Previous Year Question
With reference to pulse production in India, consider the following statements:
Black gram can be cultivated as both kharif and rabi crop.
Green gram alone accounts for nearly half of pulse production.
In the last three decades, while the production of kharif pulses has increased, the production of rabi pulses has decreased.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
1 only
2 and 3
2 only
1, 2 and 3
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is correct.
Black gram can be cultivated as a kharif, rabi and summer crop in different agro-climatic regions.
Kharif sowing is generally undertaken with the onset of the monsoon in the latter part of June or early July.
During rabi, it can be sown in the second half of October in upland areas and in the second half of November in rice-fallow areas.
In some irrigated regions, its summer sowing is also undertaken between the third week of February and the first week of April.
Statement 2 is incorrect.
Green gram does not account for nearly half of India’s total pulse production.
According to the average for 2018-19 to 2022-23, green-gram production was approximately 2.98 million tonnes.
During the same period, average kharif-pulse production was approximately 8.09 million tonnes and rabi-pulse production approximately 15.51 million tonnes, giving a total of about 23.60 million tonnes.
These figures place green gram’s share at approximately 12.6%, not 50%. Thus, the claim of “nearly half” is grossly incorrect.
Chickpea is the largest contributor to total pulse production, not green gram alone.
Statement 3 is incorrect.
The statement does not distinguish between actual production and the growth rate of production.
NITI Aayog’s long-term review states that the growth rate of kharif-pulse production declined during some periods; this was compensated by accelerated production growth in rabi pulses.
This does not mean that the actual production of rabi pulses continuously decreased.
Rabi pulses occupy the dominant position in India’s pulse production. On the 2018-19 to 2022-23 average, they contributed approximately 67% of total pulse production.
Therefore, the conclusion that “kharif production increased while rabi production decreased” is incorrect.