Agriculture economy, MSP & food security

Answer: (a) Only one

Only the first statement holds. India's arable land (about 155 million hectares) is second only to the USA's and larger than China's, but China irrigates a bigger share of its cropland and harvests far more per hectare.

• ✓ 1. FAO figures compiled by India's Agriculture Ministry put India's arable land at 155.37 million hectares in 2020, second in the world after the USA, which places it ahead of China.
• ✗ 2. About half of India's net sown area is irrigated and the rest depends on rainfall, while China irrigates a larger share of its smaller cropland.
• ✗ 3. China's yields are much higher: in 2020 its paddy yield was 7,043 kg per hectare against India's 4,138, and its wheat yield 5,742 kg against India's 3,440.

Remember · India: more arable land than China (second only to the USA). China: higher irrigation share of cropland and much higher yields per hectare.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) Many marginal farmers in an area organize themselves into groups and synchronize and harmonize selected agricultural operations

UPSC's official key marks option (b) as correct; we could not confirm the definition of this concept from an official source, so we do not explain it here. A company that supplies loans, inputs and know-how to farmers for the crop it needs is contract farming (NCERT).

• ✓ (b) UPSC's official key marks this option as correct; we could not confirm the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
• ✗ (d) A company supplying loans, inputs and know-how so that farmers grow the crop it needs is contract farming. NCERT describes it: the company identifies the crop, provides seeds and other inputs, and the know-how.
• ✗ (c) This option describes farmers handing their land to a corporate body for a fixed term against a payment; UPSC's official key does not mark it correct.

Remember · Company-led inputs-plus-buyback = contract farming (NCERT).

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Social Change and Development in India, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) All three

Nigerseed is one of the kharif crops for which the Centre announces a Minimum Support Price every year, and it is sown in the rainy season. UPSC's key counts all three statements as correct.

• ✓ 1. Nigerseed appears in the government's list of Minimum Support Prices for kharif crops; for 2022-23 the MSP was ₹7,287 per quintal.
• ✓ 2. Niger is sown in June–September as a kharif (and late-kharif) crop; official crop calendars list 'Niger (Kharif)' and 'Niger (Late Kharif)' seasons.
• ✓ 3. UPSC's official key counts this statement as correct; we could not confirm the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.

Remember · Nigerseed (Guizotia abyssinica): a kharif oilseed with an MSP notified every year.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error