UPSC Prelims 2017 CSAT Paper II · Q65 of 79 Comprehension medium

Passage

Over the last decade, Indian agriculture has become more robust with record production of food grains and oilseeds. Increased procurement, consequently, has added huge stocks of food grains in the granaries. India is one of the world's top producers of rice, wheat, milk, fruits and vegetables. India is still home to a quarter of all undernourished people in the world. On an average, almost half of the total expenditure of nearly half of the households is on food.

Which among the following is the most logical corollary to the above passage?

  1. (a) Increasing the efficiency of farm-to-fork value chain is necessary to reduce the poverty and malnutrition. ✓ UPSC's answer
  2. (b) Increasing the agricultural productivity will automatically eliminate the poverty and malnutrition in India.
  3. (c) India's agricultural productivity is already great and it is not necessary to increase it further.
  4. (d) Allocation of more funds for social welfare and poverty alleviation programmes will ultimately eliminate the poverty and malnutrition in India.

Why the answer is (a)

• The passage highlights a paradox: India has record agricultural production and is a top global producer, yet it still houses a quarter of the world's undernourished people.

• It notes that nearly half of the expenditure for half the households is on food, indicating that high production does not automatically translate to food security for the poor.

• The gap between high production and persistent malnutrition suggests inefficiencies in the distribution and supply system (the farm-to-fork value chain) rather than a lack of raw produce.

• Therefore, improving the efficiency of this value chain is the logical step to ensure that available food reaches the undernourished, thereby addressing poverty and malnutrition.

• Option (a) is the correct corollary because it addresses the distribution bottleneck implied by the coexistence of surplus stocks and widespread undernourishment.

Why the other options are wrong

(b) Increasing the agricultural productivity will automatically eliminate the poverty and…
The passage explicitly states that despite record production, undernourishment persists, proving that increased productivity alone does not automatically eliminate poverty or malnutrition.
(c) India's agricultural productivity is already great and it is not necessary to increase it…
The passage does not suggest that productivity should stop; rather, it implies that current productivity is insufficient to solve the malnutrition crisis due to other systemic issues.
(d) Allocation of more funds for social welfare and poverty alleviation programmes will…
The passage focuses on agricultural production and food expenditure, not on social welfare funding, making this option an unsupported extrapolation unrelated to the text's core argument.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2017, held on 18 June 2017. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

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