Previous Year Question
With reference to the cultivation of Kharif crops in India in the last five years, consider the following statements:
Area under rice cultivation is the highest.
Area under the cultivation of jowar is more than that of oilseeds.
Area of cotton cultivation is more than that of sugarcane.
Area under sugarcane cultivation has steadily decreased.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
1 and 3 only
2, 3 and 4 only
2 and 4 only
1, 2, 3 and 4
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
The question asks about the area under the crops, not their production. Data pertaining approximately to 2013-14 to 2017-18, available when the question was asked, are relevant.
Statement 1 is correct.
During this period, the area under rice in India remained approximately 43–44 million hectares.
Rice was the kharif crop cultivated over the largest area in India.
Rice cultivation is not confined to the irrigated north-western plains. It also extends widely across eastern India, coastal plains, river deltas and high-rainfall regions.
Consequently, despite minor annual fluctuations, the area under rice remained the highest.
Statement 2 is incorrect.
The area under jowar was approximately 4–6 million hectares.
In contrast, the area under all oilseeds was approximately 25–28 million hectares.
Oilseeds include groundnut, soybean, rapeseed-mustard, sunflower, sesamum, safflower, linseed and niger, among others.
Thus, the area under jowar was far smaller than the total area under oilseeds.
Statement 3 is correct.
During this period, the area under cotton generally remained approximately 11–13 million hectares.
The area under sugarcane remained approximately 4.4–5.1 million hectares.
Therefore, the area under cotton was approximately two to three times the area under sugarcane.
It is important to note that sugarcane produces a very high weight of output per hectare, but the question compares cultivated area—not total production.
Statement 4 is incorrect.
The area under sugarcane did not decrease continuously; it fluctuated.
It increased from approximately 5.01 million hectares in 2013-14 to nearly 5.07 million hectares in 2014-15, subsequently declined to approximately 4.44 million hectares in 2016-17, and then increased to approximately 4.74 million hectares in 2017-18.
Because the area increased in the final year, the trend cannot be described as a “steady decrease.”