MCQs on NABARD and Agriculture Dec 2025

Explanation: Shaji K. V. is the current Chairman of NABARD, having assumed charge to lead India’s apex development bank.

Explanation: NABARD was established on July 12, 1982, based on the recommendations of the B. Sivaraman Committee (CRAFICARD).

Explanation: The Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) is maintained by NABARD. It is funded by commercial banks to the extent of their shortfall in priority sector lending.

Explanation: PM-PRANAM (PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth) aims to incentivize states to promote alternative fertilizers and balanced use of chemical fertilizers.

Explanation: NABARD is the central implementing agency for the project to computerize over 63,000 functional PACS across India to improve efficiency and transparency.

Explanation: AIF is a financing facility launched to provide debt financing for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets.

Explanation: The government provides a 2% interest subvention and an additional 3% prompt repayment incentive (PRI), making the effective interest rate 4% for farmers who repay on time.

Explanation: Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) aims to provide solar-powered water pumps to farmers and grid-connected solar power plants.

Explanation: MSP is announced for 22 mandated crops and Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane. Vegetables like potato, onion, and tomato are covered under market intervention schemes, not MSP.

Explanation: Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, ₹6,000 is transferred annually in three equal installments of ₹2,000 directly into the bank accounts of farmers.

Explanation: FPO stands for Farmer Producer Organization, a collective of farmers to ensure better economies of scale in purchasing inputs and selling produce.

Explanation: The government fixes MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times of the all-India weighted average cost of production. This cost is calculated using the A2+FL (Actual paid-out cost plus imputed value of Family Labour) formula.

Explanation: National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) is a pan-India electronic trading portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.

Explanation: ‘Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav’ is an initiative by ICAR to promote direct interaction between scientists and farmers to accelerate the lab-to-land process.

Explanation: Sikkim became the first fully organic state in India in 2016 by implementing organic practices across all its agricultural land.

Explanation: Under PMFBY, farmers pay a maximum premium of 2% for Kharif crops, 1.5% for Rabi crops, and 5% for commercial/horticultural crops.

Explanation: The Ministry of Cooperation was created to provide a separate administrative, legal, and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in India.

Explanation: Self Help Group (SHG) Bank Linkage Programme was initiated by NABARD in 1992 to connect unbanked rural women to the formal financial sector.

Explanation: GOBAR-Dhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme aims to convert cattle dung and solid waste in farms into compost, biogas, and bio-CNG.

Explanation: PKVY is an extended component of Soil Health Management (SHM) launched to promote organic farming through a cluster approach and Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) certification.

Explanation: The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) is an annual flagship report published by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Explanation: Plantation crops are those cultivated on extensive scales, primarily for commercial purposes. Examples include Tea, Coffee, Rubber, Coconut, and Spices.

Explanation: NABARD acts as an apex refinancing agency, providing refinance support to RRBs, State Cooperative Banks, and Commercial Banks for their agricultural lending.

Explanation: The Blue Revolution (Neel Kranti) refers to the significant growth in the aquaculture and fishing industry.

Explanation: DAY-NRLM focuses on organizing rural poor women into Self Help Groups (SHGs) to provide them with financial and capacity-building support.

Explanation: Soil Health Cards provide farmers with information regarding the nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on appropriate dosage of nutrients to improve health and fertility.

Explanation: As per recent basic animal husbandry statistics, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are the top milk-producing states in India. (Note: Rank fluctuates between UP and Rajasthan based on annual data).

Explanation: Dr. Verghese Kurien, the architect of ‘Operation Flood’, is known as the Father of the White Revolution in India, which transformed India into the world’s largest milk producer.

Explanation: The Scale of Finance is fixed by the District Level Technical Committee (DLTC) and indicates the standard cost of cultivating a specific crop per acre, determining the KCC loan limit.

Explanation: PMFBY was launched in 2016, replacing the NAIS and Modified NAIS, to provide comprehensive crop insurance from pre-sowing to post-harvest.

Explanation: The ‘Wadi’ (small orchard) model is NABARD’s flagship program under the TDF to promote sustainable livelihoods for tribal families through horticulture.

Explanation: FCI was set up under the Food Corporation Act 1964 to implement the national food policy: procuring grains at MSP, maintaining buffer stocks, and distributing them through the PDS.

Explanation: The Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) under the Ministry of Agriculture is the lead agency implementing e-NAM.

Explanation: The equity of an RRB is held by the Central Government, the concerned State Government, and the Sponsor Bank in the proportion of 50:15:35.

Explanation: Agri-Stack is a digital public infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture. It includes registries of farmers, crop sown data, and georeferenced village maps.

Explanation: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman referred to millets as ‘Shree Anna’ in the Union Budget, highlighting their nutritional and historical significance.

Explanation: Initially launched for small and marginal farmers (up to 2 hectares), the PM-KISAN scheme was later expanded to cover all landholding farmer families irrespective of the size of their land.

Explanation: NABVENTURES is a subsidiary of NABARD that manages alternative investment funds focusing on early-stage agri-tech, food, and rural startups.

Explanation: Out of the total 40% PSL target for domestic commercial banks, 18% is specifically mandated for the Agriculture sector (with sub-targets for small and marginal farmers).

Explanation: Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra are consistently the top producers of pulses in India, heavily dependent on monsoon rains.

Explanation: PMKSY was launched with the vision of expanding irrigation coverage (‘Har Khet Ko Pani’) and improving water use efficiency (‘Per Drop More Crop’).

Explanation: NAFED is an apex organization of marketing cooperatives for agricultural produce in India, heavily involved in the procurement of pulses and oilseeds.

Explanation: The government is heavily promoting Kisan Drones for crop assessment, land record digitization, and the safe and uniform spraying of nutrients (like Nano Urea) and pesticides.

Explanation: NADCP aims to control Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis in livestock through 100% vaccination of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, and pig populations.

Explanation: Zaid is a short season between the Rabi (winter) and Kharif (monsoon) seasons, typical for crops like watermelon, cucumber, and bitter gourd.

Explanation: The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 gave a constitutional mandate to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) for rural local self-government.

Explanation: DICGC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), not NABARD.

Explanation: DEDS aims to promote entrepreneurship in the dairy sector by providing back-ended capital subsidies for setting up modern dairy farms and related infrastructure.

Explanation: The government announces the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane, which is the minimum price that sugar mills must pay to sugarcane farmers.

Explanation: Programmable Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC/e-Rupi) ensures that agricultural loans are used strictly for the intended purpose (e.g., buying fertilizers) at designated merchants, reducing loan diversion.