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Consider the following statements about turmeric during the year 2022-23 : I. India is the largest producer and exporter of turmeric in the world. II. More than 30 varieties of turmeric are grown in India. III. Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are major turmeric producing States in India. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Explanation
All three statements are correct based on the information from 2022-23.
**Statement I is correct:** India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the world.[1] In the year 2022-23, an area of 3.24 lakh ha was under turmeric cultivation in India with a production of 11.61 lakh tonnes (over 75% of global turmeric production).[1] Additionally, the country accounts for over 62 per cent of the world's turmeric exports.[2]
**Statement II is correct:** More than 30 varieties of Turmeric are grown in India and it is grown in over 20 states in the country.[3]
**Statement III is correct:** The largest producing states of Turmeric are Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.[4]
Since all three statements are verified by the sources for the year 2022-23, the correct answer is option D (I, II and III).
Sources- [1] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1964083
- [2] https://icrier.org/research/making-india-the-global-hub-for-turmeric/
- [3] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1964083
- [4] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1964083
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Guest previewThis question is a classic 'Current Affairs disguised as Static Geography'. It stems directly from the October 2023 notification constituting the 'National Turmeric Board'. The specific stats (75% global production, >30 varieties) are lifted verbatim from the PIB justification for the Board's creation.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: In 2022-23, was India the largest producer of turmeric in the world?
- Statement 2: In 2022-23, was India the largest exporter of turmeric in the world?
- Statement 3: In 2022-23, were more than 30 varieties of turmeric grown in India?
- Statement 4: In 2022-23, was Maharashtra a major turmeric-producing state in India?
- Statement 5: In 2022-23, was Telangana a major turmeric-producing state in India?
- Statement 6: In 2022-23, was Karnataka a major turmeric-producing state in India?
- Statement 7: In 2022-23, was Tamil Nadu a major turmeric-producing state in India?
- Explicitly states India is the largest producer of turmeric globally.
- Provides 2022-23 production figures (11.61 lakh tonnes) and percentage of global production (over 75%), directly supporting the claim.
- States India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric.
- Specifies that in 2022-23 India produced over 75 per cent of global turmeric production, corroborating the largest-producer claim.
- Affirms India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric.
- Gives 2022-23 area and production (324,000 hectares; 1.16 million tonnes) and states this was over 75% of global production, reinforcing the claim.
Describes the geographic range of turmeric cultivation across many Indian states and the crop's climatic/soil preferences, implying substantial domestic production capacity.
A student could combine this with basic knowledge of Indiaβs large suitable agro-climatic area to suspect India is a major turmeric producer and then check global production rankings for 2022β23.
Mentions value-added turmeric products, implying a developed domestic processing sector that often accompanies large raw production.
One could infer that significant processing capacity suggests high primary turmeric output and compare with world output data to evaluate the claim.
Notes turmeric is widely grown in India and culturally important, indicating widespread cultivation rather than marginal production.
A student might combine the cropβs ubiquity in India with a world map of turmeric-growing regions to assess whether India plausibly leads global production.
States that India is the largest producer for several agricultural products (e.g., milk) and largest exporter for some crops, illustrating a pattern that India often ranks at or near the top for major agricultural commodities.
Using this pattern, a student could treat India as a plausible candidate for top turmeric producer and then look up 2022β23 global turmeric production figures to confirm.
Reports India is second largest producer of fruits and vegetables, showing India frequently ranks highly in global crop production.
This general tendency supports forming a hypothesis that India could be the largest turmeric producer, prompting targeted verification against 2022β23 data.
- Explicitly states India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the world.
- Provides 2022-23 export quantity for turmeric and turmeric products (1.534 lakh tonnes), supporting the export claim.
- States India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the world.
- Says India produced over 75% of global turmeric production and accounts for over 62% of the worldβs turmeric exports, indicating dominant exporter status.
- Repeats that India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the world.
- Provides 2022-23 production figures (1.16 million tonnes) and notes India has more than 62% share of world trade in turmeric, supporting export leadership.
Describes turmeric cultivation across several large Indian states and the crop's suitable agroβclimatic conditions, implying India has substantial domestic production capacity.
A student could combine this with known global turmericβgrowing regions (e.g., parts of Southeast Asia) and production statistics to judge whether Indiaβs production scale could support leading export volumes.
States India is the largest exporter of rice and a major agricultural exporter, showing India can be top exporter in specific agricultural commodities.
Use this pattern (India being top exporter for some spices/crops) plus comparative export data for turmeric from trade databases to assess if turmeric follows the same pattern.
