With reference to India, consider the following statements:1.Monazite is a source of rare earths.2.Monazite contains thorium.3.Monazite occurs naturally in the entire Indian coastal sands in India.4.In India, Government bodies only can process or export monazite.Which of the statements given above are correct?

1. A

   1, 2 and 3 only

   1, 2 and 3 only. Monazite is not in the entire Indian beach-sand belt.

2. B

   1, 2 and 4 only

   1, 2 and 4 only. Monazite is a rare-earth and thorium ore. Processing/export is a government monopoly. It is not uniformly present on every Indian coast.

3. C

   3 and 4 only

   3 and 4 only. Statement 3 fails.

4. D

   1, 2, 3 and 4

   All four. Statement 3 over-claims the map.

Summary. Official key is (b) 1, 2 and 4 only. Indian monazite sands are a source of rare earths and of thorium. IREL / designated government bodies handle processing and export. Occurrence is in pockets (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra), not the entire coastline.