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?
Show answer
Answer: A. Statement 1 is correct: rice covers the largest area among kharif crops. Statement 2 is wrong: kharif oilseeds (soybean, groundnut) cover far more area than jowar. Statement 3 is correct: cotton (about 12 million hectares) covers much more than sugarcane (about 5 million hectares). Statement 4 is wrong: sugarcane area has varied, not steadily fallen. So 1 and 3 only.
Watch for: Jowar is a traditional kharif crop, but its area has shrunk well below oilseeds.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Wrong because jowar area is smaller than oilseeds and sugarcane has not steadily declined.
- C. Wrong because statements 2 and 4 are false.
- D. Wrong because statements 2 and 4 are false.
Source to check: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Agricultural Statistics at a Glance 2018
Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.