Consider the following statements: The nation-wide 'Soil Health Card Scheme' aims at 1. expanding the cultivable area under irrigation. 2. enabling the banks to assess the quantum of loans to be granted to farmers on the basis of soil quality. 3. checking the overuse of fertilizers in farmlands. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The answer is B (3 only). The Soil Health Card scheme, launched in 2015 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, gives each farmer a card with the nutrient status of his land and crop-wise recommendations on which fertilizers to apply, and in what doses. The whole idea is balanced fertilizer use, so statement 3 is correct.

• Statement 1 is wrong. Expanding irrigated area is the job of PMKSY (Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, with its 'Har Khet Ko Pani' component), not the Soil Health Card.
• Statement 2 is wrong. The card is not a credit-appraisal tool. Banks do not use it to fix loan quantum, and that is not among the scheme's stated objectives.
• Statement 3 is correct. Excess urea use has degraded soil and water, and the card is meant to correct that.

Mains connection: the scheme is a good example of how soil testing and nutrient management link to sustainable agriculture, input-subsidy rationalisation and the nutrient-imbalance debate in GS-III.

Trap: candidates see 'soil' and 'farmers' and assume it is part of the irrigation or credit architecture. Keep the card's purpose tied to fertilizer recommendation.