Which one of the following is a group of millet crops ?
- (1)Bajra, Maize, Kodo, Sorghum
- (2)Ragi, Bajra, Kodo, Moong
- (3)Kodo, Bajra, Maize, Kangani
- (4)Sorghum, Kodo, Kangani, Ragi
Answer
Why
Correct — option (4), Sorghum, Kodo, Kangani, Ragi.
NITI Aayog's 2023 report Promoting Millets in Diets describes millets as small-seed cereals comprising Sorghum (Jowar), Pearl Millet (Bajra), Finger Millet (Ragi/Mandua) and minor millets: Foxtail Millet (Kangani/Kakun), Proso Millet (Cheena), Kodo Millet (Kodo), Barnyard Millet (Sawa/Sanwa/Jhangora) and Little Millet (Kutki), along with two pseudo millets.
Check option (4) against that list. Sorghum is there; Kodo is kodo millet; Kangani is foxtail millet; Ragi is finger millet. All four are millets, so Sorghum, Kodo, Kangani, Ragi is the group of millet crops.
Each other option carries one crop that is not on the list: maize in options (1) and (3), and moong in option (2).
The idea to remember: maize is counted with coarse cereals but is not a millet, and moong is a pulse.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Bajra, Maize, Kodo, Sorghum — Bajra, Kodo and Sorghum are millets, but Maize is not on NITI Aayog's list of millets.
The Agriculture Ministry's Second Advance Estimates for 2022-23 (14 February 2023) show where maize belongs: it is outside the Nutri Cereals total, which covers Jowar, Bajra, Ragi and Small Millets, and inside the wider Nutri/Coarse Cereals total, together with barley.
- (2)Ragi, Bajra, Kodo, Moong — Ragi, Bajra and Kodo are millets, but Moong is a pulse.
In the Agriculture Ministry's Second Advance Estimates for 2022-23, Moong is listed with Tur, Gram, Urad and Lentil among the pulses above the Total Pulses row. Its own estimate for that year was 35.45 lakh tonnes.
- (3)Kodo, Bajra, Maize, Kangani — Kodo, Bajra and Kangani are millets, but Maize again breaks the group.
Rajasthan runs maize and the millets under different components of the National Food Security Mission: the Economic Review 2022-23 lists NFSM-Coarse Cereal Maize in 5 districts, while NFSM-Nutri-Cereals covers Jowar in 10 districts and Bajra in 21.
Concept
Millets are small-seed cereals. NITI Aayog's list has three major millets (sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet), five minor millets (foxtail, proso, kodo, barnyard, little) and two pseudo millets, buckwheat (kuttu) and amaranth (chaulai). Its preface also names brown top millet among nine traditional millets India produces.
The Government of India declared millets Nutri-Cereals by a gazette notification dated 10 April 2018.
The Ministry's crop tables keep two totals. In the Second Advance Estimates for 2022-23, Jowar (40.75), Bajra (97.85), Ragi (16.69) and Small Millets (3.80 lakh tonnes) add up to the Nutri Cereals total of 159.09. Adding Maize (346.13) and Barley (22.04) gives the Nutri/Coarse Cereals total of 527.26 lakh tonnes.
RPSC's 2023 syllabus lists "Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry and Animal Husbandry with special reference to Rajasthan." under Science & Technology. Bajra ties millets to Rajasthan.
The Economic Review 2022-23, using Agriculture Statistics at a Glance 2021, ranks Rajasthan first in 2020-21 in bajra, with 41.71 per cent of India's production, and first in nutri-cereals, with 16.30 per cent.
The year of this exam was the International Year of Millets, declared by the UN General Assembly in 2021 on India's proposal. PIB reported on 9 February 2024 that the new Regional Research Centre for Bajra at Gudamalani, near Barmer, had been inaugurated on 27 September 2023.
Key facts
- NITI Aayog (2023): millets comprise sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), finger millet (ragi/mandua), five minor millets and two pseudo millets.
- Minor millets in NITI Aayog's list: foxtail (kangani/kakun), proso (cheena), kodo, barnyard (sawa/sanwa/jhangora) and little millet (kutki).
- The Government of India declared millets Nutri-Cereals by a gazette notification dated 10 April 2018.
- Second Advance Estimates 2022-23: Nutri/Coarse Cereals 527.26 lakh tonnes, including maize 346.13; the Nutri Cereals total, without maize and barley, is 159.09.
- Economic Review 2022-23: in 2020-21 Rajasthan ranked first in bajra production, with 41.71 per cent of India's output.
Sources: NITI Aayog, Promoting Millets in Diets (2023); Agriculture Ministry, Second Advance Estimates 2022-23.
Study next
Common traps
- "Coarse cereals" is a wider group than millets. The Ministry's Nutri/Coarse Cereals total adds maize and barley to the millets.
- Local names hide the crop: Kangani is foxtail millet, Ragi is finger millet, Jowar is sorghum and Kutki is little millet.
- NITI Aayog includes buckwheat (kuttu) and amaranth (chaulai) in its millet list, but as pseudo millets, not among the major or minor millets.
A question can give groups of crops and ask which group contains only millets, as this one does.
A question can also give a local name, such as kangani or kutki, and ask which millet it refers to, or ask which crop is a pseudo millet.
Related PYQs
In the year 2021-22, contribution of Rajasthan in total production of Bajra in the country (in percentage) was
- (1) 46.30
- (2) 87.69
- (3) 38.98
- (4) 34.69
Answer(3)
Same millet, from the production side. That question asks Rajasthan's percentage contribution to India's bajra production in 2021-22 (RPSC's key: 38.98); this one asks which group of crops contains only millets.
In List–I, the names of agricultural crops are given and in List–II, the names of the states which stood first in the production of these crops in 2021-22 are given. Match them by using codes : List–I – List–II A. Nutricereals – i. Rajasthan B. Total pulses – ii. Karnataka C. Groundnut – iii. Madhya Pradesh D. Soyabean – iv. Maharashtra v. Gujarat Codes :
- (1) A-i, B-iii, C-ii, D-iv
- (2) A-iii, B-i, C-iv, D-ii
- (3) A-ii, B-iii, C-v, D-iv
- (4) A-iv, B-v, C-ii, D-iii
Answer(3)
Same crop grouping in official statistics. That question matches Nutricereals, total pulses, groundnut and soyabean with the States that stood first in 2021-22 (RPSC's key: A-ii, B-iii, C-v, D-iv); this one tests which crops belong to the millet group at all.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
'Kutki' is the local name of which millet?
- (a)Foxtail millet
- (b)Little millet
- (c)Proso millet
- (d)Barnyard millet
Answer(2) — NITI Aayog's list names Little Millet as Kutki. Foxtail millet is Kangani/Kakun, proso millet is Cheena, and barnyard millet is Sawa/Sanwa/Jhangora, so options (1), (3) and (4) are wrong. - practice — not a real PYQ
In the Agriculture Ministry's Second Advance Estimates for 2022-23, which crop is included in the Nutri/Coarse Cereals total but not in the Nutri Cereals total?
- (a)Jowar
- (b)Maize
- (c)Ragi
- (d)Bajra
Answer(2) — Maize (with barley) is added to the Nutri Cereals total to reach the Nutri/Coarse Cereals total. Jowar, Ragi and Bajra are part of the Nutri Cereals total itself, so options (1), (3) and (4) are wrong.