RAS question
The National Mission on High Yielding Seeds falls under which ministry?
Correct answer: (A) Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
The National Mission on High Yielding Seeds falls under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Explanation
The National Mission on High Yielding Seeds belongs to the agriculture policy space, so the relevant ministry is the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Rajya Sabha answer is issued under the Government of India heading for that ministry and is answered by the Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The mission's core objectives include strengthening the research ecosystem, developing and propagating high-yield, pest-resistant and climate-resilient seeds, and making more than 100 seed varieties released since July 2024 commercially available. Those objectives are directly about seeds, crop productivity and agricultural development, which is why the mission is placed under the agriculture ministry rather than a science, environment or food-processing ministry.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Research is one objective of the mission, but administrative responsibility remains with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, not the Ministry of Science and Technology.
- (C) Climate resilience appears within the seed-development objective, but the official Rajya Sabha record does not place the mission under the environment ministry.
- (D) The mission concerns seed research, propagation and commercial availability, not food processing, and the ministry heading is Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Concept
Ministry-scheme mapping belongs to Indian Economy and agriculture policy. RAS repeatedly asks such questions because correct administrative ownership helps link budget announcements, implementation and sectoral objectives.