When was the 'National Horticulture Mission' for Rural Development started?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 1:

The National Horticulture Mission (NHM) was a flagship scheme launched by the Government of India in May 2005, during the 10th Five Year Plan. The main objective of this centrally sponsored scheme was to promote the holistic development of the horticulture sector—covering fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, and plantation crops—in an integrated manner. The mission aimed to increase production, improve quality, and enhance post-harvest management, supply chain infrastructure, and marketing across the country. This strategic launch was a crucial step to diversify agriculture and boost rural incomes by focusing on high-value horticultural crops, contributing significantly to India's "Golden Revolution" in horticulture. The NHM was later subsumed under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) in 2014, but its initiation date remains May 2005.

The incorrect option is 2 (May, 2014): This date is incorrect because, by May 2014, the NHM was reorganized and brought under the larger umbrella scheme of the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). The NHM itself had been running for almost a decade by then.

The incorrect option is 3 (May, 2012): This date is incorrect as the National Horticulture Mission was operational well before 2012. 2012 falls midway through the original mission's effective period, not its start.

The incorrect option is 4 (July, 1991): July 1991 is significantly earlier and is generally associated with major economic liberalization reforms in India, not the specialized launch of the National Horticulture Mission, which occurred later in the mid-2000s.