Along which one of the following meridians did India experience the first light of the sunrise of the new millennium?

Answer: (d) 92° 30' E

92°30′E runs through the Nicobar Islands (Katchal), where India’s first millennium sunrise was seen.

The idea

Sunrise time depends on both longitude and latitude at the date concerned. Eastern places usually have earlier local sunrise on a shared civil clock, but winter day length can alter the comparison. This question refers to the celebrated Nicobar sunrise event of 1 January 2000, not to India’s standard-time meridian.

Why the others are wrong

(a) That is a western meridian — not in India.

(b) 82°30′E is India’s Standard Meridian, not where the sun rose first.

(c) A western meridian.

The trap

The Standard Meridian (82°30′E) is the famous number — but the sun rises first in the east.

Elimination technique

Both west-longitude options are outside India. Of the two east-longitude options, distinguish the standard-time meridian from the meridian associated with the Nicobar sunrise event.

Also know

Katchal lies in the Nicobar group near 8°N and 93°E. The Ten Degree Channel separates the Nicobars from the Andamans; the Great Channel separates Great Nicobar from Sumatra. The calendar label “new millennium” was widely used for the 2000 celebrations, although the third millennium formally began on 1 January 2001.