Practice Test 12

Agriculture is the foundation of India's rural economy and continues to be the primary livelihood of more than half the country's population despite decades of economic diversification and urban migration, making it a central focus of government policy and public investment. The Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, driven by the introduction of high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice developed by agricultural scientists including the Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug and India's own M S Swaminathan, transformed India from a food-deficit nation dependent on imported grain into a country capable of feeding its growing population from domestic production and maintaining strategic food reserves. The success of the Green Revolution was built on a combination of improved seed varieties, expanded irrigation through canals, tubewells, and lift irrigation schemes, the widespread adoption of chemical fertilisers, and the establishment of the minimum support price system that gave farmers a guaranteed floor price for their produce and reduced the price risk associated with adopting new technologies and expanding cultivation. The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, with the motto of Har Khet Ko Pani and More Crop Per Drop, is a flagship irrigation programme that aims to achieve convergence of investments in water sources, distribution networks, and farm-level application through a district-level irrigation plan, targeting the completion of long-pending major and medium irrigation projects and the expansion of micro-irrigation including drip and sprinkler systems to improve water use efficiency. The minimum support price, announced by the central government before each Kharif and Rabi sowing season based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, covers twenty-three agricultural commodities and signals to farmers the price at which the government commits to purchase their produce in case market prices fall below this level, providing a crucial safety net against price crashes in years of bumper production. The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, a revamped crop insurance scheme, provides affordable insurance coverage to farmers against losses caused by natural calamities, pests, and diseases, with very low premium rates for farmers and the balance subsidised jointly by the central and state governments, protecting farm incomes from the catastrophic financial losses that crop failure can cause. Soil health cards issued to crores of farmers across the country provide plot-specific recommendations for fertiliser use based on laboratory analysis of soil samples, promoting balanced nutrient management and reducing the over-application of urea that has degraded soil health in many intensively farmed regions. The eNAM platform is transforming agricultural marketing by connecting farmers to a national market and enabling transparent price discovery through electronic bidding across hundreds of agricultural produce market committees. The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme provides direct income support of six thousand rupees per year to farming families in three equal instalments directly into their bank accounts, supplementing farm incomes and providing a modest financial cushion during the lean seasons between harvests. Allied sectors including animal husbandry, dairy, fisheries, and horticulture have received renewed policy focus as the government seeks to diversify the agricultural economy and provide farmers with additional income streams beyond staple crop cultivation. The production of milk, poultry, eggs, and marine and freshwater fish has grown substantially in recent decades, with India becoming the world's largest milk producer and a significant exporter of marine products. Agricultural research conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and its network of national institutes and state agricultural universities continues to develop improved varieties of crops, more effective pest management strategies, and climate-resilient agricultural practices that will be essential for maintaining food security in the face of the growing challenges posed by climate change.