UPSC Prelims 2023 Q27: Niger Seed, MSP and Kharif Oilseeds Explained

Consider the following statements:

1. The Government of India provides Minimum Support Price for niger (Guizotia abyssinica) seeds.

2. Niger is cultivated as a Kharif crop.

3. Some tribal people in India use niger seed oil for cooking.

How many of the above statements are correct?

  1. Only one
  2. Only two
  3. All three
  4. None

Answer: (c) All three

Statement-wise explanation

  • 1: correct — Nigerseed is one of the 14 kharif crops for which the Centre announces a Minimum Support Price every year, on the recommendation of the CACP. For Kharif Marketing Season 2022-23, the CCEA fixed its MSP at ₹7,287 per quintal, ₹357 more than the year before. That price gave a 50% return over a cost of production of ₹4,858.
  • 2: correct — Niger is grown mainly in the kharif (monsoon) season, mostly as a rainfed crop on poor upland soils. This is why it is on the kharif MSP list, next to groundnut, soybean, sunflower seed and sesamum, and not on the rabi list. Sowing often runs later than for other kharif crops, into August, but the crop still belongs to the kharif season.
  • 3: correct — Niger, locally called ramtil or karala, has long been a tribal crop in the hill and forest belts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra. Communities such as the Gonds use its oil for cooking, eat the seed as a condiment and feed the press cake to cattle. The seed holds roughly 32–40% oil.

How to eliminate

This question can only be solved by knowing the facts, so learn the MSP crop list. The format is 'How many statements are correct', which means you cannot eliminate pairs of statements. Each statement has to be judged alone. Some partial reasoning still helps. Statement 3 is soft and hedged ('Some tribal people'). Statements worded this way are rarely false, so it is a safe 'correct'. Statement 2 follows from statement 1 if you remember that all the minor oilseeds on the MSP list except safflower are kharif crops, and safflower is rabi. The fact that settles the question: the 14 kharif MSP crops include five oilseeds, which are groundnut, soybean, sunflower seed, sesamum and nigerseed. If you know that list, statements 1 and 2 are both settled, and statement 3 can be taken as correct.

Know more

MSP crops: the list UPSC keeps testing

The Centre announces MSPs for 22 mandated crops on the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approves them. Since the 2018-19 Budget, MSP has been set at at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production (A2+FL). MSPs for toria and de-husked coconut are derived from the MSPs of mustard and copra.

Group Crops
Kharif (14) Paddy, jowar, bajra, maize, ragi; arhar (tur), moong, urad; groundnut, sunflower seed, soybean, sesamum, nigerseed; cotton
Rabi (6) Wheat, barley, gram, masur (lentil), rapeseed-mustard, safflower
Commercial (2) Jute, copra

Oilseeds by season. Five oilseeds are kharif crops: groundnut, soybean, sunflower, sesamum and niger. Two are rabi crops: mustard and safflower. Sunflower can actually be grown in more than one season, but for MSP it is listed as a kharif crop.

About niger (Guizotia abyssinica)

  • It originated in the Ethiopian highlands. India and Ethiopia are the main growers.
  • It is a hardy, rainfed crop of marginal uplands that needs few inputs. This suits tribal farming in the Eastern Ghats and central India.
  • Its uses are cooking oil, condiments, cattle cake and bird feed. It is exported for bird feed.
  • The area under niger has fallen steeply since the 1980s. Two reasons are a shift to paddy and the parasitic weed amarbel (dodder).
  • Its MSP has gone up sharply. In 2025-26, nigerseed got the largest absolute MSP increase of any kharif crop, ₹820 per quintal, which took it to ₹9,537.

Exam link: Minor oilseeds matter for India's edible-oil self-reliance. India imports a large share of its edible oil, which ties this topic to the National Mission on Edible Oils.

In the news

The CCEA announces kharif MSPs every June. Nigerseed had stood out in recent years for some of the largest MSP increases. The June 2022 decision for Marketing Season 2022-23 was the most recent one before the 2023 Prelims. The question is still mostly static, built from the standard MSP crop list.

NCERT Concepts to Revise

  • Minimum support price: Statement 1 asks whether niger is one of the notified crops that get a government-announced support price.
  • Kharif crop: Statement 2 depends on which sowing season, and so which MSP list, niger belongs to.
  • Oilseeds: Niger is a minor oilseed. Knowing the oilseed group helps you remember which oilseeds are on the MSP list.

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