In the year 2021-22, which State of India had the first rank in production of pulses?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — C, Madhya Pradesh. MP is India's leading pulses-producing state, a position driven chiefly by chana (Bengal gram) — the state's largest single pulse crop by both area and output, and one for which MP is independently recognised as the country's foremost producer. The black cotton (regur) soils of the Malwa Plateau retain residual moisture well into the rabi season, exactly the growing window chana needs, which keeps MP ahead of other states in aggregate pulses output, including in 2021-22.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) UP is a major foodgrain state (wheat, rice, sugarcane) but is not the leading pulses producer; MP outranks it here.  (b) Rajasthan grows meaningful pulses (moong, urad) in its arid tracts, but its total pulses output trails Madhya Pradesh's.  (d) Gujarat's signature crops are cotton and groundnut, not pulses; it is not a leading pulses-producing state.

Concept: Pulses (dals) — chana/gram, arhar/tur, moong, urad, masur — are legumes central to India's protein supply, mostly grown as rainfed rabi or kharif crops on residual soil moisture rather than heavy irrigation. Madhya Pradesh's black (regur) soils on the Malwa Plateau hold moisture into the rabi season, making the state especially suited to chana (gram), by far India's largest pulse crop by volume — which is why MP leads national pulses production overall.

State PCS 2024 Q73 — Economy PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2024 Q73 — Economy PYQ with Answer