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Economy & social development

Prelims · Economy & social development · 37 questions

Agriculture economy, MSP & food security

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Agriculture economy, MSP & food security questions per year: 2016: 2, 2017: 2, 2018: 4, 2019: 4, 2020: 6, 2021: 0, 2022: 0, 2023: 1, 2024: 0, 2025: 0, 2026: 1 Asked in 7 of 11 years · most in 2020 (6)

UPSC syllabus: “Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.” See the full syllabus →

Prelims 2018 · Q3

Hard

As per the NSSO 70th Round "Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households", consider the following statements:

  1. 1.Rajasthan has the highest percentage share of agricultural households among its rural households.
  2. 2.Out of the total agricultural households in the country, a little over 60 percent belong to OBCs.
  3. 3.In Kerala, a little over 60 percent of agricultural households reported to have received maximum income from sources other than agricultural activities.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

The NSS 70th round (2013) found Rajasthan with the highest share of agricultural households among rural households and Kerala as the one major State where most agricultural households earned their main income outside farming. The OBC share was about 45 per cent, not over 60.

  • ✓ 1. 78.4 per cent of Rajasthan's rural households were agricultural households, the highest of any State; Kerala had the lowest share (27.3 per cent).
  • ✗ 2. About 45 per cent of agricultural households belonged to Other Backward Classes, with about 16 per cent from Scheduled Castes and 13 per cent from Scheduled Tribes.
  • ✓ 3. About 61 per cent of Kerala's agricultural households received their maximum income from sources other than agricultural activities.

Remember · NSS 70th round (2013): Rajasthan 78.4% rural households agricultural (highest), Kerala 27.3% (lowest); OBCs about 45% of agricultural households; Kerala the non-farm-income exception.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2018 · Q10

Medium

Consider the following statements:

  1. 1.The quantity of imported edible oils is more than the domestic production of edible oils in the last five years.
  2. 2.The Government does not impose any customs duty on all the imported edible oils as a special case.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) 1 only

India has for years imported more edible oil than it produces, meeting well over half of its needs from abroad, mainly palm and soybean oil. Imports are far from duty-free: the Budget of February 2018 raised customs duty on crude edible vegetable oils from 12.5 to 30 per cent.

  • ✓ 1. In the years before 2018 imports supplied roughly 60 per cent of domestic edible-oil consumption, so the quantity imported exceeded domestic output; the government's oil-palm mission itself cites the heavy import burden.
  • ✗ 2. Customs duty is levied and adjusted from time to time to protect oilseed farmers; the 2018-19 Budget raised it to 30 per cent on crude and 35 per cent on refined edible vegetable oils.

Remember · India is among the world's largest importers of edible oil (mainly palm and soybean); it imports more than it produces, and uses customs duty to balance farmers' and consumers' interests.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2018 · Q25

Medium

With reference to the provisions made under the National Food Security Act, 2013, consider the following statements:

  1. 1.The families coming under the category of ‘below poverty line (BPL)’ only are eligible to receive subsidised food grains.
  2. 2.The eldest woman in a household, of age 18 years or above, shall be the head of the household for the purpose of issuance of a ration card.
  3. 3.Pregnant women and lactating mothers are entitled to a ‘take-home ration’ of 1600 calories per day during pregnancy and for six months thereafter.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) 2 only

Only statement 2 is correct: Section 13 of the National Food Security Act, 2013 makes the eldest woman of 18 years or above the head of the household for the ration card. Subsidised grain is not limited to BPL families, and the take-home ration norm for pregnant women and lactating mothers is 600 kcal, not 1600.

  • ✗ 1. The Act covers 'eligible households', meaning priority households and Antyodaya Anna Yojana households, identified by State Governments under the Act's criteria. It does not use the BPL category alone.
  • ✓ 2. Section 13(1) says the eldest woman of not less than eighteen years in every eligible household is the head of the household for issue of ration cards. If there is no such woman, the eldest male member is the head.
  • ✗ 3. Section 4 entitles pregnant women and lactating mothers to a free meal through the local anganwadi during pregnancy and six months after childbirth, plus maternity benefit of at least Rs 6,000. Schedule II fixes the take-home ration at 600 kcal and 18-20 g protein per day, not 1600 kcal.

Remember · NFSA 2013: eldest woman (18+) heads the ration-card household; coverage is priority plus AAY households; take-home ration for pregnant and lactating women is 600 kcal.

Sources

  • The National Food Security Act, 2013, Section 13 (Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India) ↗ “The eldest woman who is not less than eighteen years of age, in every eligible household, shall be head of the household for the purpose of issue of ration cards. … "eligible households" means households covered under the priority households and the Antyodaya Anna Yojana referred to in sub-section (1) of section 3; … every pregnant woman and lactating mother shall be entitled to— (a) meal, free of charge, during pregnancy and six months after the child birth, through the local anganwadi, so as to meet the nutritional standards specified in Schedule II”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2018 · Q35

Hard

With reference to the ‘Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA)’, which of the following statements is/are correct?

