Consider the following statements about agriculture and rural development in India:
(A) The share of agriculture in GDP declined, but the population dependent on it did not show any significant decline.
(B) Scholars identify the decline in public investment since 1991 as the major reason for the slower growth of agriculture.
(C) Increasing casualisation of employment further impedes rural development.
(D) Scholars identify the lack of alternate employment in industry and services as the major reason for the slowdown.
(E) The impact of the slowdown can be seen in the growing distress among farmers in different parts of India.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A), (B), (C) and (E) only
(A) The share of agriculture in GDP declined, but the population dependent on it did not show any significant decline. — Correct. So more people depend on a shrinking share of output.
(B) Scholars identify the decline in public investment since 1991 as the major reason for the slower growth of agriculture. — Correct. This is the major reason scholars give.
(C) Increasing casualisation of employment further impedes rural development. — Correct. It is named with inadequate infrastructure and lack of other jobs.
(D) Scholars identify the lack of alternate employment in industry and services as the major reason for the slowdown. — Incorrect. The major reason is the decline in public investment. Lack of other jobs is named only as a further hurdle to rural development.
(E) The impact of the slowdown can be seen in the growing distress among farmers in different parts of India. — Correct. Farmers’ distress shows the impact.
NCERT (2026-27): “5.2 What is Rural Development? … It was observed in an earlier chapter that although the share of agriculture sector’s contribution to GDP was on a decline, the population dependent on this sector did not show any significant decline. … Scholars identify decline in public investment since 1991 as the major reason for this. They also argue that inadequate infrastructure, lack of alternate employment opportunities in the industry or service sector, increasing casualisation of employment etc., further impede rural development. The impact of this phenomenon can be seen from the growing distress witnessed among farmers across different parts of India. …” |