India

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and4percentforpasture.AbouttwothirdsofIndiaspopulationdependsonthelandtomakea

living.Agriculturegeneratesanestimated18percentofgrossdomesticproduct(GDP).Mostfarms

areverysmalltheaveragesizeofholdingsnationallyis2.63hectares(6.5acres),butmorethanone
thirdofholdingsareconsideredtoosmallforthesubsistenceneedsofafarmingfamily.Intermsof

areasowntheleadingcropisrice,thestaplefoodofalargesectionoftheIndianpopulation.Wheat

ranksnextinimportancetorice,andIndiaisalsoamongtheleadingproducersintheworldofsugar
cane,tea,cotton,andjute.Annualproductionofthesecommoditiesin2006wassugarcane,281

milliontonnes;rice,137milliontonnes;wheat,69.3milliontonnes;cotton,3.56milliontonnes;jute,
2milliontonnes;andtea,892,730tonnes.Otherimportantcropsaresorghum,millet,maize,barley,
chickpeas,bananas,mangoes,rubber,coffee,linseed,peanuts,andvariousseedsandspices.

Theraisingoflivestock,particularlyhornedcattle,buffalo,horses,andmules,isacentralfeatureof
theagriculturaleconomy.In2006Indiahadabout181millioncattle,substantiallymorethanany

othercountryintheworld.Theseanimals,likebuffaloes,horses,andmules,areutilizedprimarilyas
beastsofburden.AlthoughthevegetarianismassociatedwithHinducustomisfollowedbyfew,

especiallyinnorthIndia,Hinduswillnoteatbeef.Lackofpastureandwatersuppliesmeansmost
Indiancattleareofpoorquality.Thecountrys98.8millionbuffaloarelargelyraisedinthedelta

regions.InthedryregionsofPunjabandRajasthancamels(0.63million)aretheprincipalbeastsof
burden.Sheep(62.8million)andgoats(125million)areraisedmainlyforwool.

Althoughmuchfarmingisstillbytraditionalmethods,therehasbeenasignificantchangeinthe

technologiesavailablesinceindependence.Theareaundercanalirrigationsystemsfinancedbythe

governmenthasexpandedenormously;therehasbeenanevengreaterexpansionintheareawatered
bywell-basedsystems.By2003about558,080sqkm(215,476sqmi)wasirrigated.Thedemandfor
chemicalfertilizersandhigh-yieldingseedvarietieshasincreasedmarkedly,particularlysincethe

much-publicizedGreenRevolutionofthe1960sandearly1970swhichparticularlybenefitedricher
farmersinwheat-growingareaslikeUttarPradeshandPunjabstates.

TheforestlandsinIndiacoverabout21percentofthetotallandarea.Commercialforestryisnot

highlydevelopedandislargelyrestrictedtothenorthernhighlands,Assam,andtheregionsbordering

ontheHimalaya.However,forestsareusedtoprovidefuelwoodandcharcoal,themainenergysource
formostIndians,aswellasvaluablefruitsandnuts,fibres,oils,gums,andresins.Theannualtimber
harvestwasabout329millioncum(11.6billioncuft)in2006.

Althoughlargelyundevelopedcommercially,fishingremainsvitalincertainregions,suchasthe

GangesdeltainBengalandalongthesouth-westerncoast.Inrecentyearsthegovernmenthasbeen
encouragingdeep-seafishingbyconstructingprocessingplantsandunderwritingocean-goingfleets
andvessels.In2005estimatethecountrysannualcatchtotalledmorethan6.32milliontonnes,of

whichabout2.99milliontonneswasthemarinecatch.Kerala,Tamil,Nadu,andMaharashtraarethe

mainfishingstates,accountingforabouthalfofthenationalcatch.Overfishingisbecomingaproblem
insomeareas.

Mining

Indiaranksamongtheworldleadersintheminingofironoreandcoal,andproducessignificant

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