The Microbial Type Culture Collection Centre (MTCC), a major microbial gene bank of India, is situated in which of the following cities?

Introduction / Context:
Biotechnology and microbiology related general knowledge questions often ask about important national laboratories and collections. The Microbial Type Culture Collection and Gene Bank, commonly abbreviated MTCC, is one such key facility in India. It maintains reference cultures of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms that are crucial for research, industry, and education. Knowing where this centre is located helps you answer questions that connect scientific infrastructure with Indian geography.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The institution in focus is the Microbial Type Culture Collection Centre (MTCC).
- The options for its location are Chandigarh, New Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bangalore.
- We assume awareness that many CSIR and DBT supported laboratories are distributed across different Indian cities.

Concept / Approach:
The MTCC is housed at the Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), which is a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). This institute is located in Chandigarh. The facility serves as a national resource, supplying authenticated microbial cultures to researchers and industry. Therefore, among the options given, Chandigarh is the correct location of the Microbial Type Culture Collection Centre.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recognize that MTCC stands for Microbial Type Culture Collection and Gene Bank, an important microbiology facility. Step 2: Recall that MTCC is associated with CSIR IMTECH, a specialized microbiology and biotechnology institute. Step 3: Remember that IMTECH is located in the city of Chandigarh in northern India. Step 4: Compare this information with the list of options: Chandigarh, New Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. Step 5: Select Chandigarh as the correct answer and rule out the other cities as distractors.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can double check this mentally by recalling that several major CSIR laboratories are located in specific cities: for example, CCMB is in Hyderabad, NAL is in Bangalore, and IMTECH is in Chandigarh. MTCC being part of IMTECH therefore shares its location. If you keep a short list of important biotechnological institutes and their cities, it becomes easy to map MTCC to Chandigarh and avoid confusion with Delhi, Hyderabad, or Bangalore, which host different scientific institutions.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- New Delhi: While New Delhi hosts many national level headquarters and research bodies, the MTCC is not located there; confusing administrative capital status with actual lab locations can lead to incorrect answers.
- Hyderabad: Hyderabad is home to several prominent biotech institutions such as CCMB and others, but MTCC is not one of them; it is instead linked to Chandigarh.
- Bangalore: Bangalore is a major hub for information technology and scientific research, yet the specific microbial culture collection asked about here is based at IMTECH in Chandigarh, not in Bangalore.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent pitfall is to assume that any important national facility must be in New Delhi or another large metro like Bangalore, without remembering the actual distribution of scientific institutions. Another mistake is to confuse MTCC with other culture collections or biotech facilities located in Hyderabad or Bangalore. To avoid such confusion, create a simple table in your notes pairing each major laboratory acronym (like MTCC, CCMB, NCL, and so on) with its correct city and parent organization.

Final Answer:
The Microbial Type Culture Collection Centre (MTCC) is situated in Chandigarh.