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Q40 (IAS/2014) Economy › Agriculture & Rural Economy › Agro-based industries Official Key

In India, cluster bean (Guar) is traditionally used as a vegetable or animal feed, but recently the cultivation of this has assumed significance. Which one of the following statements is correct in this context?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: B
Explanation

Guar gum is a novel agrochemical processed from endosperm of cluster bean.[1] While cluster bean has traditionally been used as a vegetable or animal feed in India, its cultivation has recently gained economic importance due to guar gum extraction. Guar gum is widely used in the extraction of shale gas,[2] where it acts as a thickening agent in hydraulic fracturing[3] (fracking). Guar gum is largely used in the form of guar gum powder as an additive in food, pharmaceuticals, paper, textile, explosive, oil well drilling and cosmetics industry.[1] The surge in shale gas exploration globally, particularly in the United States, created significant demand for guar gum, making option B the correct answer. The other options regarding biodegradable plastics, anti-histamine properties, or biodiesel production are not supported by evidence in relation to cluster bean.

Sources
  1. [1] https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2111032.pdf
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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. In India, cluster bean (Guar) is traditionally used as a vegetable or animal feed, but recently the cultivation of this has assumed signi…
At a glance
Origin: Mostly Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 0/10 · 10/10
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This was a 'Headline Commodity' question. In 2012-13, Guar gum became India's top agri-export due to the US shale gas boom. The lesson: When a mundane crop suddenly spikes in export data, identify the specific industrial application driving that demand.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Is the oil extracted from the seeds of cluster bean (guar) in India used in the manufacture of biodegradable plastics?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 4/5
"Guar gum is widely used in the extraction of shale gas."
Why this source?
  • Explicitly states the cultivated significance comes from gum extracted from seeds, not seed oil.
  • States guar gum is widely used in shale gas extraction (hydraulic fracturing), indicating the primary industrial use is gum-related rather than seed oil for biodegradable plastics.
Web source
Presence: 4/5
"Guar gum is a novel agrochemical processed From endosperm of cluster bean. It is largely used in the Form of guar gum powder as an additive in food,Pharmaceuticals, paper, textile, explosive, oil well drilling And cosmetics industry."
Why this source?
  • Describes guar gum (from cluster bean endosperm) as the major processed product and lists its industrial uses.
  • Mentions applications (food, pharmaceuticals, paper, textile, oil well drilling, cosmetics) for guar gum, with no mention of seed oil being used for biodegradable plastics.

Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 9: Agriculture > Oil crop > p. 290
Strength: 4/5
“Oil-bearing crops or oil crops or oilseeds are seeds, fruits or mesocarp and nuts from which edible and industrial oils are extracted. Examples are groundnut, soyabean, rapeseed, sunflower, mustard, sesamum, linseed, castor seed, niger seed, flax, jatropha, coconut, hemp, pennycress etc.”
Why relevant

Defines oilseeds as sources of edible and industrial oils and lists many oilseed crops (e.g., castor, jatropha, hemp) used as raw-materials for non-food uses.

How to extend

A student could use this rule (some oilseed oils serve industrial uses) plus external knowledge about which specific seed oils are used in polymer/bioplastic production to check whether guar/cluster bean oil appears among them.

NCERT. (2022). Contemporary India II: Textbook in Geography for Class X (Revised ed.). NCERT. > Chapter 4: The Age of Industrialisation > Food Crops other than Grains > p. 85
Strength: 3/5
“Oil Seeds: In 2020 India was the second largest producer of groundnut in the world after China. Different oil seeds are grown covering approximately 12 per cent of the total cropped area of the country. Main oil-seeds produced in India are groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesamum (til), soyabean, castor seeds, cotton seeds, linseed and sunflower. Most of these are edible and used as cooking mediums. However, some of these are also used as raw material in the production of soap, cosmetics and ointments. Groundnut is a kharif crop and accounts for about half of the major oilseeds produced in the country.”
Why relevant

Lists main oilseeds in India and notes that while most are edible, some are also used as raw material in soap, cosmetics and ointments (i.e., industrial applications).

How to extend

Since cluster bean (guar) is not listed among main oilseeds here, a student could use a crop distribution map or production statistics to judge whether guar seed oil is produced at scale in India to plausibly support industrial bioplastic manufacture.

Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 12: Major Crops and Cropping Patterns in India > Groundnuts or Peanut (Arachis hypogoea) and Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) > p. 31
Strength: 3/5
“Groundnut is believed to be a native of Brazil. Te oil content varies from 44% to 50% depending upon the varieties and geo-economic conditions. Its oil fnds extensive use as a cooking medium, both as refned oil and vanaspati ghee. It is also used in soap making, and in manufacture of cosmetics, lubricants, stearin and their salts. Climate and Soil Groundnut is grown throughout the tropics. Its cultivation is also extended to the subtropical countries, lying between 45°N and 35°S, and up to an altitude of 1000 meters. Te crop can be grown successfully in places receiving a minimum rainfall of 50 cm and a maximum of 125 cm.”
Why relevant

Gives an example (groundnut) where seed oil has multiple industrial uses (soap, cosmetics, lubricants, stearin), illustrating that vegetable oils can be feedstocks for diverse industrial products.

How to extend

A student could compare known industrial uses of groundnut oil with documented applications of guar seed oil (from external sources) to see if bioplastic manufacture is a plausible industrial use for guar oil.

Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 25: Agriculture > Oil Seed Crops > p. 353
Strength: 3/5
“• These crops are cultivated for the production of oil. Either for edible, industrial, or medicinal purpose. They contain more of fat. • Groundnut or Peanut• Sesamum or gingelly Sunflower Castor Linseed or flax Niger Saffiower Rapeseed & Mustard . 45 - 5oo/o oil content is present in these seeds'”
Why relevant

States oil-seed crops are cultivated for edible, industrial, or medicinal purposes and lists common oilseed species, reinforcing that some seed oils serve industrial purposes.

How to extend

Using this general rule, a student could look up properties (composition, fatty acid profile) of guar seed oil externally to assess whether it matches typical feedstock profiles used in bioplastic synthesis.

Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 12: Major Crops and Cropping Patterns in India > Oil-Palm (Elaeis guineensis) > p. 48
Strength: 2/5
“Oil-palm is the highest oil-yielding plant among perennial oil-yielding crops, producing palm oil and palm-kernel oil. Tese are used for culinary as well as industrial processes. On an average, oilpalm produces 4-6 tonnes oil/ha. It can also contribute substantially to the nutritional and energy requirements of the masses. Oil-palm is a crop for future and a source for diversifcation, import substitution, value addition, waste utilization, eco-generation (non-conventional energy), eco-friendly and sustainability. A total area of about eight lakh hectares has been identifed in 11 states of India i.e. the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Gujarat, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and West Bengal.”
Why relevant

Shows an oil crop (oil-palm) is explicitly used for both culinary and industrial processes, demonstrating the dual food/industrial role of plant oils.

How to extend

A student could extend this example by checking whether guar seed oil has comparable industrial-scale extraction and documented industrial applications (e.g., polymers) to support potential use in biodegradable plastics.

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