Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below: List I [Aluminum company] A) Balco B) Hindalco C) Indian Aluminum company D) NALCO List II [Location] a) Hirakud b) Korba c) Koraput d) Renukut

The correct answer is B: A-b, B-d, C-a, D-c. Each company is tied to its plant location, so this is a matching of companies to their works.

• Balco (Bharat Aluminium Company) runs its smelter at Korba in Chhattisgarh, so A matches b.
• Hindalco (Hindustan Aluminium Corporation) has its Renukoot plant in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, so B matches d. This is a UP-specific link, which is why the question is useful for PCS.
• Indian Aluminium (Indal) set up its early plant at Hirakud in Odisha, so C matches a.
• NALCO (National Aluminium Company) has its integrated complex at Damanjodi in Koraput district, Odisha, so D matches c.

The core concept is India's aluminium industry and its bauxite-linked geography: Odisha has bauxite and several smelters, Chhattisgarh has Korba, and UP has Renukoot. This links to the Mains theme of mineral-based industrialisation and the location logic behind metal industries.

Trap: candidates often map Hindalco to Hirakud because of the Odisha association with Indal, or swap Balco and NALCO because both are linked to central public and private aluminium capacity. Remember Hirakud is Indal and Renukoot is Hindalco.