Indian Agriculture

• Contribution of Agriculture to GDP (2024–25): Around 18%
• Agricultural Workforce: About 43% of total population engaged in agriculture.
• Net Sown Area: ~141 million ha.
• Gross Cropped Area: ~195 million ha.
• Cropping Intensity: Around 138%.
• India’s Rank in World Production:
  • 1st in: Milk, pulses, jute, spices, and banana
  • 2nd in: Rice, wheat, sugarcane
  • 3rd in: Cotton, horticulture production
• Major Agricultural Exports: Rice, spices, cotton, sugar, tea, and marine products.
• India’s share in global agricultural exports: Around 3%.

National Income and Growth

• Per Capita Income (2024–25): Around ₹1.95 lakh (estimated).
• GDP Growth Rate (2024–25 est.): ~6.5%.
• Green Revolution Period: 1965–66 (Dr. M.S. Swaminathan).
• Second Green Revolution Focus: Eastern India.
• Blue Revolution: Fisheries.
• White Revolution: Milk (Dr. Verghese Kurien).
• Golden Revolution: Horticulture.
• Yellow Revolution: Oilseeds (1986–87).
• Silver Revolution: Egg production.
• Pink Revolution: Meat and poultry.
• Brown Revolution: Leather and cocoa.
• Grey Revolution: Fertilizers.

Agricultural Price Policy and MSP

• MSP (Minimum Support Price): Fixed by CACP (Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices).
• Announced for: 23 crops (including 7 cereals, 5 pulses, 7 oilseeds, and 4 commercial crops).
• Procurement agencies: FCI, NAFED, CWC.
• Price Support Operations: For stabilizing farmers’ income and protecting from market fluctuations.

Miscellaneous Important Points

• Land reforms in India: Abolition of Zamindari system, tenancy reforms, land ceiling.
• Cropping Pattern: Distribution of area among crops in a region during a year.
• Subsistence Farming: Farming for self-consumption.
• Commercial Farming: Farming for profit.
• Mixed Farming: Crops + Livestock.
• Farming Efficiency is measured by: Input–Output Ratio.
• Engel’s Law: As income increases, the proportion of expenditure on food decreases.
• Pareto Optimum: Economic efficiency where no one can be made better off without making someone worse off.
• Marginal Cost Pricing: Used in agriculture for resource efficiency.
• Credit Control Authority: RBI.