Questions & explanations
1. Consider the following statements about technology missions in agriculture:
1. NAMO Drone Didi aims to empower women through drone-based livelihoods.
2. e-Choupal was a government scheme to nationalise mandis.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (a) 1 only
Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is incorrect: e-Choupal was a private ITC initiative connecting farmers via internet kiosks, not a government scheme to nationalise mandis.
2. Consider the following components of PM-KUSUM:
1. Setting up decentralised grid-connected solar power plants.
2. Installation of standalone solar agricultural pumps.
3. Solarisation of existing grid-connected agricultural pumps.
Which of the above are components of PM-KUSUM?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
All three are PM-KUSUM components: Component A (solar plants), Component B (standalone solar pumps) and Component C (solarisation of existing grid-connected pumps).
3. The unified digital public infrastructure for agriculture under the Digital Agriculture Mission is commonly referred to as:
- (a) AgriStack
- (b) IndiaStack only
- (c) UPI
- (d) GeM
Answer: (a) AgriStack
AgriStack is the set of farmer registries, crop-sown data and geo-referenced maps forming the digital public infrastructure under the Digital Agriculture Mission.
4. e-Choupal, an ICT-based initiative for farmers, was launched by which entity?
- (a) NABARD
- (b) ITC Limited
- (c) Reliance
- (d) Government of India
Answer: (b) ITC Limited
e-Choupal was launched by ITC Limited in 2000 to connect farmers to markets and information through village internet kiosks managed by a 'sanchalak'.
5. PM-KUSUM seeks to make the farmer both an 'annadata' (food provider) and a/an:
- (a) Jaldata
- (b) Urjadata (energy provider)
- (c) Gyaandata
- (d) Beejdata
Answer: (b) Urjadata (energy provider)
By enabling farmers to generate and sell solar power, PM-KUSUM aims to make the farmer both annadata (food provider) and urjadata (energy provider).
6. The original 1980s Technology Missions included a mission on oilseeds that is associated with the:
- (a) Green Revolution
- (b) White Revolution
- (c) Yellow Revolution
- (d) Blue Revolution
Answer: (c) Yellow Revolution
The Technology Mission on Oilseeds is associated with the Yellow Revolution, which aimed to boost oilseed production and reduce edible-oil imports.
7. e-NAM (National Agriculture Market), a pan-India electronic trading portal for agricultural commodities, was launched in:
- (a) 2014
- (b) 2016
- (c) 2019
- (d) 2021
Answer: (b) 2016
e-NAM was launched in 2016 to network APMC mandis into a unified online national market for transparent price discovery and inter-state trade.
8. The full form of PM-KUSUM relates to which sector?
- (a) Solar energy in agriculture
- (b) Urban housing
- (c) Skill development
- (d) Health insurance
Answer: (a) Solar energy in agriculture
PM-KUSUM (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan) promotes solar energy in agriculture for energy and water security.
9. The NAMO Drone Didi scheme provides drones primarily to:
- (a) Large farmers
- (b) Women Self-Help Groups
- (c) Agricultural universities
- (d) Private drone companies
Answer: (b) Women Self-Help Groups
NAMO Drone Didi provides drones to Women Self-Help Groups, training women as drone pilots to offer spraying services to farmers on rent.
10. Kisan Drones in agriculture are mainly used for:
- (a) Transporting farmers
- (b) Spraying inputs and crop/soil monitoring
- (c) Generating electricity
- (d) Cold storage
Answer: (b) Spraying inputs and crop/soil monitoring
Kisan Drones are used for precision tasks like spraying fertilisers/pesticides, monitoring crop and soil health, and yield estimation.