1. In the context of the Union Budget 2026-27 push for high-productivity crop diversification, horticulture accounts for what share of the crop sub-sector’s gross value output, and what was 2024-25 horticulture production?
A. 22 per cent; 290.50 million tonnes
B. 37 per cent; 370.74 million tonnes
C. 45 per cent; 415.60 million tonnes
D. 30 per cent; 370.74 million tonnes
E. 37 per cent; 217.80 million tonnes
View Answer
Explanation: Within that total, vegetables were 217.80 mt, fruits 117.65 mt and other categories 35.29 mt. Horticulture is the cornerstone of the diversification argument because it generates higher gross value added per unit of land and uses water more efficiently than the paddy-wheat rotation it is meant to displace. Decadal agricultural growth stands at 4.45 per cent.
2. Which of the following about India’s horticulture position is correct?
A. India ranks first globally in fruits and vegetables, and horticulture output has exceeded foodgrain output since 2020-21
B. India ranks second globally in fruits and vegetables and first in onions and shallots, and horticulture output has exceeded foodgrain output since 2012-13
C. India ranks third in fruits and vegetables and second in onions
D. Horticulture output first exceeded foodgrain output in 2024-25
E. India ranks second in onions and shallots with a 22.42 per cent share
View Answer
Explanation: India’s share in onions and shallots is 22.42 per cent. That horticulture has outstripped foodgrains for over a decade is a favourite exam fact, and it explains why schemes such as MIDH — the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture — carry disproportionate policy weight relative to their budget size.
3. For coconut in India, which combination of leading states is correct?
A. Kerala — largest area; Tamil Nadu — highest production; Andhra Pradesh — highest yield
B. Tamil Nadu — largest area; Kerala — highest production; Karnataka — highest yield
C. Andhra Pradesh — largest area; Kerala — highest production; Tamil Nadu — highest yield
D. Karnataka — largest area; Andhra Pradesh — highest production; Kerala — highest yield
E. Kerala — largest area; Karnataka — highest production; Tamil Nadu — highest yield
View Answer
Explanation: The pattern shows that area does not equal output: Kerala’s ageing palms drag its yield below Tamil Nadu’s and Andhra Pradesh’s. India produces 13.97 mt across 2.19 million hectares at a yield of 6.36 tonnes per hectare, ranking second in output with 22.44 per cent and third in area. The Coconut Development Board is headquartered at Kochi under the Ministry of Agriculture.
4. Agarwood, highlighted as a high-value plantation crop, is obtained from which genus and is regulated under which CITES appendix?
A. Santalum; CITES Appendix I
B. Aquilaria; CITES Appendix II
C. Dalbergia; CITES Appendix III
D. Aquilaria; CITES Appendix I
E. Pterocarpus; CITES Appendix II
View Answer
Explanation: Agarwood yields oud oil, one of the costliest natural perfume raw materials. India has nearly 150 million trees, over 90 per cent of them in the Northeast, making agarwood a genuine agroforestry income opportunity for the region. Appendix II covers species not necessarily threatened with extinction but whose trade must be controlled.
5. PM-KUSUM, under which a second phase is likely to be announced, has three components. Which pairing is correct?
A. Component A — standalone solar pumps; Component B — feeder solarisation
B. Component A — decentralised ground-mounted grid-connected solar plants up to 2 MW on barren or fallow farmland; Component B — standalone solar pumps replacing diesel pumps; Component C — solarisation of existing grid-connected agriculture pumps
C. Component A — rooftop solar for farmhouses; Component C — solar cold storage
D. Component B — grid-connected plants up to 5 MW; Component C — solar fencing
E. Component A — agrivoltaics; Component B — biogas plants; Component C — solar dryers
View Answer
Explanation: PM-KUSUM stands for Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan, launched in 2019 under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Component C includes feeder-level solarisation. Since agriculture takes a large share of India’s subsidised power, solar pumps cut both the state subsidy burden and diesel consumption at the same time.
6. Agrivoltaics, to be added as a dedicated component under PM-KUSUM 2.0, refers to:
A. Floating solar panels installed on irrigation reservoirs
B. Combining agricultural activity and solar generation on the same land, with panels raised or spaced so crops grow beneath or between them
C. Using solar energy exclusively to power cold-chain infrastructure
D. Converting agricultural residue into biomass electricity
E. Installing rooftop solar on farm storage sheds and godowns
View Answer
Explanation: The announcement came from Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi at the curtain raiser for the 7th Agrivoltaics World Conference 2026. The appeal of agrivoltaics is that it avoids the land-use trade-off between food and energy. India’s solar capacity has risen from about 3 GW in 2016 to over 160 GW by mid-2026.
7. The 9th AIMMAF, held in New Delhi on 9 September 2026, is a ministerial meeting between India and which grouping, covering which subjects?
A. BIMSTEC; fisheries and blue economy
B. ASEAN; agriculture and forestry, with a focus on food security
C. SAARC; agricultural trade and tariffs
D. African Union; agricultural mechanisation
E. Indian Ocean Rim Association; coastal agriculture
View Answer
Explanation: AIMMAF is the ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry. The 2026 edition was co-chaired by Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Secretary of Agriculture of the Philippines, alongside India’s representative. Such platforms matter for coordinating on sustainable agriculture and regional food-security buffers.
