Solution

Potato and tomato are native to South America (the New World).
They were brought to India by European (mainly Portuguese) traders in the 16th–17th centuries, so they were absent before then.
Brinjal, bitter gourd and chichinda (snake gourd) are native to India.
So potato and tomato were absent in India before the European invaders.

Concept New World vegetables introduced to India

Plant Introduction in past papers

2 questions from this chapter have appeared across 2 exam years.