Gives an example where India became the worldβs largest exporter (buffalo meat in 2012), illustrating Indiaβs potential to reach top global export positions in particular agri products.
A student could treat this as precedent and check recent trade reports (e.g., Economic Survey, FAOSTAT, UN COMTRADE) for turmeric export rankings in 2022β23.
Notes changing composition of Indiaβs agricultural exports and that certain traditional itemsβ shares have declined, suggesting export leadership can shift over time.
Combine this with timeβseries export data to see whether turmericβs share rose or fell by 2022β23 relative to other countries.
References the Economic Survey 2022β23 as a source for export composition, pointing to an authoritative dataset that would contain 2022β23 export rankings.
A student could consult the Economic Survey 2022β23 (or similarly dated official trade publications) to directly compare turmeric export volumes by country for 2022β23.
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- Official government press release (PIB) explicitly states the fact.
- The line ties the 'more than 30 varieties' claim directly to the 2022-23 context in the same paragraph.
- Research institute report (ICRIER) restates the same numeric claim.
- Presents the claim together with 2022-23 production context, linking varieties to that year.
- Reputable news source (The Hindu) corroborates the statement.
- Uses similar wording ('Over 30 varieties') in the 2022-23 cultivation context.
States that traditional cultivated crops in India include 30,000β50,000 varieties overall, indicating very high agrobiodiversity and many local crop varieties.
A student could reasonably infer that for a widely grown spice like turmeric, this overall high diversity makes >30 local varieties plausible and look for state-level registers or germplasm lists to verify.
Lists several states (Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala) where turmeric is cultivated, implying broad geographic distribution across varied agro-climates.
Combine this with basic geography (different states/regions) to expect multiple regional landraces/varieties and then check state agricultural variety lists or ICAR/SAU catalogs for counts.
Describes specific harvesting, processing practices and names important storage/market centres (Alleppey, Nizamabad, etc.), suggesting established regional production systems.
Use the presence of distinct regional markets/processing centres to hypothesize multiple commercially recognised turmeric types and then consult market classification or variety registries.
Shows that textbooks list named 'main varieties' for crops (example given for wheat), indicating that crop-wise varietal cataloguing is common practice.
A student could follow this pattern and search similar sources (textbooks, agricultural extension, varietal release lists) specifically for turmeric to find the number of named varieties.
Notes turmeric is a commonly grown spice and member of the ginger family, emphasising its agricultural and cultural importance.
Given its importance and wide use, one can expect targeted research and varietal development; a student should therefore check research institute (e.g., spice boards/ICAR) publications for varietal counts.
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- The passage explicitly references the 2022-23 turmeric cultivation year in India.
- It names Maharashtra among 'the largest producing states of Turmeric' for that period.
States that cultivate spices note that turmeric is 'widely cultivated across the country', implying production is not limited to a few specialised states.
A student could combine this with a map of turmeric-growing agro-climatic zones to see whether Maharashtra's climate/areas overlap such zones and so plausibly host significant turmeric production.
Turmeric can be grown either as a rainβfed crop (Kerala, Odisha, northβeast) or as an irrigated crop (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu), showing multiple production modes tied to regional practices.
A student could check which cultivation mode predominates in Maharashtra (rainβfed vs irrigated) and compare with its irrigation/climatic profile to judge plausibility of large turmeric area.
Maharashtra is listed among the main vegetable-producing states, indicating it is agriculturally diversified and capable of sizeable horticultural/spice production.
A student could infer that a state with broad vegetable/horticulture output is more likely to also produce spices like turmeric and then look up district-level crop data for confirmation.
Maharashtra is described as a leading producer for certain major crops (e.g., cotton), showing the state can be a top producer for specific commodities.
A student could use this pattern to reason that Maharashtra could similarly rank highly for other crops (like turmeric) if local conditions and area under cultivation support it, prompting a check of turmeric-specific statistics.
The NCERT cites the 'Pocket book of agricultural statistics, 2022' as a source for state-wise crop mentions, indicating that government statistical publications for 2022 are the appropriate reference for 2022β23 crop rankings.
A student could therefore consult the 2022/2023 pocket book or Directorate of Economics and Statistics tables to directly confirm Maharashtra's turmeric ranking for 2022β23.
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- Passage explicitly lists the largest producing states of turmeric and includes Telangana.
- The passage refers to the year 2022-23 for turmeric cultivation and production context.
- Repeats the 2022-23 production context and again names Telangana among the largest producing states.
- Provides the same official-sounding source support reinforcing the claim.
Notes that turmeric is grown both as a rainβfed and an irrigated crop and cites Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu as irrigated turmeric areas.
