Agricultural Revolutions — Set 11

Correct Answer: B. Continuously maintaining and improving soil organic matter and biological activity

The evergreen approach to soil management involves continuously building and maintaining soil organic matter, soil biological activity, and overall soil health through practices like composting, green manuring, cover crops, minimum tillage, and crop rotation. Unlike the Green Revolution's soil-depleting monoculture approach, this treats soil as a living ecosystem requiring ongoing nurturing. M.S. Swaminathan's Evergreen Revolution emphasizes soil as the foundation of perpetual agricultural productivity.

Correct Answer: B. Increased women's workload without proportional recognition or income — they do most farm labor but own little land

While the Green Revolution increased agricultural production, its social effects on women were mixed. Women do 60-80% of agricultural labor in India but rarely own land or make farm decisions. The Green Revolution's commercialization often increased women's workloads — more transplanting, weeding, harvesting for higher-yielding varieties — without proportional income or decision-making power. Gender equity in agriculture remains a major unresolved challenge addressed in modern agricultural policy through women-targeted schemes.

Correct Answer: B. The Evergreen Revolution and Doubling Farmers Income — focused on farmer welfare beyond just production

Farmer suicides in India, driven by debt, crop failure, and price volatility, are addressed specifically in the Evergreen Revolution (sustainable, less debt-dependent farming), Doubling Farmers Income mission (improving farm economics), and various government welfare schemes. The Swaminathan Commission recommendations on MSP based on C2+50% profit were aimed at ensuring farmers could repay loans and achieve dignified livelihoods — directly addressing the economic root causes of farmer distress and suicides.

Correct Answer: B. They aggregate small farmers to achieve economies of scale in input purchase, processing, and marketing

Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) aggregate small and marginal farmers into collective entities that can negotiate better prices for inputs (seeds, fertilizers), invest in shared processing and storage infrastructure, and access larger markets collectively. FPOs extend the benefits of agricultural revolutions to small farmers who individually lack bargaining power and resources. The government has supported formation of 10,000 FPOs as part of agricultural development strategy.

Correct Answer: B. Both were parallel strategic imperatives of 1960s self-sufficiency — Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, and nuclear deterrence

Both the Green Revolution and India's nuclear program were parallel expressions of 1960s national self-sufficiency strategy — Lal Bahadur Shastri's 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' reflected determination to end dependence on US food aid (PL-480) just as nuclear development aimed to end security dependence. India's mid-1960s assertion of independence across dimensions — agricultural, scientific, military — reflected a post-Nehru realpolitik of strategic autonomy. The Green Revolution was as strategically significant as any military program.

Correct Answer: C. Punjab

Punjab was among the first states to adopt HYV wheat during India's Green Revolution, with early trials in 1964-65 by M.S. Swaminathan and his team. The state's well-developed irrigation infrastructure from canal and tubewell systems, its prosperous farming community, and flat fertile plains made it ideal for rapid adoption. Punjab's success demonstrated the technology's potential and inspired other states to follow, making Punjab the benchmark for Green Revolution agriculture.

Correct Answer: B. A central scheme supporting horticulture development for the Golden Revolution

The National Horticulture Mission (NHM) is a central government scheme that provides financial assistance for expanding area under fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, and plantation crops. It supports Golden Revolution through subsidies for planting material, irrigation equipment, post-harvest infrastructure, and marketing. NHM has significantly increased horticulture production, and India's total horticulture production now exceeds food grain production in terms of value.

Correct Answer: B. Blue Revolution (fisheries development)

PMMSY (Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana) launched in 2020 is the current flagship program for India's Blue Revolution (fisheries development). With an investment of Rs. 20,050 crore over 2020-2025, it is the largest investment ever for fisheries in India. The scheme targets doubling fish production to 22 million tonnes, doubling fishers' income, and making India a global seafood export leader while creating 5.5 lakh direct employment opportunities.

Correct Answer: B. Verghese Kurien — whose cooperative dairy model made India the world's largest milk producer

Verghese Kurien earned the title 'Milkman of India' for engineering India's White Revolution that transformed the country into the world's largest milk producer. Born in 1921, he dedicated his life to building India's cooperative dairy sector at Anand, Gujarat. The Amul model he created — empowering millions of poor dairy farmers through cooperatives — is studied globally as a model for rural development, cooperative enterprise, and creating sustainable livelihoods for the rural poor.

Correct Answer: B. Complex — it increased income for some farmers but mechanization displaced labor, driving migration

The Green Revolution had complex effects on migration: it increased income for successful farmers in Punjab, Haryana, and UP, reducing distress migration from those areas; but it also introduced mechanization (tractors, harvesters) that displaced agricultural labor, pushing landless workers to cities. The revolution's benefits concentrated in certain regions and among larger farmers created differential incentives for migration among different social groups in agricultural communities.