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
Why
Correct — option (3), A-ii, B-iii, C-v, D-iv.
The stem fixes the year 2021-22 and asks which State stood first for each crop group. Table 1.18 of the Economic Survey 2022-23 Statistical Appendix (4th Advance Estimates) lists the three largest producers of each crop, and it gives A-ii, B-iii, C-v, D-iv.
A. Nutricereals: the table has no row by that name; its row is Total Nutri/Coarse Cereals. Karnataka led it with 7.30 million tonnes (14.34%), and Rajasthan was a close second at 7.07 million tonnes.
B. Total pulses: Madhya Pradesh led with 6.03 million tonnes (21.78%), ahead of Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
C. Groundnut: Gujarat led with 4.49 million tonnes, 44.48% of India's output.
D. Soyabean: Maharashtra led with 5.47 million tonnes, narrowly ahead of Madhya Pradesh at 5.39 million tonnes.
The groundnut pair alone settles it: Gujarat is item v, and only option (3) pairs C with v.
The idea to remember: the Nutri/Coarse Cereals total includes maize. Karnataka also led maize in the same table (5.22 million tonnes), which carried it past Rajasthan in 2021-22.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)A-i, B-iii, C-ii, D-iv — Two pairs are right (pulses–Madhya Pradesh, soyabean–Maharashtra) and two are wrong.
Rajasthan was second, not first, in Nutri/Coarse Cereals in 2021-22. Karnataka is not among the top three groundnut producers in the table (Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu).
Rajasthan (i) is the right answer for another crop in the same table: it led rapeseed & mustard with 5.48 million tonnes (46.63%), and total oilseeds.
- (2)A-iii, B-i, C-iv, D-ii — All four pairs are wrong.
Madhya Pradesh is not in the top three for Nutri/Coarse Cereals (Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra). Rajasthan was third in pulses. Maharashtra is not in the top three for groundnut, and Karnataka is not in the top three for soyabean.
Madhya Pradesh (iii) belongs with B: it was the leading producer of total pulses in 2021-22.
- (4)A-iv, B-v, C-ii, D-iii — All four pairs are wrong.
Maharashtra was third in Nutri/Coarse Cereals (5.84 million tonnes). Gujarat is not among the top three pulses producers. Karnataka is not in the top three for groundnut. Madhya Pradesh was second in soyabean, only 0.08 million tonnes behind Maharashtra.
Gujarat (v) is the groundnut leader, so it belongs with C, not B.
Concept
India's crop production figures come from the Union Agriculture Ministry, released in stages: advance estimates during the year, then final estimates. A State's rank can shift slightly between stages and between years.
Crop groups matter. The Ministry reports Nutri/Coarse Cereals as one total that includes maize as well as the millets it calls Shree Anna. In the 2022-23 final estimates the group was 573.19 lakh tonnes, of which maize alone was 380.85 lakh tonnes.
Some crops are concentrated in one or two States. In 2021-22 Gujarat grew 44.48% of India's groundnut, and Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh together grew 83.62% of its soyabean.
RPSC's 2024 syllabus lists "Major Sectors of Economy: - Current Status, Issues & Initiatives of Agriculture, Industry, Service and Trade sectors" under Economic Concepts and Indian Economy. State-wise production rankings fit that current-status line. The Geography of India head also lists "Major Crops- Wheat, Rice, Cotton, Sugarcane, Tea & Coffee".
Rajasthan sits high in the same 2021-22 table: first in rapeseed & mustard and total oilseeds, second in groundnut and Nutri/Coarse Cereals, third in pulses and soyabean. So Rajasthan is in the top three for Nutri/Coarse Cereals, total pulses, groundnut and soyabean without leading any of them.
Rankings are tied to a year. In the Economic Survey 2023-24 table (2023-24, 3rd Advance Estimates), Rajasthan led Nutri/Coarse Cereals and Madhya Pradesh led soyabean — the reverse of 2021-22 for both.
Key facts
- In 2021-22 (4th Advance Estimates), Karnataka led Nutri/Coarse Cereals with 7.30 million tonnes (14.34%); Rajasthan was second with 7.07 million tonnes.
- Madhya Pradesh led total pulses in 2021-22 with 6.03 million tonnes (21.78%), followed by Maharashtra (5.19) and Rajasthan (4.02).
- Gujarat produced 4.49 million tonnes of groundnut in 2021-22, 44.48% of India's total; Rajasthan was second with 1.70 million tonnes.
- Maharashtra led soyabean in 2021-22 with 5.47 million tonnes (42.12%), just ahead of Madhya Pradesh (5.39 million tonnes).
- In 2023-24 (3rd Advance Estimates), Rajasthan led Nutri/Coarse Cereals with 8.03 million tonnes and Madhya Pradesh led soyabean with 5.47 million tonnes.
Source: Economic Survey 2022-23 Statistical Appendix, Table 1.18 (4th Advance Estimates, 2021-22).
Study next
Common traps
- Nutri/Coarse Cereals includes maize, where Karnataka led in 2021-22. A millets-only (Shree Anna) total can have a different leader, so check which group a figure covers.
- The leader changes with the year. Soyabean was Maharashtra's in 2021-22 but Madhya Pradesh's in 2023-24; Nutri/Coarse Cereals went from Karnataka to Rajasthan. Match the year in the stem.
- List-II has five States for four crops, so one is left over. Here the spare is Rajasthan (i), even though Rajasthan is in the top three for all four crops in the 2021-22 table.
A crop-production question can fix a crop year and ask for the leading State, as a match list, a high-to-low sequence or a single choice.
A question can rest its answer on an official table: the Agriculture Ministry's estimates or the Economic Survey's list of the three largest producing States. A question can use a close runner-up, like Rajasthan in coarse cereals, as a tempting wrong option.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2016 and 2013 here once those papers are published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
As per the 4th Advance Estimates for 2021-22, which State was the largest producer of rapeseed & mustard in India?
- (a)Madhya Pradesh
- (b)Rajasthan
- (c)Haryana
- (d)Uttar Pradesh
Answer(2) — Rajasthan produced 5.48 million tonnes, 46.63% of India's output. Option (1) Madhya Pradesh was second (1.69 million tonnes) and option (3) Haryana third (1.37 million tonnes). Option (4) Uttar Pradesh does not appear in the top three in the Economic Survey 2022-23 table. - practice — not a real PYQ
Arrange the following States in descending order of soyabean production in 2021-22 (4th Advance Estimates): A. Rajasthan B. Madhya Pradesh C. Maharashtra
- (a)B, C, A
- (b)C, B, A
- (c)C, A, B
- (d)B, A, C
Answer(2) — Maharashtra 5.47, Madhya Pradesh 5.39, Rajasthan 0.93 million tonnes. Option (1) swaps the top two, which is the 2023-24 order (Madhya Pradesh 5.47, Maharashtra 5.23, Rajasthan 1.17 million tonnes), not 2021-22. Options (3) and (4) put Rajasthan above one of the two leaders, though its output was less than a fifth of either.