New Airtel Live free trick (All India)
Just go to
Code:
http://www.google.co.in/gwt/n
through Airtel Live. Then type the address there. You can open any site from there for free ! Surfing through Airtel Live must be free in your state. 2. How to use free internet using Airtel Mobiles Requirements: ——>A mobile with GPRS Modem ——>A new AIRTEL SIM Proceedure: Send a message by typing ” MO to 2567″ now u will recieve the settings and save them Now Send a message by typing “INTERNET ON to 121″ and now u will recieve a message of conformation. Switch off and switch on u r mobile now u r phone is ready for using internet This service charges RS.15/- per 24hrs to stop internet type “INTERNET OFF to 121″ The main Cheat is here “See that u r balance is not more than RS 10 then Airtel will not deduct any amount for the
service” Recharge u r mobile every month with RS 99/- such that u will get RS 0 and a validity of one month U can enjoy internet with a speed of 128kBPS when the mobile is connected to system via Datacable or Blue tooth. I,ve never tried this because i dont have a GPRS mobile but my friends are using this and we have a good result
Friday, October 9, 2009
10 Ways to Make Money Online:
1. Blogging
Blogging is one of the best ways to make money online because you are part of a community. If you're good at what you do you can gain credibility and be recognized for your blogging across the internet. For instance, you probably recognize the picture above and the blog associated with it.
Along with gaining credibility there is also the potential to make a lot of money. Peter Cashmore, founder of Mashable, is reported to make $166,000 a month, all from the one blog.
If you are new to blogging and interested in making money you should check out the blogs Shoemoney and Problogger. These blogs have a lot of tips for beginners on how to make money and get traffic.
2. Create Your own Second Life Store
I'll admit it, I'm a recovering Second Life addict. Second Life can be a lot of fun, it will make you want to spend hours there. If you haven't heard of Second Life, its a virtual game where people can do pretty much everything they do in real life, including shop, which there is a lot of.
According to the SL website, there has been $1,265,653 USD spent on Second Life in the past 24 hours. This money is spent on virtual clothes, cars, even guns, which individual shop owners make and sell. There's less risk here then owning your own real-life business, but it can be just as fruitful and a lot of fun.
3. Share Your Videos
There are sites that will pay you a share of their profits to share your videos on their website. A good video has the potential to earn you thousands of dollars - just think about how much Chris Crocker would have made if his videos were on a profit-sharing website. The videos don't have to be professionally done, just look at most of the videos on Youtube. People actually prefer amateur videos. If you like being in the spotlight this can be one of the funnest ways to make money online.
4. Share Your Pictures
Sharing pictures online is something people do every day - why not get paid for it? There are dozens of sites that are offering a revenue share for the page views that your pictures get. If you spend time on Flickr you should consider opening an account on a profit-sharing photo site. You can still have your pictures on both sites while making money on one.
A great thing about making money on these sites is that it can be a passive income. You can put your pictures up on a site, and as long as they get page views you will make money, even if you don't return for months. Some of the picture-sharing sites are pretty fun and will have you wanting to return, though.
5. Try Your Luck on Moola
Moola is an internet game site like no other. They give you a penny when you sign up that you can double by playing a game against another player. You keep doubling your money every time you win a game. You can cash out after you win $10, or you can play for the grand prize of $1,000,000. Its free to try and its super addicting.
6. Network With Friends
Since revenue-sharing sites have blown up this year, there are now a handful of sites that will pay you to do the same thing you do on Myspace. The most popular one is Dada - which pays you to chat, upload your pictures, and refer your friends.
If Dada's not for you, you should check out Mylot, Gather, and Squidoo. With so many options there's bound to be one that you will enjoy.
7. Play Guitar
You can earn extra cash by uploading your videos on Guitarvids.net. You can put up videos of you and your band, or make guitar instruction videos. Whatever you do this is probably one of the easiest and funnest ways to make money online if you're a guitar player.
8. Design T-Shirts
Getting paid for your original designs is probably one of the most rewarding ways to make a living. There are three major websites that you can sell your t-shirt designs through for free. You can also sell your designs on aprons, calenders, and bumper stickers. If you love to design clothes and merchandise but hate sales, consider entering a t-shirt design contest instead.
9. Post on Forums
Posting on forums is one of the fastest and easiest ways to make money online. Granted, the pay isn't that great, but it may pay your water bill, and you'll have fun while doing it.
Check out my post where I review paying forums, or you can learn how to become a full-time forum writer.
10. Give Advice
If you are knowledgeable in any area there are places online where you can give advice to people who need it. There are few things that are funner than giving your opinions on topics you care about - and you don't need an advanced degree to do it. You can give dating advice, tips on gardening, even gift-giving suggestions. You can get paid an hourly rate, anywhere from $6-$20 to give advice over the phone, through e-mail, or through web chat.
Making money through blogging and other online means is a great way to earn some cash to pay off those credit cards debts. Next time you get one of those offers for cash back credit cards or low interest, high reward business credit card offers, consider using the money you make online to pay them off so you won't be in debt.
All ways to make money online now.
Notice that ways to make money with a website are different from ways to make more money from it. Methods to increase your traffic or click-through rate will help you make more money, but they do not represent a method of making money per se.
For example, one could suggest that blending AdSense ads with the content is a way to make money from a website. In reality it’s not; it’s just a way to make more money by improving your ad click-through rate. The real monetization method behind it is a PPC ad network.
The list is divided into direct and indirect methods, and examples and links are provided for each point. Enjoy!
Direct Methods
1. PPC Advertising Networks
Google AdSense is the most popular option under this category, but there are also others. Basically you need to sign up with the network and paste some code snippets on your website. The network will then serve contextual ads (either text or images) relevant to your website, and you will earn a certain amount of money for every click.
The profitability of PPC advertising depends on the general traffic levels of the website and, most importantly, on the click-through rate (CTR) and cost per click (CPC). The CTR depends on the design of the website. Ads placed abode the fold or blended with content, for instance, tend to get higher CTRs. The CPC, on the other hand, depends on the nice of the website. Mortgages, financial products and college education are examples of profitable niches (clicks worth a couple of dollars are not rare), while tech-related topics tend to receive a smaller CPC (sometimes as low as a couple of cents per click).
The source of the traffic can also affect the overall CTR rate. Organic traffic (the one that comes from search engines) tends to perform well because these visitors were already looking for something, and they tend to click on ads more often. Social media traffic, on the other hand, presents terribly low CTRs because these visitors are tech-savvy and they just ignore ads.
2. CPM Advertising Networks
CPM advertising networks behave pretty much as PPC networks, except that you get paid according to the number of impressions (i.e., page views) that the ads displayed on your site will generate. CPM stands for Cost per Mille, and it refers to the cost for 1,000 impressions.
A blog that generates 100,000 page views monthly displaying an advertising banner with a $1 CPM, therefore, will earn $100 monthly.
CPM rates vary with the network, the position of the ad and the format. The better the network, the higher the CPM rate (because they have access to more advertisers). The closer you put the ad to the top of the page, the higher the CPM. The bigger the format (in terms of pixels), the higher the CPM.
You can get as low as $0,10 and as high as $10 per 1,000 impressions (more in some special cases). CPM advertising tends to work well on websites with a high page views per visitor ratio (e.g., online forums, magazines and so on).
List of popular CPM advertising networks:
• Casale Media
• Burst Media
• Value Click
• Advertising.com
• Tribal Fusion
• Right Media
3. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a very popular practice on the Internet. Under this system you have a merchant that is willing to let other people (the affiliates) sell directly or indirectly its products and services, in exchange for a commission. Sometimes this type of advertising is also called CPA (cost per action) or CPL (cost per lead) based.
Affiliates can send potential customers to the merchant using several tools, from banners to text links and product reviews.
In order to find suitable affiliate programs you can turn to individual companies and publishers like Dreamhost and SEOBook, or join affiliate marketplaces and networks.
List of popular affiliate marketplaces and networks:
4. RSS Feed Ads
With the quick adoption of the RSS technology by millions of Internet users, website owners are starting to find ways to monetize this new content distribution channel.
Feedburber already has its own publisher network, and you can sign-up to start displaying CPM based advertising on your feed footer. Bidvertiser recently introduced a RSS feed ad option as well, with a PPC scheme.
Finally, some blogs are also opting to sell banners or sponsored messages on their feed directly. John Chow and Marketing Pilgrim are two examples.
Related links:
• Feedburner
• BidVertiser
• Pheedo
5. Sponsors for Single Columns or Events
If you website has specific columns or events (e.g., a weekly podcast, an interview series, a monthly survey, a special project) you could find companies to sponsor them individually.
This method increases the monetization options for website owner, while giving advertisers the possibility to target a more specific audience and with a reduced commitment.
Mashable illustrates the case well. They have several advertising options on the site, including the possibility to sponsor specific columns and articles, including the “Daily Poll” and the “Web 2.0 Invites.”
Problogger also runs group writing projects occasionally, and before proceeding he publicly announce the project asking for sponsors.
6.Premium Content
Some websites and blogs give away part of their content for free, and charge for access to the premium content and exclusive tools.
SEOMoz is a good example. They have a very popular blog that gives advice and information on wide range of SEO related topics. On top of that visitors can decide to become premium members. It costs $48 monthly and it grants them access to guides, tools and other exclusive material.
7. Job Boards
All the popular blogs are trying to leverage job boards to make some extra income. Guy Kawasaki, ReadWriteWeb, Problogger… you name it.
Needless to say that in order to create an active and profitable job board you need first to have a blog focused on a specific niche, and a decent amount traffic.
The advantage of this method is that it is passive. Once you have the structure in place, the job listings will come naturally, and you can charge anywhere from $10 up to $100 for each.
List of popular job board software:
• JobThread
• Web Scribe Job Board
• SimplyHired Job-o-matic
• Jobbex
8. Marketplaces
Sitepoint is the online marketplace by excellence. Some websites and blogs, however, are trying to replicate that model on a smaller scale.
Depending on your niche, a market place that allows your visitors to buy, sell and trade products could work well. Over the time you could start charging a small fee for new product listings.
The problem with this method is that there are no standard software on the web, so you would need to hire a coder to get a marketplace integrated into your website.
You can see an example of a marketplaces being used on EasyWordpress and on Mashable.
9. Paid Surveys and Polls
There are services that will pay you money to run a small survey or poll on your website. The most popular one is called Vizu Answers.
Basically you need to sign up with them, and select the kind of polls that you want to run your site. Most of these services operate under a CPM model.
10. Selling or Renting Internal Pages
Million Dollar Wiki made this concept popular, but it was being used on the web for a long time around (check Pagerank10.co.uk for instance).
These websites sell for a single fee or rent for a recurring fee internal pages on their domain. Usually they have either high Pagerak or high traffic, so that people purchasing a page will be able to benefit in some way.
Implementing this method on a small blog would be difficult, but the concept is interesting and could be explored further.
11. Highlighted Posts from Sponsors
Techmeme probably pioneered this idea, but somehow it has not spread to other websites. The tech news aggregator displays editorial posts on the left column, and on the sidebar they have a section titled “Techmeme Sponsor Posts.”
On that section posts from the blog of the advertisers get highlighted, sending qualified traffic their way. Considering that the monthly cost for one spot is $5000 and that they have around 6 sponsors at any given time, it must be working well.
12. Donations
Placing a “Donate” link or button on a website can be an efficient way to earn money, especially if your blog is on a niche where readers learn and gain value from your content.
Personal development and productivity blogs, for instance, tend to perform well with donation based systems (one good example being Steve Pavlina).
A small variation of this method appeared sometime ago with the Buy Me a Beer plugin. This WordPress plugin enables you to insert a customized message at the bottom of each article, asking the readers to chip in for a beer or coffee.
13. In-text Adverting
In-text adverting networks like Kontera and Vibrant Media will place sponsored links inside your text. These links come with a double underline to differentiate them from normal links, and once the user rolls the mouse over the link the advertising will pop. Should the user click on it the site owner will make some money.
Some people make good money with this method, but others refrain from using it due to its intrusiveness. It is also interesting to note that very few mainstream websites have experimented with in-text advertising.
14. Pop-ups and Pop-unders
Pop-ups are a common yet annoying form of advertising on the Internet. If you are just trying to make a much money as possible from your website, you could experiment with them.
If you are trying to grow the traffic and generate loyal visitors, however, you probably should stay away from them. Just consider the hundreds of pop-up blockers out there: there is a reason why they are so popular.
Ad networks that use pop-ups:
• Tribal Fusion
• PayPopup
• PopupAd
• Adversal
15. Audio Ads
Also called PPP (Pay Per Play), this advertising method was introduce by Net Audio Ads. the concept is pretty simple: play a small audio advertising (usually 5 seconds) every time a visitor enters into your website. The user should not be able to stop it, creating a 100% conversion rate based on unique visitors.
The company is still rolling tests, but some users are reporting to get from a $4 to a $6 CPM. Regardless of the pay rate, though, this is a very intrusive form of advertising, so think twice before using it.
16. Selling the Website
Selling your website could be your last resource, but it has the potential to generate a big sum of money in a short period of time.
Market places on online forums like DigitalPoint and Sitepoint are always active with website buyers and sellers. Keep in mind that they most used parameter to determine the value of a website is the monthly revenue that it generates, multiplied by a certain number (the multiplier can be anything from 5 to 30, depending on the expectations of the seller, on the quality of the site, on the niche and other factors).
Some people also make money trading and flipping websites. They either create them from scratch or buy existing ones, and after some revamping they sell them for a profit.
Related links:
• How To Buy A Website And Flip It For Profit
• How To Sell A Website - How Much Is Your Website Worth?
• Where to sell a website? How to go about selling it?
Indirect Methods
17. Selling an Ebook
Perhaps one of the oldest money making strategies on the web, using a website to promote a related ebook is a very efficient way to generate revenue.
You could either structure the website around the book itself, like SEOBook.com, or launch the ebook based on the success of the website, like FreelanceSwitch did we the book How to be a Rockstar Freelancer.
Related links:
• Writing an ebook for your blog
• How to sell ebooks
• Processing payments for your ebook
• How to sell digital products online
• List of ebook selling software
18. Selling a Hardcover Book
Many authors and journalists leverage their blogs or websites to sell copies of hardcover books. Examples include Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin and Malcolm Gladwell.
While most of these people were already renowned authors before they created their website, one could also follow the other way around. Lorelle VanFossen did exactly that with her Blogging Tips book. First she built her authority on the subject via her blog, and afterwards she published the book.
List of self publishing and publishing services:
• Lulu
• Self Publishing
• iUniverse
• WordClay
19. Selling Templates or WordPress Themes
As more and more people decide to get an online presence, website templates and WordPress themes become hotter and hotter.
On this segment you have mainstream websites like TemplateMonster, as well as individual designers who decide to promote and sell their work independently.
Brian Gardner and Unique Blog Designs are two examples of websites that make money with the sales of premium and custom WordPress themes.
20. Offering Consulting and Related Services
Depending on your niche, you could make money by offering consulting and related services. If you are also the author of your blog, the articles and information that you will share will build your profile and possibly certify your expertise on that niche, making it easier to gain customers.
Chris Garrett used a similar strategy. First he created a highly influential blog on the blogging and new media niche, and afterwards he started offering consulting services to clients with related problems and needs.
21. Creating an Email List or Newsletter
Email lists and newsletters represent one of the most powerful marketing and money making tools on the Internet. They offer incredible conversion rates, and the possibility to call people to action in a very efficient way.
Creating a big list is a difficult task though, so if you have a popular website you could leverage it to increase the number of subscribers on your list.
Yaro Starak is a famous Internet marketer, and if you visit his blog you will notice that right on top he has a section encouraging visitors to subscribe to his email newsletter. Yaro generates five figures in revenues each month from his email newsletters, proving that this method works.
List of software to manage email newsletters:
• AWeber
• SendStudio NX
• PHP Autoresponder
• Constant Contact
22. Private Forums
While the Internet is populated with free forums, there is also the possibility to create a private one where members need to pay a single or recurring fee to join.
SEO Blackhat charges $100 monthly from its members, and they have thousands of them. Obviously in order to charge such a price for a forum membership you need to provide real value for the members (e.g., secret techniques, tools, and so on).
Performancing also launched a private forum recently, focused on the networking aspect. It is called The Hive, and the monthly cost is $10.
These are just two examples. There are many possibilities to create a private and profitable forum, you just need to find an appealing angle that will make it worth for the members.
List of popular forum software:
• vBulletin
• Simple Machines Forum
• phpBB
• Vanilla
Blogging is one of the best ways to make money online because you are part of a community. If you're good at what you do you can gain credibility and be recognized for your blogging across the internet. For instance, you probably recognize the picture above and the blog associated with it.
Along with gaining credibility there is also the potential to make a lot of money. Peter Cashmore, founder of Mashable, is reported to make $166,000 a month, all from the one blog.
If you are new to blogging and interested in making money you should check out the blogs Shoemoney and Problogger. These blogs have a lot of tips for beginners on how to make money and get traffic.
2. Create Your own Second Life Store
I'll admit it, I'm a recovering Second Life addict. Second Life can be a lot of fun, it will make you want to spend hours there. If you haven't heard of Second Life, its a virtual game where people can do pretty much everything they do in real life, including shop, which there is a lot of.
According to the SL website, there has been $1,265,653 USD spent on Second Life in the past 24 hours. This money is spent on virtual clothes, cars, even guns, which individual shop owners make and sell. There's less risk here then owning your own real-life business, but it can be just as fruitful and a lot of fun.
3. Share Your Videos
There are sites that will pay you a share of their profits to share your videos on their website. A good video has the potential to earn you thousands of dollars - just think about how much Chris Crocker would have made if his videos were on a profit-sharing website. The videos don't have to be professionally done, just look at most of the videos on Youtube. People actually prefer amateur videos. If you like being in the spotlight this can be one of the funnest ways to make money online.
4. Share Your Pictures
Sharing pictures online is something people do every day - why not get paid for it? There are dozens of sites that are offering a revenue share for the page views that your pictures get. If you spend time on Flickr you should consider opening an account on a profit-sharing photo site. You can still have your pictures on both sites while making money on one.
A great thing about making money on these sites is that it can be a passive income. You can put your pictures up on a site, and as long as they get page views you will make money, even if you don't return for months. Some of the picture-sharing sites are pretty fun and will have you wanting to return, though.
5. Try Your Luck on Moola
Moola is an internet game site like no other. They give you a penny when you sign up that you can double by playing a game against another player. You keep doubling your money every time you win a game. You can cash out after you win $10, or you can play for the grand prize of $1,000,000. Its free to try and its super addicting.
6. Network With Friends
Since revenue-sharing sites have blown up this year, there are now a handful of sites that will pay you to do the same thing you do on Myspace. The most popular one is Dada - which pays you to chat, upload your pictures, and refer your friends.
If Dada's not for you, you should check out Mylot, Gather, and Squidoo. With so many options there's bound to be one that you will enjoy.
7. Play Guitar
You can earn extra cash by uploading your videos on Guitarvids.net. You can put up videos of you and your band, or make guitar instruction videos. Whatever you do this is probably one of the easiest and funnest ways to make money online if you're a guitar player.
8. Design T-Shirts
Getting paid for your original designs is probably one of the most rewarding ways to make a living. There are three major websites that you can sell your t-shirt designs through for free. You can also sell your designs on aprons, calenders, and bumper stickers. If you love to design clothes and merchandise but hate sales, consider entering a t-shirt design contest instead.
9. Post on Forums
Posting on forums is one of the fastest and easiest ways to make money online. Granted, the pay isn't that great, but it may pay your water bill, and you'll have fun while doing it.
Check out my post where I review paying forums, or you can learn how to become a full-time forum writer.
10. Give Advice
If you are knowledgeable in any area there are places online where you can give advice to people who need it. There are few things that are funner than giving your opinions on topics you care about - and you don't need an advanced degree to do it. You can give dating advice, tips on gardening, even gift-giving suggestions. You can get paid an hourly rate, anywhere from $6-$20 to give advice over the phone, through e-mail, or through web chat.
Making money through blogging and other online means is a great way to earn some cash to pay off those credit cards debts. Next time you get one of those offers for cash back credit cards or low interest, high reward business credit card offers, consider using the money you make online to pay them off so you won't be in debt.
All ways to make money online now.
Notice that ways to make money with a website are different from ways to make more money from it. Methods to increase your traffic or click-through rate will help you make more money, but they do not represent a method of making money per se.
For example, one could suggest that blending AdSense ads with the content is a way to make money from a website. In reality it’s not; it’s just a way to make more money by improving your ad click-through rate. The real monetization method behind it is a PPC ad network.
The list is divided into direct and indirect methods, and examples and links are provided for each point. Enjoy!
Direct Methods
1. PPC Advertising Networks
Google AdSense is the most popular option under this category, but there are also others. Basically you need to sign up with the network and paste some code snippets on your website. The network will then serve contextual ads (either text or images) relevant to your website, and you will earn a certain amount of money for every click.
The profitability of PPC advertising depends on the general traffic levels of the website and, most importantly, on the click-through rate (CTR) and cost per click (CPC). The CTR depends on the design of the website. Ads placed abode the fold or blended with content, for instance, tend to get higher CTRs. The CPC, on the other hand, depends on the nice of the website. Mortgages, financial products and college education are examples of profitable niches (clicks worth a couple of dollars are not rare), while tech-related topics tend to receive a smaller CPC (sometimes as low as a couple of cents per click).
The source of the traffic can also affect the overall CTR rate. Organic traffic (the one that comes from search engines) tends to perform well because these visitors were already looking for something, and they tend to click on ads more often. Social media traffic, on the other hand, presents terribly low CTRs because these visitors are tech-savvy and they just ignore ads.
2. CPM Advertising Networks
CPM advertising networks behave pretty much as PPC networks, except that you get paid according to the number of impressions (i.e., page views) that the ads displayed on your site will generate. CPM stands for Cost per Mille, and it refers to the cost for 1,000 impressions.
A blog that generates 100,000 page views monthly displaying an advertising banner with a $1 CPM, therefore, will earn $100 monthly.
CPM rates vary with the network, the position of the ad and the format. The better the network, the higher the CPM rate (because they have access to more advertisers). The closer you put the ad to the top of the page, the higher the CPM. The bigger the format (in terms of pixels), the higher the CPM.
You can get as low as $0,10 and as high as $10 per 1,000 impressions (more in some special cases). CPM advertising tends to work well on websites with a high page views per visitor ratio (e.g., online forums, magazines and so on).
List of popular CPM advertising networks:
• Casale Media
• Burst Media
• Value Click
• Advertising.com
• Tribal Fusion
• Right Media
3. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a very popular practice on the Internet. Under this system you have a merchant that is willing to let other people (the affiliates) sell directly or indirectly its products and services, in exchange for a commission. Sometimes this type of advertising is also called CPA (cost per action) or CPL (cost per lead) based.
Affiliates can send potential customers to the merchant using several tools, from banners to text links and product reviews.
In order to find suitable affiliate programs you can turn to individual companies and publishers like Dreamhost and SEOBook, or join affiliate marketplaces and networks.
List of popular affiliate marketplaces and networks:
4. RSS Feed Ads
With the quick adoption of the RSS technology by millions of Internet users, website owners are starting to find ways to monetize this new content distribution channel.
Feedburber already has its own publisher network, and you can sign-up to start displaying CPM based advertising on your feed footer. Bidvertiser recently introduced a RSS feed ad option as well, with a PPC scheme.
Finally, some blogs are also opting to sell banners or sponsored messages on their feed directly. John Chow and Marketing Pilgrim are two examples.
Related links:
• Feedburner
• BidVertiser
• Pheedo
5. Sponsors for Single Columns or Events
If you website has specific columns or events (e.g., a weekly podcast, an interview series, a monthly survey, a special project) you could find companies to sponsor them individually.
This method increases the monetization options for website owner, while giving advertisers the possibility to target a more specific audience and with a reduced commitment.
Mashable illustrates the case well. They have several advertising options on the site, including the possibility to sponsor specific columns and articles, including the “Daily Poll” and the “Web 2.0 Invites.”
Problogger also runs group writing projects occasionally, and before proceeding he publicly announce the project asking for sponsors.
6.Premium Content
Some websites and blogs give away part of their content for free, and charge for access to the premium content and exclusive tools.
SEOMoz is a good example. They have a very popular blog that gives advice and information on wide range of SEO related topics. On top of that visitors can decide to become premium members. It costs $48 monthly and it grants them access to guides, tools and other exclusive material.
7. Job Boards
All the popular blogs are trying to leverage job boards to make some extra income. Guy Kawasaki, ReadWriteWeb, Problogger… you name it.
Needless to say that in order to create an active and profitable job board you need first to have a blog focused on a specific niche, and a decent amount traffic.
The advantage of this method is that it is passive. Once you have the structure in place, the job listings will come naturally, and you can charge anywhere from $10 up to $100 for each.
List of popular job board software:
• JobThread
• Web Scribe Job Board
• SimplyHired Job-o-matic
• Jobbex
8. Marketplaces
Sitepoint is the online marketplace by excellence. Some websites and blogs, however, are trying to replicate that model on a smaller scale.
Depending on your niche, a market place that allows your visitors to buy, sell and trade products could work well. Over the time you could start charging a small fee for new product listings.
The problem with this method is that there are no standard software on the web, so you would need to hire a coder to get a marketplace integrated into your website.
You can see an example of a marketplaces being used on EasyWordpress and on Mashable.
9. Paid Surveys and Polls
There are services that will pay you money to run a small survey or poll on your website. The most popular one is called Vizu Answers.
Basically you need to sign up with them, and select the kind of polls that you want to run your site. Most of these services operate under a CPM model.
10. Selling or Renting Internal Pages
Million Dollar Wiki made this concept popular, but it was being used on the web for a long time around (check Pagerank10.co.uk for instance).
These websites sell for a single fee or rent for a recurring fee internal pages on their domain. Usually they have either high Pagerak or high traffic, so that people purchasing a page will be able to benefit in some way.
Implementing this method on a small blog would be difficult, but the concept is interesting and could be explored further.
11. Highlighted Posts from Sponsors
Techmeme probably pioneered this idea, but somehow it has not spread to other websites. The tech news aggregator displays editorial posts on the left column, and on the sidebar they have a section titled “Techmeme Sponsor Posts.”
On that section posts from the blog of the advertisers get highlighted, sending qualified traffic their way. Considering that the monthly cost for one spot is $5000 and that they have around 6 sponsors at any given time, it must be working well.
12. Donations
Placing a “Donate” link or button on a website can be an efficient way to earn money, especially if your blog is on a niche where readers learn and gain value from your content.
Personal development and productivity blogs, for instance, tend to perform well with donation based systems (one good example being Steve Pavlina).
A small variation of this method appeared sometime ago with the Buy Me a Beer plugin. This WordPress plugin enables you to insert a customized message at the bottom of each article, asking the readers to chip in for a beer or coffee.
13. In-text Adverting
In-text adverting networks like Kontera and Vibrant Media will place sponsored links inside your text. These links come with a double underline to differentiate them from normal links, and once the user rolls the mouse over the link the advertising will pop. Should the user click on it the site owner will make some money.
Some people make good money with this method, but others refrain from using it due to its intrusiveness. It is also interesting to note that very few mainstream websites have experimented with in-text advertising.
14. Pop-ups and Pop-unders
Pop-ups are a common yet annoying form of advertising on the Internet. If you are just trying to make a much money as possible from your website, you could experiment with them.
If you are trying to grow the traffic and generate loyal visitors, however, you probably should stay away from them. Just consider the hundreds of pop-up blockers out there: there is a reason why they are so popular.
Ad networks that use pop-ups:
• Tribal Fusion
• PayPopup
• PopupAd
• Adversal
15. Audio Ads
Also called PPP (Pay Per Play), this advertising method was introduce by Net Audio Ads. the concept is pretty simple: play a small audio advertising (usually 5 seconds) every time a visitor enters into your website. The user should not be able to stop it, creating a 100% conversion rate based on unique visitors.
The company is still rolling tests, but some users are reporting to get from a $4 to a $6 CPM. Regardless of the pay rate, though, this is a very intrusive form of advertising, so think twice before using it.
16. Selling the Website
Selling your website could be your last resource, but it has the potential to generate a big sum of money in a short period of time.
Market places on online forums like DigitalPoint and Sitepoint are always active with website buyers and sellers. Keep in mind that they most used parameter to determine the value of a website is the monthly revenue that it generates, multiplied by a certain number (the multiplier can be anything from 5 to 30, depending on the expectations of the seller, on the quality of the site, on the niche and other factors).
Some people also make money trading and flipping websites. They either create them from scratch or buy existing ones, and after some revamping they sell them for a profit.
Related links:
• How To Buy A Website And Flip It For Profit
• How To Sell A Website - How Much Is Your Website Worth?
• Where to sell a website? How to go about selling it?
Indirect Methods
17. Selling an Ebook
Perhaps one of the oldest money making strategies on the web, using a website to promote a related ebook is a very efficient way to generate revenue.
You could either structure the website around the book itself, like SEOBook.com, or launch the ebook based on the success of the website, like FreelanceSwitch did we the book How to be a Rockstar Freelancer.
Related links:
• Writing an ebook for your blog
• How to sell ebooks
• Processing payments for your ebook
• How to sell digital products online
• List of ebook selling software
18. Selling a Hardcover Book
Many authors and journalists leverage their blogs or websites to sell copies of hardcover books. Examples include Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin and Malcolm Gladwell.
While most of these people were already renowned authors before they created their website, one could also follow the other way around. Lorelle VanFossen did exactly that with her Blogging Tips book. First she built her authority on the subject via her blog, and afterwards she published the book.
List of self publishing and publishing services:
• Lulu
• Self Publishing
• iUniverse
• WordClay
19. Selling Templates or WordPress Themes
As more and more people decide to get an online presence, website templates and WordPress themes become hotter and hotter.
On this segment you have mainstream websites like TemplateMonster, as well as individual designers who decide to promote and sell their work independently.
Brian Gardner and Unique Blog Designs are two examples of websites that make money with the sales of premium and custom WordPress themes.
20. Offering Consulting and Related Services
Depending on your niche, you could make money by offering consulting and related services. If you are also the author of your blog, the articles and information that you will share will build your profile and possibly certify your expertise on that niche, making it easier to gain customers.
Chris Garrett used a similar strategy. First he created a highly influential blog on the blogging and new media niche, and afterwards he started offering consulting services to clients with related problems and needs.
21. Creating an Email List or Newsletter
Email lists and newsletters represent one of the most powerful marketing and money making tools on the Internet. They offer incredible conversion rates, and the possibility to call people to action in a very efficient way.
Creating a big list is a difficult task though, so if you have a popular website you could leverage it to increase the number of subscribers on your list.
Yaro Starak is a famous Internet marketer, and if you visit his blog you will notice that right on top he has a section encouraging visitors to subscribe to his email newsletter. Yaro generates five figures in revenues each month from his email newsletters, proving that this method works.
List of software to manage email newsletters:
• AWeber
• SendStudio NX
• PHP Autoresponder
• Constant Contact
22. Private Forums
While the Internet is populated with free forums, there is also the possibility to create a private one where members need to pay a single or recurring fee to join.
SEO Blackhat charges $100 monthly from its members, and they have thousands of them. Obviously in order to charge such a price for a forum membership you need to provide real value for the members (e.g., secret techniques, tools, and so on).
Performancing also launched a private forum recently, focused on the networking aspect. It is called The Hive, and the monthly cost is $10.
These are just two examples. There are many possibilities to create a private and profitable forum, you just need to find an appealing angle that will make it worth for the members.
List of popular forum software:
• vBulletin
• Simple Machines Forum
• phpBB
• Vanilla
INDIA 2OO8
A REFERENCE ANNUAL
Compiled and edited by
RESEARCH, REFERENCE AND TRAINING DIVISION
PUBLICATIONS DIVISION
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
2008 (Saka 1929)
52nd Edition
© Research, Reference and Training Division
Price : Rs. 300.00
Published by the Additional Director General,
Publications Division,
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,
Government of India, Soochna Bhawan, CGO Complex
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003
Website : http://www.publicationsdivision.nic.in
E-mail : dpd@sb.nic.in or dpd@mail.nic.in
Sales Centres : Delhi - Soochna Bhavan, C.G.O. Complex, Lodhi Road,
New Delhi-110003 Hall No. 196, Old Secretariat, Delhi-110054 Mumbai
- 701, B-Wing, Kendriya Sadan, Belapur, Navi Mumbai-400614 Kolkata - 8,
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Nagar, Chennai-600090 Thiruvananthapuram - Press Road, Near Govt.
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Gruhakalpa Complex, M.G. Road, Nampally Hyderabad-500001 Bangalore -
1st Floor, ‘F’ Wing, Kendriya Sadan, Koramangala, Bangalore-560034 Patna
- Bihar State Co-operative Bank Building, Ashoka Rajpath, Patna-800004
Lucknow - Hall No. 1, 2nd Floor, Kendriya Bhawan,
Sector H, Aliganj, Lucknow-226024 Ahmedabad - Ambica
Complex, 1st Floor, Paldi, Ahmedabad-380007 Guwahati -
House No. 7, New Colony, Cheni Kuthi, KKB Road Guwahati-
781003.
Publications Division
Editing :
Dayawanti Srivastava
Cover Design :
Alka Nayyar
Production :
N.C. Mazumder
Research, Reference and Training Division
Compilation and Coordination
Mohan Chandak
Surendra Kumar
Romi Sharma
Simmi Kumar
Typesetter : Quick Prints, Naraina, New Delhi-110028.
Printed at : Nutech Photolithographers, New Delhi-20
ISBN : 81-230-1488-0
R E F - E N G - O P - 0 6 6 - 2 0 0 7 - 0 8
Contents
1. Land and the People 1
2. National Symbols 22
3. The Polity 25
4. Agriculture 60
5. Art and Culture 110
6. Basic Economic Data 124
7. Commerce 147
8. Communications 165
9. Defence 200
10. Education 217
11. Energy 254
12. Environment 295
13. Finance 317
14. Food and Civil Supplies 395
15. Health and Family Welfare 433
16. Housing 477
17. India and the World 490
18. Industry 519
19. Justice and Law 591
20. Labour 611
21. Mass Communication 630
22. Planning 676
23. Rural Development 708
24. Scientific and Technological Developments 721
25. Transport 816
26. Water Resources 848
27. Welfare 876
28. Youth Affairs and Sports 921
29. States and Union Territories 933
30. Diary of National Events 1047
(October 2006 to September 2007)
31.General Information 1096
Appendices 1153
Key to numeration
1 lakh = One hundred thousand
10 lakh = One million
1 crore = Ten million
100 crore = One billion
1 Land and the People
INDIA is one of the oldest civilisations in the world with a kaleidoscopic variety and
rich cultural heritage. It has achieved all-round socio-economic progress during the
last 60 years of its Independence. India has become self-sufficient in agricultural
production and is now the tenth industrialised country in the world and the sixth
nation to have gone into outer space to conquer nature for the benefit of the people. It
covers an area of 32,87,2631 sq km, extending from the snow-covered Himalayan
heights to the tropical rain forests of the south. As the 7th largest country in the world,
India stands apart from the rest of Asia, marked off as it is by mountains and the sea,
which give the country a distinct geographical entity. Bounded by the Great Himalayas
in the north, it stretches southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer, tapers off into the
Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west.
Lying entirely in the northern hemisphere, the mainland extends between
latitudes 8°4' and 37°6' north, longitudes 68°7' and 97°25' east and measures about
3,214 km from north to south between the extreme latitudes and about 2,933 km from
east to west between the extreme longitudes. It has a land frontier of about 15,200 km.
The total length of the coastline of the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands and Andaman
& Nicobar Islands is 7,516.6 km.
PHYSICAL BACKGROUND
Countries having a common border with India are Afghanistan and Pakistan to the
north-west, China, Bhutan and Nepal to the north, Myanmar to the east and
Bangladesh to the east of West Bengal. Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow
channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.
PHYSICAL FEATURES
The mainland comprises four regions, namely, the great mountain zone, plains of the
Ganga and the Indus, the desert region and the southern peninsula.
The Himalayas comprise three almost parallel ranges interspersed with large
plateaus and valleys, some of which, like the Kashmir and Kullu valleys, are fertile,
extensive and of great scenic beauty. Some of the highest peaks in the world are found
in these ranges. The high altitudes admit travel only to a few passes, notably the Jelep
La and Nathu La on the main Indo-Tibet trade route through the Chumbi Valley,
north-east of Darjeeling and Shipki La in the Satluj valley, north-east of Kalpa
(Kinnaur). The mountain wall extends over a distance of about 2,400 km with a
varying depth of 240 to 320 km. In the east, between India and Myanmar and India
and Bangladesh, hill ranges are much lower. Garo, Khasi, Jaintia and Naga Hills,
running almost east-west, join the chain to Mizo and Rkhine Hills running northsouth.
The plains of the Ganga and the Indus, about 2,400 km long and 240 to 320 km
broad, are formed by basins of three distinct river systems - the Indus, the Ganga and
the Brahmaputra. They are one of the world’s greatest stretches of flat alluvium and
also one of the most densely populated areas on the earth. Between the Yamuna at
1 Provisional as on 31 March 1982
2 India 2008
Delhi and the Bay of Bengal, nearly 1,600 km away, there is a drop of only 200 metres
in elevation.
The desert region can be divided into two parts - the great desert and the little
desert. The great desert extends from the edge of the Rann of Kuchch beyond the Luni
river northward. The whole of the Rajasthan-Sind frontier runs through this. The
little desert extends from the Luni between Jaisalmer and Jodhpur up to the northern
wastes. Between the great and the little deserts lies a zone of absolutely sterile country,
consisting of rocky land cut up by limestone ridges.
The Peninsular Plateau is marked off from the plains of the Ganga and the
Indus by a mass of mountain and hill ranges varying from 460 to 1,220 metres in
height. Prominent among these are the Aravalli, Vindhya, Satpura, Maikala and
Ajanta. The Peninsula is flanked on the one side by the Eastern Ghats where average
elevation is about 610 metres and on the other by the Western Ghats where it is
generally from 915 to 1,220 metres, rising in places to over 2,440 metres. Between the
Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea lies a narrow coastal strip, while between Eastern
Ghats and the Bay of Bengal there is a broader coastal area. The southern point of
plateau is formed by the Nilgiri Hills where the Eastern and the Western Ghats meet.
The Cardamom Hills lying beyond may be regarded as a continuation of the Western
Ghats.
GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE
The geological regions broadly follow the physical features and may be grouped into
three regions: the Himalayas and their associated group of mountains, the Indo-
Ganga Plain and the Peninsular Shield.
The Himalayan mountain belt to the north and the Naga-Lushai mountain in
the east, are the regions of mountain-building movement. Most of this area, now
presenting some of the most magnificent mountain scenery in the world, was under
marine conditions about 60 crore years ago. In a series of mountain-building
movements commencing about seven crore years ago, the sediments and the basement
rocks rose to great heights. The weathering and erosive agencies worked on these to
produce the relief seen today. The Indo-Ganga plains are a great alluvial tract that
separate the Himalayas in the north from the Peninsula in the south.
The Peninsula is a region of relative stability and occasional seismic
disturbances. Highly metamorphosed rocks of the earliest periods, dating back as far
as 380 crore years, occur in the area; the rest being covered by the coastal-bearing
Gondwana formations, lava flows belonging to the Deccan Trap formation and
younger sediments.
RIVER SYSTEMS
The river systems of India can be classified into four groups viz., (i) Himalayan rivers,
(ii) Deccan rivers, (iii) Coastal rivers, and (iv) Rivers of the inland drainage basin. The
Himalayan rivers are formed by melting snow and glaciers and therefore,
continuously flow throughout the year. During the monsoon months, Himalayas
receive very heavy rainfall and rivers swell, causing frequent floods. The Deccan
rivers on the other hand are rainfed and therefore fluctuate in volume. Many of these
are non-perennial. The Coastal streams, especially on the west coast are short in
length and have limited catchment areas. Most of them are non-perennial. The streams
of inland drainage basin of western Rajasthan are few and far apart. Most of them are
of an ephemeral character.
Land and the People 3
The main Himalayan river systems are those of the Indus and the Ganga-
Brahmaputra-Meghna system. The Indus, which is one of the great rivers of the
world, rises near Mansarovar in Tibet and flows through India and thereafter through
Pakistan and finally falls in the Arabian sea near Karachi. Its important tributaries
flowing in Indian territory are the Sutlej (originating in Tibet), the Beas, the Ravi, the
Chenab and the Jhelum. The Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna is another important
system of which the principal sub-basins are those of Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda,
which join at Dev Prayag to form the Ganga. It traverses through Uttaranchal, Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal States. Below Rajmahal hills, the Bhagirathi, which
used to be the main course in the past, takes off, while the Padma continues eastward
and enters Bangladesh. The Yamuna, the Ramganga, the Ghaghra, the Gandak, the
Kosi, the Mahananda and the Sone are the important tributaries of the Ganga. Rivers
Chambal and Betwa are the important sub-tributaries, which join Yamuna before it
meets the Ganga. The Padma and the Brahmaputra join at Bangladesh and continue
to flow as the Padma or Ganga. The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet, where it is known as
Tsangpo and runs a long distance till it crosses over into India in Arunachal Pradesh
under the name of Dihang. Near Passighat, the Debang and Lohit join the river
Brahmaputra and the combined river runs all along the Assam in a narrow valley. It
crosses into Bangladesh downstream of Dhubri.
The principal tributaries of Brahmaputra in India are the Subansiri, Jia Bhareli,
Dhansiri, Puthimari, Pagladiya and the Manas. The Brahmaputra in Bangladesh
receives the flow of Tista, etc., and finally falls into Ganga. The Barak river, the Head
stream of Meghna, rises in the hills in Manipur. The important tributaries of the river
are Makku, Trang, Tuivai, Jiri, Sonai, Rukni, Katakhal, Dhaleswari, Langachini,
Maduva and Jatinga. Barak continues in Bangladesh till the combined Ganga—
Brahmaputra join it near Bhairab Bazar.
In the Deccan region, most of the major river systems flowing generally in east
direction fall into Bay of Bengal. The major east flowing rivers are Godavari, Krishna,
Cauvery, Mahanadi, etc. Narmada and Tapti are major West flowing rivers.
The Godavari in the southern Peninsula has the second largest river basin
covering 10 per cent of the area of India. Next to it is the Krishna basin in the region,
while the Mahanadi has the third largest basin. The basin of the Narmada in the
uplands of the Deccan, flowing to the Arabian Sea, and of the Kaveri in the south,
falling into the Bay of Bengal are about the same size, though with different character
and shape.
There are numerous coastal rivers, which are comparatively small. While only
handful of such rivers drain into the sea near the delta of east coast, there are as many
as 600 such rivers on the west coast.
A few rivers in Rajasthan do not drain into the sea. They drain into salt lakes
and get lost in sand with no outlet to sea. Besides these, there are the desert rivers
which flow for some distance and are lost in the desert. These are Luni, Machhu,
Rupen, Saraswati, Banas, Ghaggar and others.
CLIMATE
The climate of India may be broadly described as tropical monsoon type. There are
four seasons: (i) winter (January-February), (ii) hot weather summer (March-May);
(iii) rainy south-western monsoon (June-September) and (iv) post-monsoon, also
known as north-east monsoon in the southern Peninsula (October-December). India’s
4 India 2008
climate is affected by two seasonal winds - the north-east monsoon and the southwest
monsoon. The north-east monsoon commonly known as winter monsoon blows
from land to sea whereas south-west monsoon known as summer monsoon blows
from sea to land after crossing the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of
Bengal. The south-west monsoon brings most of the rainfall during the year in the
country.
FLORA
With a wide range of climatic conditions from the torrid to the arctic, India has a rich
and varied vegetation, which only a few countries of comparable size possess. India
can be divided into eight distinct-floristic-regions, namely, the western Himalayas,
the eastern Himalayas, Assam, the Indus plain, the Ganga plain, the Deccan, Malabar
and the Andamans.
The Western Himalayan region extends from Kashmir to Kumaon. Its temperate
zone is rich in forests of chir, pine, other conifers and broad-leaved temperate trees.
Higher up, forests of deodar, blue pine, spruce and silver fir occur. The alpine zone
extends from the upper limit of the temperate zone of about 4,750 metres or even
higher. The characteristic trees of this zone are high-level silver fir, silver birch and
junipers. The eastern Himalayan region extends from Sikkim eastwards and embraces
Darjeeling, Kurseong and the adjacent tract. The temperate zone has forests of oaks,
laurels, maples, rhododendrons, alder and birth. Many conifers, junipers and dwarf
willows also occur here. The Assam region comprises the Brahamaputra and the
Surma valleys with evergreen forests, occasional thick clumps of bamboos and tall
grasses. The Indus plain region comprises the plains of Punjab, western Rajasthan
and northern Gujarat. It is dry and hot and supports natural vegetation. The Ganga
plain region covers the area which is alluvial plain and is under cultivation for
wheat, sugarcane and rice. Only small areas support forests of widely differing types.
The Deccan region comprises the entire table land of the Indian Peninsula and
supports vegetation of various kinds from scrub jungles to mixed deciduous forests.
The Malabar region covers the excessively humid belt of mountain country parallel
to the west coast of the Peninsula. Besides being rich in forest vegetation, this region
produces important commercial corps, such as coconut, betelnut, pepper, coffee and
tea, rubber and cashewnut. The Andaman region abounds in evergreen, mangrove,
beach and diluvial forests. The Himalayan region extending from Kashmir to
Arunachal Pradesh through Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Meghalaya and Nagaland and
the Deccan Peninsula is rich in endemic flora, with a large number of plants which
are not found elsewhere.
India is rich in flora. Available data place India in the tenth position in the
world and fourth in Asia in plant diversity. From about 70 per cent geographical area
surveyed so far, over 46,000 species of plants have been described by the Botanical
Survey of India (BSI), Kolkata. The vascular flora, which forms the conspicuous
vegetation cover, comprises 15,000 species. The flora of the country is being studied
by BSI and its nine circle/field offices located throughout the country along with
certain universities and research institutions.
Ethno-botanical study deals with the utilisation of plants and plant products
by ethnic races. A scientific study of such plants has been made by BSI. A number of
detailed ethno-botanical explorations have been conducted in different tribal areas
of the country. More than 800 plant species of ethno-botanical interest have been
collected and identified at different centres.
Land and the People 5
Owing to destruction of forests for agricultural, industrial and urban
development, several Indian plants are facing extinction. About 1,336 plant species
are considered vulnerable and endangered. About 20 species of higher plants are
categorised as possibly extinct as these have not been sighted during the last 6-10
decades. BSI brings out an inventory of endangered plants in the form of a publication
titled Red Data Book.
FAUNA
The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), with its headquarters in Kolkata and 16 regional
stations is responsible for surveying the faunal resources of India. Possessing a
tremendous diversity of climate and physical conditions, India has great variety of
fauna numbering over 89,000 species. Of these, protista number 2,577, mollusca
5,070, anthropoda 68,389, amphibian 209, mammalian 390, reptilian 456, members
of protochordata 119, pisces 2,546, aves 1,232 and other invertebrates 8,329.
The mammals include the majestic elephant, the gaur or Indian bison–the largest
of existing bovines, the great Indian rhinoceros, the gigantic wild sheep of the
Himalayas, the swamp deer, the thamin spotted deer, nilgai, the four-horned antelope,
the Indian antelope or black-buck – the only representatives of these genera. Among
the cats, the tiger and lion are the most magnificent of all; other splendid creatures
such as the clouded leopard, the snow leopard, the marbled cat, etc., are also found.
Many other species of mammals are remarkable for their beauty, colouring, grace and
uniqueness. Several birds, like pheasants, geese, ducks, myanahs, parakeets, pigeons,
cranes, hornbills and sunbirds inhabit forests and wetlands.
Rivers and lakes harbour crocodiles and gharials, the latter being the only
representative of crocodilian order in the world. The salt water crocodile is found
along the eastern coast and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A project for
breeding crocodiles which started in 1974, has been instrumental in saving the
crocodile from extinction.
The great Himalayan range has a very interesting variety of fauna that includes
the wild sheep and goats, markhor, ibex, shrew and tapir. The panda and the snow
leopard are found in the upper reaches of the mountains.
Depletion of vegetative cover due to expansion of agriculture, habitat
destruction, over-exploitation, pollution, introduction of toxic imbalance in community
structure, epidemics, floods, droughts and cyclones, contribute to the loss of flora
and fauna. More than 39 species of mammals, 72 species of birds, 17 species of
reptiles, three species of amphibians, two species of fish and a large number of
butterflies, moth and beetles are considered vulnerable and endangered.
DEMOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND
CENSUS
The Census of India 2001, is historic and epoch making being the first census of the
twenty-first century and the third millennium. It reveals benchmark data on the state
of abundant human resources available in the country, their demography, culture
and economic structure at a juncture, which marks a centennial and millenial
transition.
The population enumeration of 2001 census was undertaken during 9-28
February 2001 with a revisional round from 1-5 March 2001. The Census moment,
the referral time at which the snapshot of the population is taken was 00.00 hours of
6 India 2008
the 1 March 2001. Until the 1991 Census, the sunrise of 1 March was taken to be the
census moment. The houseless population, as has been the usual practice, was
enumerated on the night of 28 February 2001.
POPULATION
India’s population as on 1 March 2001 stood at 1,028 million (532.1 million males
and 496.4 million females). India accounts for a meagre 2.4 per cent of the world
surface area of 135.79 million sq km. Yet, it supports and sustains a whopping 16.7
per cent of the world population.
The population of India, which at the turn of the twentieth century was around
238.4 million, increased to reach 1,028 million at the dawn of the twenty-first century.
The population of India as recorded at each decennial census from 1901 has grown
steadily except for a decrease during 1911-21. Decadal growth of population from
1901 is shown in table 1.1.
Table 1.2 gives the selected indicators of population growth in different States
and Union Territories. The per cent decadal growth of population in the inter-censal
period 1991-2001 varies from a low of 9.43 in Kerala to a very high 64.53 in Nagaland.
Delhi with 47.02 per cent, Chandigarh with 40.28 per cent and Sikkim with 33.06 per
cent registered very high growth rates. In addition to Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra
Pradesh registered low growth rates during 1991-2001.
POPULATION DENSITY
One of the important indices of population concentration is the density of population.
It is defined as the number of persons per sq km. The population density of India in
2001 was 324 per sq km.
The density of population was increased in all States and Union Territories
between 1991 and 2001. Among major states, West Bengal is still the most thickly
populated state with a population density of 903 in 2001. Bihar is now the second
highest densely populated state pushing Kerala to the third place. Ranking of the
States and Union Territories by density is shown in table 1.3.
SEX RATIO
Sex ratio, defined as the number of females per thousand males is an important social
indicator to measure the extent of prevailing equality between males and females in
a society at a given point of time. The sex ratio in the country had always remained
unfavourable to females. It was 972 at the beginning of the 20th century and thereafter
showed continuous decline until 1941. The sex ratio from 1901-2001 is given in
table 1.4.
LITERACY
For the purpose of census 2001, a person aged seven and above, who can both read
and write with understanding in any language, is treated as literate. A person, who
can only read but cannot write, is not literate. In the censuses prior to 1991, children
below five years of age were necessarily treated as illiterates.
The results of 2001 census reveal that there has been an increase in literacy in
the country. The literacy rate in the country is 64.84 per cent, 75.26 for males and
53.67 for females. The steady improvement in literacy is apparent from the table 1.5.
Kerala retained its position by being on top with a 90.86 per cent literacy rate,
closely followed by Mizoram (88.80 per cent) and Lakshadweep (86.66 per cent).
Land and the People 7
TABLE 1.1 : POPULATION 1901-2001
Average
Decadal Growth Change in decadal annual Progressive
Census growth exponential growth rate
years Population growth rate over 1901
Absolute Per cent Absolute Per cent (per cent) (per cent)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1901 23,83,96,327 – – – – – –
1911 25,20,93,390 1,36,97,063 5.75 – – 0.56 5.75
1921 25,13,21,213 -7,72,177 -0.31 -1,44,69,240 -6.05 -0.03 5.42
1931 27,89,77,238 2,76,56,025 11.00 2,84,28,202 11.31 1.04 17.02
1941 31,86,60,580 3,96,83,342 14.22 1,20,27,317 3.22 1.33 33.67
19511 36,10,88,090 4,24,27,510 13.31 27,44,168 -0.91 1.25 51.47
19611 43,92,34,771 7,81,46,681 21.64 3,57,19,171 8.33 1.96 84.25
1971 54,81,59,652 10,89,24,881 24.80 3,07,78,200 3.16 2.22 129.94
19812 68,33,29,097 13,51,69,445 24.66 2,62,44,564 -0.14 2.20 186.64
19913 84,64,21,039 16,30,91,942 23.87 2,79,22,497 -0.79 2.14 255.05
20014 1,02,87,37,436 18,23,16,397 21.54 1,92,24,455 -2.33 1.95 331.47
Notes :
1. In working out ‘Decadal Growth’ and ‘Percentage Decadal Growth’ for India 1941-51 and 1951-61 the population of Tuensang district
for 1951 (7,025) and the population of Tuensang (83,501) and Mon (5,774) districts for 1961 Census of Nagaland state have not been
taken into account as the areas went in for census for the first time in 1951 and the same are not comparable.
2. The 1981 Census could not be held owing to disturbances in Assam. Hence the population figures for 1981 of Assam have been worked
out by ‘interpolation’.
3. The 1991 Census could not be held owing to disturbances in Jammu and Kashmir. Hence the population figures for 1991 of Jammu
and Kashmir have been worked out by ‘interpolation’.
4. The population figures of 2001 includes estimated figures for those of the three sub-divisions, viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Pural
of Senapati district of Manipur as census result of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative
reasons.
8 India 2008
TABLE 1.2 : TOTAL POPULATION AND POPUATION GROWTH DURING 1991-2001,
INDIA/STATE/UNION TERRITORY
Sl. No. India State/Union territory Total Population Population growth
1991 2001 1991-2001
Person Males Females Person Males Females
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
India** 846,421,039 439,358,440 407,062,599 1,028,737,436 532,223,090 496,514,346 21.54
1. Jammu and Kashmir* 7,837,051 4,142,082 3,694,969 10,143,700 5,360,926 4,782,774 29.43
2. Himachal Pradesh 5,170,877 2,617,467 2,553,410 6,077,900 3,087,940 2,989,960 17.54
3. Punjab 20,281,969 10,778,034 9,503,935 24,358,999 12,985,045 11,373,954 20.10
4. Chandigarh 642,015 358,614 283,401 900,635 506,938 393,697 40.28
5. Uttrakhand 7,050,634 3,640,895 3,409,739 8,489,349 4,325,924 4,163,425 20.41
6. Haryana 16,463,648 8,827,474 7,636,174 21,144,564 11,363,953 9,780,611 28.43
7. Delhi 9,420,644 5,155,512 4,265,132 13,850,507 7,607,234 6,243,273 47.02
8. Rajasthan 44,005,990 23,042,780 20,963,210 56,507,188 29,420,011 27,087,177 28.41
9. Uttar Pradesh 132,061,653 70,396,062 61,665,591 166,197,921 87,565,369 78,632,552 25.85
10. Bihar 64,530,554 33,838,238 30,692,316 82,998,509 43,243,795 39,754,714 28.62
11. Sikkim 406,457 216,427 190,030 540,851 288,484 252,367 33.06
12. Arunachal Pradesh 864,558 465,004 399,554 1,097,968 579,941 518,027 27.00
13. Nagaland 1,209,546 641,282 568,264 1,990,036 1,047,141 942,895 64.53
14. Manipur** 1,837,149 938,359 898,790 2,293,896 1,161,952 1,131,944 24.86
15. Mizoram 689,756 358,978 330,778 888,573 459,109 429,464 28.82
16. Tripura 2,757,205 1,417,930 1,339,275 3,199,203 1,642,225 1,556,978 16.03
17. Meghalaya 1,774,778 907,687 867,091 2,318,822 1,176,087 1,142,735 30.65
18. Assam 22,414,322 11,657,989 10,756,333 26,655,528 13,777,037 12,878,491 18.92
19. West Bengal 68,077,965 35,510,633 32,567,332 80,176,197 41,465,985 38,710,212 17.77
Land and the People 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
20. Jharkhand 21,843,911 11,363,853 10,480,058 26,945,829 13,885,037 13,060,792 23.36
21. Orissa 31,659,736 16,064,146 15,595,590 36,804,660 18,660,570 18,144,090 16.25
22. Chhattisgarh 17,614,928 8,872,620 8,742,308 20,833,803 10,474,218 10,369,585 18.27
23. Madhya Pradesh 48,566,242 25,394,673 23,171,569 60,348,023 31,443,652 28,904,371 24.26
24. Gujarat 41,309,582 21,355,209 19,954,373 50,671,017 26,385,577 24,285,440 22.66
25. Daman and Diu 101,586 51,595 49,991 158,204 92,512 65,692 55.73
26. Dadra and Nagar Haveli 138,477 70,953 67,524 220,490 121,666 98,824 59.22
27. Maharashtra 78,937,187 40,825,618 38,111,569 96,878,627 50,400,596 46,478,031 22.73
28. Andhra Pradesh 66,508,008 33,724,581 32,783,427 76,210,007 38,527,413 37,682,594 14.59
29. Karnataka 44,977,201 22,951,917 22,025,284 52,850,562 26,898,918 25,951,644 17.51
30. Goa 1,169,793 594,790 575,003 1,347,668 687,248 660,420 15.21
31. Lakshadweep 51,707 26,618 25,089 60,650 31,131 29,519 17.30
32. Kerala 29,098,518 14,288,995 14,809,523 31,841,374 15,468,614 16,372,760 9.43
33. Tamil Nadu 55,858,946 28,298,975 27,559,971 62,405,679 31,400,909 31,004,770 11.72
34. Pondicherry 807,785 408,081 399,704 974,345 486,961 487,384 20.62
35. Andaman and 280,661 154,369 126,292 356,152 192,972 163,180 26.90
Nicobar Islands
Note : * The 1991 census figures of Jammu & kashmir are interpolated as no census was conducted there due to disturbances.
** India and Manipur figures include estimated figures for those of the three sub-divisions viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Puru of Senapati district of Manipur as census
resuts of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons.
Source : Office of the Registrar General, India
10 India 2008
Bihar with a literacy rate of 47.00 per cent ranks last in the country preceded by
Jharkhand (53.56 per cent) and Jammu and Kashmir (55.52 per cent). Kerala also
occupies the top spot in the country both in male literacy with 94.24 per cent and
female literacy with 87.72 per cent. On the contrary, Bihar has recorded the lowest
literacy rates both in case of males (59.68 per cent) and females (33.12 per cent). Table
1.6 shows the literacy rate among persons, male and female in States and UTs, and
their ranking.
TABLE 1.3 : STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES BY DENSITY
Rank State/ Density Rank
in 2001 Union territories 2001 1991 in 1991
1 2 3 4 5
1. Delhi 9,340 6,352 1
2. Chandigarh 7,900 5,632 2
3. Pondicherry 2,034 1,683 5
4. Lakshadweep 1,895 1,616 3
5. Daman and Diu 1,413 907 4
6. West Bengal 903 767 6
7. Bihar 881 685 7
8. Kerala 819 749 9
9. Uttar Pradesh 690 548 8
10. Punjab 484 403 10
11. Tamil Nadu 480 429 11
12. Haryana 478 372 12
13. Dadra and Nagar Haveli 449 282 14
14. Goa 364 316 13
15. Assam 340 286 15
16. Jharkhand 338 274 17
17. Maharashtra 315 257 16
18. Tripura 305 263 18
19. Andhra Pradesh 277 242 19
20. Karnataka 276 235 20
21. Gujarat 258 211 21
22. Orissa 236 203 22
23. Madhya Pradesh 196 158 23
24. Rajasthan 165 129 24
25. Uttrakhand 159 133 25
26. Chhattisgarh 154 130 26
27. Nagaland 120 73 27
28. Himachal Pradesh 109 93 28
29. Manipur* 111 82 30
30. Meghalaya 103 79 29
31. Jammu and Kashmir 100 77 31
32. Sikkim 76 57 32
33. Andaman and Nicobar Islands 43 34 33
Land and the People 11
34 . Mizoram 42 33 34
35. Arunachal Pradesh 13 10 35
Notes :
* Manipur figures include estimated figures for those of the three sub-divisions, viz., Mao
Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapti district of Manipur as census results of 2001 in these
three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons.
TABLE 1.4 : SEX RATIO : 1901-2001
Census Year Sex Ratio
(females per 1,000 males)
1901 972
1911 964
1921 955
1931 950
1941 945
1951 946
1961 941
1971 930
1981 934
1991 926
2001 933
Notes :
1. For 1981, interpolated figures for Assam have been used.
2. For 1991, interpolated figures based on final population of 2001 census for Jammu and
Kashmir have been used.
3. India figures for 2001 census exclude those of the three sub-divisions, viz., Mao Maram,
Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur as population Census results of 2001
in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons.
TABLE 1.5 : LITERACY RATE : 1951-2001
Census Year Persons Males Females
1951 18.33 27.16 8.86
1961 28.3 40.40 15.35
1971 34.45 45.96 21.97
1981 43.57 56.38 29.76
1991 52.21 64.13 39.29
2001 64.84 75.26 53.67
Notes :
1. Literacy rates for 1951, 1961 and 1971 Censuses relates to population aged five years and
above. The rates for the 1981, 1991 and 2001 Censuses relate to the population aged seven
years and above.
2. The 1981 Literacy rates exclude Assam where the 1981 Census could not be conducted.
3. The 1991 Literacy rates exclude Jammu and Kashmir where the 1991 Census could not be
conducted due to disturbed conditions.
