UPSC Prelims 2018 · Question 93 of 99
UPSC Prelims 2018 question on MSP Crops List
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2018
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectIndian Economy
- TopicAgriculture Economy
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeStatement
Consider the following:
1. Areca nut
2. Barley
3. Coffee
4. Finger millet
5. Groundnut
6. Sesamum
7. Turmeric
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has announced the Minimum Support Price for which of the above?
Show answer
Answer: B. 2, 4, 5 and 6 only
Analysis
Minimum Support Price is announced for items 2, 4, 5 and 6, so the answer is (b).
MSP is fixed on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, a statutory body that submits separate reports for the Kharif and Rabi seasons. The MSP list initially covered paddy, rice, wheat, jowar, bajra, maize, ragi or finger millet, barley, gram, tur, moong, urad, sugarcane, groundnut, soybean, sunflower seed, rapeseed and mustard, cotton, jute and tobacco. Sesame and nigerseed were added from 1994 and 1995, and lentil was included in 2001 and 2002.
Barley, finger millet, groundnut and sesamum therefore all appear, while areca nut, coffee and turmeric do not.
Source
NITI Aayog report on MSP; Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices website.
How to crack it
The MSP list is built from field crops, cereals, pulses, oilseeds and a few commercial crops, not from plantation crops or spices. Areca nut and coffee are plantation crops and turmeric is a spice, so all three fall outside the category. Classify each listed item by crop type before checking it against the list, because the intended answer usually tracks the category boundary rather than an arbitrary selection.