Consider the following fruits : I. Papaya II. Pineapple III. Guava How many of the above were introduced in India by the Portuguese in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
- (a) Only one
- (b) Only two
- (c) All the three ✓ UPSC's answer
- (d) None
Why the answer is (c)
• Papaya, pineapple and guava are all native to tropical America and reached India through the Portuguese, who carried New World plants across their maritime empire in the 16th–17th centuries.
• Papaya (papita) came via the Philippines and Malacca; pineapple (ananas) is recorded in Mughal India by the late 1500s — Akbar's court knew it; guava (amrood, once called 'Portuguese fig') spread from Goa.
• The Portuguese also brought cashew, chilli, potato, tomato, maize and tobacco, transforming Indian cuisine and agriculture.
• All three fruits therefore count, option (c).
• Indigenous fruits, by contrast, include mango, jackfruit, banana and jamun.
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) Only one
- All three, not one, are Portuguese introductions.
- (b) Only two
- All three fruits were brought by the Portuguese.
- (d) None
- None of the three is native to India.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025, held on 25 May 2025. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.