Directions: The following question contains a small paragraph followed by a question on it. Read the paragraph carefully and answer the question given below it.

A- Sugar can be produced from sugarcane, sugar-beet or any other crop having sugar content. But in India, sugarcane is the main source of sugar. At present, this is the second largest agro-based industry of India after the cotton textile industry.

B- India has a long tradition of manufacturing sugar. References of sugar making by the Indians are found even in the Atharva Veda. India is rightly called the homeland of sugar.

C- Sugar industry in India is based on sugarcane which is a heavy, low value, weight-losing and perishable raw material. Sugarcane cannot be stored for long as the loss of sucrose content is inevitable. Besides, it cannot be transported over long distances because any increase in transportation cost would raise the cost of production and the sugarcane may dry up on the way.

D- Maharashtra has progressed a lot and captured the first position from U.P. to emerge as the largest producer of sugar in India. Large production of sugarcane, the higher rate of recovery and longer crushing period are some of the factors which have helped the state to occupy this enviable position.

E- High cost of sugarcane, inefficient technology, the uneconomic process of production and heavy excise duty result in a high cost of manufacturing. The production cost of sugar in India is one of the highest in the world.

F- The introduction of higher-yielding sugarcane varieties in some key producing states has taken production in those regions to fresh heights. Those gains will most probably be maintained as farmers also have a strong incentive to raise yields, given their payment is dependent on the sucrose levels in the cane.