12 India 2008
TABLE 1.6 : RANKING OF STATES/UTs BY LITERACY RATE AMONG PERSONS, MALES AND FEMALES, 2001 CENSUS
Persons Males Females
Rank State/ Literacy State/ Literacy State/ Literacy
Union Territories Rate Union Territories Rate Union Territories Rate
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1. Kerala 90.86 Kerala 94.24 Kerala 87.72
2. Mizoram 88.80 Lakshadweep 92.53 Mizoram 86.75
3. Lakshadweep 86.66 Mizoram 90.72 Lakshadweep 80.47
4. Goa 82.01 Pondicherry 88.62 Chandigarh 76.47
5. Chandigarh 81.94 Goa 88.42 Goa 75.37
6. Delhi 81.67 Delhi 87.33 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 75.24
7. Andaman and Nicobar Islands 81.30 Daman and Diu 86.76 Delhi 74.71
8. Pondicherry 81.24 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 86.33 Pondicherry 73.90
9. Daman and Diu 78.18 Chandigarh 86.14 Himachal Pradesh 67.42
10. Maharashtra 76.88 Maharashtra 85.97 Maharashtra 67.03
11. Himachal Pradesh 76.48 Himachal Pradesh 85.35 Daman and Diu 65.61
12. Tamil Nadu 73.45 Uttaranchal 83.28 Tripura 64.91
13. Tripura 73.19 Tamil Nadu 82.42 Tamil Nadu 64.33
14. Uttrakhand 71.62 Tripura 81.02 Punjab 63.36
15. Manipur1 70.53 Manipur1 80.33 Nagaland 61.46
16. Punjab 69.65 Gujarat 79.66 Manipur1 60.53
17. Gujarat 69.14 Haryana 78.49 Sikkim 60.40
18. Sikkim 68.81 Chhattisgarh 77.38 Uttaranchal 59.63
19. West Bengal 68.64 West Bengal 77.02 West Bengal 59.61
20. Haryana 67.91 Karnataka 76.10 Meghalaya 59.61
Land and the People 13
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
21. Karnataka 66.64 Madhya Pradesh 76.06 Gujarat 57.80
22. Nagaland 66.59 Sikkim 76.04 Karnataka 56.87
23. Chhattisgarh 64.66 Rajasthan 75.70 Haryana 55.73
24. Madhya Pradesh 63.74 Orissa 75.35 Assam 54.61
25. Assam 63.25 Punjab 75.23 Chhattisgarh 51.85
26. Orissa 63.08 Assam 71.28 Orissa 50.51
27. Meghalaya 62.56 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 71.18 Andhra Pradesh 50.43
28. Andhra Pradesh 60.47 Nagaland 71.16 Madhya Pradesh 50.29
29. Rajasthan 60.41 Andhra Pradesh 70.32 Rajasthan 43.85
30. Dadra and Nagar Haveli 57.63 Uttar Pradesh 68.82 Arunachal Pradesh 43.53
31. Uttar Pradesh 56.27 Jharkhand 67.30 Jammu and Kashmir 43.00
32. Jammu and Kashmir 55.52 Jammu and Kashmir 66.60 Uttar Pradesh 42.22
33. Arunachal Pradesh 54.34 Meghalaya 65.43 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 40.23
34. Jharkhand 53.56 Arunachal Pradesh 63.83 Jharkhand 38.87
35. Bihar 47.00 Bihar 59.68 Bihar 33.12
Notes :
1 Manipur figures exclude those of the three sub-divisions, viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur as census
results of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons.
Literacy rates relate to the population aged seven years and above.
14 India 2008
TABLE 1.7 : TOTAL POPULATION AND PERCENTAGE OF
SCHEDULED CASTES AND SCHEDULED TRIBES : 2001 CENSUS
Sl. India/State/ Total Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe
No. Union Territory Population Population Percentage Population Percentage
(‘000) (‘000) of total (‘000) of total
population population
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
INDIA1 1,028,610 166,636 16.20 84,326 8.20
1. Jammu and Kashmir 10,144 770 7.59 1,106 10.90
2. Himachal Pradesh 6,078 1,502 24.72 245 4.02
3. Punjab 24,359 7,029 28.85 0 0.00
4. Chandigarh 901 158 17.50 0 0.00
5. Uttrakhand 8,489 1,517 17.87 256 3.02
6. Haryana 21,145 4,091 19.35 0 0.00
7. Delhi 13,851 2,343 16.92 0 0.00
8. Rajasthan 56,507 9,694 17.16 7,098 12.56
9. Uttar Pradesh 166,198 35,148 21.15 108 0.06
10. Bihar 82,999 13,049 15.72 758 0.91
11. Sikkim 541 27 5.02 111 20.60
12. Arunachal Pradesh 1,098 6 0.56 705 64.22
13. Nagaland 1,990 0 0.00 1,774 89.15
14. Manipur1 2,167 60 2.77 741 34.20
15. Mizoram 889 0 0.03 839 94.46
16. Tripura 3,199 556 17.37 993 31.05
17. Meghalaya 2,319 11 0.48 1,993 85.94
18. Assam 26,656 1,826 6.85 3,309 12.41
19. West Bengal 80,176 18,453 23.02 4,407 5.50
20. Jharkhand 26,946 3,189 11.84 7,087 26.30
21. Orissa 36,805 6,082 16.53 8,145 22.13
22. Chhattisgarh 20,834 2,419 11.61 6,617 31.76
23. Madhya Pradesh 60,348 9,155 15.17 12,233 20.27
24. Gujarat 50,671 3,593 7.09 7,481 14.76
25. Daman and Diu 158 5 3.06 14 8.85
26. Dadra and Nagar Haveli 220 4 1.86 137 62.24
27. Maharashtra 96,879 9,882 10.20 8,577 8.85
28. Andhra Pradesh 76,210 12,339 16.19 5,024 6.59
29. Karnataka 52,851 8,564 16.20 3,464 6.55
30. Goa 1,348 24 1.77 1 0.04
31. Lakshadweep 61 0 0.00 57 94.51
32. Kerala 31,841 3,124 9.81 364 1.14
33. Tamil Nadu 62,406 11,858 19.00 651 1.04
34. Pondicherry 974 158 16.19 0 0.00
35. Andaman & Nicobar Islands 356 0 0.00 29 8.27
Land and the People 15
Note :
1. India and Manipur figures exclude those of the three sub-divisions, viz., Mao Maram,
Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur as census results of 2001 in these
three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons.
TABLE 1.8 : RURAL AND URBAN POPULATION
Census Year Population (Million) Percentage of
total population
Rural Urban Rural Urban
1 2 3 4 5
1901 213 26 89.2 10.8
1911 226 26 89.7 10.3
1921 223 28 88.8 11.2
1931 246 33 88.0 12.0
1941 275 44 86.1 13.9
1951 299 62 82.7 17.3
1961 360 79 82.0 18.0
1971 439 109 80.1 19.9
1981 524 159 76.7 23.3
1991 629 218 74.3 25.7
2001 743 286 72.2 27.8
Note :
1. India and Manipur figures are final and include estimated figures for those of the three subdivisions,
viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur as census
results of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative
reasons.
2. The 1991 Census could not be held owing to disturbed conditions prevailing in Jammu and
Kashmir. Hence the population figures for 1991 of Jammu and Kashmir have been worked
out by 'interpolation' on the basis of 2001 final population.
3. The 1981 census could not be held in Assam. The figures for 1981 for Assam have been
worked out by interpolation.
TABLE 1.9 : POPULATION BY CLASS OF TOWN, INDIA-2001 CENSUS
(in 000's)
Class of Town 2001
I 1,00,000 an above 178,224
II 50,000-99,999 34,452
III 20,000-49,999 42,119
IV 10,000-19,999 22,614
V 5,000-9,999 7,890
VI Less than 5,000 821
All Classes 286,120
Urban population as percentage to total Population 27.82
16 India 2008
TABLE 1.10 : DISTRIBUTION OF VILLAGES ACCORDING TO POPULATION 2001 CENSUS AND TOTAL NUMBER
OF INHABITED VILLAGES
Sl. States/UTs 10000 5,000 2,000- 1,000- 500-999 200-499 Less than Total No.
No. and above 9,999 4,999 1,999 200 of inhabited
villages.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1. Jammu and Kashmir@ 10 135 886 1,546 1,664 1,499 677 6,417
2. Himachal Pradesh 1 8 174 660 2,094 5,645 8,913 17,495
3. Punjab 26 273 1,987 3,405 3,378 2,130 1,079 12,278
4. Chandigarh 2 6 7 2 2 1 3 23
5. Uttrakhand 13 69 350 752 1,890 4,912 7,775 15,761
6. Haryana 97 504 2,015 2,091 1,205 582 270 6,764
7. Delhi 24 26 60 29 9 4 6 158
8. Rajasthan 100 661 4,660 8,777 11,058 9,151 5,346 39,753
9. Uttar Pradesh 296 2,266 16,573 27,218 25,614 16,879 9,096 97,942
10. Bihar 630 2,306 8,571 10,113 8,498 5,662 3,235 39,015
11. Sikkim 0 9 40 120 157 82 42 450
12. Arunachal Pradesh 0 3 26 126 266 682 2,760 3,863
13. Nagaland 5 50 171 253 372 323 104 1,278
14. Manipur* 6 28 157 202 326 731 749 2,199
15. Mizoram 1 1 31 76 198 258 142 707
16. Tripura 28 106 370 188 99 55 12 858
17. Meghalaya 0 4 60 185 690 2,090 2,753 5,782
18. Assam 19 185 2,495 5,439 6,233 6,018 4,735 25,124
19. West Bengal 354 1,526 6,819 8,490 8,930 7,553 4,273 37,945
20. Jharkhand 28 174 1,642 4,173 7,442 9,234 6,661 29,354
21. Orissa 5 180 2,404 6,814 11,428 14,054 12,644 47,529
Land and the People 17
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
22. Chhattisgarh 6 80 1,264 4,185 6,465 5,498 2,246 19,744
23. Madhya Pradesh 19 362 3,551 10,434 16,277 14,330 7,144 52,117
24. Gujarat 153 807 4,154 5,615 4,262 2,297 778 18,066
25. Daman and Diu 2 5 5 4 5 2 0 23
26. Dadra and Nagar Haveli 0 7 28 15 12 7 1 70
27. Maharashtra 262 1,018 5,862 11,570 12,074 7,367 2,942 41,095
28. Andhra Pradesh 498 1,788 6,915 6,475 4,467 3,402 3,068 26,613
29. Karnataka 131 703 4,024 6,378 7,367 5,563 3,315 27,481
30. Goa 3 23 96 77 56 60 32 347
31. Lakshadweep 1 2 3 0 0 1 1 8
32. Kerala 1,072 207 69 10 0 4 2 1,364
33. Tamil Nadu 168 1,254 4,870 4,484 2,801 1,344 479 15,400
34. Pondicherry 2 20 45 18 7 0 0 92
35. Andaman and 0 2 23 52 62 90 272 501
Nicobar Islands
ALL INDIA 3,962 14,798 80,407 129,976 145,408 127,510 91,555 593,616
Note :
@ India and Jammu & Kashmir State excludes the villages of the areas under unlawful occupation of Pakistan and China where Census could
not be taken.
* India and Manipur excludes villages for those of the three sub-divisions viz. Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur
as census results of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons.
Source : Office of the Registrar General India.
18 India 2008
TABLE 1.11 : POPULATION OF MILLION PLUS CITIES/TOWNS
Population 0-6 Population Literates
Sl.No. City/Town Person Male Female Person Male Female Person Male Female
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1. Greater Mumbai (M Corp.) 11,978,450 6,619,966 5,358,484 1,364,423 709,777 654,646 9,207,877 5,388,552 3,819,325
2. DMC (U) (M Corp.) 9,879,172 5,412,497 4,466,675 1,352,656 724,171 628,485 7,075,280 4,110,213 2,965,067
3. Kolkata (M Corp.) 4,572,876 2,500,040 2,072,836 390,282 202,527 187,755 3,382,103 1,925,008 1,457,095
4. Chennai (M Corp.) 4,343,645 2,219,539 2,124,106 433,340 219,720 213,620 3,336,695 1,799,981 1,536,714
5. Bangalore (M Corp.) 4,301,326 2,242,835 2,058,491 484,982 249,652 235,330 3,265,702 1,787,677 1,478,025
6. Hyderabad (M Corp.) 3,637,483 1,883,064 1,754,419 463,150 238,386 224,764 2,498,234 1,374,955 1,123,279
7. Ahmedabad (M Corp.) 3,520,085 1,867,249 1,652,836 441,022 240,797 200,225 2,552,731 1,447,380 1,105,351
8. Kanpur (M Corp.) 2,551,337 1,374,121 1,177,216 317,756 171,263 146,493 1,758,807 997,001 761,806
9. Pune (M Corp.) 2,538,473 1,321,338 1,217,135 302,960 158,672 144,288 1,930,063 1,064,508 865,555
10. Surat (M Corp.) 2,433,835 1,372,415 1,061,420 340,582 186,746 153,836 1,736,939 1,043,703 693,236
11. Lucknow (M Corp.) 2,185,927 1,156,151 1,029,776 273,401 143,232 130,169 1,474,733 827,793 646,940
12. Nagpur (M Corp.) 2,052,066 1,059,765 992,301 249,827 129,283 120,544 1,609,126 873,739 735,387
13. Jaipur (M Corp.) 2,322,575 1,237,765 1,084,810 352,661 187,351 165,310 1,537,850 908,969 628,881
14. Indore (M Corp.) 1,474,968 774,540 700,428 200.081 105,478 94,603 1,064,912 598,339 466,573
15. Bhopal (M Corp.) 1,437,354 757,408 679,946 208,587 108,172 100,415 979,770 555,051 424,719
16. Ludhiana (M Corp.) 1,398,467 793,142 605,325 169,273 93,050 76,223 981,383 573,886 407,497
Land and the People 19
Population 0-6 Population
Literates
Sl.No. City/Town Person Male Female Person Male Female Person Male Female
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1
17. Patna (M Corp.) 1,366,444 746,344 620,100 182,037 96,034 86,003 961,681 564,625 397,056
18. Vadodara (M Corp.) 1,306,227 684,013 622,214 148,034 80,610 67,424 1,014,014 557,051 456,963
19. Agra (M Corp.) 1,275,134 690,599 584,535 179,411 96,850 82,561 766,860 452,770 314,090
20. Thane (M Corp.) 1,262,551 675,147 587,404 161,698 84,334 77,364 973,195 551,086 422,109
21. Kalyan-Dombivli (M Corp.) 1,193,512 633,508 560,004 144,097 75,256 68,841 944,745 525,907 418,838
22. Varanasi (M Corp.) 1,091,918 582,096 509,822 161,172 84,256 76,916 670,367 392,103 278,264
23. Nashik (M Corp.) 1,077,236 575,737 501,499 147,919 78,579 69,340 802,695 458,005 344,690
24. Meerut (M Corp.) 1,068,772 568,081 500,691 163,570 87,893 75,677 610,636 355,282 255,354
25. Faridabad (M Corp.) 1,055,938 581,069 474,869 158,603 85,805 72,798 714,578 430,274 284,304
26. Pimpri Chinchwad (M Corp.) 1,012,472 547,050 465,422 143,034 75,688 67,346 745,317 431,785 313,532
27. Haora (M Corp.) 1,007,532 547,068 460,464 94,330 48,678 45,652 768,655 438,450 330,205
20 India 2008
TABLE 1.12 : STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES BY POPULATION IN
DESCENDING ORDER AND RANK IN 1991 AND 2001 CENSUS
Per cent to total
Rank State/ Population Population of India Rank
in 2001 Union territories 2001 2001 1991 in 1991
1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Uttar Pradesh 166,197,921 16.16 15.59 1
2. Maharashtra 96,878,627 9.42 9.33 2
3. Bihar 82,998,509 8.07 7.62 5
4. West Bengal 80,176,197 7.79 8.04 3
5. Andhra Pradesh 76,210,007 7.41 7.86 4
6. Tamil Nadu 62,405,679 6.07 6.60 6
7. Madhya Pradesh 60,348,023 5.87 5.74 7
8. Rajasthan 56,507,188 5.49 5.20 9
9. Karnataka 52,850,562 5.14 5.31 8
10. Gujarat 50,671,017 4.93 4.88 10
11. Orissa 36,804,660 3.58 3.74 11
12. Kerala 31,841,374 3.10 3.44 12
13. Jharkhand 26,945,829 2.62 2.58 14
14. Assam 26,655,528 2.59 2.65 13
15. Punjab 24,358,999 2.37 2.40 15
16. Haryana 21,144,564 2.06 1.95 17
17. Chhattisgarh 20,833,803 2.03 2.08 16
18. Delhi 13,850,507 1.35 1.11 18
19. Jammu and Kashmir2 10,143,700 0.99 0.93 19
20. Uttrakhand 8,489,349 0.83 0.84 20
21. Himachal Pradesh 6,077,900 0.59 0.61 21
22. Tripura 3,199,203 0.31 0.33 22
23. Meghalaya 2,318,822 0.23 0.21 24
24. Manipur1 2,293,896 0.22 0.22 23
25. Nagaland 1,990,036 0.19 0.14 25
26. Goa 1,347,668 0.13 0.14 26
27. Arunachal Pradesh 1,097,968 0.11 0.10 27
28. Pondicherry 974,345 0.09 0.10 28
29. Chandigarh 900,635 0.09 0.08 29
Land and the People 21
30. Mizoram 888,573 0.09 0.08 30
31. Sikkim 540,851 0.05 0.05 31
32. Andaman and Nicobar Islands 356,152 0.03 0.03 32
33. Dadra and Nagar Haveli 220,490 0.02 0.02 33
34. Daman and Diu 158,204 0.02 0.01 34
35. Lakshadweep 60,650 0.01 0.01 35
Notes :
1. India and Manipur figures include estimated figures for those of the three sub-divisions
viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senepati district of Manipur as census results
of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative
reasons.
2. The 1991 Census could not be held owing to disturbed conditions prevailing in Jammu
and Kashmir. Hence the population figures for 1991 of Jammu and Kashmir have been
worked out by 'interpolation'.
22 India 2008
2 National Symbols
NATIONAL FLAG
THE National flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (kesaria) at the top, white
in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. The ratio of width of
the flag to its length is two to three. In the centre of the white band is a navy-blue
wheel which represents the chakra. Its design is that of the wheel which appears on
the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Its diameter approximates to the
width of the white band and it has 24 spokes. The design of the National Flag was
adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July 1947.
Apart from non-statutory instructions issued by the Government from time to
time, display of the National Flag is governed by the provisions of the Emblems and
Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 (No. 12 of 1950) and the Prevention of
Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 (No. 69 of 1971). The Flag Code of India, 2002
is an attempt to bring together all such laws, conventions, practices and instructions
for the guidance and benefit of all concerned.
The Flag Code of India, 2002, takes effect from 26 January 2002 and supersedes
the ‘Flag Code—Indias’ as it existed. As per the provisions of the Flag Code of India,
2002, there shall be no restriction on the display of the National Flag by members of
general public, private organisations, educational institutions, etc., except to the
extent provided in the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950
and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 and any other law enacted
on the subject.
STATE EMBLEM
The state emblem is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. In the
original, there are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with a
frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and
a lion separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. Carved out of a
single block of polished sandstone, the Capital is crowned by the Wheel of the Law
(Dharma Chakra).
In the state emblem, adopted by the Government of India on 26 January 1950,
only three lions are visible, the fourth being hidden from view. The wheel appears in
relief in the centre of the abacus with a bull on right and a horse on left and the
outlines of other wheels on extreme right and left. The bell-shaped lotus has been
omitted. The words Satyameva Jayate from Mundaka Upanishad, meaning 'Truth
Alone Triumphs', are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script.
NATIONAL ANTHEM
The song Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore,
was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem
of India on 24 January 1950. It was first sung on 27 December 1911 at the Calcutta
Session of the Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of five stanzas.
The first stanza contains the full version of the National Anthem :
National Symbols 23
1 As published in Volume Eight of Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library, Popular Edition
1972
Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Punjab-Sindh-Gujarat-Maratha
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga.
Tava shubha name jage,
Tava shubha asisa mange,
Gahe tava jaya gatha,
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he!
Playing time of the full version of the national anthem is approximately 52
seconds. A short version consisting of the first and last lines of the stanza (playing
time approximately 20 seconds) is also played on certain occasions. The following is
Tagore’s English rendering of the anthem :
Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
dispenser of India’s destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind,
Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Jamuna and Ganges and is
chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
thou dispenser of India’s destiny.
Victory, victory, victory to thee.
NATIONAL SONG
The song Vande Mataram, composed in sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a
source of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It has an equal status
with Jana-gana-mana. The first political occasion when it was sung was the 1896
session of the Indian National Congress. The following is the text of its first stanza :
Vande Mataram!
Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja shitalam,
Shasyashyamalam, Mataram!
Shubhrajyotsna pulakitayaminim,
Phullakusumita drumadala shobhinim,
Suhasinim sumadhura bhashinim,
Sukhadam varadam, Mataram!
24 India 2008
The English translation of the stanza rendered by Sri Aurobindo in prose1 is :
I bow to thee, Mother,
richly-watered, richly-fruited,
cool with the winds of the south,
dark with the crops of the harvests,
The Mother!
Her nights rejoicing in the glory of the moonlight,
her lands clothed beautifully with her trees in flowering bloom,
sweet of laughter, sweet of speech,
The Mother, giver of boons, giver of bliss.
NATIONAL CALENDAR
The national calendar based on the Saka Era, with Chaitra as its first month and a
normal year of 365 days was adopted from 22 March 1957 along with the Gregorian
calendar for the following official purposes: (i) Gazette of India, (ii) news broadcast
by All India Radio, (iii) calendars issued by the Government of India and
(iv) Government communications addressed to the members of the public.
Dates of the national calendar have a permanent correspondence with dates of
the Gregorian calendar, 1 Chaitra falling on 22 March normally and on 21 March in
leap year.
NATIONAL ANIMAL
The magnificent tiger, Panthera tigris, a striped animal is the national animal of
India, it has a thick yellow coat of fur with dark stripes. The combination of grace,
strength, ability and enormous power has earned the tiger its pride of place as the
national animal of India. Out of eight races of the species known, the Indian race, the
Royal Bengal Tiger, is found throughout the country except in the north-western
region and also in the neighbouring countries, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
NATIONAL BIRD
The Indian peacock, Pavo cristatus, the national bird of India, is a colourful, swansized
bird, with a fan-shaped crest of feathers, a white patch under the eye and a
long, slender neck. The male of the species is more colourful than the female, with a
glistening blue breast and neck and a spectacular bronze-green train of around 200
elongated feathers. The female is brownish, slightly smaller than the male and lacks
the train. The elaborate courtship dance of the male, fanning out the tail and preening
its feathers is a gorgeous sight.
NATIONAL FLOWER
Lotus (Nelumbo Nucipera Gaertn) is the National Flower of India. It is a sacred
flower and occupies a unique position in the art and mythology of ancient India and
has been an auspicious symbol of Indian culture since time immemorial.
3 The Polity
INDIA, a Union of States, is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic
with a parliamentary system of government. The Republic is governed in terms of
the Constitution, which was adopted by Constituent Assembly on 26 November
1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950.
The Constitution which envisages parliamentary form of government is federal
in structure with unitary features. The President of India is constitutional head of
executive of the Union. Article 74(1) of the Constitution provides that there shall be
a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as head to aid and advise President
who shall in exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice. Real
executive power thus vests in Council of Ministers with Prime Minister as head.
Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the House of the People (Lok
Sabha). Similarly, in states, Governor is head of executive, but it is the Council of
Ministers with Chief Minister as head in whom real executive power vests. Council
of Ministers of a state is collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly.
The Constitution distributes legislative power between Parliament and state
legislatures and provides for vesting of residual powers in Parliament. Power to
amend the Constitution also vests in Parliament. The Constitution has provision
for independence of judiciary, Comptroller and Auditor-General, Public Service
Commissions and Chief Election Commissioner.
THE UNION AND ITS TERRITORY
India comprises 28 States and seven Union Territories. They are: Andhra Pradesh,
Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal
Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Union
Territories are : Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli, Daman and Diu, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Lakshadweep and
Pondicherry.
CITIZENSHIP
The Constitution of India provides for a single citizenship for the whole of India.
Every person who was at the commencement of the Constitution (26 January 1950)
domiciled in the territory of India and: (a) who was born in India; or (b) either of
whose parents was born in India; or (c) who has been ordinarily resident in India
for not less than five years became a citizen of India. The Citizenship Act, 1955,
deals with matters relating to acquisition, determination and termination of Indian
citizenship after the commencement of the Constitution.
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
The Constitution offers all citizens, individually and collectively, some basic
freedoms. These are guaranteed in the Constitution in the form of six broad
categories of Fundamental Rights which are justiciable. Article 12 to 35 contained
in Part III of the Constitution deal with Fundamental Rights. These are : (i) right to
equality including equality before law, prohibition of discrimination on grounds of
26 India 2008
religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth and equality of opportunity in matters of
employment; (ii) right to freedom of speech and expression; assembly; association
or union; movement; residence; and right to practice any profession or occupation
(some of these rights are subject to security of the State, friendly relations with
foreign countries, public order, decency or morality); (iii) right against exploitation,
prohibiting all forms of forced labour, child labour and traffic in human beings;
(iv) right to freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of
religion; (v) right of any section of citizens to conserve their culture, language or
script and right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of
their choice; and (vi) right to constitutional remedies for enforcement of Fundamental
Rights.
FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
By the 42nd Amendment of the Constitution, adopted in 1976, Fundamental Duties
of the citizens have also been enumerated. Article 51 ‘A’ contained in Part IV A of
the Constitution deals with Fundamental Duties. These enjoin upon a citizen among
other things, to abide by the Constitution, to cherish and follow noble ideals which
inspired India’s struggle for freedom, to defend the country and render national
service when called upon to do so and to promote harmony and spirit of common
brotherhood transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities.
DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY
The Constitution lays down certain Directive Principles of State Policy which though
not justiciable, are ‘fundamental in governance of the country’ and it is the duty of
the State to apply these principles in making laws. These lay down that the State
shall strive to promote the welfare of people by securing and protecting as effectively
as it may a social order in which justice—social, economic and political—shall form
in all institutions of national life. The State shall direct its policy in such a manner as
to secure the right of all men and women to an adequate means of livelihood, equal
pay for equal work and within limits of its economic capacity and development, to
make effective provision for securing the right to work, education and to public
assistance in the event of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement or other
cases of undeserved want. The State shall also endeavour to secure to workers a
living wage, humane conditions of work, a decent standard of life and full
involvement of workers in management of industries.
In the economic sphere, the State is to direct its policy in such a manner as to
secure distribution of ownership and control of material resources of community to
subserve the common good and to ensure that operation of economic system does
not result in concentration of wealth and means of production to common detriment.
Some of the other important directives relate to provision of opportunities
and facilities for children to develop in a healthy manner, free and compulsory
education for all children up to the age of 14; promotion of education and economic
interests of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other weaker sections;
organisation of village panchayats; separation of judiciary from executive,
promulgation of a uniform civil code for whole country; protection of national
monuments; promotion of justice on a basis of equal opportunity; provision of free
legal aid; protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests
and wildlife of the country and promotion of international peace and security, just
and honourable relations between nations, respect for international law, treaty
obligations and settlement of international disputes by arbitration.
The Polity 27
THE UNION
EXECUTIVE
The Union executive consists of the President, the Vice-President and the Council
of Ministers with the Prime Minister as the head to aid and advise the President.
PRESIDENT
The President is elected by members of an electoral college consisting of elected
members of both Houses of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of the states in
accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single
transferable vote. To secure uniformity among state inter se as well as parity between
the states, as a whole, and the Union, suitable weightage is given to each vote. The
President must be a citizen of India, not less than 35 years of age and qualified for
election as member of the Lok Sabha. His term of office is five years and he is eligible
for re-election. His removal from office is to be in accordance with procedure
prescribed in Article 61 of the Constitution. He may, by writing under his hand
addressed to the Vice-President, resign his office.
Executive power of the Union is vested in the President and is exercised by
him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the
Constitution. Supreme command of defence forces of the Union also vests in him.
The President summons, prorogues, addresses, sends messages to Parliament and
dissolves the Lok Sabha; promulgates Ordinances at any time, except when both
Houses of Parliament are in session; makes recommendations for introducing
financial and money bills and gives assent to bills; grants pardons, reprieves, respites
or remission of punishment or suspends, remits or commutes sentences in certain
cases. When there is a failure of the constitutional machinery in a state, he can assume
to himself all or any of the functions of the government of that state. The President
can proclaim emergency in the country if he is satisfied that a grave emergency
exists whereby security of India or any part of its territory is threatened whether by
war or external aggression or armed rebellion.
VICE-PRESIDENT
The Vice-President is elected by members of an electoral college consisting of
members of both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of proportional
representation by means of single transferable vote. He must be a citizen of India,
not less than 35 years of age and eligible for election as a member of the Rajya
Sabha. His term of office is five years and he is eligible for re-election. His removal
from office is to be in accordance with procedure prescribed in Article 67 b.
The Vice-President is ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and acts as
President when the latter is unable to discharge his functions due to absence, illness
or any other cause or till the election of a new President (to be held within six months
when a vacancy is caused by death, resignation or removal or otherwise of President).
While so acting, he ceases to perform the function of the Chairman of the Rajya
Sabha.
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
There is a Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister to aid and advise the
President in exercise of his functions. The Prime Minister is appointed by the
President who also appoints other ministers on the advice of Prime Minister. The
Council is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. It is the duty of the Prime
28 India 2008
Minister to communicate to the President all decisions of Council of Ministers relating
to administration of affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation and information
relating to them.
The Council of Ministers comprises Ministers who are members of Cabinet,
Ministers of State (independent charge), Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers.
LEGISLATURE
Legislature of the Union which is called Parliament , consists of President and two
Houses, known as Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and House of the People (Lok
Sabha). Each House has to meet within six months of its previous sitting. A joint
sitting of two Houses can be held in certain cases.
RAJYA SABHA
The Constitution provides that the Rajya Sabha shall consist of 12 members to be
nominated by the President from amongst persons having special knowledge or
practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social
service; and not more than 238 representatives of the States and of the Union
Territories.
Elections to the Rajya Sabha are indirect; members representing States are
elected by elected members of legislative assemblies of the States in accordance
with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable
vote, and those representing Union Territories are chosen in such manner as
Parliament may by law prescribe. The Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution;
one-third of its members retire every second year.
Rajya Sabha, at present, has 245 seats. Of these, 233 members represent the
States and the Union Territories and 12 members are nominated by the President.
The names of members of Rajya Sabha and party affiliation are given in Appendices.
LOK SABHA
The Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of people chosen by direct election
on the basis of adult suffrage. The maximum strength of the House envisaged by
the Constitution is now 552 (530 members to represent the States, 20 members to
represent the Union Territories and not more than two members of the Anglo-Indian
community to be nominated by the President, if, in his opinion, that community is
not adequately represented in the House). The total elective membership of the Lok
Sabha is distributed among the States in such a way that the ratio between the
number of seats allotted to each State and the population of the State is, as far as
practicable, the same for all States. The Lok Sabha at present consists of 545 members.
Of these, 530 members are directly elected from the States and 13 from Union
Territories while two are nominated by the President to represent the Anglo-Indian
community. Following the Constitution 84th Amendment Act, 2001 the total number
of existing seats as allocated to various States in the Lok Sabha on the basis of the
1971 census shall remain unaltered till the first census to be taken after the year
2026.
The term of the Lok Sabha, unless dissolved earlier is five years from the date
appointed for its first meeting. However, while a Proclamation of Emergency is in
operation, this period may be extended by Parliament by law for a period not
exceeding one year at a time and not extending in any case, beyond a period of six
months after the Proclamation has ceased to operate. Fourteen Lok Sabhas have
The Polity 29
been constituted so far. The term of each Lok Sabha and its Speaker(s) is given in
table 3.1.
The State-wise allocation of seats in the two Houses and the party position in
the Lok Sabha is given in table 3.2. The names of members of the Fourteenth Lok
Sabha, their constituencies and party affiliations are given in Appendices.
QUALIFICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP OF PARLIAMENT
In order to be chosen a member of Parliament, a person must be a citizen of India
and not less than 30 years of age in the case of Rajya Sabha and not less than 25
years of age in the case of Lok Sabha. Additional qualifications may be prescribed
by Parliament by law.
FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF PARLIAMENT
As in other parliamentary democracies, the Parliament in India has the cardinal
functions of legislation, overseeing of administration, passing of the Budget,
ventilation of public grievances and discussing various subjects like development
plans, national policies and international relations. The distribution of powers
between the Union and the States, followed in the Constitution, emphasises in many
ways the general predominance of Parliament in the legislative field. Apart from a
wide-range of subjects, even in normal times, the Parliament can, under certain
circumstances, assume legislative power with respect to a subject falling within the
sphere exclusively reserved for the States. The Parliament is also vested with powers
to impeach the President and to remove the Judges of Supreme Court and High
Courts, the Chief Election Commissioner and the Comptroller and Auditor General
in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Constitution.
All legislation require consent of both the Houses of Parliament. In the case of
money bills, however, the will of the Lok Sabha prevails. Delegated legislation is
also subject to review and control by Parliament. Besides the power to legislate, the
Constitution vests in Parliament the power to initiate amendment of the Constitution.
PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES
The functions of Parliament are not only varied in nature, but considerable in volume.
The time at its disposal is limited. It cannot make very detailed scrutiny of all
legislative and other matters that come up before it. A good deal of Parliamentary
business is, therefore, transacted in the committees.
Both Houses of Parliament have a similar committee structure, with a few
exceptions. Their appointment, terms of office, functions and procedure of
conducting business are also more or less similar and are regulated as per rules
made by the two Houses under Article 118(1) of the Constitution.
Broadly, Parliamentary Committees are of two kinds—Standing Committees
and ad hoc Committees. The former are elected or appointed every year or
periodically and their work goes on, more or less, on a continuous basis. The latter
are appointed on an ad hoc basis as need arises and they cease to exist as soon as
they complete the task assigned to them.
Standing Committees : Among the Standing Committees, the three Financial
Committees—Committees on Estimates, Public Accounts and Public Undertakings—
constitute a distinct group as they keep an unremitting vigil over Government
expenditure and performance. While members of the Rajya Sabha are associated
30 India 2008
with Committees on Public Accounts and Public Undertakings, the members of the
Committee on Estimates are drawn entirely from the Lok Sabha.
The Estimates Committee reports on ‘what economies, improvements in
organisation, efficiency or administrative reform consistent with policy underlying
the estimates’ may be effected. It also examines whether the money is well laid out
within limits of the policy implied in the estimates and suggests the form in which
estimates shall be presented to Parliament. The Public Accounts Committee
scrutinises appropriation and finance accounts of Government and reports of the
Comptroller and Auditor-General. It ensures that public money is spent in
accordance with Parliament’s decision and calls attention to cases of waste,
extravagance, loss or nugatory expenditure. The Committee on Public Undertakings
examines reports of the Comptroller and Auditor-General, if any. It also examines
whether public undertakings are being run efficiently and managed in accordance
with sound business principles and prudent commercial practices.
Besides these three Financial Committees, the Rules Committee of the Lok
Sabha recommended setting-up of 17 Department Related Standing Committees
(DRSCs). Accordingly, 17 Department Related Standing Committees were set up
on 8 April 1993. In July 2004, rules were amended to provide for the constitution of
seven more such committees, thus raising the number of DRSCs from 17 to 24. The
functions of these Committees are : (a) to consider the Demands for Grants of various
Ministries/Departments of Government of India and make reports to the Houses;
(b) to examine such Bills as are referred to the Committee by the Chairman, Rajya
Sabha or the Speaker, Lok Sabha, as the case may be, and make reports thereon; (c)
to consider Annual Reports of ministries/departments and make reports thereon;
and (d) to consider policy documents presented to the Houses, if referred to the
Committee by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha or the Speaker, Lok Sabha, as the case
may be, and make reports thereon.
Other Standing Committees in each House, divided in terms of their functions,
are (i) Committees to Inquire: (a) Committee on Petitions examines petitions on
bills and on matters of general public interest and also entertains representations
on matters concerning subjects in the Union List; and (b) Committee of Privileges
examines any question of privilege referred to it by the House or Speaker/Chairman;
(ii) Committees to Scrutinise : (a) Committee on Government Assurances keeps track
of all the assurances, promises, undertakings, etc., given by Ministers in the House
and pursues them till they are implemented; (b) Committee on Subordinate
Legislation scrutinises and reports to the House whether the power to make
regulations, rules, sub-rules, bye-laws, etc., conferred by the Constitution or Statutes
is being properly exercised by the delegated authorities; and (c) Committee on Papers
Laid on the Table examines all papers laid on the table of the House by Ministers,
other than statutory notifications and orders which come within the purview of the
Committee on Subordinate Legislation, to see whether there has been compliance
with the provisions of the Constitution, Act, rule or regulation under which the
paper has been laid; (iii) Committees relating to the day-to-day business of the House:
(a) Business Advisory Committee recommends allocation of time for items of
Government and other business to be brought before the Houses; (b) Committee on
Private Members’ Bills and Resolutions of the Lok Sabha classifies and allocates
time to Bills introduced by private members, recommends allocation of time for
discussion on private members’ resolutions and examines Constitution amendment
bills before their introduction by private members in the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha
The Polity 31
does not have such a committee. It is the Business Advisory Committee of that
House which recommends allocation of time for discussion on stage or stages of
private members’ bills and resolutions; (c) Rules Committee considers matters of
procedure and conduct of business in the House and recommends amendments or
additions to the Rules; and (d) Committee on Absence of Members from the Sittings
of the House of the Lok Sabha considers all applications from members for leave or
absence from sittings of the House. There is no such Committee in the Rajya Sabha.
Applications from members for leave or absence are considered by the House itself;
(iv) Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, on which
members from both Houses serve, considers all matters relating to the welfare of
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes which come within the purview of the Union
Government and keeps a watch whether constitutional safeguards in respect of
these classes are properly implemented; (v) Committees concerned with the
provision of facilities to members : (a) General Purposes Committee considers and
advises Speaker/Chairman on matters concerning affairs of the House, which do
not appropriately fall within the purview of any other Parliamentary Committee;
and (b) House Committee deals with residential accommodation and other amenities
for members; (vi) Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members of
Parliament, constituted under the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of
Parliament Act, 1954, apart from framing rules for regulating payment of salary,
allowances and pension to Members of Parliament, also frames rules in respect of
amenities like medical, housing, telephone, postal, constituency and secretarial
facility; (vii) Joint Committee on Offices of Profit examines the composition and
character of committees and other bodies appointed by the Central and State
governments and Union Territories Administrations and recommends what offices
ought to or ought not to disqualify a person from being chosen as a member of
either House of Parliament; (viii) The Library Committee consisting of members
from both Houses, considers matters concerning the Library of Parliament; (ix) On
29 April 1997, a Committee on Empowerment of Women with members from both
the Houses was constituted with a view to securing, among other things, status,
dignity and equality for women in all fields; (x) On 4 March 1997, the Ethics
Committee of the Rajya Sabha was constituted. The Ethics Committee of the Lok
Sabha was constituted on 16 May 2000.
Ad hoc Committees : Such Committees may be broadly classified under two
heads : (a) committees which are constituted from time to time, either by the two
Houses on a motion adopted in that behalf or by Speaker/Chairman to inquire into
and report on specific subjects, (e.g., Committees on the Conduct of certain Members
during President’s Address, Committees on Draft Five-Year Plans, Railway
Convention Committee, Committee on Members of Parliament Local Area
Development Scheme, Joint Committee on Bofors Contracts, Joint Committee on
Fertilizer Pricing, Joint Committee to enquire into irregularities in securities and
banking transactions, Joint Committee on Stock Market Scam, Joint Committees on
Security in Parliament Complex, Committee on Provision of Computers for Members
of Parliament, Offices of Political Parties and Officers of the Lok Sabha Secretariat;
Committee on Food Management in Parliament House Complex; Committee on
Installation of Portraits/Statues of National Leaders and Parliamentarians in
Parliament House Complex, etc.), and (b) Select or Joint Committees on Bills which
are appointed to consider and report on a particular Bill. These Committees are
distinguishable from the other ad hoc committees inasmuch as they are concerned
32 India 2008
with Bills and the procedure to be followed by them as laid down in the Rules of
Procedure and Directions by the Speaker/Chairman.
LEADERS OF OPPOSITION IN PARLIAMENT
In keeping with their important role, the Leaders of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha
and the Lok Sabha are accorded statutory recognition. Salary and other suitable
facilities are extended to them through a separate legislation brought into force on
1 November 1977.
GOVERNMENT BUSINESS IN PARLIAMENT
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs is entrusted with the responsibility of
coordinating, planning and arranging Government Business in both Houses of
Parliament. In the discharge of this function, he is assisted by his Ministers of State.
The Minister also keeps close and constant contact with the presiding officers, the
leaders as well as chief whips and whips of various parties and groups in both the
Houses of Parliament. During the period 1 June 2006 to 31 May 2007, both Houses
of Parliament passed 57 Bills.
CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEES
The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs constitutes Consultative Committees of
Members of both the Houses of Parliament, which are attached to various Ministries,
and arranges meetings thereof. The Minister/Minister of State in-charge of the
Ministry concerned acts as the chairman of the Consultative Committee of that
Ministry.
The main purpose of these Committees is to provide a forum for informal
discussions between the Government and Members of Parliament on policies and
programmes of the Government and the manner of their implementation. Meetings
of these Committees are held both during the session and inter-session period of
Parliament. After the constitution of the 14th Lok Sabha, 32 Consultative Committees
attached to various Ministries were constituted. Besides this, 16 Informal
Consultative Committees of the sixteen Railway Zones have also been constituted.
Unlike the Consultative Committees attached to the Ministries, meetings, of these
Informal Consultative Committees are to be arranged during Session periods only.
322 meetings of the Consultative Committees were held till 31 May 2007 after
the constitution of the 14th Lok Sabha including 116 meetings held during the year
2006.
NOMINATION OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT ON GOVERNMENT
COMMITTEES/BODIES
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs nominates Members of Parliament on
Committees, Councils, Boards and Commissions, etc., set-up by the Government of
India in various Ministries (except in case of statutory or other bodies where the
statute or the bye-laws framed thereunder provides that the Member of Parliament
to be appointed thereon will be nominated by the Presiding Officers of the respective
Houses or will be elected by the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, as the case may be).
The Members are nominated on such Bodies keeping in view their aptitude and
special interest in the subject.
YOUTH PARLIAMENT COMPETITION
In order to develop democratic ethos in the younger generation the Ministry conducts
youth parliament Competition in various categories of schools and colleges/
The Polity 33
universities. The youth parliament Scheme was first introduced in the Schools in
Delhi in 1966-67. Kendriya Vidyalayas located in and around Delhi were
incorporated into the ongoing Scheme for Delhi Schools in 1978. Subsequently, as
separate scheme of youth parliament for Kendriya Vidyalayas at the National Level
was launched in 1988. Similarly, in 1997-98, two new youth Parliament Schemes at
the national level, one for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and the other for
Universities/Colleges were launched.
During 2006-07, the 41st Youth Parliament Competition for Delhi Schools was
completed and 46 schools participated. The 19th National Youth Parliament
Competition for Kendriya Vidyalayas was held and 90 Kendriya Vidyalayas
participated. The 10th National Youth Parliament Competition for Jawahar
Navodaya Vidyalayas is in progress. The Eighth National Youth Parliament
Competition for Universities/Colleges is also in progress.
OTHER PARLIAMENTARY MATTERS
ALL INDIA WHIPS CONFERENCE
The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India has been organising
All India Whips’ Conference from time to time, with the purpose of establishing
suitable links among the whips of various political parties at the Centre and the
States who are concerned with the practical working of the legislatures to discuss
matters of common interest and to evolve high standards to strengthen the institution
of Parliamentary Democracy.
MATTERS UNDER RULE 377 AND SPECIAL MENTIONS
The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs takes follow-up action on matters raised under
Rule 377 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha and by
way of Special Mentions in Rajya Sabha. Also after ‘Question Hour’ in both the
Houses of Parliament, Members raise matters of urgent public importance. Though
it is not mandatory, Ministers sometimes react to the points made by the Members.
In the absence of concerned Minister the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs assures
the House or the individual Members that their sentiments would be conveyed to
the concerned Ministers.
IMPLEMENTATION OF ASSURANCES
The Ministry culls out assurances, promises, undertakings, etc., given by Ministers
in both the Houses of Parliament, from the daily proceedings and forwards them to
the concerned Ministries/Departments for implementation, Statements showing
action taken by the Government in implementation of the assurances, after due
scrutiny of the implementation of the assurances, after due scrutiny of the
implementation reports received from the various Ministries/Departments
concerned, are laid periodically on the table of the Houses by Minister/Minister of
State for Parliamentary Affairs.
ADMINISTRATIVE SET-UP
The Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 are made by the
President of India under Article 77 of the Constitution for the allocation of business
of the Government of India. The Ministries/Departments of the Government are
created by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister under these Rules. The
34 India 2008
business of the Government are transacted in the Ministries/Departments,
Secretariats and offices (referred to as ‘Department’) as per the distribution of subjects
specified in these Rules. Each of the Ministry(ies) is assigned to a Minister by the
President on the advice of the Prime Minister. Each department is generally under
the charge of a Secretary to assist the Minister on policy matters and general
administration.
CABINET SECRETARIAT
The Cabinet Secretariat is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister. The
administrative head of the Secretariat is the Cabinet Secretary who is also the exofficio
Chairman of the Civil Services Board.
In the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 ‘Cabinet
Secretariat’ finds a place in the First Schedule to the Rules. The subjects allotted to
this Secretariat are : (i) Secretarial assistance to Cabinet and Cabinet Committees;
and (ii) Rules of Business.
The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Government
of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961 and the Government of India
(Allocation of Business) Rules 1961, facilitating smooth transaction of business in
Ministries/Departments of the Government by ensuring adherence to these rules.
The Secretariat assists in decision-making in Government by ensuring Inter-
Ministerial coordination, ironing out differences amongst Ministries/Departments
and evolving consensus through the instrumentality of the standing and ad hoc
Committees of Secretaries. Through this mechanism, new policy initiatives are also
promoted.
The Cabinet Secretariat ensures that the President, the Vice-President and
Ministers are kept informed of the major activities of all Ministries/Departments
by means of monthly summary of their activities. Management of major crisis
situations in the country and coordinating activities of various Ministries in such a
situation is also one of the functions of the Cabinet Secretariat.
The Cabinet Secretariat is seen as a useful mechanism by the departments for
promoting inter-Ministerial coordination since the Cabinet Secretary is also the head
of the civil services. The Secretaries felt it necessary to keep the Cabinet Secretary
informed of developments from time to time. The Transaction of Business Rules
also require them to keep the Cabinet Secretary informed specially if there are any
departures from these rules.
NATIONAL AUTHORITY, CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION
National Authority, Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) was set up by a
resolution of Cabinet Secretariat dated 5 May 1997 to fulfil the obligations enunciated
in the Chemical Weapons Convention initially signed by 130 countries in a conference
which concluded on 14 January 1993 for the purpose prohibiting of the development,
production, execution, transfer, use and stockpiling of all chemical weapons by
Member-States is a non-discriminatory process. To fulfil its obligations, each State
Party has to designate or establish a National Authority to serve as the national
focal point for effective liaison with Organisation for Prohibition of the Chemical
Weapons (OPCW) and other State Parties and hence the NA, CWC under the
administrative control of the Cabinet Secretariat was set-up.
A high-level steering committee under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet
Secretary with Secretary (Chemical and Petrochemicals), Foreign Secretary, Secretary,
The Polity 35
Defence Research and Development, Defence Secretary and Chairman, National
Authority as its other members would oversee the functions of the National
Authority. The NA, CWC is responsible for implementation of CWC Act, liaison
with CWC and other State Parties, Collection of data fulfilling of declaration
obligations, negotiating facility agreements, coordinating OPCW inspections,
providing appropriate facilities for training national inspectors and industry
personnel, ensuring protection of confidential business information, checking
declarations for consistency, accuracy and completeness, registration of entitles
engaged in activities related to CWC, etc.
MINISTRIES/DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT
The Government consists of a number of Ministries/Departments, number and
character varying from time to time on factors such as volume of work importance
attached to certain items, changes of orientation, political expediency, etc. On 15
August 1947, the number of Ministries at the Centre was 18.
LIST OF THE MINISTRIES/DEPARTMENTS (as on 30.9.2006)
1. Ministry of Agriculture (Krishi Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Agriculture and Cooperation
(Krishi aur Sahkarita Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Agricultural Research and Education
(Krishi Anusandhan aur Shiksha Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and fishiries
(Pashupalan, Dairy aur Matsyapalan Vibhag)
2. Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (Rasayan aur Urvarak Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Chemicals and Petro-Chemicals
(Rasayan aur Petro-Rasayan Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Fertilizers (Urvarak Vibhag)
3. Ministry of Civil Aviation (Nagar Vimanan Mantralaya)
4. Ministry of Coal (Koyala Mantralaya)
5. Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Vanijya aur Udyog Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Commerce (Vanijya Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion
(Audyogik Niti aur Samvardhan Vibhag)
6. Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (Sanchar aur
Soochana Praudyogiki Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Telecommunications (Doorsanchar Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Post (Dak Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Information Technology
(Soochana Praudyogiki Vibhag)
7. Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
(Upbhokta Mamle, Khadya aur Sarvajanik Vitaran Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Consumer Affairs
(Upbhokta Mamle Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Food and Public Distribution
(Khadya aur Sarvajanik Vitaran Vibhag)
36 India 2008
8. Ministry of Corporate Affaire (Korporate Karya Mantralya)
9. Ministry of Culture (Sanskriti Mantralya)
10. Ministry of Defence (Raksha Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Defence (Raksha Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Defence Production and Supplies
(Raksha Utpadan aur Aapoorti Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Defence Research and Development
(Raksha Anusandhan aur Vikas Vibhag)
11. Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (Uttar Poorvi Kshetra
Vikas Mantralaya)
12. Ministry of Earth Sciences (Bhoo Vigyan Mantralaya)
13. Ministry of Environment and Forests (Paryavaran aur Van Mantralaya)
14. Ministry of External Affairs (Videsh Mantralaya)
15. Ministry of Finance (Vitta Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Economic Affairs (Arthik Karya Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Expenditure (Vyaya Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Revenue (Rajaswa Vibhag)
(iv) Department of Disinvestment (Vinivesh Vibhag)
(v) Department of Financial Services (Vittiya Sewayen Vibhag)
16. Ministry of Food Processing Industries
(Khadya Prasanskaran Udyog Mantralaya)
17. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
(Swasthya aur Parivar Kalyan Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Health and family welfare (Swasthya aur Parivar Kalyan
Mantralaya)
(ii) Department of Ayurveda, Yoga-Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and
Homoeopathy (AYUSH)
(Ayurveda, Yoga-Prakritik Chikitsa Paddhati, Unani, Siddha aur
Homoeopathy Vibhag)
18. Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
(Bhari Udyog aur Lok Udyam Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Heavy Industries (Bhari Udyog Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Public Enterprises (Lok Udyam Vibhag)
19. Ministry of Home Affairs (Grih Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Internal Security (Antarik Suraksha Vibhag)
(ii) Department of States (Rajya Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Official Language (Raj Bhasha Vibhag)
(iv) Department of Home (Grih Vibhag)
(v) Department of Jammu and Kashmir Affairs
(Jammu tatha Kashmir Vibhag)
(vi) Department of Border Management
(Seema Prabandhan Vibhag)
The Polity 37
20. Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
(Aawas aur Shahari Garibi Upshaman Mantralaya)
21. Ministry of Human Resource Development
(Manav Sansadhan Vikas Mantralaya)
(i) Department of School Education and Literacy
(School Shiksha aur Saksharta Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Higher Education
(Uchchatar Shiksha Vibhag)
22. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
(Soochana aur Prasaran Mantralaya)
23. Ministry of Labour and Employment (Shram aur Rozgar Mantralaya)
24. Ministry of Law and Justice
(Vidhi aur Nyaya Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Legal Affairs (Vidhi Karya Vibhag)
(ii) Legislative Department (Vidhayee Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Justice (Nyaya Vibhag)
25. Ministry of Mines (Khan Mantralaya)
26. Ministry of Minority Affairs
(Alpasankhyak Karya Mantralya)
27. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
(Naveen Aur Navikarniya Oorja Mantralaya)
28. Ministry of Overseas Indians Affairs (Apravasi Bharatiyon Ke
Mamalon Ka Mantralya)
29. Ministry of Panchayati Raj (Panchayati Raj Mantralaya)
30. Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (Sansadiya Karya Mantralaya)
31. Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
(Karmik Lok Shikayat tatha Pension Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Personnel and Training
(Karmik aur Prashikshan Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances
(Prashasanik Sudhar aur Lok Shikayat Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Pensions and Pensioners’ Welfare
(Pension aur Pension Bhogi Kalyan Vibhag)
32. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
(Petroleum aur Prakritik Gas Mantralaya)
33. Ministry of Planning (Yojana Mantralaya)
34. Ministry of Power (Oorja Mantralaya)
35. Ministry of Railways (Rail Mantralaya)
36. Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways (Pot Parivahan,
Sarak Parivahan aur Raj Marg Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Shipping (Pot Parivahan Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Road Transport and Highways
(Sadak Parivahan Aur Raj Marg Vibhag)
38 India 2008
37. Ministry of Rural Development (Gramin Vikas Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Rural Development
(Gramin Vikas Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Land Resources
(Bhumi Sansadhan Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Drinking Water Supply
(Peya Jal Poorti Vibhag)
38. Ministry of Science and Technology (Vigyan aur Praudyogiki
Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Science and Technology
(Vigyan aur Praudyogiki Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Scientific and Industrial Research
(Vigyan aur Audyogik Anusandhan Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Bio-Technology (Biotechnology Vibhag)
39. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(Sukshma Laghu Aur Madhyam Udyam Mantralya)
40. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
(Samajik Nyaya aur Adhikarita Mantralaya)
41. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
(Sankhyiki aur Karyakram Kiryanvayan Mantralaya)
42. Ministry of Steel (Ispat Mantralaya)
43. Ministry of Textiles (Vastra Mantralaya)
44. Ministry of Tourism (Paryatan Mantralaya)
45. Ministry of Tribal Affairs (Janjatiya Karya Mantralaya)
46. Ministry of Urban Development (Shahari Vikas Mantralaya)
47. Ministry of Water Resources (Jal Sansadhan Mantralaya)
48. Ministry of Woman and Child Development
(Mahila Aur Bal Vikas Mantralaya)
49. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (Yuva Karyakram aur Khel Mantralaya)
50. Department of Atomic Energy (Parmanu Oorja Vibhag)
51. Department of Space (Antariksh Vibhag)
52. Cabinet Secretariat (Mantrimandal Sachivalaya)
53. President’s Secretariat (Rashtrapati Sachivalaya)
54. Prime Minister’s Office (Pradhan Mantri Karyalaya)
55. Planning Commission (Yojana Ayog)
PUBLIC SERVICES
ALL INDIA SERVICES
Prior to Independence, the Indian Civil Service (ICS) was the senior most amongst
the Services of the Crown in India. Besides the ICS, there was also the Indian Police
Service. After Independence, it was felt that though the ICS was a legacy of the
imperial period there was need for the All India Services for maintaining the unity,
integrity and stability of the nation. Accordingly, a provision was made in Article
312 of the Constitution for creation of one or more All India Services common to the
The Polity 39
Union and State. The Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service
are deemed to be constituted by the Parliament in terms of Article 312 of the
Constitution. After the promulgation of the Constitution, a new All India Service,
namely, the Indian Forest Service, was created in 1966. A common unique feature of
the All India Services is that the members of these services are recuited by the Centre
but their services are placed under various State cadres and they have the liability
to serve both under the State and under the Centre. This aspect of the All India
Services strengthens the unitary character of the Indian federation.
Of the three All India Services, namely, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS),
the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian Forest Service (IFS), the Ministry of
Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension is the cadre controlling authority for the
IAS. The recruitment to all the three services is made by the UPSC. These officers
are recruited and trained by the Central Government and then allotted to different
State cadres.
CENTRAL SECRETARIAT SERVICES
The Central Secretariat has three services, namely, (i) Central Secretariat Service
(CSS), (ii) Central Secretariat Stenographers’ Service (CSSS) and (iii) the Central
Secretariat Clerical Service (CSCS). The grades of Selection Grade and Grade I of
CSS and as well as the Senior Principal Private Secretary and Principal Private
Secretary of CSSS are centralised. The Section Officers Grade and Assistants Grade
of the CSS, Steno Grade 'D', 'C', 'A' and 'B' (merged) of CSS and LDS & UDC are
decentralised. The grade-wise cadre strength of these services as on 30 June, 2007
was as under:
Service CSS CSSS CSCS
Grade No. of Grade No. of Grade No. of
posts posts posts
1. Sr. Selection 110 - - - -
Grade
(Group 'A'
Gazettted)
2. Selection 330 Sr. PPS 68 - -
Grade Group "A"
(Group 'A' Gazetted
Gazetted)
3. Grade-I 1405 PPS 182 - -
(Group 'A' Group 'A'
Gazetted) Gazetted
4. Section 3000 PS (A&B) 1598 - -
Officer (Group 'B'
(Group 'B' Gazetted)
Gazetted)
5. Assistant 4905 Grade "C"/ 2793
(Group 'B' PA (Group
Non- 'B' Non-
Gazetted) Gazetted)
6. - Grade 'D' 1958 UDC/LDC 9115
Grade 'C' Group 'C'
Non- Non-
Gazetted Gazetted
Total - 9750 - 6599 - 9115
40 India 2008
Appointments and promotions in the Centralised Grades are made on all
secretariat basis by Department of Personnel and Training (DOP&T). In respect of
the decentralised grades, DOP&T monitors and assesses the overall requirements
of different cadres for fixing zones of promotion against the vacancies in seniority
quota and arranges centralised requirement against direct recruitment and
departments examinations quota vacancies through open competitive and
departmental examinations.
Pursuant to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee
on Home Affairs, the Government set-up a Committee on the Cadre Restructuring
of CSS in February 2001. The committee submitted its Report in February 2002 and
made several recommendations. The Government after careful considerations has
taken several decisions in October 2003 for improving the career prospects of the
CSS personnel and many of these recommendations have either been implemented,
or are in various stages of implementation.
The Government had also constituted a 'Group of Officers' on Cadre Structure
of the Central Secretariat Stenographers' Service (CSSS), which submitted its Report
in February 2004. After considering the recommendations of the Group of Officers,
the Government has taken several decisions on Cadre Structure of CSSS, for
improving the career prospects of the CSSS personnel. Necessary executive orders
for operationalisation of almost all the decisions have been issued.
UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
The Constitution provides for an independent body known as Union Public Service
Commission (UPSC) for recruitment to Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ Gazetted posts
under Central Government and for advice in various service matters. The Chairman
and members of the Commission are appointed by the President for a tenure of six
years or till they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. To ensure
independence, members who were at the service of Government at the time of
appointment are deemed to have retired from Government service on their
appointment in the Commission. The Chairman and members are also not eligible
for further employment under the Government. They cannot be removed except
for the reasons and in the manner provided for in the Constitution.
STAFF SELECTION COMMISSION
Staff Selection Commission (SSC) initially known as Subordinate Service
Commission was set up on 1 July 1976. It has been entrusted with the work of
making recruitment to (i) all non-gezetted Group 'B' posts in the various Ministries/
Departments of the Government and their Attached and Subordinate Offices which
are in the pay scales of Rs 6,500-10,500 and (ii) all non-technical Group 'C' posts in
the various Ministries/Departments of the Government and their attached and
subordinate offices, except those posts which are specifically exempted from the
purview of the Staff Selection Commission. The Commission is an attached office
of the Department of Personnel and Training and comprises of a Chairman, two
Members and Secretary-cum-Controller of Examinations. The tenure of Chairman/
Members is for five years or till they attain the age of 62 years, whichever is earlier.
The Commission's headquarters and the office of its Northern Region are in New
Delhi. The offices of Central, Western, Eastern, North-Eastern, Southern and
Karnataka-Kerala region are at Allahabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai
and Bangalore respectively. Its sub-regional offices of Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh
region and North-Western region are at Raipur and Chandigarh respectively.
The Polity 41
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE—CONSTITUTIONAL/STATUTORY
PROVISIONS
Article 343 (1) of the Constitution provides that Hindi in Devanagari script shall be
the Official Language of the Union. Article 343(2) also provided for continuing the
use of English in official work of the Union for a period of 15 years (i.e., up to 25
January 1965) from the date of commencement of the Constitution. Article 343(3)
empowered the Parliament to provide by law for continued use of English for official
purposes even after 25 January 1965. Accordingly, section 3(2) of the Official
Languages Act, 1963 (amended in 1967) provides for continuing the use of English
in official work even after 25 January 1965. The Act also lays down that both Hindi
and English shall compulsorily be used for certain specified purposes such as
Resolutions, General Orders, Rules, Notifications, Administrative and other Reports,
Press Communiqués; Administrative and other Reports and Official Papers to be
laid before a House or the Houses of Parliament; Contracts, Agreements, Licences,
Permits, Tender Notices and Forms of Tender, etc.
