The Indian Sugar Mills Association reported that, 'Sugar production during the first fortnight of December 2001 was about 3,87,000 tonnes, as against 3,78,000 tonnes during the same fortnight last year (2000). The off-take of sugar from factories during the first fortnight of December 2001 was 2,83,000 tonnes for internal consumption and 41,000 tonnes for exports as against 1,54,000 tonnes for internal consumption and nil for exports during the same fortnight last season.'
Present the data in tabular form.
Table: Sugar Production and Off-take (in '000 tonnes)
| Particulars | December 2000 | December 2001 |
|---|---|---|
| Production | 3,78,000 | 3,87,000 |
| Internal Consumption | 1,54,000 | 2,83,000 |
| Exports | 0 | 41,000 |
Source: Indian Sugar Mills Association Report
Suppose you were to present these data in diagrammatic form which of the diagrams would you use and why?
I would use a multiple bar diagram to present these data diagrammatically. This is because the data involves comparison of multiple variables (production, internal consumption, and exports) across two different time periods (December 2000 and December 2001). A multiple bar diagram is ideal for such comparison as it allows us to place bars side by side for each category, making it easy to visually compare the values between the two years. Each category would have two adjacent bars representing the two years, facilitating clear comparison.
Present these data diagrammatically.
In the diagrammatic presentation, the X-axis would represent the three categories: Production, Internal Consumption, and Exports. The Y-axis would represent the values in '000 tonnes. For each category, two adjacent bars would be drawn - one for December 2000 and another for December 2001, using different colours or shades to distinguish between the years. The bars would clearly show that production increased slightly from 3,78,000 to 3,87,000 tonnes, internal consumption nearly doubled from 1,54,000 to 2,83,000 tonnes, and exports went from nil to 41,000 tonnes.
Explanation
This question tests the student's ability to convert textual data into tabular form, select an appropriate diagram for data presentation, and understand diagrammatic representation. The table organizes the scattered textual information systematically. A multiple bar diagram is chosen because we need to compare multiple categories across two time periods. The diagrammatic representation makes the trends immediately visible - the significant increase in internal consumption and the emergence of exports in 2001.