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Preliminary Exam CSAT OCTOBER 02

1. The poor especially in market economics need the strength that collectivities offer for creating more economic, social and political space for themselves, for enhancing their socioeconomic well-being and voice, and as a protection against free market individualism. It has been argued that a group approach to farming, especially in the form of bottom up agricultural production collectivities, offers substantial scope for poverty alleviation and empowering the poor as well as enhancing agricultural productivity. To realize this potential, however, the groups would need to be voluntary in nature, small in size, participative in decision making and equitable in work sharing and benefit distribution. There are many notable examples of such collectivities to be found in varied contexts, such as in transitions economies. All of them bear witness to the possibility of successful cooperation under given conditions. And although the gender impact of the family cooperatives in the transition economies are uncertain, the Indian examples of women-only groups farming offer considerable potential for benefiting women.

Agricultural collectivities such as group based farming can provide the rural poor

Empowerment

Increased agricultural productivity.

Safeguard against exploitative markets.

Surplus production of agricultural commodities.

a) 1, 2, 3 and 4 b) 1, 2 and 3 only c) 2 and 4 only d) 1, 3 and 4

General Studies

Political Science and International Relations

Sociology

Some Reference Essays

List of previous year essay topics (1997-2019)

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