Aspirant Academy

Economy

Key Points at a Glance

Agriculture: Productivity, Land Reforms, Finance, Marketing, Food Security, Food Processing

Paper I · Unit 2 Section 1 of 11 0 PYQs 26 min
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Key Points at a Glance

  1. Agriculture's Share in India's Economy

    • Contributes approximately 17–18% of India's GDP (2024–25)
    • Employs about 45.5% of the workforce (PLFS 2023–24)
    • Backbone of rural livelihoods despite declining from 50%+ GDP share at independence

  2. Green Revolution and Foodgrain Growth

    • Green Revolution (1960s–70s) led by M.S. Swaminathan using HYV seeds from CIMMYT (Norman Borlaug)
    • Transformed India from food-deficit to food-surplus nation
    • Wheat: 11 MT (1965–66) → 107.7 MT (2023–24); total foodgrain: 328.8 MT (2023–24)

  3. Land Reforms Post-Independence

    • Four components: zamindari abolition (1950s), tenancy reforms, land ceiling legislation, redistribution to landless
    • Over 20 million acres redistributed to landless farmers
    • Reforms remained incomplete due to benami holdings, exemptions, and poor implementation

  4. Minimum Support Price (MSP)

    • Government-guaranteed floor price for 23 agricultural commodities, recommended by CACP
    • 2024–25 rates: common paddy Rs 2,300/quintal, wheat Rs 2,275/quintal
    • Based on C2+50% formula recommended by Swaminathan Commission

  5. PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

    • Launched February 2016; premium rates: 2% for Kharif, 1.5% for Rabi, 5% for commercial crops
    • Government pays the balance premium beyond farmer's contribution
    • Claims of Rs 1.64 lakh crore paid to farmers up to 2023–24

  6. National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013

    • Covers 81.35 crore people (67% of India's population) — 75% rural + 50% urban
    • Entitlement: 5 kg grains/person/month at subsidised prices (rice Rs 3/kg, wheat Rs 2/kg, coarse grains Rs 1/kg)
    • PMGKAY provides free grains — merged into NFSA from January 2024 for 5 years

  7. Agricultural Credit and NABARD

    • Institutional credit to agriculture reached Rs 20 lakh crore in 2022–23
    • NABARD (est. 1982) is apex body for agricultural and rural credit
    • Kisan Credit Card (KCC) provides short-term crop loans at 4% interest (with interest subvention)

  8. Agricultural Marketing Reforms

    • e-NAM (launched April 2016): online trading platform connecting 1,361 mandis across 23 states/UTs (by 2024)
    • APMC reforms aim to break mandis' monopoly over agricultural trade
    • Model APLM Act 2017 allows private markets alongside regulated mandis

  9. PM Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY)

    • Umbrella scheme for food processing under Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI)
    • Sanctioned projects creating 36.8 lakh MT additional processing capacity by 2024
    • Generated 7.8 lakh direct/indirect jobs; India's food processing sector is 5th largest globally

  10. PM-KISAN Income Support

    • Launched December 2018; provides Rs 6,000/year in three equal instalments via DBT
    • By 2025, 9.3 crore farmers are benefiting
    • Over Rs 3.24 lakh crore disbursed cumulatively

  11. Agricultural Productivity Challenges

    • India's yield/ha is below world average in most crops: wheat ~3.6 t/ha (vs UK 8+), rice ~2.7 t/ha (vs China 7+)
    • Key causes: fragmented landholdings (average 1.08 ha), inadequate irrigation, low seed replacement rate
    • Post-harvest losses: 15–30% of production due to poor storage, cold chain, and transport

  12. White Revolution and Allied Sectors

    • Operation Flood (1970–1996) made India the world's largest milk producer — 239 MT milk (2023–24)
    • Blue Revolution (fisheries): India is the 2nd largest fish producer globally
    • PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (2020, Rs 20,050 crore) targets doubling fish exports by 2025