In the year 2023-24, what was the correct ascending order of the top four States in the country based on rice production?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, Punjab → West Bengal → Uttar Pradesh → Telangana. Ascending means smallest first, so the largest producer must come last, and in 2023-24 that was Telangana. The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare's estimates for 2023-24 put Telangana at about 166 lakh tonnes (about 168.8 lakh tonnes in the final estimates), Uttar Pradesh at about 157-160 lakh tonnes, West Bengal at about 151-157 lakh tonnes and Punjab at about 144 lakh tonnes. This was the year Telangana displaced West Bengal — the long-standing number one — at the top of the rice table.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Ends with West Bengal, i.e. it makes West Bengal the largest producer. That was true for years before 2023-24, but in 2023-24 West Bengal slipped to third behind Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.  (c) Odisha (about 101 lakh tonnes) was fifth, not part of the top four, and West Bengal is missing altogether. It also places Telangana second-lowest when it was the highest.  (d) Puts West Bengal at the bottom and Punjab above Telangana — both reversed. Punjab was the smallest of these four in 2023-24 and Telangana the largest.

Concept: Rice is India's largest food-grain crop by area and the leading kharif crop, though Punjab, Telangana and parts of the south also raise an irrigated rabi/summer crop. State rankings depend on total production (area x yield), which is why a state with modest area but assured irrigation and high yield can overtake a traditional leader. Telangana's rise since the late 2010s tracks the expansion of assured irrigation from Godavari lift-irrigation projects and heavy MSP-backed paddy procurement.

State PCS 2026 Q7 — Economy PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2026 Q7 — Economy PYQ with Answer