Consider the following statements about the green revolution in India:
(A) In the first phase of the green revolution, the use of HYV seeds primarily benefited the wheat-growing regions.
(B) The government provided loans at a low interest rate to small farmers so that they too could buy the needed inputs.
(C) The green revolution enabled the government to build a stock of food grains for times of food shortage.
(D) By the late 1960s, agricultural productivity had risen enough for India to be self-sufficient in food grains.
(E) The HYV crops were less prone to attack by pests than the old crop varieties.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (A), (B), (C) and (D) only
(A) In the first phase of the green revolution, the use of HYV seeds primarily benefited the wheat-growing regions. — Correct. In the first phase, HYV seeds helped mainly the wheat-growing regions.
(B) The government provided loans at a low interest rate to small farmers so that they too could buy the needed inputs. — Correct. Cheap loans and subsidised fertilisers helped small farmers get inputs.
(C) The green revolution enabled the government to build a stock of food grains for times of food shortage. — Correct. The government could procure enough grain to build a stock.
(D) By the late 1960s, agricultural productivity had risen enough for India to be self-sufficient in food grains. — Correct. Productivity rose enough for self-sufficiency in food grains by the late 1960s.
(E) The HYV crops were less prone to attack by pests than the old crop varieties. — Incorrect. HYV crops were more prone to pest attack. A small farmer could lose everything in one attack.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.3 Agriculture … Further, the use of HYV seeds primarily benefited the wheat-growing regions only. In the second phase of the green revolution (mid-1970s to mid-1980s), the HYV technology spread to a larger number of states and benefited more variety of crops. …” “… The green revolution enabled the government to procure sufficient amount of food grains to build a stock which could be used in times of food shortage. While the nation had immensely benefited from the green revolution, the technology involved was not free from risks. One such risk was the possibility that it would increase the disparities between small and big farmers—since only the big farmers could afford the required inputs, thereby reaping most of the benefits of the green revolution. Moreover, the HYV crops were also more prone to attack by pests and the small farmers who adopted this technology could lose everything in a pest attack. Fortunately, these fears did not come true because of the steps taken by the government. The government provided loans at a low interest rate to small farmers and subsidised fertilisers so that small farmers could also have access to the needed inputs. …” “… Thus, by the late 1960s, Indian agricultural productivity had increased sufficiently to enable the country to be self-sufficient in food grains. …” |