Q1) Adoption of millets can provide unique solutions to the problems of nutritional deficiency, ecological degradation, and receding farm incomes; however, the realisation of its complete potential is hindered by a slew of factors. Comment. (250 Words/15 Marks) Millets, referred to as Sri-Anna in budget 2023-24, are cereal crops and small seed grasses. Millets are used both for human consumption as well as fodder for animals. The…
Q1) Why are TOP (tomato, onion, potato) crops susceptible to large price fluctuations? Elaborating upon the implications of inflation in horticulture crops, assess the role of Operation Greens in containing the same. (250 Words/ 15 Marks) Horticulture refers to the cultivation of ‘garden crops’ that include fruits, vegetables, medicinal, aromatic, and ornamental plants. Tomato, onion,…
Q1) Describe the functioning of the Public Distribution System (PDS) in India. To what extent are the issues in PDS a result of the problems in Food Corporation of India? (250 Words/ 15 Marks) Public distribution system (PDS) is a system for distribution of food grains and essential commodities for poor at subsidized prices. Central and state governments jointly manage the PDS. Center makes procurement, storage and bulk allocation…
Q1) Discuss the multifaceted significance of the fisheries sector and the challenges faced by it. (250 Words/15 Marks) ANS Fisheries sector is an important source of food, nutrition, and livelihood in the country. Economically, it contributes more than 7% of the agriculture GDP and employs 4-5 crore people directly or indirectly.  The wide-ranging significance of fisheries is as discussed below: Nutrition Security: a) Fisheries provide a vital…
Q1) What is regenerative agriculture? How is it helpful in addressing the issues of agriculture? (150 Words/ 10 Marks) ANS Regenerative Agriculture is a sustainable approach to farming systems which prioritises conservation and rehabilitation.  Regenerative agriculture may be seen as a panacea to the various issues plaguing the agriculture sector such as: Focus on rice-wheat system has led to mono-cropping, distorting the natural…
Q1) Agriculture sector needs to turn into an enterprise to become sustainable; ICT interventions are the key to this transformation. Comment. (250 Words/15 Marks) Poor farm incomes in India require efforts to make farming a profitable enterprise. Digital technologies are emerging as one of the ways to overcome the constraints and increase efficiencies in the…
Q1) Analysing various issues associated with farm subsidies, suggest ways to rationalise the same. (150 Words/10 Marks) ANS An agricultural subsidy is government’s incentive paid to farmers to ensure sustainable development of agriculture as well as prosperity of the farmers. Agriculture subsidy serves following purposes: Agricultural subsidies can enable sustainable farming, crop diversification etc. E.g.,…
Q1) The Green Revolution, with its focus on land productivity, created a crisis for water productivity, leading to the situation of water stress in farming. In this perspective, suggest measures to make agriculture sustainable and future-ready. (150 Words/10 Marks) While land productivity tells us about crop produced from unit area of agricultural land, water productivity…
Q1) Assess the present computational methodology for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in measuring economic activity in India. Do you think GDP is a good measure of development of a country? Â (250 Words/15 Marks) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the final value of goods and services produced within the domestic territory of an economy in a…
Q1) Critically evaluate the performance of Goods and Services Tax (GST) as a much-talked about measure for fiscal reform. (250 Words/15 Marks) GST is an umbrella, multistage, destination based indirect tax, which subsumed taxes like central excise, service tax, additional duties of excise & customs, VAT etc. The GST was launched at midnight on 1…