UPHESC Assistant Professor Agricultural Extension PYQs

Concept: Viticulture = grape growing; Pisciculture = fish farming; Olericulture = vegetable growing; Vegeculture (cultivation of vegetatively propagated plants) is matched here with tree farming.

1. (a) Viticulture – (4) Grapes; (c) Pisciculture – (2) Fish.
2. (d) Olericulture (Latin oleris = pot-herb) – (1) Vegetables.
3. Only code (B) has d-1 with a-4 and c-2.

Short trick: Vitis = grape, Pisces = fish, Oleris = vegetable.

Concept: The Indian Institute of Ecology and Environment (IIEE) was founded in 1980 and is located in New Delhi.

1. It runs education, training and publication programmes on ecology and environment.

Short trick: IIEE – New Delhi.

Concept: The Tropic of Cancer (23½° N) passes through 8 states: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.

1. Jharkhand, Tripura and Mizoram are cut by the line, so they lie on both sides.
2. Manipur (about 23.8°–25.7° N) lies wholly north of it.

Short trick: Line states: 'Gu-Ra-M-Ch-J-W-T-M'; Manipur is not on the list.

Concept: Haryana has one of the highest per-capita incomes among major states, yet the lowest sex ratio among states in Census 2011 (879 females per 1000 males).

1. India's average in 2011 was 943; Kerala highest (1084).
2. Maharashtra is large in GSDP but its sex ratio (929) is not the lowest.

Short trick: Rich Haryana, fewest girls – hence 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' was launched at Panipat (2015).

Concept: The troposphere is the lowest layer (about 8 km at the poles to 18 km at the equator); all weather occurs here.

1. Order upward: Troposphere → Stratosphere (ozone) → Mesosphere → Thermosphere/Ionosphere → Exosphere.

Short trick: 'T-S-M-T-E': Troposphere first.

Concept: The NSO (Ministry of Statistics & PI) estimated that real GDP contracted by 23.9% in Q1 (April–June) 2020-21 – the steepest fall on record.

1. Q2 2020-21: –7.5%; Q3: +0.4% (technical recession ended).
2. Later revisions changed Q1 to about –24.4%, but the original estimate was –23.9%.

Short trick: Q1 –23.9 → Q2 –7.5 → Q3 +0.4.

Concept: 'Differentiated banks' are niche banks licensed by RBI (2014–15) for limited activities: Payments Banks and Small Finance Banks.

1. Payments Banks – deposits up to a limit, remittances, no lending (Nachiket Mor committee idea).
2. Small Finance Banks – serve small farmers, MSMEs, unorganised sector.
3. Commercial banks are universal (full-service) banks.

Short trick: Differentiated = PB + SFB; universal = commercial.

Concept: Financial emergency under Article 360 has never been proclaimed in India.

1. National emergency (Art. 352) – three times: 1962, 1971, 1975.
2. President's rule (Art. 356) – more than 100 times.

Short trick: 352 → 3 times, 356 → many, 360 → never.

Concept: The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), set up in 1982 under the MoEFCC, is at Chandrabani, Dehradun (Uttarakhand).

1. Dehradun also has the Forest Research Institute (FRI) and the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy.
2. Almora has the G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment (Kosi-Katarmal).

Short trick: Dehradun = forest & wildlife capital of India.

Concept: Under the Van Dhan Yojana (TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, launched 2018), Manipur was showcased as the model state for its rapid setting-up of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras.

1. Van Dhan Vikas Kendras add value to minor forest produce through tribal self-help groups.
2. The scheme was launched at Bijapur, Chhattisgarh on 14 April 2018.

Short trick: Van Dhan model = Manipur.

Concept: Wilson & Gallup's six steps in extension teaching: Attention → Interest → Desire → Conviction → Action → Satisfaction.

1. The extension worker must first catch the farmer's attention, then build interest and desire.
2. Conviction leads to action (trial/adoption), and satisfaction with results keeps the practice going.

Short trick: AIDCAS – 'A-I-D-C-A-S'.

Concept: Douglas McGregor (1960): Theory X assumes people dislike work, avoid responsibility and must be directed, controlled and threatened to work.

1. Theory Y assumes work is natural, people are self-directed and seek responsibility (voluntary, motivated work).
2. So 'works when controlled' = Theory X.

Short trick: X = eXternal control; Y = 'Yes, I like work'.

Concept: A continuous variable can take any value within a range (fractions included); age can be 25.5 years, 25.53 years… so it is continuous.

1. Discrete – only whole counts (family size, number of cows).
2. Dichotomous – only two categories (male/female, adopter/non-adopter).
3. Intervening – an unobserved variable linking independent and dependent variables.

Short trick: Measured (age, height, income) = continuous; counted = discrete.

Concept: An interval scale has equal units but an arbitrary zero. 0 °C does not mean 'no heat', so 40 °C is not twice as hot as 20 °C.

1. Nominal – names/categories; Ordinal – rank order.
2. Ratio – true zero (weight, income, Kelvin temperature).

Short trick: Celsius/Fahrenheit = interval; Kelvin = ratio.

Concept: Summative (terminal) evaluation is done at the end of a programme to judge its overall results and impact.

1. Pre-evaluation (baseline) – before the start.
2. Formative/concurrent evaluation – during implementation, to improve the programme.

Short trick: Summative = Sum-up at the end; Formative = Forming during.

Concept: Empathy (Lerner; Berlo) is the ability to put oneself in another person's role/situation – essential for an extension communicator.

1. Credibility – how far the source is trusted.
2. Fidelity – faithfulness/accuracy of the message reaching the receiver.
3. Visibility – how easily results can be seen (observability).

Short trick: Empathy = 'walk in the farmer's shoes'.

Concept: Democratic (participative) leadership involves members in decisions, so supervision is accepted and co-ordination among people improves.

1. Autocratic – leader decides alone; compliance without co-operation.
2. Laissez-faire – leader leaves everything to the group; poor supervision and co-ordination.
3. Lewin, Lippitt & White's classic study found democratic groups most satisfied and co-ordinated.

Short trick: Lewin's three styles: Autocratic, Democratic, Laissez-faire – democratic is best for extension.

Concept: Teletext – pages of text broadcast with the TV signal – was first introduced by the BBC as 'Ceefax' in 1974 (UK).

1. ITV's version was 'Oracle'.
2. Teletext is one-way; Videotex/Viewdata (Prestel) was the two-way telephone-line version.

Short trick: BBC Ceefax = 'See facts', 1974.

Concept: CeRA = Consortium of e-Resources in Agriculture, set up by ICAR in 2007 under NAIP with IARI Library, New Delhi as the nodal agency.

1. It gives NARS scientists and students online access to thousands of agricultural journals.

Short trick: C-e-R-A: Consortium – e – Resources – Agriculture.

Concept: Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (1993, Ministry of WCD) is a micro-finance apex body: it lends 'wholesale' to NGOs/intermediaries who give micro-credit to poor women.

1. Its stated roles: wholesaling (credit through intermediaries), market development (promoting micro-finance and SHGs), promotional/capacity building and advocacy for women's credit.
2. Technology support is not one of its roles.

Short trick: RMK = money (credit), not machines (technology).