Agriculture MCQs for UPSC Prelims
Q1. The Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana, cleared by the Union Cabinet for a six-year period covering 100 agricultural districts, commences from which financial year?
- A. 2024-25
- B. 2025-26
- C. 2026-27
- D. 2027-28
Q2. With reference to India's climate-resilient agriculture research effort, consider the following statements:
1. More than 2,900 climate-resilient crop varieties were released during 2014-2025 under the National Agricultural Research System led by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
2. Location-specific climate-resilient technologies have been demonstrated through Krishi Vigyan Kendras in more than 400 model Climate Resilient Villages.
3. District Agriculture Contingency Plans have been prepared only for those districts categorised as 'very high' in climate vulnerability, and not for the full set of districts assessed.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- More than 2,900 climate-resilient crop varieties were released during 2014-2025 under the National Agricultural Research System led by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
- Location-specific climate-resilient technologies have been demonstrated through Krishi Vigyan Kendras in more than 400 model Climate Resilient Villages.
- District Agriculture Contingency Plans have been prepared only for those districts categorised as 'very high' in climate vulnerability, and not for the full set of districts assessed.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q3. With reference to soil health management in India, consider the following statements:
1. Since 2022-23, the Soil Health Card Scheme has been implemented as the 'Soil Health & Fertility' component of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.
2. Village Level Soil Testing Labs under the scheme may be set up by rural youth entrepreneurs, Self Help Groups and schools, besides agricultural universities.
3. Soil Health Management is one of the components with which the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture was initially approved.
4. Soil testing under the scheme is now carried out exclusively in static laboratories run by State agriculture departments, mobile and mini laboratories having been discontinued.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Since 2022-23, the Soil Health Card Scheme has been implemented as the 'Soil Health & Fertility' component of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.
- Village Level Soil Testing Labs under the scheme may be set up by rural youth entrepreneurs, Self Help Groups and schools, besides agricultural universities.
- Soil Health Management is one of the components with which the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture was initially approved.
- Soil testing under the scheme is now carried out exclusively in static laboratories run by State agriculture departments, mobile and mini laboratories having been discontinued.
- A. 1 and 3 only
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 3
- D. 3 and 4
Q4. Since its inception, approximately how much area has been brought under micro-irrigation through the 'Per Drop More Crop' scheme?
- A. About 62 lakh hectares
- B. About 85 lakh hectares
- C. About 111 lakh hectares
- D. About 140 lakh hectares
Q5. The 'Per Drop More Crop' scheme is implemented by which one of the following?
- A. Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti
- B. Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development
- C. Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
- D. Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Q6. 'National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture' is best described as which one of the following?
- A. A centrally sponsored mission under the National Action Plan on Climate Change, implemented through State agriculture departments for rainfed area development and on-farm water management
- B. A network research project launched by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in 2011, built on strategic research, technology demonstration and capacity building
- C. A component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana that subsidises drip and sprinkler systems to raise water-use efficiency on farmers' fields
- D. A component of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana that finances village-level soil testing laboratories and issues nutrient recommendations to farmers
Q7. The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture was initially approved for implementation with how many major components?
- A. Two
- B. Three
- C. Five
- D. Eight
Q8. With reference to the framework governing feeder-level solarisation under PM-KUSUM, which one of the following is correct?
- A. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy issued separate implementation guidelines for it, extending the Component-C guidelines that had first been issued in 2019
- B. The Central Electricity Authority issued the implementation guidelines for it, extending the Component-C framework that had first been notified in 2015
- C. It was added to the scheme as a fourth component, distinct from Components A, B and C, by the Ministry of Power at the time of the scheme's launch
- D. Its central financial assistance is fixed at 30 per cent uniformly across all States, no higher rate being available for hilly, north-eastern or island regions
Q9. PM-KUSUM 2.0 is being formulated as a fresh scheme rather than an extension of the existing one. Which one of the following ministries is formulating it?
- A. The Ministry of Power, which oversees distribution reform and the functioning of state distribution companies
- B. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, which administers central schemes for farm mechanisation and micro-irrigation
- C. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, which administers the existing PM-KUSUM scheme and its three components
- D. The Ministry of Jal Shakti, which is responsible for groundwater assessment and command area water use efficiency
Q10. In the design of PM-KUSUM 2.0 currently under formulation, which one of the following has been identified as the most critical and scalable element of the next phase?
- A. Feeder-level solarisation under Component-C, to secure daytime agricultural power and ease the subsidy burden on distribution companies
- B. Standalone off-grid solar pumps under Component-B, to complete the replacement of diesel pumps on holdings away from the distribution network
- C. Decentralised ground-mounted plants under Component-A, made bankable through access to the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund for participating farmers
- D. Agro-photovoltaic installations permitting cultivation beneath elevated solar structures, so that cropped land is not lost to generation
Q11. With reference to the reported component-wise achievement of PM-KUSUM as of the latest available data, which one of the following statements is correct?
