Which one of the following States recorded the highest milk production in 2011-2012?

The correct answer is A. Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest milk production in 2011-12, at roughly 22 million tonnes, which was about a fifth of India's total output that year. It has held the top position for many years because of its very large cattle and buffalo population.

The other options are lower in total output:

• Rajasthan (B) was second, with output around 12 million tonnes, and it is the leading state for total output after UP.
• Gujarat (C) is the state most associated with dairying because of the Amul cooperative model, but its total output was lower than Rajasthan's.
• Punjab (D) has high per-animal yields and per-capita availability, but its total production is much smaller because of its smaller animal population.

The core concept is the difference between total production and productivity or per-capita availability. Dairy matters for Mains papers on rural income, the cooperative model (Operation Flood, NDDB) and the White Revolution. India has been the largest milk producer in the world since the late 1990s.

Trap: aspirants pick Gujarat or Punjab because of cooperative fame or high per-animal yield. The question asks for total output, and that goes to the state with the largest animal base.