The territorial waters of India extend up to how many nautical miles from the baseline?
- A.12 nautical miles
- B.24 nautical miles
- C.200 nautical miles
- D.350 nautical miles
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, 12 nautical miles. Under the Maritime Zones Act of 1976 the territorial waters extend to twelve nautical miles from the baseline, and within them India has sovereignty over the water, the seabed, the subsoil and the air space, subject only to the right of innocent passage of foreign ships. Option B, 24 nautical miles, is the limit of the contiguous zone, where India may enforce its customs, immigration, sanitation and fiscal laws. Option C, 200 nautical miles, is the limit of the exclusive economic zone, where the rights are over resources and research rather than full sovereignty. Option D, 350 nautical miles, is the farthest limit to which a continental shelf claim may extend in certain geological conditions. Candidates should also remember that India's sovereignty in this belt covers the air space above it and the seabed below it, not merely the surface water.
Read the full article: India's Coastline and Maritime Zones: Facts and PYQs
Practice Questions
View allWhat is the total length of India's coastline, counting the island groups?
- A.About 5,422 kilometres
- B.About 6,100 kilometres
- C.About 7,516 kilometres
- D.About 15,200 kilometres
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The figure usually quoted is 7,516.6 kilometres, which counts the coast of the mainland together with that of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
Read the full explanation →Which Indian State has the longest coastline?
- A.Gujarat
- B.Andhra Pradesh
- C.Tamil Nadu
- D.Maharashtra
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Its coast runs along the Gulf of Kachchh and the Gulf of Khambhat and around the Kathiawar peninsula, which gives it a far longer shoreline than any other State, and it is followed by Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Read the full explanation →The exclusive economic zone of a coastal State extends up to
- A.12 nautical miles
- B.24 nautical miles
- C.100 nautical miles
- D.200 nautical miles
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Within this zone the coastal State has sovereign rights for exploring, exploiting, conserving and managing the living and non-living resources of the water, the seabed and the subsoil, and exclusive jurisdiction over artificial islands, marine scientific research and the protection of the marine environment.
Read the full explanation →The Ten Degree Channel separates which two groups of islands?
- A.Andaman and Nicobar groups
- B.Lakshadweep and Minicoy
- C.Minicoy and the Maldives
- D.Great Nicobar and Sumatra
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The Ten Degree Channel runs roughly along the parallel of ten degrees north and separates Little Andaman in the south of the Andaman group from Car Nicobar in the north of the Nicobar group.
Read the full explanation →Chilika Lake, the largest brackish water lagoon in India, lies on the coast of which State?
- A.West Bengal
- B.Odisha
- C.Andhra Pradesh
- D.Tamil Nadu
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Chilika is a shallow lagoon on the Utkal coast, cut off from the Bay of Bengal by a long sand bar and connected to it by a narrow mouth, which is why its water is brackish; it is the largest lagoon of the country, a Ramsar site and the winter…
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