Solution: (b)
Shifting cultivation is a form of agriculture in which the cultivated or cropped area is shifted regularly to allow soil properties to recover under conditions of natural successive stages of re-growth. In a shifting cultivation system, at any particular point in time a minority of ‘fields’ is in cultivation and a majority are in various stages of natural re-growth. Over time, fields are cultivated for a relatively short time, and allowed to recover, or are fallowed, for a relatively long time. Eventually a previously cultivated field will be cleared of the natural vegetation and planted in crops again. Fields in established and stable shifting cultivation systems are cultivated and fallowed cyclically. This type of farming is called jhumming in India. It has been practised in the forested regions of the Central highlands of India which comprise of three main plateaus — the Malwa Plateau in the west, the Deccan Plateau in the south (covering most of the Indian peninsula) and the Chhota Nagpur Plateau in the east.

Solution: (a)
The largest portion of the natural resources of India, consists of land and by far the larger proportion of its inhabitants are engaged in the exploitation of land. In any scheme of planned economic development of the country, therefore, agricultural reorganisation and forms hold a position of basic importance. The gross cropped area is about 317 million acres. Food crops cover about 78 per cent. Of the cropped area, commercial crops provide raw, material for industries, account for 17 per cent.

Solution: (b)
Ratna is a resistant variety of rice. This paddy variety takes about 130-135 days to grow. The main states growing this variety are Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Terai region of UP, Punjab, Haryana and Tamil Nadu.

Solution: (c)
The Introduction of High-yielding varieties of seeds and the increased use of fertilizers and irrigation are known collectively as the Green Revolution, which provided the increase in production needed to make India self-sufficient in food grains, thus improving agriculture in India. The methods adopted included the use of high yielding varieties (HYV) of seeds. Agricultural productivity may be defined as the total agricultural output per unit of cultivated area, per agricultural worker or per unit of input in monetary values. It was found that higher productivity was attained in areas in Green Revolution had been initiated and matured.

Solution: (d)
The introduction of high-yielding varieties of Indian seeds after 1965 and the increased use of fertilizers and irrigation are known collectively as the Indian Green Revolution, which provided the increase in production needed to make India self-sufficient in food grains. The programme was started with the help of the United States-based Rockefeller Foundation and was based on high-yielding varieties of wheat, rice, and other grains that had been developed in Mexico and in the Philippines. The major benefits of the Green Revolution in India were experienced mainly in northern and north-western India between 1965 and the early 1980s; the programme resulted in a substantial increase in the production of food grains, mainly wheat and rice. Food-grain yields continued to increase throughout the 1980s.