SSC
The National Seeds Corporation (NSC) was set up in:
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Answer: Option C — 1963
Detailed Solution
The National Seeds Corporation Limited (NSC) was set up in March 1963 by the Government of India.
About the National Seeds Corporation:
- It is a Central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
- Its headquarters is in New Delhi.
- It is a "Schedule B - Miniratna Category I" company.
- It was set up to produce and supply quality "foundation" and "certified" seeds of improved crop varieties to farmers, and to develop the seed industry in India.
- It produces seeds of cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fodder, fibre crops and vegetables, through contract farming with registered seed growers and through its own farms.
- It played an important role during the Green Revolution of the 1960s by supplying high-yielding varieties (HYV) of seeds, especially of wheat and rice.
- In 2017, the State Farms Corporation of India (SFCI) was merged with it.
- It sells seeds through a network of regional offices, dealers and online platforms, and also exports seeds.
Seeds and law in India:
The Seeds Act, 1966 regulates the quality of seeds sold in India and provides for seed certification.
The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001 protects new plant varieties and the rights of farmers and plant breeders. Under this Act, the PPV&FR Authority was set up in 2005.
The National Seed Policy was announced in 2002.
Types of seeds:
- Breeder seed: produced by the plant breeder or research institute; the purest seed.
- Foundation seed: produced from breeder seed.
- Certified seed: produced from foundation seed and sold to farmers; its quality is checked by seed certification agencies.
Other agricultural organisations:
- Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR): 1929.
- Food Corporation of India (FCI): 1965.
- Cotton Corporation of India (CCI): 1970.
- National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED): 1958.
- Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP): 1965 (as the Agricultural Prices Commission); it recommends Minimum Support Prices.
Why not the other options?
- ✗1950 is the year the Planning Commission was set up.
- ✗1971 is not the year of the NSC.
- ✗1985 is not the year of the NSC.
Quick tip
Remember: National Seeds Corporation = 1963 (Ministry of Agriculture; Miniratna; supplied HYV seeds in the Green Revolution); Seeds Act 1966; PPV&FR Act 2001; FCI = 1965; NAFED = 1958.
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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.