- A. Within Component-C, feeder-level solarisation accounts for the overwhelming majority of the pumps covered so far
- B. Component-A alone accounts for the entire solar capacity so far reported as installed under the scheme
- C. Component-B has installed standalone pumps in every block notified as over-exploited for groundwater
- D. Component-C has already achieved its full target of grid-connected pumps ahead of the scheme's closing date
Q12. Consider the following statements regarding the implementation status of PM-KUSUM:
1. Installed capacity under Component-A had crossed 640 MW by August 2025.
2. More than 9 lakh standalone solar pumps had been installed under Component-B by October 2025.
3. The scheme's overall solar capacity target is 34,800 MW, with central financial support of about Rs 34,422 crore.
4. Within Component-C, the number of pumps covered through feeder-level solarisation is smaller than the number covered through individual pump solarisation.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Installed capacity under Component-A had crossed 640 MW by August 2025.
- More than 9 lakh standalone solar pumps had been installed under Component-B by October 2025.
- The scheme's overall solar capacity target is 34,800 MW, with central financial support of about Rs 34,422 crore.
- Within Component-C, the number of pumps covered through feeder-level solarisation is smaller than the number covered through individual pump solarisation.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1, 2 and 3 only
- C. 2, 3 and 4 only
- D. 3 and 4 only
Q13. In the context of PM-KUSUM's Component-C, 'feeder-level solarisation' refers to which one of the following arrangements?
- A. Setting up a solar power plant to serve a dedicated agricultural feeder of the distribution network, so that pumps on that feeder run on solar power without panels on each pump
- B. Fitting solar panels on each grid-connected agriculture pump individually, the pump retaining its existing connection to the distribution network for night-time use
- C. Supplying standalone off-grid solar pumps to farmers located in pockets where the agricultural feeder has not yet been energised by the distribution company
- D. Separating agricultural feeders from domestic and industrial feeders so that the hours of farm power supply can be rationed by the distribution company
Q14. Under Component-B of PM-KUSUM, central financial assistance for standalone solar agriculture pumps is available for pumps up to which one of the following capacities?
- A. 3 horsepower
- B. 5 horsepower
- C. 7.5 horsepower
- D. 10 horsepower
Q15. Consider the following entities:
1. Water User Associations
2. Farmer Producer Organisations
3. Panchayats
4. Distribution companies setting up plants on their own land as project developers
Which of the above are correctly identified as entities eligible to install solar power plants under Component-A of PM-KUSUM?
- Water User Associations
- Farmer Producer Organisations
- Panchayats
- Distribution companies setting up plants on their own land as project developers
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2, 3 and 4 only
- C. 1, 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 3 and 4 only
Q16. Under the revised component-wise targets of PM-KUSUM, which one of the following carries the largest target in terms of the number of agricultural pumps to be covered?
- A. Component-A, covering decentralised ground-mounted grid-connected solar plants of up to 2 MW set up on barren, fallow or marshy land
- B. Component-B, covering standalone off-grid solar-powered agriculture pumps supported through central financial assistance on benchmark cost
- C. Component-C, covering solarisation of existing grid-connected agriculture pumps, including through feeder-level solarisation of agricultural feeders
- D. Component-C, but restricted to individual pump solarisation, feeder-level solarisation being counted under a separate capacity-based target
Q17. In the guidelines of centrally sponsored agricultural missions such as the National Food Security Mission and the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture, the stipulation relating to women farmers requires that:
- A. at least 30 per cent of the beneficiaries selected in each district be women, whatever the amount actually spent on them
- B. women farmers be given a rate of subsidy 30 per cent higher than the rate applicable to other categories of farmers
- C. at least 30 per cent of the land brought under mission-supported cultivation be recorded in the names of women
- D. at least 30 per cent of the expenditure be earmarked for women farmers by States and implementing agencies
Q18. With reference to the position of women in Indian agriculture, consider the following:
1. Women form roughly one-third of the country's cultivators.
2. Women form more than 40 per cent of the country's agricultural labourers.
3. Women's share in operational holdings is roughly equal to their share among cultivators.
4. Women's share among agricultural labourers is larger than their share among cultivators.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Women form roughly one-third of the country's cultivators.
- Women form more than 40 per cent of the country's agricultural labourers.
- Women's share in operational holdings is roughly equal to their share among cultivators.
- Women's share among agricultural labourers is larger than their share among cultivators.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 1, 2 and 4
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 3 and 4 only
Q19. The widely cited estimate that women account for only about 12–14 per cent of operational holdings in India is drawn from which one of the following official exercises?
