RAS question
Til (Sesame) is primarily grown in which districts?
Correct answer: (A) Jodhpur, Nagaur, Pali.
Til, or sesame, is primarily associated with the Jodhpur, Nagaur and Pali belt of western Rajasthan as a kharif oilseed crop.
Explanation
Sesame is a kharif oilseed crop in western Rajasthan, where Jodhpur, Nagaur and Pali form the primary district group. Jalore also belongs to the same western Rajasthan sesame belt. The ICAR-hosted Journal of Oilseeds Research article supports this regional framing: its kharif 2024 roving survey was conducted in key sesame-growing areas of western Rajasthan and covered districts including Jodhpur, Nagaur and Pali. Jodhpur, Nagaur and Pali therefore represent the western Rajasthan sesame cluster rather than an eastern, north-eastern or canal-irrigated district grouping. The primary cluster does not require every sesame-growing district to be included.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Kota and Bundi fall outside the western Rajasthan sesame belt and are not named in the Journal of Oilseeds Research survey as part of the Jodhpur-Nagaur-Pali sesame cluster.
- (C) Jaipur and Alwar are not primary sesame-growing districts in the Jodhpur-Nagaur-Pali sesame cluster, and the ICAR-hosted Journal of Oilseeds Research article does not list them as part of that cluster.
- (D) Ganganagar is a single northern district, whereas Rajasthan's primary sesame belt is a western Rajasthan cluster centred on Jodhpur, Nagaur and Pali.
Concept
District-wise geography of Rajasthan's oilseed crops depends on crop-region mapping for RAS prelims. RAS crop questions often use regional clusters rather than production theory alone.