UPSC Agriculture – Chapter 14: Public Distribution System and Buffer Stocks (21 MCQs)
UPSC Agriculture – Chapter 14: Public Distribution System and Buffer Stocks (21 MCQs) – 21 questions, subject: Agriculture. Every question has the correct answer with a one-line explanation; tap "Show Answer". Free practice for TNPSC, UPSC, SSC, Bank and RRB exams – Shanmugam IAS Academy, Coimbatore.
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The Food Corporation of India was set up under:
Correct Answer: D [the Food Corporations Act, 1964]
Explanation:
it began work in 1965.
The Revamped Public Distribution System (1992) focused on:
Correct Answer: B [remote, hilly and tribal blocks]
Explanation:
Launched in June 1992, the Revamped PDS extended the system to far-flung, hilly, remote and tribal areas where many poor live.
Under Decentralised Procurement, foodgrain for a State's welfare schemes is procured mainly by:
Correct Answer: D [the State government and its agencies]
Explanation:
Under Decentralised Procurement, begun in 1997-98, the State itself procures, stores and distributes grain for its own needs.
Acquisition cost of foodgrain to the FCI consists of:
Correct Answer: D [the pooled cost of grain and procurement incidentals]
Explanation:
Acquisition cost is the pooled cost of grain (MSP and any bonus) plus procurement incidentals; distribution cost is added later.
The price at which the Centre issues foodgrain to the States is called the:
Correct Answer: A [Central Issue Price]
Explanation:
The Central Issue Price is the price at which the Centre issues grain to States; it has been zero for NFSA grain since 2023.
Buffer-stock norms for rice and wheat in the central pool are highest at the start of:
Correct Answer: D [July]
Explanation:
after wheat procurement.
Under the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic), the FCI:
Correct Answer: C [sells surplus grain to bulk buyers and processors to cool prices]
Explanation:
Under OMSS (Domestic) the FCI sells surplus wheat and rice through e-auctions to bulk buyers, processors and States to cool prices.
The Price Stabilisation Fund (2014-15) mainly holds buffer stocks of:
Correct Answer: B [pulses and onion]
Explanation:
Set up for onion and potato, the PSF added a pulses buffer from 2015-16 and now holds mainly pulses and onion.
Cash transfer of food subsidy in place of PDS grain was started in 2015 in:
Correct Answer: A [Chandigarh and Puducherry]
Explanation:
Cash transfer of food subsidy began in September 2015 in Chandigarh and Puducherry, and later in urban Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Consider the following statements:
1. The Shanta Kumar Committee suggested that the FCI focus on eastern States.
2. The Committee suggested reducing NFSA coverage to about 40 per cent.
3. The Committee suggested ending all procurement at MSP.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Correct Answer: B [1 and 2 only]
Explanation:
The Committee asked the FCI to focus on eastern States and suggested cutting NFSA coverage to about 40 per cent.
Assertion (A): Holding grain stocks far above buffer norms raises the food subsidy.
Reason (R): Extra stocks add to carrying costs such as storage, interest and losses.
Correct Answer: A [Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A]
Explanation:
Excess stocks add storage, interest and loss costs, which the Centre meets through the food subsidy, so R explains A.
Which of the following is the main advantage of grain through the PDS over a cash transfer?
Correct Answer: B [It protects the household from food inflation]
Explanation:
grain does not lose value when prices rise.
Under One Nation One Ration Card, a migrant beneficiary:
Correct Answer: D [can draw rations at any fair price shop with the existing card]
Explanation:
ONORC makes the existing ration card portable, so a migrant can draw rations at any fair price shop using Aadhaar authentication.
Which of the following regions is a grain-deficit area that receives grain from distant surplus States?
Correct Answer: C [Keralam]
Explanation:
Keralam grows far less rice and wheat than it consumes and depends on grain moved from distant surplus States.
Electronic point of sale (ePoS) machines at fair price shops mainly help to:
Correct Answer: B [authenticate beneficiaries and record sales]
Explanation:
they reduce leakage.
Anna Chakra, launched in 2024, is a tool to:
Correct Answer: C [optimise routes for moving PDS grain]
Explanation:
Anna Chakra, launched by the Food Ministry in December 2024, plans optimal routes for moving PDS grain to fair price shops.
Arrange the following in chronological order:
1. Targeted Public Distribution System
2. National Food Security Act
3. Revamped Public Distribution System
4. Food Corporation of India begins work
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Correct Answer: C [4-3-1-2]
Explanation:
FCI 1965, RPDS 1992, TPDS 1997, NFSA 2013.
Storage of grain on open plinths with covers is known as:
Correct Answer: A [CAP storage]
Explanation:
cover and plinth; it causes higher losses.
The Shanta Kumar Committee observed that the share of farmers who sell to procurement agencies at MSP is about:
Correct Answer: B [6 per cent]
Explanation:
Using NSSO data, the Shanta Kumar Committee found that only about 6 per cent of farmers sell to procurement agencies at MSP.
Under the NFSA, before free grain began in 2023, the issue price of rice for priority households was:
Correct Answer: C [₹3 per kg]
Explanation:
Schedule I of the NFSA priced rice at ₹3 a kg, wheat at ₹2 and coarse grains at ₹1 for eligible households.
The economic cost of food grains to the Food Corporation of India is Minimum Support Price and bonus (if any) paid to the farmers plus:
Correct Answer: C [Procurement incidentals and distribution cost]
Explanation:
economic cost = pooled cost of grain + procurement incidentals + distribution cost.
➤ Full notes, maps, tables, a reason for every option and Mains PYQs – U16 · Agriculture (UPSC book, ₹249): www.shanmugamiasacademy.in/study-materials/upsc-agriculture
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