SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 21 September 2025, Shift 1 · General Awareness · Question 23 of 99

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 September 2026.

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What led to regional disparity despite the overall success of the Green Revolution?

(a)Uneven price controls
(b)Unequal land ownership
(c)HYV seed access restricted to well-irrigated regions
(d)Neglect of fertilizers

Answer

Why

Correct — C. NCERT explains that HYV seeds needed fertiliser, pesticide and a regular supply of water, so the farmers who could benefit needed reliable irrigation.

In the first phase (mid-1960s to mid-1970s), HYV use was restricted to the more affluent states such as Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and mainly helped wheat-growing regions. That is the regional disparity → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Uneven price controls — Price controls did not split the regions. The gap followed where the seeds could work — areas with assured irrigation — not how prices were set.
(b)
Unequal land ownership — Unequal land ownership explains a different gap, between big and small farmers, which NCERT treats as a separate risk. The stem asks why regions diverged.
(d)
Neglect of fertilizers — The opposite happened. HYV seeds needed fertiliser in the correct quantities, and heavy fertiliser use became part of the Green Revolution's cost.

Concept

The Green Revolution is the large increase in food grain production from high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds, especially of wheat and rice. The seeds worked only with fertiliser, pesticide and a regular supply of water.

In its second phase (mid-1970s to mid-1980s), NCERT says the technology spread to more states and more crops, and it helped India achieve self-sufficiency in food grains.

Keep two disparities apart. Regional disparity is between irrigated and unirrigated areas. The gap between big and small farmers, who could not all afford the inputs, is a different one.

Key facts

HYV seeds required fertiliser, pesticide and a regular supply of water (NCERT).
In the first phase, mid-1960s to mid-1970s, HYV use was restricted to more affluent states such as Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu (NCERT).
The first phase mainly benefited wheat-growing regions.
In the second phase, mid-1970s to mid-1980s, HYV technology spread to more states and more crops.

Study next

Marketed surplus and the buffer stock the Green Revolution made possibleThe Green Revolution's environmental costs, such as soil degradationThe second Green Revolution and its focus

Common traps

Choosing unequal land ownership — it explains the gap between big and small farmers, not the gap between regions.
Thinking the Green Revolution neglected fertilisers — the HYV package depended on them.

The Green Revolution's uneven spread is also asked at 19 Sep 2024, 16:00, GA Q.22, on the movement that created disparities between large and small farmers.

26 Sep 2024, 12:30, GA Q.2 asks which state it transformed most, keyed Punjab.

18 Sep 2024, 12:30, GA Q.1 asks how growth ran across food grains, keyed disproportionate.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Economic Scene — all 144 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.