Previous Year Question
As per the NSSO 70th Round “Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households”, consider the following statements:
Rajasthan has the highest percentage share of agricultural households among its rural households.
Out of the total agricultural households in the country, a little over 60 per cent belong to OBCs.
In Kerala, a little over 60 per cent of agricultural households reported having received maximum income from sources other than agricultural activities.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
2 and 3
2 only
1 and 3
1, 2 and 3
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
The question is based on the NSSO’s 70th Round Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households, conducted during January-December 2013. An agricultural household broadly referred to a rural household that received agricultural produce exceeding a prescribed minimum value during the reference period and had at least one member self-employed in agriculture.
Statement 1 is correct.
Agricultural households constituted 78.4% of Rajasthan’s rural households, the highest proportion among the States. Rajasthan was followed by Uttar Pradesh at 74.8% and Madhya Pradesh at 70.8%.
This does not mean that Rajasthan had the largest absolute number of agricultural households. The statement concerns the percentage of agricultural households within the State’s rural households.
Statement 2 is incorrect.
OBC households did not constitute more than 60% of all agricultural households in the country. Their share was approximately 45%. Therefore, the claim that it was “a little over 60 per cent” is incorrect.
The proportion of OBCs in the general population should not be confused with the survey’s social-group distribution of agricultural households.
Statement 3 is correct.
In Kerala, approximately 61% of agricultural households reported that their largest source of income was outside agricultural activities. Such sources could include salary or wage employment, non-agricultural enterprises and other non-farm activities.
This indicates the relatively substantial role of services, employment and non-farm income in Kerala’s rural economy. Classification as an agricultural household does not necessarily mean that cultivation is the household’s largest source of income.