What is India’s position in the production of sugar?
A. 2nd
B. 1st
C.3rd
D. 4th

Hint: India has a population of 50 million sugarcane farmers in India. It is an agro based industry that has a huge impact on the livelihoods of the local people. 5 lakh workers are employed in the sugar mills in India.

Complete answer:India is the second largest producer of sugar in India. The first is Brazil.The output of Indian sugar industry is around 80,000 crores.There are 732 sugar industries in India.The sugar is distributed equally between private sector units and cooperative sector units. In India sugar based industry comes second after the production of cotton.Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are the leading producers of sugar.The cost of sugar production in Uttar Pradesh is quite low and the climatic conditions are favourable too. Uttar Pradesh has the ‘doab’ region which is one of the most fertile lands in the world. The major centres of sugar production in Uttar Pradesh are Gorakhpur,Deoria, Basti,Saharanpur and others.The first chemically refined sugar reached India about 2500 years ago.The techniques from here spread to China, Persia and early Islamic worlds and then it reached the Mediterranean in the 13th century.
Option A is the right answer.

Note: In India the sugar is extracted from sugarcane.Sugarcane is crushed to retain the sugarcane juice.The by product is bagasse. The sugarcane juice is processed further to get sugar and molasses.Indians learned how to crystalize sugar in the Gupta dynasty.