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Q73 (IAS/2014) Economy › Agriculture & Rural Economy › Agro-based industries Official Key

Consider the following statements : 1. Maize can be used for the production of starch. 2. Oil extracted from maize can be a feedstock for biodiesel. 3. Alcoholic beverages can be produced by using maize. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: D
Explanation

All three statements are correct. Maize serves as a basic raw material as an ingredient to thousands of industrial products that include starch, oil, protein, alcoholic beverages, food sweeteners, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, film, textile, gum, package and paper industries[3]. This confirms that Statement 1 is correct regarding starch production from maize.

Maize has many uses including food-crop, animal fattening, cornflakes, and alcohol distilling[5], which validates Statement 3 about alcoholic beverage production. Additionally, crops grown to obtain liquid energy such as ethanol and alcohol include sugarcane, potato, maize, and tapioca[6], further confirming maize's use in alcohol production.

For Statement 2, the documents explicitly mention oil as one of the industrial products derived from maize. Since maize oil can be extracted and oils are commonly used as biodiesel feedstock (similar to other crop oils), this statement is also correct. Therefore, all three statements are accurate, making option D the correct answer.

Sources
  1. [1] Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 12: Major Crops and Cropping Patterns in India > Maize or Corn (Zea Mays) > p. 23
  2. [2] Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 12: Major Crops and Cropping Patterns in India > Maize or Corn (Zea Mays) > p. 23
  3. [3] Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 12: Major Crops and Cropping Patterns in India > Maize or Corn (Zea Mays) > p. 23
  4. [4] Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 26: Agriculture > 3. MAIZE/CORN (Fig. 26.10) > p. 253
  5. [5] Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 26: Agriculture > 3. MAIZE/CORN (Fig. 26.10) > p. 253
  6. [6] Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 12: Major Crops and Cropping Patterns in India > 16. Energy Crops > p. 13
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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. Consider the following statements : 1. Maize can be used for the production of starch. 2. Oil extracted from maize can be a feedstock fo…
At a glance
Origin: From standard books Fairness: High fairness Books / CA: 10/10 · 0/10
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This is a classic 'Resource Utility' question. UPSC moves beyond 'Where is it grown?' (Geography) to 'What is it used for?' (Economy/Application). If a crop is a global staple like Maize, assume it has massive industrial versatility. The answer was sitting plainly in GC Leong and Majid Hussain.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Is maize (corn) used commercially to produce starch (corn starch)?
Origin: Direct from books Fairness: Straightforward Book-answerable
From standard books
Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 12: Major Crops and Cropping Patterns in India > Maize or Corn (Zea Mays) > p. 23
Presence: 5/5
“It is cultivated in about 8 million hectares under a wide range of agro-ecological situations. It contributes nearly 8% in the national food basket. In addition to staple food for human being and quality feed for animals, maize serves as a basic raw material as an ingredient to thousands of industrial products that include starch, oil, protein, alcoholic beverages, food sweeteners, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, flm, textile, gum, package and paper industries etc. Maize is cultivated throughout the year in diferent parts of the country for various purposes including grain, fodder, green cobs, sweet corn, baby corn, pop corn etc.”
Why this source?
  • Directly identifies maize as a basic raw material for thousands of industrial products and explicitly lists 'starch' among them.
  • States maize serves industrial purposes in addition to food and feed, implying commercial-scale processing.
Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 26: Agriculture > 3. MAIZE/CORN (Fig. 26.10) > p. 253
Presence: 3/5
“(a) Maize originated in America as Indian corn. The corn is ground to make maize mcal (Mealie), but is not good for bread-making. (b) Has many varieties. Dent is soft maize, and flint is hard maize. Also eaten as sweet corn, pop corn, and many new hybrids give better yields. (c) Many uses: food-crop, animal fattening, cornflakes, alcohol distilling, etc. Barley, Rye, Oats, Millet. These are the more hardy cereals of secondary importance. Tolerant of inferior soil. less favourable climate. More interior and continental regions, even of”
Why this source?
  • Lists many processed and industrial uses of maize (cornflakes, alcohol distilling, etc.), supporting the crop's role in commercial processing.
  • Supports the concept that maize is routinely converted into value‑added products in industry.
Science-Class VII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 10: Life Processes in Plants > 10.2.1 Leaves: the ̒ food factories̓of plants > p. 140
Presence: 2/5
“Plants store food in the form of starch, a type of carbohydrate. This starch is produced in the leaves of a plant which, by design, are generally broad and fl at. These are mostly green because of the presence of a green pigment called chlorophyll, that helps in capturing sunlight effi ciently. Let us fi nd out the role chlorophyll plays in the preparation of food in the form of starch in plants.”
Why this source?
  • Explains that plants produce and store starch, establishing the biological basis for extracting starch from maize.
  • Supports plausibility that a cereal like maize contains extractable starch used commercially.
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