SSC
In India's land-use classification, land that is left uncultivated (fallow) for more than five years is categorised as:
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option B — Culturable wasteland
Detailed Solution
In India's land-use statistics, any land that has been left uncultivated for more than five consecutive years is classified as culturable wasteland (also called culturable waste land). Such land could be brought under cultivation after improvement, such as clearing, levelling, reclamation or irrigation.
Types of fallow and waste land in India's land-use classification:
Current fallow: land left uncultivated for one agricultural year or less. Leaving land fallow for a short time is a traditional way of allowing the soil to recover its fertility naturally.
Fallow land other than current fallow: land left uncultivated for more than one year but not more than five years.
Culturable wasteland: land left uncultivated for more than five years. It may be covered with shrubs or jungle, but it can be reclaimed for farming.
Barren and unculturable land: land that cannot be cultivated with available technology, such as rocky mountains, deserts and ravines.
Other categories of land use:
India's land-use statistics are divided into nine categories. Besides the four above, they include:
Forests.
Land put to non-agricultural uses, such as settlements, roads, railways, industries and canals.
Permanent pastures and other grazing land.
Land under miscellaneous tree crops and groves (not included in the area sown).
The remaining category covers the land actually used for raising crops.
Reasons why land becomes culturable waste:
- Waterlogging, soil salinity and alkalinity.
- Soil erosion, ravines and gullies.
- Lack of irrigation or capital.
- Absentee ownership, disputes or migration of farmers.
Reclaiming waste land:
Programmes such as watershed development, afforestation, soil reclamation (for example, using gypsum on alkaline soils) and the Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (now part of the watershed component of PMKSY) aim to bring such land into productive use.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Current fallow is land left unsown for up to one year.
- ✗Fallow other than current fallow is land left unsown for one to five years.
- ✗Barren and unculturable land cannot be cultivated at all with present technology.
Quick tip
Remember: Current fallow = up to 1 year; other fallow = 1 to 5 years; culturable wasteland = more than 5 years; barren land = cannot be cultivated.
💬 Discussions on this question
Ask a doubt ›Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.
Ask a doubtMore Agriculture in India Questions
View all ›- Q1.Who is known as the 'Father of the Green Revolution' in India?
- Q2.The 'Yellow Revolution' in India is related to the production of:
- Q3.In Madhya Pradesh, slash-and-burn (shifting) agriculture is known as:
- Q4.The variety of rice known as 'miracle rice', first harvested in India in the late 1960s with exceptional yields, was:
- Q5.'Johads' and 'Khadins' are traditional methods of water harvesting used in which state?
More General Knowledge Questions
- Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
- Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
- Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
- Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
- Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms
Agriculture in India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Agriculture in India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers agriculture in India: cropping seasons (kharif, rabi and zaid), major food and cash crops and their leading producer states, irrigation, the Green, White, Blue and other agricultural revolutions, and allied activities such as animal husbandry and fisheries. Questions usually ask which crop belongs to which season, which state is the largest producer of a crop, and which revolution relates to which product. For example, the White Revolution relates to milk and was led by Verghese Kurien, and the Blue Revolution relates to fisheries. Producer rankings can change from year to year, so check the latest data for those questions. Practise the agriculture in India questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.