Consider the following statements : 1. India has more arable area than China. 2. The proportion of irrigated area is more in India as compared to China. 3. The average productivity per hectare in Indian agriculture is higher than that in China. How many of the above statements are correct?
- (a) Only one ✓ UPSC's answer
- (b) Only two
- (c) All three
- (d) None
Why the answer is (a)
• Statement 1 is correct: India has about 156 million hectares of arable land, the second-largest in the world, more than China's roughly 120 million hectares despite China's larger total area.
• Statement 2 is wrong: a higher share of China's cultivated area is irrigated (about 50–55%) than India's (about 45–50%), given China's heavy investment in irrigation.
• Statement 3 is wrong: China's yields per hectare are markedly higher — for example around 7 tonnes of rice per hectare against India's 4, and 5.5 tonnes of wheat against 3.5.
• India's advantage is in land quantity; China's is in productivity.
• Hence only one statement is correct, option (a).
Why the other options are wrong
- (b) Only two
- Statements 2 and 3 are both wrong: China leads in irrigation share and yields.
- (c) All three
- China has a higher irrigated proportion and higher productivity.
- (d) None
- Statement 1 is correct: India has more arable land than China.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2023, held on 28 May 2023. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.