UPSC Prelims 2011 · GS Paper I
Question 4: Economy and Social Development
India has experienced persistent and high food inflation in the recent past. What could be the reasons ?
- 1.Due to a gradual switchover to the cultivation of commercial crops, the area under the cultivation of food grains has steadily decreased in the last five years by about 30%.
- 2.As a consequence of increasing incomes, the consumption patterns of the people have undergone a significant change.
- 3.The food supply chain has structural constraints.
Which of the statements given above are correct ?
AnswerThe answer is (b).
India's persistent food inflation in this period came from both demand and supply. Rising incomes shifted diets towards protein-rich foods such as milk, eggs, meat, fruit and vegetables, whose supply grew slowly, while weak storage, transport and marketing links made prices swing and kept wastage high. The claim that the area under food grains fell by about 30% in five years is false; the area stayed broadly steady. So statements 2 and 3 hold, and statement 1 does not.
- 1. Food grain area did not fall by about 30% in five years.
- 2. Higher incomes moved demand to protein-rich foods and raised their prices.
- 3. Poor storage, transport and marketing push up prices.
How you could have got this
- If you were sure statement 1 is not correct, (a), (c) and (d) go: each of them includes 1.
What you needed to know: Food grain area did not fall by about 30% in five years.
Only (b) is left. You didn’t need statements 2 or 3.
This follows an unofficial answer: UPSC has not published its key for this year, and if that answer is wrong, so is this path.
Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Includes statement 1, whose 30% fall in food grain area did not happen.
- (b) Right: changed consumption patterns and a constrained supply chain explain the inflation.
- (c) Includes the false statement 1 and omits statement 2.
- (d) Includes statement 1, which is false.
Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2011, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.