Match Column-I (Location of the Center of Excellence) with Column-II (the horticultural crop) and select the correct answer using the codes given below : Column-I – Column-II A. Bassi – (i) Mango B. Sagra Bhojka – (ii) Custard-apple C. Devrawas – (iii) Pomegranate D. Khemri – (iv) Guava (v) Date-palm Codes :
- (1)A-(iii), B-(i), C-(ii), D-(v)
- (2)A-(i), B-(ii), C-(iii), D-(iv)
- (3)A-(iii), B-(v), C-(iv), D-(i)
- (4)A-(iv), B-(iii), C-(v), D-(i)
Answer
Why
Correct — option (3), A-(iii), B-(v), C-(iv), D-(i).
Each place in Column-I hosts a horticulture Centre of Excellence built around one crop. Matching them gives A-(iii), B-(v), C-(iv), D-(i).
A. Bassi – (iii) Pomegranate. The centre at Bassi, in Jaipur district, is the one for pomegranates.
B. Sagra Bhojka – (v) Date-palm. The centre at Sagra-Bhojka, in Jaisalmer district, is known for its date palm.
C. Devrawas – (iv) Guava. The centre at Devrawas, in Tonk district, is the one for guavas.
D. Khemri – (i) Mango. The Centre of Excellence for Mango is at village Khemri, Baseri tehsil, Dholpur district. Item (ii), Custard-apple, is left unmatched.
A 2019 NABARD paper on hi-tech agriculture in Rajasthan lists all four places with these crops.
The idea to remember: Bassi pomegranate, Sagra Bhojka date palm, Devrawas guava, Khemri mango.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)A-(iii), B-(i), C-(ii), D-(v) — Only pair A, Bassi – Pomegranate, is right; the other three are shuffled.
Sagra Bhojka in Jaisalmer is the date palm centre, not mango. Devrawas in Tonk is the guava centre, not custard-apple. Khemri in Dholpur is the mango centre, not date palm.
- (2)A-(i), B-(ii), C-(iii), D-(iv) — None of the four pairs is right; this code matches the two lists in their printed order.
Bassi is the pomegranate centre, Sagra Bhojka the date palm centre, Devrawas the guava centre, and Khemri the mango centre. Custard-apple, item (ii), is not matched to any place in the correct code.
- (4)A-(iv), B-(iii), C-(v), D-(i) — Only pair D, Khemri – Mango, is right.
Bassi is the pomegranate centre, not guava. Sagra Bhojka is the date palm centre, not pomegranate. Devrawas is the guava centre, not date palm; the date palm centre is in the western desert, at Sagra-Bhojka in Jaisalmer.
Concept
A horticulture Centre of Excellence is a government farm built around one crop or crop group, meant to show farmers improved cultivation technology.
A 2019 NABARD paper on hi-tech agriculture in Rajasthan says the State set up six such centres to spread Israeli horticulture technology.
It names them as Kota (citrus fruits), Bassi in Jaipur (pomegranates), Sagra Bhojka in Jaisalmer (date palm), Devravas in Tonk district (guavas), Jhalawar (mandarins) and Khemri in Dholpur (mangoes).
RPSC's 2024 syllabus lists "Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry and Animal Husbandry with special reference to Rajasthan" under Science & Technology. Crop-specific centres in the State fit that line.
The centres are spread across the State: the date palm centre lies in the Thar Desert at Sagra-Bhojka, Jaisalmer, while the pomegranate, guava and mango centres are in Jaipur, Tonk and Dholpur districts.
Other horticulture institutions in Rajasthan include the ICAR-Central Institute of Arid Horticulture at Bikaner.
Key facts
- Bassi, in Jaipur district, hosts a horticulture Centre of Excellence for pomegranates.
- Sagra-Bhojka, in Jaisalmer district, hosts a Centre of Excellence known for its date palm.
- Devrawas, in Tonk district, hosts a horticulture Centre of Excellence for guavas.
- The Centre of Excellence for Mango is at village Khemri, Baseri tehsil, Dholpur; SKNAU's College of Agriculture, Baseri, shares its campus.
- A 2019 NABARD paper lists six such centres in Rajasthan, including Kota for citrus fruits and Jhalawar for mandarins.
Correct code: option (3), A-(iii), B-(v), C-(iv), D-(i).
Study next
Common traps
- Bassi appears in two different contexts: the pomegranate centre is at Bassi in Jaipur district, while Bassi Wildlife Sanctuary is in Chittorgarh district.
- Column-II has five crops for four places. Custard-apple is the extra item, so any code that uses (ii) is wrong on at least one pair.
- Option (2) matches the lists in their printed order, A-(i) to D-(iv). An in-order code has no special claim to be correct; check each pair.
A question can match places with the crops of their Centres of Excellence, as here, ask where the centre for a named crop is, or match horticulture institutes with their districts. A question can also add an extra item to a match list that pairs with nothing.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2018 and 2016 here once those papers are published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
In Rajasthan, the Centre of Excellence for Date Palm is located at
- (a)Sagra-Bhojka, Jaisalmer
- (b)Khemri, Dholpur
- (c)Devrawas, Tonk
- (d)Bassi, Jaipur
Answer(1) — The date palm centre is at Sagra-Bhojka, Jaisalmer. Option (2), Khemri, is the mango centre; option (3), Devrawas, the guava centre; option (4), Bassi, the pomegranate centre. - practice — not a real PYQ
The horticulture Centre of Excellence at Khemri in Dholpur district is devoted to which fruit?
- (a)Mango
- (b)Guava
- (c)Date palm
- (d)Pomegranate
Answer(1) — Khemri, in Baseri tehsil of Dholpur, has the Centre of Excellence for Mango. Option (2), guava, is the crop of the Devrawas (Tonk) centre; option (3), date palm, of Sagra-Bhojka (Jaisalmer); option (4), pomegranate, of Bassi (Jaipur).