- A. The Agriculture Census conducted by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
- B. The Periodic Labour Force Survey conducted by the National Statistical Office
- C. The Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households conducted by the NSS
- D. The Socio-Economic and Caste Census conducted by the Ministry of Rural Development
Q20. Consider the following statements about India's pulses economy:
1. India's pulses production rose from about 192.6 lakh tonnes in 2013-14 to about 252.38 lakh tonnes in 2024-25.
2. India's import dependence in pulses fell from about 29 per cent in 2015-16 to about 10.4 per cent in 2022-23.
3. In 2023-24, India's exports of pulses exceeded its imports of pulses.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- India's pulses production rose from about 192.6 lakh tonnes in 2013-14 to about 252.38 lakh tonnes in 2024-25.
- India's import dependence in pulses fell from about 29 per cent in 2015-16 to about 10.4 per cent in 2022-23.
- In 2023-24, India's exports of pulses exceeded its imports of pulses.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q21. The Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, first announced in the Union Budget 2025-26, was thereafter approved for implementation by which authority, and for what period?
- A. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, in February 2025, for the period 2025-26 to 2029-30
- B. The Union Cabinet, in July 2025, for the period 2025-26 to 2031-32
- C. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, in October 2025, for the period 2026-27 to 2030-31
- D. The Union Cabinet, in October 2025, for the period 2025-26 to 2030-31
Q22. Under the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, what is the ceiling on financial assistance for setting up a pulse processing unit?
- A. 25 per cent of the project cost, subject to a maximum of Rs. 33 lakh per unit
- B. 50 per cent of the project cost, subject to a maximum of Rs. 20 lakh per unit
- C. 33 per cent of the project cost, subject to a maximum of Rs. 25 lakh per unit
- D. 40 per cent of the project cost, subject to a maximum of Rs. 15 lakh per unit
Q23. Which one of the following groups of three States together accounts for the largest share — about 55 per cent — of India's total pulses production?
- A. Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
- B. Rajasthan, Gujarat and Telangana
- C. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh
- D. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan
Q24. Which one of the following was the principal centrally sponsored programme for oilseeds and oil palm operating from 2018-19, on which the later edible oil missions were built?
- A. The Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize
- B. The National Food Security Mission – Oilseeds and Oil Palm
- C. The Technology Mission on Oilseeds and Pulses
- D. The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana – Oilseeds Component
Q25. Under the price assurance mechanism for oil palm growers, the 'Viability Price' is fixed on which one of the following bases?
- A. The last five years' annual average crude palm oil price, adjusted with the wholesale price index and multiplied by 14.3%
- B. The last three years' annual average crude palm oil price, adjusted with the consumer price index and multiplied by 14.3%
- C. The minimum support price declared for the nine annual oilseeds each season, converted to a fresh fruit bunch equivalent
- D. The prevailing international crude palm oil price of the preceding month, adjusted with the rupee-dollar exchange rate
Q26. The 432 high-yielding varieties and hybrids of the nine annual oilseeds notified between 2014 and 2025 were developed through the research system of which one of the following?
- A. The National Seeds Corporation Limited, a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
- B. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the autonomous body under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education
- C. The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Authority, the statutory body set up under a 2001 Act
- D. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, the apex development financial institution for rural India
Q27. Consider the following statements regarding India's edible oil imports:
1. Palm oil forms the single largest component of India's edible oil imports and is sourced mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia.
2. Soybean oil is the second largest imported edible oil and is sourced mainly from Argentina and Brazil.
3. Sunflower oil imports come mainly from Ukraine and Russia.
4. Imports meet roughly one-fourth of India's domestic edible oil demand, the rest being met from domestic production.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- Palm oil forms the single largest component of India's edible oil imports and is sourced mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia.
- Soybean oil is the second largest imported edible oil and is sourced mainly from Argentina and Brazil.
- Sunflower oil imports come mainly from Ukraine and Russia.
- Imports meet roughly one-fourth of India's domestic edible oil demand, the rest being met from domestic production.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 only
- C. 2 and 4
- D. 4 only
Q28. Of India's total oil palm area of about 6.20 lakh hectares reported as of November 2025, nearly all crude palm oil output is contributed by which one of the following pairs of States?
- A. Kerala and Tamil Nadu
- B. Odisha and Chhattisgarh
- C. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
- D. Assam and Mizoram
Q29. The oilseed production estimates placed before Parliament in 2026 and the two edible oil missions are operationalised at the Centre by which one of the following?
- A. The Department of Food and Public Distribution under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
- B. The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
- C. The Department of Agricultural Research and Education, which functions as the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
- D. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Q30. The National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm was brought into being as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme by which authority, and when?
- A. By approval of the Union Cabinet in August 2021
- B. By approval of the Union Cabinet in October 2024
- C. By approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in August 2018
- D. By resolution of the National Development Council in June 2022