RAS question
How many free seed kits will be distributed to farmers under the Pulses Mission?
Correct answer: (B) 88 lakh seed kits.
Under the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, 88 lakh free seed kits will be distributed to farmers.
Explanation
The figure is 88 lakh free seed kits. The PIB release on India's Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses lists this as a seed-system intervention: the mission will provide 88 lakh seed kits free to farmers and also produce and distribute 126 lakh quintals of certified seeds. That distinction matters because the question asks specifically about free seed kits, not the wider certified-seed target. The source also frames this within the mission's objective of achieving self-sufficiency in pulses by increasing domestic production, reducing import dependence and improving farmers' incomes through quality seed access. So the answer is 88 lakh because that is the direct farmer-facing free kit number under the mission.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 50 lakh is below the number stated in the PIB release for free seed kits, which is 88 lakh.
- (C) 126 lakh refers to quintals of certified seeds to be produced and distributed, not to the number of free seed kits.
- (D) 200 lakh is not given in the explanation or the PIB release for free seed kits under the mission.
Concept
This tests government schemes in agriculture, especially the difference between a scheme's input support and its broader production targets. RAS often uses such questions to check whether aspirants can separate a headline number from a related but different figure in the same scheme.