In 1976, Official Language Rules were framed under the provisions of section
3(4) of the Official Languages Act, 1963. Its salient features are as under: (i) These
Rules apply to all Central Government Offices, including any office of a Commission,
Committee or Tribunal appointed by the Central Government and Corporation or
Company owned or controlled by it. (ii) Communications from a Central
Government Office to State/Union Territories or to any person in Region “A”
comprising the States of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Haryana and Union Territories
of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Delhi, shall be in Hindi. (iii) Communications
from a Central Government Office to States/Union Territories in Region “B”
comprising the States of Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territory of
Chandigarh, shall ordinarily be in Hindi. However if any communication to any
person in Region “B” is issued in English it shall be accompanied by a Hindi
Translation thereof. (iv) Communications from a Central Government Office to a
State Government Office in region ‘C’, comprising all other States and Union
Territories not included in region ‘A’ and ‘B’, or to any office (not being a Central
Government Office) or person shall be in English. (v) Communications between
Central Government offices and from Central Government Offices to the Offices of
the State Governments/ Union Territories and individuals, etc., will be in Hindi in
such proportions as may be determined from time to time. (vi) All Manuals, Codes
and other Procedural literature relating to Central Government Offices are required
to be prepared both in Hindi and English. All Forms, Headings of Registers, Name
Plates, Notice Boards and various items of stationery, etc., are also required to be in
Hindi and English. (vii) It shall be the responsibility of the officer signing the
documents specified in section 3(3) of the Act to ensure that these are issued both in
Hindi and English. (viii) Shall be the responsibility of the administrative head of
each Central Government Office to ensure that the provisions of the Act, the Rules
and directions issued under Sub-Rule-(2) are properly complied with and to devise
suitable and effective check points for this purpose.
POLICY
In compliance with the Official Language Resolution, 1968, an Annual Programme
is prepared by the Department of Official Language in which targets are set for the
offices of the Central Government with regard to originating correspondence,
42 India 2008
telegrams, telex, etc., in Hindi. A Quarterly Progress Report is called for from the
offices of the Central Government regarding achievements vis-à-vis the said targets.
An Annual Assessment Report is prepared on the basis of the Quarterly Progress
Reports, which is laid on the Tables of both Houses of the Parliament and copies
endorsed to State Governments and the Ministries/Departments of the Central
Government.
Eight Regional Implementation Offices have been established at Bangalore,
Cochin, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bhopal, Delhi and Ghaziabad to monitor the
implementation of Official Language Policy of the Union.
COMMITTEES/SAMITIS
A Committee of Parliament on Official Language was constituted in 1976 under
section 4 of the Official Languages Act, 1963 to periodically review the progress in
the use of Hindi as the Official Language of the Union and to submit a report to the
President. The Committee consists of 20 Members of the Lok Sabha and 10 of the
Rajya Sabha. The Committee have decided to submit its report in parts. It has so far
submitted to the President eight parts of its report. The Presidential Orders on seven
parts of its report have been issued and work is in progress on the eighth part.
The Kendriya Hindi Samiti was constituted in the year 1967. It is chaired by
the Prime Minister. It is the apex policy making body which lays down the guidelines
for the propagation and progressive use of Hindi as Official Language of the Union.
Under the directions of the Kendriya Hindi Samiti, Hindi Salahakar Samitis
have been constituted in all Ministries/Departments under the chairmanship of
the Ministers concerned. These Samitis periodically review the progress in the use
of Hindi in their respective Ministries/Departments and the offices/ undertakings
and suggest measures to promote the use of Hindi.
Besides, the Central Official Language Implementation Committee [headed
by Secretary, Department of Official Language and consisting of Joint Secretaries
(In-charge Official Language) of all the Ministries/Departments as ex-officio
members] reviews the status of use of Hindi for official purposes of the Union,
training of its employees in Hindi and implementation of instructions issued from
time to time by the Department of Official Language and suggests measure for
removing the shortcomings and difficulties noticed in implementing these
instructions.
Town Official Language Implementation Committees are constituted in
different towns having ten or more Central Government offices, etc., to review the
progress made in the use of Hindi in their member offices and exchange experiences.
So far 257 Town Official Language Implementation Committees have been
constituted all over the country.
AWARD SCHEMES
The Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Awards Scheme has been in operation since 1986-87.
Shields are given every year to Ministries/ Departments, Banks and Financial
Institutions, Public Sector Undertakings and Town Official Language
Implementation Committees for outstanding achievements in the implementation
of the Official Language Implementation Cmmittees for outstanding achievements
in the implementation of the Official Language Policy of the Union. Cash awards
are given to the working/retired employees of the Central Government, Banks,
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Financial Institutions, Universities, Training Institutions and Autonomous Bodies of
the Central Government for writing original books in Hindi.
The National Awards Scheme for Original Book writing on Gyan-Vigyan has
been renamed as Rajiv Gandhi National Awards Scheme for Original Book Writing
in Hindi for promoting writing of books in Hindi on all branches of modern Science/
Technology and contemporary subjects. This Scheme is open to all citizens of India.
At Regional level, Regional Official Language Awards are given each year to
the Regional/Subordinate Offices, Public Sector Undertakings, Town Official
Language Implementation Committees, Banks and Financial Institutions of the
Central Government for outstanding achievements in implementing the Official
Language Policy of the Union and accelerating the progressive use of Hindi.
TRAINING
Under the Hindi Teaching Scheme, administered by the Department of Official
Language, training in Hindi language is being imparted through 119 full-time and
49 part-time centres throughout the country. Likewise, training in Hindi Stenography
and Hindi Typing is being provided through 23 full-time and 38 part-time centres.
Thus, training in Hindi is being provided in 229 centres located in different parts of
the country. Five Regional Offices of Hindi Teaching Scheme at Kolkata, Mumbai,
Delhi, Chennai and Guwahati are providing academic and administrative support
to the Hindi Teaching Scheme in the East, West, North-Central, South and North-
East Regions. To fulfill the increasing demand of Hindi training of North Eastern
region a new Regional Headquarter has been extablished at Guwahati and new
Hindi training centres have been established at Imphal, Aizwal and Agartala.
The Kendriya Hindi Prashikshan Sansthan was established on 31 August
1985, as a subordinate office of the Department of Official Language, with the
objective of providing Hindi Training through condensed courses in Hindi language/
typing and stenography as also training through correspondence in Hindi language
and Hindi Typwriting. Its sub-institutes were opened in Mumbai, Kolkata and
Bangalore in 1988 and in Chennai and Hyderabad in 1990. Training of Hindi typing
on computers is being imparted at almost all the typing/stenography centres in the
country.
The Central Translation Bureau was set up in March 1971 for translation of
different types of non-statutory literature, manuals/codes, forms, etc., of various
Ministries/Departments, Offices of the Central Government and Public Sector
Undertakings, Banks, etc. The Bureau has also been entrusted with the responsibility
of conducting translation training courses for the officers/employees associated
with the translation work. Initially, translation training courses of 3 months were
being conducted at the Headquarters in New Delhi. In order to strengthen training
facilities and meet regional requirements, Translation Training Centres have been
established in Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata. Besides, Central Translation Bureau
also conducts short-term translation courses for Central Government employees.
TECHNICAL
In order to facilitate the use of Official Language with the help of Mechanical and
Electronic equipment, especially computers, a Technical Cell was set up in the
Department of Official Language in October 1983. The main activities of the Cell
are as under:
(i) Development of "Language application tools" - Under this programme LILA
Rajbhasha, a self-learning package through the medium of Bangla, English,
44 India 2008
Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu has been developed. MANTRA
Rajbhasha, an aid tool for English to Hindi translation has also been developed.
(ii) Organising computer training programmes in Hindi - Every year around 100
training programmes are conducted to impart training for the use of Hindi
on computers.
(iii) Organising exhibitions and seminars on billingual computing - Technical
seminars are held to help the users and manufacturers come face to face to
discuss the use of Hindi software, etc.
The Department of Official Language has now set up its portal
www.rajbhasha.gov.in
PUBLICATIONS
The Department of Official Language brings out ‘Rajbhasha Bharati’, a quarterly
magazine, dedicated for encouraging writings in the field of Official Language,
literature, technology, information technology, etc., in Hindi and also to give wide
publicity to the efforts being made in different Central Government Offices for the
use and propagation of Official Language Hindi. So far 112 issues of Rajbhasha
Bharati have been published. Likewise, Annual Programme for implementation of
the Official Language policy is brought out every year. Annual Assessment Report
regarding the use of Official Language in different Ministries/Departments and
offices of the Central Government/Public Sector Undertakings, etc., is also brought
out every year and laid on the tables of both the houses of Parliament. Official
Language Manual, Calendars, Films, Posters, etc., are also brought out to give
information regarding the activities relating to propagation and progressive use of
Hindi as the Official Language.
COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR-GENERAL
Comptroller and Auditor-General is appointed by the President. Procedure and
grounds for his removal from office are the same as for a Supreme Court Judge. He
is not eligible for further office under the Union or a State Government after he
ceases to hold his office. The President on advice of Comptroller and Auditor-General
prescribes the form in which accounts of the Union and states are to be kept. His
reports on accounts of the Union and states are submitted to the President and
respective governors which are placed before Parliament and state legislatures.
ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS AND PUBLIC GRIEVANCES
Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances is the nodal agency
of the Government for Administrative Reforms as well as redressal of public
grievances relating to the States in general and grievances pertaining to Central
Government agencies in particular. The Department disseminates information on
important activities of the Government relating to administrative reforms best
practices and public grievance redressal through publications and documentation.
The Department also undertakes activities in the field of international exchange
and cooperation to promote public service reforms.
The mission of the Department is to act as a facilitator, in consultation with
Central Ministries/Departments, States/UT Administrations, Organisations and
Civil Society Representatives, to improve Government functioning through process
re-engineering, systemic changes. Organisation and Methods, efficient Grievance
The Polity 45
handling promoting modernisation, Citizens Charters, award schemes, egovernance
and best practices in government.
A Commission on Review of Administrative Laws was set up by the Department
of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances on 8 May 1998 with a view to
identify proposals for amendment of the existing laws, regulations and procedures
having inter-sectoral impact and also for repeal of all dysfunctional laws. The
Commission submitted its report on 30 September 1998. Out of the 1382 Central
Laws of different categories recommended for repeal by the Commission, 415 Acts
including 5 War-time Permanent Ordinances have since been repealed. The various
Ministries/Departments have decided to retain 822 Acts (which include 700
Appropriation Acts and 27 Reorganisation Acts). The remaining Acts are at various
stages of processing.
The Department set up a Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC)
in 2005 under the Chairmanship of Shri Veerappa Moily to prepare a detailed
blueprint for revamping the public administrative system. The Commission has
been set up by the Government of India to suggest measures to achieve a proactive,
responsive, accountable, sustainable and efficient administration for the country at
all levels of the government.
The Commission has so far presented the following five Reports to the
Government :-
(i) Right to Information —Master Key to Good Governance (09.06.2006)
(ii) Unlocking Human Capital —Entitlements and Governance — a Case Study
(31.07.2006)
(iii) Crisis Management —From Despair to Hope (31.10.2006)
(iv) Ethics in Governance (12.02.2007)
(v) Public Order —Justice for each ..... Peace for all. (25.06.2007)
A group of Ministers under the Chairmanship of Shri Pranab Mukherjee
External Affairs Minister has been constituted to review the pace of implementation
of the recommendations of ARC as well as to provide guidance to the concerned
Ministries/Department in implementing the decisions.
The Department has also instituted in 2005, "Prime Minister's Awards for
Excellence in Public administration" to recognise the extraordinary and innovative
work done by the officers of the Central and State Governments. The Award
comprise - i) A Medal, ii) A scroll, and, iii) Cash Award of Rs. 1,00,000. In case of a
group of officials total award money for the group is Rs 5 lakh subject to a maximum
of Rs One lakh per person. The amount for an organisation is upto a limit of Rs 5
lakh. All officers of the Central and State Governments individually or as a group
or as organisations are eligible to be considered for the awards. The first such Awards
were presented by the Prime minister on the occasion of Civil Service Day
celebrations on 21.04.2007 organised at Vigyan Bhawan.
The Department has developed a Model —(SEVOTTAM) for benchmarking
service delivery standards by the Government departments. The main objective of
the project is to set standards in consultation with user group and include these
standards in the citizen's charter. It also provides a framework to assess the
performance against the standards and to measure improvement and achievements
of these standards. The model is aimed to bring about excellence in service delivery
46 India 2008
standards in government organizations and is to be implemented in all central
Ministries/Departments.
The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances has the
mandate of promoting good governance practices in the country. Documentation,
Incubation and Dissemination of Best Practices is one of the tasks enumerated in its
Vision and Mission Statement. In pursuance of this and in order to promote good
governance practices in the country, the Department has adopted multipronged
strategies like bringing out publications, organizing seminars, regional concerences,
arranging presentations, organizing lecture series and producing documentary films.
Through its regular publications, "Management in Government-a Quarterly Journal"
and "Civil Service News-a Monthly News letter" Department is creating awareness
about best practices. Besides, it has brought out two Books namely 'Ideas That Have
Worked' and "Learn From Them". These books share experiences of success or failure
of innovators. The Department has produced a DVD containing 73 select reports of
commissions/committee on Administrative Reforms since 1812 till date. A portal
of best practices has also been launched by the Department to effectively pursue
the objective of dissemination of best practices facilitating their replication.
ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS
The enactment of Administrative Tribunals Act in 1985 opened a new chapter in
the sphere of administering justice to the aggrieved government servants.
Administrative Tribunals Act owes its origin to Article 323-A of the Constitution
which empowers Central Government to set-up by an Act of Parliament,
Administrative Tribunals for adjudication of disputes and complaints with respect
to recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to the public service
and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union and the States. In pursuance of
the provisions contained in the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, the
Administrative Tribunals set-up under it exercise original jurisdiction in respect of
service matters of employees covered by it. As a result of the judgement dated 18
March 1997 of the Supreme Court, the appeals against the orders of an
Administrative Tribunal shall lie before the Division Bench of the concerned High
Court.
The Administrative Tribunals exercise jurisdiction only in relation to the service
matters of the litigants covered by the Act. The procedural simplicity of the Act can
be appreciated from the fact that the aggrieved person can also appear before it
personally. The Government can present its case through its departmental officers
or legal practitioners. Thus, the objective of the Tribunal is to provide for speedy
and inexpensive justice to the litigants.
The Act provides for establishment of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)
and the State Administrative Tribunals. The CAT was set-up on 1 November 1985.
Today, it has 17 regular benches, 15 of which operate at the principal seats of High
Courts and the remaining two at Jaipur and Lucknow. These Benches also hold
circuit sittings at other seats of High Courts. In brief, the tribunal consists of a
Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Members. The Members are drawn, both from
judicial as well as administrative streams so as to give the Tribunal the benefit of
expertise both in legal and administrative spheres.
THE STATES
The system of government in States closely resembles that of the Union.
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EXECUTIVE
GOVERNOR
State executive consists of Governor and Council of Ministers with Chief Minister
as its head. The Governor of a State is appointed by the President for a term of five
years and holds office during his pleasure. Only Indian citizens above 35 years of
age are eligible for appointment to this office. Executive power of the State is vested
in Governor.
Council of Ministers with Chief Minister as head, aids and advises Governor
in exercise of his functions except in so far as he is by or under the Constitution
required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion. In respect of
Nagaland, Governor has special responsibility under Article 371 A of the
Constitution with respect to law and order and even though it is necessary for him
to consult Council of Ministers in matters relating to law and order, he can exercise
his individual judgement as to the action to be taken.
Similarly, in respect of Arunachal Pradesh, Governor has special responsibility
under Article 371H of the Constitution with respect to law and order and in discharge
of his functions in relation thereto. Governor shall, after consulting Council of
Ministers, exercise his individual judgement as to the action to be taken. These are,
however, temporary provisions if President, on receipt of a report from Governor
or otherwise is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for Governor to have special
responsibility with respect to law and order, he may so direct by an order.
Likewise, in the Sixth Schedule which applies to tribal areas of Assam,
Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram as specified in para 20 of that Schedule,
discretionary powers are given to Governor in matters relating to sharing of royalties
between district council and state government. Sixth Schedule vests additional
discretionary powers in Governors of Mizoram and Tripura in almost all their
functions (except approving regulations for levy of taxes and money lending by
non-tribals by district councils) since December 1998. In Sikkim, Governor has been
given special responsibility for peace and social and economic advancement of
different sections of population.
All Governors while discharging such constitutional functions as appointment
of Chief Minister of a State or sending a report to President about failure of
constitutional machinery in a State or in respect of matters relating to assent to a
Bill passed by legislature, exercise their own judgement.
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
The Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor who also appoints other ministers
on the advice of the Chief Minister. The Council of Ministers is collectively
responsible to legislative assembly of the State.
LEGISLATURE
For every state, there is a legislature which consists of Governor and one House or,
two Houses as the case may be. In Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka,
Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, there are two Houses known as legislative council
and legislative assembly. In the remaining states, there is only one House known as
legislative assembly. Parliament may, by law, provide for abolition of an existing
legislative council or for creation of one where it does not exist, if proposal is
supported by a resolution of the legislative assembly concerned.
48 India 2008
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) of a state comprises not more than one-third
of total number of members in legislative assembly of the state and in no case less
than 40 members (Legislative Council of Jammu and Kashmir has 36 members vide
Section 50 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir). About one-third of members
of the council are elected by members of legislative assembly from amongst persons
who are not its members, one-third by electorates consisting of members of
municipalities, district boards and other local authorities in the state, one-twelfth
by electorate consisting of persons who have been, for at least three years, engaged
in teaching in educational institutions within the state not lower in standard than
secondary school and a further one-twelfth by registered graduates of more than
three years standing. Remaining members are nominated by Governor from among
those who have distinguished themselves in literature, science, art, cooperative
movement and social service. Legislative councils are not subject to dissolution but
one-third of their members retire every second year.
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) of a state consists of not more than 500 and
not less than 60 members (Legislative Assembly of Sikkim has 32 members vide
Article 371F of the Constitution) chosen by direct election from territorial
constituencies in the state. Demarcation of territorial constituencies is to be done in
such a manner that the ratio between population of each constituency and number
of seats allotted to it, as far as practicable, is the same throughout the state. Term of
an assembly is five years unless it is dissolved earlier.
POWERS AND FUNCTIONS
State legislature has exclusive powers over subjects enumerated in List II of the
Seventh Schedule of the Constitution and concurrent powers over those enumerated
in List III. Financial powers of legislature include authorisation of all expenditure,
taxation and borrowing by the state government. Legislative assembly alone has
power to originate money bills. Legislative council can make only recommendations
in respect of changes it considers necessary within a period of fourteen days of the
receipt of money bills from Assembly. Assembly can accept or reject these
recommendations.
RESERVATION OF BILLS
The Governor of a state may reserve any Bill for the consideration of the President.
Bills relating to subjects like compulsory acquisition of property, measures affecting
powers and position of High Courts and imposition of taxes on storage, distribution
and sale of water or electricity in inter-state river or river valley development projects
should necessarily be so reserved. No Bills seeking to impose restrictions on interstate
trade can be introduced in a state legislature without previous sanction of the
President.
CONTROL OVER EXECUTIVE
State legislatures, apart from exercising the usual power of financial control, use all
normal parliamentary devices like questions, discussions, debates, adjournments
and no-confidence motions and resolutions to keep a watch over day-to-day work
of the executive. They also have their committees on estimates and public accounts
to ensure that grants sanctioned by legislature are properly utilised.
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UNION TERRITORIES
Union Territories are administrated by the President acting to such extent, as he
thinks fit, through an Administrator appointed by him. Administrators of Andaman
and Nicobar Islands, Delhi and Pondicherry are designated as Lieutenant Governors.
The Governor of Punjab is concurrently the Administrator of Chandigarh. The
Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli is concurrently the Administrator of
Daman and Diu. Lakshadweep has a separate Administrator.
The National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Pondicherry
each has a legislative assembly and council of ministers. Legislative assembly of
Union Territory of Pondicherry may make laws with respect to matters enumerated
in List II or List III in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution in so far as these
matters are applicable in relation to the Union Territory. The legislative assembly
of National Capital Territory of Delhi has also these powers with the exceptions
that Entries 1, 2 and 18 of the List II are not within the legislative competence of the
legislative assembly. Certain categories of Bills, however, require the prior approval
of the Central Government for introduction in the legislative assembly. Some Bills,
passed by the legislative assembly of the Union Territory of Pondicherry and
National Capital Territory of Delhi are required to be reserved for consideration
and assent of the President.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
MUNICIPALITIES
Municipal bodies have a long history in India. The first such Municipal Corporation
was set-up in the former Presidency Town of Madras in 1688; and was followed by
similar corporations in the then Bombay and Calcutta in 1726. The Constitution of
India has made detailed provisions for ensuring protection of democracy in
Parliament and in the state legislatures. However, Constitution did not make the
local self-government in urban areas a clear-cut constitutional obligation. While
the Directive Principles of State Policy refer to village Panchayats, there is no specific
reference to Municipalities except the implicity in Entry 5 of the State List, which
places the subject of local self-governments as a responsibility of the states.
In order to provide for a common framework for urban local bodies and help
to strengthen the functioning of the bodies as effective democratic units of selfgovernment,
Parliament enacted the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992
(known as Nagarpalika Act) relating to municipalities in 1992. The Act received the
assent of the President on 20 April 1993. The Government of India notified 1 June
1993 as the date from which the said Act came into force. A new part IX-A relating
to the Municipalities has been incorporated in the Constitution to provide for among
other things, constitution of three types of Municipalities, i.e., Nagar Panchayats
for areas in transition from a rural area to urban area, Municipal Councils for smaller
urban areas and Municipal Corporation for large urban areas, fixed duration of
municipalities, appointment of state election commission, appointment of state
finance commission and constitution of metropolitan and district planning
committees. All State/UT Administrations have set-up their state election
commissions and Finance Commissions.
PANCHAYATS
Article 40 of the Constitution which enshrines one of the Directive Principles of
State Policy lays down that the State shall take steps to organise village panchayats
50 India 2008
and endow them with such powers and, authority as may be necessary to enable
them to function as units of self-government.
In the light of the above a new Part IX relating to the Panchayats has been
inserted in the Constitution to provide for among other things, Gram Sabha in a
village or group of villages; constitution of Panchayats at village and other level or
levels; direct elections to all seats in Panchayats at the village and intermediate
level, if any, and to the offices of Chairpersons of Panchayats at such levels;
reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to
their population for membership of Panchayats and office of Chairpersons in
Panchayats at each level; reservation of not less than one-third of the seats for women;
fixing tenure of five years for Panchayats and holding elections within a period of
six months in the event of supersession of any Panchayat.
ELECTION COMMISSION
The superintendence, direction and control of preparation of electoral rolls for, and
the conduct of, elections to Parliament and State Legislatures and elections to the
offices of the President and the Vice-President of India are vested in the Election
Commission of India. It is an independent constitutional authority. Since its inception
in 1950 and till October 1989, the Commission functioned as a single member body
consisting of the Chief Election Commissioner. On 16 October 1989, the President
appointed two more Election Commissioners on the eve of the General Election to
the House of the People held in November-December 1989. However, the said two
Commissioners ceased to hold office on 1 January 1990 when those two posts of
Election Commissioners were abolished. Again on 1 October 1993, the President
appointed two more Election Commissioners. Simultaneously, the Chief Election
Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Conditions of Service) Act, 1991
was amended to provide that the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election
Commissioners will enjoy equal powers and will receive equal salary, allowances
and other perquisites as payable to a judge of the Supreme Court of India. The Act
further provided that in case of difference of opinion amongst the Chief Election
Commissioner and/or two other Election Commissioners, the matter will be decided
by the Commission by majority. The validity of that Act (renamed in 1993 as the
Election Commission) (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and
Transaction of Business) Act, 1991 was challenged before the Supreme Court. The
Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court consisting of five judges, however,
dismissed the petitions and upheld the provisions of the above law by a unanimous
judgement on 14 July 1995.
Independence of the Election Commission and its insulation from executive
interference is ensured by a specific provision under Article 324(5) of the Constitution
that the Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in
like manner and on like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court and conditions of
his service shall not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment. The
other Election Commissioners cannot be removed from office except on
recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner. The term of office of the Chief
Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners is six years from the date
he/she assumes office or till the day he/she attains the age of 65 years, whichever
is earlier.
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AMENDMENTS
The Parliament on 22 March 2003 enacted the Election Laws (Amendment) Act,
2003 and Conduct of Elections (Amendment) Rules, 2003 which came into force
with effect from 22 September 2003. By these amendments in the Act and Rules,
those service voters belonging to the Armed Forces and members belonging to a
Force to which provisions of the Army Act applies, have been provided the facility
to opt to vote through proxy. Such service voter who opt to vote through proxy
have to appoint a proxy in a prescribed format and intimate the Returning Officer
of the constituency.
The Election and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2003 (46 of 2003)
was enacted in 11 September 2003. By this amendment, new Section 29B and 29C
were inserted in the Principal Act providing for contribution by any person or
company other than a Government company to political parties, subject to the
condition that any contribution in excess of Rs 20,000 shall be reported to the Election
Commission for any claim for Tax relief under the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Act
also inserted Part A (Section 78A and 78B) regarding supply of copies of electoral
rolls and certain other items to candidates of recognised political parties. This Act
also amended Section 77(1) regarding maintenance of election expenses by
candidates whereby expenditure incurred by specified number of 'leaders' of a
political party on account of travel by air or by any other means of transport for
propagating programme of the political party alone shall be exempted from being
included in the account of election expenses incurred by the candidate in connection
with the election.
The Parliament on 1 January 2004 enacted the Delimitation (Amendment) Act,
2003 whereby Section 4 of the Principal Act was amended to provide that the
Delimitation will be held on the basis of the 2001 Census figures.
The Parliament on 28 August 2003 enacted the Representation of the People
(Amendment) Act, 2003 whereby open ballot system was introduced at elections to
the Council of States. In this system an elector who belongs to a political party is
required to show the ballot paper after marking his vote to an authorised agent of
that political party. The requirement that a candidate contesting an election to the
Council of States from a particular State should be an elector in that particular State
was also dispensed with.
ELECTORAL REFORMS
In C.W.P. No. 4912 of 1998 (Kushra Bharat Vs. Union of India and Others), the Delhi
High Court directed that information relating to government dues owed by
candidates to the departments dealing with Government accommodation, electricity,
water, telephone and transport (including aircrafts and helicopters) and any other
dues should be furnished by the candidates and this information should be published
by the election authorities under the Commission in at least two newspapers having
local circulation, for information of electors. Accordingly, the Commission modified
items 3(a)(iii) of the format of the affidavit prescribed vide its order dated 27 March
2003 relating to right to information of electors regarding the background of
candidates and also issued necessary directions to the District Election Officers
regarding publication of the information furnished by the candidates in the
newspapers as directed by the Delhi High Court.
52 India 2008
GENERAL ELECTIONS 2004
Elections in India are events involving political mobilisation and organisational
complexity on an amazing scale. The General Elections to the 14th Lok Sabha, the
House of People were due in October 2004 but consequent to early dissolution of
the House, the Election Commission of India decided to hold the elections to the
Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa and
Sikkim, as well as fifteen bye-elections in variuos states during April-May 2004.
General Elections 2004
Total Seats (Lok Sabha) 543
Electorate 67,14,87,930
Number of election personnel Approx. 4 million excluding paraengaged
military and police personnel
Number of EVMs used 1.075 million
Direct expenditure incurred Approx. Rs 13,000 million
Number and Types of Lok Sabha Constituencies
For General Candidates 423
Reserved for Scheduled Caste 79
Candidates
Reserved for Scheduled 41
Tribe Candidates
Total Constituencies 543
On 29 February 2004, the Election Commission of India announced the schedule
of elections, with polling to be held in four phases on 20 and 26 April and 5 and 10
May 2004. The phasing of the elections has become a necessity over the years due to
large requirement of paramilitary forces and time needed for their movement across
various states. The phasing of polls pays rich dividends was brought out by the fact
that poll related violence came down substantially. Later, the Commission decided
to hold elections for two seats in Tripura on 22 April instead of 20 April 2004 and for
one seat in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 20 April instead of 10 May 2004.
Electronic Voting Machine : The Representation of People Act, 1951 was amended
by the Indian Parliament in 1989 to facilitate the use of EVMs. However, they were
really put to use only after a decade, when the Commission took a bold initiative
for introducing EVMs in 16 Assembly Constituencies during State Legislative
Assembly Elections in November 1998. In General Elections 2004, EVMs were used
for the first time throughout the country making the elections go fully electronic.
The user-friendly EVMs could be used even by the illiterates with ease. Since the
EVMs work on battery, electricity was not a problem. The polling personnel carried
EVMs in convenient boxes. The use of EVMs was preceded by an elaborate training
programme and widespread campaign to educate the voters, candidates, political
parties, media and the election staff. The failure rate of the machines was negligible.
The use of EVMs saved around 1,50,000 trees which would have otherwise been
cut for production of about 8,000 tonnes of paper required for printing the ballot
papers, if traditional system of ballot boxes was adopted. EVMs were transported
to polling stations by all imaginable means.
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Political Parties : For these elections, there were six National Parties, forty-three
State Parties and 854 Registered Unrecognised Parties. Since about a decade, regional
and smaller parties gained importance in Indian polity. They have played a major
role in Government formation through pre-poll and post-poll alliances. There are
no permanent friends or foes in politics becomes clear when Indian context is
analysed.
Candidates : There were 5,435 candidates for 543 Lok Sabha seats and 4,504
candidates for 697 seats in four State Legislative Assemblies. The number of women
candidates was 354 and 324 respectively. Though the ceilings for expenses to be
incurred by the candidates were raised, due to strict observance of Model Code of
Conduct and monitoring of election expenses, the overt publicity remained subdued.
To ensure a level playing field, the Supreme Court of India ordered regulation of
advertisements on electronic media to be put by the candidates and political parties.
The candidates were required to file affidavits declaring their assets and liabilities,
educational qualifications, Government dues and criminal cases pending against
them, if any. These affidavits were displayed on the notice boards of the offices of
the Returning Officers, and placed on the website of the Commission to enable the
electors make their informed choice. Some NGOs compiled this information and
circulated the same for the benefit of the voters.
Results : There were more than 1,200 counting centres spread over about 850 towns
in the country. The counting of votes for Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Assembly
was undertaken on 11 May 2004 and for Lok Sabha, other State Legislative
Assemblies and bye-elections on 13 May. The use of EVMs made the process of
counting easier and faster. The Commission made elaborate arrangements to receive
directly results from the Returning Officers using GENESYS software. The
Commission's website received more than 10 million hits on the day of counting.
Elections to Legislative Assemblies : The General Election to the Legislative
Assemblies of Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir were held on 12 December and in
September-October 2002 respectively. Similarly poll to the Legislative Assemblies
of Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura were held on 26 February
2003. The General Elections to the Legislative Assemblies of Mizoram was held on
20 November 2003 and that of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and NCT
of Delhi were held on 1 December 2003.
General Election to Legislative Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Orissa and Sikkim were held in different phases as detailed below :
State(s)/UT(s) Phase Date of Poll
Andhra Pradesh I 20 April 2004
II 26 April 2004
Karnataka I 20 April 2004
II 26 April 2004
Orissa I 20 April 2004
II 26 April 2004
Sikim - 10 May 2004
General Elections held in 2005 : In this year elections were held to Legislative
Assemblies of three States, namely, 1. Bihar, 2. Haryana and 3. Jharkhand. The poll
programme is as given below:
54 India 2008
Phase I Phase Phase III Total
Date of Poll 03-02-05 15-02-05 23-02-05
Bihar 64 86 93 243
Haryana 90 - - 90
Jharkhand 24 29 28 81
Elections were held in Bihar State again in the same year as the Legislative Assembly
was dissolved by the Honorable President of India. This election was held in the
month of October 2005 as below:
Phase I Phase II Phase III Phase IV Total
Date of Poll 18-10-05 26-10-05 13-11-05 19-11-05
Bihar 61 69 72 41 243
General Elections held in 2006 : In this year the term of 5 State Assemblies had
expired and the elections as per the following schedule was held:
Phase I Phase II Phase III Phase IV Total
Assam 03-04-06 10-04-06 - - -
ACs (126) 65 61
Kerala 22-04-06 29-04-06 03-05-06 - -
ACs (146) 59 66 15
Tamil Nadu 08-05-06 - - - -
ACs (234) 234
West Bengal 17-05-06 22-04-06 27-04-06 03-05-06 08-05-06
ACs (294) 45 66 77 57 49
Pondicherry 03-05-06 08-05-06 - - -
ACs (30) 3 27
* General Elections held in 2007 (Annexure-II)
The term of State Legislative Assemblies of Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab,
Uttar Pradesh and Goa expired during the months of March-June, 2007 and the poll
which constituted the new assembly in those states was taken as per the following
schedule :-
Annexure-II
State 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th
Phase Phase Phase Phase Phase Phase Phase
Manipur 08.02.07 14.02.07 23.02.07
Total Number 19 29 12
of ACs (60)
Uttarakhand 21.02.07
Total number 70
of ACs (70) (All ACs)
Punjab 13.02.07
Total Number of 117
The Polity 55
ACs (117) (All ACs)
Uttar Pradesh 07.04.07 13.04.07 18.04.07 23.04.07 28.04.07 03.05.07 08.05.07
Total Number of 62 58 57 57 58 52 59
ACs (403)
Goa 02.06.07
Total number of All Acs
ACs (40)
The counting of votes in respect of Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar
Pradesh was taken up on 27.02.07 and 11.05.07 respectively and that of Goa was
taken up on 05.06.07. The term of Gujarat Legislative Assembly is up to 26.12.07.
The Commission will initiate action in due course so as to constitute the new
Assembly in Gujarat within the stipulated time in normal case.
The General Elections to the State Legislative Assemblies of Himachal Pradesh,
Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram,
NCT of Delhi and Chhattisgarh are to be held in the year, 2008. The term of State
Legislative Assemblies of the said States is given below :-
Sl. State Term Assembly Total number Remarks
No. of Assembly
Constituencies
1. Himachal Pradesh 09.03.2008 68
2. Meghalaya 10.03.2008 60
3. Nagaland 13.03.2008 60
4. Tripura 19.03.2008 60
5. Jammu & Kashmir 20.11.2008 87 Term of J&K
Assembly is for 6
years (Art. 52 of
Constitution of
J&K)
6. Madhya Pradesh 14.12.2008 230
7. Mirozm 14.12.2008 40
8. NCT of Delhi 17.12.2008 70
9. Chhattisgarh 21.12.2008 90
56 India 2008
TABLE 3.1 : LOK SABHA AND ITS SPEAKER(s) FROM TIME TO TIME
LOK SABHA Date of first Date SPEAKER1
meeting after of
its constitution dissolution Name From To
First Lok Sabha 13 May 1952 4 April 19572 Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar 15 May 1952 27 February 19563
M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar 8 March 1956 10 May 1957
Second Lok Sabha 10 May 1957 31 March 19624 M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar 11 May 1957 16 April 1962
Third Lok Sabha 16 April 1962 3 March 19675 Hukam Singh 17 April 1962 16 March 1967
Fourth Lok Sabha 16 March 1967 27 December 19706 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 17 March 1967 19 July 19697
Gurdial Singh Dhillon 8 August 1969 19 March 1971
Fifth Lok Sabha 19 March 1971 18 January 19778 Gurdial Singh Dhillon 22 March 1971 1 December 19759
Bali Ram Bhagat 5 January 1976 25 March 1977
Sixth Lok Sabha 25 March 1977 22 August 197910 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 26 March 1977 13 July 197711
K.S. Hegde 21 July 1977 21 January 1980
Seventh Lok Sabha 21 January 1980 31 December 198412 Bal Ram Jakhar 22 January 1980 15 January 1985
Eighth Lok Sabha 15 January 1985 27 November 198913 Bal Ram Jakhar 16 January 1985 18 December 1989
Ninth Lok Sabha 18 December 1989 13 March 199114 Rabi Ray 19 December 1989 9 July 1991
Tenth Lok Sabha 9 July 1991 10 May 1996 Shivraj V. Patil 10 July 1991 22 May 1996
Eleventh Lok Sabha 22 May 1996 4 December 199715 P.A. Sangma 23 May 1996 23 March 1998 (FN)
Twelfth Lok Sabha 23 March 1998 26 April 199916 G.M.C. Balayogi 24 March 1998 20 October 1999 (FN)
Thirteenth Lok Sabha 20 October 1999 6 February 200418 G.M.C. Balayogi 22 October 1999 3 March 200217
Manohar Gajanan Joshi 10 May 2002 2 June 2004
Fourteenth Lok Sabha 2 June 2004 -- Somnath Chatterjee 4 June 2004 Till Date
1 Under Article 94 of the Constitution, in case of dissolution of the Lok Sabha, the Speaker does not vacate his office until immediately before the first meeting
of the House after dissolution.
2 Dissolved 38 days before expiry of its term.
The Polity 57
TABLE 3.1 (Contd.)
3 Died.
4 Dissolved 40 days before expiry of its term.
5 Dissolved 44 days before expiry of its term.
6 Dissolved one year and 79 days before expiry of its term.
7 Resigned.
8 Term of the Lok Sabha which was to expire on 18 March 1976 was extended by one year upto 18 March 1977 by the House of the People (Extension of Duration) Act,
1976. It was extended for a further period of one year upto 18 March 1978 by the House of the People (Extension of Duration) Amendment Act, 1976. However, the House
was dissolved after having been in existence for a period of five years, 10 months and six days.
9 Resigned.
10 House was dissolved after having been in existence for a period of two years, four months and 28 days.
11 Resigned.
12 Dissolved 20 days before expiry of its term.
13 Dissolved 48 days before expiry of its term.
14 Dissolved after having been in existence for a period of one year, two months and 25 days.
15 House was dissolved after having been in existence for a period of one year, six months and 13 days.
16 House was dissolved after having been in existence for a period of one year, one month and four days.
17 Died.
18 Dissolved 253 days before expiry of its term.
58 India 2008
TABLE 3.2 : STATE-WISE ALLOCATION OF SEATS IN THE TWO HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT AND PARTY POSITION
IN LOK SABHA (AS ON 31.7.2006)
State/UTs No. of No. of
Seats in Seats in INC BJP CPI(M) SP RJD BSP DMK SS BJD CPI NCP JD(U) SAD IND. Others Vacancies
Rajya Sabha Lok Sabha
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
STATES
ANDHRA PRADESH 18 42 29 - 1 - - - - - - 1 - - - - 11(A) -
ARUNACHAL PRADESH 1 2 - 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ASSAM 7 14 9 2 - - - - - - - - - - - 1 2(B) -
BIHAR 16 40 3 4 - - 22 - - - - - - 5 - - 4(C) 2
CHHATTISGARH 5 11 1 9 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
GOA 1 2 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
GUJARAT 11 26 12 14 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HARYANA 5 10 9 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HIMACHAL PRADESH 3 4 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
JAMMU AND KASHMIR 4 6 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 3(D) -
JHARKHAND 6 14 6 - - - 1 - - - - 1 - - - - 4(E) 2
KARNATAKA 12 28 9 16 - 1 - - - - - - - - - - 2(F) -
KERALA 9 20 - - 12 - - - - - - 3 - - - 1 4(G) -
MADHYA PRADESH 11 29 3 23 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3
MAHARASHTRA 19 48 13 11 - - - - - 12 - - 9 - - - 1(H) 2
MANIPUR 1 2 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
MEGHALAYA 1 2 1 - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - - -
MIZORAM 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1(I) -
NAGALAND 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1(J) -
ORISSA 10 21 2 7 - - - - - - 11 - - - - - 1(K) -
PUNJAB 7 13 2 3 - - - - - - - - - - 8 - - -
RAJASTHAN 10 25 4 21 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SIKKIM 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1(L) -
TAMIL NADU 18 39 10 - 2 - - - 16 - - 2 - - - - 9(M) -
The Polity 59
TABLE 3.2 (Contd.)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
TRIPURA 1 2 - - 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - -
UTTARANCHAL 3 5 1 3 - 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -
UTTARAKHAND 31 80 9 10 - 36 - 15 - - - - - 1 - 1 5(N) 3
WEST BENGAL 16 42 5 - 25 - - - - - - 3 - - - - 6(O) 3
NOMINATED 12 2 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
UNION TERRITORIES
A & N ISLANDS - 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
CHANDIGARH - 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI - 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1(P) -
DAMAN & DIU - 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE NCT OF DELHI 3 7 6 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
LAKSHADWEEP - 1 - - - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - -
PONDICHERRY 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1(q) -
TOTAL 245 543 146 128 42 38 23 15 16 12 11 10 10 7 8 5 57 17
a. Telangana Rashtra Samiti-5; Telugu Desam-5; All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen-1
b. Asom Gana Parishad-2
c. Lok Jan Shakti Party-4
d. Jammu and Kashmir National Conference-2; Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party-1
e. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-4
f. Janata Dal (Secular)-2
g. Janata Dal (Secular)-1; Muslim League Kerala State Committee-1; Kerala Congress-2
h. Republican Party of India (A)-1
i. Mizo National Front-1
j. Nagaland Peoples Front-1
k. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-1
l. Sikkim Democratic Front-1
m. Pattali Makkal Katchi-5; Marumaralchi Dravida Munnetra Kzhgram-4
n. Rashtriya Lok Dal-3; National Loktantrik Party-1; Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)-1
o. Revolutionary Socialist Party-3; All India Trinamool Congress-1; All India Forward Bloc-3
p. Bharatiya Navshakti Party-1
q. Pattali Makkal Katchi-1
60 India 2008
4 Agriculture
AGRICULTURE is the mainstay of the Indian economy. Agriculture and allied sectors
contribute nearly 22 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP of India), while about
65-70 per cent of the population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. The
agricultural output, however, depends on monsoon as nearly 60 per cent of area
sown is dependent on rainfall. During 2005, South West monsoon was not well
distributed in time. It was below normal in June, active in July, subdued in August
and became active in September over the country. For the country as a whole, the
seasonal rainfall from 1 June to 30 September was 99 per cent of its long period
average (LPA). According to the Third Advance Estimates on production of foodgrains
and commercial crops released on 5 May 2006 the production of foodgrains during
2005-06 was estimated at 210.01 million tonnes, which is more than the foodgrains
production of 2004-05 by 11.65 million tonnes or 5.9 per cent. The estimated production
of rice at 89.88 million tonnes increased by 6.75 million tonnes or 8.1 per cent as
compared to 2004-05. The production of wheat during 2005-06 estimated at 71.54
million tonnes exceeds last year’s production by 2.90 million tonnes or 4.2 per cent.
The production of coarse cereals estimated at 34.67 million tonnes is more than last
year’s production by 1.21 million tonnes or by 3.6 per cent. The production of bajra
was estimated at 8.31 million tonnes indicating a marginal increase of 4.8 per cent
over last year’s production of 7.93 million tonnes. In case of maize the production
was estimated at 14.89 million tonnes which is more than last year’s production by
0.71 million tonnes or 5.0 per cent. The expected production of total pulses at 13.92
million tonnes shows a 6.0 per cent increase over the last year’s production of 13.13
million tonnes.
The estimated production of total oilseeds at 26.70 million tonnes in 2005-06
is more than the last year’s production by 2.34 million tonnes or by 9.6 per cent. The
production of cotton in 2005-06 was estimated at 18.93 million bales of 170 kg each
which is more than the last year’s production level by 2.50 million bales indicating
an increase of 15.2 per cent. Jute and Mesta production during 2005-06 was estimated
at 10.83 million bales of 180 kg each which is more than last year’s production of
10.27 million bales or by 5.5 per cent. Sugarcane production was estimated at 273.16
million tonnes, showing an increase of 36.07 million tonnes or 15.2 per cent over the
preceding year’s production of 237.09 million tonnes
Annual growth of crop area, production and yield in respect of cereals, oilseeds
and other crops is given below:
TABLE 4.1 : ANNUAL COMPOUND GROWTH OF CROP AREA, PRODUCTION
AND PRODUCTIVITY
(per cent per annum)
2003-04 2004-05
Crop Area Production Yield Area Production Yield
Rice 3.4 23.3 19.2 -1.6 -6.1 -4.6
Wheat 5.6 9.7 4.0 -0.8 -4.9 -4.1
Coarse Cereals 14.1 44.9 27.0 -5.8 -11.6 -6.2
Agriculture 61
Total Cereals 7.1 21.0 13.0 -2.7 -6.5 -3.9
Total Pulses 14.5 33.1 16.3 -3.0 -10.7 -8.0
Foodgrains 8.4 22.6 13.0 -2.7 -7.1 -4.5
Nine Oilseeds 10.1 69.8 54.2 16.3 -2.5 -16.2
Cotton (lint) -0.9 59.2 60.7 15.6 19.7 3.5
Sugarcane -12.9 -18.6 -6.6 -7.0 1.4 9.0
Non Foodgrains 8.1 19.2 10.2 9.8 2.5 -6.6
All Principal Crops 8.3 21.0 11.7 0.7 -2.7 -3.5
Based on Index Numbers with Triennium ending 1993-94 = 100
LAND UTILISATION
Land utilisation statistics are available for 92.9 per cent of total geographical area of
3,287.3 lakh hectares. According to Land Use Statistics available from the States, the
area under forest had increased from 404.8 lakh hectares in 1950-51 to 695.5 lakh
hectares in 2003-04. Net sown area increased from 1,187.5 lakh hectares to 1,409.6
lakh hectares during the same period. Broad cropping pattern indicates that though
foodgrains have a preponderance in gross cropped area as compared to nonfoodgrains,
their relative share came down from 76.7 per cent during 1950-51 to 65.6
per cent during 2003-04.
TECHNOLOGY MISSION ON OILSEEDS, PULSES AND MAIZE
The Technology Mission on Oilseeds was launched by the Central Government in
1986 to increase the production of oilseeds to reduce import and achieve selfsufficiency
in edible oils. Subsequently, pulses, oil palm and maize were also brought
within the purview of the Mission in 1990-91, 1992 and 1995-96 respectively. In
addition the National Oilseeds and Vegetable Oils Development (NOVOD) Board
also supplement the efforts of TMOP by opening of newer areas for non-traditional
oilseeds. It is promoting tree-borne oilseeds. The schemes implemented under TMOP
are (i) Oilseeds Production Programme (OPP) (ii) National Pulses Development Project
(NPDP) (iii) Accelerated Maize Development Programme (AMDP) (iv) Post Harvest
Technology (PHT) (v) Oil Palm Development Programme (OPDP) and (vi) National
Oilseeds and Vegetable Oils Development Board (NOVOD).
During the Tenth Plan these schemes have been restructured as (i) Integrated
Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize (ISOPOM) by converging the ongoing
schemes of OPP, NPDP, AMDP and OPDP, (ii) Research and Development in Post
Harvest and Processing Technology (PHT) in Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize
including TMOP Headquarter, and (iii) Integrated Development of Tree Borne Oilseeds
to be implemented by NOVOD Board.
Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize : In order to provide
flexibility to the States in implementation based on regionally differentiated approach,
to promote crop diversification and to provide focused approach to the programmes,
the four on-going schemes of OPP, OPDP, NPDP, and AMDP have been merged into
one Centrally Sponsored Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize
(ISOPOM)during the 10th Five year Plan which is being implemented with effect from
1 April 2004. The scheme is being implemented in 14 major oilseeds and pulses
growing States for oilseeds and pulses and 15 major maize growing states for Maize
and in 10 states for oil palm.
The ISOPOM has the following special features (i) Flexibility, allowing the States
62 India 2008
to utilise the funds for the scheme/crop of their choice; (ii) Annual action plan to be
formulated by the State Governments for consideration and approval of the
Government of India; (iii) Flexibility, allowing the State to introduce innovative
measures or any special component to the extent of 10 per cent of financial allocation
(iv) Involvement of private sector by the State Governments for the implementation of
the programme with a financial cap of 15 per cent (v) Flexibility for inter-component
diversion of funds upto 20 per cent for non-seed components only and (vi) Diversion
of funds from seed components to non-seed components with prior approval of the
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation.
New components of ISOPOM included during 10th Plan are: (i) Inclusion of
HDPE pipes; (ii) Publicity; (iii) Involvement of Private Sector including NGOs,
Farmers’ Organisation, Cooperative bodies, Public Sector Agencies, etc; (iv) Innovative
measures and additional components; (v) Training of Officers/Extension workers;
and (vi) Foreign Visits.
Implementation of oilseeds production programme has helped in increasing
the production of oilseeds from 108.30 lakh tonnes in 1985-86 to 266.97(IIIrd Advance
Estimate) lakh tonnes during 2005-06. The pulses production in the country increased
from 128.60 lakh in 1989-90 to 139.20(IIIrd Advance Estimate) tonnes in 2005-06. The
area under oil palm increased from 8585 ha. at the end of 1992-93 to 71938 ha. upto
2005-06. Actual production of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs) upto 2003-04 was 40,000
tonnes (Approx.) yielding around 25,000 tonnes (Approx.) of crude palm oil (CPO).
The production of maize increased from 88.84 lakh tonnes in 1994-95 to 149.9 lakh
tonnes in 2003-04.
Research and development in Post Harvest and Processing Technology in
Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize: The scheme of Post Harvest Technology
(PHT) for Oilseeds, Pulses and Maize was brought under the purview of the TMOP
with the objective of stepping up their production through efficient scientific processing
for realising the ultimate objective of self-reliance in edible oils and other crops and
bringing about a position of zero imports.
The Technology Mission laid emphasise on development of Post Harvest
Technology (PHT) with the following objectives: (i) Optimising oil recovery from
oilseeds by developing efficient modern oil expellers; (ii) Tapping full potential of
Rice Bran Oil (RBO) – in the country; (iii) Developing value added products in respect
of oilseeds, pulses and maize so that farmers are able to get a better/remunerative
price; (iv) Designing and developing indigenous technology for processing of nonconventional
and tree borne oilseeds including oil palm; (v) Developing of indigenous
technology in maize processing suitable in the context of Indian situation; and (vi)
Dissemination of the R&D Technologies developed through demonstration
programmes.
The indigenous technologies developed through R&D programmes were
popularised by setting up demonstration units in industries with partial grant-inaid
assistance from the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation. The partial
grant-in-aid assistance was provided in the form of plant and machinery. The scheme
has been discontinued from 2005-06 by the Planning Commission.
Integrated Development of Tree Borne Oilseed by NOVOD Board : National
Oilseed and Vegetable Oils Development (NOVOD) Board is exploring and
augmenting the potential of Tree Borne Oilseeds (TBOs) in the country by undertaking
activities like back-ended credit-linked subsidy programmes consisting of
Agriculture 63
establishment of seed procurement centres, installation of multi-purpose preprocessing
and processing facilities, installation of oil expellers, nursery raising and
commercial plantation and promotional programmes like development of elite
planting material, elite nursery raising and plantation, awareness programmes,
establishment of TBO garden, etc.
The Board has initiated plantation programmes of Jatropha curcas, and karanja
(Pongamia pinnata) for bio-diesel production in the country in more than 10,000 ha.
areas in the 25 States/Union Territories of the country. Besides 128 TBO gardens
have also been established to demonstrate the silvicultural practices coupled with
IPM for early adoption of TBO plantation in 12 States. Further, transfer of technology
programmes consisting of 136 farmer’s training, 48 trainer’s training and 22
workshops have also been organised for motivating farmers to adopt TBO plantation
and create awareness among primary seed collectors. The elite planting material and
planting techniques as well as location specific package of practices are being evolved
through a national network of 42 R&D institutions in the country.
Under the awareness programme, 2300 farmers have been trained and motivated
for raising TBOs by conducting 46 farmer’s training in the various States. Similarly,
600 field level functionary and volunteers have been trained through 12 trainer’s
training programme.
Eight oil expellers have been installed in the State of A.P., Bihar, Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu. Six more oil expellers are being installed for extraction of oil from TBOs.
CROP PRODUCTION PROGRAMME
The Crop Development schemes, viz., (i) Integrated Cereal Development Programme
in wheat-based cropping systems areas (ICDP-Wheat) (ii) Integrated Cereals
Development Programme in rice-based cropping systems areas (ICDP-Rice); (iii)
Integrated Cereal Development Programme on Coarse Cereals-Based Cropping
Systems Areas (ICDP-Coarse Cereals), (iv)Sustainable Development of Sugarcane-
Based Cropping System (SUBACS); and (v) Special Jute Development Programme
(SJDP) implemented during Ninth plan have since been subsumed under Macro
Management of Agriculture Scheme w.e.f. October 2000 to give more flexibility to the
State Governments. Assistance is provided to the States for implementation of these
programmes based on the Work Plans prepared by them according to regional needs.
The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Intensive Cotton Development
Programme (ICDP) now modified as a Mini-Mission-II of the Technology Mission
on Cotton, is continuing during 2006-07. The scheme is being implemented in 13
States. The aim of the scheme is to increase the production and productivity of cotton.
The scheme provides assistance for extension and development activities.
As a new initiative, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme – On Farm Water
Management for encouraging crop production in Eastern India was launched in
March 2002. The objective of the scheme was to increase the production and
productivity of foodgrains through focus on exploitation of ground/surface water
and its efficient utilisation. The scheme helps in enhancing the income of the farmers
and diversifying agriculture production in eastern India. The Scheme was in operation
in all districts of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,
Manipur, Mizoram, Orissa, nine districts of West Bengal and 35 districts of Eastern
Uttar Pradesh. The main components of the scheme were: (i) assistance for installation
of shallow tubewells with pump sets;(ii) assistance for electric/diesel pump sets;
(iii) assistance for community lift irrigation points; and (iv) assistance for digging
64 India 2008
wells in the plateau region. The scheme was being implemented as credit-linked
back-ended subsidy basis through NABARD in coordination with the State
Governments. The funding pattern of the scheme was 20:30:50 basis, i.e., 20 per cent
contributed by the beneficiaries, 30 per cent subsidy from Government of India and
50 per cent as bank loan. The scheme has since been discontinued from 2006-07.
HORTICULTURE
India is bestowed with a varied agro-climate, which is highly favourable for growing
a large number of horticultural crops such as fruits, vegetables, root tuber, ornamental,
aromatic plants, medicinal herbs, spices and plantation crops like coconut, arecanut,
cashew and cocoa. Presently, horticultural crops occupy around 10 per cent of gross
cropped area of the country producing 160.75 million tonnes. India is the second
largest producer of fruits and vegetables. Total production of fruits has been estimated
at 49.36 million tonnes from 4.81 million ha. Vegetables occupy an area of 6.3 million
ha. with a production of 93.00 million tonnes. Our share in world fruit and vegetable
production is 10 per cent and 13.28 per cent respectively.
Fruits : India has a large range of varieties of fruit in its basket and accounts for 10
per cent of world’s total fruit production. Mango, banana, citrus, pineapple, papaya,
guava, cheeku, jackfruit, litchi and grape, among the tropical and sub-tropical fruits;
apple, pear, peach, plum, apricot, almond and walnut among the temperate fruits
and aonla, ber, pomegranate, annona, fig, phalsa among the arid zone fruits are
important. India leads the world in the production of mango, banana, cheeku and
acid lime and in productivity of grapes per unit land area.
India is the largest producer of mango, banana, cheeku and acid lime. About 39
per cent of world’s mango and 23 per cent of world’s banana is produced in the
country. In grapes, India has recorded the highest productivity per unit area in the
world. The overall production of horticultural crops registered an increase of 8.0 per
cent during 2004-05 as compared to 2003-04. The per centage increase in fruit
production has been to the tune of 1.5 per cent during the period.
Vegetables : More than 40 kinds of vegetables belonging to different groups, namely,
solanaceous, cucurbitaceous, leguminous, cruciferous (cole crops), root crops and
leafy vegetables are grown in India in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate regions.
Important vegetable crops grown in the country are tomato, onion, brinjal, cabbage,
cauliflower, okra and peas.
India is next only to China in area and production of vegetables and occupies
prime position in the production of cauliflower, second in onion and third in cabbage
in the world. The area and production of major vegetables during 2004-05 is estimated
at 6.30 million ha with a production of 93.0 million tonnes and average productivity
of 14.8 tonnes per ha. The production has increased by 5.7 per cent.
Flowers : Though flower cultivation has been practised in India since times
immemorial, floriculture has blossomed into a viable business only in recent years.
The increased growing of contemporary cut flowers like rose, gladiolus, tuberose,
carnation, etc., has led to their use for bouquets and arrangements for gifts, as well as
decoration of both home and work place. A growing market, as a result of improvement
in the general level of well being in the country and increased affluence, particularly
among the middle class, has led to transformation of the activity of flower growing
into a burgeoning industry. Availability of diverse agro-climatic conditions in this
large country facilitates production of all major flowers throughout the year in some
Agriculture 65
part or the other, and improved transportation facilities, have increased the availability
of flowers all over the country.
India has made noticeable advancement in the production of flowers. Floriculture
is estimated to cover an area of 1.14 lakh ha. with a production of 6,70,000 MT of loose
flowers and 13009.3 million cut flowers.
Spices : Spices constitute an important group of horticultural crops and are defined
as vegetable products or mixture thereof, free from extraneous matter, used for
flavouring, seasoning and imparting aroma in foods. The term applies equally to the
product in the whole form or in the ground form. India is known as the home of spices
and produces a wide variety of spices like black pepper, cardamom (small and large)
ginger, garlic, turmeric, chilli and a large variety of tree and seed spices.
India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices and spice products.
The total production of spices was 4.3 million metric tonnes and the area covered
was 2.56 million hectares.
Plantation Crops : Plantation crops constitute a large group of crops. The major
plantation crops include coconut, arecanut, oil palm, cashew, tea, coffee and rubber,
the minor plantation crops include cocoa. Their total coverage is comparatively less
and they are mostly confined to small holdings. However, they play an important
role in view of their export potential as well as domestic requirements and in
employment generation and poverty alleviation programmes particularly in rural
sector.
India is also the largest producer and consumer of cashew nuts. It is estimated
that total production of cashew is around 0.57 million tonnes from an area of 0.24
million hectares. The cultivation of vanilla in India started in 1990s and was confined
mostly to Karnataka and Kerala and to a lesser extent in Tamil Nadu, Northeast
region, Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. India’s production of
vanilla was about 101 Metric Tonnes from about 27,811 hectare in 2004-05. Coconut
is grown in an area of 1.93 million ha. with a production of 12,148 million nuts and
productivity of 6285 nuts per ha. India is the third largest producer of coconut and
leads 90 coconut-producing countries of the world. It occupies a number one position
in arecanut production. As a result, horticulture is not only an integral part of food
and nutritional security, but also an essential ingredient of economic security.
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants : Medicinal and aromatic plants have been used in
the country for a long time for their medicinal properties. About 2000 native plant
species have curative properties and 1300 species are known for their aroma and
flavour. The Indian systems of medicines, popularly known as Ayurveda, Unani and
Siddha drugs are of great demand in the country. There is already a spurt in demand
for plant-based drugs and lately many such native species of medicinal value are
being brought under systematic cultivation.
India has been considered a treasure house of valuable medicinal and aromatic
plant species. The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India have
identified and documented over 9,500 plant species considering their importance in
the pharmaceutical industry. Out of these, about 65 plants have large and consistent
demand in world trade. India however produces only limited quantities of these
materials. In terms of market share in production value, India holds only the 6th
place with a mere 7 per cent share. On the contrary, we are still importing about 10
types of essential oils to the tune of 8000 tonnes per annum.
66 India 2008
PROGRAMMES FOR HORTICULTURE DEVELOPMENT
National Horticulture Mission : A Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National
Horticulture Mission (NHM) has been launched in the country from May 2005 during
the current financial year for the development of horticulture duly ensuring an end to
end approach having backward and forward linkages covering research, production,
post-harvest management, processing and marketing. The focus areas of the Mission
will be as under:
l Capacity building for production and supply of adequate quality planting
material including setting up of scion banks of high yielding mother plants.
l Increased coverage of crops under improved/high yielding cultivars.
l Enhanced production and productivity of horticulture crops.
l Strengthening of infrastructure facilities such as soil and leaf analysis labs,
survey and surveillance of pest and diseases, green house, poly houses, micro
irrigation, plant health clinics, vermicompost, etc.
l Building adequate infrastructure for on-farm and post-harvest handling.
l Enhanced production of high value and low volume horticultural products for
exports.
l Strengthening infrastructure facilities for marketing and export.
l Enhanced production of high value processed products.
l Building a strong base to enhance efficiency in adoption of technologies.
A technology driven cluster approach with focussed attention on competitive
horticulture crops, is the underlying approach of the National Horticulture Mission.
Technology Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture in North Eastern
States, Sikkim, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal : The
Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Technology Mission for Integrated Development of
Horticulture in North Eastern region including Sikkim was continued during the
year. The implementation of the scheme has been extended to the States of J&K,
Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal. The scheme aims at establishing convergence
and synergy among numerous ongoing governmental programmes through
horizontal and vertical integration of these programmes which will ensure adequate,
appropriate, timely and concurrent attention to all the links in the production, post
harvest and consumption chain. The Small Farmer’s Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC)
is involved in coordinating the scheme.
The Technology Mission through its four Mini Missions addresses all the aspects
of Horticulture development with an end-to-end approach. Mini Mission-I involving
research is coordinated and implemented by the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR). Mini Mission-II covering production and productivity improvement
activities is coordinated by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation and
implemented by the Agriculture/Horticulture Departments of the States. Mini Mission-
III involving post-harvest management, marketing and export is coordinated by
National Horticulture Board and Mini Mission-IV involving processing is coordinated
and implemented by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries. State level SFACs
have also been constituted in most of the implementing States for monitoring and
implementing the programme at the grass-root level. Under the Technology Mission,
funds to the states are made available on the basis of yearly action plans/proposals,
Agriculture 67
which are approved by the State Level Steering Committee under the chairmanship
of Chief Secretary of the concerned state.
Some of the major achievements made so far under the scheme are:
l 97503 hectares of additional area have been brought under different horticultural
crops.
l The area covered under fruits, vegetables and spice crops are 50667 ha, 16252
ha and 20262 ha respectively.
l An area of 5858 ha has been covered under high value crops like medicinal and
aromatic plants and flowers.
l Infrastructure facilities for production of quality planting material such as
establishment of 420 nurseries, 3055 community water tanks, adoption of drip
irrigation in 2121 ha were undertaken.
l IPM practices in 22140 ha and organic farming in 4498 ha. were taken up.
l Establishment of 304 markets (whole-sale markets-59, Rural Primary markets/
Apni Mandies-225 and 20 Grading Labs) and 9 processing units are the other
achievements.
