Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer by using the codes given below the lists: List-I (Biosphere Reserve) A) Nokrek B) Manas C) Dehang Debang D) Agasthyamalai List-II (Location) 1) Kerala 2) Assam 3) Meghalaya 4) Arunachal Pradesh

The correct answer is B. Each biosphere reserve is matched to its state: Nokrek to Meghalaya (3), Manas to Assam (2), Dehang Debang to Arunachal Pradesh (4), and Agasthyamalai to Kerala (1).

• Nokrek is in the Garo Hills of Meghalaya, notified in 2009 and centred on the Nokrek peak and its forests, which are home to the red panda.
• Manas lies in Assam's Baksa, Chirang and Udalguri districts. It was among the first Indian sites in the World Heritage list, and it is the main tiger reserve on the Bhutan border.
• Dehang Debang is in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh and was notified in 2016 as the Dihang-Dibang biosphere reserve, so the spelling differs in some sources.
• Agasthyamalai is a Western Ghats landscape spread across Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and the Kerala side is the one in this list.

The concept here is the biosphere reserve network under UNESCO's Man and Biosphere programme, with India's reserves notified under the Environment (Protection) Act. For Mains, these sites support questions on biodiversity hotspots, ecologically sensitive regions and the north-east's forest governance.

Trap: Aspirants often confuse Nokrek with Assam because of its proximity to Manas, or they place Agasthyamalai in Tamil Nadu alone. Check each reserve against its state rather than its neighbour.