Q. Vegetable Oil has been India’s largest non-oil import commodity. In this context please consider the following reasons.
The Food grain are grown more in India because of the remunerative support prices
The Oil seed cultivation in India is mostly dependent upon the Rain fed Areas
The import of Vegetable oil has been cost effective
Which among the above statements hold correct ?
Answer: 1 & 2
Notes:
- The Food grain are grown more in India because of the remunerative support prices This statement is true. Higher support prices for grains divert acreage away from oilseeds towards foodgrains leading to low production in comparison to demand.
- The Oil seed cultivation in India is mostly dependent upon the Rain fed Areas This statement is valid. Most oil seeds like groundnut, soyabean etc are grown in rain-fed regions vulnerable to monsoon variability. This impacts their supply and requires imports to meet demand.
- The import of Vegetable oil has been cost effective. No, it's not cost effective and we are paying much higher cost just because we have low domestic production.
Above question is part of 10000+ MCQs for UPSC (Prelims) Paper-1 course in GKToday Android app.