Under this scheme, it is also envisaged to make women self-reliant by providing
them equal opportunities, so that they are able to avail the benefits and opportunities
of the existing agricultural systems through following interventions:
l Organisation/identification of women groups, which would act as a network
for channelising the horticultural support.
l Need based assessment of women farmers in terms of the horticulture support
such as input support, technological support and extension support, etc.
l Prioritising the activities of the individual women’s groups on the basis of the
need based assessment.
l Provide adequate organisational and financial support to women groups to
make their “self-help groups.”
l Provide technical training in horticulture and allied areas to women farmers.
l Provide training in increased managerial, organisational, entrepreneurial and
decision making skills.
l Enable them to develop into viable bodies so that they are able to orchestrise
their activities, resources and group interaction.
l Under the mission 17353 women entrepreneurs were trained, on different
aspects of horticulture.
National Horticulture Board Programmes : The National Horticulture Board (NHB)
is involved in the development of high quality horticulture farms in identified belts
and make such areas vibrant with horticulture activity which in turn will act as hubs
for developing commercial horticulture, development of post harvest infrastructure,
strengthening of market information system and horticulture data base, assisting
Research and Development programmes to develop products suited for specific
varieties with improved methods and horticulture technology, providing training
and education to farmers and processing industry personal for improvement of
agronomic practices and new technologies are also being pursued by the Board.
Coconut Development Board Programmes : The Coconut Development Board
(CDB) implements programmes for the Integrated Development of Coconut Industry
68 India 2008
and Technology Mission on Coconut during the Tenth Plan period. To achieve the
objectives of integrated development of the crop, product diversification and byproduct
utilisation, the major thrust areas identified are production and distribution
of quality planting material, expansion of area under coconut especially in potential
and non-traditional areas, improving productivity of coconut in major coconut
producing states, developing of technology in post harvest processing, marketing
activities and the integrated control of major pests and diseases. Interventions by the
CDB has enabled to diversify coconut products like desiccated coconut, coconut
vinegar, virgin coconut oil and defatted coconut kernel products for enabling value
addition and higher remuneration to the farmers.
Bee-Keeping : In order to maximise agricultural production, honeybee can be used
as an important input. About 85 per cent crop plants are cross-pollinated, as they
need to receive pollen from other plants of the same species with the help of external
agents. One of the most important external agent is the honeybee. A few colonies of
honeybees are placed in the field when the crop is in flowering stage. When pressed
into service they would make several thousand forages for pollination. The abundance
of pollinators helps in early setting of seeds resulting in early and more uniform crop
yield. Honeybees also produce honey, bee wax and royal jelly thus giving additional
benefits to the farmers. About 50 million ha. of land in the country are under bee
dependent crops like fruit, vegetables, oilseeds, legumes and pulses. Many of these
crops require three to nine bee colonies per ha.
The National Bee Board which is looking after the developmental activities of
bee keeping has been recently reconstituted with Secretary (A&C) as Chairman and
Horticulture Commissioner as Member Secretary.
NEW SCHEMES
Micro Irrigation : To enable judicious use of the water and available resources, a
new scheme on Micro Irrigation was launched during the Tenth Plan with a target to
bring 6.2 lakh ha. under micro irrigation. A good response by the farmers in adopting
efficient methods of irrigation like micro irrigation, has helped in conserving water
with added benefits of increased yield and improved quality, particularly of
horticultural crops. Since there is a need to promote this technology in all parts of the
country, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Micro Irrigation has been launched by the
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation with the approval of Cabinet on 29
December 2005.
National Bamboo Mission : A report on “National Mission on Bamboo Technology
and Trade Development (NMBTTD)” have been prepared for launching of the
National Bamboo Mission programme during Tenth Plan. This mission would bring
about one lakh hectares under bamboo which is expected to generate income and
employment opportunity through bamboo and its ancillary industry. The scheme
envisages harnessing the bamboo wealth in the country by integrating the production,
post-felling management, value addition and marketing aspects. The scheme is
proposed to be implemented through State Bamboo Development Agencies, to be
constituted by the States. The scheme is in the final stage of approval.
MACRO MANAGEMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agriculture being a State subject, the primary responsibility for increasing agriculture
production, enhancing productivity and exploring the vast untapped potential of
the sector rests with State Governments. However, in order to supplement the efforts
Agriculture 69
of State Governments, a number of Centrally Sponsored and Central Sector Schemes
are being implemented as a catalyst for enhancement of agricultural production and
productivity in the country, and consequential increase in prosperity of the farming
community.
The Macro Management of Agriculture (MMA) Scheme is a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme formulated with the objective to ensure that the Central Assistance is spent
on focused and specific interventions for development of agriculture in areas of priority
of different States. It became operational in 2000-01 in all States and UTs. The Scheme
provides sufficient flexibility to States to develop and pursue the programmes on the
basis of their regional priorities. Thus States have been given a free hand to finalise
their sector-wise allocation as per requirements of their developmental priorities. It is
a major step towards achieving decentralisation in pursuance of restoring primacy
of States in agricultural development planning which aims at development in
agriculture through Work Plans prepared by State Governments themselves.
The scheme initially consisted of 27 Centrally Sponsored Schemes relating to
Cooperative, Crop Production Programmes (for rice, wheat, coarse cereals, jute,
sugarcane) Watershed Development Programme (NWDPRA, RVP/FPR), Horticulture,
Fertiliser, Mechanisation and Seeds Production Programme. However, with the
launching of National Horticulture Mission (NHM), 10 schemes pertaining to
horticulture development were taken out of the purview of this Scheme from the year
2005-06.
The approved pattern of Assistance under the Scheme is in the ratio of 90:10
between the Centre and the States respectively, except in the case of North Eastern
States in case of which 100 per cent Central Assistance is extended. The Central
Assistance to the States is released in two installments in the ratio of 80 per cent
Grant and 20 per cent Loan.
The position regarding Budget Estimates, Revised Estimates and expenditure
incurred under the scheme since 2000-01 is as indicated below:-
(Rs in Crore)
Year Budget Estimate Revised Estimate Expenditure
2000-01 490.00 381.88 381.88
2001-02 850.00 680.49 678.62
2002-03 736.86 597.00 597.59
2003-04 700.00 648.60 648.49
2004-05 712.92 1189.20 1188.94
2005-06 912.62 819.15 841.86
2006-07 910.00 819.15 841.86
An amount of Rs 910.00 crore has been earmarked in BE 2006-07 for
implementation of this Scheme.
NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Soil and water conservation measures are one of the essential inputs for increasing
agricultural output in the country. These programmes were first launched during the
First Plan. From the very beginning, the emphasis has been on development of
technology for problem identification, enactment of appropriate legislation and
constitution of policy coordination bodies. While conceptual framework of soil and
70 India 2008
water conservation activities has been changed, concept of programmes has
undergone considerable revision during successive Five- Year Plans.
The Centrally-Sponsored Scheme of Soil Conservation in the catchments of
River Valley Project (RVP) was started in the Third Five-Year Plan. Subsequently,
another scheme of Flood Prone Rivers (FPR) was started in the Sixth Five-Year Plan
keeping in view the magnitude of floods in 1978. Both the schemes were clubbed
together during the Ninth Five-Year Plan on recommendation of Expenditure Finance
Committee and were subsumed under Macro Management Mode since November
2000. Under the programme for the Catchment Management of River Valley Projects
and Flood Prone Rivers, 53 Catchments are covered, spread over in 27 States. The
total Catchment area is 141 million ha. with Priority Area needing urgent treatment
in 28 million ha. Out of this 6.08 million. ha. have been treated till 2004-05 with an
expenditure of Rs 1894 crore. During 2005-06 an area of 0.17 million ha. have been
treated with an expenditure of Rs 145 crore.
A Centrally-Sponsored Scheme of Reclamation of Alkali Soil was taken up in
Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh during the Seventh Five Year Plan. During the
Ninth Plan, extension of the Scheme to all other States of India was approved where
alkali soil problems exist as per scientific parameters. The Scheme aims at improving
physical conditions and productivity status of alkali soils for restoring optimum
crop production. The major components of the scheme include, assured irrigation
water on farm development works like land leveling, bunding and ploughing,
agriculture, community drainage system, application of soil amendment organic
manures, etc. An area of 0.66 million ha out of 3.5 million ha., of alkali land has been
reclaimed till the end of 2004-05 in the country. The Scheme at present stands
subsumed within the Macro Management Scheme. During 2005-06 an area of 0.03
million ha have been reclaimed with an expenditure of Rs 9.29 crore.
The Scheme of Watershed Development Project in Shifting Cultivation Areas
was launched in seven North–Eastern States during the Eighth Plan from 1994-95
with 100 per cent Central assistance to the State Plan. The Scheme aims at overall
development of jhum areas on watershed basis. During the Eighth Plan an amount of
Rs 31.51 crore was spent by the States of north-east region and 0.67 lakh ha. area was
treated through treatment packages. During the Ninth Plan, 1.57 lakh ha. have been
treated with an expenditure of Rs 82 crore. The new guidelines of the scheme on the
basis of new watershed to common approach has been effective from November 2000
in the revised cost norms of Rs 10,000 per ha. on net treatable area basis with additional
activities and improved institutional mechanism. During the Tenth Plan, an area
of 0.89 lakh ha. has been treated with an expenditure of Rs 88.32 crore up to end of
2005-06.
RAINFED FARMING
Rainfed Farming is complex, diverse and risk prone and is characterised by low
levels of productivity and low input uses. The Government of India has accorded
high priority to the holistic and sustainable development of rainfed areas through
integrated watershed development approach. The key attributes of the watershed
approach are conservation of rain water and optimisation of soil and water resources
in a sustainable and cost-effective mode. Improved moisture management increases
the productivity of improved seeds and fertiliser. So conservation and productivity
enhancing measures become complementary.
Agriculture 71
Graphs
72 India 2008
A National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Area (NWDPRA) was
launched in 1990-91 in 25 states and two UTs. The project was continued during
Tenth Five Year Plan in 28 states inclusive of three newly created States and two UTs
with the purpose of increasing agriculture productivity and production in rainfed
areas. The guidelines for NWDPRA have been radically restructured by retaining the
technical strength and incorporating community participation. The watershed
development programme is now planned, implemented, monitored and maintained
by watershed communities. During Ninth plan, an area of 27.66 lakh ha has been
treated. Now the scheme of NWDPRA has been subsumed within the Macro
Management of Agriculture scheme. The scheme is being continued for implementation
during Tenth plan under the revised guidelines, with people’s participation, covering
more than 6000 micro-watersheds. It is estimated that an area of about 20 lakh ha
would be developed during Tenth plan. In the first four years of Tenth Plan, an area
of 1.59 million hectares has been developed at an expenditure of Rs. 793.82 crore.
A Watershed Development Fund (WDF) has been established at NABARD with
the objective of integrated watershed development in 100 priority districts of 18 States
through participatory approach. The total corpus of WDF is Rs 200 crore. Under
WDF, two-thirds of amount is given for loan based project and one-third of amount is
given for grant based project in the State. A number of externally aided projects are
also under implementation on watershed approach, which covers an area of about
1.5 lakh hectares annually.
INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT
The main objective of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) Division is to ensure
adequate availability of quality fertilisers to farmers through periodical demand
assessment and timely supply, promoting integrated nutrient management, which is
soil test-based, judicious and balanced use of chemical fertilisers in conjunction with
organic manures and bio-fertilisers, promotion of organic farming and ensuring
quality control of fertilisers through implementation of Fertiliser (Control) Order,
1985.
India is the third largest producer and consumer of fertilisers in the world after
China and the USA. Against 18.4 million tonnes of fertiliser nutrients (NPK) consumed
during 2004-05, the nutrient consumption is estimated at 20.2 million tonnes during
2005-06. The consumption of major fertilisers namely, Urea, DAP, MOP, SSP and
Complexes was estimated to be 22.2, 6.8, 2.6, 2.8 and 6.7 million tonnes respectively
during 2005-06. India is, by and large, self sufficient in respect of Urea and about 90
per cent in case of DAP. The all-India average fertiliser consumption is 96.4 kg./ha of
NPK nutrients though there is wide variation from state to state varying from 197
kg./ha in Punjab, 164 kg./ha in Haryana to less than 10 kg./ha in States like
Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim,etc. Considering the skewed pattern of
fertiliser use, Government of India is promoting balanced and integrated use of fertiliser
nutrients through various initiatives. As a result, NPK consumption ratio has now
improved to 5.7: 2.2: 1 during 2004-05 from 7: 2.7: 1 during 2000-01.
Price of fertilisers: Presently urea is the only fertiliser which is under Statutory Price
Control. To ensure adequate availability of fertilisers to farmers at reasonable rates,
subsidy is provided by Government of India. Urea, the most consumed fertiliser, is
subsidised under the New Urea Pricing Scheme, whereas P&K fertilisers, which are
decontrolled, are covered under the Concession Scheme. The existing scheme for
special freight subsidy has been continued for supplies to the North Eastern States
Agriculture 73
and Jammu and Kashmir. There is no change in the prices of major fertilisers level
since 12 March 2003, which are as under:
Fertilizer Product MRP (Rs. per MT)
Urea 4830
DAP (Indigenous) 9350
Complexes 7100-9080
MOP 4455
SSP Price of SSP is fixed by
State Governments.
Buffer Stocking of P&K Fertilisers : To ensure adequate availability of decontrolled
fertilisers in remote and inaccessible areas, there is a scheme under which a buffer
stock of limited quantities of DAP and MOP is being maintained at strategic locations
to meet emergent requirements.
Balanced Use of Fertilisers : The Government is implementing a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme ‘Balanced and Integrated Use of Fertilisers’ to popularise soil test based
judicious application of chemical fertilisers in combination with organic manures
and bio-fertilisers. Under the Scheme, financial assistance is provided for setting up/
strengthening of new soil testing laboratories for advising farmers on major and
micro nutrients application, training and demonstration on balanced use of fertilisers
and also for setting up of production units of useful organic manure from city waste/
garbage. This scheme has since been subsumed within ‘Macro Management Scheme’
with effect from October 2000. State Governments are required to undertake all these
activities through their Annual Work Plans.
FERTILISER QUALITY CONTROL
The Government ensures the quality of fertilisers through Fertiliser (Control) Order
(FCO) issued under Essential Commodities Act (ECA) to regulate the price, trade,
quality and distribution of fertilisers in the country. The State Governments are the
executing agencies to implement the various provisions of FCO. The Order strictly
prohibits the manufacture, import and sale of any fertiliser, which does not meet
prescribed standards. The Central Fertiliser Quality Control and Training Institute at
Faridabad and its 3 Regional centres located at Navi Mumbai, Chennai and Kalyani
have been set up for inspection and analysis of imported and indigenous fertilisers,
giving technical advice and providing training on quality control to state enforcement
agencies and analysts. The Institute has also developed a Quick Testing Kit for onthe-
spot detection of adulteration in fertilisers.
The FCO has been recently amended to make it more user friendly and ensuring
effective enforcement. The important amendments include provision of repackaging
of cut or torn fertiliser bags and reprocessing of damaged fertiliser due to natural
calamities and provisions for commercial trials of provisional fertilisers. Accordingly,
M/s National Fertiliser Limited (NFL), M/s Tata Chemicals, M/s Chambal Fertilisers
Ltd., M/s Indo-Gulf Fertilisers and M/s Shri Ram Fertilisers have been permitted to
manufacture neem-coated urea under Clause 20 A for commercial trials. M/s
Coromandel Fertilisers Ltd. have been permitted to manufacture Bentonite Sulphur
for commercial trials and M/s IFFCO has been permitted to manufacture fortified
74 India 2008
complex fertilisers. Printing of Maximum Retail Price (MRP) on all fertilisers including
urea is now mandatory along with the printing of month and year of manufacture/
import of fertiliser.
Presently there are 67 laboratories in the country (including 4 Central
Government Laboratories) with a total annual analysing capacity of 1.25 lakh samples.
The analytical capacity and the number of samples analysed and found non standard
during the last 5 years are as under:
Year No. of Annual No. of samples Per centage of non
Labs. Analytical analysed standard samples
capacity
2000-01 66 120315 103436 5.3
2001-02 66 120415 104188 5.7
2002-03 67 125480 109504 5.4
2003-04 67 124778 104647 5.5
2004-05 67 124730 108859 6.0
The per centage of non standard samples on all India basis is hovering around
5 - 6 per cent samples during the last 5 years. However, there is a large variation from
state to state like 18 per cent in M.P., 10 to 13 per cent in Maharashtra, HP and UP,
4 to 8 per cent in Bihar, Orissa, W.B., Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, A.P., Kerala,
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and around 1 to 3 per cent in Punjab and Gujarat.
PROMOTION OF BIO-FERTILISERS
With a view to promote the use of bio-fertilisers as an environment-friendly and
cheaper source of plant nutrients, Government of India had earlier taken up a ‘National
Project on Development and Use of Bio fertilisers’ during the Sixth Plan and was
continued till Ninth Plan. The Scheme provided for setting up National Bio-fertiliser
Development Centre at Ghaziabad and its Six Regional Bio-fertiliser Development
Centres (RBDCs) at Jabalpur, Nagpur, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Hissar and Imphal
for promotion, extension, training and demonstration of bio-fertilisers. Under the
Scheme, assistance for setting up of bio-fertiliser production units was also provided.
Presently, there are around 125 bio-fertilisers production units in the country with an
annual capacity of 18,000 tonnes of different types of bio-fertilisers and the annual
production is about 10,000 tonnes. This scheme has been subsumed under a new
Central Sector Scheme “National Project on Organic Farming” from October 2004. To
undertake the new activities, the names of NBDC and RBDCs have been changed to
National Centre of Organic Farming (NCOF) and Regional Centres of Organic Farming
(RCOF).
NATIONAL PROJECT ON ORGANIC FARMING
The Government is implementing a new scheme ‘National Project on Organic Farming’
since October 2004 with an outlay of Rs 57.05 crore for production, promotion, market
development of organic farming in the country during the remaining period of the
Tenth Plan. The main components of the scheme include:
(i) Putting in place a system of certification of organic produce.
(ii) Capacity building through service providers.
(iii) Financial support for commercial production units for production of organic
Agriculture 75
inputs like: (a) fruits and vegetable waste compost units; (b) bio- fertilisers
production; and (c) hatcheries for vermi culture.
(iv) Promotion, extension and market development of Organic Farming.
PLANT PROTECTION
Plant Protection continues to play a significant role in achieving targets of crop
production. The major thrust areas of plant protection are promotion of Integrated
Pest Management, ensuring availability of safe and quality pesticides for sustaining
crop production from the ravages of pests and diseases, streamlining the quarantine
measures for accelerating the introduction of new high yielding crop varieties, besides
eliminating the chances of entry of exotic pests and for human resource development
including empowerment of women in plant protection skills.
The following three Plan Schemes are being implemented by Plant Protection
Division of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation through Directorate of
Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage
STRENGTHENING AND MODERNISATION OF PEST MANAGEMENT
APPROACH IN INDIA
Components :
A. Promotion of Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
B. Locust Control and Research
C. Training in Plant Protection
D. Implementation of Insecticides Act
On the recommendation of Planning Commission the Schemes at A to D have
been merged as a single scheme i.e. “Strengthening and Modernisation of Pest
Management Approach in India” with a total outlay of Rs. 99.95 crore during Tenth
Five year Plan (2002-2007).
(A) Promotion of Integrated Pest Management : Keeping in view the ill effects of
chemical pesticides such as development of pest resistance, pest resurgence, outbreak
of secondary pests, pesticide residues in food, fodder, soil, air and water resulting in
human health hazards and ecological imbalances, Government of India has adopted
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as the cardinal principle and main plank of plant
protection strategy in the country. IPM is an eco-friendly approach aimed at minimum
use of chemical pesticides by employing available alternative methods for pest control
like cultural, mechanical and biological and use of bio-pesticides.
To enhance the production of bio-control agents/bio-pesticides, Government of
India earmarked Rs 1500 lakh as grants-in-aid during the Eighth and Ninth Plans
for establishment of 29 State Bio-control Laboratories of which an amount of Rs 1372
lakh has been released to States. During the Tenth Plan, an amount of Rs 470 lakh has
been approved of which Rs 405 lakh has already been released so far for the said
purpose.
With the adoption of IPM approach, consumption of pesticides has come down
from 72,133 MT (technical grade) during 1991-92 to 40,672 MT (technical grade)
during 2004-05 and there is consistent increase in use of bio-pesticides which are
environmentally safe. In some of the States, farmers have stopped using chemical
pesticides and have adopted organic farming.
(B) Locust Control and Research: The Locust Warning Organisation, Jodhpur with
76 India 2008
its 10 Locust circle offices and 1 Field Station monitors two lakh sq. km., Scheduled
Desert Area in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana for locust surveillance and control.
During 2005-06, an area of 150 lakh hectares has been surveyed and 24 locust bulletins
have been issued. Close liaison is being maintained with other locust prone countries
and the FAO to keep watch over possible locust invasion. The 24th Session of FAO
Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in South West Asia was held in New
Delhi from 10-14 January 2005. During the year 2005-06, 7 Indo-Pak Border Meetings
were conducted with the officers of Pakistan.
(C) Training in Plant Protection: Until 1966, there was no national training facility
in India to cater to the needs of the States. To bridge this gap, the National Plant
Protection Training Institute was established in 1966 at Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh).
The Institute has been recognised as a Regional Training Centre for Plant Protection
by Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations and also as an Advanced
Centre for training in Plant Protection Technology by the World Bank. The Institute
has conducted 912 courses and trained 16,747 officers/officials including 216 foreign
trainees up to 2005-06.
(D) Implementation of Insecticides Act : Pesticides are commonly used in crop
protection measures for sustaining food production. These are also used for the control
of vector-borne diseases. As they are meant for killing insect pests they are toxic by
their nature. Their misuse or abuse results in hazards to human beings, animals and
the environment. Therefore, pesticides are required to be used safely and judiciously.
Keeping this in view, their import, manufacture, sale and use, etc., are being regulated
under the Insecticides Act, 1968 and the Rules framed thereunder. The provisions of
the Act ensure the availability of safe, effective and quality pesticides to the farmers.
The Central Government has constituted the Central Insecticides Board under
Section 4 of the Insecticides Act, 1968 to advise the Central and State Governments on
technical matters arising out of the administration of this Act. The Director General,
Health Services is the Chairman with 29 members. The Central Government has
constituted a Registration Committee to register pesticides after examining their
formulae verifying their efficacy and safety to human beings, animals and environment.
The Government of India has also set up a Central Insecticides Laboratory with
the major objectives of pre and post-registration verification of the properties,
performance and hazards of pesticides and the proposed use claimed by the
manufacturers. To supplement the resources of the States/UTs in the analysis of
pesticides, two Regional Pesticides Testing Laboratories have also been set up at
Chandigarh and Kanpur with an analysis capacity of 900 samples per annum each.
Plant Quarantine Facilities in India : Plant Quarantine regulatory measures are
operative through the ‘Destructive Insects & Pests Act, 1914 (Act 2 of 1914)’ in
the country. The purpose and intent of this Act is to prevent the introduction of any
insect, fungus or other pest, which is or may be destructive to crops. The import of
agricultural commodities is presently regulated through the Plant Quarantine
(Regulation of Import into India) Order, 2003 issued under DIP Act, 1914 incorporating
the provisions of New Policy on Seed Development, 1988. Further, the significance of
Plant Quarantine has increased in view of Globalisation and liberalisation in
International trade of plants and plant material in the wake of Sanitary and
Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement under WTO. The phytosanitary certification of
Agriculture 77
agricultural commodities being exported is also undertaken through the scheme as
per International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), 1951.
The primary objectives of the Scheme are (i) to prevent the introduction and
spread of exotic pests that are destructive to crops by regulating/restricting the import
of plants/plant products and (ii) to facilitate safe global trade in agriculture by
assisting the producers and exporters by providing a technically competent and
reliable phytosanitary certificate system to meet the requirements of trading partners.
The major activities under the scheme include;
l Inspection of imported agricultural commodities for preventing the introduction
of exotic pests and diseases inimical to Indian Fauna and Flora
l Inspection of agricultural commodities meant for export as per the requirements
of importing countries under International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)
l Detection of exotic pests and diseases already introduced for containing/
controlling them by adopting domestic quarantine regulations.
l Undertaking Post Entry Quarantine Inspection in respect of identified planting
materials.
l Conducting the Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) to finalise phytosanitary requirements
for import of plant/plant material.
There are 35 Plant quarantine Stations at different Airports, Seaports and Land
frontiers implementing the Plant Quarantine regulations. The NPQS, New Delhi and
RPQSs at Chennai, Kolkata, Amritsar and Mumbai have been strengthened with
modern equipment for plant quarantine testing, etc., to facilitate speedy clearance of
imports and exports under the FAO-UNDP Project.
The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement of WTO envisages application of
Phytosanitary measures based on scientific justifications therefore it is imperative to
conduct all Plant Quarantine inspections as per the International Standards/
guidelines. Accordingly, the National Standards for Phytosanitary Measures for some
of the important activities have already been developed and adopted including the
Guidelines for Development of National Standards for Phytosanitary Measures and
six draft National Standards are under the process of approval. The Standards which
are critical for our exports have been prioritised. Further, a National Integrated Fruit
Fly Surveillance Programme has also been prepared with a view to establish pest-free
areas against fruit flies. To streamline the Plant Quarantine activities, efforts are
being made to computerise the Plant Quarantine Stations for speedy and transparent
functioning.
Substantial efforts have also been made towards the international cooperation
on the phytosanitary matters including participation in IPPC Standard Committee
meetings for development of International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures,
Training of fumigation service providers and regulators in methyl bromide fumigation
under the Australian Fumigation Accreditation Scheme, finalisation of SPS Protocol
for export of mango to China, harmonisation of phytosanitary measures with reference
to Seed trade through the Workshops organised by Asia Pacific Seed Association
(APSA), negotiations on free trade agreement with Thailand and Singapore,
Memorandum of Understanding and work plan with Chile for cooperation on
Phytosanitary matters and Indo-Nepal Joint trade and economic development
negotiations.
Monitoring of Pesticide Residues : The subject “Monitoring of Pesticide Residues”
78 India 2008
has been allocated to the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation by the Cabinet
Secretariat. Monitoring of pesticide residues at the national level is essential to ensure
food safety in the country. Further, it is essential to ensure that our export consignments
are not rejected due to presence of pesticide residues. The Scheme has been approved
with an outlay of Rs 24 crore during the Tenth Plan.
AGRICULTURAL MECHANISATION
Strategies and programmes have been directed towards replacement of traditional
and inefficient implements by improved ones, enabling the farmers to own tractors,
power tillers, harvesters and other machines, availability of custom services, support
services of human resource development, testing and evaluation and research and
development. A large industrial base for manufacturing of the agricultural machines
has also been developed. Introduction of technologically advanced equipments
through extension and demonstration besides institutional credit has also been taken
up. Equipments for resource conservation have also been adopted by the farmers.
Under various Government sponsored schemes like Macro Management of
Agriculture, Technology Mission for Oilseeds, Pulses and Maize, Technology Mission
on Horticulture and Technology Mission on Cotton, financial assistance is provided
to the farmers for the purchase of identified agricultural implements and machines.
Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institutes : Farm Machinery Training and
Testing Institutes (FMTandTIs) have been established at Budni (Madhya Pradesh),
Hissar (Haryana), Garladinne (Andhra Pradesh) and at Biswanath Chariali (Assam).
The institutes have the capacity to train 5,000 personnel annually on various aspects
of agricultural mechanisation. These institutes also undertake testing and performance
evaluation of agricultural machines including tractors in accordance with national
and international standards. Since inception about 93,503 personnel have been trained
and about 2,162 machines tested by these Institutes till 31 March 2006. During 2005-
06 these Institutes have trained 5734 personnel and tested 112 machines. The training
programmes have been revised for giving more emphasis on crop/area/technology
specific issues for optimised training duration for their implementation through Farm
Machinery Training and Testing Institutes w.e.f. 1 April 2005.
Outsourcing of Training : This is a new component approved for the Tenth Plan
under the Central Sector Scheme “Promotion and Strengthening of Agricultural
Mechanisation through Training, Testing and Demonstration” in order to train large
number of farmers at nearby places. The training programme shall be arranged through
the identified institutions by each State namely State Agricultural Universities (SAUs),
Agricultural Engineering Colleges/Polytechnics, etc. This Department has released
Rs 73 lakh during the year 2004-05 and Rs 38.03 lakh during the year 2005-06 to
various State Governments and ICAR for conducting training programmes at the
identified institutions. For the year 2006-07, a target to train 3000 farmers has been
kept.
State Agro Industries Corporation : Seventeen State Agro Industries Corporations,
Joint Sector Companies, have been promoted by the Government of India and by the
State Governments concerned. The objectives of these Corporations envisage
manufacture and distribution of agricultural machines, distribution of agri-inputs,
promotion and execution of agro based industries and providing technical services
and guidance to the farmers and others. The Government of India’s share in Six State
Agro Industries Corporations viz. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar
Agriculture 79
Pradesh and West Bengal have been disinvested in favour of the respective State
Governments.
Legislative Framework : The Dangerous Machines (Regulation) Act, 1983, came
into force with effect from 14December 1983. The Act provides for the regulation of
trade and commerce and production, supply and use of products of any industry
producing dangerous machines with a view to securing the welfare of persons
operating any machine and for payment of compensation for death or bodily injury
suffered while operating any such machine. Power threshers used for threshing of
the agricultural crops have been brought under the ambit of this Act. The Government
of India have notified the Dangerous Machines (Regulation) Rule, 1985 laying down
the specifications for the feeding chutes and for installation of the power threshers.
Apart from power threshers the inclusion of power operated chaff-cutter and
sugarcane crusher under this Act is in process.
Demonstration of newly developed agricultural/horticultural equipments : With
an objective of introducing new technology in agricultural production system,
demonstration of newly developed/improved agricultural and horticultural
equipments has been approved from the year 1999-2000 which now forms a component
of the restructured Central Sector Scheme “Promotion and Strengthening of
Agricultural Mechanisation through Training, Testing and Demonstration”. Under
this component, 100 per cent Central grant-in-aid is provided to implementing
agencies for procurement and demonstration of new/improved equipments. The
Scheme is implemented through State/Central Government organisations. This
component has helped in adoption of new agricultural/horticultural equipments by
the farmers. During 2005-06, 8099 demonstrations of different new equipments were
conducted benefiting 3,06,798 farmers. During 2006-07, 1500 such demonstrations
will be conducted through the implementing agencies.
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
Agricultural Extension aims at improving technology dissemination of farm
technologies to the farmers. The Extension System has undergone several changes
over a period, in terms of content and delivery approaches. Agricultural Extension is
a State subject, however, the Ministry of Agriculture supplements States’ efforts in
improving extension services.
The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation lays down major policy
guidelines on extension matters and the Directorate of Extension implements specific
programmes and activities in close collaboration with the State Departments of
Agriculture, the State Agricultural Universities and other concerned agencies.
Current efforts in improving extension services include the following:
l Providing innovative and decentralised institutional arrangements in the form
of an Agriculture-Technology Management Agency (ATMA) to make extension
system farmer-driven and farmer accountable;
l Encouraging Public Private Partnership (PPP) in various modes/forms can
provide synergistic approach in the extension efforts;
l Augmentation of Mass Media Support to Agriculture Extension by providing
for location-specific broadcasts through 96FM stations of All India Radio, 180
Low Powered/High Powered Transmitters, 18 Regional Kendras of
Doordarshan and also on DD National Channel for 30 minutes, 5/6 days a
week;
80 India 2008
l Operation of Kisan Call Centres through toll free(1551) lines throughout the
country to provide expert advise to farmers from 6.00 am to 10.00 pm on all 7
days of the week. The replies to the queries of the farming community are being
given in 21 languages;
l Providing fee-based advisory and other support services to the farmers by
training agriculture graduates in agri-business development and establishing
agri-clinics.
l Mainstreaming gender concerns in agricultural policies and programmes.
SEEDS
Seed is a critical and basic input for enhancing agricultural production and
productivity in different agro-climatic regions. Indian seed programme largely adheres
to the limited generation system for seed multiplication. The system recognises three
generations, namely, breeder, foundation and certified seeds and provides adequate
safeguards for quality assurance in the seed multiplication chain to maintain the
purity of variety as it flows from the breeders to the farmers. The level of certified/
quality seed distributed to the farmers since 2000-01 is given below:
(in lakh quintals)
Year Certified/quality seed distribution
(in lakh quintals)
2000-01 86.27
2001-02 91.80
2002-03 98.03
2003-04 108.39
2004-05 113.01
2005-06 118.52(Anticipated)
2006-07 149.63(Targeted)
Indian seed programme includes the participation of Central and State
governments, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), State Agricultural
Universities (SAU) system, public sector, co-operative sector and private sector
institutions. Seed sector in India consists of two national level corporations i.e.
National Seeds Corporation (NSC) and State Farms Corporation of India (SFCI), 13
State Seed Corporations (SSCs) and about 100 major seed companies. For quality
control and certification, there are 22 State Seed Certification Agencies (SSCAs) and
101 State Seed Testing Laboratories (SSTLs). The private sector has started to play a
significant role in the production and distribution of seeds. However, the organised
seed sector particularly for food crops cereals continues to be dominated by the public
sector.
Legislative framework and policy: The Seeds Act, 1966 provides for the legislative
framework for regulation of quality of seeds sold in the country. The Central Seed
Committee (CSC) and the Central Seed Certification Board (CSCB) are apex agencies
set up under the Act to deal with all matters relating to administration of the Act and
quality control of seeds. The proposed Seeds Bill, 2004 in replacement of the Seeds
Act, 1966 was introduced in the Parliament in December 2004 and is currently under
consideration of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture.
In order to encourage export of seeds in the interest of farmers, the procedure for
Agriculture 81
export of seeds has been simplified. Seeds of various crops have been placed under
Open General Licence (OGL) except the seeds of wild varieties, germplasms, breeder
seeds, and onion seeds which are on restricted list under the new Export and Import
Policy 2002-07.
Schemes of the Seed Division : (i) This Department has launched a Central Sector
Scheme namely, “Development and Strengthening of Infrastructure Facilities
for Production and Distribution of Quality Seeds” with an outlay of Rs.159 crore
for the Tenth Plan. The main components of the scheme are Quality Control
Arrangements on seeds, Transport subsidy on movement of seeds to North-East and
other hilly areas, Establishment and Maintenance of Seed Bank, Seed Village Scheme,
Assistance for creation of infrastructure facilities, Assistance for boosting seed
production in private sector, Human Resources Development, Assistance for Seed
Export, Propagation of application of biotechnology in agriculture, Promotion of use
of hybrid seeds of rice and evaluation/review.
(ii) Implementation of Plant Varieties Protection and Farmers’ Rights
Legislation: In order to fulfill the obligations under TRIPS Agreement of the World
Trade Organisation (WTO), which India has ratified, the Department of Agriculture
and Cooperation have enacted a legislation for Protection of Plant Varieties and
Farmers’ Rights. In order to provide necessary back-up support for enactment of the
above Legislation, a Central Scheme is also under implementation. The required
rules and regulations under the Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act have been
notified in 2003. The Protection and Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority
envisaged under the Act has been set up w.e.f. 14 November 2005.
AGRICULTURAL MARKETING
Organised marketing of agricultural commodities has been promoted in the country
through a network of regulated markets. Most of the State governments and Union
Territories have enacted legislations (APMC Act) to provide for regulation of
agricultural produce markets. While by the end of 1950, there were 286 regulated
markets in the country, today the number stands at 7,521 (31.3.2005). Besides, the
country has 27,294 rural periodical markets, about 15 per cent of which function
under the ambit of regulation. The advent of regulated markets has helped in mitigating
the market handicaps of producers/sellers at the wholesale assembling level. but,
the rural periodic markets in general, and the tribal markets in particular, remained
out of its developmental ambit.
Agriculture sector needs well functioning markets to drive growth, employment
and economic prosperity in rural areas of the country. In order to inject dynamism
and efficiency into the marketing system, large investments are required for the
development of post-harvest and cold chain infrastructure nearer to the farmers’
field. A major portion of this investment is expected from the private sector, for which
an appropriate regulatory and policy environment is necessary. Alongside, enabling
policies need to be put in place to encourage procurement of agricultural commodities
directly from farmers’ field and to establish effective linkage between the farm
production and the retail chain and food processing industries. Accordingly,
amendment to the State APMC Act for deregulation of marketing system in the country
is suggested to promote investment in marketing infrastructure, motivating corporate
sector to undertake direct marketing and to facilitate a national integrated market.
The Ministry of Agriculture formulated a model law on agricultural marketing
for guidance and adoption by State Governments. The model legislation provides for
82 India 2008
establishment of Private Markets/Yards, Direct Purchase Centres, Consumer/Farmers
Markets for direct sale and promotion of Public Private Partnership in the management
and development of agricultural markets in the country. Provision has also been
made in the Act for constitution of State Agricultural Produce Marketing Standards
Bureau for promotion of Grading, Standardisation and Quality Certification of
agricultural produce. This would facilitate pledge financing, direct purchasing,
forward/future trading and exports. Several States have initiated steps for amending
the APMC Act.
Infrastructure Requirement : Investment requirement for the development of
marketing, storage and cold storage infrastructure in the country has been estimated
to be huge and with a view to induce investment in the development of marketing
infrastructure as envisaged above, the Ministry has implemented the following Plan
Schemes:
i) A capital investment subsidy scheme titled ‘Construction of Rural Godowns’
is being implemented w.e.f. 1 April 2001. The main objectives of the scheme include
creation of scientific storage capacity with allied facilities in rural areas to meet
various requirements of farmers for storing farm produce, processed farm produce,
agricultural inputs, etc., and prevention of distress sale by creating the facility of
pledge loan and marketing credit. Under the original scheme, back ended subsidy @
25 per cent of capital cost of the project was provided. In case of NE States, hilly areas
and SC/ST entrepreneurs, subsidy was provided @ 33.33 per cent of the capital cost
of the project. The Scheme has since been modified with effect from 20 October 2004,
to provide subsidy @ 25 per cent to farmers, Agriculture graduates, cooperatives and
Central Warehousing Corporation/State Warehousing Corporations. All other
categories of individuals companies and corporations are now given subsidy @ 15
per cent of the project cost. The scheme has been made farmer friendly by allowing
subsidy for smaller godowns of 50 MT size in general and of 25 in hilly areas. Five
lakh tonnes capacity to be created is reserved for small farmers. The scheme is being
implemented through NABARD and NCDC. Till 31 May 2006, 11,583 storage projects
having a capacity of 166.42 lakh tonnes have been sanctioned under the scheme .
ii) With a view to establish a nation-wide information network for speedy
collection and dissemination of price and market related information to farmers,
electronic connectivity is being provided to all important agricultural markets in the
country under a Central scheme, ‘Market Research and Information Network’.
2,408 market nodes and 92 State Marketing Boards and Directorate of Marketing and
Inspection offices have been networked on a single portal, wherein daily prices of
more than 300 commodities and about 2000 varieties are being reported. It is planned
to connect 2,700 markets in all, under the scheme during the 10th Plan.
iii) The Ministry of Agriculture is implementing another Central Sector scheme
for “Development/Strengthening of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure,
Grading and Standardisation”. Under the scheme, investment subsidy is provided
@ 25 per cent on the capital cost of the marketing infrastructure development project
subject to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh for each project in all States and @ 33.3 per cent of
capital cost subject to a maximum of Rs 60 lakh for each project in case of North
Eastern States, hilly areas and to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes entrepreneurs.
In respect of infrastructure projects of State Governments/State Agencies, there is no
upper ceiling on subsidy to be provided under the scheme. The scheme is reformlinked,
to be implemented in those States/Union Territories wherein the law dealing
with agriculture markets (Agricultural Produce Marketing Regulation Act) allows
Agriculture 83
setting up of competitive agricultural markets in private and cooperative sectors,
direct marketing and contract farming. The States of Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala,
Tamil Nadu, Manipur, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland,
Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Union Terriroty of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman
and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have notified to receive assistance under the
Scheme. The remaining States/UTs are in the process of amending their APMC Acts.
158 training and awareness programmes have been conducted in the notified States/
UTs. A total number of 259 new project proposals have been provided advance subsidy
of Rs 516.30 lakh by NABARD in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab,
Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
iv) The Department has recently taken the initiative to promote modern terminal
markets for fruits, vegetables and other perishables in important urban centres of the
country. These markets would provide state of art infrastructure facilities for electronic
auction, cold chain and logistics and operate through primary collection centres
conveniently located in producing areas to allow easy access to farmers. The terminal
markets are envisaged to operate on a ‘Hub-and-Spoke’ format wherein the Terminal
Market (the hub) would be linked to a number of collection centres (the spokes),
conveniently located in key production centers to allow easy access to farmers for the
marketing of their produce. The concept on setting up of Terminal Markets for
perishable commodities was discussed with the State Governments and interested
private enterprises at a national conference of State Ministers held on 20 February
2006 at New Delhi. Based on the discussions, a Committee has been constituted
under the Chairmanship of Director General, National Institute of Agricultural
Marketing, Jaipur with members from participating State Governments to develop a
framework for the bidding process for selecting the enterprise for the implementation
of terminal market projects and to work out implementation modalities. Central
assistance to these projects is planned by way of equity participation.
The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation has three organisations dealing
with marketing under its administrative control, namely, the Directorate of Marketing
and Inspection (DMI), Faridabad, the Ch. Charan Singh National Institute of
Agricultural Marketing (NIAM), Jaipur and the Small Farmers Agri-Business
Consortium (SFAC), New Delhi.
DIRECTORATE OF MARKETING AND INSPECTION
It is an attached office of the Department and is headed by Agricultural Marketing
Adviser. The Directorate has its Head Office at Faridabad (Haryana), Branch Head
Office at Nagpur (Maharashtra), 11 Regional Offices and the Central Agmark
Laboratory at Nagpur. Besides, there are 26 Sub-Offices, 16 Regional Agmark
Laboratories (RALs) spread all over the country.
The main functions of the Directorate are as follows:
1. Rendering advice on statutory regulation, development and management of
agricultural produce markets to the States/UTs;
2. Promotion of Standardisation and Grading of agricultural and allied produce
under the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937;
3. Market Research, Surveys and Planning;
4. Training of personnel in Agricultural Marketing;
5. Marketing Extension;
84 India 2008
6. Agricultural Marketing Information Network;
7. Construction of Rural Godowns; and
8. Development of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure.
Grading and Standardisation : The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking)
Act, 1937 empowers the Government to fix quality standards, known as “AGMARK”
standards and to prescribe terms and conditions for using the seal of ‘AGMARK’. So
far, grade standards have been notified for 182 agricultural and allied commodities.
The purity standards under the provision of the Prevention of Food Adulteration
(PFA) Act, 1954 and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 1986 are invariably taken
into consideration while framing the grade standards. International Standards framed
by Codex/International Standards Organisation (ISO) are also considered so that
Indian produce can compete in the international market.
During the year 2005-06, the final notification of Spices G & M Rules, 2005 was
published, containing standards of eleven spices, namely, large Cardamom,
Cardamom, Turmeric, Chillies, Ginger, Black Pepper, Coriander, Fennel, Fenugreek,
Celery, Cumin, etc. The standards of Walnut duly harmonised with the international
standards have been submitted to APEDA and were discussed in the Core Group’s
Meeting. The approval of Standing Committee on fresh Fruits and Vegetables is
awaited for commodities like Lemons, Limes, Mandarins, Oranges, Grape Fruits,
Walnuts in-shell and shelled Walnut. The final notifications published in the Gazette
during the last three years have been uploaded on website www.agmarknet.in
for users.
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING
The National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM) started functioning at Jaipur
(Rajasthan) from 8 August 1988. NIAM has been imparting training to senior and
middle level executives of agricultural and horticultural departments, Agro Industries,
Corporations, State Marketing Boards, Agricultural Produce Market Committees and
Apex level Cooperatives, Commodity Boards, export houses recognised by Agricultural
and Processed Food Products Export Development Agency (APEDA), Commercial
Banks and non-governmental organisations. Besides these clients, the NIAM also
imparts training to farmers on marketing management. The main objectives of NIAM
are : (1) To provide specialised training in agricultural marketing designed to develop
leadership potential in the management of agricultural marketing enterprises and
services; (2) To undertake research in agricultural marketing for Government,
Cooperative and other Institutes, both on public funding and by contract; (3) To
undertake appraisal of markets/marketing projects for approval and financial
support by the Central Government, on consultancy basis; (4) To formulate objective
criteria for selective development of physical markets and to evolve a practical
methodology for the application of such criteria in their planning; (5) To offer advisory
and consultant services on marketing policies, investment programmes and marketing
development strategies and specific advice to marketing enterprises (State, Private
and Cooperatives); (6) To survey, study and analyse the rural market management
and to examine in depth the principal and practice of market regulation as a
development sector in the agricultural economy.
The NIAM is managed by a Governing Body under the Chairmanship of Minister
of Agriculture and an Executive Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary,
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation.
Agriculture 85
Training Activities : The Institute organises Training Programmes for officials,
farmers and other functionaries. In 2003-04 Management Development Programmes
(MDP) were introduced. So far four MDPs have been successfully organised for leading
companies like Bayer Crop Science, MICO BOSCH, etc. The MDPs were held at NIAM
campus and 120 working executives of these MNCs working in various capacities
have benefited by this programme. All these MDPs were rated excellent by the
participants and many other companies have shown keen interest in organising
MDPs at NIAM, Jaipur.
Research: The domestic Agricultural Marketing scenario has witnessed lot of changes
in policies and regulations. The enactment of Model Act by some States has brought
substantial improvements in trade and marketing. Following Research studies are
being conducted by NIAM during the year 2005-06.
1. Contract Farming – prospects and implications
2. Commodity Trade Research
3. Market led extension – a participatory approach
4. Developing India GAP Standards
5. Information need assessment of stakeholders in Agricultural Marketing – A
case of Rajasthan
Project Formulation: In order to generate resources and ensure optimum utilisation
of the expertise of the NIAM faculty, the Institute is taking up several Consultancy
Projects in the year 2005-06. These include setting up Modern Terminal Market for
fruits and vegetables at Nashik, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Patna, Bhopal, Rai (Haryana),
Multi-utility integrated facility Centre-Pack house at Ludhiana for MARKFED, Punjab,
State Master Plan for Market Development in Orissa, Price Forecasting for Agricultural
Commodity in Karnataka, On-line Market information system for Karnataka,
Designing, Planning and detailed Project report for CA Storage at Kolkata. Detailed
Project Reports have been prepared for the Modern Terminal Markets at Nashik,
Nagpur, Chandigarh, Bhopal and Rai (Haryana).
Post Graduate Programme in Agri-Business Management (PGPABM): The Institute
has undertaken Post-Graduate Programme in Agri-Business Management (PGPABM)
as a Sub-centre of MANAGE, Hyderabad from July 2001 and 50 students are presently
undergoing Post-Graduate Programme in Agri-Business. The programme is designed
to assist agricultural graduates to acquire the critical know-how to compete in the
domestic and global business arena and to make them efficient agri-business
managers.
SMALL FARMERS’ AGRI-BUSINESS CONSORTIUM
The Small Farmers Agri-business Consortium (SFAC) was registered by Department
of Agriculture and Cooperation as a Society under the Societies Registration Act,
1860 on 18 January 1994. Members at present include RBI, SBI, IDBI, EXIM Bank,
Oriental Bank of Commerce, NABARD, Canara Bank, NAFED, United Phosphorous
Ltd., etc.
The SAFC is managed by a Board of Managers consisting of 20 members and
chaired by Hon’ble Union Minister of Agriculture as its Ex-Officio President and the
Secretary (Department of Agriculture and Cooperation), Government of India as its
Ex-Officio Vice President. Managing Director is the Chief Executive of SFAC. SFAC
has established 18 State level SFACs by contributing a corpus fund. The mission of
86 India 2008
the Society is to support innovative ideas for generating income and employment in
rural areas by promoting private investments in agribusiness projects.
The Central sector scheme for agri-business development implemented by SFAC
was approved by the Government on 19 July 2005 for implementation during
remaining period of the Tenth Plan with an outlay of Rs 48 crore. The scheme is being
implemented by SFAC in close association with commercial banks for providing
(a) Venture Capital Assistance to agribusiness projects and (b) assist farmer/producer
groups in preparation of quality Detailed Project Reports (DPR).
The main objectives of the scheme are to facilitate setting up of agribusiness
ventures in participation with banks, catalyse private investment in setting up of
agribusiness projects and thereby providing assured market to producers for
increasing rural income and employment, strengthen backward linkages of agribusiness
projects with producers, assist farmers, producer groups, and agriculture
graduates to enhance their participation in value chain through project development
facility, arrange training and visits, etc., of agripreneurs setting up identified
agribusiness projects. SFAC provides financial assistance to agri-business projects
by way of equity participation.
The quantum of SFAC venture capital assistance depended on the project cost
and will be the lowest of the following -
l 10 per cent of the total project cost assessed by the bank
l 26 per cent of the project equity
l Rs 75 lakh
Higher venture capital assistance can be considered by SFAC to deserving
projects on merit and/or to projects that are located in remote and backward areas,
North-eastern and hilly States and projects recommended by State agencies.
The outlay for implementation of the scheme during 2005–2006 was Rs. 10
crore which has been utilised. During the year venture capital assistance has been
sanctioned to 44 agribusiness projects and assistance has been provided for
preparation of 11 Detailed Project Reports(DPRs). The allocation for implementation
of the scheme during 2006-07 is Rs. 38 crore.
COOPERATION
Cooperative Reforms : The Cooperative movement in India traces its origin to the
agriculture and allied sector and was evolved as a mechanism for pooling meagre
resources of the people with a view to providing them with the advantages of
economies of scale. After independence, the cooperatives were considered as part of
the strategy for planned economic development. The cooperatives are today at the
crossroads of existence particularly in view of the fast emerging scenario of economic
liberalisation and globalisation. These institutions in general suffer from resource
constraint, poor governance and management, inefficiency and unviability. The
cooperative reforms are, therefore, absolutely vital to the future of the cooperatives.
National Policy on Cooperatives : The Union Government has formulated a National
Policy on Cooperatives in consultation with States. The objective of the National
Policy is to facilitate all-round development of the cooperatives in the country and to
work as a guiding force for the States towards successful cooperatives. The policy,
envisages that cooperatives be provided necessary support, encouragement and
assistance and to ensure that they work as autonomous self-reliant and democratically
managed institutions accountable to their members.
Agriculture 87
Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002 : The Central Government
has taken a lead in providing required autonomy to the cooperatives by enacting
MSCS Act,2002, replacing the MSCS Act, 1984. It aims at providing functional
autonomy and democracy applicable to National level cooperative societies/
federations and other Multi-State Cooperative societies. It is expected that it will
work as a Model Act for reforms in State Cooperative Laws.
The NCDC (Amendment) Act, 2002 : The NCDC Act, 1962 has been amended vide
NCDC (Amendment) Act, 2002 expanding the mandate of NCDC to include food
stuff, industrial goods, livestock and services in the programmes and activities in
addition to the existing programmes. The definition of agriculture produce has been
amended to cover wider range of activities by including edible and non-edible oilseeds
cattle feed, produce of horticulture and animal husbandry, forestry, poultry, farming,
pisiculture and other activities allied to agriculture. Vide the amended Act, definition
of industrial goods and livestock have been elaborated covering the products of
allied industries in the rural areas and includes any handicrafts or rural crafts. The
livestock includes all animals to be raised for milk, meat, fleece, skin, wool and other
by-products. NCDC will be able to provide loan directly to the cooperative without
State/Central Government guarantee on furnishing of security to the satisfaction of
the NCDC. So far activities concerning water conservation, animal care/health,
disease prevention, agricultural insurance an agricultural credit, rural sanitation/
drainage/seweage have been made as notified services.
Amendment to the Constitution in respect of Cooperatives : In spite of the felt
need for amendment in the State Cooperative Societies Act, the pace of reforms in
Cooperative legislations by the States is not encouraging. Therefore, to ensure the
democratic, autonomous and professional functioning of cooperatives, it has been
decided to initiate a proposal for amendment to the Constitution for the purpose.
This decision has been taken after careful deliberations with the States in a conference
of State Cooperative Ministers held on 7 December 2004. The proposed amendment
to the Constitution is purported to address the key issues for empowerment of
cooperatives through their voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic
control and professional management. The Constitution One Hundred and Sixth
Amendment Bill 2006 has been introduced in the Lok Sabha on 22 May 2006.
Constitution of High Powered Committee : To review the achievements of
Cooperative movement during the last 100 years and challenges before it, and to
suggest ways and means to face them and to give a new direction to the movement, a
high-powered committee has been constituted with following Terms of Reference:
(1) To review the achievements of the cooperatives during the last 100 years.
(2) To identify the challenges being faced by the cooperative sector and to suggest
measures to address them to enable the movement to keep pace with the changing
socio-economic environment.
(3) To suggest an appropriate policy and legislative framework and changes
required in the cooperative legislation in the country with a view to ensure the
democratic, autonomous and professional functioning of cooperatives.
Revamping of Cooperative Credit Structure : In August 2004, Government of India
constituted a Task Force under the Chairmanship of Prof. A Vaidyanathan for
suggesting measures for revival of cooperative credit institutions. The Task Force has
submitted its Report in respect of short-term cooperative credit structure and
88 India 2008
recommended a financial package of Rs 14,839 crore for the short- term rural credit
cooperative institutions. The package covers accumulated losses, unpaid invoke
guarantees, receivables from State Governments, return of share capital to State
Governments, Human Resources Development, conduct of special audit,
computerisation, implementation costs, etc.
Based on the consensus arrived at with State Governments and other
stakeholders on the recommendations made by the Task Force, the Government has
approved the package for revival of the Short-term Rural Cooperative Credit Structure
involving financial assistance of Rs. 13,596 crore. The provision of financial assistance
under the package has been linked to reforms in the cooperative sector. The same
Task Force has been assigned the mandate for suggesting revival package for the
Long-Term Cooperative Credit Structure. The Government will initiate steps for
reviving Long-Term Cooperative Credit Structure after reviving the report of the Task
Force in this regard.
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development plays a prominent role in the rural
economy in supplementing the income of rural households, particularly, the landless
and small and marginal farmers. It also provides subsidiary occupation in semiurban
areas and more so for people living in hilly, tribal and drought-prone areas
where crop output may not sustain the family. According to estimates of the Central
Statistical Organization (CSO), the value of output from livestock and fisheries sectors
together at current prices was about Rs. 2,25,841 crores at current prices during
2005-06 (Rs. 1,85,166 crores for livestock sector and Rs. 40,675 crores for fisheries)
which is about 31 per cent of value of output of Rs. 7,20,340 crores from total of
Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Fisheries sector. The contribution of these sectors
to the total GDP during 2005-06 was 5.30%.
India is endowed with the largest livestock population in the world. It accounts
for 57 per cent of the world’s buffalo population and 14 per cent of the cattle population.
According to Livestock Census (2003), the country has about 18.5 crore cattle and 9.8
crore buffaloes.
CONTRIBUTION OF LIVESTOCK SECTOR TO FOOD BASKET
The contribution of livestock sector to the food basket in the form of milk, eggs and
meat has been immense in fulfilling the animal protein requirement of ever-growing
human population. The present availability of human protein in an Indian diet is
10gm per person per day, as against a world average of 25gm. However, keeping in
view the growing population, the animal protein availability has to increase at least
twofold, for maintaining the nutritional level of growing children and nursing mothers
in India.
Milk Production : The egg production in the country has reached 46.2 billion numbers
in 2005-06.
Wool Production : The wool production in the country has reached 44.9 million kg
during 2005-06.
Other Livestock Products : Livestock sector not only provides essential protein and
nutritious human diet through milk, eggs, meat etc., but also plays an important role
in utilization of non-edible agricultural by-products. Livestock also provides raw
material by products such as hides and skins, blood, bone, fat etc.
Agriculture 89
Livestock Insurance Scheme : The Livestock Insurance Scheme was
Implemented during the last two years of the 10th Five Year Plan i.e. 2005-2006 and
2006-07 on pilot basis in 100 selected districts across the country. The scheme was
formulated with the twin objective of providing protection mechanism to the farmers
and cattle breeders against any eventual loss of their animals and to demonstrate the
benefit of the scheme to the people and to popularize it with the ultimate goal of
attaining qualitative improvement in livestock and their products. Under the scheme,
50% subsidy on the insurance premium for insuring crossbred and high yielding
cattle and buffaloes was provided. The entire cost of subsidy payment of honorarium
to veterinary practitioners and funds for publicity were borne by the Central
Government. The subsidy in the premium during the pilot period was provided for
an animal for a maximum period of three years and limited to two animals per
beneficiary. The scheme was implemented through the State Implementing Agencies
(SIA) implementing the National Project on Cattle and Buffalo Breeding (NPCBB)
programme of the Department.
During the pilot period, about 4.6 lakh cattle/buffaloes were insured with an
expenditure of Rs. 20.77 crore. About 1750 cases of claim were settled with claim
settlement of Rs. 2.38 crore during the same period.
The continuation of the Scheme in the same form during 2007-08 and 2008-09 is
under consideration of the Government.
CATTLE AND BUFFALO DEVELOPMENT
India possesses 27 acknowledged indigenous breeds of cattle and seven breeds of
buffaloes. Various Central and Centrally sponsored schemes are being implemented
for genetic improvement of cattle and buffalo with a view to enhance the per capita
availability of consumption of milk through increased milk production. Efforts are
also made to protect and preserve the indigenous cattle and buffalo in their native
tract, which are facing threat of extinction. The elite animals are selected and registered
on the basis of their performance for production of superior pedigree bulls, bullmothers,
frozen semen and frozen embryos for future breeding improvements.
The National Project for Cattle and Buffalo Breeding envisages 100 per cent
grant in aid to implementing agencies. The Project will also promote about 34,000
private A.I. practitioners and build up an annual frozen semen production capacity
of 70 million doses. Since inception, 28 states and one Union Territory have been
assisted with Rs. 412.79 crores upto 31st March, 2007 for participating in the project.
A Central Herd Registration Scheme for identification and location of superior
germ plasm of cattle and buffaloes, propagation of superior germ stock, regulating
the sale and purchase, help in formation of breeders society and to met requirement of
superior bulls in different parts of the country is also being implemented. The
Government of India has established Central Herd Registration Unit in four breeding
tracts i.e. Rohtak, Ahmedabad, Ongole, Ajmer. A total of 92 Milk Recording Centres
are functioning to register these breeds of cattle viz. Gir, Kankrej, Hariana and Ongole
and in Buffalo Jaffrabadi, Mehsani, Murrah and Surti. During 2006-07, 14,244 animals
were registered.
The seven Central cattle breeding farms at Suratgarh (Rajasthan), Chiplima
and Semiliguda (Orissa), Dhamrod (Gujarat), Hessarghatta (Karnataka), Alamadi
(Tamil Nadu) and Andeshnagar (Uttar Pradesh) are engaged in scientific breeding
programmes of cattle and buffaloes and production of high pedigreed bulls for National
90 India 2008
Project for Cattle/Buffaio Breeding Programme besides providing training to farmers
and breeders. During 2006-07, these farms produced 326 bull calves and supplied
235 high pedigreed bulls for use under Artificial Insemination Programme in various
parts of the Country. The Central Frozen Semen Production and Training Institute,
Hessarghatta (Karnataka) produced 13.06 lakh doses and supplied 12.88 lakh dozes
of frozen semen of high pedigreed Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Holstein Friesian, Jersey,
crossbred and Murrah bulls to different states for their A.I. Programmes.
POULTRY DEVELOPMENT
The value of output from poultry sector is nearly Rs. 17000 crore from eggs and meat
only and it provides direct or indirect employment to over 3 million people. About
25% of the total egg production in the country comes from desi poultry, which is
unorganized rural backyard system. A target for achieving production of over 52
billion eggs by 2011-12, at a growth rate of 4.3 percent has been set by the Government
of India.
Poultry sector, besides employment generation and subsidiary income increase,
provides nutritonal security especially to the rural poor. Further landless labourers
derive more than 50 percent of their income from livestock especially from poultry.
Central Poultry Development Organization had been playing a pivotal role in
the implementation of the policies of the Government with respect to poultry as a tool
for alleviating nutritional hunger and palliating the impecuniosities of the resource
- poor farmers especially the women. The mandate of Central Poultry Development
Organization has been specially revised, by restructuring all poultry units of this
Department to focus on improved indigenous birds. Which lay on an average 180-
200 eggs per annum and have vastly improved FCR ratio in terms of feed consumption
and weight gain. The Central Poultry Development Organizations have been
entrusted with the responsibility of producing excellent germplasm in the form of
day-old chicks hatching eggs of these varieties like Nirbheek, Hitkari, Vanaraja,
Shyama Cari, CHABRO, etc. Besides these Organizations are imparting training to
approximately 1200-1500 farms every year in-situ and ex-situ. These organization
are also playing a crucial role in analyzing feed samples.
In these organizations, besides the activites stated above, scaling-up of
diversification of other avian species like Ducks/Turkeys/Guinea fowl/Japanese
Quail, upgradation of Training Until into International Tropical Avian Management
Institute in which private-public partnership is envisaged. Presently, these
organizations are also supporting and hand-holding the Centrally Sponsored Scheme
Assistance to State Z Poultry Farms.
The Random Sample Poultry Performance Testing Centre (RSPPTC) Gurgaon is
entrusted with responsibility of testing the performance of layer and broiler varieties.
This Centre conducts one layer test for the period from 0-72 weeks of age where in the
production parameters of the laying birds received from different participants
comprising private and public sector agencies are tested. At the end of the test, data
are analysed and the report indicating the relative performance, of these entrants is
published Accordingly, two broiler test are conducted every year from 0.8 weeks age
and the results are published giving full information about growth rate, feed efficiency
and margin of profit from each entrant. The report is published for the utilization of
the poultry industry in general, and the breeder participants in particular. This Centre
gives valuable information relating to different genetic stock available in the country.