A student could use this rule plus the fact that Telangana borders Andhra Pradesh and shares similar agricultural zones to check 2022β23 statewise turmeric area/production data for Telangana versus Andhra/Tamil Nadu.
States that turmeric is 'widely cultivated across the country' (unlike some spices confined to a few states).
One could infer Telangana is a plausible turmeric producer and then consult 2022β23 crop statistics or maps to see if its production ranks as 'major'.
Gives basic botanical and cultural significance of turmeric in India, underlining its national prevalence.
Combined with national prevalence, a student could compare statewise production tables for 2022β23 to see if Telangana figures are among the top producing states.
Lists Telangana among leading producers for another crop (groundnut), showing the state figures in national agricultural rankings are tracked and that Telangana is an agriculturally significant state.
A student could apply the same source category (government agricultural statistics) to look up turmeric production for Telangana in 2022β23 to judge whether it was 'major'.
Cites Telangana as a notable producer of fruits like mangoes and grapes, indicating the state's diversified horticulture/agriculture capacity.
Using this pattern of Telangana appearing in statewise crop lists, one could examine the Pocket Book of Agricultural Statistics (2022) or similar 2022β23 tables to see where turmeric ranks for Telangana.
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- Directly lists the largest turmeric-producing states for 2022-23 and includes Karnataka.
- Comes from an official press release summarizing 2022-23 production figures.
- Repeats the same statement about largest producing states, reinforcing the claim.
- Specifies Karnataka among the top producers for the 2022-23 period.
Lists Karnataka among states where turmeric is cultivated (Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala).
A student could combine this list with 2022β23 state-wise production data (e.g., government agricultural statistics) to see whether Karnataka's cultivated area/production ranked it as a 'major' producer that year.
States that grow certain spices are discussed; turmeric is described as 'widely cultivated across the country' unlike spices confined to only a few states.
Knowing turmeric is widespread, a student could compare major turmeric-growing regions (from this broad rule) against 2022β23 production shares to judge if Karnataka was among the top producers.
Gives post-harvest/processing and lists important storage centres for turmeric (Alleppey, Durgirala, Nizamabad, Rajapuri, Cuddapah), implying production/market hubs can indicate major-producing states.
A student could check whether Karnataka has significant storage/market centres or nearby hubs in 2022β23; lack/presence of such centres can be a clue to relative production importance.
Mentions turmeric in a list/question context (asks which is known as 'king of spices' with turmeric as an option), indicating turmeric's prominence among spices in India.
Treating turmeric as a prominent spice, a student might reasonably look up national rankings for prominent spice-producing states in 2022β23 to see where Karnataka stands.
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- Passage explicitly refers to the 2022-23 season and gives national turmeric area and production figures for that year.
- It lists the largest producing states and includes Tamil Nadu among them, directly supporting that Tamil Nadu was a major producer in 2022-23.
States where turmeric is grown include irrigated areas such as Tamil Nadu (turmeric can be an irrigated crop in Tamil Nadu).
A student could combine this with 2022β23 state-wise production data to see if Tamil Nadu's irrigated turmeric area translated into high production that year.
Turmeric is described as widely cultivated across the country (unlike spices confined to a few states), implying multiple states including Tamil Nadu may contribute significantly.
Use this pattern (widespread cultivation) plus contemporary production rankings to check whether Tamil Nadu ranks among the major producers in 2022β23.
Tamil Nadu appears among the states with substantial net irrigated area by canals (ranked 9th), which supports irrigated crops like turmeric.
A student could infer that states with sizeable irrigation are more likely to produce significant irrigated turmeric and then compare Tamil Nadu's turmeric output in 2022β23 to other states.
Tamil Nadu is listed as a leading producer of other irrigated southern crops (e.g., sugarcane), indicating agricultural capacity and irrigation infrastructure useful for turmeric cultivation.
Combine this general agricultural-strength clue with state-wise turmeric production statistics for 2022β23 to evaluate whether Tamil Nadu was a major producer.
Tamil Nadu is noted as a leading producer of groundnut with comparatively high yield where it is partly irrigated, showing the state can achieve high yields in irrigated/partly irrigated crops.
A student could extrapolate that Tamil Nadu's capability to produce high-yield irrigated crops might support significant turmeric production and should check 2022β23 turmeric production figures.
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- [THE VERDICT]: Sitter for Current Affairs trackers; Trap for static-only readers. Source: PIB Press Release (Oct 2023) on National Turmeric Board.
