Q1. [1] medium thorough-understanding
Which of the following best explains why setting up a dal mill or a cold storage unit in a semi-rural area helps reduce underemployment?
(A) It replaces agricultural labour entirely, shifting workers to the secondary sector.
(B) It creates additional employment by processing and storing farm produce, absorbing surplus agricultural workers productively.
(C) It raises crop prices by limiting supply, thereby increasing farmers' incomes without adding jobs.
(D) It transfers ownership of land to the government, ensuring equitable distribution of work.
- A It allows farmers to grow more crops by providing them with seeds and fertilisers.
- B It creates industrial and service jobs near where surplus agricultural labour already lives, absorbing workers who have no alternative employment.
- C It moves workers permanently out of agriculture so that farming income rises for those who remain.
- D It reduces the government's responsibility to provide unemployment allowances under MGNREGA.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:23 · grounding rag
Model Answer
Answer: (B)
Setting up a dal mill or cold storage creates processing and storage jobs in semi-rural areas, absorbing surplus agricultural workers who would otherwise remain underemployed near their homes.
Source: Sectors of Economic Activity, Chapter 2 — Economics
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Explanation
- The textbook explicitly states that setting up industries like dal mills and cold storages in semi-rural areas "will provide employment in industries located in semi-rural areas."
- The key idea is absorbing surplus/underemployed agricultural labour without requiring them to migrate to cities.
- Option A (seeds/fertilisers) is about boosting crop production, not directly tackling underemployment via processing units.
- Option C (permanent shift out of agriculture) contradicts the textbook, which shows workers taking additional/alternative jobs, not permanently leaving farming.
- Option D (MGNREGA) is unrelated to dal mills/cold storage.
- Examiner looks for: correct identification that these units create new jobs near surplus labour, directly reducing underemployment.