry solar power along with weather-observation sensors. Every one of the four sites is also designed for visitors, with a museum, an amphitheatre, a cafeteria, a children’s play area, a souvenir shop and landscaped public space. Options A, B and D name the Ganga, the Godavari and the Mahanadi, all important Indian rivers, but no lighthouse project of this kind has been announced on them in this account. Remembering the four place names on the Brahmaputra is the safest way to answer a question set from this item.

The correct answer is Visakhapatnam. The Indian Lighthouse Festival has moved along the coast in three editions: the first was held at Fort Aguada in Goa in 2023, the second at Puri in Odisha in 2024, and the third at Visakhapatnam in 2026. At Visakhapatnam the lighthouse became the centre of a wider celebration of coastal identity, with local crafts, coastal food and night-time illumination drawing families, students, artists and entrepreneurs. Option A, Puri, hosted the second edition, where lighthouse heritage was combined with sand art, boat art, yoga and folk performances, and where five tourism-developed lighthouses of Odisha were showcased: Gopalpur, Puri, Chandrabhaga, Paradip and False Point. Option B is wrong because the Goa edition was held at Fort Aguada, not at Panaji. Option C, Kochi, has not hosted the festival in any of the three editions on record.