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General Studies 2024 GS Paper III 15 marks 250 words Compulsory Elucidate

GS Paper III — Q14

Elucidate the importance of buffer stocks for stabilizing agricultural prices in India. What are the challenges associated with…

Elucidate the importance of buffer stocks for stabilizing agricultural prices in India. What are the challenges associated with the storage of buffer stock? Discuss. (Answer in 250 words) 15 marks

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

भारत में कृषि कीमतों के स्थिरीकरण के लिए सुरक्षित भंडार (बफर स्टॉक) के महत्व को स्पष्ट कीजिए। बफर स्टॉक के भंडारण से जुड़ी चुनौतियाँ क्या हैं? विवेचना कीजिए। (उत्तर 250 शब्दों में दीजिए)

Q14 of the 2024 UPSC Mains General Studies GS Paper III, as printed
The question as printed in the 2024 General Studies paper
Evaluate your answer to this question → See all 2024 General Studies questions

Model answer

Written by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 250-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key.

Buffer stocks in India refer to strategic reserves of food grains—predominantly wheat and rice—maintained by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to insulate the economy against supply-side shocks and market volatility.

Importance in Price Stabilization

Economically, buffer stocking operates as a counter-cyclical market intervention. During harvest surpluses, open-ended procurement at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) provides a price floor that prevents distress sales and farmgate price collapses. Conversely, during production shortfalls or lean seasons, releasing stocks through the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) and the Targeted Public Distribution System under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) curbs retail food inflation and guarantees uninterrupted national food security.

Storage and Logistical Challenges

Despite their importance, the management of buffer stocks faces severe operational bottlenecks:

Capacity constraints force reliance on rudimentary Covered and Plinth (CAP) storage rather than scientific silos, exposing grains to moisture, pest infestation, and quality deterioration.

Carrying costs have escalated drastically because physical stocks consistently overshoot mandatory buffer norms, widening the gap between the rising economic cost of grain and the nominal central issue price.

Logistical imbalances persist due to procurement concentration in surplus northern states, creating severe inter-state freight inefficiencies, transit losses, and storage crunches in deficit regions.

Way Forward

To resolve these storage bottlenecks, India must accelerate infrastructure modernization through private participation in steel silo construction, expand Decentralized Procurement (DCP), and integrate electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (e-NWRs). Ultimately, as recommended by the Shanta Kumar Committee, India needs to transition from an open-ended, static buffer stocking mechanism to a dynamic buffer stock policy calibrated to domestic demand, private trade participation, and global market trends.

What "Elucidate" is asking you to do

Make a stated proposition plain and then prove it with instances. Elucidate stems almost always carry a claim or a named concept, and very often the words “with examples” or “with suitable diagrams” — the illustration is part of the directive, not decoration.

Structure that answers it

Plain-language statement of what the proposition means → the part that is obscure, resolved → first illustration → second illustration → why the proposition holds

Where marks are lost

Adding terminology; elucidate rewards removing it. The commoner loss is a clean explanation with no example, when the stem asked for examples.

All UPSC directive words, compared →

How this answer will be evaluated

Approach

Framework: GS3 Agriculture: Situation > Analysis > Measures > Assessment. discuss: intro > 3-4 dimensions > example > balanced close Full marks: Clear mechanism of price stabilization + specific storage challenges mapped to solutions.

Key points expected

  • Define buffer stock and its price stabilization mechanism
  • Identify 3-4 specific storage challenges (e.g., rot, infrastructure)
  • Map solutions to the identified storage challenges
  • Balanced conclusion on the viability of the system

Evaluation rubric

Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.

  1. The answer Explain price stabilization role of buffer stocks and analyze storage challenges.  · 250 words

    discuss— intro → 3-4 dimensions → example → balanced close

    Must cover

    • Define buffer stock and its price stabilization mechanism
    • Identify 3-4 specific storage challenges (e.g., rot, infrastructure)
    • Map solutions to the identified storage challenges
    • Balanced conclusion on the viability of the system

    Loses marks

    • MSP-only farm solutions without storage focus
    • Generic 'infrastructure is bad' without specific examples
    • Newspaper summary style without analytical depth

    Earns more

    • Mention of FCI or NAFED role
    • Reference to specific crops (wheat/rice) in storage
    • Mention of MSP linkage to buffer stocks
    • Reference to modern storage tech (cold chain)

    Extra mark

    • Specific statistic on buffer stock holding (e.g., lakh tonnes)
    • Reference to a specific committee report (e.g., Swaminathan)

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