India has experienced persistent and high food inflation in the recent past. What could be the reasons? 1) Due to a gradual switchover to the cultivation of commercial crops, the area under the cultivation of food grains has steadily decreased in the last five years by about 30%. 2) As a consequence of increasing incomes, the consumption patterns of the people have undergone a significant change. 3) The food supply chain has structural constraints Which of the statements given above are correct?

Statements 2 and 3 are correct, and statement 1 is not. So the answer is B.

Statement 1 is wrong. Food grain area in India has stayed broadly stable, at roughly 120 to 125 million hectares over the years. Some land has moved to commercial crops at the margin, but nothing close to a 30% fall in five years. The statement mixes up a real but modest trend with an exaggerated figure.

Statement 2 is right. Rising incomes shift diets toward milk, eggs, meat, fruits, vegetables, pulses and edible oils. Demand for these perishable and high-value items grows faster than supply, and this pushes up food prices.

Statement 3 is right. Poor storage, weak cold chains, inadequate transport, fragmented APMC markets and a long chain of middlemen raise post-harvest losses and price spreads. Supply shocks then feed directly into retail inflation.

The core concept is demand-side versus supply-side food inflation. This is a standard GS-III theme, and the Mains answer on inflation usually asks you to cover both sides, along with agricultural marketing reforms.

Trap: aspirants often accept statement 1 because the shift to commercial crops is real. Always check whether the numerical claim is credible before accepting the statement.