UPSC Prelims 2017 · Question 22 of 99
UPSC Prelims 2017 question on Soil Health Card Scheme
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2017
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectIndian Economy
- TopicAgriculture Economy
- DifficultyEasy
- TypeStatement
Consider the following statements: The nation-wide ‘Soil Health Card Scheme’ aims at
1. expanding the cultivable area under irrigation.
2. enabling the banks to assess the quantum of loans to be granted to farmers on the basis of soil quality.
3. checking the overuse of fertilizers in farmlands.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer: B. 3 only
Verdict
The answer is 3 only. The Soil Health Card Scheme aims at checking the overuse of fertilisers, not at expanding irrigation or guiding bank lending.
Analysis
Statement 3 is CORRECT. Launched in February 2015, the scheme issues a card carrying crop wise recommendations of nutrients and fertilisers required for each individual holding, so that farmers apply what the soil actually needs and stop over applying urea. Statement 1 is INCORRECT. Expanding area under irrigation is the objective of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, a different programme. Statement 2 is INCORRECT. The card carries no function in credit appraisal and banks do not size loans from soil quality.
Source
Press Information Bureau release and press reporting on the scheme.
How to crack it
Read the instrument to find the objective, since a card that reports soil nutrient status can only act on what farmers apply to the soil, which is fertiliser. It cannot create water and it is not a financial document. Asking what the scheme physically delivers, and then asking what that deliverable can possibly change, filters out plausible sounding objectives borrowed from neighbouring schemes, which is how these distractors are built.