UPSC Essentials | Mains answer practice — GS 3 : Questions on India’s dairy sector and indigenous defence systems (Week 117)

QUESTION 1

India’s dairying model, built on smallholder farms and low-cost informal labour, has made the country internationally competitive in the dairy sector. However, rising opportunity costs and diminishing rural labour threaten its viability. Discuss.

QUESTION 2

Discuss the strategic importance of India’s indigenous systems in the quest for defence self-reliance and how these components collectively strengthen national security.

General points on the structure of the answers

Introduction

— The introduction of the answer is essential and should be restricted to 3-5 lines. Remember, a one-liner is not a standard introduction.

— It may consist of basic information by giving some definitions from the trusted source and authentic facts.

Body

— It is the central part of the answer and one should understand the demand of the question to provide rich content.

— The answer must be preferably written as a mix of points and short paragraphs rather than using long paragraphs or just points.

— Using facts from authentic government sources makes your answer more comprehensive. Analysis is important based on the demand of the question, but do not over analyse.

QUESTION 1: India’s dairying model, built on smallholder farms and low-cost informal labour, has made the country internationally competitive in the dairy sector. However, rising opportunity costs and diminishing rural labour threaten its viability. Discuss.

Note: This is not a model answer. It only provides you with thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.

Introduction:

— In 1965, the government followed this successful approach and established the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), which devised a plan for a nationwide milk revolution.

— Known as Operation Flood, this operation began in 1970 and was implemented throughout the country. It was also one of the most extensive rural development programs in the world.

— The dairy sector’s most significant contribution is to provide income and employment for millions of people in rural areas.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in your answer:

— Indian farmers earn milk prices that are marginally lower than those in the United States and New Zealand, but significantly lower than those in Europe.

— Milk yields in India are low by Western standards. According to USDA data, the average Indian milch cow produced 1.64 tonnes of milk in 2024. The corresponding figures were 4.60 tonnes for New Zealand, 7.33 tonnes for the EU, and 10.97 tonnes for the USA.

— Despite the poor yields, milk production costs in India are low because dairying is comparatively labour-intensive: cows must be fed and milked numerous times per day, as well as bathed on a regular basis, with manure removed and sheds cleaned. Furthermore, effort is necessary for planting, harvesting, and storing fodder and feed.

— Although dairy farms in the West have significantly automated these operations (via milking machines, forage harvesters and balers, feeding robots, sensor-based cattle health monitoring, hot water high-pressure cleaners, and bulk coolers), milk production in India remains cheaper due to low labour costs. Milk has a larger labour cost component than corn, soybeans, or wheat.

— The goal of a cooperative is to increase the ratio of farm milk value to retail product value.

— India’s price competitiveness in milk is primarily due to its low labour costs. This involves unpaid household labour with little employment opportunities outside of agriculture.

— The dairy farmer primarily wants to recover paid-out expenditures (for feed, hired work, veterinary care, and other purchased inputs), while placing no value on family labour or owned land. Any money gained over and beyond pocket-paid expenses is considered “return”.

— Unlike New Zealand, India lacks sufficient area to generate lucerne feed for cattle to graze on and maintain a low-cost pasture-based dairy production system. Capital and energy costs are also too high to justify large expenditures in farm automation, as in the United States.

Conclusion:

— The future of Indian dairying may lay in a distinct model of selective mechanisation, which includes increasing milk outputs through genetic improvement and new breeding technologies, as well as cultivating high-tonnage protein-rich green fodder grasses on the farm.

— To sustain India’s dairy sector’s global competitiveness, the focus must be on lowering milk production costs, which cannot be relied just on low labour costs.

(Source: India’s unique dairying model, and the challenges it faces)

Points to Ponder

Read more about Operation Flood

Read more about India’s dairy sector

Related Previous Year Questions

How does e-Technology help farmers in production and marketing of agricultural produce? Explain it. (2023)

What are the direct and indirect subsidies provided to farm sector in India? Discuss the issues raised by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in relation to agricultural subsidies. (2023)

QUESTION 2: Discuss the strategic importance of India’s indigenous systems in the quest for defence self-reliance and how these components collectively strengthen national security.

Note: This is not a model answer. It only provides you with thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.

Introduction:

— The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully completed the first flight tests of an Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS).

— The IADWS is a multi-layered air defence system that consists of three components: Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missiles (QRSAM), sophisticated Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missiles, and a high-power laser-based Directed Energy Weapon.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in your answer:

Three components of the IADWS

— While QRSAM has been designed and developed by the DRDO, VSHORADS and DEW have been developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS) respectively, both Hyderabad-based facilities of the DRDO. The integrated operation of all these weapon system components is controlled by a Centralised Command and Control Centre.

QRSAM

— QRSAM is a short-range Surface to Air Missile (SAM) system, primarily designed to provide a protective shield to moving armoured columns of the Army from enemy aerial attacks. The entire weapon system is configured on highly mobile platforms. It has search and track capability and can fire on short halts. The system has an operation range of three to 30 kilometers.

— The QRSAM weapon ensemble consists of a fully automated command and control system, two radars — Active Array Battery Surveillance Radar and Active Array Battery Multifunction Radar — and one launcher. Both the radars have a 360-degree coverage with ‘search on move’ and ‘track on move’ capabilities.

VSHORADS

— It is a fourth-generation, technically advanced miniaturised Man Portable Air Defence System (MANPAD). The DRDO has said that the missile system has the capability to meet the needs of all the three branches of the Armed Forces — Army, Navy and Air Force.

DEW

— The CHESS facility conducted a successful field demonstration of the land version of the Vehicle mounted Laser DEW MK-II(A). It defeated fixed wing UAV and swarm drones, causing structural damage and disabling their surveillance sensors. With this, India has joined the exclusive club of global powers who possess such a system. DEW is said to have a range of less than three kilometers.

Conclusion:

— If we look at the ranges of the three different systems and the type of targets they have been designed for, we can conclude that they are meant to neutralise aerial threats within the range of 30 kilometers ranging from high speed to low speed, and fixed wing to rotary wing type. An indigenous command and control system and fully homegrown weapons are an important strategic asset. This maiden test at lower ranges paves way for the use of the system at higher ranges, and can be looked at as a stepping stone towards Mission Sudarshan Chakra, a comprehensive defence shield. (This is a quote from a senior DRDO scientist from the source article.)

(Source: DRDO successfully tests home-grown air defence system: All about IADWS and its 3 components)

Points to Ponder

Read more about development by DRDO

Read more about Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS).

Related Previous Year Question

How is S-400 air defence system technically superior to any other system presently available in the world? (2021)

Previous Mains Answer Practice

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 116)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 115)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 116)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 115)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 114)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 115)

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