Agriculture in India and its silent features
India is pre-eminently an agricultural country. About 70 % of the working force of India drives its livelihood by practising agriculture. It plays a vital role in the economy of India. Till 1971, about 80 % of the Indian population lived in rural areas and depended directly or indirectly on agriculture. It contributed 45 per cent of Gross Domestic Production (GDP) at that time. However, now the importance of agriculture in India has greatly reduced due to the rapid development in the other sectors like mining, manufacturing, transport and trade. Urbanisation is one of the contributing factor in the reduced popularity of agriculture. It is often said that India has an agrarian economy. But statistics tells different story, today agriculture and allied sectors contribute nearly 25 % of GDP, while about 65-70 % of the population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood, and it still forms the hub of India's economy.