With reference to the cultivation of Kharif crops in India in the last five years, consider the following statements:
- 1.Area under rice cultivation is the highest.
- 2.Area under the cultivation of jowar is more than that of oilseeds.
- 3.Area of cotton cultivation is more than that of sugarcane.
- 4.Area under sugarcane cultivation has steadily decreased.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 and 3 only
Rice covers by far the largest kharif area, and cotton covers more land than sugarcane, so statements 1 and 3 are correct. Jowar covers far less area than oilseeds, and sugarcane area has moved up and down rather than falling steadily, so statements 2 and 4 are wrong.
- ✓ 1. In the Government's five-year normal (average of 2016-17 to 2020-21), kharif rice covers 39.54 million hectares, far above any other kharif crop, such as maize (7.54) or bajra (7.40).
- ✗ 2. Kharif jowar covers only 1.91 million hectares, while kharif soyabean alone covers 11.21 million hectares, so jowar is well below oilseeds.
- ✓ 3. Cotton covers about 12.38 million hectares against about 4.71 million hectares for sugarcane.
- ✗ 4. Sugarcane area (million hectares) went 5.07 (2014-15), 4.93, 4.44, 4.74 and 5.06 (2018-19). It fell, then rose again, so it did not steadily decrease.
Remember · Among kharif crops rice has the largest area; cotton area is well above sugarcane's; jowar covers much less than oilseeds; sugarcane area fluctuates rather than falls steadily.
Sources
- Agricultural Statistics at a Glance 2022 (Ministry of Agriculture), Table 2.1: normal estimates of area, production and yield of major crops (average 2016-17 to 2020-21), rice and jowar ↗ “Rice Kharif 39.54 99.44 2515 Rabi 4.35 15.01 3448 Total 43.90 114.45 2607 Wheat Rabi 30.28 102.46 3384 Jowar Kharif 1.91 1.92 1005 … Rapeseed & Mustard Rabi 6.26 8.68 1387 Soyabean Kharif 11.21 12.15 1084 Sunflower Total 0.29 0.23 781 Nine Oilseeds Total 25.65 31.87 1242 III . Other Cash Crops Sugarcane Total 4.71 365.47 77609 Cotton @ Total 12.38 32.37 445 … 2014-15 5.07 362.33 71511 95.53 2015-16 4.93 348.45 70720 95.53 2016-17 4.44 306.07 69001 95.39 2017-18 4.74 379.90 80198 96.14 2018-19 5.06 405.42 80105 96.62”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·