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UPSC PYQPrelims 2025

Civil Services Examination · Question 21

Read the following passage and answer the item that follows. Your answer should be based solely on the passage. Passage: One of the dismal realities of the agricultural sector in independent India has been that it never experienced a high-growth phase, unlike the non-agricultural economy. The highest decadal growth (compound annual growth rate or CAGR) for agriculture has been just 3.5% in the 1980s. Also, after experiencing a spurt in decadal growth during the 1980s, agricultural growth suffered relative stagnation thereafter. This is in sharp contrast to non-agricultural growth, which consistently increased from the 1980s to 2000s. Which one of the following statements best reflects the corollary to the above passage?

  1. The benefit of economic reforms percolates down more slowly to the agriculture sector than in other sectors of the economy.
  2. For India, the green revolution was not as useful as it was expected to be.
  3. India lagged behind other countries in adapting mechanized and modern farming.
  4. Rural-to-urban migration resulted in the stagnant agriculture sector.
Show answer & explanation

Answer: (A) The benefit of economic reforms percolates down more slowly to the agriculture sector than in other sectors of the economy.

Explanation

Agriculture stagnated after the 1980s while non-agricultural growth kept rising through the reform decades, implying reform gains reached agriculture more slowly. (Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.)