Agriculture 91
A centrally sponsored scheme called Assistance to State Poultry Farms is being
implemented during the Tenth Plan in all States and UTs where one time assistance
is provided to suitably strengthen the farms in terms of hatching, breeding and rearing
of the birds with provision for feed mill and their quality monitoring and in-house
disease diagnostic facilities. During the Tenth Plan, nearly Rs. 75.0 crore has been
released for a listing around 180 farms, some partially.
A scheme ‘‘Dairy/Poultry Venture Capital Fund’’ has been launched during
the year 2004-05, wherein there is a provision to grant subsidy on interest payment.
Components like establishment of poultry breeding Flow/Quil/Emu/Ostrich,
establishment of feed downs, feed mill, feed analytical laboratory, marketing of poutry
products (specialized transport vehicle, cool room storage facilities and retention
sheds for birds etc.) Egg grading, packing and storage for export capacity, Retail
poultry dressing units (300 birds per day), Egg/broiler carts for sale of poultry products
and Central grower unit are considered for financing under this scheme. The nodal
agency for the implementation of this scheme is NABARD through nationalised
commercial banks. As per the largest report, a total of 84 poultry units involving Rs.
3.42 crore has been approved. (Till 31-3-2007)
SHEEP DEVELOPMENT
According to Livestock census 2003, there are about 61.47 million sheep and 124.36
million goats in the country. About five million households in the country are engaged
in the rearing of small ruminants sheep & goats rabbets and other allied activities.
The wool production was about 44.90 million kg during 2005-2006.
Central Sheep Breeding Farm, Hissar is producing acclimatized exotic/cross
bred superior quality rams. The farm has supplied 733 rams during 2006-07 to
different States. It hopes to supply 900 rams in 2007-08.
CONSERVATION OF THREATENED BREEDS
The population of some of the pure bred small ruminants, equines, pigs and pack
animals has come down considerably and such breeds have come to the category of
threatened breeds in the country.
A new centrally sponsored scheme for conservation of such threatened breeds
was started during Tenth Five Year Plan with a budget outlay of Rs. 1500 lakhs.
Farms/farmer’s unit in their respective breeding tract are established under the scheme
with 100% central assistance. The conservation projects are being implemented by
State Governments, Universities and NGO’s. During the Tenth plan period,
conservation projects for 27 breeds were taken up. During 2006-07, an amount of Rs.
241.50 lakh was release for the conservation of Terres Goat (Rs. 50.00 lakh) in Andaman
& Nicobar Islands, Spiti Pony (Rs. 27.55 lakh) in Himachal Pradesh, Zanskari Horse
(Rs. 34.24 lakh) and Doubled Humped Camel (Rs. 25.17 lakh) in Jammu & Kashmir,
Sangamneri Goat (Rs. 32.50 lakh) in Maharastra and Garole Sheep (Rs. 28.54 lakh)
and Black Bengal goat (Rs. 32.25 lakh) in West Bengal. Evaluation of performance of
the Scheme during Xth plan has been entrusted to NABCONS, a wholly subsidiary of
NABARD.
MEAT PRODUCTION/PROCESSING AND EXPORT
There are 15 export-oriented integrated modern abattoirs and 16 meat processing
plants registered with Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development
Authority exporting raw meet (Chilled and frozen) to about 56 countries. During
92 India 2008
2005-06, about 459937.63 M.T. Buffalo Meat and 7177.51 MT sheep/goat meat valued
at Rs. 2629.57 crore and Rs. 80.37 crore respectively were exported. During April-
December 2006, meet and its products worth Rs. 2415.63 crore have been exported
indicating 18.20% growth in rupees export.
PIGGERY DEVELOPMENT
As per Livestock census 2003, the pig population in the country was 139.19 lakhs of
which 21.80 lakhs were cross bred/exotic pigs. Exotic breeds like white Yorkshire,
Hampshire and Landrace are maintained at these farms. There are about 158 pig
breeding farms in the country run by the State Governments/UTs. Efforts are being
made in consultation with Planning Commission and other appraisal agencies to
initiate Integrated Piggery Development Scheme under Macro Management Scheme
during 11th Five Year Plan.
FEED AND FODDER DEVELOPMENT
For the development of the production potentiality of our livestock, availability of
nutritous feed and fodder is essential. To facilitate fodder availability, seven regional
Stations have been established in different agro climatic Zones of the country for
production of high yielding varieties of fodder/fodder seed and transfer of scientific
fodder production technology through training of officers/ farmers, demonstration
of latest fodder agronomic practices and organization of farmer fairs. During 2006-07
these stations produced 178.2 MT of high yielding fodder variety seeds, conducted
4472 field demonstrations, organized 93 training programmes and 83 Farmer Fairs.
During 2006-07 a Central Fodder Seed Production Farm located at Hessarghatta
(Karnataka) working with the same objectives as of Regional Stations produced 101
MT fodder seeds of different varieties of grasses/legumes, conducted 570 field
demonstrations, organizes 13 training programmes and organized 14 farmers lairs.
A Central Minikit Testing programme of fodder crops is under implementation for
popularizing high yielding fodder varieties on a large scale through Director Animal
Husbandry of States. During 2006-07, 5.64 lakh minikits were allotted to the states for
distribution to the farmers free of cost. Besides a centrally sponsored fodder
development scheme is being implemented from 2005-06 for establishment of fodder
Block making units, grass land development including grass reserve, fodder seed
production and bio-technology research project. During 2006-07, financial assistance
of Rs. 2644.61 lakh was provided to States, which includes Rs. 1662.00 lakh released
under Special package for Suicide prone districts of Maharastra, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh and Kerala.
DAIRY DEVELOPMENT
The Indian Dairy Industry has acquired substantial growth from the Eighth Plan
onwards, achieving an annual output of over 97.1 million tones of milk at the end of
2005-06. India’s milk output has not only placed the industry first in the world, but
also represents sustained growth in the availability of milk and milk products. The
per capita availability of milk is estimated to reach 245 gm per day during 2006-07.
The Government implemented four schemes for the development of dairy sector during
2006-07.
(a) Intensive dairy Development Programme : The Scheme, modified as Intensive
Dairy Development Programme on the basis of the recommendation of the evaluation
studies was launched during Eighth Plan period and is being continued during the
Eleventh Plan with an outlay of Rs. 23.00 crore for 2007-08. So far 82 projects with an
Agriculture 93
outlay of 462.75 crore have been sanctioned in 25 States and one UT. A sum of Rs.
307.78 crore has been released to various State Governments upto 31st March, 2007
and 200 districts have been covered. The scheme has benefited about 11.66 lakh farm
families and organized about 1971 8 village level Dairy Cooperative Societies till 31st
March, 2007.
(b) Strengthening Infrastructure for Quality and Clean Milk production : A new
centrally sponsored scheme was launched in Oct 2003, with the main objective of
improving the quality of raw milk produced at the village level in the country. Under
this scheme, assistance is provided for training of farmers on good milking practices.
The scheme is being implemented on 100 per cent grant-in-aid basis to District Coop
Milk Union and State Coop Milk Federation through the State Governments/UTs for
components viz, training of farmer members, detergents, stainless steel utensils,
strengthening of existing laboratory facilities whereas 75 percent financial assistance
is provided for setting up of milk chilling facilities at village level in the form of bulk
milk coolers. Since inception, 122 projects in 22 States at a total cost of Rs. 169.86 crore
with a central share of Rs 139.34 crore have been approved up to 31st March 2007
under this scheme. A sum of Rs. 24.65 crore during 2004-05, Rs. 30.39 crore during
2005-06 and another sum of Rs. 24.65 crore during 2006-07 as central share has been
released to the concerned State Government for implementation of approved project
activities up to 31.03.07.
(c) Assistance ttoo ccooooppeerraattiivveess :: The scheme ‘Assistance to Cooperatives’ is a Central
Sector Plan Scheme started during the year 1999-2000. To revitalize the sick dairy
cooperative unions at the district level and cooperative federations at the State level
National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) is the project implementing agency and
the Central grant under the scheme are provided to the Milk Unions through NDDB.
A number of dairy cooperatives with there-tier structure viz. village level/
primary cooperatives, district level unions and state level federations have been set
up in different parts of the country under the Operation Flood Programme. For a
variety of reasons, a number of these unions/federations have accumulated losses.
These accumulated losses have been imposing severe hardships to the milk producers
and their dairy economy, resulting in, among other things, delayed and irregular
payments to the poor farmer members of these cooperatives. The Scheme seeks to
assist the sick cooperative milk unions/federations to rehabilitate them and make
them viable.
The funds are released on 50-50 sharing basis between Union of India and the
concerned State Government. The maximum assistance of grant is limited to the
minimum amount required so that the net flow becomes positive within seven years.
In any case the total grant does not exceed the accurnulated cash losses.
The Department has approved 31 rehabilitation proposals of Milk Unions in 12
States namely Madhaya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala,
Maharashtra, Assam, Nagaland, Punjab West Bengal, Haryana and Tamil Nadu,
with a total outlay of Rs. 192.5 crore.
Out of 50% Government of India share of Rs. 96.24 crore an amount of which
Rs. 74.14 crore has been release till 31st March, 2007.
(d) Dairy/Poultry Venture Capital Fund : To bring about structural changes in the
unorganized sector, the measures like milk processing at village level, marketing of
pasteurized milk in a cost effective manner, quality up-gradation of traditional
technology to handle commercial scale using modern equipment and management
94 India 2008
skills and to encourage new pieces of birds and low input technology for poultry
farming among rural farmers, a new scheme viz, Dairy/Poultry Venture Capital
Fund was initiated in the Tenth Five Year Plan. The assistance under the scheme is
provided to the rural/urban beneficiaries, under the scheme include agriculture
farmers/individual entrepreneurs and groups of all sections of unorganized as well
organized sector including cooperatives and NGO from any part of the country.
The scheme is being implemented through NABARD and funds amounting to
Rs. 28.00 crore have been released to NABARD during the Tenth Five Year Plan, to be
kept as revolving fund for implementation of the scheme. There is a budget provision
of 45.00 crore for implementation of the scheme during 2007-08.
Pattern of Assistance :
• Entrepreneurs contribution 10 per cent
• Interest-free Loan from revolving fund 50 per cent
• Bank loan at interest applicable for agricultural activities 40 per cent
The interest component applicable for agricultural activities is subsidized by
Government of India to the extent of 50 per cent only in case of regular/timely
repayment by the beneficiary.
(e) Milk and Milk Product Order-1992 : The Government of India notified the Milk
and Milk Product Order on June 1992. As per the provisions of this order, any person/
dairy plant handling more than 10,000 liters per day of milk or 500 MT of milk solids
per annum needs to be registered with the registering authority appointed by the
Central Government on 27th August 1993.
The Order was amended from time to time as per the decision taken in Milk and
Milk Product Advisory Board and as per request received from State Governments. In
pursuance of the Cabinet decision dated 22/2/2002, this Department has amended
MMPO-1992 vide Milk and Milk Product (Amendment) Order 2002, SO No. 335(E)
dated 26.3.2002, where the provisions of assigning milk shed has been done away
with. The power of granting Registration to the units up to 2.00 lakh liters per day
processing capacity where entire activities of units lies within a State has been
delegated to concerned State Registering Authority.
So for Central Registering Authority and State Registering Authority have
granted registration to 818 units with a combined capacity of 952.93 lakh liters per
day of milk up to 31.3.2007.
LIVESTOCK HEALTH
Animal wealth in India has increased manifold. The Animal husbandry practices
have also been changed to a great extent. Due to the liberalization of trade after the
advent of the WTOs SPS agreement, the chances of ingress of exotic diseases into the
country have increased. With the improvement in the quality of livestock through
launching of extensive cross breeding programmes, the susceptibility of these livestock
to various diseases including exotic diseases has increased. For ensuring the
maintenance of disease-free status and to be compatible with the standards led by the
World Animal Health Organization (OIE), major health schemes have been initiated
to support animal health programmes in the State.
In order to reduce morbidity and mortality, efforts are being made by the State/
Union Territory Governments to provide better health care through Polyclinics/
Veterinary Hospitals/Dispensaries/First-Aid Centres including Mobile Veterinary
Agriculture 95
Dispensaries. A network of 26,540 Polyclinics/Hospitals/Dispensaries and 35433
Veterinary aid Centres (including Semen Centres/Mobile Dispensaries), supported
by about 250 Disease Diagnostic Laboratories, are functioning in the States and
Union Territories for quick and reliable diagnosis of diseases. In order to provide
refertal services over and above the existing disease diagnostic Laboratories are also
functioning. Further, for control of major livestock and poultry diseases by way of
propnylactic vaccination, the required quantity of vaccines are produced in the
country at 27 veterinary vaccine production units of these, 22 are in the public sector
and 5 in private sector. Import of vaccines is also permitted as and when required.
A. Animal Quarantine and Certification Service : The objective of this service is to
prevent ingress of livestock diseases into India by regulating the import of livestock
and livestock related products, and providing export certification of International
Standards for livestock and livestock products which are exported from India. There
are four existing Stations for Animal Quarantine and Certification Service one each
at New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata.
B. National Veterinary Biological Products Quality Control Centre : At present
the Indian Veterinary Research Institute has been assisting in the task of monitoring
the quality of vaccines and biologicals. But in order to obtain better monitoring of the
quality, it is essential to establish a separate Institute. For this purpose, it has been
decided to set up National Veterinary Biological Quality Control Centre (National
Institute of Animal Health) at Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh at the end of 9th Plan. The
construction work of the Institute is almost at completion stage and it is expected that
the Institute will be functional very soon.
C. Central/Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratories : In order to provide referral
services over and above the existing disease diagnostic laboratories in the States, one
Central and five Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratories have been set up by
strengthening the existing facilities. The Centre for Animal Disease Research is
functioning as Central Laboratory in conjunction with the Disease Investigation
Laboratory, Pune, Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals, Kolkata,
Institute of Animal Health & Biologicals, Bangalore, Animal Health Institute,
Jalandhar and Institute of Velerinary Biological, Khanapara, Guwahati are
functioning as referral laboratories for Western, Eastern, Southern, Northern and
North-Eastern region, respectively.
D. Livestock Health and Disease Control (LH&DC) : In order to control the
economically important livestock diseases and to undertake the obligatory is
implementing ‘‘Livestock Health and :Disease Control (LH&DC) with the following
components.
(i). Assistance to States for Control of Animal Diseases (ASCAD) : Under this
component, assistance is provided to State/Union territory Governments for control
of economically important diseases of livestock and poultry by way of immunization
strengthening of existing State Veterinary Biological Production Units, strengthening
of existing Disease Diagnostic Laboratories and in-service training to Veterinarians
and para-veterinarians. Besides this, the programme envisaged collection of
information on the incidence of various livestock and poultry diseases from States
and Union Territories and compiling the same for the whole country. The information
so complied is disseminated in the form of Monthly Animal Disease Surveillance
Bulletin to all the States and Union Territories and also Organizations like Office
International Des Epizooties (OIE), Animal Production and Health Commission for
96 India 2008
Asia and Pacific (APHCA), etc. This information system has been harmonized in
accordance with the guidelines of OIE.
(ii). National Project on Rinderpest Eradication (NPRE): The main objective of the
project is to strengthen the veterinary services and to eradicate Rinderpest and
Contagious Bovine Pleura Pneumonia (CBPP) by strengthening the veterinary services
across the Country and to obtain freedom status from Rinderpest & CBPP infection
following the pathway prescribed by Office International des Epizooties (OIE), Paris.
Country attains ‘‘freedom from Rinderpest Infection’’ :
• The first stage of ‘‘Provisional freedom from Rinderpest disease for the whole
country was achieved with effect from 1st March 1998.
• The second stage ‘‘Freedom from Rinderpest disease’’ for the country was
attained with effect from 22nd May, 2004.
• The third stage and final stage of ‘‘Freedom from Rinderpest Infection’’, the
country has been recognized by the World Organisation of animal Health (OIE)
as free from Rinderpest infection in accordance with the provisions of Article
2.2 12.2 of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code on 25th May, 2006.
Country attains ‘‘freedom from Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) :
• As regards the country has been recognized by the World Organisation of animal
Health (OIE) as free from Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) in
accordance with the provisions of Article 2.3 15.2 of the OIE terrestrial Animal
Health Code on 25th May, 2007.
(iii) Foot and Mouth disease Control Programme (FMD-CP) : ‘‘Foot and Mouth
Disease Control Programme’’ is being implemented in 54 specified districts in the
country to control the Foot and Mouth Disease. This involves 6 monthly vaccinations
of susceptible livestock against FMD. Five rounds of vaccinations have been completed.
Sixth round of vaccination is in progress. About 28.00 million vaccinations are
conducted in every round.
E. AVIVAN INFLUENZA : PREPAREDNESS, CONTROL AND CONTAINMENT:
The first outbreak of Avian Influenza occurred in India on 18th February 2006 in the
western part of India in a small area in the State of Maharashtra running contiguously
over an adjoining territory of the State of Gujarat. A second outbreak was reported
from Maharashtra itself. There has been no outbreak after 18th April 2006. India
declared freedom from Avian Influenza on 18th August, 2006. The report has also
been hosted on the website of World Organization of Animal Health (OIE).
The Government of India initiated immediate action to control and contain the
outbreak. Control and containment measures comprise a series of strategic actions
that are to be taken in accordance with the Action Plans for the Department of Animal
Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DADF) and the Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare (MOHFW).
The actions taken to control and contain Avian influenza are detailed below :
1. Demarcation of infected and surveillance areas was carried out in accordance
with the Action Plan. An area of 3 kms. is designated as the Infected Zone and
a further area of 7 kms. is designated as the Surveillance Zone.
2. However, the poultry, both backyard and commercial, was culled in a radius of
10 kms around the affected farm premises. 10,44,599 birds were killed in the
control operations.
Agriculture 97
3. Other infected materials such as poultry eggs, egg products, feathers, feed, feed
materials, protective cloth used by the staff engaged in operations etc. , was also
destroyed. More than 8500 metric tones of feed material and nearly 17 lakh eggs
were destroyed.
4. Thereafter cleaning and disinfection of the infected premises/area was carried
out. This included physical surveillance in the 10 kms radius where culling
was carried out to ensure that no birds would be stocked for next three months
and sero surveillance in a further radius of 5 k.ms.
6. After completion of culling. disinfection and further surveillance for a period of
three months in accordance with the OIE protocol, India declared itself free
from the disease on 18th August, 2006.
7. Restocking of poultry has been allowed in affected areas based on periodic
testing and sampling.
8. The Government of India has maintained strategic reserve of poultry vaccine.
The option of vaccination is thus available to the country. However, vaccination
has not yet been introduced in the country.
9. The personnel involved in containment work were provided personal protective
equipment and brought under cover of Tamiflu by the health authorities.
10. It is the policy of the Government of India to pay compensation to owner for
culled poultry. The cost will be shared on a 50:50 basis with the State Government.
More than 3 crore Indian Rupees has been paid as compensation. The
compensation is paid soon after carrying out culling especially in case of
backyard poultry.
11. India has developed innovative strategies to control and contain Avian Influenza
especially pertaining to backyard poultry. The decision to kill birds in a 10 km
radius has been acknowledged as a bold and decisive one.
The conduct of the operations has been appreciated by the International
organizations. The FAO by letter dated 23rdFebruary has informed that it has been
closely watching the recent outbreak of Navapur and appreciates the quick response
initiated by the Government of India in general and of the Department of Animal
Husbandry in particular. It was very encouraging to see that the poultry farmers were
quickly compensated for their culled birds. The Asian Development Bank has lauded
India’s efforts for similar reasons.
The WHO through letter of Regional Director, Office for South East Asia dated
10th August, 2006 has lauded the efforts made by Government of India in instituting
early and effective measures through poultry culling and rapid disinfection of the
affected area and restricted movement of the poultry as per the WHO, timely
compensations to poultry farmers also helped in early reporting of outbreaks among
birds and facilitated immediate culling operations. Further, efficient surveillance
during last four months culminated in achieving avian influenza free status for the
country. WHO has appreciated the commitment of the country to continue monitoring
for H5N1 infection. The multi-sectoral coordination of disease prevention activities
between the federal and the three provincial government authorities was considered
as the key to preempt the spread of infection.
An active surveillance programme is being carried out all over the country focusing
on early detection of the disease. India has a fully equipped Bio-Security Level 3
laboratory at Bhopal. More than 1,30,000 samples have been tested at Bhopal after
98 India 2008
the first outbreak of Avian Influenza in February 2006. Targeted surveillance will
focus on areas where outbreak took place; areas visited by migratory birds with
poultry concentrations around them and areas of major poultry population. Personnel
of Animal Husbandry and Forest Departments are being regularly trained in sample
collection and dispatch. Joint mechanisms are in existence between the Health, Forests
and Animal Husbandry sectors at the Central and the State levels and have been
fully operationalised. Reserves of essential equipment and materials have been
developed.
FISHERIES
The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries has been undertaking
various production, input supply and infrastructure development programmes and
welfare oriented schemes besides formulating/ initiating appropriate policies to
increase production and productivity in the Fisheries Sector.
Fish production since 1980-81 is shown in the table below:
(lakh tonnues)
Year Marine Inland Total
1980-81 15.55 8.87 24.42
1990-91 23.00 15.36 38.36
1991-92 24.47 17.10 41.57
1992-93 25.76 17.89 43.65
1993-94 26.49 19.95 46.44
1994-95 26.92 20.97 47.89
1995-96 27.07 22.42 49.49
1996-97 29.67 23.81 53.48
1997-98 29.50 24.38 53.88
1998-99 26.96 26.02 52.98
1999-2000 28.52 23.23 56.75
2000-2001 28.11 28.45 56.56
2001-2002 28.30 31.20 62.00
2002-2003 29.90 32.10 62.00
2003-2004 29.41 34.58 63.99
2004-2005 27.78 35.26 63.04
2005-2006 28.16 37.55 65.71
The fisheries sector has been one of the major contributors of foreign exchange
earnings through export. Export of fish and fishery products has grown manifold
over the years. From about 15,700 tonnes valued at Rs. 3.92 crore in 1961-62, exports
have grown to 5.51 lakh tonnes valued at Rs. 7018.68 crore in 2005-06.
DEVELOPMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE
The ongoing scheme of Development of Freshwater Aquaculture and Integrated
Coastal Aquaculture have been combined with four new programmes on Development
Agriculture 99
of Coldwater Fish Culture, Development of water-logged Area and Derelict water
bodies into aquaculture estates, Use of Inland Saline/Alkaline Soil for Aquaculture
and programme for augmenting the Productivity of Reservoirs. This scheme broadly
has two components. Aquaculture and Inland Capture Fisheries.
DEVELOPMENT OF FRESHWATER AQUACULTURE
The Government has been implementing an important programme in inland sector,
viz., Development of Freshwater Aquaculture through the Fish Farmers Development
Agencies (FFDAs). A network of 429 FFDAs covering all potential districts in the
country are in operation. During, 2005-06, about 22,758 ha of water area was brought
under fish culture and 29,952 fish farmers were trained in improved aquaculture
practices through FEDAs.
DEVELOPMENT OF BRACKISHWATER AQUACULTURE
With the objective of utilizing the country’s vast brackishwater area for shrimp culture,
an area of about 28,885 hectares was developed for shrimp culture till 2005-06 through
39 Brackishwater Fish Farmers Development Agencies (BFDAs) set up in the coastal
areas of the country. The agencies have also trained 26,536 fishermen in improved
practices of shrimp culture till 2005-06. Presently about 50 percent of the shrimp
exported from the country is from aquaculture.
DEVELOPMENT OF MARINE FISHERIES
The Government is providing subsidy to poor fishermen for motorizing their
traditional craft, which increases the fishing areas and frequency of operation with
consequent increase in catch and earnings of fishermen. About 48,226 traditional
crafts have been motorized so far. The Government has also been operating a scheme
on fishermen development rebate on HSD oil used by fishing vessels below 20 meter
length to offset the operational cost incurred by small mechanized fishing boat
operators.
DEVELOPMENT OF FISHING HARBOUR
The Government has been implementing a scheme with the objective of providing
infrastructure facilities for safe landing and berthing to the fishing vessels. Since
inception of the scheme, six major fishing harbours viz., Cochin, Chennai,
Visakhapatnam, Roychowk, Paradip and Season dock (Mumbai), 58 minor fishing
harbours and 189 fish landing centres have been taken up for construction in various
coastal States/UTs.
WELFARE PROGRAMMES FOR TRADITIONAL FISHERMEN
Important programmes for the welfare of traditional fishermen are (i) Group Insurance
Scheme for active fishermen, (ii) Development of Model Fishermen Villages, and (iii)
Saving-cum-relief Scheme.
The fishermen identified or registered with the States/UTs are insured for Rs.
50,000 against death or permanent total disability and Rs. 25,000 against partial
disability. During 2006-07 assistance has been provided to cover 14.0 lakh fishermen
under insurance. Under the Development of Model fishermen in 2006-07. Under the
Saving-cum-relief component, financial assistance is provided to the fishermen during
the lean fishing season. About 2.20 lakh fishermen were assisted under the savingcum-
relief programme in 2006-2007.
100 India 2008
SPECIALISED INSTITUTES
The Central Institute of Fisheries, Nautical and Engineering Training, Kochi with
units at Chennai and Visakhapatnam, aims at making available sufficient number of
operators of deep-sea fishing vessels and technicians for shore establishments.
Integrated Fisheries Project, Kochi, envisages processing, popularizing and test
marketing of unconventional varieties of fish. The Central Institute of Coastal
Engineering for Fisheries, Bangalore, is engaged in techno-economic feasibility study
for location of fishing harbour sites. Fishery Survey of India (FSI) is the nodal
organization responsible for survey and assessment of fishery resources under the
Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
NATIONAL FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT BOARD
In pursuance of the approval of the Cabinet, a National Fisheries Development Board
(NFDB) has been set up recently with its head quarter at hyderabad to realize the
untapped potential of fisheries sector in inland and marine fish capture, culture,
processing and marketing of fish, and over all growth of fisheries sector with the
application of modern tools of research & development including biotechnology for
optimizing production and productivity form fisheries. The board has been registered
under Andhra Pradesh Society Registration Act 2001. Objectives of the National
Fisheries Development Board are:
i) To bring major activities relating to fisheries and aquaculture for focused
attention and professional management;
ii) To coordinate activities pertaining to fisheries undertaken by different
Ministries/Departments in the Central Government and also coordinate with
the State/Union territory Government.
iii) To improve production, processing, storage, transport and marketing of the
products and culture fisheries.
iv) To achieve sustainable management and conservation of natural aquatic
rosources including the fish stocks,
v) To apply modern tools of research and development including biotechnology
for optimizing production and productivity form fisheries;
vi) To provide modern infrastructure mechanisms for fisheries and ensure their
effective management and optimum utilization.
vii) To generate substantial employment.
viii) Totrain and empower women in the fisheries sector, and
ix) To enhance contribution of fish towards food and nutritional security.
Major activities to be taken up by the National Fisheries Development Board :
i) Intensive aquaculture in ponds and tanks.
ii) Enhancing productivity from Reservoir Fisheries.
iii) Brackish water Coastal Aquaculture.
iv) Mariculture.
vi) Sea Ranching.
vii) Seaweed Cultivation.
viii) Infrastructure for Post Harvest Programmes.
ix) Fish Dressing Centres and Solar Drying Fish
x) Domestic Marketing.
Agriculture 101
The proposed total outlay of the Board is Rs. 2100.00 crore. A sum of Rs. 30.00
crore has already been released to NFDB. A budgetary provision of Rs. 100.50 crore
has been made for 2007-08. The Executive Committee under NFDB was constituted
on 17.07.06 and the Governing Body on 2.8.06. The inaugural function and first
meeting of the governing body of the board was held at Hyderabad on 9th September,
2006 and thus it became operational. So far the Governing Body of NFDB met twice
and the six Executive Committee meetings were held. Guidelines for undertaking
various activities with assistance from NFDB have been formulated.
Department of Agricultural Research and Education
The Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of
Agriculture provides government support, service and linkage to the Indian Council
of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and is responsible for coordinating research and
educational activities in the field of agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries.
Also, it helps to bring about inter-departmental and inter-institutional collaboration
with national and international agencies engaged in agriculture and allied sectors.
Indian Council of Agricultural Research
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an apex national organization
for conducting and coordinating research and education in agriculture including
animal husbandry and fisheries. The Council undertakes research on fundamental
and applied aspects in traditional and frontier areas to offer solutions to problems
related to conservation and management of resources, productivity improvement of
crops, animals and fisheries. It plays a pivotal role in developing new technologies in
agriculture and allied sectors and performs the functions of introduction and
exploration of genetic resources of plants, animals and fisheries.
Agricultural Research
The Council has its headquarters at New Delhi and a vest network of Institutes all
over the country consisting of 48 Institutes including 4 national Institutes with Deemed
to be University status; 5 national Bureaux; 32 national Research Centres; 12 Project
Directorates; and 62 All India Coordinated Research Projects (AICRPs). For higher
education in agriculture and allied fields there are 39 State Agricultural Universities
and One Central Agricultural University at Imphal besides 4 Deemed to be
Universities.
Research, Education and Extension Activities of the ICAR
The activity spectrum and the highlight of research, education and extension in
different fields are submitted below :
(1) Crop Sciences
During 2006, 73 new varieties of different field crops were released by Central Varietal
Release Committee and 115 varieties were released by different State Varietal release
Committee. The crop improvement programme includes development of high yielding
varieties of wheat, improvement programme includes development of high yielding
varieties of wheat; improvement of high breeds in maize; sorghum and pearl millets;
popularization of winter maize; high yielding and early duration varieties in
mungbean and urdbean; high breeds in caster; and development of short duration
varieties of pigeon-pea. Nearly 6260 tonnes of breeder seed of different crops were
produced and distributed as per the state indents so that farmers could get a quality
102 India 2008
seed at the appropriate time. A project on seed production in crops and fisheries has
been launched by the government in 2005-06.
An eco-friendly IPM approach in wheat was applied by DWR, Karnal. IPM
module being promoted, is targeted at the pests like termites and aphids. IPM
technology in sorghum based on seed treatment with neem oil @ 5ml/kg seed effectively
controlled shoot fly and stem borer. Integrated Pest Management was effectively tried
for all the major crops including cereals, pulses, oilseeds and cash crops.
A number of accessions were monitored for seed viability, seed quality and seed
health after ten years of storage. 205 accessions of fruit crops, tuber crops, bulbous
crops, spices and medicinal and aromatic plants were added to in vitro gene bank.
Under DNA finger printing, presently database consists of 923 varieties of 16 crops.
(2) Horticulture
Significant Achievements are given below :
• Rejuvenation of unproductive old orchards of mango and litchi.
• A promising mango hybrid ‘H-39’ has attractive blush on fruit, high TSS
(24 Brix), high carotenoid content (7.8 mg/100g), firm pulp, regular bearing
habit and dwarf nature.
• Embryogenic cell suspension cultures have been successfully developed in
Rasthali and Ney Poovan varieties of banana for developing resistant transgenic
plants against Fusarium wilt and resistant in Nendran against Sigatoka leaf
spot.
• Developed ‘Kashi Anmol’, ‘Kashi Early’ and ‘Kashi Vishwanath’ varieties of
chilli, ‘IIVR-11’ of okra, ‘Kashi Kunwari’ of cauliflower, ‘Kashi Hans’ of radish
and ‘Kashi Gauri’ of cowpea.
• Developed onion variety ‘Bhimraj’ for kharif season.
• Developed ‘Kufri Chipsona-3’ and ‘Kufri Himalini’ varieties of potato.
• Developed ‘Sree Padmanabha’ variety of cassava and cashew promising hybrid
‘H 1250’ - VRI - 2 x VTH 40/1.
• Dual purpose variety (leaves as well as seed) of Corinander ‘NRCSS ACr.1’ and
Fennel variety ‘NRCSS AF’1’ having high essential oil, high yielder and suitable
for early transplanted crop.
• Identified INGR 07041 - a promising genotype of Kalmegh (Andrographis
paniculata) - having compact plant type with high andrographolide content
(%).
• Identified ‘IIHRP-1’ hybrid resistant to fusarium wilt in carnation.
• Productivity of apple, almond and apricot has been more than double under
medium high density plantation with pollination, integrated nutrient and pest
management, organic mulching and drip irrigation.
• Developed and launched the web based user-friendly software package entitled
‘Digital Herbarium of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India’
Established gene banks in hill and tribal areas, of five walnut selections having
nut weight of 18.63 to 27.16g and five selections having kernel weight of 10.69 to
12.76g which supercede the varieties developed by USA during last 150 years of
walnut breeding.
Agriculture 103
(3) Natural Resource Management
Tista Basin in Sikkim has a unique combination of landscape and geo-agro climatic
scenario that influence the formation of different kind of soils. Based on the visual
interpretation of the satelite imagery and SOI toposheet total 17 watersheds were
delineated. Total 62 soil series were identified and were; mapped into 63 soil mapping
units. Soils are mainly Inceptisols, Ultisols, Mollisols and Alfisols. The hills are
mostly covered with forests. Most of the cultivable land, except the narrow valley, is
terraced and under crops like maize, millets, potato, pulses ginger and vegetables.
In a study for rehabilitation of eroded Shiwaliks at Chandigarh, maximum
tomato yield was obtained through inoculation with bio-fertilizers. Applications of
vermi-compost, FYM and bio-fertilizers to the eroded soil significantly improved soil
moisture, respiration rate, phosphatse activity, beneficial microbes like azotobactor
and phosphate solublizing bacteria.
Three years mean data (2003-2005) indicated that runoff (% of rainfall) was
highest at Jogindar Nagar (28.6%) followed by Tinbed (25.6%) and Darang (16.3%)
owing to their land slops of 124%, 106% and 81%, respectively. Cut and carry system
(18% runoff) was the best compared to rotational (22.6%) and traditional (28.3%)
grazing. Trenching in combination with vegetative barrier allowed only 8.2% of rain
as runoff compared to 41.5% under control (no measure). Rainfall events of more
than 50 mm, though quite less in number contributed 47.7%, 82.3% and 81.7% to total
runoff at Darang, Joginder Nagar and Tinbed, respectively.
Rice was found to be moderate to marginally suitable in low and middle hill
areas with bunding while maize was found to be moderate to maraginally suitable in
ridge, low and mid mountains of mostly within 30-50% slope. Hand transplanting in
rice and bed planting in wheat was the best treatment combination for maximizing
rice (4.32 t ha--1); and zero till drilling in rice and conventional sowing in wheat was
the best treatment combination for maximizing wheat (3.57 t ha-1) yield at Raipur.
In hilly soils of Uttranchal, deficiency of S was more wide spread in the soils of
Chamba ADB as compared to those of Fakot ADB; the magnitude being 45.0 and 31
percent, respectively.
At Bhubaneshwar, four field crops (ragi, groundnut, sesame and black gram)
were grown in the alleys (8 m wide) of two fast growing timber trees (Acacia mangium
and Gmelina arborea at 625 trees/ha.). Crops yield in terms of ragi equivalent yield
was highest in groundnut followed by sesame. In Guava based agri-hortisilvi, the
highest mean fruit yield of guava was obtained in association with Dalbergia sissoo
(3.4 t/ha). The net return (Rs. 8136/-) as well as B: C ratio (2.25) were highest for
seasmum in association with Dalbergia sissoo.
At Jabalpur, in guava and paddy-based system significantly higher rice grain
yield (1.93 t ha-1) was recorded in 25% higher seed rate and fertilizer dose whereas
lowest yield (1.1. t ha-1) was recorded in normal doses of seed rate and showed more
than 90% survival and attained 6 m highest and 7.6 cm DBH within three years of its
planting. Under this system, turmeric was successfully intercropped and a yield of
7./6 q/ha was realized.
At Jhargram (W. Bengal), bottle gourd grown as intercrop in Gmelina arborea +
Sweet orange and G. arborea + Guuava - based agroforestry system gave maximum
return (Rs. 74,150 and Rs. 73,480/ha/year respectively during 2nd year of
experimentation.
104 India 2008
Effective control of Parthenium hysterophorus in grassland at Palampur was
achieved with metsulfuron methyl 0.0905 per cent, metributzin 0.5 per cent,
glyphosate 0.5 per cent 2,4-DEE 0.3 per cent and atrazine 0.3% when applied at 2-3
leaf stage of weed and recorded higher herbage yield.
In upland rice at jorhat pretilachlor 0.75 kg/ha + safener was found effective in
reducing the weed growth and increasing the grain yield and was at par with the
treatment where cowpea was grown as intercrop along with application of butachlor
1.0 kg/ha.
In direct seeded rice, cowpea grown as intercropping in additive series and
harvested at 30 DAS followed by working with grubber at 40 DAS was found effective
for control of weeds and realizing higher yield. State seed bed along with grubber at
20-25 DAS was also effective for control of weeds.
In rice-rice sequence, application of pretilachlor 0.75 kg ha-1 was found effective
for control of weeds in autumn rice. In succeeding winter rice, narrow spacing (15 cm
x 15 cm) followed by one hand weeding was equally effective with buttachlor 1.25 kg
ha-1 + almix 4g ha-1.
(4) Agricultural Engineering
A number of agricultural implements such as, lug wheel puddler, inclined plate
planter, garlic planter, tractor drawn ridger seeder/raised bed planter, three row
rotary weeder, air sleeveboom sprayer, flail type chopper cum spreader, flail type
forage harvester-cum chopper etc. have been developed as tractor operated machinery.
Under power tiller-operated machinery, air assisted seed drill, groundnut digger and
power weeder have been fabricated. In case of self-propelled machinery, self propelled
biasi cultivator, mini combine, 8-row paddy transplanter, high clearance sprayer and
vertical conveyor reaper have been developed. Under animal drawn machinery, raised
bed planter, bullock drawn-sprayer, tool carrier etc. have been developed. Ergonomic
studies w.r.t. layout of tractor operator’s workplace have been carried out. The tractor
seat has been designed based on the enthropometric data collected of about 5500
male agricultural workers.
Optimisation of process parameters for hulling of pigeonpea, cleaner-cumgrader
for light seeds, curry leaf stripper, model for prediction of maturity of mango
on tree, process technology for making aonla beverage, sunflower kernel based
confectionery products, process technologies for value added products from
pomegranate, technology for soy-millet biscuits, guava leather/bar, fish container
mounted on cycle rickshaw hand operated aonla pricking machine and seed pelletiser
are significant achievements in post-harvest engineering technology.
Improved cotton saw gin, low cost silver making machine, pilot plant for particle
board from cotton plant stalks, value-added textile from sunhemp fibres, warm fabric
(shaw) using bulked yarn made from jute polyter blends, small scale processing unit,
pilot plant for lac have also been developed.
A family size floating done type biogas plant for solid-state digestion of cattle
dung has been designed. Technology for enrichment of biogas digested slurry,
annerobic digestion of crop residues, biodiesel production and jute caddies briquettes
as an alternative fuel has been developed.
(5) Animal Sciences
India has a large livestock and poultry wealth comprising about 485 million livestock
that includes 185 million cattle, 98 million buffaloes, 62 million sheep, 124 million
Agriculture 105
goats, 14 million pigs and 489 million poultry. Some of the major achievements
including activities in hill and tribal areas are detailed below.
Based on the structure of cattle population in the Gaushalas, a new model, was
developed for conservation of cattle in Gaushalas. Four Gaushalas have implemented
the model by separating out the best cows in their herd and permitting controlled
breeding by bulls of the same breed.
The synthetic breed development programme through cross breeding continued
during the current year also. A total of five hundred sixty six (566) male calves were
produced through elite mating at 22 military Farms in different years and were sent
to Bull rearing Unit (BRU), Meerut for rearing and future bull production. Presently,
Project Directorate on Cattle has 305 doses of pure HF semen and 4,08,179 doses of
Frieswal semen in the gene bank.
129 genetically superior Murrah breeding bulls have so far been selected from
various centres of the Project on Murrah breed and their semen was frozen for progeny
testing programme. At present 4,88,555 doses of frozen semen from genetically superior
bulls are in stock. :Elite herds of Nili-ravi, Surti, jaffarabadi, Bhadawari, Pandharpuri,
Godavari and swamp buffaloes have been established.
Genetic improvement of Jamunapari and Barbari goats is being carried out
through selective breeding in the nucleus flock. Use of bucks selected on the basis of
index value combining 9 month body weight and 90 day’s milk yield of the dam
indicated improvement in both milk yield and body weight.
Besides improving indigenous sheep through selection, improved breeds/
strains like Bharat Merino, Avikalin and GaroleX Malpura were developed for
enhanced meat production.
Genetical stability in terms of litter size at birth through inter se mating in 50%
Hampshire (11th generation) and 75% Hampshire (10th generation) was recorded to
be 6.67 and 6.91 respectively in the 1st crop and 8.69 and 8.1 respectively in 2nd crop
i.e. from the tried sows in eight states. A survey on pig production status in North
Eastern hill region was also carried out.
Breeding and production of German Angora rabbit for wool and New Zealand
White (NZW), White Giant (WG), Grey Giant (GG), Soviet Chinchilla (SC), Dutch and
Black Brown (BB) for broiler purposes were taken up in sub-temperate region of
Himalayan hills to support small farmers' income.
In order to address the issue of developing suitable poultry birds for backyard
rearing, ICAR has developed two breeds - Vanaraja for dual purpose and Gramapriya
for egg type with a record production of 165 eggs against 65 eggs per annum from
indigenous birds. Several backyard units were established at farmers field in the hill
states of north east India.
Modulation of Prolactin hormone in blood using active immunizing agent like
Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP) has shown to reduce the number of pause days in
White Leghorn birds leading to increased egg production upto 4%.
The production and reproductive performance of cattle and buffaloes and their
disease resistance ability was enhanced by supplementing area specific mineral
mixture. Trials showed significant increase in growth rate and milk production of
cattle and buffaloes to the extent of 20-30%.
Feeding total mixed ration to mithum (Bos frontalis) incorporating perennial
tree leaves like Ficus hirta and herb like Borrena hirticulata up to 30 percent of total
106 India 2008
mixed ration showed no adverse effects on nutrient utilization and growth
performance, and therefore, recommended for stall fed Mithuns. Feed blocks were
prepared at NRC on Mithun, Nagaland by incorporating urea treated paddy straw
and concentrate mixture at 70:30 ratio. Feeding of these blocks showed better growth
rate, nutrient utilization and nitrogen retention.
Considering dwindling yak population and also the need for larger number of
yaks for the highlanders, embryo transfer technology in yak was tried for the first
time with success.
In order to ensure faster diagnosis of important diseases, nucleic acid based
discase diagnostic techniques developed and applied besides monitoring the seroprevalence
from infectious diseases of economic importance. Avian influenza in birds
in the country as a whole was investigated and controlled successfully through use
of diagnostics and vaccines developed at High Security Animal Disease Lab, Bhopal.
Parasitic disease diagnostic Kits for use by field veterinarians were developed
using real time PCR and ELISA technique.
(6) Fisheries
Fisheries represent an important and fast growing food production sector in India
that contributes more than 1% to the National GDP and 4.7% to the agricultural GDP
With an annual production of 6.57 million tonnes from marine and inland waters,
the country is the third fish producer in the world and the second largest producer of
inland fish, next only to China. Annual export earnings form fish and shellfish are
about Rs. 8,357 crore, accounting for nearly 20% of the agricultural export. Fish is a
health food that is relatively cheap and affordable to the poor.
Major technological interventions that drove this developement in the freshwater
aqaculture segment are induced breeding of major carps, catfishes and other fresh
water finfishes; fish farming technologies of carps, mahseers and snow trouts for
upland ecosystems and commercialization of fish feeds for inland aquaculture. In
recent years, genetically improved rohu with a growth enhancement up to 17% per
generation has also been developed. Through cryopreservation of sperm and eggs of
freshwater fishes, many constraints of timely availability of sperm and eggs have
been removed. Breeding of giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, using
inland saline waters, has been achieved, opening up possibilities for utilizing the
vast tracts of such water bodies existing in different parts of the country. Polymorphic
microsatellite and allozyme markers have been developed for fifteen fish species and
Macrobrachium rosenbergii and a database containing karyomorphological
information on 126 finfish species from 34 families and 9 orders is in place. In the
riverine fisheries front, stock structure of fishes was analysed using allozyme and
mircro satellite. PCR-based diagnostic capability has been developed for exotic OIE
listed pathogens and guidelines developed for introduction of aquatic Exotics and
Quarantine procedures. Seed production technology has been developed for the two
inland and three marine ornamental fishes. In resevoir fisheries, high production
levels of 220 kg/ha/year have been achieved from small reservoirs as against the
national average of 20 kg/ha/year.
In marine fisheries, breeding of sand lobster has been achieved in captivity and
Iarval rearing protocols have been developed for honey comb gruper, Epinephehus
merra. In vitro marine pearl production through tissue culture technique in Indian
pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata and abalone, Haliotis varia provides opens up new
avenues for marine pearl culture. The sea cucumber, Holothuria scabra has been bred
Agriculture 107
in captivity and its seed used for sea ranching. A database on about 2,420 finfishes
and shellfishes including of the Indian waters including 46 stocks of commercially
important ones has been created. In the coastal aquaculture segment, new methods
have been developed for detection of White Spot Disease in shrimp as also RT-PCR
technique for diction of Yellow Head Virus. Seed production technology has been
developed for kuruma shrimp, Marsupenaeus japonicus, a candidate species for
diversification. Culture of banana shrimp, Penaeus merguenis has been demonstrated
in Billamora, Gujarat. A technology package for hatchery seed production of sea bass
has been developed paving the way for it commericialization.
New designs for fuel-efficient, cost-effective and eco-friendly fishing craft and
gear are now available. National standards have been developed for quality assurance
in fishery products. Technology for producing chitin and chitosan from shrimp head
and shell has been commercialized. HACCP-based package has been developed for
the practices for quality control of fish products. Many new value-added products
have been produced from cuttlefish, squids, threadfin breams and carps including
reportable flexible pouch technology for fish products. V form otter boards, Turtle
Excluder device (TED) and square mesh cod ends are the new fishing craft and
devices developed for eco- friendly marine fishing.
(7) Agricultural Education
In Agricultural Education several new initiatives have been taken to build a strong
scientific base for research and technology transfer. Recommendations of the IV Deans
Committee addressing quality and relevance of education by reorienting course
curricula and syllabi for employability of graduates are being implemented in
agricultural universities. For quality assurance in agricultural education 14
agricultural universities have already been accredited and several others are under
the process of accreditation. With an objective of providing skill oriented hand-ontraining
to student, 138 experiential learning units have been established in 43
agricultural universities. For engendering education by encouraging women
candidates for higher agricultural education, 60 new girls’ hotels were constructed
in agricultural universities. Similarly, for global visibility of our education system, 12
new international students’ hotels were constructed and during the academic year
2007, yearly 300 students from 25 countries were admitted in various degree
programmes of agriculture and allied sciences.
For building global visibility in research and education, 28 Niche Areas of
Excellence initiated in universities in their area of attained capabilities like
competitiveness and nationalized character in various degree programmes was
achieved through All India Entrance Examination for 15 per cent seats at
undergraduates level and 25 per cent at post-graduates level in agricultural
universities. Scholarships and financial assistance was provided to students for
Rural Awareness Work Experience, Internship B.V.Sc & A.H. students, merit-cummeans
scholarship, National Talent Scholarship (undergraduate programme), junior
Research Fellowship (master’s programme) and Senior Research scientists. Nearly
150 HRD training courses of 10 days to 4 weeks duration were organized annually in
which about 300 persons participated. Basic and strategic research in agriculture is
encouraged through 25 national fellow and 10 national professional chairs. ICAR
also facilitates logical completion of work that remains in hand at the time of
superannuation of scientists by providing 50 emeritus scientists awards. Incentive
and encouragement is provided to the faculty who attain excellence in teaching
108 India 2008
through 3-5 Best Teacher Awards annually per university. Training, consultancy,
research and policy support has been provided by the National Academy of
Agricultural Research Management through induction training programme to entry
level scientists, other training programmes, off-campus programmes, workshops and
seminars.
(8) Agricultural Extension
The Council has established a network of 533 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) and
SAUs, ICAR institutes, NGOs, State Governments and other education institutions,
aiming at assessment, refinement and demonstration of technology/product. These
KVKs conducted 4109 on-farm trials in order to identify frontline demonstrations to
establish the production potentials of improved agricultural technologies on the
farmers’ fields. The KVKs organized 30672 training programmes benefiting 8.16 lakh
women, 1.59 lakh rural Youth and 0.97 lakh extension personnel on various aspects
of crop production crop protection, livestock production and management, fishery,
resource management and other related areas. The beneficiaries of KVKs from the
training programme also includes 2.27 lakh women farmers, 0.60 lakh rural girls and
0.21 lakh women extension personnel. In order to create awareness on improved
agricultural technologies, the KVKs organized a large number of extension
programmes including 41.90 lakh farmers. In addition, 8.482 newspaper coverages,
publication of 2,231 popular articles and 6,075 extension literatures, and 3,786 and/
TV talks were taken by the KVKs. The KVKs produced 87,782 quintal of seeds, 71.98
lakh saplings/seedlings of fruits, vegetables, spice, medieinal plants ornamental
plants, planation crops and forest species and 29.98 lakh livestock strains and
fingerlings for availability to farmers, besides production of bio-fertilizers, biopesticides
and bio-agents.
(9) National Agricultural Innovation Project
Under NAIP, the concept notes submitted under competitive mode are under review
and 7 projects have been approved and about 33 projects are under different stages of
advanced processing. The projects approved under research on Sustainable Rural
Livelihood Security (Component-III) cover 25 destruction the seven north eastern
states, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttranchal, Maharashtra and Andhra
Pradesh. The approved projects under Basic and Strategic Research (Component-IV)
include arsenic in food chain, fixation of heterosis and plants and genomic analysis
of cotton boll fibre.
(10) National Fund for Basic and Strategic Research
Under this scheme (of ICAR), 21 projects have been approved in the frontier areas of
agricultural sciences covering botic and abotic stress management in rice, soreghum,
pulse, oilseeds and cutton, animal improvement in buffalo, Immune response in
cattle, prolificacy in black Bengal goat, mitigation of methane emission and
productivity enhancement in dairy animals and targeted gene integation in rice and
cotton.
(11) Research for Hill and Tribal Regions
ICAR through the Vivekananda Paravatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan (VPKAS),
Almora, the ICAR Research Complex for North-Eastern Hills Regions, Umiam,
Meghalaya and the Central Agricultural Research Institutes (CARI), Portblair evolve
technologies to meet the needs of tribals and hill farmers. These technologies are
Agriculture 109
intended to improve their social-economic status and to help them acquire special
skills through vocational training in traditional and non-traditional crops, agroforestry,
apiculture, sericulture, horticulture, animal husbandry, poultry and fisheries.
During 2006, 9 varieties of different crops were released for Uttarakhand, HP,
J&K and North-Eastern Hills by VPKAS Almora. Development of water resource by
harvesting surface runoff and perennial hill streams of LDPE lined poly-tanks and
protected cultivations of off-season vegetables utilizing the harvested water have
helped farmers in Almora District. Similarly microirrgation system (MIS) helped
initilizing water efficiently in National District. VPKAS, Almora also designed a
user-friendly low cost light trap of efficient mass trapping of beetles.
A detailed digitiszed climatical as covering all growing seasons was prepared
for Meghalya by the ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region. A genotypeindependent
multiple shoot induction protocol for pigeon-pea was developed. Three
varieties of Kiwi fruit were successfully propagated. The Institute has developed
raised and sunken bed technology for increasing cropping intensity using marshy
lands. A seed drill was developed for high lope condition simple multiplex PCR for
rapid diagnosis of sex in ducks and duck embryos was developed. Captive breeding
of chocolate mahaseer was achieved using the brood stocks from Meghalya.
CARI, Portblair found five local strains of Pseudomonas species which proved
effective as bio control agents against pathogens of solanaceous vegetables. Sesbania
aculeta inter-cropping in wet seeded rice proved beneficial in The Islands. Propionate
chelated organic trace mineral supplementation improved the daily milk production
in crossbred cows. The institute identified enterprise combinations for slapping valley
and valley areas. Also, diverse fishery resources of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
were documented.
110 India 2008
5 Art and Culture
THE Ministry of Culture plays a vital role in the preservation and promotion of art
and culture. Its aim is to develop ways and means by which basic cultural and
aesthetic values and perceptions remain active and dynamic among the people. It
also undertakes programmes for the promotion of various manifestations of
contemporary art. The Department is a nodal agency for commemorating significant
events and celebrating centenaries of great artists.
VISUAL ARTS
LALIT KALA AKADEMI
To promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, both within and outside
the country, the Government of India established Lalit Kala Akademi (National
Akademi of Arts) at New Delhi in 1954. The Akademi has regional centres called
Rashtriya Lalit Kala Kendras at Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Garhi in New Delhi
and Bhubaneswar with workshop facilities in painting, sculpture, print-making and
ceramics.
Since its inception, the Akademi has been organising national exhibition of
contemporary Indian art with 15 national awards, each of Rs 50,000. Every three
years, the Akademi also organises Triennial India, an International exhibition of
contemporary art in New Delhi.
The Akademi honours eminent artists and art historians every year by electing
them as Fellows of the Akademi. To propagate Indian art outside, the Akademi
regularly participates in International Biennials and Triennials abroad and also
organises exhibitions of works of art from other countries. To foster contracts with
artists from outside, it sponsors exchange of artists with other countries under the
various Cultural Exchange Programmes and Agreements of the Government.
The Lalit Kala Akademi accords recognition to art institutions/associations
and extends financial assistance to these bodies as well as State Academies. It also
gives scholarships to deserving young artists belonging to its regional centres. Under
its publication programme, the Akademi brings out monographs on the works of
Indian contemporary artists in Hindi and English and books on contemporary,
traditional, folk and tribal arts authored by eminent writers and art critics. The
Akademi also brings out bi-annual art journals, Lalit Kala Contemporary (English),
Lalit Kala Ancient (English) and Samkaleen Kala (Hindi). Apart from these, it brings
out large size multi-colour reproductions of contemporary paintings and graphics
from time to time. The Akademi has started a regular programme on research and
documentation. Scholars are given financial assistance to undertake projects in
contemporary projects on various aspects of Indian society and culture.
PERFORMING ARTS
MUSIC
Two main schools of classical music—Hindustani and Carnatic continue to survive
through oral tradition being passed on by teachers to disciples. This has led to the
existence of family traditions called gharanas and sampradayas.
Art and Culture 111
DANCE
Dance in India has an unbroken tradition of over 2,000 years. Its themes are derived
from mythology, legends and classical literature, two main divisions being classical
and folk. Classical dance forms are based on ancient dance discipline and have
rigid rules of presentation. Important among them are Bharata Natyam, Kathakali,
Kathak, Manipuri, Kuchipudi and Odissi. Bharata Natyam though it derives its
roots from Tamil Nadu, has developed into an all India form. Kathakali is a dance
form of Kerala. Kathak is a classical dance form revitalised as a result of Mughal
influence on Indian culture. Manipur has contributed to a delicate, lyrical style of
dance called Manipuri, while Kuchipudi is a dance form owing its origin to Andhra
Pradesh. Odissi from Orissa, once practised as a temple dance, is today widely
exhibited by artistes across the country. Folk and tribal dances are of numerous
patterns.
Both classical and folk dances owe their present popularity to institutions like
Sangeet Natak Akademi and other training institutes and cultural organisations.
The Akademi gives financial assistance to cultural institutions and awards
fellowships to scholars, performers and teachers to promote advanced study and
training in different forms of dance and music, especially those which are rare.
THEATRE
Theatre in India is as old as her music and dance. Classical theatre survives only in
some places. Folk theatre can be seen in its regional variants practically in every
region. There are also professional theatres, mainly city-oriented. Besides, India has
a rich tradition of puppet theatre, prevalent forms being puppets, rod puppets,
glove puppets and leather puppets (shadow theatre). There are several semiprofessional
and amateur theatre groups involved in staging plays in Indian
languages and in English.
SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI
Sangeet Natak Akademi, India’s National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama,
may be regarded as a pioneer in the process of creation of modern India that led
politically to India’s freedom in 1947. The ephemeral quality of the arts, and the
need for their preservation led to the adapting of a democratic system in which a
common man had the opportunity to learn, practice and propagate the art. Within
the first few decades of the twentieth century, public perception of responsibility
for both preservation and development of the arts had started inclining towards
the state.
The first comprehensive public appeal to government in this direction was
made in 1945, when the Asiatic Society of Bengal submitted a proposal for the
creation of a National Cultural Trust consisting of three academies - an Academy of
Dance, Drama, and Music, an Academy of Letters, and an Academy of Art and
Architecture.
The entire question was reconsidered after independence, in a Conference on
Art held in Kolkata in 1949, and two Conferences, on Letters, and the other on
Dance, Drama, and Music, held in New Delhi in 1951. These Conferences convened
by the Government of India finally recommended the creation of three national
academies: an Academy of Dance, Drama, and Music, an Academy of Letters and
an Academy of Art.
112 India 2008
The National Academy of Dance, Drama, and Music, named Sangeet Natak
Akademi, was the first of these entities to be established by a resolution of the
Ministry of Education, headed by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, signed on 31 May
1952. On 28 January 1953, Sangeet Natak Akademi was inaugurated by the then
President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad.
The Akademi’s charter of functions contained in the 1952 resolution was
expanded along the original lines in 1961, when Sangeet Natak Akademi was
reconstituted by the Government as a society and registered under the Societies
registration Act of 1860 (as amended in 1957). These functions are set down in the
Akademi’s Memorandum of Association, adopted at its registration as a society on
11 September 1961.
Since its inception the Akademi has worked towards building up a unified
structure of support for the practice of music, dance and drama in India. This support
encompasses traditional and modern forms, and urban as well as rural environments.
The festivals of music, dance and drama presented or promoted by the Akademi
are held all over India. The great masters of the performing arts have been elected
as Fellows of the Akademi. The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards conferred annually
on eminent artists and scholars are considered the most coveted honours in the
field of the performing arts. Thousands of institutions across the country, including
many in the remote areas, engaged in teaching or promotion of music, dance and
theatre have received financial assistance for their work, from the Akademi, as do
researchers, authors and publishers in relevant disciplines.
The extensive recording and filming of the performing arts carried on by the
Akademi since its inception have resulted in a large archive of audio-and videotape,
16-mm film, photographs and transparencies, and remains the single most
important resource for researchers in the performing arts of India.
The Akademi’s Gallery of Musical Instruments has a collection of more than
600 instruments of prominence and has been the source of a great deal of published
documentation over the years. The library of Sangeet Natak Akademi has similarly
attracted, and continues to attract, authors, students and researchers in these
disciplines. Sangeet Natak, the Akademi’s journal published since 1965, had proved
to be one of the longest-running periodicals in its own domain, and has published
the original work of both eminent writers as well as those of lesser known.
The Akademi also establishes and looks after institutions and projects of
national importance in the performing arts. Chronologically, the Jawaharlal Nehru
Manipuri Dance Academy in Imphal, the premier institution in Manipuri dance
and music established in 1954, is the first of these institutions. In 1959 the Akademi
established the National School of drama and in 1964 the Kathak Kendra, both
being based in Delhi. The Akademi’s ongoing projects of national importance are in
Kutiyattam theatre of Kerala, which commenced in 1991 received recognition from
UNESCO as a Master piece of oral and intangible heritage of Humanity in 2001.
The project in Chhau dance of Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal began in 1994.
The project support to Sattriya music, dance, theatre and allied arts of Assam was
started in 2002.
As the apex body specialising in the performing arts, the Akademi also renders
advice and assistance to the Government of India in the task of formulating and
implementing policies and projects in the field. Additionally, the Akademi carries a
part of the responsibilities of the state for fostering cultural contacts between various
Art and Culture 113
regions in India, and between India and other countries. The Akademi has held
exhibitions and major festivals in foreign countries. The Akademi has held exhibition
and seminars in Hongkong, Rome, Moscow, Athens, Valladolid, Cairo and Tashkent
and Spain. Major festivals of foreign countries like Japan, Germany and Russia
have been presented by the Akademi.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi is at present an autonomous body of the Ministry
of Tourism and Culture, Government of India and is fully funded by the Government
for implementation of its schemes and programmes.
NATIONAL SCHOOL OF DRAMA
The National School of Drama (NSD) - one of the foremost theatre institutions in
the world and the only one of its kind in India was set up by Sangeet Natak Akademi
in 1959. Later in 1975, it became an autonomous organisation, totally financed by
Department of Culture. The objective of NSD is to train students in all aspects of
theatre, including theatre history, production, scene design, costume design, lighting,
make-up, etc. The training course at NSD Art and Culture is of three years duration.
Each year, 20 students are admitted to the course. The eligible applicants for
admission to the course are screened through two stages. The Diploma of NSD is
recognised by the Association of Indian Universities as equivalent to M.A. Degree
for appointment as teachers in colleges/universities and for purposes of registration
for Ph.D.
The School has a performing wing, a Repertory Company which was set up in
1964 with the dual purpose of establishing professional theatre on one hand and
continuing with the regular experimental work on the other. The NSD has made a
significant contribution in promoting children’s theatre. The Theatre-in-Education
Company (renamed as Sanskar Rang Toli) was founded in 1989 and has been actively
involved in production of plays for children, organising summer theatre workshops
in the schools of Delhi and also promoting children’s theatre through Saturday Club.
Since 1998, the School has organised National Theatre Festival for Children
christened ‘Jashne Bachpan’ every year. The first ever National Theatre Festival
christened Bharat Rang Mahotsav was held from 18 March to 14 April 1999 to
commemorate the 50th year of India’s Independence. Encouraged by the success of
the first Bharat Rang Mahotsav, it has been made an annual feature.
