ri lt re and ood ana ement 8.3
private sector too. It is the only profession
IntroductIon which still carries no burden of individual
Agriculture remains the most important sector income tax.
of the Indian economy, whether it be the pre- (iv) This is the biggest unorganised sector of
independence or the post-independence periods. the economy accounting for more than
This fact is emphatically proved by the large 90 per cent share in the total unorganised
number of people who depend on it for their labour-force (93.4 per cent of the total
livelihood. Before starting any discussion on labour force of the economy, i.e., 39.8
Indian agriculture, we must look into its special crores is employed in the unorganised
features: sector).3
(i) From the monetary point of view the (v) India has emerged as a significant agri-
share of the agriculture sector in the exporter in few crops, namely—cotton,
economy remains at 17.4 per cent of the rice, meat, oil meals, spice, guar gum
GDP.1 In the fiscal 1950–51 agriculture meal and sugar. As per4 the WTO’s Trade
accounted for 55.4 per cent of the GDP. Statistics, the share of India’s agricultural
(ii) The share of agriculture has been falling exports and imports in the world trade
in the country’s gross income, while in 2016 were 2.40 per cent and 1.40 per
industrial and services sectors’ shares cent, respectively. Agricultural exports
have been on a rise constantly. But from as a percentage of agricultural GDP
the livelihood point of view still 49 per increased from 7.95 per cent in 2009–10
cent of the people of India depend on the to 12.5 per cent in 2016–17. During
agriculture2 sector. This makes it a more the same period, agricultural imports as
important sector than the industry and a percentage of agricultural GDP also
the services (for Nepal and Tanzania the increased from 4.90 per cent to 6.1 per
dependency for livelihood on agriculture cent.
is still higher at 93 per cent and 81 per (vi) According to the export figures, agriculture
cent, respectively). It means that 49 per is deeply related to industrial growth and
cent of the population lives with only
the national income in India—1 per cent
17.4 per cent of the total income of
increase in the agricultural growth leads
the Indian economy—this fact clearly
to 0.5 per cent increase in industrial
substantiates the reason why the people
output (growth) and 0.7 per cent increase
who depend on agriculture are poor.
in the national income of India.5
In the developed economies such as
the USA, France, Norway, the UK and (vii) The industrial sector was selected as the
Japan, agriculture contributes only 2 per ‘prime moving force’ of the economy in
cent of their GDP with only 2 per cent of 3. Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment,
the people dependent on this sector for Government of India, N. Delhi, February 2018.
their livelihood. 4. Trade Statistics, WTO, Geneva, Switzerland, February
2018.
(iii) Agriculture is not only the biggest sector
5. This corelation has been pointed out by many great
of the economy, but also the biggest economists in India since 1960s, for example, by
Raj Krishna (1976), S. Chakravarty (1974–79) and
1. Ministry of Agriculture, GoI, N. Delhi, February 2018. C. Rangarajan (1982) to quote some of the most
2. Ministry of Finance, GoI, N. Delhi, February 2017. important names.