Question

Given below are two statements: One is labeled as Statement (I) and the other is labeled as Statement (II).
Statement (I): In India, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, is the key accreditation agency.
Statement (II): During XII Plan, Government of India initiated a Scheme named "Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana" or "PKVY", which envisages promotion of organic farming.
In light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below.

• A. Both Statement (I) and Statement (II) are correct.
• B. Both Statement (I) and Statement (II) are incorrect.
• C. Statement (I) is correct but Statement (II) is incorrect.
• D. Statement (I) is incorrect but Statement (II) is correct.

Hint:

Check APEDA's actual role and the year PKVY was launched.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Here we simply need to fact check two independent claims about India's organic farming policy machinery.

1. Statement (I), on APEDA: APEDA does sit under the Ministry of Commerce and does act as the key accreditation body for organic certification through the National Programme for Organic Production, so this claim holds up.
2. Statement (II), on PKVY: PKVY was rolled out in 2015-16 to push cluster based organic farming, and that year falls within the XII Five Year Plan window of 2012 to 2017, so this claim also holds up.

Because both statements pass a fact check independently, the pair stands together rather than one propping up or contradicting the other.

Let's summarize:

• APEDA is India's accreditation authority for organic certification under NPOP.
• PKVY, launched in 2015, belongs to the XII Plan period and promotes organic farming through farmer clusters.

Both statements are correct, which makes option 1 the right pick.