To reach a vast majority of theatre artists in various states with diverse
languages and cultural backgrounds, who cannot have access to the regular training
course provided by the School, a short-term teaching and training programme titled
‘Extention Programme’ was started in 1978. Under this programme, the School
organises workshops in collaboration with the local theatre groups/ artists and
these programmes are invariably held in the local languages. The workshops could
be broadly divided under three categories, Production Oriented Workshops,
Production Oriented Children Workshops and Teaching and Training Programme
in Theatre. The School has also set up a Regional Research Centre at Bangalore to
cater to the theatrical needs of the four Southern States and Pondicherry.
Another important activity of the School is the publication of textbooks on
theatre and arrange the translation of important books on theatre from English into
Hindi.
SAHITYA AKADEMI
Sahitya Akademi is the Indian National Academy of Letters meant to promote the
114 India 2008
cause of Indian literature through publications, translations, seminars, workshops,
cultural exchange programmes and literary meets organised all over the country.
The Akademi was founded in March 1954 as an autonomous body fully funded by
the Department of Culture. It was registered as a Society in 1956 under the Societies
Registration Act, 1860. The Akademi has recognised 24 languages. It has an Advisory
Board for each of the languages that suggests various programmes and publications
in the concerned languages. There are four Regional Boards to promote regional
interaction among the languages of the North, West, East and South. Besides its
Head Office in New Delhi, it has four offices : in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and
Chennai. The Akademi has two Translation Centres at Bangalore and Kolkata,
besides a Project Office at Shillong for promotion of oral and tribal literature and an
Archives of Indian literature in Delhi. It maintains a unique multilingual library in
New Delhi and at its regional offices at Bangalore and Kokata, having about 1.5
lakh books in over 25 languages.
The highest honour conferred by the Akademi on a writer is by electing him
its Fellow. This honour is reserved for the ‘Immortals of Literature’ and limited to
21 at any given time. So far 66 writers have been elected Fellows of the Sahitya
Akademi. It has so far recognised 850 authors and 283 translators with its Awards
and Translation Prizes for distinguished contribution to literature, and given 31
Bhasha Sammans, awards meant to promote peripheral languages and Honorary
Fellowships for foreign scholars who have done significant work in Indian literature.
The Akademi publishes books in 24 languages including translations of Awardwinning
works, monographs on the great pioneers of Indian literature, histories of
literature, Indian and foreign classics in translation, anthologies of fiction, poetry
and prose, biographies, Register of Translators, Who’s Who of Indian Writers,
National Bibliography of Indian Literature and Encyclopedia of Indian Literature.
So far, the Akademi has published over 4,000 books in these different categories. It
has three journals, Indian Literature (bi-monthly in English), Samkaleena Bharatiya
Sahitya (bi-monthly in Hindi) and Samskrita Pratibha (half-yearly in Sanskrit). Every
year the Akademi publishes 250-300 books on an average. It has certain special
projects like the Ancient Indian Literature, Medieval Indian Literature and Modern
Indian Literature together constituting ten volumes of the best of Indian writing
over five millennia. It has also launched a new project Encyclopedia of Indian Poetics.
Sahitya Akademi holds a number of regional, national and international
seminars every year on various topics in literature, literary history and aesthetics.
The Akademi also regularly holds Translation Workshops.
The Akademi holds an annual week-long ‘Festival of Letters’, usually in
February with Award-giving ceremony, Samvatsar Lecture and a National Seminar.
The Akademi also introduced a new series of programmes entitled Sur Sahitya as
part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2004-05.
SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP DIVISION
The Scholarship and Fellowship Division operates four schemes to provide monetary
assistance to individuals engaged in promoting cultural activities in the country.
Scholarships to Young Artistes in different Cultural Fields : The Scholarships
are awarded to young artistes in the fields of Indian Classical dances, Indian Classical
Music, Theatre, Visual Arts and Folk, Traditional forms of Arts, etc. Under the
Scheme, a total of 400 scholarships are awarded each year for a period of two years.
The value of Scholarships is Rs. 2000 per month.
Art and Culture 115
Artistes in the age group of 18-25 years are eligible to apply. The scholarships
are awarded for taking advance training.
Fellowships to Outstanding Artistes in the fields of Performing, Literary and
Visual Arts : Fellowships are awarded to the outstanding Artistes in the fields of
Indian Classical Dances, Indian Classical Music, Theatre, Visual Arts, Folk,
Traditional forms of Performing Arts and Literature. A total of 170 fellowships are
awarded for a period of two years; out of this 85 are Senior fellowships having a
value of Rs. 12000 per month and 85 are Junior fellowships having a value of Rs.
6000 per month. Artistes in the age bracket of 41 years and above are eligible to
apply for Senior fellowship and artistes from 25-40 years of age can apply for Junior
fellowships. The applicants who are employed in the Central Government/
Undertakings/Government Organisations/UGC aided Colleges, etc., will be
required to take study leave or any other kind of leave for a period of two years, if
selected.
The Fellowships are awarded for undertaking research oriented projects. While
both the academic research and performance related research are encouraged, the
applicant is required to provide evidence of his/her capabilities in undertaking the
project. The fellowships are not intended for providing training, conducting
workshops, seminars or writing autobiographies/fictions, etc.
Award of Senior/Junior Fellowships in New Areas related to Culture :
Fellowships are awarded in the fields of Indology, Epigraphy, Sociology of Culture,
Cultural Economics, Structural and Engineering aspects of monuments,
Numismatics, Scientific and Technical aspects of Conservation, Management aspects
of Art and Heritage and Studies relating to application of Science and Technology
in areas related to culture and creativity. A total of 19 fellowships are awarded each
year; 11 Senior and 8 Junior. Post-graduates in the relevant field and in the age
group of 41 years and above are eligible for Senior fellowships and eligibility age is
25-40 years for Junior Fellowships. The value of fellowships is Rs. 12000 per month
and Rs. 6000 per month respectively.
The Senior and Junior fellowships are awarded for undertaking projects in
the new areas with the objective to encourage application of modern ideas, principles,
methodology and technology to art and culture related issues. The objective is to
encourage analytical application of new research techniques, technologies and
modern management principles to contemporary issues and problems in the art
and culture related areas.
Scheme of Financial Assistance for Research Support to Voluntary Organisations
Engaged in Cultural Activities : The scheme covers voluntary organisations which
are engaged in cultural activities and are doing research in different aspects of Indian
Culture as related to its traditions and philosophy, etc. They should have been
functioning for at least three years and registered under the Societies Registration
Act (XXI of 1860). Financial assistance is given for the following purposes : (a)
Holding of conference, seminars and symposia on important cultural matters. (b)
To meet expenditure on activities of development nature like conduct of surveys,
pilot project, etc.
Grants for specific projects shall be restricted to 75 per cent of the expenditure,
subject to a maximum of Rs. one lakh per project as recommended by the Expert
Committee.
116 India 2008
In the year 2004-05, 176 proposals were selected by the Expert Committee for
financial assistance for research work to voluntary organisations.
RAMAKRISHNA MISSION INSTITUTE OF CULTURE, KOLKATA
The Institute was conceived in 1936 as one of the permanent memorials to Sri
Ramakrishna (1836-1886) on the occasion of his first birth centenary. It was formally
established on 29 January 1938 as a branch centre of the Ramakrishna Mission
founded by Swami Vivekananda to propagate the message of Vedanta as
propounded by Sri Ramakrishna whose basic teachings stressed: (i) the equality of
all religions; (ii) the potential divinity of man; and (iii) service to man as a way of
worshipping God - a new religion for mankind.
Dedicated to promote the ideal of the unity of mankind the Institute has
endeavoured over the years to make people aware of the richness of the cultures of
the World and also of the urgent need for inter-cultural appreciation, understanding
and acceptance of each other’s points of view - an approach which is conducive to
international understanding at the global level and national integration at home.
The key note of everything the Institute does is thus respect for others point of view
and its assimilation and acceptance for one’s own enrichment.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA
The Anthropological Survey of India is a premier research organisation under the
Ministry of Culture. It has completed 59 years of its splendorous existence and has
adhered itself to its commitments to carry out anthropological researches in the
area of bio-cultural aspects of Indian population in general and on those who are
referred to as the ‘‘Weakest of the Weak’’ in particular. Besides this there are other
pertinent activities of the Survey, which include collection, preservation,
maintenance; documentation and study of ethnographic materials as well as ancient
human skeletal remains. Over the years the Survey generated information from
grass-root level through sustained research by its Head Office at Kolkata and also
its seven Regional Centres, one Sub-regional Centre, one permanent field station
and eight other field stations located in various parts of the country, besides a Camp
Office at New Delhi.
During the Tenth Plan following National Projects are being studied namely,
Cultural Dimension of Tourism in the Biosphere Reserve in addition to the locations
of tourists interest.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was established in 1861. It functions as an
attached office of the Department of Culture. The organisation is headed by the
Director General.
The major activities of the Archaeological Survey of India are :
i) Survey of archaeological remains and excavations;
ii) Maintenance and conservation of centrally protected monuments sites and
remains;
iii) Chemical preservation of monuments and antiquarian remains;
iv) Architectural survey of monuments;
v) Development of epigraphical research and numismatic studies;
Art and Culture 117
vi) Setting up and re-organisation of site museums;
vii) Expedition abroad;
viii) Training in Archaeology;
ix) Publication of technical report and research works.
There are 21 Circles and 3 Mini-Circles through which the Archaeological
Survey of India administer the work of preservation and conservation of monuments
under its protection.
Under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act,
1958, the ASI has declared three thousand six hundred and fifty six monuments/
sites to be of national importance in the country which includes twenty one properties
that are inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO. Since its establishment
one hundred and forty four years ago, the ASI has grown into a large organisation
with an all India network of offices, branches and circles.
Three sites, namely, Champaner - Pavagarh Archaeological Park in Gujarat,
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Teminus) Station in Mumbai and
the Brihadisvara temple complex, Gangakondacholapuram and the Airavatesvaira
temple complex, Darasuram as an extension to the Brihadisvara temple complex,
Thanjavur (now commonly called as the Great Living Chola Temples) have been
inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO in 2004.
Nomination dossiers for the following sites have been sent to the World
Heritage Centre for inscription on the World Heritage List of UNESCO : (i) Shri
Harminder Sahib (Golden Temple) at Amritsar, Punjab. (ii) Majuli Island in Midstream
of river Brahmaputra in Assam. (iii) Valley of Flowers as an extension to the
Nanda Devi National Park in Uttaranchal. (iv) Red Fort, Delhi (a deferred
nomination).
The total number of individual structures being maintained by the ASI is over
five thousand.
Underwater Archaeology Wing : Search, study and preservation of cultural
heritage lying submerged in inland or territorial waters are among the principal
functions of the Underwater Archaeology Wing. It carries out exploration and
excavation in Arabian Sea as well as in Bay of Bengal.
Science Branch : The Science Branch of the Survey with its headquarters at Dehradun
and field laboratories in different parts of the country carries out chemical
preservation of monuments, antiquities, manuscripts, paintings, etc.
Laboratories of Science Branch at Dehradun have undertaken the following
Scientific Projects : (1) Evaluation of new materials as preservative coatings and
strengthened for stone, terracotta, bricks & adobe structures. (2) Scientific studies
related to conservation of ancient lime plaster. (3) Evaluation of physical
characteristics of plaster cement with addition of rapid hardening plaster cement in
different proportions.
Horticulture Branch : The Horticulture Branch of the ASI maintains gardens in
about two hundred and eighty seven centrally protected monuments/sites located
in different parts of the country. The branch provides periodic plants to be used in
gardens by developing base nurseries at Delhi, Agra, Srirangapatna and
Bhubaneswar.
Epigraphy Branch : The Epigraphy Branch at Mysore carries out research work in
118 India 2008
Sanskrit and Dravidian languages while the one at Nagpur carries out research
work in Arabic and Persian.
Expeditions Abroad : The ASI has taken up the conservation project of Ta Prohm,
Cambodia under the ITEC programme of Ministry of External Affairs with an outlay
of Rs. 19.51 crore. The conservation project has been started as per the assurance of
the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, during his visits to Cambodia in April and
November 2002, on the request of the Royal Government of Cambodia for India’s
assistance in Conservation and Restoration of Prasat Ta Prohm. The conservation
project is for a period of ten years and is to be completed in five phases.
The ASI has commenced the conservation project from January 2004 onwards
and it was formally launched in February 2004 in Cambodia.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF INDIA
The National Archives of India (NAI), New Delhi known until Independence as
Imperial Record Department was originally established in Kolkata on 11 March
1891. It is the official custodian of all non-current record of permanent value to the
Government of India and its predecessor bodies. It has a Regional Office at Bhopal
and three Record Centres at Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Pondicherry.
Major activities of the Archives include: (1) making public records accessible
to various Government agencies and research scholars; (ii) preparation of reference
media; (iii) preservation and maintenance of records and conducting of scientific
investigations for the said purpose; (iv) evolving records management programmes;
(v) rendering technical assistance to individuals and institutions in the field of
conservation of records; (vi) imparting training in the field of archives administration,
records management, reprography, repair and conservation of records, books and
manuscripts at professional and sub-professional levels; and (vii) creation and
promotion of archival consciousness in the country by organising thematic
exhibitions.
The National Archives of India provides financial assistance to States/Union
Territories Archives, Voluntary Organisations and other custodial institutions, so
that the documentary heritage is preserved and archival science is promoted.
NATIONAL MISSION FOR MANUSCRIPTS
The National Mission for Manuscripts was launched in February, 2003 by the
Ministry of Culture to save the most valuable of our cultural inheritance, i.e.,
manuscripts. An ambitious five year Project, the Mission seeks not merely to locate
catalogue and preserve India’s manuscripts but also to enhance access, spread
awareness and encourage their use for educational purposes. The Web Site of
National Mission for Manuscripts is www.namami.nic.in.
NATIONAL MUSEUM
The National Museum, which was set up in 1949 and which has been functioning
as a subordinate office under the Ministry of Culture since 1960, houses over 2.6
lakh art objects dating from prehistoric era onwards. The main activities of the
Museum are as follows: Exhibitions, Reorganisation/Modernisation of Galleries,
Educational Activities and Outreach Programmes, Public Relations, Publications,
Photo Documentation, Summer Holiday Programme, Memorial Lectures, Museum
Corner, Photo Unit, Modelling Unit, Library, Conservation Laboratory, and Teaching
and Workshop.
Art and Culture 119
NATIONAL MUSEUM INSTITUTE OF HISTORY OF ART, CONSERVATION
AND MUSEOLOGY
The National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology,
New Delhi, an autonomous organisation fully funded by the Ministry of Culture
was established and declared a Deemed to be University in 1989. This is the only
Museum University in India and is presently functioning at the first floor of National
Museum, New Delhi. As per its Memorandum of Association, the Director General,
National Museum is the ex-officio Vice-Chancellor of this University.
Main objectives : (a) To provide education and training in the specialised areas of
Art History, Conservation and Museology leading to the award of M.A. and Ph.D.
Degrees in these three disciplines. (b) A few short-term courses - India Art and
culture, Art Appreciation and Bhartiya Kalanidhi (Hindi Medium) are also
conducted to popularise the Indian culture. (c) To organise seminars/workshops,
conferences and special lectures on Museum Education, Art and Culture in a befitting
manner so as to open new areas in this field.
NATIONAL LIBRARY
The National Library, Kolkata was established in 1948 with the passing of the
imperial Library (Change of Name) Act, 1948. The basis functions of the Library,
which enjoys the status of an institution of national importance, are : (i) Acquisition
and conservation of all significant production of printed material (to the exclusion
only of ephemera) as well as of manuscripts of national importance; (ii) Collection
of printed material concerning the country, no matter where this is published; (iii)
Rendering of bibliographical and documentary services of current and retrospective
material, both general and specialised. (This implies the responsibility to produce
current national bibliographies and retrospective bibliographies on various aspects
of the country); (iv) Acting as referral centre, purveying full and accurate knowledge
of all sources of bibliographical information and participation in international
bibliographical activities; and (v) Acting as a centre for international book exchange
and internal loan.
CENTRAL SECRETARIAT LIBRARY
The Central Secretariat Library (CSL) originally known as Imperial Secretariat
Library, Kolkata was established in 1891. Since 1969 the Library has been housed at
Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi. It has a collection of over seven lakh documents mainly
on Social Sciences and Humanities. It is a depository of Indian Official Documents,
Central Government and has a strong collection of State Government documents
also.
The collection of Area Studies Division is unique in which books have been
arranged according to geographical area. Besides this, its biographical collection is
very large and has an extremely rich rare book collection.
The CSL is a Microfilm repository under Microfilming of Indian Publication
Project (MIPP) having large number of microfilm collection.
The CSL is mainly responsible for overall collection and development on all
subjects useful in policy decision-making process and is also responsible to build
its collection on developmental literature. It provides all possible readers' services
to Central Government Officials and other research scholars visiting the Library
from all over India. In the recent past CSL has undertaken the development of IT
120 India 2008
based products by digitizing the Government of India Gazette, Committee and
Commission Reports and has also developed the OPAC system for its collection.
The Library has two branches, namely, Hindi and Regional Languages Wing
popularly known as Tulsi Sadan Library, Bahawalpur House, New Delhi that houses
about 1.9 lakh volumes of Hindi and 13 other constitutionally approved Indian
Regional Language books and a Text Book Library located at R.K. Puram, New
Delhi which caters to the needs of wards of Central Government Employees of
Under Graduate level.
The CSL has recently launched, a portal “India Information Gateway” and its
Web Site http://www.csl.nic.in was inaugurated by Secretary, Ministry of Culture
on 21 March 2005.
CENTRE FOR CULTURAL RESOURCES AND TRAINING
The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) is one of the premier
institutions working in the field of linking education with culture. The Centre was
set up in May 1979 as an autonomous organisation by the Government of India.
Today it operates under the administrative control of Ministry of Culture,
Government of India. With headquarters in New Delhi, it has two regional centres
at Udaipur and Hyderabad.
The broad objectives of CCRT have been to revitalise the education system by
creating an understanding and awareness among students about the plurality of
the regional cultures of India and integrating this knowledge with education. The
main thrust is on linking education with culture and making students aware of the
importance of culture in all development programmes. One of the CCRT’s main
functions is to conduct a variety of training programmes for in-service teachers
drawn from all parts of the country. The training provides an understanding and
appreciation of the philosophy, aesthetics and beauty inherent in Indian art and
culture and focuses on formulating methodologies for incorporating a culture
component, in curriculum teaching. This training also stresses the role of culture in
science and technology, housing, agriculture, sports, etc. An important component
of training is to create awareness amongst students and teachers of their role in
solving environmental pollution problems and conservation and preservation of
the natural and cultural heritage. To fulfill these objectives, the Centre organises
variety of training programmes for teachers, educators, administrators and students
throughout the country.
The CCRT organises academic programmes on Indian art and culture for
foreign teachers and students on special request. Workshops are conducted in various
art activities like drama, music, narrative art forms, etc., to provide practical training
and knowledge in the arts and crafts. In these workshops, teachers are encouraged
to develop programmes in which the art form can be profitably utilised to teach
educational curriculum.
The CCRT organises various educational activities for school students, teachers
and children belonging to governmental and non-governmental organisations under
its extension and community feedback programmes which includes educational
tours to monuments, museums, art galleries, craft centres, zoological parks and
gardens, camps on conservation of natural and cultural heritage, camps on learning
crafts using low cost locally available resources, lectures and demonstrations by
artists and experts on various art forms, demonstrations by artists and craft persons
Art and Culture 121
in schools. These educational activities emphasise the need for the intellectual and
aesthetic development of the students.
Over the years, CCRT has been collecting resources in the form of scripts,
colour slides, photographs, audio and video recordings and films. Each year the
CCRT’s documentation team conducts programmes in different parts of the country
with the objective of reviving and encouraging the art and craft forms of rural India.
The Centre also prepares publications, which attempt at providing an understanding
and appreciation of different aspects of Indian art and culture.
One of the most important functions of CCRT is to implement the Cultural
Talent Search Scholarship Scheme, which was taken over from the Department of
Culture in 1982. The scheme provides scholarships to outstanding children in the
age group of 10 to 14 years, studying either in recognised schools or belonging to
families practicing traditional performing or other arts to develop their talent in
various cultural fields particularly in rare art forms. The scholarships continue till
the age of 20 years or the first year of a University degree. About 350 scholarships
are offered every year.
The Centre has instituted CCRT Teachers Award which is given every year to
selected teachers for the outstanding work done by them in the field of education
and culture. The Award carries with it a citation, a plaque, an angavastram and a
cash prize of Rs 10,000.
ZONAL CULTURAL CENTRES
Zonal Cultural Centres have been conceptualised with the aim of projecting cultural
kinship which transcend territorial boundaries. The idea is to arouse awareness of
the local cultures and to show how these merge into zonal identities and eventually
into the rich diversity of India’s composite culture. These centres have already
established themselves as a premier agency in the field of promotion, preservation
and dissemination of culture in the entire country. They are not only promoting
performing arts but also making a significant contribution in the associated field of
literary and visual arts. The seven zonal cultural centres were established under
this scheme during 1985-86 at Patiala, Kolkata, Thanjavur, Udaipur, Allahabad,
Dimapur and Nagpur. The participation of states in more than one zonal cultural
centre according to their cultural linkage is a special feature of the composition of
the zonal centres. With the approval of the Cabinet a Corpus fund for each ZCC
was created by Government of India and the participating State Governments to
enable the ZCCs to finance their activities from the interest earned on the investment
of this Corpus Fund. The Government of India has provided a grant of Rs five crore
to each ZCC and each constituent state has been provided Rs one crore. In the event
of a State being a member of more than one centre, the State’s contribution would
not exceed Rs one crore in all. From 1993 all the Zonal Cultural Centres have been
sending their folk artistes for participation in the Republic Day Folk Dance Festival.
This festival is inaugurated by the Hon’ble President of India every year on 24th/
25th January at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium. The Festival provides a unique
opportunity for folk artistes to perform at the national level. A Crafts Fair is also
held in the various zones along with the Republic Day Folk Dance Festival. Master
craftsmen and artisans from various ZCCs participate in this Crafts Fair. The Crafts
Fair has been providing a valuable opportunity for crafts persons from different
parts of India to exhibit their products as well as their process of manufacturing
directly to the customers. Documentation of various Folk and Tribal Art forms
122 India 2008
especially those which are rare and on the verge of vanishing, is one of the main
thrust areas of the ZCCs. Under the National Cultural Exchange Programme (NCEP),
exchanges of artists, musicologists, performers and scholars between different region
within the country take place. It has been extremely useful in promoting awareness
of different tribal/folk art forms in different parts of the country and thus a very
useful expressions of the concept of unity within diversity of our country. A scheme
of Theatre Rejuvenation has been started to provide an opportunity to students,
actors. artists, directors and writers to perform on a common platform and to interact
with each other. To promote new talents in the field of music and dance a scheme of
Guru Shishya Parampara has been introduced where masters will be identified in
the zone, pupil assigned to them and scholarship provided for the purpose. The
ZCCs also provide promotion and marketing facilities to craftsmen through
Shilpgrams. ZCCs have also started a new scheme for recognition and
encouragement of young talents in which each ZCC will identify the different
performing/folk art forms in their area and select one or two talented artists in
each of the fields.
NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART
The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi was founded in 1954.
The main aim of the NGMA is the promotion and development of contemporary
Indian Art. The collection of NGMA inter-alia comprises 17858 works of art,
representing about 1748 contemporary Indian artists. The collection has been built
up mainly by purchase and also by gift. The NGMA’s important collections include
paintings, sculpture, graphic arts and photographs. NGMA organises exhibitions
from its collection and under Cultural Exchange Programme periodically. Several
colour reproductions have been brought out. The objective of NGMA is to help
people look at the works of modern art with understanding and sensitivity. Keeping
this in view, NGMA Mumbai was inaugurated in 1996, while a new one is being set
up at Bangalore.
INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE ARTS
The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) is a premier national
institution engaged in the pursuit of knowledge on arts and culture and in the
exploration of relationships of arts and culture with various disciplines of learning
and diverse aspects of life. Established in 1985 in the memory of the Late Prime
Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi, it is involved in multifarious activities such as research,
publication, training, documentation, dissemination and networking and is poised
to grow into a large repository of information pertaining to the arts in India. The
IGNCA seeks to place the arts within the natural environment by providing a forum
for creative and critical dialogue between the diverse arts, between the arts and
sciences, between arts and the traditional and current knowledge systems. The
IGNCA promotes interaction and understanding between diverse communities,
regions, social strata, and between India and other parts of the world.
The IGNCA has been designated as a nodal agency for setting up a National
Data Bank on Arts, Humanities and Cultural Heritage. It has an outstanding
reference library, documented material including audio/video material,
manuscripts, slides, photographs and artifacts. A major initiative is a Cultural
Informatics Lab (CIL), which employs an integrated methodology to develop
applications to access diverse media on all fields relating to arts through multimedia
and digital technology. Broadly, the major activities of CIL can be classified under
Art and Culture 123
three categories of digitization, web-enabled digital library and CRDROM/
DVDROM project.
NATIONAL RESEARCH LABORATORY FOR CONSERVATION OF
CULTURAL PROPERTY
The National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property (NRLC),
which was established in 1976, is a Subordinate Office of the Department of Culture,
and is recognised by the Department of Science and Technology as a scientific
institution of the Government of India. The aims and objectives of the NRLC are to
develop conservation of cultural property in the country. To meet its objectives,
NRLC provides conservation services and technical advice in matters concerning
conservation to museums, archives, archaeology departments and other similar
institutions, imparts training in different aspects of conservation, carries out research
in methods and materials of conservation, disseminates knowledge in conservation
and provides library services to conservators of the country. The headquarters of
NRLC is situated at Lucknow, and to further the cause of conservation in the southern
region of the country, a regional centre of the NRLC, the Regional Conservation
Laboratory is functioning at Mysore. For more information visit NRLC at http://
www.nrlccp.org.
124 India 2008
6 Basic Economic Data
THE Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation consists of two wings
namely : Statistics Wing and Programme Implementation Wing. The Ministry is the
apex body in the official statistical system of the country. It is the authority that
control the Indian Statistical Service (ISS) and Subordinate Statistical Service (SSS).
It is also the Administrative Ministry for the Indian Statistical Institute, an autonomous
registered scientific society of national importance. The Ministry includes,
inter-alia, the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) and the National Sample Survey
Organisation (NSSO).
CENTRAL STATISTICAL ORGANISATION
The Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) located in Delhi with a wing at Kolkata,
is responsible for formulation and maintenance of statistical standards, work
pertaining to national accounts, industrial statistics, consumer price indices for urban
non-manual employees, conduct of economic census and surveys, training in official
statistics, coordination of statistical activities undertaken within the country and
liaising with international agencies in statistical matters.
NATIONAL AND PER CAPITA INCOME
National Income is defined as the sum of incomes accruing to factors of production,
supplied by normal residents of the country before deduction of direct taxes. It is
identically equal to the net national product at Factor Cost. Table 6.1 gives National
and Per Capita Income at Factor Cost at current and 1999-00 prices, while table 6.2
gives the relationship of national income and other aggregates at current prices.
Table 6.3 gives the performance of the public sector and table 6.4 gives private final
consumption expenditure, net domestic saving and capital formation.
CATEGORIES OF WORKERS
For the 2001 census, the population was divided into main workers, marginal
workers, and non-workers. The table 6.5 shows total workers sub-divided into main
workers and marginal workers and distribution of total workers in four broad
categories in rural and urban areas as on 1 March 2001. Employment in the organised
sector has been shown in table 6.6.
UNEMPLOYMENT
The number of persons on the live register of the employment exchanges gives an
idea of the trend of unemployment subject to certain limitations. Table 6.7 gives
registrations, vacancies, placements and job seekers on the ‘live register’ for the
period 1994-2006.
NATIONAL SAMPLE SURVEY ORGANISATION
The National Sample Survey (NSS) was set up in 1950 for conducting large-scale
sample surveys to meet the data needs of the country for the estimation of national
income and other aggregates. It was reorganised in 1970 by bringing together all
aspects of survey work under a single agency. Known as the National Sample Survey
Organisation (NSSO) under the overall technical guidance of the Governing Council
Basic Economic Data 125
Compiled and edited by
RESEARCH, REFERENCE AND TRAINING DIVISION
PUBLICATIONS DIVISION
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
2008 (Saka 1929)
52nd Edition
© Research, Reference and Training Division
Price : Rs. 300.00
Published by the Additional Director General,
Publications Division,
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,
Government of India, Soochna Bhawan, CGO Complex
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003
Website : http://www.publicationsdivision.nic.in
E-mail : dpd@sb.nic.in or dpd@mail.nic.in
Sales Centres : Delhi - Soochna Bhavan, C.G.O. Complex, Lodhi Road,
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Lucknow - Hall No. 1, 2nd Floor, Kendriya Bhawan,
Sector H, Aliganj, Lucknow-226024 Ahmedabad - Ambica
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Publications Division
Editing :
Dayawanti Srivastava
Cover Design :
Alka Nayyar
Production :
N.C. Mazumder
Research, Reference and Training Division
Compilation and Coordination
Mohan Chandak
Surendra Kumar
Romi Sharma
Simmi Kumar
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Printed at : Nutech Photolithographers, New Delhi-20
ISBN : 81-230-1488-0
R E F - E N G - O P - 0 6 6 - 2 0 0 7 - 0 8
Contents
1. Land and the People 1
2. National Symbols 22
3. The Polity 25
4. Agriculture 60
5. Art and Culture 110
6. Basic Economic Data 124
7. Commerce 147
8. Communications 165
9. Defence 200
10. Education 217
11. Energy 254
12. Environment 295
13. Finance 317
14. Food and Civil Supplies 395
15. Health and Family Welfare 433
16. Housing 477
17. India and the World 490
18. Industry 519
19. Justice and Law 591
20. Labour 611
21. Mass Communication 630
22. Planning 676
23. Rural Development 708
24. Scientific and Technological Developments 721
25. Transport 816
26. Water Resources 848
27. Welfare 876
28. Youth Affairs and Sports 921
29. States and Union Territories 933
30. Diary of National Events 1047
(October 2006 to September 2007)
31.General Information 1096
Appendices 1153
Key to numeration
1 lakh = One hundred thousand
10 lakh = One million
1 crore = Ten million
100 crore = One billion
1 Land and the People
INDIA is one of the oldest civilisations in the world with a kaleidoscopic variety and
rich cultural heritage. It has achieved all-round socio-economic progress during the
last 60 years of its Independence. India has become self-sufficient in agricultural
production and is now the tenth industrialised country in the world and the sixth
nation to have gone into outer space to conquer nature for the benefit of the people. It
covers an area of 32,87,2631 sq km, extending from the snow-covered Himalayan
heights to the tropical rain forests of the south. As the 7th largest country in the world,
India stands apart from the rest of Asia, marked off as it is by mountains and the sea,
which give the country a distinct geographical entity. Bounded by the Great Himalayas
in the north, it stretches southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer, tapers off into the
Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west.
Lying entirely in the northern hemisphere, the mainland extends between
latitudes 8°4' and 37°6' north, longitudes 68°7' and 97°25' east and measures about
3,214 km from north to south between the extreme latitudes and about 2,933 km from
east to west between the extreme longitudes. It has a land frontier of about 15,200 km.
The total length of the coastline of the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands and Andaman
& Nicobar Islands is 7,516.6 km.
PHYSICAL BACKGROUND
Countries having a common border with India are Afghanistan and Pakistan to the
north-west, China, Bhutan and Nepal to the north, Myanmar to the east and
Bangladesh to the east of West Bengal. Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow
channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.
PHYSICAL FEATURES
The mainland comprises four regions, namely, the great mountain zone, plains of the
Ganga and the Indus, the desert region and the southern peninsula.
The Himalayas comprise three almost parallel ranges interspersed with large
plateaus and valleys, some of which, like the Kashmir and Kullu valleys, are fertile,
extensive and of great scenic beauty. Some of the highest peaks in the world are found
in these ranges. The high altitudes admit travel only to a few passes, notably the Jelep
La and Nathu La on the main Indo-Tibet trade route through the Chumbi Valley,
north-east of Darjeeling and Shipki La in the Satluj valley, north-east of Kalpa
(Kinnaur). The mountain wall extends over a distance of about 2,400 km with a
varying depth of 240 to 320 km. In the east, between India and Myanmar and India
and Bangladesh, hill ranges are much lower. Garo, Khasi, Jaintia and Naga Hills,
running almost east-west, join the chain to Mizo and Rkhine Hills running northsouth.
The plains of the Ganga and the Indus, about 2,400 km long and 240 to 320 km
broad, are formed by basins of three distinct river systems - the Indus, the Ganga and
the Brahmaputra. They are one of the world’s greatest stretches of flat alluvium and
also one of the most densely populated areas on the earth. Between the Yamuna at
1 Provisional as on 31 March 1982
2 India 2008
Delhi and the Bay of Bengal, nearly 1,600 km away, there is a drop of only 200 metres
in elevation.
The desert region can be divided into two parts - the great desert and the little
desert. The great desert extends from the edge of the Rann of Kuchch beyond the Luni
river northward. The whole of the Rajasthan-Sind frontier runs through this. The
little desert extends from the Luni between Jaisalmer and Jodhpur up to the northern
wastes. Between the great and the little deserts lies a zone of absolutely sterile country,
consisting of rocky land cut up by limestone ridges.
The Peninsular Plateau is marked off from the plains of the Ganga and the
Indus by a mass of mountain and hill ranges varying from 460 to 1,220 metres in
height. Prominent among these are the Aravalli, Vindhya, Satpura, Maikala and
Ajanta. The Peninsula is flanked on the one side by the Eastern Ghats where average
elevation is about 610 metres and on the other by the Western Ghats where it is
generally from 915 to 1,220 metres, rising in places to over 2,440 metres. Between the
Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea lies a narrow coastal strip, while between Eastern
Ghats and the Bay of Bengal there is a broader coastal area. The southern point of
plateau is formed by the Nilgiri Hills where the Eastern and the Western Ghats meet.
The Cardamom Hills lying beyond may be regarded as a continuation of the Western
Ghats.
GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE
The geological regions broadly follow the physical features and may be grouped into
three regions: the Himalayas and their associated group of mountains, the Indo-
Ganga Plain and the Peninsular Shield.
The Himalayan mountain belt to the north and the Naga-Lushai mountain in
the east, are the regions of mountain-building movement. Most of this area, now
presenting some of the most magnificent mountain scenery in the world, was under
marine conditions about 60 crore years ago. In a series of mountain-building
movements commencing about seven crore years ago, the sediments and the basement
rocks rose to great heights. The weathering and erosive agencies worked on these to
produce the relief seen today. The Indo-Ganga plains are a great alluvial tract that
separate the Himalayas in the north from the Peninsula in the south.
The Peninsula is a region of relative stability and occasional seismic
disturbances. Highly metamorphosed rocks of the earliest periods, dating back as far
as 380 crore years, occur in the area; the rest being covered by the coastal-bearing
Gondwana formations, lava flows belonging to the Deccan Trap formation and
younger sediments.
RIVER SYSTEMS
The river systems of India can be classified into four groups viz., (i) Himalayan rivers,
(ii) Deccan rivers, (iii) Coastal rivers, and (iv) Rivers of the inland drainage basin. The
Himalayan rivers are formed by melting snow and glaciers and therefore,
continuously flow throughout the year. During the monsoon months, Himalayas
receive very heavy rainfall and rivers swell, causing frequent floods. The Deccan
rivers on the other hand are rainfed and therefore fluctuate in volume. Many of these
are non-perennial. The Coastal streams, especially on the west coast are short in
length and have limited catchment areas. Most of them are non-perennial. The streams
of inland drainage basin of western Rajasthan are few and far apart. Most of them are
of an ephemeral character.
Land and the People 3
The main Himalayan river systems are those of the Indus and the Ganga-
Brahmaputra-Meghna system. The Indus, which is one of the great rivers of the
world, rises near Mansarovar in Tibet and flows through India and thereafter through
Pakistan and finally falls in the Arabian sea near Karachi. Its important tributaries
flowing in Indian territory are the Sutlej (originating in Tibet), the Beas, the Ravi, the
Chenab and the Jhelum. The Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna is another important
system of which the principal sub-basins are those of Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda,
which join at Dev Prayag to form the Ganga. It traverses through Uttaranchal, Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal States. Below Rajmahal hills, the Bhagirathi, which
used to be the main course in the past, takes off, while the Padma continues eastward
and enters Bangladesh. The Yamuna, the Ramganga, the Ghaghra, the Gandak, the
Kosi, the Mahananda and the Sone are the important tributaries of the Ganga. Rivers
Chambal and Betwa are the important sub-tributaries, which join Yamuna before it
meets the Ganga. The Padma and the Brahmaputra join at Bangladesh and continue
to flow as the Padma or Ganga. The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet, where it is known as
Tsangpo and runs a long distance till it crosses over into India in Arunachal Pradesh
under the name of Dihang. Near Passighat, the Debang and Lohit join the river
Brahmaputra and the combined river runs all along the Assam in a narrow valley. It
crosses into Bangladesh downstream of Dhubri.
The principal tributaries of Brahmaputra in India are the Subansiri, Jia Bhareli,
Dhansiri, Puthimari, Pagladiya and the Manas. The Brahmaputra in Bangladesh
receives the flow of Tista, etc., and finally falls into Ganga. The Barak river, the Head
stream of Meghna, rises in the hills in Manipur. The important tributaries of the river
are Makku, Trang, Tuivai, Jiri, Sonai, Rukni, Katakhal, Dhaleswari, Langachini,
Maduva and Jatinga. Barak continues in Bangladesh till the combined Ganga—
Brahmaputra join it near Bhairab Bazar.
In the Deccan region, most of the major river systems flowing generally in east
direction fall into Bay of Bengal. The major east flowing rivers are Godavari, Krishna,
Cauvery, Mahanadi, etc. Narmada and Tapti are major West flowing rivers.
The Godavari in the southern Peninsula has the second largest river basin
covering 10 per cent of the area of India. Next to it is the Krishna basin in the region,
while the Mahanadi has the third largest basin. The basin of the Narmada in the
uplands of the Deccan, flowing to the Arabian Sea, and of the Kaveri in the south,
falling into the Bay of Bengal are about the same size, though with different character
and shape.
There are numerous coastal rivers, which are comparatively small. While only
handful of such rivers drain into the sea near the delta of east coast, there are as many
as 600 such rivers on the west coast.
A few rivers in Rajasthan do not drain into the sea. They drain into salt lakes
and get lost in sand with no outlet to sea. Besides these, there are the desert rivers
which flow for some distance and are lost in the desert. These are Luni, Machhu,
Rupen, Saraswati, Banas, Ghaggar and others.
CLIMATE
The climate of India may be broadly described as tropical monsoon type. There are
four seasons: (i) winter (January-February), (ii) hot weather summer (March-May);
(iii) rainy south-western monsoon (June-September) and (iv) post-monsoon, also
known as north-east monsoon in the southern Peninsula (October-December). India’s
4 India 2008
climate is affected by two seasonal winds - the north-east monsoon and the southwest
monsoon. The north-east monsoon commonly known as winter monsoon blows
from land to sea whereas south-west monsoon known as summer monsoon blows
from sea to land after crossing the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of
Bengal. The south-west monsoon brings most of the rainfall during the year in the
country.
FLORA
With a wide range of climatic conditions from the torrid to the arctic, India has a rich
and varied vegetation, which only a few countries of comparable size possess. India
can be divided into eight distinct-floristic-regions, namely, the western Himalayas,
the eastern Himalayas, Assam, the Indus plain, the Ganga plain, the Deccan, Malabar
and the Andamans.
The Western Himalayan region extends from Kashmir to Kumaon. Its temperate
zone is rich in forests of chir, pine, other conifers and broad-leaved temperate trees.
Higher up, forests of deodar, blue pine, spruce and silver fir occur. The alpine zone
extends from the upper limit of the temperate zone of about 4,750 metres or even
higher. The characteristic trees of this zone are high-level silver fir, silver birch and
junipers. The eastern Himalayan region extends from Sikkim eastwards and embraces
Darjeeling, Kurseong and the adjacent tract. The temperate zone has forests of oaks,
laurels, maples, rhododendrons, alder and birth. Many conifers, junipers and dwarf
willows also occur here. The Assam region comprises the Brahamaputra and the
Surma valleys with evergreen forests, occasional thick clumps of bamboos and tall
grasses. The Indus plain region comprises the plains of Punjab, western Rajasthan
and northern Gujarat. It is dry and hot and supports natural vegetation. The Ganga
plain region covers the area which is alluvial plain and is under cultivation for
wheat, sugarcane and rice. Only small areas support forests of widely differing types.
The Deccan region comprises the entire table land of the Indian Peninsula and
supports vegetation of various kinds from scrub jungles to mixed deciduous forests.
The Malabar region covers the excessively humid belt of mountain country parallel
to the west coast of the Peninsula. Besides being rich in forest vegetation, this region
produces important commercial corps, such as coconut, betelnut, pepper, coffee and
tea, rubber and cashewnut. The Andaman region abounds in evergreen, mangrove,
beach and diluvial forests. The Himalayan region extending from Kashmir to
Arunachal Pradesh through Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Meghalaya and Nagaland and
the Deccan Peninsula is rich in endemic flora, with a large number of plants which
are not found elsewhere.
India is rich in flora. Available data place India in the tenth position in the
world and fourth in Asia in plant diversity. From about 70 per cent geographical area
surveyed so far, over 46,000 species of plants have been described by the Botanical
Survey of India (BSI), Kolkata. The vascular flora, which forms the conspicuous
vegetation cover, comprises 15,000 species. The flora of the country is being studied
by BSI and its nine circle/field offices located throughout the country along with
certain universities and research institutions.
Ethno-botanical study deals with the utilisation of plants and plant products
by ethnic races. A scientific study of such plants has been made by BSI. A number of
detailed ethno-botanical explorations have been conducted in different tribal areas
of the country. More than 800 plant species of ethno-botanical interest have been
collected and identified at different centres.
Land and the People 5
Owing to destruction of forests for agricultural, industrial and urban
development, several Indian plants are facing extinction. About 1,336 plant species
are considered vulnerable and endangered. About 20 species of higher plants are
categorised as possibly extinct as these have not been sighted during the last 6-10
decades. BSI brings out an inventory of endangered plants in the form of a publication
titled Red Data Book.
FAUNA
The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), with its headquarters in Kolkata and 16 regional
stations is responsible for surveying the faunal resources of India. Possessing a
tremendous diversity of climate and physical conditions, India has great variety of
fauna numbering over 89,000 species. Of these, protista number 2,577, mollusca
5,070, anthropoda 68,389, amphibian 209, mammalian 390, reptilian 456, members
of protochordata 119, pisces 2,546, aves 1,232 and other invertebrates 8,329.
The mammals include the majestic elephant, the gaur or Indian bison–the largest
of existing bovines, the great Indian rhinoceros, the gigantic wild sheep of the
Himalayas, the swamp deer, the thamin spotted deer, nilgai, the four-horned antelope,
the Indian antelope or black-buck – the only representatives of these genera. Among
the cats, the tiger and lion are the most magnificent of all; other splendid creatures
such as the clouded leopard, the snow leopard, the marbled cat, etc., are also found.
Many other species of mammals are remarkable for their beauty, colouring, grace and
uniqueness. Several birds, like pheasants, geese, ducks, myanahs, parakeets, pigeons,
cranes, hornbills and sunbirds inhabit forests and wetlands.
Rivers and lakes harbour crocodiles and gharials, the latter being the only
representative of crocodilian order in the world. The salt water crocodile is found
along the eastern coast and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A project for
breeding crocodiles which started in 1974, has been instrumental in saving the
crocodile from extinction.
The great Himalayan range has a very interesting variety of fauna that includes
the wild sheep and goats, markhor, ibex, shrew and tapir. The panda and the snow
leopard are found in the upper reaches of the mountains.
Depletion of vegetative cover due to expansion of agriculture, habitat
destruction, over-exploitation, pollution, introduction of toxic imbalance in community
structure, epidemics, floods, droughts and cyclones, contribute to the loss of flora
and fauna. More than 39 species of mammals, 72 species of birds, 17 species of
reptiles, three species of amphibians, two species of fish and a large number of
butterflies, moth and beetles are considered vulnerable and endangered.
DEMOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND
CENSUS
The Census of India 2001, is historic and epoch making being the first census of the
twenty-first century and the third millennium. It reveals benchmark data on the state
of abundant human resources available in the country, their demography, culture
and economic structure at a juncture, which marks a centennial and millenial
transition.
The population enumeration of 2001 census was undertaken during 9-28
February 2001 with a revisional round from 1-5 March 2001. The Census moment,
the referral time at which the snapshot of the population is taken was 00.00 hours of
6 India 2008
the 1 March 2001. Until the 1991 Census, the sunrise of 1 March was taken to be the
census moment. The houseless population, as has been the usual practice, was
enumerated on the night of 28 February 2001.
POPULATION
India’s population as on 1 March 2001 stood at 1,028 million (532.1 million males
and 496.4 million females). India accounts for a meagre 2.4 per cent of the world
surface area of 135.79 million sq km. Yet, it supports and sustains a whopping 16.7
per cent of the world population.
The population of India, which at the turn of the twentieth century was around
238.4 million, increased to reach 1,028 million at the dawn of the twenty-first century.
The population of India as recorded at each decennial census from 1901 has grown
steadily except for a decrease during 1911-21. Decadal growth of population from
1901 is shown in table 1.1.
Table 1.2 gives the selected indicators of population growth in different States
and Union Territories. The per cent decadal growth of population in the inter-censal
period 1991-2001 varies from a low of 9.43 in Kerala to a very high 64.53 in Nagaland.
Delhi with 47.02 per cent, Chandigarh with 40.28 per cent and Sikkim with 33.06 per
cent registered very high growth rates. In addition to Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra
Pradesh registered low growth rates during 1991-2001.
POPULATION DENSITY
One of the important indices of population concentration is the density of population.
It is defined as the number of persons per sq km. The population density of India in
2001 was 324 per sq km.
The density of population was increased in all States and Union Territories
between 1991 and 2001. Among major states, West Bengal is still the most thickly
populated state with a population density of 903 in 2001. Bihar is now the second
highest densely populated state pushing Kerala to the third place. Ranking of the
States and Union Territories by density is shown in table 1.3.
SEX RATIO
Sex ratio, defined as the number of females per thousand males is an important social
indicator to measure the extent of prevailing equality between males and females in
a society at a given point of time. The sex ratio in the country had always remained
unfavourable to females. It was 972 at the beginning of the 20th century and thereafter
showed continuous decline until 1941. The sex ratio from 1901-2001 is given in
table 1.4.
LITERACY
For the purpose of census 2001, a person aged seven and above, who can both read
and write with understanding in any language, is treated as literate. A person, who
can only read but cannot write, is not literate. In the censuses prior to 1991, children
below five years of age were necessarily treated as illiterates.
The results of 2001 census reveal that there has been an increase in literacy in
the country. The literacy rate in the country is 64.84 per cent, 75.26 for males and
53.67 for females. The steady improvement in literacy is apparent from the table 1.5.
Kerala retained its position by being on top with a 90.86 per cent literacy rate,
closely followed by Mizoram (88.80 per cent) and Lakshadweep (86.66 per cent).
Land and the People 7
TABLE 1.1 : POPULATION 1901-2001
Average
Decadal Growth Change in decadal annual Progressive
Census growth exponential growth rate
years Population growth rate over 1901
Absolute Per cent Absolute Per cent (per cent) (per cent)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1901 23,83,96,327 – – – – – –
1911 25,20,93,390 1,36,97,063 5.75 – – 0.56 5.75
1921 25,13,21,213 -7,72,177 -0.31 -1,44,69,240 -6.05 -0.03 5.42
1931 27,89,77,238 2,76,56,025 11.00 2,84,28,202 11.31 1.04 17.02
1941 31,86,60,580 3,96,83,342 14.22 1,20,27,317 3.22 1.33 33.67
19511 36,10,88,090 4,24,27,510 13.31 27,44,168 -0.91 1.25 51.47
19611 43,92,34,771 7,81,46,681 21.64 3,57,19,171 8.33 1.96 84.25
1971 54,81,59,652 10,89,24,881 24.80 3,07,78,200 3.16 2.22 129.94
19812 68,33,29,097 13,51,69,445 24.66 2,62,44,564 -0.14 2.20 186.64
19913 84,64,21,039 16,30,91,942 23.87 2,79,22,497 -0.79 2.14 255.05
20014 1,02,87,37,436 18,23,16,397 21.54 1,92,24,455 -2.33 1.95 331.47
Notes :
1. In working out ‘Decadal Growth’ and ‘Percentage Decadal Growth’ for India 1941-51 and 1951-61 the population of Tuensang district
for 1951 (7,025) and the population of Tuensang (83,501) and Mon (5,774) districts for 1961 Census of Nagaland state have not been
taken into account as the areas went in for census for the first time in 1951 and the same are not comparable.
2. The 1981 Census could not be held owing to disturbances in Assam. Hence the population figures for 1981 of Assam have been worked
out by ‘interpolation’.
3. The 1991 Census could not be held owing to disturbances in Jammu and Kashmir. Hence the population figures for 1991 of Jammu
and Kashmir have been worked out by ‘interpolation’.
4. The population figures of 2001 includes estimated figures for those of the three sub-divisions, viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Pural
of Senapati district of Manipur as census result of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative
reasons.
8 India 2008
TABLE 1.2 : TOTAL POPULATION AND POPUATION GROWTH DURING 1991-2001,
INDIA/STATE/UNION TERRITORY
Sl. No. India State/Union territory Total Population Population growth
1991 2001 1991-2001
Person Males Females Person Males Females
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
India** 846,421,039 439,358,440 407,062,599 1,028,737,436 532,223,090 496,514,346 21.54
1. Jammu and Kashmir* 7,837,051 4,142,082 3,694,969 10,143,700 5,360,926 4,782,774 29.43
2. Himachal Pradesh 5,170,877 2,617,467 2,553,410 6,077,900 3,087,940 2,989,960 17.54
3. Punjab 20,281,969 10,778,034 9,503,935 24,358,999 12,985,045 11,373,954 20.10
4. Chandigarh 642,015 358,614 283,401 900,635 506,938 393,697 40.28
5. Uttrakhand 7,050,634 3,640,895 3,409,739 8,489,349 4,325,924 4,163,425 20.41
6. Haryana 16,463,648 8,827,474 7,636,174 21,144,564 11,363,953 9,780,611 28.43
7. Delhi 9,420,644 5,155,512 4,265,132 13,850,507 7,607,234 6,243,273 47.02
8. Rajasthan 44,005,990 23,042,780 20,963,210 56,507,188 29,420,011 27,087,177 28.41
9. Uttar Pradesh 132,061,653 70,396,062 61,665,591 166,197,921 87,565,369 78,632,552 25.85
10. Bihar 64,530,554 33,838,238 30,692,316 82,998,509 43,243,795 39,754,714 28.62
11. Sikkim 406,457 216,427 190,030 540,851 288,484 252,367 33.06
12. Arunachal Pradesh 864,558 465,004 399,554 1,097,968 579,941 518,027 27.00
13. Nagaland 1,209,546 641,282 568,264 1,990,036 1,047,141 942,895 64.53
14. Manipur** 1,837,149 938,359 898,790 2,293,896 1,161,952 1,131,944 24.86
15. Mizoram 689,756 358,978 330,778 888,573 459,109 429,464 28.82
16. Tripura 2,757,205 1,417,930 1,339,275 3,199,203 1,642,225 1,556,978 16.03
17. Meghalaya 1,774,778 907,687 867,091 2,318,822 1,176,087 1,142,735 30.65
18. Assam 22,414,322 11,657,989 10,756,333 26,655,528 13,777,037 12,878,491 18.92
19. West Bengal 68,077,965 35,510,633 32,567,332 80,176,197 41,465,985 38,710,212 17.77
Land and the People 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
20. Jharkhand 21,843,911 11,363,853 10,480,058 26,945,829 13,885,037 13,060,792 23.36
21. Orissa 31,659,736 16,064,146 15,595,590 36,804,660 18,660,570 18,144,090 16.25
22. Chhattisgarh 17,614,928 8,872,620 8,742,308 20,833,803 10,474,218 10,369,585 18.27
23. Madhya Pradesh 48,566,242 25,394,673 23,171,569 60,348,023 31,443,652 28,904,371 24.26
24. Gujarat 41,309,582 21,355,209 19,954,373 50,671,017 26,385,577 24,285,440 22.66
25. Daman and Diu 101,586 51,595 49,991 158,204 92,512 65,692 55.73
26. Dadra and Nagar Haveli 138,477 70,953 67,524 220,490 121,666 98,824 59.22
27. Maharashtra 78,937,187 40,825,618 38,111,569 96,878,627 50,400,596 46,478,031 22.73
28. Andhra Pradesh 66,508,008 33,724,581 32,783,427 76,210,007 38,527,413 37,682,594 14.59
29. Karnataka 44,977,201 22,951,917 22,025,284 52,850,562 26,898,918 25,951,644 17.51
30. Goa 1,169,793 594,790 575,003 1,347,668 687,248 660,420 15.21
31. Lakshadweep 51,707 26,618 25,089 60,650 31,131 29,519 17.30
32. Kerala 29,098,518 14,288,995 14,809,523 31,841,374 15,468,614 16,372,760 9.43
33. Tamil Nadu 55,858,946 28,298,975 27,559,971 62,405,679 31,400,909 31,004,770 11.72
34. Pondicherry 807,785 408,081 399,704 974,345 486,961 487,384 20.62
35. Andaman and 280,661 154,369 126,292 356,152 192,972 163,180 26.90
Nicobar Islands
Note : * The 1991 census figures of Jammu & kashmir are interpolated as no census was conducted there due to disturbances.
** India and Manipur figures include estimated figures for those of the three sub-divisions viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Puru of Senapati district of Manipur as census
resuts of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons.
Source : Office of the Registrar General, India
10 India 2008
Bihar with a literacy rate of 47.00 per cent ranks last in the country preceded by
Jharkhand (53.56 per cent) and Jammu and Kashmir (55.52 per cent). Kerala also
occupies the top spot in the country both in male literacy with 94.24 per cent and
female literacy with 87.72 per cent. On the contrary, Bihar has recorded the lowest
literacy rates both in case of males (59.68 per cent) and females (33.12 per cent). Table
1.6 shows the literacy rate among persons, male and female in States and UTs, and
their ranking.
TABLE 1.3 : STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES BY DENSITY
Rank State/ Density Rank
in 2001 Union territories 2001 1991 in 1991
1 2 3 4 5
1. Delhi 9,340 6,352 1
2. Chandigarh 7,900 5,632 2
3. Pondicherry 2,034 1,683 5
4. Lakshadweep 1,895 1,616 3
5. Daman and Diu 1,413 907 4
6. West Bengal 903 767 6
7. Bihar 881 685 7
8. Kerala 819 749 9
9. Uttar Pradesh 690 548 8
10. Punjab 484 403 10
11. Tamil Nadu 480 429 11
12. Haryana 478 372 12
13. Dadra and Nagar Haveli 449 282 14
14. Goa 364 316 13
15. Assam 340 286 15
16. Jharkhand 338 274 17
17. Maharashtra 315 257 16
18. Tripura 305 263 18
19. Andhra Pradesh 277 242 19
20. Karnataka 276 235 20
21. Gujarat 258 211 21
22. Orissa 236 203 22
23. Madhya Pradesh 196 158 23
24. Rajasthan 165 129 24
25. Uttrakhand 159 133 25
26. Chhattisgarh 154 130 26
27. Nagaland 120 73 27
28. Himachal Pradesh 109 93 28
29. Manipur* 111 82 30
30. Meghalaya 103 79 29
31. Jammu and Kashmir 100 77 31
32. Sikkim 76 57 32
33. Andaman and Nicobar Islands 43 34 33
Land and the People 11
34 . Mizoram 42 33 34
35. Arunachal Pradesh 13 10 35
Notes :
* Manipur figures include estimated figures for those of the three sub-divisions, viz., Mao
Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapti district of Manipur as census results of 2001 in these
three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons.
TABLE 1.4 : SEX RATIO : 1901-2001
Census Year Sex Ratio
(females per 1,000 males)
1901 972
1911 964
1921 955
1931 950
1941 945
1951 946
1961 941
1971 930
1981 934
1991 926
2001 933
Notes :
1. For 1981, interpolated figures for Assam have been used.
2. For 1991, interpolated figures based on final population of 2001 census for Jammu and
Kashmir have been used.
3. India figures for 2001 census exclude those of the three sub-divisions, viz., Mao Maram,
Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur as population Census results of 2001
in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons.
TABLE 1.5 : LITERACY RATE : 1951-2001
Census Year Persons Males Females
1951 18.33 27.16 8.86
1961 28.3 40.40 15.35
1971 34.45 45.96 21.97
1981 43.57 56.38 29.76
1991 52.21 64.13 39.29
2001 64.84 75.26 53.67
Notes :
1. Literacy rates for 1951, 1961 and 1971 Censuses relates to population aged five years and
above. The rates for the 1981, 1991 and 2001 Censuses relate to the population aged seven
years and above.
2. The 1981 Literacy rates exclude Assam where the 1981 Census could not be conducted.
3. The 1991 Literacy rates exclude Jammu and Kashmir where the 1991 Census could not be
conducted due to disturbed conditions.
12 India 2008
TABLE 1.6 : RANKING OF STATES/UTs BY LITERACY RATE AMONG PERSONS, MALES AND FEMALES, 2001 CENSUS
Persons Males Females
Rank State/ Literacy State/ Literacy State/ Literacy
Union Territories Rate Union Territories Rate Union Territories Rate
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1. Kerala 90.86 Kerala 94.24 Kerala 87.72
2. Mizoram 88.80 Lakshadweep 92.53 Mizoram 86.75
3. Lakshadweep 86.66 Mizoram 90.72 Lakshadweep 80.47
4. Goa 82.01 Pondicherry 88.62 Chandigarh 76.47
5. Chandigarh 81.94 Goa 88.42 Goa 75.37
6. Delhi 81.67 Delhi 87.33 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 75.24
7. Andaman and Nicobar Islands 81.30 Daman and Diu 86.76 Delhi 74.71
8. Pondicherry 81.24 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 86.33 Pondicherry 73.90
9. Daman and Diu 78.18 Chandigarh 86.14 Himachal Pradesh 67.42
10. Maharashtra 76.88 Maharashtra 85.97 Maharashtra 67.03
11. Himachal Pradesh 76.48 Himachal Pradesh 85.35 Daman and Diu 65.61
12. Tamil Nadu 73.45 Uttaranchal 83.28 Tripura 64.91
13. Tripura 73.19 Tamil Nadu 82.42 Tamil Nadu 64.33
14. Uttrakhand 71.62 Tripura 81.02 Punjab 63.36
15. Manipur1 70.53 Manipur1 80.33 Nagaland 61.46
16. Punjab 69.65 Gujarat 79.66 Manipur1 60.53
17. Gujarat 69.14 Haryana 78.49 Sikkim 60.40
18. Sikkim 68.81 Chhattisgarh 77.38 Uttaranchal 59.63
19. West Bengal 68.64 West Bengal 77.02 West Bengal 59.61
20. Haryana 67.91 Karnataka 76.10 Meghalaya 59.61
Land and the People 13
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
21. Karnataka 66.64 Madhya Pradesh 76.06 Gujarat 57.80
22. Nagaland 66.59 Sikkim 76.04 Karnataka 56.87
23. Chhattisgarh 64.66 Rajasthan 75.70 Haryana 55.73
24. Madhya Pradesh 63.74 Orissa 75.35 Assam 54.61
25. Assam 63.25 Punjab 75.23 Chhattisgarh 51.85
26. Orissa 63.08 Assam 71.28 Orissa 50.51
27. Meghalaya 62.56 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 71.18 Andhra Pradesh 50.43
28. Andhra Pradesh 60.47 Nagaland 71.16 Madhya Pradesh 50.29
29. Rajasthan 60.41 Andhra Pradesh 70.32 Rajasthan 43.85
30. Dadra and Nagar Haveli 57.63 Uttar Pradesh 68.82 Arunachal Pradesh 43.53
31. Uttar Pradesh 56.27 Jharkhand 67.30 Jammu and Kashmir 43.00
32. Jammu and Kashmir 55.52 Jammu and Kashmir 66.60 Uttar Pradesh 42.22
33. Arunachal Pradesh 54.34 Meghalaya 65.43 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 40.23
34. Jharkhand 53.56 Arunachal Pradesh 63.83 Jharkhand 38.87
35. Bihar 47.00 Bihar 59.68 Bihar 33.12
Notes :
1 Manipur figures exclude those of the three sub-divisions, viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur as census
results of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons.
Literacy rates relate to the population aged seven years and above.
