Agriculture MCQs for UPSC Prelims — August 2026

Q1. The five-yearly nationwide enumeration that records holdings of India's indigenous goat and other livestock breeds is carried out by which one of the following?

  • A. The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
  • B. The Department of Agricultural Research and Education, which administers the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
  • C. The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying
  • D. The National Statistical Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation

Q2. The Mukteswar research centre, which hosts field units for Himalayan local goats, is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A hill campus of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute
  • B. A hill campus of the Central Institute for Research on Goats, Makhdoom
  • C. A regional station of the Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar
  • D. A regional station of the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal

Q3. In the reported ICAR strategy for raising pashmina and mohair output, how many dedicated research centres were set up, and where?

  • A. Three — at Leh, Mukteswar and Avikanagar
  • B. Two — one at Leh in Ladakh and one at Mukteswar
  • C. Two — one at Leh in Ladakh and one at Makhdoom
  • D. Four — at Leh, Mukteswar, Makhdoom and Karnal

Q4. Under ICAR's coordinated breeding programmes, which one of the following exotic breeds was the principal sire breed used for upgrading indigenous goats for fibre?

  • A. Soviet Merino
  • B. Rambouillet
  • C. Saanen
  • D. Angora

Q5. In India's coordinated fibre-goat research, the result reported for '7/8 Angora inheritance' means which one of the following?

  • A. Crossbreds with seven-eighths Angora inheritance yielded mohair of similar quality but in far greater quantity than the Angora controls
  • B. Crossbreds with seven-eighths indigenous inheritance yielded mohair finer than that of the Angora controls
  • C. Crossbreds with seven-eighths Angora inheritance yielded a similar quantity of relatively finer mohair than the Angora controls
  • D. Crossbreds with seven-eighths Angora inheritance yielded pashmina finer than that of the Changthangi controls

Q6. With reference to specialty animal hair fibres, consider the following: 1. Mohair — the fibre obtained from the Angora goat. 2. Pashmina — the fine fibre produced by the secondary hair follicles of the Changthangi goat. 3. Cashmere — the coarse outer coat of the Kashmir goat, 4 to 20 cm in length. 4. Angora — the fibre obtained from the undercoat of the Angora goat. Which of the above are correctly identified?

  1. Mohair — the fibre obtained from the Angora goat.
  2. Pashmina — the fine fibre produced by the secondary hair follicles of the Changthangi goat.
  3. Cashmere — the coarse outer coat of the Kashmir goat, 4 to 20 cm in length.
  4. Angora — the fibre obtained from the undercoat of the Angora goat.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 3 and 4

Q7. Which one of the following correctly describes mohair?

  • A. The fine downy undercoat of the Angora goat, combed out once a year during the spring moult
  • B. The lustrous fibre shorn from the Angora goat, whose fleece grows in uniform locks and is clipped twice a year
  • C. The lustrous fibre shorn from the Kashmir goat, whose fleece grows in uniform locks and is clipped twice a year
  • D. The coarse outer guard hair of the Angora rabbit, separated from the down before it is spun

Q8. Recognition of Changthangi as one of the 219 registered indigenous breeds of 16 species enumerated in the 21st Livestock Census is accorded by which one of the following bodies?

  • A. ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Goats, Makhdoom
  • B. ICAR-Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar
  • C. ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izzatnagar
  • D. ICAR-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal

Q9. Which one of the following statements about the largest source of India's pashmina fibre is correct?

  • A. Ladakh yields about 80 per cent of India's pashmina, from Changthangi goats of the Changthang plateau
  • B. Ladakh yields about 80 per cent of India's pashmina, from Angora goats introduced into the Changthang plateau
  • C. Himachal Pradesh yields about 80 per cent of India's pashmina, from Changthangi goats of the Changthang plateau
  • D. Ladakh yields about 80 per cent of India's pashmina, obtained by shearing the coarse outer guard hair of Changthangi goats

Q10. In ICAR's research administration, an All-India Co-ordinated Research Project (AICRP) is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A centrally sponsored subsidy scheme under which entrepreneurs receive capital assistance to set up livestock breeding farms
  • B. A multi-location research programme executed jointly by ICAR institutes, State agricultural universities and State departments
  • C. A statutory registration exercise through which indigenous livestock germplasm is recognised as a distinct breed
  • D. A five-yearly door-to-door enumeration of livestock holdings carried out through State animal husbandry departments

Q11. Which one of the following is the principal ICAR institute devoted specifically to goat research in India?

  • A. The National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal, which alone conducts all goat breeding research in the country
  • B. The Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar, the sole coordinating centre for every livestock research project
  • C. The Central Institute for Research on Goats, Makhdoom, which maintains a research and development herd of Jamunapari goats
  • D. The Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteswar, which exclusively handles all fibre-goat improvement in the country