Consider the following statements about turmeric during the year 2022–23:

Answer: (d) I, II and III

UPSC's key treats all three statements as correct. The Spices Board and ICAR-IISR describe India as a leading producer and exporter, many varieties and local cultivars are grown (23 improved varieties in the manual's Table 1 alone, plus local cultivars such as Duggirala, Erode local, Salem, Alleppey and Lakdong), and Telangana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are among the top producing States, with Karnataka listed among the other important producers.

• ✓ I The Spices Board manual calls India a leading producer and exporter of turmeric. UPSC's official key treats the statement as correct; we could not confirm the rest of the statement from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
• ✓ II The manual's Table 1 lists 23 improved varieties (from ICAR-IISR Kozhikode, TNAU, OUAT, KAU and others), and it names local cultivars such as Duggirala, Tekkurpet, Amalapuram, Erode local, Salem, Alleppey, Moovattupuzha and Lakdong, so more than 30 are grown.
• ✓ III The manual says Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh together give 63.4% of India's turmeric, and lists Odisha, Karnataka, West Bengal, Gujarat, Meghalaya and Assam as other important producers.

Remember · Turmeric: India is a leading producer and exporter; more than 30 varieties and cultivars; Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh lead, with Karnataka and Odisha among other important producers.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). · Report an error