14 India 2008
TABLE 1.7 : TOTAL POPULATION AND PERCENTAGE OF
SCHEDULED CASTES AND SCHEDULED TRIBES : 2001 CENSUS
Sl. India/State/ Total Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe
No. Union Territory Population Population Percentage Population Percentage
(‘000) (‘000) of total (‘000) of total
population population
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
INDIA1 1,028,610 166,636 16.20 84,326 8.20
1. Jammu and Kashmir 10,144 770 7.59 1,106 10.90
2. Himachal Pradesh 6,078 1,502 24.72 245 4.02
3. Punjab 24,359 7,029 28.85 0 0.00
4. Chandigarh 901 158 17.50 0 0.00
5. Uttrakhand 8,489 1,517 17.87 256 3.02
6. Haryana 21,145 4,091 19.35 0 0.00
7. Delhi 13,851 2,343 16.92 0 0.00
8. Rajasthan 56,507 9,694 17.16 7,098 12.56
9. Uttar Pradesh 166,198 35,148 21.15 108 0.06
10. Bihar 82,999 13,049 15.72 758 0.91
11. Sikkim 541 27 5.02 111 20.60
12. Arunachal Pradesh 1,098 6 0.56 705 64.22
13. Nagaland 1,990 0 0.00 1,774 89.15
14. Manipur1 2,167 60 2.77 741 34.20
15. Mizoram 889 0 0.03 839 94.46
16. Tripura 3,199 556 17.37 993 31.05
17. Meghalaya 2,319 11 0.48 1,993 85.94
18. Assam 26,656 1,826 6.85 3,309 12.41
19. West Bengal 80,176 18,453 23.02 4,407 5.50
20. Jharkhand 26,946 3,189 11.84 7,087 26.30
21. Orissa 36,805 6,082 16.53 8,145 22.13
22. Chhattisgarh 20,834 2,419 11.61 6,617 31.76
23. Madhya Pradesh 60,348 9,155 15.17 12,233 20.27
24. Gujarat 50,671 3,593 7.09 7,481 14.76
25. Daman and Diu 158 5 3.06 14 8.85
26. Dadra and Nagar Haveli 220 4 1.86 137 62.24
27. Maharashtra 96,879 9,882 10.20 8,577 8.85
28. Andhra Pradesh 76,210 12,339 16.19 5,024 6.59
29. Karnataka 52,851 8,564 16.20 3,464 6.55
30. Goa 1,348 24 1.77 1 0.04
31. Lakshadweep 61 0 0.00 57 94.51
32. Kerala 31,841 3,124 9.81 364 1.14
33. Tamil Nadu 62,406 11,858 19.00 651 1.04
34. Pondicherry 974 158 16.19 0 0.00
35. Andaman & Nicobar Islands 356 0 0.00 29 8.27
Land and the People 15
Note :
1. India and Manipur figures exclude those of the three sub-divisions, viz., Mao Maram,
Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur as census results of 2001 in these
three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons.
TABLE 1.8 : RURAL AND URBAN POPULATION
Census Year Population (Million) Percentage of
total population
Rural Urban Rural Urban
1 2 3 4 5
1901 213 26 89.2 10.8
1911 226 26 89.7 10.3
1921 223 28 88.8 11.2
1931 246 33 88.0 12.0
1941 275 44 86.1 13.9
1951 299 62 82.7 17.3
1961 360 79 82.0 18.0
1971 439 109 80.1 19.9
1981 524 159 76.7 23.3
1991 629 218 74.3 25.7
2001 743 286 72.2 27.8
Note :
1. India and Manipur figures are final and include estimated figures for those of the three subdivisions,
viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur as census
results of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative
reasons.
2. The 1991 Census could not be held owing to disturbed conditions prevailing in Jammu and
Kashmir. Hence the population figures for 1991 of Jammu and Kashmir have been worked
out by 'interpolation' on the basis of 2001 final population.
3. The 1981 census could not be held in Assam. The figures for 1981 for Assam have been
worked out by interpolation.
TABLE 1.9 : POPULATION BY CLASS OF TOWN, INDIA-2001 CENSUS
(in 000's)
Class of Town 2001
I 1,00,000 an above 178,224
II 50,000-99,999 34,452
III 20,000-49,999 42,119
IV 10,000-19,999 22,614
V 5,000-9,999 7,890
VI Less than 5,000 821
All Classes 286,120
Urban population as percentage to total Population 27.82
16 India 2008
TABLE 1.10 : DISTRIBUTION OF VILLAGES ACCORDING TO POPULATION 2001 CENSUS AND TOTAL NUMBER
OF INHABITED VILLAGES
Sl. States/UTs 10000 5,000 2,000- 1,000- 500-999 200-499 Less than Total No.
No. and above 9,999 4,999 1,999 200 of inhabited
villages.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1. Jammu and Kashmir@ 10 135 886 1,546 1,664 1,499 677 6,417
2. Himachal Pradesh 1 8 174 660 2,094 5,645 8,913 17,495
3. Punjab 26 273 1,987 3,405 3,378 2,130 1,079 12,278
4. Chandigarh 2 6 7 2 2 1 3 23
5. Uttrakhand 13 69 350 752 1,890 4,912 7,775 15,761
6. Haryana 97 504 2,015 2,091 1,205 582 270 6,764
7. Delhi 24 26 60 29 9 4 6 158
8. Rajasthan 100 661 4,660 8,777 11,058 9,151 5,346 39,753
9. Uttar Pradesh 296 2,266 16,573 27,218 25,614 16,879 9,096 97,942
10. Bihar 630 2,306 8,571 10,113 8,498 5,662 3,235 39,015
11. Sikkim 0 9 40 120 157 82 42 450
12. Arunachal Pradesh 0 3 26 126 266 682 2,760 3,863
13. Nagaland 5 50 171 253 372 323 104 1,278
14. Manipur* 6 28 157 202 326 731 749 2,199
15. Mizoram 1 1 31 76 198 258 142 707
16. Tripura 28 106 370 188 99 55 12 858
17. Meghalaya 0 4 60 185 690 2,090 2,753 5,782
18. Assam 19 185 2,495 5,439 6,233 6,018 4,735 25,124
19. West Bengal 354 1,526 6,819 8,490 8,930 7,553 4,273 37,945
20. Jharkhand 28 174 1,642 4,173 7,442 9,234 6,661 29,354
21. Orissa 5 180 2,404 6,814 11,428 14,054 12,644 47,529
Land and the People 17
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
22. Chhattisgarh 6 80 1,264 4,185 6,465 5,498 2,246 19,744
23. Madhya Pradesh 19 362 3,551 10,434 16,277 14,330 7,144 52,117
24. Gujarat 153 807 4,154 5,615 4,262 2,297 778 18,066
25. Daman and Diu 2 5 5 4 5 2 0 23
26. Dadra and Nagar Haveli 0 7 28 15 12 7 1 70
27. Maharashtra 262 1,018 5,862 11,570 12,074 7,367 2,942 41,095
28. Andhra Pradesh 498 1,788 6,915 6,475 4,467 3,402 3,068 26,613
29. Karnataka 131 703 4,024 6,378 7,367 5,563 3,315 27,481
30. Goa 3 23 96 77 56 60 32 347
31. Lakshadweep 1 2 3 0 0 1 1 8
32. Kerala 1,072 207 69 10 0 4 2 1,364
33. Tamil Nadu 168 1,254 4,870 4,484 2,801 1,344 479 15,400
34. Pondicherry 2 20 45 18 7 0 0 92
35. Andaman and 0 2 23 52 62 90 272 501
Nicobar Islands
ALL INDIA 3,962 14,798 80,407 129,976 145,408 127,510 91,555 593,616
Note :
@ India and Jammu & Kashmir State excludes the villages of the areas under unlawful occupation of Pakistan and China where Census could
not be taken.
* India and Manipur excludes villages for those of the three sub-divisions viz. Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur
as census results of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons.
Source : Office of the Registrar General India.
18 India 2008
TABLE 1.11 : POPULATION OF MILLION PLUS CITIES/TOWNS
Population 0-6 Population Literates
Sl.No. City/Town Person Male Female Person Male Female Person Male Female
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1. Greater Mumbai (M Corp.) 11,978,450 6,619,966 5,358,484 1,364,423 709,777 654,646 9,207,877 5,388,552 3,819,325
2. DMC (U) (M Corp.) 9,879,172 5,412,497 4,466,675 1,352,656 724,171 628,485 7,075,280 4,110,213 2,965,067
3. Kolkata (M Corp.) 4,572,876 2,500,040 2,072,836 390,282 202,527 187,755 3,382,103 1,925,008 1,457,095
4. Chennai (M Corp.) 4,343,645 2,219,539 2,124,106 433,340 219,720 213,620 3,336,695 1,799,981 1,536,714
5. Bangalore (M Corp.) 4,301,326 2,242,835 2,058,491 484,982 249,652 235,330 3,265,702 1,787,677 1,478,025
6. Hyderabad (M Corp.) 3,637,483 1,883,064 1,754,419 463,150 238,386 224,764 2,498,234 1,374,955 1,123,279
7. Ahmedabad (M Corp.) 3,520,085 1,867,249 1,652,836 441,022 240,797 200,225 2,552,731 1,447,380 1,105,351
8. Kanpur (M Corp.) 2,551,337 1,374,121 1,177,216 317,756 171,263 146,493 1,758,807 997,001 761,806
9. Pune (M Corp.) 2,538,473 1,321,338 1,217,135 302,960 158,672 144,288 1,930,063 1,064,508 865,555
10. Surat (M Corp.) 2,433,835 1,372,415 1,061,420 340,582 186,746 153,836 1,736,939 1,043,703 693,236
11. Lucknow (M Corp.) 2,185,927 1,156,151 1,029,776 273,401 143,232 130,169 1,474,733 827,793 646,940
12. Nagpur (M Corp.) 2,052,066 1,059,765 992,301 249,827 129,283 120,544 1,609,126 873,739 735,387
13. Jaipur (M Corp.) 2,322,575 1,237,765 1,084,810 352,661 187,351 165,310 1,537,850 908,969 628,881
14. Indore (M Corp.) 1,474,968 774,540 700,428 200.081 105,478 94,603 1,064,912 598,339 466,573
15. Bhopal (M Corp.) 1,437,354 757,408 679,946 208,587 108,172 100,415 979,770 555,051 424,719
16. Ludhiana (M Corp.) 1,398,467 793,142 605,325 169,273 93,050 76,223 981,383 573,886 407,497
Land and the People 19
Population 0-6 Population
Literates
Sl.No. City/Town Person Male Female Person Male Female Person Male Female
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1
17. Patna (M Corp.) 1,366,444 746,344 620,100 182,037 96,034 86,003 961,681 564,625 397,056
18. Vadodara (M Corp.) 1,306,227 684,013 622,214 148,034 80,610 67,424 1,014,014 557,051 456,963
19. Agra (M Corp.) 1,275,134 690,599 584,535 179,411 96,850 82,561 766,860 452,770 314,090
20. Thane (M Corp.) 1,262,551 675,147 587,404 161,698 84,334 77,364 973,195 551,086 422,109
21. Kalyan-Dombivli (M Corp.) 1,193,512 633,508 560,004 144,097 75,256 68,841 944,745 525,907 418,838
22. Varanasi (M Corp.) 1,091,918 582,096 509,822 161,172 84,256 76,916 670,367 392,103 278,264
23. Nashik (M Corp.) 1,077,236 575,737 501,499 147,919 78,579 69,340 802,695 458,005 344,690
24. Meerut (M Corp.) 1,068,772 568,081 500,691 163,570 87,893 75,677 610,636 355,282 255,354
25. Faridabad (M Corp.) 1,055,938 581,069 474,869 158,603 85,805 72,798 714,578 430,274 284,304
26. Pimpri Chinchwad (M Corp.) 1,012,472 547,050 465,422 143,034 75,688 67,346 745,317 431,785 313,532
27. Haora (M Corp.) 1,007,532 547,068 460,464 94,330 48,678 45,652 768,655 438,450 330,205
20 India 2008
TABLE 1.12 : STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES BY POPULATION IN
DESCENDING ORDER AND RANK IN 1991 AND 2001 CENSUS
Per cent to total
Rank State/ Population Population of India Rank
in 2001 Union territories 2001 2001 1991 in 1991
1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Uttar Pradesh 166,197,921 16.16 15.59 1
2. Maharashtra 96,878,627 9.42 9.33 2
3. Bihar 82,998,509 8.07 7.62 5
4. West Bengal 80,176,197 7.79 8.04 3
5. Andhra Pradesh 76,210,007 7.41 7.86 4
6. Tamil Nadu 62,405,679 6.07 6.60 6
7. Madhya Pradesh 60,348,023 5.87 5.74 7
8. Rajasthan 56,507,188 5.49 5.20 9
9. Karnataka 52,850,562 5.14 5.31 8
10. Gujarat 50,671,017 4.93 4.88 10
11. Orissa 36,804,660 3.58 3.74 11
12. Kerala 31,841,374 3.10 3.44 12
13. Jharkhand 26,945,829 2.62 2.58 14
14. Assam 26,655,528 2.59 2.65 13
15. Punjab 24,358,999 2.37 2.40 15
16. Haryana 21,144,564 2.06 1.95 17
17. Chhattisgarh 20,833,803 2.03 2.08 16
18. Delhi 13,850,507 1.35 1.11 18
19. Jammu and Kashmir2 10,143,700 0.99 0.93 19
20. Uttrakhand 8,489,349 0.83 0.84 20
21. Himachal Pradesh 6,077,900 0.59 0.61 21
22. Tripura 3,199,203 0.31 0.33 22
23. Meghalaya 2,318,822 0.23 0.21 24
24. Manipur1 2,293,896 0.22 0.22 23
25. Nagaland 1,990,036 0.19 0.14 25
26. Goa 1,347,668 0.13 0.14 26
27. Arunachal Pradesh 1,097,968 0.11 0.10 27
28. Pondicherry 974,345 0.09 0.10 28
29. Chandigarh 900,635 0.09 0.08 29
Land and the People 21
30. Mizoram 888,573 0.09 0.08 30
31. Sikkim 540,851 0.05 0.05 31
32. Andaman and Nicobar Islands 356,152 0.03 0.03 32
33. Dadra and Nagar Haveli 220,490 0.02 0.02 33
34. Daman and Diu 158,204 0.02 0.01 34
35. Lakshadweep 60,650 0.01 0.01 35
Notes :
1. India and Manipur figures include estimated figures for those of the three sub-divisions
viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senepati district of Manipur as census results
of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative
reasons.
2. The 1991 Census could not be held owing to disturbed conditions prevailing in Jammu
and Kashmir. Hence the population figures for 1991 of Jammu and Kashmir have been
worked out by 'interpolation'.
22 India 2008
2 National Symbols
NATIONAL FLAG
THE National flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (kesaria) at the top, white
in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. The ratio of width of
the flag to its length is two to three. In the centre of the white band is a navy-blue
wheel which represents the chakra. Its design is that of the wheel which appears on
the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Its diameter approximates to the
width of the white band and it has 24 spokes. The design of the National Flag was
adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July 1947.
Apart from non-statutory instructions issued by the Government from time to
time, display of the National Flag is governed by the provisions of the Emblems and
Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 (No. 12 of 1950) and the Prevention of
Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 (No. 69 of 1971). The Flag Code of India, 2002
is an attempt to bring together all such laws, conventions, practices and instructions
for the guidance and benefit of all concerned.
The Flag Code of India, 2002, takes effect from 26 January 2002 and supersedes
the ‘Flag Code—Indias’ as it existed. As per the provisions of the Flag Code of India,
2002, there shall be no restriction on the display of the National Flag by members of
general public, private organisations, educational institutions, etc., except to the
extent provided in the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950
and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 and any other law enacted
on the subject.
STATE EMBLEM
The state emblem is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. In the
original, there are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with a
frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and
a lion separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. Carved out of a
single block of polished sandstone, the Capital is crowned by the Wheel of the Law
(Dharma Chakra).
In the state emblem, adopted by the Government of India on 26 January 1950,
only three lions are visible, the fourth being hidden from view. The wheel appears in
relief in the centre of the abacus with a bull on right and a horse on left and the
outlines of other wheels on extreme right and left. The bell-shaped lotus has been
omitted. The words Satyameva Jayate from Mundaka Upanishad, meaning 'Truth
Alone Triumphs', are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script.
NATIONAL ANTHEM
The song Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore,
was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem
of India on 24 January 1950. It was first sung on 27 December 1911 at the Calcutta
Session of the Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of five stanzas.
The first stanza contains the full version of the National Anthem :
National Symbols 23
1 As published in Volume Eight of Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library, Popular Edition
1972
Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Punjab-Sindh-Gujarat-Maratha
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga.
Tava shubha name jage,
Tava shubha asisa mange,
Gahe tava jaya gatha,
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he!
Playing time of the full version of the national anthem is approximately 52
seconds. A short version consisting of the first and last lines of the stanza (playing
time approximately 20 seconds) is also played on certain occasions. The following is
Tagore’s English rendering of the anthem :
Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
dispenser of India’s destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind,
Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Jamuna and Ganges and is
chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
thou dispenser of India’s destiny.
Victory, victory, victory to thee.
NATIONAL SONG
The song Vande Mataram, composed in sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a
source of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It has an equal status
with Jana-gana-mana. The first political occasion when it was sung was the 1896
session of the Indian National Congress. The following is the text of its first stanza :
Vande Mataram!
Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja shitalam,
Shasyashyamalam, Mataram!
Shubhrajyotsna pulakitayaminim,
Phullakusumita drumadala shobhinim,
Suhasinim sumadhura bhashinim,
Sukhadam varadam, Mataram!
24 India 2008
The English translation of the stanza rendered by Sri Aurobindo in prose1 is :
I bow to thee, Mother,
richly-watered, richly-fruited,
cool with the winds of the south,
dark with the crops of the harvests,
The Mother!
Her nights rejoicing in the glory of the moonlight,
her lands clothed beautifully with her trees in flowering bloom,
sweet of laughter, sweet of speech,
The Mother, giver of boons, giver of bliss.
NATIONAL CALENDAR
The national calendar based on the Saka Era, with Chaitra as its first month and a
normal year of 365 days was adopted from 22 March 1957 along with the Gregorian
calendar for the following official purposes: (i) Gazette of India, (ii) news broadcast
by All India Radio, (iii) calendars issued by the Government of India and
(iv) Government communications addressed to the members of the public.
Dates of the national calendar have a permanent correspondence with dates of
the Gregorian calendar, 1 Chaitra falling on 22 March normally and on 21 March in
leap year.
NATIONAL ANIMAL
The magnificent tiger, Panthera tigris, a striped animal is the national animal of
India, it has a thick yellow coat of fur with dark stripes. The combination of grace,
strength, ability and enormous power has earned the tiger its pride of place as the
national animal of India. Out of eight races of the species known, the Indian race, the
Royal Bengal Tiger, is found throughout the country except in the north-western
region and also in the neighbouring countries, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
NATIONAL BIRD
The Indian peacock, Pavo cristatus, the national bird of India, is a colourful, swansized
bird, with a fan-shaped crest of feathers, a white patch under the eye and a
long, slender neck. The male of the species is more colourful than the female, with a
glistening blue breast and neck and a spectacular bronze-green train of around 200
elongated feathers. The female is brownish, slightly smaller than the male and lacks
the train. The elaborate courtship dance of the male, fanning out the tail and preening
its feathers is a gorgeous sight.
NATIONAL FLOWER
Lotus (Nelumbo Nucipera Gaertn) is the National Flower of India. It is a sacred
flower and occupies a unique position in the art and mythology of ancient India and
has been an auspicious symbol of Indian culture since time immemorial.
3 The Polity
INDIA, a Union of States, is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic
with a parliamentary system of government. The Republic is governed in terms of
the Constitution, which was adopted by Constituent Assembly on 26 November
1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950.
The Constitution which envisages parliamentary form of government is federal
in structure with unitary features. The President of India is constitutional head of
executive of the Union. Article 74(1) of the Constitution provides that there shall be
a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as head to aid and advise President
who shall in exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice. Real
executive power thus vests in Council of Ministers with Prime Minister as head.
Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the House of the People (Lok
Sabha). Similarly, in states, Governor is head of executive, but it is the Council of
Ministers with Chief Minister as head in whom real executive power vests. Council
of Ministers of a state is collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly.
The Constitution distributes legislative power between Parliament and state
legislatures and provides for vesting of residual powers in Parliament. Power to
amend the Constitution also vests in Parliament. The Constitution has provision
for independence of judiciary, Comptroller and Auditor-General, Public Service
Commissions and Chief Election Commissioner.
THE UNION AND ITS TERRITORY
India comprises 28 States and seven Union Territories. They are: Andhra Pradesh,
Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal
Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Union
Territories are : Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli, Daman and Diu, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Lakshadweep and
Pondicherry.
CITIZENSHIP
The Constitution of India provides for a single citizenship for the whole of India.
Every person who was at the commencement of the Constitution (26 January 1950)
domiciled in the territory of India and: (a) who was born in India; or (b) either of
whose parents was born in India; or (c) who has been ordinarily resident in India
for not less than five years became a citizen of India. The Citizenship Act, 1955,
deals with matters relating to acquisition, determination and termination of Indian
citizenship after the commencement of the Constitution.
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
The Constitution offers all citizens, individually and collectively, some basic
freedoms. These are guaranteed in the Constitution in the form of six broad
categories of Fundamental Rights which are justiciable. Article 12 to 35 contained
in Part III of the Constitution deal with Fundamental Rights. These are : (i) right to
equality including equality before law, prohibition of discrimination on grounds of
26 India 2008
religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth and equality of opportunity in matters of
employment; (ii) right to freedom of speech and expression; assembly; association
or union; movement; residence; and right to practice any profession or occupation
(some of these rights are subject to security of the State, friendly relations with
foreign countries, public order, decency or morality); (iii) right against exploitation,
prohibiting all forms of forced labour, child labour and traffic in human beings;
(iv) right to freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of
religion; (v) right of any section of citizens to conserve their culture, language or
script and right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of
their choice; and (vi) right to constitutional remedies for enforcement of Fundamental
Rights.
FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
By the 42nd Amendment of the Constitution, adopted in 1976, Fundamental Duties
of the citizens have also been enumerated. Article 51 ‘A’ contained in Part IV A of
the Constitution deals with Fundamental Duties. These enjoin upon a citizen among
other things, to abide by the Constitution, to cherish and follow noble ideals which
inspired India’s struggle for freedom, to defend the country and render national
service when called upon to do so and to promote harmony and spirit of common
brotherhood transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities.
DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY
The Constitution lays down certain Directive Principles of State Policy which though
not justiciable, are ‘fundamental in governance of the country’ and it is the duty of
the State to apply these principles in making laws. These lay down that the State
shall strive to promote the welfare of people by securing and protecting as effectively
as it may a social order in which justice—social, economic and political—shall form
in all institutions of national life. The State shall direct its policy in such a manner as
to secure the right of all men and women to an adequate means of livelihood, equal
pay for equal work and within limits of its economic capacity and development, to
make effective provision for securing the right to work, education and to public
assistance in the event of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement or other
cases of undeserved want. The State shall also endeavour to secure to workers a
living wage, humane conditions of work, a decent standard of life and full
involvement of workers in management of industries.
In the economic sphere, the State is to direct its policy in such a manner as to
secure distribution of ownership and control of material resources of community to
subserve the common good and to ensure that operation of economic system does
not result in concentration of wealth and means of production to common detriment.
Some of the other important directives relate to provision of opportunities
and facilities for children to develop in a healthy manner, free and compulsory
education for all children up to the age of 14; promotion of education and economic
interests of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other weaker sections;
organisation of village panchayats; separation of judiciary from executive,
promulgation of a uniform civil code for whole country; protection of national
monuments; promotion of justice on a basis of equal opportunity; provision of free
legal aid; protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests
and wildlife of the country and promotion of international peace and security, just
and honourable relations between nations, respect for international law, treaty
obligations and settlement of international disputes by arbitration.
The Polity 27
THE UNION
EXECUTIVE
The Union executive consists of the President, the Vice-President and the Council
of Ministers with the Prime Minister as the head to aid and advise the President.
PRESIDENT
The President is elected by members of an electoral college consisting of elected
members of both Houses of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of the states in
accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single
transferable vote. To secure uniformity among state inter se as well as parity between
the states, as a whole, and the Union, suitable weightage is given to each vote. The
President must be a citizen of India, not less than 35 years of age and qualified for
election as member of the Lok Sabha. His term of office is five years and he is eligible
for re-election. His removal from office is to be in accordance with procedure
prescribed in Article 61 of the Constitution. He may, by writing under his hand
addressed to the Vice-President, resign his office.
Executive power of the Union is vested in the President and is exercised by
him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the
Constitution. Supreme command of defence forces of the Union also vests in him.
The President summons, prorogues, addresses, sends messages to Parliament and
dissolves the Lok Sabha; promulgates Ordinances at any time, except when both
Houses of Parliament are in session; makes recommendations for introducing
financial and money bills and gives assent to bills; grants pardons, reprieves, respites
or remission of punishment or suspends, remits or commutes sentences in certain
cases. When there is a failure of the constitutional machinery in a state, he can assume
to himself all or any of the functions of the government of that state. The President
can proclaim emergency in the country if he is satisfied that a grave emergency
exists whereby security of India or any part of its territory is threatened whether by
war or external aggression or armed rebellion.
VICE-PRESIDENT
The Vice-President is elected by members of an electoral college consisting of
members of both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of proportional
representation by means of single transferable vote. He must be a citizen of India,
not less than 35 years of age and eligible for election as a member of the Rajya
Sabha. His term of office is five years and he is eligible for re-election. His removal
from office is to be in accordance with procedure prescribed in Article 67 b.
The Vice-President is ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and acts as
President when the latter is unable to discharge his functions due to absence, illness
or any other cause or till the election of a new President (to be held within six months
when a vacancy is caused by death, resignation or removal or otherwise of President).
While so acting, he ceases to perform the function of the Chairman of the Rajya
Sabha.
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
There is a Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister to aid and advise the
President in exercise of his functions. The Prime Minister is appointed by the
President who also appoints other ministers on the advice of Prime Minister. The
Council is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. It is the duty of the Prime
28 India 2008
Minister to communicate to the President all decisions of Council of Ministers relating
to administration of affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation and information
relating to them.
The Council of Ministers comprises Ministers who are members of Cabinet,
Ministers of State (independent charge), Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers.
LEGISLATURE
Legislature of the Union which is called Parliament , consists of President and two
Houses, known as Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and House of the People (Lok
Sabha). Each House has to meet within six months of its previous sitting. A joint
sitting of two Houses can be held in certain cases.
RAJYA SABHA
The Constitution provides that the Rajya Sabha shall consist of 12 members to be
nominated by the President from amongst persons having special knowledge or
practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social
service; and not more than 238 representatives of the States and of the Union
Territories.
Elections to the Rajya Sabha are indirect; members representing States are
elected by elected members of legislative assemblies of the States in accordance
with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable
vote, and those representing Union Territories are chosen in such manner as
Parliament may by law prescribe. The Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution;
one-third of its members retire every second year.
Rajya Sabha, at present, has 245 seats. Of these, 233 members represent the
States and the Union Territories and 12 members are nominated by the President.
The names of members of Rajya Sabha and party affiliation are given in Appendices.
LOK SABHA
The Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of people chosen by direct election
on the basis of adult suffrage. The maximum strength of the House envisaged by
the Constitution is now 552 (530 members to represent the States, 20 members to
represent the Union Territories and not more than two members of the Anglo-Indian
community to be nominated by the President, if, in his opinion, that community is
not adequately represented in the House). The total elective membership of the Lok
Sabha is distributed among the States in such a way that the ratio between the
number of seats allotted to each State and the population of the State is, as far as
practicable, the same for all States. The Lok Sabha at present consists of 545 members.
Of these, 530 members are directly elected from the States and 13 from Union
Territories while two are nominated by the President to represent the Anglo-Indian
community. Following the Constitution 84th Amendment Act, 2001 the total number
of existing seats as allocated to various States in the Lok Sabha on the basis of the
1971 census shall remain unaltered till the first census to be taken after the year
2026.
The term of the Lok Sabha, unless dissolved earlier is five years from the date
appointed for its first meeting. However, while a Proclamation of Emergency is in
operation, this period may be extended by Parliament by law for a period not
exceeding one year at a time and not extending in any case, beyond a period of six
months after the Proclamation has ceased to operate. Fourteen Lok Sabhas have
The Polity 29
been constituted so far. The term of each Lok Sabha and its Speaker(s) is given in
table 3.1.
The State-wise allocation of seats in the two Houses and the party position in
the Lok Sabha is given in table 3.2. The names of members of the Fourteenth Lok
Sabha, their constituencies and party affiliations are given in Appendices.
QUALIFICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP OF PARLIAMENT
In order to be chosen a member of Parliament, a person must be a citizen of India
and not less than 30 years of age in the case of Rajya Sabha and not less than 25
years of age in the case of Lok Sabha. Additional qualifications may be prescribed
by Parliament by law.
FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF PARLIAMENT
As in other parliamentary democracies, the Parliament in India has the cardinal
functions of legislation, overseeing of administration, passing of the Budget,
ventilation of public grievances and discussing various subjects like development
plans, national policies and international relations. The distribution of powers
between the Union and the States, followed in the Constitution, emphasises in many
ways the general predominance of Parliament in the legislative field. Apart from a
wide-range of subjects, even in normal times, the Parliament can, under certain
circumstances, assume legislative power with respect to a subject falling within the
sphere exclusively reserved for the States. The Parliament is also vested with powers
to impeach the President and to remove the Judges of Supreme Court and High
Courts, the Chief Election Commissioner and the Comptroller and Auditor General
in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Constitution.
All legislation require consent of both the Houses of Parliament. In the case of
money bills, however, the will of the Lok Sabha prevails. Delegated legislation is
also subject to review and control by Parliament. Besides the power to legislate, the
Constitution vests in Parliament the power to initiate amendment of the Constitution.
PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES
The functions of Parliament are not only varied in nature, but considerable in volume.
The time at its disposal is limited. It cannot make very detailed scrutiny of all
legislative and other matters that come up before it. A good deal of Parliamentary
business is, therefore, transacted in the committees.
Both Houses of Parliament have a similar committee structure, with a few
exceptions. Their appointment, terms of office, functions and procedure of
conducting business are also more or less similar and are regulated as per rules
made by the two Houses under Article 118(1) of the Constitution.
Broadly, Parliamentary Committees are of two kinds—Standing Committees
and ad hoc Committees. The former are elected or appointed every year or
periodically and their work goes on, more or less, on a continuous basis. The latter
are appointed on an ad hoc basis as need arises and they cease to exist as soon as
they complete the task assigned to them.
Standing Committees : Among the Standing Committees, the three Financial
Committees—Committees on Estimates, Public Accounts and Public Undertakings—
constitute a distinct group as they keep an unremitting vigil over Government
expenditure and performance. While members of the Rajya Sabha are associated
30 India 2008
with Committees on Public Accounts and Public Undertakings, the members of the
Committee on Estimates are drawn entirely from the Lok Sabha.
The Estimates Committee reports on ‘what economies, improvements in
organisation, efficiency or administrative reform consistent with policy underlying
the estimates’ may be effected. It also examines whether the money is well laid out
within limits of the policy implied in the estimates and suggests the form in which
estimates shall be presented to Parliament. The Public Accounts Committee
scrutinises appropriation and finance accounts of Government and reports of the
Comptroller and Auditor-General. It ensures that public money is spent in
accordance with Parliament’s decision and calls attention to cases of waste,
extravagance, loss or nugatory expenditure. The Committee on Public Undertakings
examines reports of the Comptroller and Auditor-General, if any. It also examines
whether public undertakings are being run efficiently and managed in accordance
with sound business principles and prudent commercial practices.
Besides these three Financial Committees, the Rules Committee of the Lok
Sabha recommended setting-up of 17 Department Related Standing Committees
(DRSCs). Accordingly, 17 Department Related Standing Committees were set up
on 8 April 1993. In July 2004, rules were amended to provide for the constitution of
seven more such committees, thus raising the number of DRSCs from 17 to 24. The
functions of these Committees are : (a) to consider the Demands for Grants of various
Ministries/Departments of Government of India and make reports to the Houses;
(b) to examine such Bills as are referred to the Committee by the Chairman, Rajya
Sabha or the Speaker, Lok Sabha, as the case may be, and make reports thereon; (c)
to consider Annual Reports of ministries/departments and make reports thereon;
and (d) to consider policy documents presented to the Houses, if referred to the
Committee by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha or the Speaker, Lok Sabha, as the case
may be, and make reports thereon.
Other Standing Committees in each House, divided in terms of their functions,
are (i) Committees to Inquire: (a) Committee on Petitions examines petitions on
bills and on matters of general public interest and also entertains representations
on matters concerning subjects in the Union List; and (b) Committee of Privileges
examines any question of privilege referred to it by the House or Speaker/Chairman;
(ii) Committees to Scrutinise : (a) Committee on Government Assurances keeps track
of all the assurances, promises, undertakings, etc., given by Ministers in the House
and pursues them till they are implemented; (b) Committee on Subordinate
Legislation scrutinises and reports to the House whether the power to make
regulations, rules, sub-rules, bye-laws, etc., conferred by the Constitution or Statutes
is being properly exercised by the delegated authorities; and (c) Committee on Papers
Laid on the Table examines all papers laid on the table of the House by Ministers,
other than statutory notifications and orders which come within the purview of the
Committee on Subordinate Legislation, to see whether there has been compliance
with the provisions of the Constitution, Act, rule or regulation under which the
paper has been laid; (iii) Committees relating to the day-to-day business of the House:
(a) Business Advisory Committee recommends allocation of time for items of
Government and other business to be brought before the Houses; (b) Committee on
Private Members’ Bills and Resolutions of the Lok Sabha classifies and allocates
time to Bills introduced by private members, recommends allocation of time for
discussion on private members’ resolutions and examines Constitution amendment
bills before their introduction by private members in the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha
The Polity 31
does not have such a committee. It is the Business Advisory Committee of that
House which recommends allocation of time for discussion on stage or stages of
private members’ bills and resolutions; (c) Rules Committee considers matters of
procedure and conduct of business in the House and recommends amendments or
additions to the Rules; and (d) Committee on Absence of Members from the Sittings
of the House of the Lok Sabha considers all applications from members for leave or
absence from sittings of the House. There is no such Committee in the Rajya Sabha.
Applications from members for leave or absence are considered by the House itself;
(iv) Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, on which
members from both Houses serve, considers all matters relating to the welfare of
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes which come within the purview of the Union
Government and keeps a watch whether constitutional safeguards in respect of
these classes are properly implemented; (v) Committees concerned with the
provision of facilities to members : (a) General Purposes Committee considers and
advises Speaker/Chairman on matters concerning affairs of the House, which do
not appropriately fall within the purview of any other Parliamentary Committee;
and (b) House Committee deals with residential accommodation and other amenities
for members; (vi) Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members of
Parliament, constituted under the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of
Parliament Act, 1954, apart from framing rules for regulating payment of salary,
allowances and pension to Members of Parliament, also frames rules in respect of
amenities like medical, housing, telephone, postal, constituency and secretarial
facility; (vii) Joint Committee on Offices of Profit examines the composition and
character of committees and other bodies appointed by the Central and State
governments and Union Territories Administrations and recommends what offices
ought to or ought not to disqualify a person from being chosen as a member of
either House of Parliament; (viii) The Library Committee consisting of members
from both Houses, considers matters concerning the Library of Parliament; (ix) On
29 April 1997, a Committee on Empowerment of Women with members from both
the Houses was constituted with a view to securing, among other things, status,
dignity and equality for women in all fields; (x) On 4 March 1997, the Ethics
Committee of the Rajya Sabha was constituted. The Ethics Committee of the Lok
Sabha was constituted on 16 May 2000.
Ad hoc Committees : Such Committees may be broadly classified under two
heads : (a) committees which are constituted from time to time, either by the two
Houses on a motion adopted in that behalf or by Speaker/Chairman to inquire into
and report on specific subjects, (e.g., Committees on the Conduct of certain Members
during President’s Address, Committees on Draft Five-Year Plans, Railway
Convention Committee, Committee on Members of Parliament Local Area
Development Scheme, Joint Committee on Bofors Contracts, Joint Committee on
Fertilizer Pricing, Joint Committee to enquire into irregularities in securities and
banking transactions, Joint Committee on Stock Market Scam, Joint Committees on
Security in Parliament Complex, Committee on Provision of Computers for Members
of Parliament, Offices of Political Parties and Officers of the Lok Sabha Secretariat;
Committee on Food Management in Parliament House Complex; Committee on
Installation of Portraits/Statues of National Leaders and Parliamentarians in
Parliament House Complex, etc.), and (b) Select or Joint Committees on Bills which
are appointed to consider and report on a particular Bill. These Committees are
distinguishable from the other ad hoc committees inasmuch as they are concerned
32 India 2008
with Bills and the procedure to be followed by them as laid down in the Rules of
Procedure and Directions by the Speaker/Chairman.
LEADERS OF OPPOSITION IN PARLIAMENT
In keeping with their important role, the Leaders of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha
and the Lok Sabha are accorded statutory recognition. Salary and other suitable
facilities are extended to them through a separate legislation brought into force on
1 November 1977.
GOVERNMENT BUSINESS IN PARLIAMENT
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs is entrusted with the responsibility of
coordinating, planning and arranging Government Business in both Houses of
Parliament. In the discharge of this function, he is assisted by his Ministers of State.
The Minister also keeps close and constant contact with the presiding officers, the
leaders as well as chief whips and whips of various parties and groups in both the
Houses of Parliament. During the period 1 June 2006 to 31 May 2007, both Houses
of Parliament passed 57 Bills.
CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEES
The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs constitutes Consultative Committees of
Members of both the Houses of Parliament, which are attached to various Ministries,
and arranges meetings thereof. The Minister/Minister of State in-charge of the
Ministry concerned acts as the chairman of the Consultative Committee of that
Ministry.
The main purpose of these Committees is to provide a forum for informal
discussions between the Government and Members of Parliament on policies and
programmes of the Government and the manner of their implementation. Meetings
of these Committees are held both during the session and inter-session period of
Parliament. After the constitution of the 14th Lok Sabha, 32 Consultative Committees
attached to various Ministries were constituted. Besides this, 16 Informal
Consultative Committees of the sixteen Railway Zones have also been constituted.
Unlike the Consultative Committees attached to the Ministries, meetings, of these
Informal Consultative Committees are to be arranged during Session periods only.
322 meetings of the Consultative Committees were held till 31 May 2007 after
the constitution of the 14th Lok Sabha including 116 meetings held during the year
2006.
NOMINATION OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT ON GOVERNMENT
COMMITTEES/BODIES
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs nominates Members of Parliament on
Committees, Councils, Boards and Commissions, etc., set-up by the Government of
India in various Ministries (except in case of statutory or other bodies where the
statute or the bye-laws framed thereunder provides that the Member of Parliament
to be appointed thereon will be nominated by the Presiding Officers of the respective
Houses or will be elected by the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, as the case may be).
The Members are nominated on such Bodies keeping in view their aptitude and
special interest in the subject.
YOUTH PARLIAMENT COMPETITION
In order to develop democratic ethos in the younger generation the Ministry conducts
youth parliament Competition in various categories of schools and colleges/
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universities. The youth parliament Scheme was first introduced in the Schools in
Delhi in 1966-67. Kendriya Vidyalayas located in and around Delhi were
incorporated into the ongoing Scheme for Delhi Schools in 1978. Subsequently, as
separate scheme of youth parliament for Kendriya Vidyalayas at the National Level
was launched in 1988. Similarly, in 1997-98, two new youth Parliament Schemes at
the national level, one for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and the other for
Universities/Colleges were launched.
During 2006-07, the 41st Youth Parliament Competition for Delhi Schools was
completed and 46 schools participated. The 19th National Youth Parliament
Competition for Kendriya Vidyalayas was held and 90 Kendriya Vidyalayas
participated. The 10th National Youth Parliament Competition for Jawahar
Navodaya Vidyalayas is in progress. The Eighth National Youth Parliament
Competition for Universities/Colleges is also in progress.
OTHER PARLIAMENTARY MATTERS
ALL INDIA WHIPS CONFERENCE
The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India has been organising
All India Whips’ Conference from time to time, with the purpose of establishing
suitable links among the whips of various political parties at the Centre and the
States who are concerned with the practical working of the legislatures to discuss
matters of common interest and to evolve high standards to strengthen the institution
of Parliamentary Democracy.
MATTERS UNDER RULE 377 AND SPECIAL MENTIONS
The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs takes follow-up action on matters raised under
Rule 377 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha and by
way of Special Mentions in Rajya Sabha. Also after ‘Question Hour’ in both the
Houses of Parliament, Members raise matters of urgent public importance. Though
it is not mandatory, Ministers sometimes react to the points made by the Members.
In the absence of concerned Minister the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs assures
the House or the individual Members that their sentiments would be conveyed to
the concerned Ministers.
IMPLEMENTATION OF ASSURANCES
The Ministry culls out assurances, promises, undertakings, etc., given by Ministers
in both the Houses of Parliament, from the daily proceedings and forwards them to
the concerned Ministries/Departments for implementation, Statements showing
action taken by the Government in implementation of the assurances, after due
scrutiny of the implementation of the assurances, after due scrutiny of the
implementation reports received from the various Ministries/Departments
concerned, are laid periodically on the table of the Houses by Minister/Minister of
State for Parliamentary Affairs.
ADMINISTRATIVE SET-UP
The Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 are made by the
President of India under Article 77 of the Constitution for the allocation of business
of the Government of India. The Ministries/Departments of the Government are
created by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister under these Rules. The
34 India 2008
business of the Government are transacted in the Ministries/Departments,
Secretariats and offices (referred to as ‘Department’) as per the distribution of subjects
specified in these Rules. Each of the Ministry(ies) is assigned to a Minister by the
President on the advice of the Prime Minister. Each department is generally under
the charge of a Secretary to assist the Minister on policy matters and general
administration.
CABINET SECRETARIAT
The Cabinet Secretariat is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister. The
administrative head of the Secretariat is the Cabinet Secretary who is also the exofficio
Chairman of the Civil Services Board.
In the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 ‘Cabinet
Secretariat’ finds a place in the First Schedule to the Rules. The subjects allotted to
this Secretariat are : (i) Secretarial assistance to Cabinet and Cabinet Committees;
and (ii) Rules of Business.
The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Government
of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961 and the Government of India
(Allocation of Business) Rules 1961, facilitating smooth transaction of business in
Ministries/Departments of the Government by ensuring adherence to these rules.
The Secretariat assists in decision-making in Government by ensuring Inter-
Ministerial coordination, ironing out differences amongst Ministries/Departments
and evolving consensus through the instrumentality of the standing and ad hoc
Committees of Secretaries. Through this mechanism, new policy initiatives are also
promoted.
The Cabinet Secretariat ensures that the President, the Vice-President and
Ministers are kept informed of the major activities of all Ministries/Departments
by means of monthly summary of their activities. Management of major crisis
situations in the country and coordinating activities of various Ministries in such a
situation is also one of the functions of the Cabinet Secretariat.
The Cabinet Secretariat is seen as a useful mechanism by the departments for
promoting inter-Ministerial coordination since the Cabinet Secretary is also the head
of the civil services. The Secretaries felt it necessary to keep the Cabinet Secretary
informed of developments from time to time. The Transaction of Business Rules
also require them to keep the Cabinet Secretary informed specially if there are any
departures from these rules.
NATIONAL AUTHORITY, CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION
National Authority, Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) was set up by a
resolution of Cabinet Secretariat dated 5 May 1997 to fulfil the obligations enunciated
in the Chemical Weapons Convention initially signed by 130 countries in a conference
which concluded on 14 January 1993 for the purpose prohibiting of the development,
production, execution, transfer, use and stockpiling of all chemical weapons by
Member-States is a non-discriminatory process. To fulfil its obligations, each State
Party has to designate or establish a National Authority to serve as the national
focal point for effective liaison with Organisation for Prohibition of the Chemical
Weapons (OPCW) and other State Parties and hence the NA, CWC under the
administrative control of the Cabinet Secretariat was set-up.
A high-level steering committee under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet
Secretary with Secretary (Chemical and Petrochemicals), Foreign Secretary, Secretary,
The Polity 35
Defence Research and Development, Defence Secretary and Chairman, National
Authority as its other members would oversee the functions of the National
Authority. The NA, CWC is responsible for implementation of CWC Act, liaison
with CWC and other State Parties, Collection of data fulfilling of declaration
obligations, negotiating facility agreements, coordinating OPCW inspections,
providing appropriate facilities for training national inspectors and industry
personnel, ensuring protection of confidential business information, checking
declarations for consistency, accuracy and completeness, registration of entitles
engaged in activities related to CWC, etc.
MINISTRIES/DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT
The Government consists of a number of Ministries/Departments, number and
character varying from time to time on factors such as volume of work importance
attached to certain items, changes of orientation, political expediency, etc. On 15
August 1947, the number of Ministries at the Centre was 18.
LIST OF THE MINISTRIES/DEPARTMENTS (as on 30.9.2006)
1. Ministry of Agriculture (Krishi Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Agriculture and Cooperation
(Krishi aur Sahkarita Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Agricultural Research and Education
(Krishi Anusandhan aur Shiksha Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and fishiries
(Pashupalan, Dairy aur Matsyapalan Vibhag)
2. Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (Rasayan aur Urvarak Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Chemicals and Petro-Chemicals
(Rasayan aur Petro-Rasayan Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Fertilizers (Urvarak Vibhag)
3. Ministry of Civil Aviation (Nagar Vimanan Mantralaya)
4. Ministry of Coal (Koyala Mantralaya)
5. Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Vanijya aur Udyog Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Commerce (Vanijya Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion
(Audyogik Niti aur Samvardhan Vibhag)
6. Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (Sanchar aur
Soochana Praudyogiki Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Telecommunications (Doorsanchar Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Post (Dak Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Information Technology
(Soochana Praudyogiki Vibhag)
7. Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
(Upbhokta Mamle, Khadya aur Sarvajanik Vitaran Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Consumer Affairs
(Upbhokta Mamle Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Food and Public Distribution
(Khadya aur Sarvajanik Vitaran Vibhag)
36 India 2008
8. Ministry of Corporate Affaire (Korporate Karya Mantralya)
9. Ministry of Culture (Sanskriti Mantralya)
10. Ministry of Defence (Raksha Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Defence (Raksha Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Defence Production and Supplies
(Raksha Utpadan aur Aapoorti Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Defence Research and Development
(Raksha Anusandhan aur Vikas Vibhag)
11. Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (Uttar Poorvi Kshetra
Vikas Mantralaya)
12. Ministry of Earth Sciences (Bhoo Vigyan Mantralaya)
13. Ministry of Environment and Forests (Paryavaran aur Van Mantralaya)
14. Ministry of External Affairs (Videsh Mantralaya)
15. Ministry of Finance (Vitta Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Economic Affairs (Arthik Karya Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Expenditure (Vyaya Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Revenue (Rajaswa Vibhag)
(iv) Department of Disinvestment (Vinivesh Vibhag)
(v) Department of Financial Services (Vittiya Sewayen Vibhag)
16. Ministry of Food Processing Industries
(Khadya Prasanskaran Udyog Mantralaya)
17. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
(Swasthya aur Parivar Kalyan Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Health and family welfare (Swasthya aur Parivar Kalyan
Mantralaya)
(ii) Department of Ayurveda, Yoga-Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and
Homoeopathy (AYUSH)
(Ayurveda, Yoga-Prakritik Chikitsa Paddhati, Unani, Siddha aur
Homoeopathy Vibhag)
18. Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
(Bhari Udyog aur Lok Udyam Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Heavy Industries (Bhari Udyog Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Public Enterprises (Lok Udyam Vibhag)
19. Ministry of Home Affairs (Grih Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Internal Security (Antarik Suraksha Vibhag)
(ii) Department of States (Rajya Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Official Language (Raj Bhasha Vibhag)
(iv) Department of Home (Grih Vibhag)
(v) Department of Jammu and Kashmir Affairs
(Jammu tatha Kashmir Vibhag)
(vi) Department of Border Management
(Seema Prabandhan Vibhag)
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20. Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
(Aawas aur Shahari Garibi Upshaman Mantralaya)
21. Ministry of Human Resource Development
(Manav Sansadhan Vikas Mantralaya)
(i) Department of School Education and Literacy
(School Shiksha aur Saksharta Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Higher Education
(Uchchatar Shiksha Vibhag)
22. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
(Soochana aur Prasaran Mantralaya)
23. Ministry of Labour and Employment (Shram aur Rozgar Mantralaya)
24. Ministry of Law and Justice
(Vidhi aur Nyaya Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Legal Affairs (Vidhi Karya Vibhag)
(ii) Legislative Department (Vidhayee Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Justice (Nyaya Vibhag)
25. Ministry of Mines (Khan Mantralaya)
26. Ministry of Minority Affairs
(Alpasankhyak Karya Mantralya)
27. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
(Naveen Aur Navikarniya Oorja Mantralaya)
28. Ministry of Overseas Indians Affairs (Apravasi Bharatiyon Ke
Mamalon Ka Mantralya)
29. Ministry of Panchayati Raj (Panchayati Raj Mantralaya)
30. Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (Sansadiya Karya Mantralaya)
31. Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
(Karmik Lok Shikayat tatha Pension Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Personnel and Training
(Karmik aur Prashikshan Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances
(Prashasanik Sudhar aur Lok Shikayat Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Pensions and Pensioners’ Welfare
(Pension aur Pension Bhogi Kalyan Vibhag)
32. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
(Petroleum aur Prakritik Gas Mantralaya)
33. Ministry of Planning (Yojana Mantralaya)
34. Ministry of Power (Oorja Mantralaya)
35. Ministry of Railways (Rail Mantralaya)
36. Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways (Pot Parivahan,
Sarak Parivahan aur Raj Marg Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Shipping (Pot Parivahan Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Road Transport and Highways
(Sadak Parivahan Aur Raj Marg Vibhag)
38 India 2008
37. Ministry of Rural Development (Gramin Vikas Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Rural Development
(Gramin Vikas Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Land Resources
(Bhumi Sansadhan Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Drinking Water Supply
(Peya Jal Poorti Vibhag)
38. Ministry of Science and Technology (Vigyan aur Praudyogiki
Mantralaya)
(i) Department of Science and Technology
(Vigyan aur Praudyogiki Vibhag)
(ii) Department of Scientific and Industrial Research
(Vigyan aur Audyogik Anusandhan Vibhag)
(iii) Department of Bio-Technology (Biotechnology Vibhag)
39. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(Sukshma Laghu Aur Madhyam Udyam Mantralya)
40. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
(Samajik Nyaya aur Adhikarita Mantralaya)
41. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
(Sankhyiki aur Karyakram Kiryanvayan Mantralaya)
42. Ministry of Steel (Ispat Mantralaya)
43. Ministry of Textiles (Vastra Mantralaya)
44. Ministry of Tourism (Paryatan Mantralaya)
45. Ministry of Tribal Affairs (Janjatiya Karya Mantralaya)
46. Ministry of Urban Development (Shahari Vikas Mantralaya)
47. Ministry of Water Resources (Jal Sansadhan Mantralaya)
48. Ministry of Woman and Child Development
(Mahila Aur Bal Vikas Mantralaya)
49. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (Yuva Karyakram aur Khel Mantralaya)
50. Department of Atomic Energy (Parmanu Oorja Vibhag)
51. Department of Space (Antariksh Vibhag)
52. Cabinet Secretariat (Mantrimandal Sachivalaya)
53. President’s Secretariat (Rashtrapati Sachivalaya)
54. Prime Minister’s Office (Pradhan Mantri Karyalaya)
55. Planning Commission (Yojana Ayog)
PUBLIC SERVICES
ALL INDIA SERVICES
Prior to Independence, the Indian Civil Service (ICS) was the senior most amongst
the Services of the Crown in India. Besides the ICS, there was also the Indian Police
Service. After Independence, it was felt that though the ICS was a legacy of the
imperial period there was need for the All India Services for maintaining the unity,
integrity and stability of the nation. Accordingly, a provision was made in Article
312 of the Constitution for creation of one or more All India Services common to the
The Polity 39
Union and State. The Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service
are deemed to be constituted by the Parliament in terms of Article 312 of the
Constitution. After the promulgation of the Constitution, a new All India Service,
namely, the Indian Forest Service, was created in 1966. A common unique feature of
the All India Services is that the members of these services are recuited by the Centre
but their services are placed under various State cadres and they have the liability
to serve both under the State and under the Centre. This aspect of the All India
Services strengthens the unitary character of the Indian federation.
Of the three All India Services, namely, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS),
the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian Forest Service (IFS), the Ministry of
Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension is the cadre controlling authority for the
IAS. The recruitment to all the three services is made by the UPSC. These officers
are recruited and trained by the Central Government and then allotted to different
State cadres.
CENTRAL SECRETARIAT SERVICES
The Central Secretariat has three services, namely, (i) Central Secretariat Service
(CSS), (ii) Central Secretariat Stenographers’ Service (CSSS) and (iii) the Central
Secretariat Clerical Service (CSCS). The grades of Selection Grade and Grade I of
CSS and as well as the Senior Principal Private Secretary and Principal Private
Secretary of CSSS are centralised. The Section Officers Grade and Assistants Grade
of the CSS, Steno Grade 'D', 'C', 'A' and 'B' (merged) of CSS and LDS & UDC are
decentralised. The grade-wise cadre strength of these services as on 30 June, 2007
was as under:
Service CSS CSSS CSCS
Grade No. of Grade No. of Grade No. of
posts posts posts
1. Sr. Selection 110 - - - -
Grade
(Group 'A'
Gazettted)
2. Selection 330 Sr. PPS 68 - -
Grade Group "A"
(Group 'A' Gazetted
Gazetted)
3. Grade-I 1405 PPS 182 - -
(Group 'A' Group 'A'
Gazetted) Gazetted
4. Section 3000 PS (A&B) 1598 - -
Officer (Group 'B'
(Group 'B' Gazetted)
Gazetted)
5. Assistant 4905 Grade "C"/ 2793
(Group 'B' PA (Group
Non- 'B' Non-
Gazetted) Gazetted)
6. - Grade 'D' 1958 UDC/LDC 9115
Grade 'C' Group 'C'
Non- Non-
Gazetted Gazetted
Total - 9750 - 6599 - 9115
40 India 2008
Appointments and promotions in the Centralised Grades are made on all
secretariat basis by Department of Personnel and Training (DOP&T). In respect of
the decentralised grades, DOP&T monitors and assesses the overall requirements
of different cadres for fixing zones of promotion against the vacancies in seniority
quota and arranges centralised requirement against direct recruitment and
departments examinations quota vacancies through open competitive and
departmental examinations.
Pursuant to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee
on Home Affairs, the Government set-up a Committee on the Cadre Restructuring
of CSS in February 2001. The committee submitted its Report in February 2002 and
made several recommendations. The Government after careful considerations has
taken several decisions in October 2003 for improving the career prospects of the
CSS personnel and many of these recommendations have either been implemented,
or are in various stages of implementation.
The Government had also constituted a 'Group of Officers' on Cadre Structure
of the Central Secretariat Stenographers' Service (CSSS), which submitted its Report
in February 2004. After considering the recommendations of the Group of Officers,
the Government has taken several decisions on Cadre Structure of CSSS, for
improving the career prospects of the CSSS personnel. Necessary executive orders
for operationalisation of almost all the decisions have been issued.
UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
The Constitution provides for an independent body known as Union Public Service
Commission (UPSC) for recruitment to Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ Gazetted posts
under Central Government and for advice in various service matters. The Chairman
and members of the Commission are appointed by the President for a tenure of six
years or till they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. To ensure
independence, members who were at the service of Government at the time of
appointment are deemed to have retired from Government service on their
appointment in the Commission. The Chairman and members are also not eligible
for further employment under the Government. They cannot be removed except
for the reasons and in the manner provided for in the Constitution.
STAFF SELECTION COMMISSION
Staff Selection Commission (SSC) initially known as Subordinate Service
Commission was set up on 1 July 1976. It has been entrusted with the work of
making recruitment to (i) all non-gezetted Group 'B' posts in the various Ministries/
Departments of the Government and their Attached and Subordinate Offices which
are in the pay scales of Rs 6,500-10,500 and (ii) all non-technical Group 'C' posts in
the various Ministries/Departments of the Government and their attached and
subordinate offices, except those posts which are specifically exempted from the
purview of the Staff Selection Commission. The Commission is an attached office
of the Department of Personnel and Training and comprises of a Chairman, two
Members and Secretary-cum-Controller of Examinations. The tenure of Chairman/
Members is for five years or till they attain the age of 62 years, whichever is earlier.
The Commission's headquarters and the office of its Northern Region are in New
Delhi. The offices of Central, Western, Eastern, North-Eastern, Southern and
Karnataka-Kerala region are at Allahabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai
and Bangalore respectively. Its sub-regional offices of Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh
region and North-Western region are at Raipur and Chandigarh respectively.
The Polity 41
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE—CONSTITUTIONAL/STATUTORY
PROVISIONS
Article 343 (1) of the Constitution provides that Hindi in Devanagari script shall be
the Official Language of the Union. Article 343(2) also provided for continuing the
use of English in official work of the Union for a period of 15 years (i.e., up to 25
January 1965) from the date of commencement of the Constitution. Article 343(3)
empowered the Parliament to provide by law for continued use of English for official
purposes even after 25 January 1965. Accordingly, section 3(2) of the Official
Languages Act, 1963 (amended in 1967) provides for continuing the use of English
in official work even after 25 January 1965. The Act also lays down that both Hindi
and English shall compulsorily be used for certain specified purposes such as
Resolutions, General Orders, Rules, Notifications, Administrative and other Reports,
Press Communiqués; Administrative and other Reports and Official Papers to be
laid before a House or the Houses of Parliament; Contracts, Agreements, Licences,
Permits, Tender Notices and Forms of Tender, etc.
In 1976, Official Language Rules were framed under the provisions of section
3(4) of the Official Languages Act, 1963. Its salient features are as under: (i) These
Rules apply to all Central Government Offices, including any office of a Commission,
Committee or Tribunal appointed by the Central Government and Corporation or
Company owned or controlled by it. (ii) Communications from a Central
Government Office to State/Union Territories or to any person in Region “A”
comprising the States of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Haryana and Union Territories
of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Delhi, shall be in Hindi. (iii) Communications
from a Central Government Office to States/Union Territories in Region “B”
comprising the States of Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territory of
Chandigarh, shall ordinarily be in Hindi. However if any communication to any
person in Region “B” is issued in English it shall be accompanied by a Hindi
Translation thereof. (iv) Communications from a Central Government Office to a
State Government Office in region ‘C’, comprising all other States and Union
Territories not included in region ‘A’ and ‘B’, or to any office (not being a Central
Government Office) or person shall be in English. (v) Communications between
Central Government offices and from Central Government Offices to the Offices of
the State Governments/ Union Territories and individuals, etc., will be in Hindi in
such proportions as may be determined from time to time. (vi) All Manuals, Codes
and other Procedural literature relating to Central Government Offices are required
to be prepared both in Hindi and English. All Forms, Headings of Registers, Name
Plates, Notice Boards and various items of stationery, etc., are also required to be in
Hindi and English. (vii) It shall be the responsibility of the officer signing the
documents specified in section 3(3) of the Act to ensure that these are issued both in
Hindi and English. (viii) Shall be the responsibility of the administrative head of
each Central Government Office to ensure that the provisions of the Act, the Rules
and directions issued under Sub-Rule-(2) are properly complied with and to devise
suitable and effective check points for this purpose.
POLICY
In compliance with the Official Language Resolution, 1968, an Annual Programme
is prepared by the Department of Official Language in which targets are set for the
offices of the Central Government with regard to originating correspondence,
42 India 2008
telegrams, telex, etc., in Hindi. A Quarterly Progress Report is called for from the
offices of the Central Government regarding achievements vis-à-vis the said targets.
An Annual Assessment Report is prepared on the basis of the Quarterly Progress
Reports, which is laid on the Tables of both Houses of the Parliament and copies
endorsed to State Governments and the Ministries/Departments of the Central
Government.
Eight Regional Implementation Offices have been established at Bangalore,
Cochin, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bhopal, Delhi and Ghaziabad to monitor the
implementation of Official Language Policy of the Union.
COMMITTEES/SAMITIS
A Committee of Parliament on Official Language was constituted in 1976 under
section 4 of the Official Languages Act, 1963 to periodically review the progress in
the use of Hindi as the Official Language of the Union and to submit a report to the
President. The Committee consists of 20 Members of the Lok Sabha and 10 of the
Rajya Sabha. The Committee have decided to submit its report in parts. It has so far
submitted to the President eight parts of its report. The Presidential Orders on seven
parts of its report have been issued and work is in progress on the eighth part.
The Kendriya Hindi Samiti was constituted in the year 1967. It is chaired by
the Prime Minister. It is the apex policy making body which lays down the guidelines
for the propagation and progressive use of Hindi as Official Language of the Union.
Under the directions of the Kendriya Hindi Samiti, Hindi Salahakar Samitis
have been constituted in all Ministries/Departments under the chairmanship of
the Ministers concerned. These Samitis periodically review the progress in the use
of Hindi in their respective Ministries/Departments and the offices/ undertakings
and suggest measures to promote the use of Hindi.
Besides, the Central Official Language Implementation Committee [headed
by Secretary, Department of Official Language and consisting of Joint Secretaries
(In-charge Official Language) of all the Ministries/Departments as ex-officio
members] reviews the status of use of Hindi for official purposes of the Union,
training of its employees in Hindi and implementation of instructions issued from
time to time by the Department of Official Language and suggests measure for
removing the shortcomings and difficulties noticed in implementing these
instructions.
Town Official Language Implementation Committees are constituted in
different towns having ten or more Central Government offices, etc., to review the
progress made in the use of Hindi in their member offices and exchange experiences.
So far 257 Town Official Language Implementation Committees have been
constituted all over the country.
AWARD SCHEMES
The Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Awards Scheme has been in operation since 1986-87.
Shields are given every year to Ministries/ Departments, Banks and Financial
Institutions, Public Sector Undertakings and Town Official Language
Implementation Committees for outstanding achievements in the implementation
of the Official Language Implementation Cmmittees for outstanding achievements
in the implementation of the Official Language Policy of the Union. Cash awards
are given to the working/retired employees of the Central Government, Banks,
The Polity 43
Financial Institutions, Universities, Training Institutions and Autonomous Bodies of
the Central Government for writing original books in Hindi.
The National Awards Scheme for Original Book writing on Gyan-Vigyan has
been renamed as Rajiv Gandhi National Awards Scheme for Original Book Writing
in Hindi for promoting writing of books in Hindi on all branches of modern Science/
Technology and contemporary subjects. This Scheme is open to all citizens of India.
