Question

Integrated Wasteland Development Programme (IWDP) had been under implementation since

• A. 1979-80
• B. 1989-90
• C. 1994-95
• D. 1997-98

Hint:

Recall which decade India's wasteland development schemes, alongside the National Wastelands Development Board, began in.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

This is a straightforward recall question about when the Integrated Wasteland Development Programme (IWDP) began in India.

1. 1979-80: This is before the government's wasteland development machinery, the National Wastelands Development Board set up in 1985, even existed, so the programme could not have started this early.
2. 1989-90: This is the year IWDP was actually launched, as a scheme to reclaim wastelands using a watershed development approach, combining soil and water conservation with afforestation and pasture development.
3. 1994-95: By this year the programme had already been running for several years, so this is not its starting point.
4. 1997-98: This is later still, well after the scheme had been implemented and expanded across the country, so it is also not the launch year.

Government wasteland and watershed schemes in India have specific launch years that are commonly asked about in agriculture and natural resource management exams, and IWDP's is 1989-90.

Let's summarize:

• IWDP develops degraded wastelands mainly through a watershed based approach.
• It has been under implementation since 1989-90, not before or after this date.

So the correct answer is option 2, 1989-90.