Role of Agriculture in Indian Economy

The agriculture sector is considered as a "backbone of Indian economy." With the increased population the production of crops need to be increased, but in real time is happening quite the opposite. Current utilization and consumption of the major economic crops, endeavors to improve these, and future needs. Today we will discuss how agriculture is contributing its share in Indian economy.

Quick Facts about Agriculture in India:

1. India is the 2nd largest producer of Cotton. It is also one of the major exporter to the America and Europe.
2. Agriculture sector revenue is much higher than IT sector $71 Billion and $26 billion respectively.
3. India is the largest producers of wheat in the world as per ministry of India it is 95.9 million tons in 2014.
4. India is the seventh largest exporter of agriculture goods and 2nd largest agriculture output in the world.
5. Agriculture in India is mostly based on Organic which is transferring from older generations.

Export of spices from India are relied upon to reach US$ 3 billion by 2016-17, on the back of imaginative promoting strategies, inventive bundling, quality in quality and an in number appropriation system. The Indian flavors business is pegged at Rs 40,000 crore (US$ 6.42 billion) every year, of which the marked portion represents 15% Supporting Source

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1. Share in National Income: In India, more than 28% of national income is still generating from agriculture. The leading economies of today were once predominantly depended on agricultural while the developing countries are still dependent on agriculture and it largely contributes to the national income.

2. Employment Generation: Agriculture sector is employing millions of people directly and indirectly. In the rural area, more than 75% of the people earn their livelihood from agriculture and agro-industries. As per statistics, it has employed 97 million persons in 1995-96 and 235 million (cultivators and agricultural laborers - direct and indirect) in recent years.

3. Source of Foreign Exchange: The agricultural sector is the main source of foreign exchange for any economy. Like many other developing countries, India’s exports contribute more than 50% of total export earnings. The main exported agricultural commodities are spices, tea, cotton, fruits and vegetables, tobacco, coffee, sugar, and much more. If exports of agricultural goods fail at the high rate, there may be a high deficit in the balance of payments for imports which creates a serious foreign exchange problem.

A large group of people in India, particularly youth are focusing only on IT/Services sector and forgetting “Backbone of India”. Any sector can have recession and layoff people, during recession service industry can be stopped or reduced but production of agricultural food continues as it is basic necessities of the people.