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India Population and Agriculture
Population
The Indian subcontinent is one of the world's oldest centers of civilization, with the Indus Valley Civilization being considered to have emerged around 9,000 years ago
In the year 1800, when world population was estimated at 906 million, the population of the region of present-day India was approximately 169 million, or 18.7%. The population of India grew gradually throughout the 19th century, rising to ~238 million by 1900, when global population was estimated at 1,610 million (14.9% share)
India`s population increased by more than four times in a period of 100 years, to reach 1,029 million in 2001. As per 2011 Census, India’s population during that year was 1,211 million
In April 2023, India’s population reached 1,425,775,850 people (1,425.8 million) , matching and then surpassing the population of China
At present, India adds ~15 million people to its population base every year, which is by far the largest in the world. India's ongoing population growth is projected to continue for several decades, which has decisive implications for economic development, employment, income distribution, poverty alleviation, and social welfare measures
The government adopted National Population Policy 2000 on February 15th, 2000, aimed to address immediate needs in contraception and healthcare infrastructure, integrate services for basic reproductive and child health care, and achieve replacement-level Total Fertility Rate by 2010, and stabilize population growth by 2045. However, the policy faced criticism
Total Fertility Rate (TFR) represents the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her child bearing years and bear children in accordance with age-specific fertility rates of the specified year. TFR of not more than 2.1 is required to achieve population stabilization. India’s national average TFR was as high as 5.2 in 1971. It declined to 4.5 in 1981, to 3.6 in 1991, to 3.1 in 2001, 2.53 in 2011 and 2.01 by 2021
As per the posting of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare dated 20th Dec 2024, India has achieved a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.0 as per NFHS-5 ((National Family Health Survey-5, 2019–21)). This is aligned with the National Population Policy 2000 and the National Health Policy 2017 (TFR of 2.1)
As per the Technical Group on Population Projections (TGPP) for the period 2011-2035, the population of India is expected to increase from 121.1 crores (1,211 million, 2011 base year) to 152.2 crores (1,522 million) during the period 2011-2036 - an increase of 25.7 percent in twenty- five years at the rate of 1.0 percent annually. As a consequence, the density of population will increase from 368 to 463 persons per square kilometer
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Agriculture
Agriculture plays a vital role in India's economy. Over 50 % of the total workforce is engaged in agriculture and allied sector activities and the sector accounts for ~18% of India's GVA at current prices
As per Land Use Statistics for 2022-23, the Reported area of India is 306.6 million hectares, of which around 59% is agricultural land, 140.7 million hectares is the reported net sown area and 219.4 million hectares is the gross cropped area with a cropping intensity of 155.9%. Net area sown comprises of 42.8% of the total geographical area
At all India level, total cropped area has increased by 66.31 percent in 2022-23 as compared to 1950-51 (131.9 million hectares in 1950-51 to 219.4 million hectares in 2022-23
The net irrigated area during 2022-23 was 79.3 million hectares. The gross irrigated area in 2022-23 was estimated at 122.3 million hectares, which was 55.75 % of the gross cropped area
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