Consider the following statements : (1). Maize can be used for the production of starch. (2). Oil extracted from maize can be a feedstock for biodiesel. (3). Alcoholic beverages can be produced by using maize. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

All three statements are correct, so the answer is D. Maize is a starch-rich cereal. In wet milling, the kernel is separated into starch, germ, gluten and fibre, and the starch goes into food, paper, textile and fermentation industries.

• Statement 1 (correct): Maize starch is a standard industrial product, and it is also the raw material for glucose syrups and fermentable sugars.
• Statement 2 (correct): Corn oil, recovered mainly from the germ during milling, can be transesterified with methanol to make biodiesel. Maize oil is a recognised biodiesel feedstock.
• Statement 3 (correct): Maize mash is fermented to make alcohol. US bourbon must contain at least 51 per cent corn, and maize is also used for ethanol and country liquor.

The core concept is that a single crop can serve as food, feed, fuel and industrial input. For Mains, this links to the food-versus-fuel debate over maize-based ethanol under India's ethanol blending programme, which has shifted large volumes of maize towards distilleries in recent years. Check current policy figures before quoting them.

Trap: Many aspirants reject statement 2 because they associate biodiesel only with jatropha or used cooking oil, or reject statement 3 because maize is a food crop. Both assumptions are wrong.