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Q82 (IAS/2021) Economy › Agriculture & Rural Economy › Crop patterns and uses Official Key

With reference to 'palm oil', consider the following statements : 1. The palm oil tree is native to Southeast Asia. 2. The palm oil is a raw material for some industries producing lipstick and perfumes. 3. The palm oil can be used to produce biodiesel. Which of the statements given above are correct?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: B
Explanation

The correct answer is Option 2 (2 and 3 only). Below is the comprehensive explanation:

  • Statement 1 is incorrect: The oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis) is native to West and Central Africa, not Southeast Asia. Although Indonesia and Malaysia are currently the world's largest producers, the crop was introduced to these regions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
  • Statement 2 is correct: Palm oil is a versatile raw material in the FMCG and cosmetics industries. It is used in lipsticks for its ability to hold color and resist melting, and in perfumes as a base or emollient due to its stability and texture.
  • Statement 3 is correct: Palm oil is a significant feedstock for biodiesel production. Through the process of transesterification, it is converted into Palm Methyl Ester (PME), which is used as a renewable alternative or additive to conventional diesel.

Since statement 1 is false while 2 and 3 are true, Option 2 is the only correct choice.

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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. With reference to 'palm oil', consider the following statements : 1. The palm oil tree is native to Southeast Asia. 2. The palm oil is …
At a glance
Origin: From standard books Fairness: High fairness Books / CA: 10/10 · 0/10
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This is a classic 'Standard Book' question masquerading as Current Affairs. While Palm Oil is frequently in the news (imports, sustainability), the specific statements (native origin, uses) are static facts found directly in Shankar IAS and Majid Hussain. The strategy is to respect the 'Applications' and 'Origin' sections of commodities in your static texts rather than just reading news headlines.

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
Where is the oil palm (the primary source of palm oil) native to?
Origin: Direct from books Fairness: Straightforward Book-answerable
From standard books
Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 30: Climatic Regions > Plantation Boom > p. 427
Presence: 5/5
“All the cocoa here goes into the American and European chocolate industries.• Another crop from the same area (West Africa), oil palm, has done equally well and many countries like Indonesia have now taken to its cultivation (India imports significant quantities of palm oil from Indonesia and the other countries in the region). Palm plantations in Indonesia • Other important crops include coconuts, sugar, coffee (Brazil), tea, tobacco, spices, etc.”
Why this source?
  • Directly associates oil palm with West Africa by referring to oil palm as coming from the same area (West Africa).
  • Contrasts West African origin with later cultivation adoption in countries such as Indonesia, implying an original native range.
Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 12: Major Crops and Cropping Patterns in India > Oil-Palm (Elaeis guineensis) > p. 48
Presence: 3/5
“Oil-palm is the highest oil-yielding plant among perennial oil-yielding crops, producing palm oil and palm-kernel oil. Tese are used for culinary as well as industrial processes. On an average, oilpalm produces 4-6 tonnes oil/ha. It can also contribute substantially to the nutritional and energy requirements of the masses. Oil-palm is a crop for future and a source for diversifcation, import substitution, value addition, waste utilization, eco-generation (non-conventional energy), eco-friendly and sustainability. A total area of about eight lakh hectares has been identifed in 11 states of India i.e. the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Gujarat, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and West Bengal.”
Why this source?
  • Provides the botanical name Elaeis guineensis, where the epithet 'guineensis' links the species to Guinea/West Africa.
  • Describes oil-palm as a tropical perennial crop consistent with a West African tropical native range.
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Statement analysis

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