- [THE CONCEPTUAL TRIGGER]: Agri-Institutions in News. The demand for a separate Turmeric Board (distinct from Spices Board) was a major farmer issue in Telangana (Nizamabad).
- [THE HORIZONTAL EXPANSION]: Memorize high-value turmeric varieties: Lakadong (Meghalaya, high curcumin >7%), Waigaon (Maharashtra, GI Tag), Erode (Tamil Nadu, GI Tag). Know the trading hubs: Nizamabad (Telangana) and Sangli (Maharashtra).
- [THE STRATEGIC METACOGNITION]: When the Govt launches a specific Commodity Board, they release a 'Why we need this' dossier. That dossier contains the stats (Rank 1, 30 varieties, export share). UPSC converts that dossier into statement-based questions.
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Knowing India's rank for specific agricultural commodities is necessary to assess claims about being the world's largest producer of a crop.
High-yield for UPSC: questions often ask which country is the largest/second largest producer or exporter. This concept links agricultural statistics to economic geography and trade; mastering it helps answer prelim factual items and frame Mains answers on agri-performance and policy.
- Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 10: Agriculture - Part I > Green Revolution > p. 303
Turmeric cultivation is concentrated in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala and requires warm, humid conditions.
Important for map-based and cropping-pattern questions: knowing where and why turmeric is grown helps explain regional cropping choices, climateβcrop linkages, and allied value-added industries; useful in both prelim factual questions and mains analyses on agricultural diversification.
- Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 12: Major Crops and Cropping Patterns in India > Turmeric (Curcuma longa) > p. 67
Production volume and export volume are distinct metrics and can give different country rankings for the same crop.
Crucial to avoid conflation in exam answers: many questions test whether a country is the largest producer versus largest exporter. This concept connects trade data, domestic production, and policy implications (MSP, subsidies, export promotion).
- Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 10: Agriculture - Part I > Green Revolution > p. 303
Turmericβs growing regions, climatic needs and soil preferences determine production capacity and export potential.
High-yield for GS papers and agriculture questions: understanding where and how a crop is grown helps connect production potential to export outcomes and policy implications; links crop geography to rural livelihoods, irrigation and cropping patterns.
- Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 12: Major Crops and Cropping Patterns in India > Turmeric (Curcuma longa) > p. 67
Knowing which agricultural commodities India leads or ranks highly in globally helps assess claims about being the 'largest exporter' of a specific crop.
Essential for economy and trade topics: useful for evaluating export-related statements, understanding trade competitiveness and crafting answers on trade policy and balance of payments; connects to specific commodity-case studies like rice or meat to infer patterns for others.
- Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 10: Agriculture - Part I > Green Revolution > p. 303
- Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 10: Agriculture - Part I > Pink Revolution > p. 305
Trends in export composition and shifts in shares over years inform whether a particular cropβs export prominence rose or fell by 2022-23.
Important for syllabus areas on international trade and economic survey analysis: helps answer questions on export diversification, structural change in exports, and policy responses; enables comparative trend-based questions rather than one-off facts.
- INDIA PEOPLE AND ECONOMY, TEXTBOOK IN GEOGRAPHY FOR CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 8: International Trade > Changing Pattern of ttern ofttern of the Composition of India's Expor s Exports > p. 87
- Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 9: Agriculture > CURRENT SCENARIO OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE (as per Economic Survey 2020-21) > p. 289
Turmeric cultivation is concentrated in southern and eastern states such as Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
High-yield for questions on crop distribution and cropping patterns; links agricultural geography with state economies and policy (e.g., support schemes, export hubs). Useful for answering location-based crop questions and for mapping agricultural regions in essays or prelims/geography mains.
- Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 12: Major Crops and Cropping Patterns in India > Turmeric (Curcuma longa) > p. 67
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Lakadong Turmeric (Meghalaya). It is the 'gold standard' with the highest curcumin content (7-9%) vs the national average (2-3%). If Turmeric is the theme, Lakadong is the next logical specific question.
Use the 'Bio-Diversity Vague Number' heuristic. Statement II says 'More than 30 varieties'. In a mega-diverse country like India, for an ancient crop like Turmeric, a number like 30 is statistically safe and likely correct. If it said 'exactly 3 varieties', it would be a trap. For Statement III, all states listed are Peninsular/Tropical states suitable for spices; no outlier like 'Ladakh' or 'Rajasthan' is present, making it highly probable.
Mains GS3 (Agri-Marketing): The shift from a generic 'Spices Board' to a specific 'National Turmeric Board' represents a policy shift towards 'Cluster-Based Approach' and 'Value Addition' to meet the $1 Billion turmeric export target by 2030.
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