Which among the following is/are the objective(s) of the Rainfed Area Development (RAD) initiative under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) ?
- 1.Encouraging monoculture in rainfed areas
- 2.Increasing rice cultivation in irrigated regions
- 3.Enhancing productivity and minimising climatic risks through Integrated Farming Systems (IFS)
Select the answer using the code given below :
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Answer: D. The Rainfed Area Development (RAD) component of NMSA promotes Integrated Farming Systems (crops with livestock, fisheries, horticulture and so on) to raise productivity and reduce climate risk in rainfed areas. It discourages monoculture and is not about irrigated rice. So 3 only.
Watch for: Students can be distracted by 'increase production' options without checking the 'rainfed' focus.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Wrong because RAD promotes diversified farming, not monoculture.
- B. Wrong because RAD targets rainfed areas, not rice in irrigated regions.
- C. Wrong because statement 2 is not an objective of RAD.
Source to check: Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, NMSA Operational Guidelines (Rainfed Area Development component), nmsa.dac.gov.in
Answer from the provisional UPSC key; it may change when the final key is out. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.