UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Major Decision by the Government of India in the Interest of Farmers

Q1. Under the Natural Gas (Supply Regulation) Order, 2026, what minimum percentage of their preceding six-month average gas consumption is guaranteed to fertilizer (urea) plants classified under Priority Sector-2?

  • A. 65%
  • B. 70%
  • C. 80%
  • D. 95%

Q2. Under which one of the following sections does the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 vest in the Central Government its principal power to control the production, supply and distribution of, and trade in, essential commodities — the power invoked through the Natural Gas (Supply Regulation) Order, 2026?

  • A. Section 2
  • B. Section 3
  • C. Section 5
  • D. Section 7

Q3. The statutorily notified Maximum Retail Price (MRP) at which urea is sold to farmers, irrespective of its cost of production, is fixed under the authority of which one of the following?

  • A. Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers
  • B. Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)
  • C. Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
  • D. Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare

Q4. In the context of the gas price pooling policy for the urea sector (2015), the 'pooled price' of natural gas supplied to fertilizer plants refers to:

  • A. A uniform delivered price obtained by averaging the cost of cheaper domestic gas and costlier imported RLNG supplied to gas-based urea plants
  • B. The prevailing spot LNG price for cargoes imported through the Strait of Hormuz
  • C. The administered price ceiling fixed by the regulator for city gas distribution networks
  • D. The international urea price used to determine import-parity subsidy

Q5. The Strait of Hormuz, whose disruption during the 2026 West Asia conflict threatened the LNG feedstock for India's gas-based urea plants, is a narrow waterway connecting which two water bodies?

  • A. The Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman
  • B. The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden
  • C. The Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal
  • D. The Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea

Q6. The total fertilizer requirement for the Kharif 2026 season (assessed at about 390.54 LMT), against which national buffer stocks were measured, was determined by which one of the following?

  • A. Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW)
  • B. Department of Fertilizers
  • C. Food Corporation of India (FCI)
  • D. NITI Aayog