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 ?
- A.1 and 2 only
- B.3 only
- C.2 and 3 only
- D.1, 2 and 3
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, 3 only. The scheme tells farmers what their soil lacks so that they apply only the fertilizer it needs. Launched in February 2015 at Suratgarh in Rajasthan, the Soil Health Card Scheme tests soil samples from farm holdings and issues each farmer a card showing the status of 12 parameters, including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, micronutrients, pH and organic carbon. The card then recommends the right dose of fertilizers and soil amendments, which checks the overuse of urea and other chemicals and improves yields at lower cost, so statement 3 is correct. Statement 1 is wrong because irrigation expansion is the work of schemes such as PM Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, not soil testing. Statement 2 is wrong because the card is not a tool for banks to fix loan amounts. Option A is wrong because both its statements are false. Option C is wrong because it includes statement 2. Option D is wrong because statements 1 and 2 are false. Exam tip: Soil Health Card, 2015, Suratgarh, 12 parameters, aim is balanced fertilizer use.
Practice Questions
View allAccording to the law of diminishing marginal utility, as the amount of a good consumed increases, the marginal utility of that good tends to
- A.improve
- B.diminish
- C.remain constant
- D.first diminish and then improve
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Each extra unit of a good gives a consumer less additional satisfaction than the unit before it, so marginal utility falls as consumption rises.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements about impact of tax : 1. A tax is shifted forward to consumers if the demand is inelastic relative to supply. 2. A tax is shifted backward to producers if the supply is relatively more inelastic than demand. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
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The burden of a tax falls more heavily on whichever side of the market is less elastic, the side that cannot easily walk away.
Read the full explanation →UBI, as an alternative for subsidies in poverty alleviation, stands for
- A.Union Basic Income
- B.Undefined Basic Income
- C.Unconditional Basic Income
- D.Universal Basic Income
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UBI is the idea of paying every citizen a fixed sum of money regularly, without conditions, in place of a large number of separate subsidies and welfare schemes.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following is the Chairman of the Fourteenth Finance Commission?
- A.C. Rangarajan
- B.Vijay Kelkar
- C.Y. V. Reddy
- D.Rakesh Mohan
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The Fourteenth Finance Commission, set up in 2013 for the award period 2015-2020, was chaired by Y. V. Reddy, a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
Read the full explanation →Why was constitutional amendment needed for introducing GST?
- A.States were not willing to agree with the Union for introduction of GST without amendment in the Constitution.
- B.GST was to be implemented on concurrent base and Article 246 was inadequate for such a case.
- C.The Empowered Committee of Finance Ministers had recommended for constitutional amendment.
- D.The GST Council had recommended for constitutional amendment so that its power enhances.
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GST is levied by the Union and the States together on the same supply, and Article 246, which splits taxing powers between them through separate lists, did not allow such a concurrent tax.
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