Identify the river of the Indian sub-continent on the basis of the following information:1.It has an antecedent drainage system.2.It flows through three countries.3.It originates in the Tibetan Plateau and is an important river for irrigation.4.It does not form distributaries. Select the answer from the following:

1. A

   Brahmaputra

   Brahmaputra originates in the Tibetan Plateau and has an antecedent drainage system, but it flows through China, India, and Bangladesh, and forms the world's largest delta consisting of numerous distributaries and channels, making it incorrect.

2. B

   Indus

   Indus originates in the Tibetan Plateau with an antecedent drainage system and flows through three countries (China, India, and Pakistan), but it forms a massive delta with extensive distributaries before emptying into the Arabian Sea, making it incorrect.

3. C

   Sutlej

   (c) Sutlej originates near Lake Rakshastal in the Tibetan Plateau, exhibits antecedent drainage as it cuts through the Himalayan ranges, flows across three countries (China/Tibet, India, and Pakistan), serves as a critical irrigation artery via the Bhakra-Nangal project and canal networks, and famously joins the Chenab without forming a major coastal delta or extensive coastal distributaries.

4. D

   Teesta

   Teesta originates in the Himalayas (Kanchenjunga glacier) and flows through Sikkim, West Bengal, and Bangladesh, but it is a tributary of the Brahmaputra system rather than a major independent trans-Himalayan antecedent river flowing through three primary countries from the Tibetan Plateau with extensive irrigation significance.

Summary. Official key is (c) because the Sutlej river uniquely matches all criteria: an antecedent trans-Himalayan course originating near Tibet, traversing China, India, and Pakistan, functioning as a vital irrigation source, and flowing into the Indus without forming classical coastal distributaries, whereas Brahmaputra and Indus form major deltas and Teesta is a tributary basin.