  1. 1.GACSA is an outcome of the Climate Summit held in Paris in 2015.
  2. 2.Membership of GACSA does not create any binding obligations.
  3. 3.India was instrumental in the creation of GACSA.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) 2 only

Only statement 2 is correct: GACSA is a voluntary alliance and its members are not bound by any commitments or obligations. It was launched in New York in 2014, not as an outcome of the Paris summit of 2015, and India was not one of its creators.

  • ✗ 1. The UN Secretary-General launched GACSA in New York during the Climate Summit on 24 September 2014, more than a year before the Paris climate conference of 2015.
  • ✓ 2. GACSA's guiding principles state that members are not bound by any commitments or obligations and decide for themselves how they take part.
  • ✗ 3. GACSA was launched by the UN Secretary-General, and FAO hosts its Facilitation Unit. FAO's account of the groundwork conferences names the governments of the Netherlands, Ethiopia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway and Viet Nam, the World Bank and the FAO, not India, and India is not listed among the government members in GACSA's 2022 annual report.

Remember · GACSA: launched 24 September 2014 at the UN Climate Summit, New York; voluntary, no binding obligations; its Facilitation Unit is hosted by FAO.

Sources

  • FAO, GACSA in a Nutshell ↗ “The Global Alliance for Climate-Smart (GACSA) was launched by the UN Secretary-General in New York during the Climate Summit on 24 September, 2014.”
  • FAO, Information sheet: The Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA) ↗ “Members of the Alliance are not bound by any commitments or obligations, and members individually determine the nature of their participation … The 1st Global conference on agriculture, Food Security, and Climate change organized in The Hague, in November 2010 by the government of the Netherlands in cooperation with the governments of Ethiopia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway and Vietnam, the World Bank, and the FAO”
  • GACSA Annual Report 2022, Annex 1 (government members), FAO ↗ “ANNEX 1 GOVERNMENT 1 Chile 2 Costa Rica Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock 3 Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality 4 Global Affairs Canada”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2018 · Q93

Easy

Consider the following:

  1. 1.Areca nut
  2. 2.Barley
  3. 3.Coffee
  4. 4.Finger millet
  5. 5.Groundnut
  6. 6.Sesamum
  7. 7.Turmeric

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has announced the Minimum Support Price for which of the above?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) 2, 4, 5 and 6 only

MSP is announced only for a fixed list of cereals, pulses, oilseeds and a few commercial crops. Barley, finger millet (ragi), groundnut and sesamum are on that list; areca nut, coffee and turmeric are not.

  • ✗ 1. Areca nut is a plantation crop with no MSP announced by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
  • ✓ 2. Barley is one of the rabi crops for which MSP is announced.
  • ✗ 3. Coffee is not among the crops for which MSP is announced.
  • ✓ 4. Finger millet is called ragi, and ragi is a kharif crop with an announced MSP.
  • ✓ 5. Groundnut is a kharif oilseed with an announced MSP.
  • ✓ 6. Sesamum (sesame) is a kharif oilseed with an announced MSP.
  • ✗ 7. Turmeric, a spice, is not on the MSP list.

Remember · MSP covers cereals (incl. barley, ragi), pulses, oilseeds (groundnut, sesamum), copra, cotton, jute and sugarcane's FRP; not coffee, areca nut or turmeric.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2018 · Q100

Medium

With reference to organic farming in India, consider the following statements:

  1. 1.‘The National Programme for Organic Production’ (NPOP) is operated under the guidelines and directions of the Union Ministry of Rural Development.
  2. 2.‘The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority’ (APEDA) functions as the Secretariat for the implementation of NPOP.
  3. 3.Sikkim has become India’s first fully organic State.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

Statement 1 is wrong: NPOP was launched by the Department of Commerce in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, not by the Ministry of Rural Development. Statements 2 and 3 are correct.

  • ✗ 1. NPOP began in 2001 under the Department of Commerce (Ministry of Commerce and Industry), mainly to certify organic products for export. It does not run under the Ministry of Rural Development.
  • ✓ 2. APEDA, which also works under the Commerce Ministry, acts as the Secretariat for implementing NPOP.
  • ✓ 3. Sikkim converted its entire agricultural area to certified organic by 2015 and was formally declared a 100 per cent organic state in 2016, the first in India.

Remember · NPOP: launched 2001 by the Commerce Ministry; APEDA is its Secretariat. Sikkim was declared India's first fully organic State in 2016.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

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