UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Farmers’ pulse

Q1. With reference to the procurement and price support arrangement for pulses announced in Union Budget 2025-26 as compared to the earlier arrangement, consider the following statements: 1. The new commitment ensures 100% procurement of state production of tur, urad and masur at MSP for four years, whereas earlier Price Support Scheme (PSS) procurement of pulses fluctuated only between about 3% and 12% of production. 2. The 100% procurement is operationalised through NAFED and NCCF under the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA). 3. The overall government guarantee ceiling under PM-AASHA has been reduced from ₹60,000 crore to ₹45,000 crore in Budget 2025-26. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The new commitment ensures 100% procurement of state production of tur, urad and masur at MSP for four years, whereas earlier PSS procurement of pulses fluctuated only between about 3% and 12% of production.
  2. The 100% procurement is operationalised through NAFED and NCCF under PM-AASHA.
  3. The overall government guarantee ceiling under PM-AASHA has been reduced from ₹60,000 crore to ₹45,000 crore in Budget 2025-26.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. Which one of the following statements best describes the 'Price Support Scheme (PSS)' as operated under the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA)?

  • A. A scheme under which farmers are compensated in cash for the difference between MSP and prevailing market price, without any physical procurement of the produce.
  • B. A scheme under which central nodal agencies physically procure notified pulses, oilseeds and copra at MSP when market prices fall below MSP.
  • C. A scheme that permits private stockists to procure pulses and oilseeds at MSP, with the government reimbursing the eligible losses incurred by them.
  • D. A scheme that provides interest-free working capital and input subsidies exclusively to pulse-growing farmers in rain-fed districts.

Q3. The 100% procurement of tur, urad and masur at Minimum Support Price under PM-AASHA, as committed in Union Budget 2025-26, is operationally undertaken by which of the following central agencies?

  • A. Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC)
  • B. NAFED and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation (NCCF)
  • C. APEDA and Cotton Corporation of India (CCI)
  • D. Small Farmers' Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) and NABARD

Q4. Under the 'Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses' approved by the Union Cabinet in October 2025, the special production and expansion programmes (including coverage of rice-fallow areas) are to be implemented in approximately how many districts of the country?

  • A. 150 districts
  • B. 250 districts
  • C. 416 districts
  • D. 728 districts
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