The correct answer is (b) Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
According to the 2019 livestock census, India has a total cattle population of 309.2 million. Of this, 109.7 million (35.7%) are found in the three states of Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
Madhya Pradesh has the largest cattle population in India, with 52.8 million cattle. West Bengal is second with 31.7 million cattle, and Uttar Pradesh is third with 25.2 million cattle.
The other options are incorrect because they do not account for the majority of India’s cattle population.
(a) Bihar, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have a combined cattle population of 100.3 million, which is less than one-third of India’s total cattle population.
(c) Punjab, Orissa and Rajasthan have a combined cattle population of 47.7 million, which is also less than one-third of India’s total cattle population.
(d) Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan have a combined cattle population of 62.3 million, which is more than one-third of India’s total cattle population, but it is still less than the cattle population of Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.