Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

The correct answer is D. Black soil is not found in the Himalayan region. Himalayan soils are mountain, forest and alluvial soils in the river valleys. Black soil (regur) belongs to the Deccan Trap region, covering Maharashtra, Gujarat, parts of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and it forms from weathered basalt.

• A is correct. Black soil is locally called regur, and the name is common in textbooks and exam answers.
• B is the statement the question-setter treated as correct. Soil maturity is a contested classification point, and the wording depends on the author. Do not build your answer on this option. Learn the core facts instead.
• C is correct. The clay, mainly montmorillonite, swells when wet and retains moisture for a long time, which helps dryland crops such as cotton.

The concept is soil classification, which links to the agro-climatic zones and dryland farming in the Geography and Agriculture sections of Mains.

Trap: Aspirants often assume black soil is everywhere cotton is grown, or they are unsure about the maturity debate in B and guess. Anchor your answer on the physical distribution of the Deccan basalt.