8. The 5th National Steering Committee under PM-SETU approved Rs 735.70 crore for three ITI clusters. Where are they located, and what is the cumulative sanctioned investment under PM-SETU?
A. Bhiwadi, Medchal and Meerut; Rs 2,171 crore across 9 ITI clusters
B. Bhiwadi, Medchal and Meerut; Rs 1,435 crore across 6 ITI clusters
C. Pune, Coimbatore and Kanpur; Rs 2,171 crore across 12 ITI clusters
D. Bhiwadi, Medchal and Meerut; Rs 3,000 crore across 15 ITI clusters
E. Indore, Nashik and Ludhiana; Rs 2,171 crore across 9 ITI clusters
View Answer
Explanation: The clusters lie in Rajasthan, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh respectively, with allocations of Rs 241 crore, Rs 254.30 crore and Rs 240.40 crore. The hub-and-spoke ITI cluster model is meant to upgrade industrial training capacity around existing manufacturing concentrations rather than spreading investment thinly.
9. The MoU signed between the Department of Food and Public Distribution and the Food Corporation of India for FY 2026-27 primarily sets performance targets in which areas?
A. Minimum support price fixation and procurement pricing
B. Storage, logistics, quality control and technology adoption, with capacity building of FCI employees
C. Ration card digitisation and beneficiary identification
D. Fertiliser subsidy disbursal and urea distribution
E. Export licensing of rice and wheat
View Answer
Explanation: The MoU targets reduction of storage losses, better supply-chain management and optimised storage capacity. Grain lost in storage and transit is a direct fiscal cost on the food subsidy bill, which is why such performance agreements focus on the physical handling chain rather than pricing policy.
10. The RBI approved ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company acquiring up to what percentage of the paid-up share capital or voting rights of which bank?
A. 9.95 per cent of CSB Bank
B. 9.99 per cent of Karur Vysya Bank
C. 4.99 per cent of CSB Bank
D. 9.95 per cent of DCB Bank
E. 14.95 per cent of CSB Bank
View Answer
Explanation: Any acquisition of 5 per cent or more in a private bank needs prior RBI approval under its major-shareholding norms, and mutual funds routinely seek such headroom for scheme portfolios. The same set of approvals gave RNFI Services in-principle authorisation as a Payment Aggregator-Physical, and PB Pay, a PB Fintech subsidiary, began commercial operations as a Payment Aggregator.
11. Fintech platform Niyo received a Payment Service Provider licence to operate from GIFT City. Which regulator issued it?
A. RBI
B. IFSCA
C. SEBI
D. NPCI
E. IRDAI
View Answer
Explanation: The International Financial Services Centres Authority is the unified regulator for GIFT City, exercising powers that RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA hold in the domestic market. The licence gives Niyo a regulated base for cross-border services covering overseas education, employment, global spending and money movement, blending digital delivery with physical branches.
12. The Asian-Pacific Postal Union, whose Secretary-General was re-elected for 2027-2030, is best described as:
A. A specialised agency of the United Nations headquartered at Berne
B. A Restricted Union of 32 member countries under Article 8 of the UPU Constitution, headquartered at Bangkok
C. An ASEAN subsidiary body headquartered at Jakarta
D. A Restricted Union of 48 member countries headquartered at Manila
E. An autonomous body of the World Trade Organization
View Answer
Explanation: APPU was founded on 1 April 1962 as the Asian-Oceanic Postal Union and renamed through the Asian-Pacific Postal Convention at Yogyakarta in 1981; its headquarters moved from Manila to Bangkok in 2002. The parent UPU, founded in 1874 by the Treaty of Bern, is the second-oldest international organisation and became a UN specialised agency in 1948. India joined the UPU in 1876.
13. Mount Anak Krakatau, whose eruptions disrupted flights at Jakarta, is situated in which strait and emerged from the caldera of which eruption?
A. Strait of Malacca; the 1815 Tambora eruption
B. Sunda Strait; the 1883 Krakatoa eruption, rated VEI-6
C. Sunda Strait; the 1815 Tambora eruption, rated VEI-7
D. Lombok Strait; the 1883 Krakatoa eruption
E. Makassar Strait; the 1963 Agung eruption
View Answer
Explanation: The Sunda Strait separates Java and Sumatra, and the volcano rose permanently above sea level on 11 August 1930 after submarine activity from 1927. It sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire where the Indo-Australian Plate subducts beneath the Sunda Plate. Its 2018 flank collapse caused a volcanogenic tsunami, which is why no earthquake warning preceded it.
14. The Union Cabinet approved eight railway multitracking projects at an estimated cost of:
A. Rs 12,400 crore across six States
B. Rs 20,804 crore across nine States
C. Rs 20,804 crore across four States
D. Rs 35,600 crore across nine States
E. Rs 7,877 crore across nine States
View Answer
Explanation: The projects involve additional lines and doubling of existing ones, including Arakkonam-Renigunta, Whitefield-Bangarapet, Hosur-Omalur and Salem-Karur-Dindigul. Multitracking relieves saturated corridors where passenger and freight trains compete for the same path, and is expected to aid freight movement, employment and regional economic development.
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