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With reference to the cultivation of Kharif crops in India in the last five years, consider the following statements : 1. Area under rice cultivation is the highest. 2. Area under the cultivation of jowar is more than that of oilseeds. 3. Area of cotton cultivation is more than that of sugarcane. 4. Area under sugarcane cultivation has steadily decreased. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Explanation
The correct answer is option A (statements 1 and 3 only).
**Statement 1 is correct:** Rice is traditionally the dominant Kharif crop in India, occupying the largest cultivated area among all Kharif crops due to favorable monsoon conditions and widespread cultivation across the country.
**Statement 3 is correct:** The area under cotton reached a level of 10.1 million ha during TE2010-11[1], while sugarcane experienced a moderate increase in acreage by about 936 thousand ha[2]. This indicates cotton cultivation area is substantially larger than sugarcane area.
**Statement 2 is incorrect:** As the share of soybean increased in the state, area under other kharif crops like groundnut and jowar[3] suggests jowar area has been declining relative to oilseeds like soybean, meaning jowar area is not more than total oilseeds area.
**Statement 4 is incorrect:** Sugarcane also experienced a moderate increase in acreage by about 936 thousand ha[2], indicating an increase rather than a steady decrease in sugarcane cultivation area.
Sources- [1] https://www.iima.ac.in/sites/default/files/2022-12/2014-15_1_0.pdf
- [2] https://www.iima.ac.in/sites/default/files/2022-12/2014-15_1_0.pdf
- [3] https://www.iima.ac.in/sites/default/files/2022-12/2014-15_1_0.pdf
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Guest previewThis question masquerades as a complex 'Current Affairs' trend analysis (last 5 years), but it is actually a static 'Order of Magnitude' question solvable via NCERT Class XII Geography. You do not need year-on-year data; you only need the structural hierarchy of crop areas (Rice > Oilseeds > Cotton > Sugarcane) which rarely flips.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: Did rice have the highest area under cultivation among Kharif crops in India in each of the last five years?
- Statement 2: In India during each of the last five Kharif seasons, was the area under jowar (sorghum) cultivation greater than the area under oilseeds cultivation?
- Statement 3: In India during each of the last five Kharif seasons, was the area under cotton cultivation greater than the area under sugarcane cultivation?
- Statement 4: In India, did the area under sugarcane cultivation during Kharif decrease steadily year-on-year across the last five years?
States that account for over 60% of rice area and note that about 43% of the total area under cereals is devoted to rice — indicates rice occupies a very large share of cereal area.
A student could compare this large rice share (≈43% of cereals) with known areas of other kharif cereals (maize, millets, jowar, bajra) from annual agricultural statistics to judge whether rice likely leads kharif area each year.
Gives a numeric area figure label for rice (shown as 43.8 — presumably million hectares) alongside areas for other crops, implying rice has a larger area than many other major crops.
The student could match the 43.8 value against official year‑by‑year kharif crop area tables (e.g., cropwise area by season) to see if rice remains largest across the five most recent years.
States clearly that rice is a kharif crop and lists it among major crops requiring monsoon — establishes rice is a principal kharif crop to be compared.
Use this to limit comparisons to kharif-season crops and then consult seasonal area data to test whether rice area exceeds each other kharif crop annually.
Identifies rice, maize, millets, bajra, ragi as dominant kharif crops — provides the relevant set of competitors when assessing which kharif crop has the largest area.
A student can fetch area figures for these named kharif crops from recent years' agricultural statistics and directly compare them to rice area to evaluate the statement.
Lists states with the largest area under rice cultivation (West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, etc.), implying broad geographic spread that supports a high national rice area.
Combine the knowledge of leading rice states with a map or statewise annual crop area data to aggregate state rice areas and compare with other kharif crops over the five years.
This statement analysis shows book citations, web sources and indirect clues. The first statement (S1) is open for preview.
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This statement analysis shows book citations, web sources and indirect clues. The first statement (S1) is open for preview.
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This statement analysis shows book citations, web sources and indirect clues. The first statement (S1) is open for preview.
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