RAS question
What percentage of India's wool production does Rajasthan contribute (2022-23)?
Correct answer: (A) 47.98%.
Rajasthan contributed 47.98% of India's wool production in 2022-23, making it the country's leading wool-producing state.
Explanation
Rajasthan's share in India's wool production was 47.98% in 2022-23. The cited PIB release, based on Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2023 and the Animal Integrated Sample Survey for March 2022 to February 2023, lists Rajasthan as the major contributor to total wool production, ahead of Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh. This is why 47.98% is not just a numerical share but the indicator that places Rajasthan at the top in wool production. In the same release, Rajasthan is also mentioned as recording 6.06% annual growth in wool production, but the MCQ asks specifically for its contribution to India's total wool output.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) 14.44% refers to Rajasthan's share in India's milk production in 2022-23, not its share in wool production.
- (C) 84.43% is tied to Rajasthan's share of camels in the country, so it measures livestock population composition rather than wool output.
- (D) 10.64% refers to Rajasthan's share of India's sheep population, whereas the question asks for the state's share in wool production.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan's livestock economy, especially state-wise contribution to animal husbandry outputs. Such figures recur in RAS because wool, milk and livestock population shares are standard markers of Rajasthan's rural economy.