RAS question
Under the Pulses Mission, what are the production targets by 2030-31?
Correct answer: (B) Area 310 lakh hectares, Production 350 lakh tonnes.
Under the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, the 2030-31 targets are 310 lakh hectares under pulses, 350 lakh tonnes of production, and a yield of 1,130 kg per hectare.
Explanation
The Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses was approved for the six-year period from 2025-26 to 2030-31 to raise domestic pulses production and reduce import dependence. Its endpoint target is specific: by 2030-31, the area under pulses is expected to expand to 310 lakh hectares, production to rise to 350 lakh tonnes, and yield to reach 1,130 kg per hectare. The source also links this target to a wider strategy covering better seed systems, area expansion, procurement support, price stability, and post-harvest infrastructure. Therefore, option B is right because it gives both headline quantities asked in the question: 310 lakh hectares of area and 350 lakh tonnes of production.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Option A understates both targets, because the mission target is 310 lakh hectares and 350 lakh tonnes, not 250 lakh hectares and 300 lakh tonnes.
- (C) Option C overstates both targets; the cited mission document gives 310 lakh hectares and 350 lakh tonnes, not 400 lakh hectares and 500 lakh tonnes.
- (D) Option D is much below the stated target, as the mission aims for 310 lakh hectares of area and 350 lakh tonnes of pulses production by 2030-31.
Concept
This tests the agriculture and government-schemes part of the Indian Economy syllabus, especially target-based missions announced through the Union Budget and Cabinet decisions. It recurs in RAS because pulses link cropping patterns, MSP-backed procurement, import dependence, and farmer-income policy in one scheme.