At Regional level, Regional Official Language Awards are given each year to
the Regional/Subordinate Offices, Public Sector Undertakings, Town Official
Language Implementation Committees, Banks and Financial Institutions of the
Central Government for outstanding achievements in implementing the Official
Language Policy of the Union and accelerating the progressive use of Hindi.
TRAINING
Under the Hindi Teaching Scheme, administered by the Department of Official
Language, training in Hindi language is being imparted through 119 full-time and
49 part-time centres throughout the country. Likewise, training in Hindi Stenography
and Hindi Typing is being provided through 23 full-time and 38 part-time centres.
Thus, training in Hindi is being provided in 229 centres located in different parts of
the country. Five Regional Offices of Hindi Teaching Scheme at Kolkata, Mumbai,
Delhi, Chennai and Guwahati are providing academic and administrative support
to the Hindi Teaching Scheme in the East, West, North-Central, South and North-
East Regions. To fulfill the increasing demand of Hindi training of North Eastern
region a new Regional Headquarter has been extablished at Guwahati and new
Hindi training centres have been established at Imphal, Aizwal and Agartala.
The Kendriya Hindi Prashikshan Sansthan was established on 31 August
1985, as a subordinate office of the Department of Official Language, with the
objective of providing Hindi Training through condensed courses in Hindi language/
typing and stenography as also training through correspondence in Hindi language
and Hindi Typwriting. Its sub-institutes were opened in Mumbai, Kolkata and
Bangalore in 1988 and in Chennai and Hyderabad in 1990. Training of Hindi typing
on computers is being imparted at almost all the typing/stenography centres in the
country.
The Central Translation Bureau was set up in March 1971 for translation of
different types of non-statutory literature, manuals/codes, forms, etc., of various
Ministries/Departments, Offices of the Central Government and Public Sector
Undertakings, Banks, etc. The Bureau has also been entrusted with the responsibility
of conducting translation training courses for the officers/employees associated
with the translation work. Initially, translation training courses of 3 months were
being conducted at the Headquarters in New Delhi. In order to strengthen training
facilities and meet regional requirements, Translation Training Centres have been
established in Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata. Besides, Central Translation Bureau
also conducts short-term translation courses for Central Government employees.
TECHNICAL
In order to facilitate the use of Official Language with the help of Mechanical and
Electronic equipment, especially computers, a Technical Cell was set up in the
Department of Official Language in October 1983. The main activities of the Cell
are as under:
(i) Development of "Language application tools" - Under this programme LILA
Rajbhasha, a self-learning package through the medium of Bangla, English,
44 India 2008
Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu has been developed. MANTRA
Rajbhasha, an aid tool for English to Hindi translation has also been developed.
(ii) Organising computer training programmes in Hindi - Every year around 100
training programmes are conducted to impart training for the use of Hindi
on computers.
(iii) Organising exhibitions and seminars on billingual computing - Technical
seminars are held to help the users and manufacturers come face to face to
discuss the use of Hindi software, etc.
The Department of Official Language has now set up its portal
www.rajbhasha.gov.in
PUBLICATIONS
The Department of Official Language brings out ‘Rajbhasha Bharati’, a quarterly
magazine, dedicated for encouraging writings in the field of Official Language,
literature, technology, information technology, etc., in Hindi and also to give wide
publicity to the efforts being made in different Central Government Offices for the
use and propagation of Official Language Hindi. So far 112 issues of Rajbhasha
Bharati have been published. Likewise, Annual Programme for implementation of
the Official Language policy is brought out every year. Annual Assessment Report
regarding the use of Official Language in different Ministries/Departments and
offices of the Central Government/Public Sector Undertakings, etc., is also brought
out every year and laid on the tables of both the houses of Parliament. Official
Language Manual, Calendars, Films, Posters, etc., are also brought out to give
information regarding the activities relating to propagation and progressive use of
Hindi as the Official Language.
COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR-GENERAL
Comptroller and Auditor-General is appointed by the President. Procedure and
grounds for his removal from office are the same as for a Supreme Court Judge. He
is not eligible for further office under the Union or a State Government after he
ceases to hold his office. The President on advice of Comptroller and Auditor-General
prescribes the form in which accounts of the Union and states are to be kept. His
reports on accounts of the Union and states are submitted to the President and
respective governors which are placed before Parliament and state legislatures.
ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS AND PUBLIC GRIEVANCES
Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances is the nodal agency
of the Government for Administrative Reforms as well as redressal of public
grievances relating to the States in general and grievances pertaining to Central
Government agencies in particular. The Department disseminates information on
important activities of the Government relating to administrative reforms best
practices and public grievance redressal through publications and documentation.
The Department also undertakes activities in the field of international exchange
and cooperation to promote public service reforms.
The mission of the Department is to act as a facilitator, in consultation with
Central Ministries/Departments, States/UT Administrations, Organisations and
Civil Society Representatives, to improve Government functioning through process
re-engineering, systemic changes. Organisation and Methods, efficient Grievance
The Polity 45
handling promoting modernisation, Citizens Charters, award schemes, egovernance
and best practices in government.
A Commission on Review of Administrative Laws was set up by the Department
of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances on 8 May 1998 with a view to
identify proposals for amendment of the existing laws, regulations and procedures
having inter-sectoral impact and also for repeal of all dysfunctional laws. The
Commission submitted its report on 30 September 1998. Out of the 1382 Central
Laws of different categories recommended for repeal by the Commission, 415 Acts
including 5 War-time Permanent Ordinances have since been repealed. The various
Ministries/Departments have decided to retain 822 Acts (which include 700
Appropriation Acts and 27 Reorganisation Acts). The remaining Acts are at various
stages of processing.
The Department set up a Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC)
in 2005 under the Chairmanship of Shri Veerappa Moily to prepare a detailed
blueprint for revamping the public administrative system. The Commission has
been set up by the Government of India to suggest measures to achieve a proactive,
responsive, accountable, sustainable and efficient administration for the country at
all levels of the government.
The Commission has so far presented the following five Reports to the
Government :-
(i) Right to Information —Master Key to Good Governance (09.06.2006)
(ii) Unlocking Human Capital —Entitlements and Governance — a Case Study
(31.07.2006)
(iii) Crisis Management —From Despair to Hope (31.10.2006)
(iv) Ethics in Governance (12.02.2007)
(v) Public Order —Justice for each ..... Peace for all. (25.06.2007)
A group of Ministers under the Chairmanship of Shri Pranab Mukherjee
External Affairs Minister has been constituted to review the pace of implementation
of the recommendations of ARC as well as to provide guidance to the concerned
Ministries/Department in implementing the decisions.
The Department has also instituted in 2005, "Prime Minister's Awards for
Excellence in Public administration" to recognise the extraordinary and innovative
work done by the officers of the Central and State Governments. The Award
comprise - i) A Medal, ii) A scroll, and, iii) Cash Award of Rs. 1,00,000. In case of a
group of officials total award money for the group is Rs 5 lakh subject to a maximum
of Rs One lakh per person. The amount for an organisation is upto a limit of Rs 5
lakh. All officers of the Central and State Governments individually or as a group
or as organisations are eligible to be considered for the awards. The first such Awards
were presented by the Prime minister on the occasion of Civil Service Day
celebrations on 21.04.2007 organised at Vigyan Bhawan.
The Department has developed a Model —(SEVOTTAM) for benchmarking
service delivery standards by the Government departments. The main objective of
the project is to set standards in consultation with user group and include these
standards in the citizen's charter. It also provides a framework to assess the
performance against the standards and to measure improvement and achievements
of these standards. The model is aimed to bring about excellence in service delivery
46 India 2008
standards in government organizations and is to be implemented in all central
Ministries/Departments.
The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances has the
mandate of promoting good governance practices in the country. Documentation,
Incubation and Dissemination of Best Practices is one of the tasks enumerated in its
Vision and Mission Statement. In pursuance of this and in order to promote good
governance practices in the country, the Department has adopted multipronged
strategies like bringing out publications, organizing seminars, regional concerences,
arranging presentations, organizing lecture series and producing documentary films.
Through its regular publications, "Management in Government-a Quarterly Journal"
and "Civil Service News-a Monthly News letter" Department is creating awareness
about best practices. Besides, it has brought out two Books namely 'Ideas That Have
Worked' and "Learn From Them". These books share experiences of success or failure
of innovators. The Department has produced a DVD containing 73 select reports of
commissions/committee on Administrative Reforms since 1812 till date. A portal
of best practices has also been launched by the Department to effectively pursue
the objective of dissemination of best practices facilitating their replication.
ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS
The enactment of Administrative Tribunals Act in 1985 opened a new chapter in
the sphere of administering justice to the aggrieved government servants.
Administrative Tribunals Act owes its origin to Article 323-A of the Constitution
which empowers Central Government to set-up by an Act of Parliament,
Administrative Tribunals for adjudication of disputes and complaints with respect
to recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to the public service
and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union and the States. In pursuance of
the provisions contained in the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, the
Administrative Tribunals set-up under it exercise original jurisdiction in respect of
service matters of employees covered by it. As a result of the judgement dated 18
March 1997 of the Supreme Court, the appeals against the orders of an
Administrative Tribunal shall lie before the Division Bench of the concerned High
Court.
The Administrative Tribunals exercise jurisdiction only in relation to the service
matters of the litigants covered by the Act. The procedural simplicity of the Act can
be appreciated from the fact that the aggrieved person can also appear before it
personally. The Government can present its case through its departmental officers
or legal practitioners. Thus, the objective of the Tribunal is to provide for speedy
and inexpensive justice to the litigants.
The Act provides for establishment of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)
and the State Administrative Tribunals. The CAT was set-up on 1 November 1985.
Today, it has 17 regular benches, 15 of which operate at the principal seats of High
Courts and the remaining two at Jaipur and Lucknow. These Benches also hold
circuit sittings at other seats of High Courts. In brief, the tribunal consists of a
Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Members. The Members are drawn, both from
judicial as well as administrative streams so as to give the Tribunal the benefit of
expertise both in legal and administrative spheres.
THE STATES
The system of government in States closely resembles that of the Union.
The Polity 47
EXECUTIVE
GOVERNOR
State executive consists of Governor and Council of Ministers with Chief Minister
as its head. The Governor of a State is appointed by the President for a term of five
years and holds office during his pleasure. Only Indian citizens above 35 years of
age are eligible for appointment to this office. Executive power of the State is vested
in Governor.
Council of Ministers with Chief Minister as head, aids and advises Governor
in exercise of his functions except in so far as he is by or under the Constitution
required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion. In respect of
Nagaland, Governor has special responsibility under Article 371 A of the
Constitution with respect to law and order and even though it is necessary for him
to consult Council of Ministers in matters relating to law and order, he can exercise
his individual judgement as to the action to be taken.
Similarly, in respect of Arunachal Pradesh, Governor has special responsibility
under Article 371H of the Constitution with respect to law and order and in discharge
of his functions in relation thereto. Governor shall, after consulting Council of
Ministers, exercise his individual judgement as to the action to be taken. These are,
however, temporary provisions if President, on receipt of a report from Governor
or otherwise is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for Governor to have special
responsibility with respect to law and order, he may so direct by an order.
Likewise, in the Sixth Schedule which applies to tribal areas of Assam,
Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram as specified in para 20 of that Schedule,
discretionary powers are given to Governor in matters relating to sharing of royalties
between district council and state government. Sixth Schedule vests additional
discretionary powers in Governors of Mizoram and Tripura in almost all their
functions (except approving regulations for levy of taxes and money lending by
non-tribals by district councils) since December 1998. In Sikkim, Governor has been
given special responsibility for peace and social and economic advancement of
different sections of population.
All Governors while discharging such constitutional functions as appointment
of Chief Minister of a State or sending a report to President about failure of
constitutional machinery in a State or in respect of matters relating to assent to a
Bill passed by legislature, exercise their own judgement.
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
The Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor who also appoints other ministers
on the advice of the Chief Minister. The Council of Ministers is collectively
responsible to legislative assembly of the State.
LEGISLATURE
For every state, there is a legislature which consists of Governor and one House or,
two Houses as the case may be. In Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka,
Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, there are two Houses known as legislative council
and legislative assembly. In the remaining states, there is only one House known as
legislative assembly. Parliament may, by law, provide for abolition of an existing
legislative council or for creation of one where it does not exist, if proposal is
supported by a resolution of the legislative assembly concerned.
48 India 2008
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) of a state comprises not more than one-third
of total number of members in legislative assembly of the state and in no case less
than 40 members (Legislative Council of Jammu and Kashmir has 36 members vide
Section 50 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir). About one-third of members
of the council are elected by members of legislative assembly from amongst persons
who are not its members, one-third by electorates consisting of members of
municipalities, district boards and other local authorities in the state, one-twelfth
by electorate consisting of persons who have been, for at least three years, engaged
in teaching in educational institutions within the state not lower in standard than
secondary school and a further one-twelfth by registered graduates of more than
three years standing. Remaining members are nominated by Governor from among
those who have distinguished themselves in literature, science, art, cooperative
movement and social service. Legislative councils are not subject to dissolution but
one-third of their members retire every second year.
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) of a state consists of not more than 500 and
not less than 60 members (Legislative Assembly of Sikkim has 32 members vide
Article 371F of the Constitution) chosen by direct election from territorial
constituencies in the state. Demarcation of territorial constituencies is to be done in
such a manner that the ratio between population of each constituency and number
of seats allotted to it, as far as practicable, is the same throughout the state. Term of
an assembly is five years unless it is dissolved earlier.
POWERS AND FUNCTIONS
State legislature has exclusive powers over subjects enumerated in List II of the
Seventh Schedule of the Constitution and concurrent powers over those enumerated
in List III. Financial powers of legislature include authorisation of all expenditure,
taxation and borrowing by the state government. Legislative assembly alone has
power to originate money bills. Legislative council can make only recommendations
in respect of changes it considers necessary within a period of fourteen days of the
receipt of money bills from Assembly. Assembly can accept or reject these
recommendations.
RESERVATION OF BILLS
The Governor of a state may reserve any Bill for the consideration of the President.
Bills relating to subjects like compulsory acquisition of property, measures affecting
powers and position of High Courts and imposition of taxes on storage, distribution
and sale of water or electricity in inter-state river or river valley development projects
should necessarily be so reserved. No Bills seeking to impose restrictions on interstate
trade can be introduced in a state legislature without previous sanction of the
President.
CONTROL OVER EXECUTIVE
State legislatures, apart from exercising the usual power of financial control, use all
normal parliamentary devices like questions, discussions, debates, adjournments
and no-confidence motions and resolutions to keep a watch over day-to-day work
of the executive. They also have their committees on estimates and public accounts
to ensure that grants sanctioned by legislature are properly utilised.
The Polity 49
UNION TERRITORIES
Union Territories are administrated by the President acting to such extent, as he
thinks fit, through an Administrator appointed by him. Administrators of Andaman
and Nicobar Islands, Delhi and Pondicherry are designated as Lieutenant Governors.
The Governor of Punjab is concurrently the Administrator of Chandigarh. The
Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli is concurrently the Administrator of
Daman and Diu. Lakshadweep has a separate Administrator.
The National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Pondicherry
each has a legislative assembly and council of ministers. Legislative assembly of
Union Territory of Pondicherry may make laws with respect to matters enumerated
in List II or List III in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution in so far as these
matters are applicable in relation to the Union Territory. The legislative assembly
of National Capital Territory of Delhi has also these powers with the exceptions
that Entries 1, 2 and 18 of the List II are not within the legislative competence of the
legislative assembly. Certain categories of Bills, however, require the prior approval
of the Central Government for introduction in the legislative assembly. Some Bills,
passed by the legislative assembly of the Union Territory of Pondicherry and
National Capital Territory of Delhi are required to be reserved for consideration
and assent of the President.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
MUNICIPALITIES
Municipal bodies have a long history in India. The first such Municipal Corporation
was set-up in the former Presidency Town of Madras in 1688; and was followed by
similar corporations in the then Bombay and Calcutta in 1726. The Constitution of
India has made detailed provisions for ensuring protection of democracy in
Parliament and in the state legislatures. However, Constitution did not make the
local self-government in urban areas a clear-cut constitutional obligation. While
the Directive Principles of State Policy refer to village Panchayats, there is no specific
reference to Municipalities except the implicity in Entry 5 of the State List, which
places the subject of local self-governments as a responsibility of the states.
In order to provide for a common framework for urban local bodies and help
to strengthen the functioning of the bodies as effective democratic units of selfgovernment,
Parliament enacted the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992
(known as Nagarpalika Act) relating to municipalities in 1992. The Act received the
assent of the President on 20 April 1993. The Government of India notified 1 June
1993 as the date from which the said Act came into force. A new part IX-A relating
to the Municipalities has been incorporated in the Constitution to provide for among
other things, constitution of three types of Municipalities, i.e., Nagar Panchayats
for areas in transition from a rural area to urban area, Municipal Councils for smaller
urban areas and Municipal Corporation for large urban areas, fixed duration of
municipalities, appointment of state election commission, appointment of state
finance commission and constitution of metropolitan and district planning
committees. All State/UT Administrations have set-up their state election
commissions and Finance Commissions.
PANCHAYATS
Article 40 of the Constitution which enshrines one of the Directive Principles of
State Policy lays down that the State shall take steps to organise village panchayats
50 India 2008
and endow them with such powers and, authority as may be necessary to enable
them to function as units of self-government.
In the light of the above a new Part IX relating to the Panchayats has been
inserted in the Constitution to provide for among other things, Gram Sabha in a
village or group of villages; constitution of Panchayats at village and other level or
levels; direct elections to all seats in Panchayats at the village and intermediate
level, if any, and to the offices of Chairpersons of Panchayats at such levels;
reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to
their population for membership of Panchayats and office of Chairpersons in
Panchayats at each level; reservation of not less than one-third of the seats for women;
fixing tenure of five years for Panchayats and holding elections within a period of
six months in the event of supersession of any Panchayat.
ELECTION COMMISSION
The superintendence, direction and control of preparation of electoral rolls for, and
the conduct of, elections to Parliament and State Legislatures and elections to the
offices of the President and the Vice-President of India are vested in the Election
Commission of India. It is an independent constitutional authority. Since its inception
in 1950 and till October 1989, the Commission functioned as a single member body
consisting of the Chief Election Commissioner. On 16 October 1989, the President
appointed two more Election Commissioners on the eve of the General Election to
the House of the People held in November-December 1989. However, the said two
Commissioners ceased to hold office on 1 January 1990 when those two posts of
Election Commissioners were abolished. Again on 1 October 1993, the President
appointed two more Election Commissioners. Simultaneously, the Chief Election
Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Conditions of Service) Act, 1991
was amended to provide that the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election
Commissioners will enjoy equal powers and will receive equal salary, allowances
and other perquisites as payable to a judge of the Supreme Court of India. The Act
further provided that in case of difference of opinion amongst the Chief Election
Commissioner and/or two other Election Commissioners, the matter will be decided
by the Commission by majority. The validity of that Act (renamed in 1993 as the
Election Commission) (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and
Transaction of Business) Act, 1991 was challenged before the Supreme Court. The
Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court consisting of five judges, however,
dismissed the petitions and upheld the provisions of the above law by a unanimous
judgement on 14 July 1995.
Independence of the Election Commission and its insulation from executive
interference is ensured by a specific provision under Article 324(5) of the Constitution
that the Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in
like manner and on like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court and conditions of
his service shall not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment. The
other Election Commissioners cannot be removed from office except on
recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner. The term of office of the Chief
Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners is six years from the date
he/she assumes office or till the day he/she attains the age of 65 years, whichever
is earlier.
The Polity 51
AMENDMENTS
The Parliament on 22 March 2003 enacted the Election Laws (Amendment) Act,
2003 and Conduct of Elections (Amendment) Rules, 2003 which came into force
with effect from 22 September 2003. By these amendments in the Act and Rules,
those service voters belonging to the Armed Forces and members belonging to a
Force to which provisions of the Army Act applies, have been provided the facility
to opt to vote through proxy. Such service voter who opt to vote through proxy
have to appoint a proxy in a prescribed format and intimate the Returning Officer
of the constituency.
The Election and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2003 (46 of 2003)
was enacted in 11 September 2003. By this amendment, new Section 29B and 29C
were inserted in the Principal Act providing for contribution by any person or
company other than a Government company to political parties, subject to the
condition that any contribution in excess of Rs 20,000 shall be reported to the Election
Commission for any claim for Tax relief under the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Act
also inserted Part A (Section 78A and 78B) regarding supply of copies of electoral
rolls and certain other items to candidates of recognised political parties. This Act
also amended Section 77(1) regarding maintenance of election expenses by
candidates whereby expenditure incurred by specified number of 'leaders' of a
political party on account of travel by air or by any other means of transport for
propagating programme of the political party alone shall be exempted from being
included in the account of election expenses incurred by the candidate in connection
with the election.
The Parliament on 1 January 2004 enacted the Delimitation (Amendment) Act,
2003 whereby Section 4 of the Principal Act was amended to provide that the
Delimitation will be held on the basis of the 2001 Census figures.
The Parliament on 28 August 2003 enacted the Representation of the People
(Amendment) Act, 2003 whereby open ballot system was introduced at elections to
the Council of States. In this system an elector who belongs to a political party is
required to show the ballot paper after marking his vote to an authorised agent of
that political party. The requirement that a candidate contesting an election to the
Council of States from a particular State should be an elector in that particular State
was also dispensed with.
ELECTORAL REFORMS
In C.W.P. No. 4912 of 1998 (Kushra Bharat Vs. Union of India and Others), the Delhi
High Court directed that information relating to government dues owed by
candidates to the departments dealing with Government accommodation, electricity,
water, telephone and transport (including aircrafts and helicopters) and any other
dues should be furnished by the candidates and this information should be published
by the election authorities under the Commission in at least two newspapers having
local circulation, for information of electors. Accordingly, the Commission modified
items 3(a)(iii) of the format of the affidavit prescribed vide its order dated 27 March
2003 relating to right to information of electors regarding the background of
candidates and also issued necessary directions to the District Election Officers
regarding publication of the information furnished by the candidates in the
newspapers as directed by the Delhi High Court.
52 India 2008
GENERAL ELECTIONS 2004
Elections in India are events involving political mobilisation and organisational
complexity on an amazing scale. The General Elections to the 14th Lok Sabha, the
House of People were due in October 2004 but consequent to early dissolution of
the House, the Election Commission of India decided to hold the elections to the
Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa and
Sikkim, as well as fifteen bye-elections in variuos states during April-May 2004.
General Elections 2004
Total Seats (Lok Sabha) 543
Electorate 67,14,87,930
Number of election personnel Approx. 4 million excluding paraengaged
military and police personnel
Number of EVMs used 1.075 million
Direct expenditure incurred Approx. Rs 13,000 million
Number and Types of Lok Sabha Constituencies
For General Candidates 423
Reserved for Scheduled Caste 79
Candidates
Reserved for Scheduled 41
Tribe Candidates
Total Constituencies 543
On 29 February 2004, the Election Commission of India announced the schedule
of elections, with polling to be held in four phases on 20 and 26 April and 5 and 10
May 2004. The phasing of the elections has become a necessity over the years due to
large requirement of paramilitary forces and time needed for their movement across
various states. The phasing of polls pays rich dividends was brought out by the fact
that poll related violence came down substantially. Later, the Commission decided
to hold elections for two seats in Tripura on 22 April instead of 20 April 2004 and for
one seat in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 20 April instead of 10 May 2004.
Electronic Voting Machine : The Representation of People Act, 1951 was amended
by the Indian Parliament in 1989 to facilitate the use of EVMs. However, they were
really put to use only after a decade, when the Commission took a bold initiative
for introducing EVMs in 16 Assembly Constituencies during State Legislative
Assembly Elections in November 1998. In General Elections 2004, EVMs were used
for the first time throughout the country making the elections go fully electronic.
The user-friendly EVMs could be used even by the illiterates with ease. Since the
EVMs work on battery, electricity was not a problem. The polling personnel carried
EVMs in convenient boxes. The use of EVMs was preceded by an elaborate training
programme and widespread campaign to educate the voters, candidates, political
parties, media and the election staff. The failure rate of the machines was negligible.
The use of EVMs saved around 1,50,000 trees which would have otherwise been
cut for production of about 8,000 tonnes of paper required for printing the ballot
papers, if traditional system of ballot boxes was adopted. EVMs were transported
to polling stations by all imaginable means.
The Polity 53
Political Parties : For these elections, there were six National Parties, forty-three
State Parties and 854 Registered Unrecognised Parties. Since about a decade, regional
and smaller parties gained importance in Indian polity. They have played a major
role in Government formation through pre-poll and post-poll alliances. There are
no permanent friends or foes in politics becomes clear when Indian context is
analysed.
Candidates : There were 5,435 candidates for 543 Lok Sabha seats and 4,504
candidates for 697 seats in four State Legislative Assemblies. The number of women
candidates was 354 and 324 respectively. Though the ceilings for expenses to be
incurred by the candidates were raised, due to strict observance of Model Code of
Conduct and monitoring of election expenses, the overt publicity remained subdued.
To ensure a level playing field, the Supreme Court of India ordered regulation of
advertisements on electronic media to be put by the candidates and political parties.
The candidates were required to file affidavits declaring their assets and liabilities,
educational qualifications, Government dues and criminal cases pending against
them, if any. These affidavits were displayed on the notice boards of the offices of
the Returning Officers, and placed on the website of the Commission to enable the
electors make their informed choice. Some NGOs compiled this information and
circulated the same for the benefit of the voters.
Results : There were more than 1,200 counting centres spread over about 850 towns
in the country. The counting of votes for Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Assembly
was undertaken on 11 May 2004 and for Lok Sabha, other State Legislative
Assemblies and bye-elections on 13 May. The use of EVMs made the process of
counting easier and faster. The Commission made elaborate arrangements to receive
directly results from the Returning Officers using GENESYS software. The
Commission's website received more than 10 million hits on the day of counting.
Elections to Legislative Assemblies : The General Election to the Legislative
Assemblies of Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir were held on 12 December and in
September-October 2002 respectively. Similarly poll to the Legislative Assemblies
of Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura were held on 26 February
2003. The General Elections to the Legislative Assemblies of Mizoram was held on
20 November 2003 and that of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and NCT
of Delhi were held on 1 December 2003.
General Election to Legislative Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Orissa and Sikkim were held in different phases as detailed below :
State(s)/UT(s) Phase Date of Poll
Andhra Pradesh I 20 April 2004
II 26 April 2004
Karnataka I 20 April 2004
II 26 April 2004
Orissa I 20 April 2004
II 26 April 2004
Sikim - 10 May 2004
General Elections held in 2005 : In this year elections were held to Legislative
Assemblies of three States, namely, 1. Bihar, 2. Haryana and 3. Jharkhand. The poll
programme is as given below:
54 India 2008
Phase I Phase Phase III Total
Date of Poll 03-02-05 15-02-05 23-02-05
Bihar 64 86 93 243
Haryana 90 - - 90
Jharkhand 24 29 28 81
Elections were held in Bihar State again in the same year as the Legislative Assembly
was dissolved by the Honorable President of India. This election was held in the
month of October 2005 as below:
Phase I Phase II Phase III Phase IV Total
Date of Poll 18-10-05 26-10-05 13-11-05 19-11-05
Bihar 61 69 72 41 243
General Elections held in 2006 : In this year the term of 5 State Assemblies had
expired and the elections as per the following schedule was held:
Phase I Phase II Phase III Phase IV Total
Assam 03-04-06 10-04-06 - - -
ACs (126) 65 61
Kerala 22-04-06 29-04-06 03-05-06 - -
ACs (146) 59 66 15
Tamil Nadu 08-05-06 - - - -
ACs (234) 234
West Bengal 17-05-06 22-04-06 27-04-06 03-05-06 08-05-06
ACs (294) 45 66 77 57 49
Pondicherry 03-05-06 08-05-06 - - -
ACs (30) 3 27
* General Elections held in 2007 (Annexure-II)
The term of State Legislative Assemblies of Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab,
Uttar Pradesh and Goa expired during the months of March-June, 2007 and the poll
which constituted the new assembly in those states was taken as per the following
schedule :-
Annexure-II
State 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th
Phase Phase Phase Phase Phase Phase Phase
Manipur 08.02.07 14.02.07 23.02.07
Total Number 19 29 12
of ACs (60)
Uttarakhand 21.02.07
Total number 70
of ACs (70) (All ACs)
Punjab 13.02.07
Total Number of 117
The Polity 55
ACs (117) (All ACs)
Uttar Pradesh 07.04.07 13.04.07 18.04.07 23.04.07 28.04.07 03.05.07 08.05.07
Total Number of 62 58 57 57 58 52 59
ACs (403)
Goa 02.06.07
Total number of All Acs
ACs (40)
The counting of votes in respect of Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar
Pradesh was taken up on 27.02.07 and 11.05.07 respectively and that of Goa was
taken up on 05.06.07. The term of Gujarat Legislative Assembly is up to 26.12.07.
The Commission will initiate action in due course so as to constitute the new
Assembly in Gujarat within the stipulated time in normal case.
The General Elections to the State Legislative Assemblies of Himachal Pradesh,
Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram,
NCT of Delhi and Chhattisgarh are to be held in the year, 2008. The term of State
Legislative Assemblies of the said States is given below :-
Sl. State Term Assembly Total number Remarks
No. of Assembly
Constituencies
1. Himachal Pradesh 09.03.2008 68
2. Meghalaya 10.03.2008 60
3. Nagaland 13.03.2008 60
4. Tripura 19.03.2008 60
5. Jammu & Kashmir 20.11.2008 87 Term of J&K
Assembly is for 6
years (Art. 52 of
Constitution of
J&K)
6. Madhya Pradesh 14.12.2008 230
7. Mirozm 14.12.2008 40
8. NCT of Delhi 17.12.2008 70
9. Chhattisgarh 21.12.2008 90
56 India 2008
TABLE 3.1 : LOK SABHA AND ITS SPEAKER(s) FROM TIME TO TIME
LOK SABHA Date of first Date SPEAKER1
meeting after of
its constitution dissolution Name From To
First Lok Sabha 13 May 1952 4 April 19572 Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar 15 May 1952 27 February 19563
M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar 8 March 1956 10 May 1957
Second Lok Sabha 10 May 1957 31 March 19624 M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar 11 May 1957 16 April 1962
Third Lok Sabha 16 April 1962 3 March 19675 Hukam Singh 17 April 1962 16 March 1967
Fourth Lok Sabha 16 March 1967 27 December 19706 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 17 March 1967 19 July 19697
Gurdial Singh Dhillon 8 August 1969 19 March 1971
Fifth Lok Sabha 19 March 1971 18 January 19778 Gurdial Singh Dhillon 22 March 1971 1 December 19759
Bali Ram Bhagat 5 January 1976 25 March 1977
Sixth Lok Sabha 25 March 1977 22 August 197910 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 26 March 1977 13 July 197711
K.S. Hegde 21 July 1977 21 January 1980
Seventh Lok Sabha 21 January 1980 31 December 198412 Bal Ram Jakhar 22 January 1980 15 January 1985
Eighth Lok Sabha 15 January 1985 27 November 198913 Bal Ram Jakhar 16 January 1985 18 December 1989
Ninth Lok Sabha 18 December 1989 13 March 199114 Rabi Ray 19 December 1989 9 July 1991
Tenth Lok Sabha 9 July 1991 10 May 1996 Shivraj V. Patil 10 July 1991 22 May 1996
Eleventh Lok Sabha 22 May 1996 4 December 199715 P.A. Sangma 23 May 1996 23 March 1998 (FN)
Twelfth Lok Sabha 23 March 1998 26 April 199916 G.M.C. Balayogi 24 March 1998 20 October 1999 (FN)
Thirteenth Lok Sabha 20 October 1999 6 February 200418 G.M.C. Balayogi 22 October 1999 3 March 200217
Manohar Gajanan Joshi 10 May 2002 2 June 2004
Fourteenth Lok Sabha 2 June 2004 -- Somnath Chatterjee 4 June 2004 Till Date
1 Under Article 94 of the Constitution, in case of dissolution of the Lok Sabha, the Speaker does not vacate his office until immediately before the first meeting
of the House after dissolution.
2 Dissolved 38 days before expiry of its term.
The Polity 57
TABLE 3.1 (Contd.)
3 Died.
4 Dissolved 40 days before expiry of its term.
5 Dissolved 44 days before expiry of its term.
6 Dissolved one year and 79 days before expiry of its term.
7 Resigned.
8 Term of the Lok Sabha which was to expire on 18 March 1976 was extended by one year upto 18 March 1977 by the House of the People (Extension of Duration) Act,
1976. It was extended for a further period of one year upto 18 March 1978 by the House of the People (Extension of Duration) Amendment Act, 1976. However, the House
was dissolved after having been in existence for a period of five years, 10 months and six days.
9 Resigned.
10 House was dissolved after having been in existence for a period of two years, four months and 28 days.
11 Resigned.
12 Dissolved 20 days before expiry of its term.
13 Dissolved 48 days before expiry of its term.
14 Dissolved after having been in existence for a period of one year, two months and 25 days.
15 House was dissolved after having been in existence for a period of one year, six months and 13 days.
16 House was dissolved after having been in existence for a period of one year, one month and four days.
17 Died.
18 Dissolved 253 days before expiry of its term.
58 India 2008
TABLE 3.2 : STATE-WISE ALLOCATION OF SEATS IN THE TWO HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT AND PARTY POSITION
IN LOK SABHA (AS ON 31.7.2006)
State/UTs No. of No. of
Seats in Seats in INC BJP CPI(M) SP RJD BSP DMK SS BJD CPI NCP JD(U) SAD IND. Others Vacancies
Rajya Sabha Lok Sabha
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
STATES
ANDHRA PRADESH 18 42 29 - 1 - - - - - - 1 - - - - 11(A) -
ARUNACHAL PRADESH 1 2 - 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ASSAM 7 14 9 2 - - - - - - - - - - - 1 2(B) -
BIHAR 16 40 3 4 - - 22 - - - - - - 5 - - 4(C) 2
CHHATTISGARH 5 11 1 9 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
GOA 1 2 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
GUJARAT 11 26 12 14 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HARYANA 5 10 9 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HIMACHAL PRADESH 3 4 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
JAMMU AND KASHMIR 4 6 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 3(D) -
JHARKHAND 6 14 6 - - - 1 - - - - 1 - - - - 4(E) 2
KARNATAKA 12 28 9 16 - 1 - - - - - - - - - - 2(F) -
KERALA 9 20 - - 12 - - - - - - 3 - - - 1 4(G) -
MADHYA PRADESH 11 29 3 23 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3
MAHARASHTRA 19 48 13 11 - - - - - 12 - - 9 - - - 1(H) 2
MANIPUR 1 2 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
MEGHALAYA 1 2 1 - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - - -
MIZORAM 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1(I) -
NAGALAND 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1(J) -
ORISSA 10 21 2 7 - - - - - - 11 - - - - - 1(K) -
PUNJAB 7 13 2 3 - - - - - - - - - - 8 - - -
RAJASTHAN 10 25 4 21 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SIKKIM 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1(L) -
TAMIL NADU 18 39 10 - 2 - - - 16 - - 2 - - - - 9(M) -
The Polity 59
TABLE 3.2 (Contd.)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
TRIPURA 1 2 - - 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - -
UTTARANCHAL 3 5 1 3 - 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -
UTTARAKHAND 31 80 9 10 - 36 - 15 - - - - - 1 - 1 5(N) 3
WEST BENGAL 16 42 5 - 25 - - - - - - 3 - - - - 6(O) 3
NOMINATED 12 2 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
UNION TERRITORIES
A & N ISLANDS - 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
CHANDIGARH - 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI - 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1(P) -
DAMAN & DIU - 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE NCT OF DELHI 3 7 6 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
LAKSHADWEEP - 1 - - - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - -
PONDICHERRY 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1(q) -
TOTAL 245 543 146 128 42 38 23 15 16 12 11 10 10 7 8 5 57 17
a. Telangana Rashtra Samiti-5; Telugu Desam-5; All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen-1
b. Asom Gana Parishad-2
c. Lok Jan Shakti Party-4
d. Jammu and Kashmir National Conference-2; Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party-1
e. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-4
f. Janata Dal (Secular)-2
g. Janata Dal (Secular)-1; Muslim League Kerala State Committee-1; Kerala Congress-2
h. Republican Party of India (A)-1
i. Mizo National Front-1
j. Nagaland Peoples Front-1
k. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-1
l. Sikkim Democratic Front-1
m. Pattali Makkal Katchi-5; Marumaralchi Dravida Munnetra Kzhgram-4
n. Rashtriya Lok Dal-3; National Loktantrik Party-1; Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)-1
o. Revolutionary Socialist Party-3; All India Trinamool Congress-1; All India Forward Bloc-3
p. Bharatiya Navshakti Party-1
q. Pattali Makkal Katchi-1
60 India 2008
4 Agriculture
AGRICULTURE is the mainstay of the Indian economy. Agriculture and allied sectors
contribute nearly 22 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP of India), while about
65-70 per cent of the population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. The
agricultural output, however, depends on monsoon as nearly 60 per cent of area
sown is dependent on rainfall. During 2005, South West monsoon was not well
distributed in time. It was below normal in June, active in July, subdued in August
and became active in September over the country. For the country as a whole, the
seasonal rainfall from 1 June to 30 September was 99 per cent of its long period
average (LPA). According to the Third Advance Estimates on production of foodgrains
and commercial crops released on 5 May 2006 the production of foodgrains during
2005-06 was estimated at 210.01 million tonnes, which is more than the foodgrains
production of 2004-05 by 11.65 million tonnes or 5.9 per cent. The estimated production
of rice at 89.88 million tonnes increased by 6.75 million tonnes or 8.1 per cent as
compared to 2004-05. The production of wheat during 2005-06 estimated at 71.54
million tonnes exceeds last year’s production by 2.90 million tonnes or 4.2 per cent.
The production of coarse cereals estimated at 34.67 million tonnes is more than last
year’s production by 1.21 million tonnes or by 3.6 per cent. The production of bajra
was estimated at 8.31 million tonnes indicating a marginal increase of 4.8 per cent
over last year’s production of 7.93 million tonnes. In case of maize the production
was estimated at 14.89 million tonnes which is more than last year’s production by
0.71 million tonnes or 5.0 per cent. The expected production of total pulses at 13.92
million tonnes shows a 6.0 per cent increase over the last year’s production of 13.13
million tonnes.
The estimated production of total oilseeds at 26.70 million tonnes in 2005-06
is more than the last year’s production by 2.34 million tonnes or by 9.6 per cent. The
production of cotton in 2005-06 was estimated at 18.93 million bales of 170 kg each
which is more than the last year’s production level by 2.50 million bales indicating
an increase of 15.2 per cent. Jute and Mesta production during 2005-06 was estimated
at 10.83 million bales of 180 kg each which is more than last year’s production of
10.27 million bales or by 5.5 per cent. Sugarcane production was estimated at 273.16
million tonnes, showing an increase of 36.07 million tonnes or 15.2 per cent over the
preceding year’s production of 237.09 million tonnes
Annual growth of crop area, production and yield in respect of cereals, oilseeds
and other crops is given below:
TABLE 4.1 : ANNUAL COMPOUND GROWTH OF CROP AREA, PRODUCTION
AND PRODUCTIVITY
(per cent per annum)
2003-04 2004-05
Crop Area Production Yield Area Production Yield
Rice 3.4 23.3 19.2 -1.6 -6.1 -4.6
Wheat 5.6 9.7 4.0 -0.8 -4.9 -4.1
Coarse Cereals 14.1 44.9 27.0 -5.8 -11.6 -6.2
Agriculture 61
Total Cereals 7.1 21.0 13.0 -2.7 -6.5 -3.9
Total Pulses 14.5 33.1 16.3 -3.0 -10.7 -8.0
Foodgrains 8.4 22.6 13.0 -2.7 -7.1 -4.5
Nine Oilseeds 10.1 69.8 54.2 16.3 -2.5 -16.2
Cotton (lint) -0.9 59.2 60.7 15.6 19.7 3.5
Sugarcane -12.9 -18.6 -6.6 -7.0 1.4 9.0
Non Foodgrains 8.1 19.2 10.2 9.8 2.5 -6.6
All Principal Crops 8.3 21.0 11.7 0.7 -2.7 -3.5
Based on Index Numbers with Triennium ending 1993-94 = 100
LAND UTILISATION
Land utilisation statistics are available for 92.9 per cent of total geographical area of
3,287.3 lakh hectares. According to Land Use Statistics available from the States, the
area under forest had increased from 404.8 lakh hectares in 1950-51 to 695.5 lakh
hectares in 2003-04. Net sown area increased from 1,187.5 lakh hectares to 1,409.6
lakh hectares during the same period. Broad cropping pattern indicates that though
foodgrains have a preponderance in gross cropped area as compared to nonfoodgrains,
their relative share came down from 76.7 per cent during 1950-51 to 65.6
per cent during 2003-04.
TECHNOLOGY MISSION ON OILSEEDS, PULSES AND MAIZE
The Technology Mission on Oilseeds was launched by the Central Government in
1986 to increase the production of oilseeds to reduce import and achieve selfsufficiency
in edible oils. Subsequently, pulses, oil palm and maize were also brought
within the purview of the Mission in 1990-91, 1992 and 1995-96 respectively. In
addition the National Oilseeds and Vegetable Oils Development (NOVOD) Board
also supplement the efforts of TMOP by opening of newer areas for non-traditional
oilseeds. It is promoting tree-borne oilseeds. The schemes implemented under TMOP
are (i) Oilseeds Production Programme (OPP) (ii) National Pulses Development Project
(NPDP) (iii) Accelerated Maize Development Programme (AMDP) (iv) Post Harvest
Technology (PHT) (v) Oil Palm Development Programme (OPDP) and (vi) National
Oilseeds and Vegetable Oils Development Board (NOVOD).
During the Tenth Plan these schemes have been restructured as (i) Integrated
Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize (ISOPOM) by converging the ongoing
schemes of OPP, NPDP, AMDP and OPDP, (ii) Research and Development in Post
Harvest and Processing Technology (PHT) in Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize
including TMOP Headquarter, and (iii) Integrated Development of Tree Borne Oilseeds
to be implemented by NOVOD Board.
Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize : In order to provide
flexibility to the States in implementation based on regionally differentiated approach,
to promote crop diversification and to provide focused approach to the programmes,
the four on-going schemes of OPP, OPDP, NPDP, and AMDP have been merged into
one Centrally Sponsored Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize
(ISOPOM)during the 10th Five year Plan which is being implemented with effect from
1 April 2004. The scheme is being implemented in 14 major oilseeds and pulses
growing States for oilseeds and pulses and 15 major maize growing states for Maize
and in 10 states for oil palm.
The ISOPOM has the following special features (i) Flexibility, allowing the States
62 India 2008
to utilise the funds for the scheme/crop of their choice; (ii) Annual action plan to be
formulated by the State Governments for consideration and approval of the
Government of India; (iii) Flexibility, allowing the State to introduce innovative
measures or any special component to the extent of 10 per cent of financial allocation
(iv) Involvement of private sector by the State Governments for the implementation of
the programme with a financial cap of 15 per cent (v) Flexibility for inter-component
diversion of funds upto 20 per cent for non-seed components only and (vi) Diversion
of funds from seed components to non-seed components with prior approval of the
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation.
New components of ISOPOM included during 10th Plan are: (i) Inclusion of
HDPE pipes; (ii) Publicity; (iii) Involvement of Private Sector including NGOs,
Farmers’ Organisation, Cooperative bodies, Public Sector Agencies, etc; (iv) Innovative
measures and additional components; (v) Training of Officers/Extension workers;
and (vi) Foreign Visits.
Implementation of oilseeds production programme has helped in increasing
the production of oilseeds from 108.30 lakh tonnes in 1985-86 to 266.97(IIIrd Advance
Estimate) lakh tonnes during 2005-06. The pulses production in the country increased
from 128.60 lakh in 1989-90 to 139.20(IIIrd Advance Estimate) tonnes in 2005-06. The
area under oil palm increased from 8585 ha. at the end of 1992-93 to 71938 ha. upto
2005-06. Actual production of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs) upto 2003-04 was 40,000
tonnes (Approx.) yielding around 25,000 tonnes (Approx.) of crude palm oil (CPO).
The production of maize increased from 88.84 lakh tonnes in 1994-95 to 149.9 lakh
tonnes in 2003-04.
Research and development in Post Harvest and Processing Technology in
Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize: The scheme of Post Harvest Technology
(PHT) for Oilseeds, Pulses and Maize was brought under the purview of the TMOP
with the objective of stepping up their production through efficient scientific processing
for realising the ultimate objective of self-reliance in edible oils and other crops and
bringing about a position of zero imports.
The Technology Mission laid emphasise on development of Post Harvest
Technology (PHT) with the following objectives: (i) Optimising oil recovery from
oilseeds by developing efficient modern oil expellers; (ii) Tapping full potential of
Rice Bran Oil (RBO) – in the country; (iii) Developing value added products in respect
of oilseeds, pulses and maize so that farmers are able to get a better/remunerative
price; (iv) Designing and developing indigenous technology for processing of nonconventional
and tree borne oilseeds including oil palm; (v) Developing of indigenous
technology in maize processing suitable in the context of Indian situation; and (vi)
Dissemination of the R&D Technologies developed through demonstration
programmes.
The indigenous technologies developed through R&D programmes were
popularised by setting up demonstration units in industries with partial grant-inaid
assistance from the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation. The partial
grant-in-aid assistance was provided in the form of plant and machinery. The scheme
has been discontinued from 2005-06 by the Planning Commission.
Integrated Development of Tree Borne Oilseed by NOVOD Board : National
Oilseed and Vegetable Oils Development (NOVOD) Board is exploring and
augmenting the potential of Tree Borne Oilseeds (TBOs) in the country by undertaking
activities like back-ended credit-linked subsidy programmes consisting of
Agriculture 63
establishment of seed procurement centres, installation of multi-purpose preprocessing
and processing facilities, installation of oil expellers, nursery raising and
commercial plantation and promotional programmes like development of elite
planting material, elite nursery raising and plantation, awareness programmes,
establishment of TBO garden, etc.
The Board has initiated plantation programmes of Jatropha curcas, and karanja
(Pongamia pinnata) for bio-diesel production in the country in more than 10,000 ha.
areas in the 25 States/Union Territories of the country. Besides 128 TBO gardens
have also been established to demonstrate the silvicultural practices coupled with
IPM for early adoption of TBO plantation in 12 States. Further, transfer of technology
programmes consisting of 136 farmer’s training, 48 trainer’s training and 22
workshops have also been organised for motivating farmers to adopt TBO plantation
and create awareness among primary seed collectors. The elite planting material and
planting techniques as well as location specific package of practices are being evolved
through a national network of 42 R&D institutions in the country.
Under the awareness programme, 2300 farmers have been trained and motivated
for raising TBOs by conducting 46 farmer’s training in the various States. Similarly,
600 field level functionary and volunteers have been trained through 12 trainer’s
training programme.
Eight oil expellers have been installed in the State of A.P., Bihar, Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu. Six more oil expellers are being installed for extraction of oil from TBOs.
CROP PRODUCTION PROGRAMME
The Crop Development schemes, viz., (i) Integrated Cereal Development Programme
in wheat-based cropping systems areas (ICDP-Wheat) (ii) Integrated Cereals
Development Programme in rice-based cropping systems areas (ICDP-Rice); (iii)
Integrated Cereal Development Programme on Coarse Cereals-Based Cropping
Systems Areas (ICDP-Coarse Cereals), (iv)Sustainable Development of Sugarcane-
Based Cropping System (SUBACS); and (v) Special Jute Development Programme
(SJDP) implemented during Ninth plan have since been subsumed under Macro
Management of Agriculture Scheme w.e.f. October 2000 to give more flexibility to the
State Governments. Assistance is provided to the States for implementation of these
programmes based on the Work Plans prepared by them according to regional needs.
The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Intensive Cotton Development
Programme (ICDP) now modified as a Mini-Mission-II of the Technology Mission
on Cotton, is continuing during 2006-07. The scheme is being implemented in 13
States. The aim of the scheme is to increase the production and productivity of cotton.
The scheme provides assistance for extension and development activities.
As a new initiative, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme – On Farm Water
Management for encouraging crop production in Eastern India was launched in
March 2002. The objective of the scheme was to increase the production and
productivity of foodgrains through focus on exploitation of ground/surface water
and its efficient utilisation. The scheme helps in enhancing the income of the farmers
and diversifying agriculture production in eastern India. The Scheme was in operation
in all districts of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,
Manipur, Mizoram, Orissa, nine districts of West Bengal and 35 districts of Eastern
Uttar Pradesh. The main components of the scheme were: (i) assistance for installation
of shallow tubewells with pump sets;(ii) assistance for electric/diesel pump sets;
(iii) assistance for community lift irrigation points; and (iv) assistance for digging
64 India 2008
wells in the plateau region. The scheme was being implemented as credit-linked
back-ended subsidy basis through NABARD in coordination with the State
Governments. The funding pattern of the scheme was 20:30:50 basis, i.e., 20 per cent
contributed by the beneficiaries, 30 per cent subsidy from Government of India and
50 per cent as bank loan. The scheme has since been discontinued from 2006-07.
HORTICULTURE
India is bestowed with a varied agro-climate, which is highly favourable for growing
a large number of horticultural crops such as fruits, vegetables, root tuber, ornamental,
aromatic plants, medicinal herbs, spices and plantation crops like coconut, arecanut,
cashew and cocoa. Presently, horticultural crops occupy around 10 per cent of gross
cropped area of the country producing 160.75 million tonnes. India is the second
largest producer of fruits and vegetables. Total production of fruits has been estimated
at 49.36 million tonnes from 4.81 million ha. Vegetables occupy an area of 6.3 million
ha. with a production of 93.00 million tonnes. Our share in world fruit and vegetable
production is 10 per cent and 13.28 per cent respectively.
Fruits : India has a large range of varieties of fruit in its basket and accounts for 10
per cent of world’s total fruit production. Mango, banana, citrus, pineapple, papaya,
guava, cheeku, jackfruit, litchi and grape, among the tropical and sub-tropical fruits;
apple, pear, peach, plum, apricot, almond and walnut among the temperate fruits
and aonla, ber, pomegranate, annona, fig, phalsa among the arid zone fruits are
important. India leads the world in the production of mango, banana, cheeku and
acid lime and in productivity of grapes per unit land area.
India is the largest producer of mango, banana, cheeku and acid lime. About 39
per cent of world’s mango and 23 per cent of world’s banana is produced in the
country. In grapes, India has recorded the highest productivity per unit area in the
world. The overall production of horticultural crops registered an increase of 8.0 per
cent during 2004-05 as compared to 2003-04. The per centage increase in fruit
production has been to the tune of 1.5 per cent during the period.
Vegetables : More than 40 kinds of vegetables belonging to different groups, namely,
solanaceous, cucurbitaceous, leguminous, cruciferous (cole crops), root crops and
leafy vegetables are grown in India in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate regions.
Important vegetable crops grown in the country are tomato, onion, brinjal, cabbage,
cauliflower, okra and peas.
India is next only to China in area and production of vegetables and occupies
prime position in the production of cauliflower, second in onion and third in cabbage
in the world. The area and production of major vegetables during 2004-05 is estimated
at 6.30 million ha with a production of 93.0 million tonnes and average productivity
of 14.8 tonnes per ha. The production has increased by 5.7 per cent.
Flowers : Though flower cultivation has been practised in India since times
immemorial, floriculture has blossomed into a viable business only in recent years.
The increased growing of contemporary cut flowers like rose, gladiolus, tuberose,
carnation, etc., has led to their use for bouquets and arrangements for gifts, as well as
decoration of both home and work place. A growing market, as a result of improvement
in the general level of well being in the country and increased affluence, particularly
among the middle class, has led to transformation of the activity of flower growing
into a burgeoning industry. Availability of diverse agro-climatic conditions in this
large country facilitates production of all major flowers throughout the year in some
Agriculture 65
part or the other, and improved transportation facilities, have increased the availability
of flowers all over the country.
India has made noticeable advancement in the production of flowers. Floriculture
is estimated to cover an area of 1.14 lakh ha. with a production of 6,70,000 MT of loose
flowers and 13009.3 million cut flowers.
Spices : Spices constitute an important group of horticultural crops and are defined
as vegetable products or mixture thereof, free from extraneous matter, used for
flavouring, seasoning and imparting aroma in foods. The term applies equally to the
product in the whole form or in the ground form. India is known as the home of spices
and produces a wide variety of spices like black pepper, cardamom (small and large)
ginger, garlic, turmeric, chilli and a large variety of tree and seed spices.
India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices and spice products.
The total production of spices was 4.3 million metric tonnes and the area covered
was 2.56 million hectares.
Plantation Crops : Plantation crops constitute a large group of crops. The major
plantation crops include coconut, arecanut, oil palm, cashew, tea, coffee and rubber,
the minor plantation crops include cocoa. Their total coverage is comparatively less
and they are mostly confined to small holdings. However, they play an important
role in view of their export potential as well as domestic requirements and in
employment generation and poverty alleviation programmes particularly in rural
sector.
India is also the largest producer and consumer of cashew nuts. It is estimated
that total production of cashew is around 0.57 million tonnes from an area of 0.24
million hectares. The cultivation of vanilla in India started in 1990s and was confined
mostly to Karnataka and Kerala and to a lesser extent in Tamil Nadu, Northeast
region, Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. India’s production of
vanilla was about 101 Metric Tonnes from about 27,811 hectare in 2004-05. Coconut
is grown in an area of 1.93 million ha. with a production of 12,148 million nuts and
productivity of 6285 nuts per ha. India is the third largest producer of coconut and
leads 90 coconut-producing countries of the world. It occupies a number one position
in arecanut production. As a result, horticulture is not only an integral part of food
and nutritional security, but also an essential ingredient of economic security.
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants : Medicinal and aromatic plants have been used in
the country for a long time for their medicinal properties. About 2000 native plant
species have curative properties and 1300 species are known for their aroma and
flavour. The Indian systems of medicines, popularly known as Ayurveda, Unani and
Siddha drugs are of great demand in the country. There is already a spurt in demand
for plant-based drugs and lately many such native species of medicinal value are
being brought under systematic cultivation.
India has been considered a treasure house of valuable medicinal and aromatic
plant species. The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India have
identified and documented over 9,500 plant species considering their importance in
the pharmaceutical industry. Out of these, about 65 plants have large and consistent
demand in world trade. India however produces only limited quantities of these
materials. In terms of market share in production value, India holds only the 6th
place with a mere 7 per cent share. On the contrary, we are still importing about 10
types of essential oils to the tune of 8000 tonnes per annum.
66 India 2008
PROGRAMMES FOR HORTICULTURE DEVELOPMENT
National Horticulture Mission : A Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National
Horticulture Mission (NHM) has been launched in the country from May 2005 during
the current financial year for the development of horticulture duly ensuring an end to
end approach having backward and forward linkages covering research, production,
post-harvest management, processing and marketing. The focus areas of the Mission
will be as under:
l Capacity building for production and supply of adequate quality planting
material including setting up of scion banks of high yielding mother plants.
l Increased coverage of crops under improved/high yielding cultivars.
l Enhanced production and productivity of horticulture crops.
l Strengthening of infrastructure facilities such as soil and leaf analysis labs,
survey and surveillance of pest and diseases, green house, poly houses, micro
irrigation, plant health clinics, vermicompost, etc.
l Building adequate infrastructure for on-farm and post-harvest handling.
l Enhanced production of high value and low volume horticultural products for
exports.
l Strengthening infrastructure facilities for marketing and export.
l Enhanced production of high value processed products.
l Building a strong base to enhance efficiency in adoption of technologies.
A technology driven cluster approach with focussed attention on competitive
horticulture crops, is the underlying approach of the National Horticulture Mission.
Technology Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture in North Eastern
States, Sikkim, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal : The
Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Technology Mission for Integrated Development of
Horticulture in North Eastern region including Sikkim was continued during the
year. The implementation of the scheme has been extended to the States of J&K,
Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal. The scheme aims at establishing convergence
and synergy among numerous ongoing governmental programmes through
horizontal and vertical integration of these programmes which will ensure adequate,
appropriate, timely and concurrent attention to all the links in the production, post
harvest and consumption chain. The Small Farmer’s Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC)
is involved in coordinating the scheme.
The Technology Mission through its four Mini Missions addresses all the aspects
of Horticulture development with an end-to-end approach. Mini Mission-I involving
research is coordinated and implemented by the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR). Mini Mission-II covering production and productivity improvement
activities is coordinated by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation and
implemented by the Agriculture/Horticulture Departments of the States. Mini Mission-
III involving post-harvest management, marketing and export is coordinated by
National Horticulture Board and Mini Mission-IV involving processing is coordinated
and implemented by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries. State level SFACs
have also been constituted in most of the implementing States for monitoring and
implementing the programme at the grass-root level. Under the Technology Mission,
funds to the states are made available on the basis of yearly action plans/proposals,
Agriculture 67
which are approved by the State Level Steering Committee under the chairmanship
of Chief Secretary of the concerned state.
Some of the major achievements made so far under the scheme are:
l 97503 hectares of additional area have been brought under different horticultural
crops.
l The area covered under fruits, vegetables and spice crops are 50667 ha, 16252
ha and 20262 ha respectively.
l An area of 5858 ha has been covered under high value crops like medicinal and
aromatic plants and flowers.
l Infrastructure facilities for production of quality planting material such as
establishment of 420 nurseries, 3055 community water tanks, adoption of drip
irrigation in 2121 ha were undertaken.
l IPM practices in 22140 ha and organic farming in 4498 ha. were taken up.
l Establishment of 304 markets (whole-sale markets-59, Rural Primary markets/
Apni Mandies-225 and 20 Grading Labs) and 9 processing units are the other
achievements.
Under this scheme, it is also envisaged to make women self-reliant by providing
them equal opportunities, so that they are able to avail the benefits and opportunities
of the existing agricultural systems through following interventions:
l Organisation/identification of women groups, which would act as a network
for channelising the horticultural support.
l Need based assessment of women farmers in terms of the horticulture support
such as input support, technological support and extension support, etc.
l Prioritising the activities of the individual women’s groups on the basis of the
need based assessment.
l Provide adequate organisational and financial support to women groups to
make their “self-help groups.”
l Provide technical training in horticulture and allied areas to women farmers.
l Provide training in increased managerial, organisational, entrepreneurial and
decision making skills.
l Enable them to develop into viable bodies so that they are able to orchestrise
their activities, resources and group interaction.
l Under the mission 17353 women entrepreneurs were trained, on different
aspects of horticulture.
National Horticulture Board Programmes : The National Horticulture Board (NHB)
is involved in the development of high quality horticulture farms in identified belts
and make such areas vibrant with horticulture activity which in turn will act as hubs
for developing commercial horticulture, development of post harvest infrastructure,
strengthening of market information system and horticulture data base, assisting
Research and Development programmes to develop products suited for specific
varieties with improved methods and horticulture technology, providing training
and education to farmers and processing industry personal for improvement of
agronomic practices and new technologies are also being pursued by the Board.
Coconut Development Board Programmes : The Coconut Development Board
(CDB) implements programmes for the Integrated Development of Coconut Industry
68 India 2008
and Technology Mission on Coconut during the Tenth Plan period. To achieve the
objectives of integrated development of the crop, product diversification and byproduct
utilisation, the major thrust areas identified are production and distribution
of quality planting material, expansion of area under coconut especially in potential
and non-traditional areas, improving productivity of coconut in major coconut
producing states, developing of technology in post harvest processing, marketing
activities and the integrated control of major pests and diseases. Interventions by the
CDB has enabled to diversify coconut products like desiccated coconut, coconut
vinegar, virgin coconut oil and defatted coconut kernel products for enabling value
addition and higher remuneration to the farmers.
Bee-Keeping : In order to maximise agricultural production, honeybee can be used
as an important input. About 85 per cent crop plants are cross-pollinated, as they
need to receive pollen from other plants of the same species with the help of external
agents. One of the most important external agent is the honeybee. A few colonies of
honeybees are placed in the field when the crop is in flowering stage. When pressed
into service they would make several thousand forages for pollination. The abundance
of pollinators helps in early setting of seeds resulting in early and more uniform crop
yield. Honeybees also produce honey, bee wax and royal jelly thus giving additional
benefits to the farmers. About 50 million ha. of land in the country are under bee
dependent crops like fruit, vegetables, oilseeds, legumes and pulses. Many of these
crops require three to nine bee colonies per ha.
The National Bee Board which is looking after the developmental activities of
bee keeping has been recently reconstituted with Secretary (A&C) as Chairman and
Horticulture Commissioner as Member Secretary.
NEW SCHEMES
Micro Irrigation : To enable judicious use of the water and available resources, a
new scheme on Micro Irrigation was launched during the Tenth Plan with a target to
bring 6.2 lakh ha. under micro irrigation. A good response by the farmers in adopting
efficient methods of irrigation like micro irrigation, has helped in conserving water
with added benefits of increased yield and improved quality, particularly of
horticultural crops. Since there is a need to promote this technology in all parts of the
country, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Micro Irrigation has been launched by the
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation with the approval of Cabinet on 29
December 2005.
National Bamboo Mission : A report on “National Mission on Bamboo Technology
and Trade Development (NMBTTD)” have been prepared for launching of the
National Bamboo Mission programme during Tenth Plan. This mission would bring
about one lakh hectares under bamboo which is expected to generate income and
employment opportunity through bamboo and its ancillary industry. The scheme
envisages harnessing the bamboo wealth in the country by integrating the production,
post-felling management, value addition and marketing aspects. The scheme is
proposed to be implemented through State Bamboo Development Agencies, to be
constituted by the States. The scheme is in the final stage of approval.
MACRO MANAGEMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agriculture being a State subject, the primary responsibility for increasing agriculture
production, enhancing productivity and exploring the vast untapped potential of
the sector rests with State Governments. However, in order to supplement the efforts
Agriculture 69
of State Governments, a number of Centrally Sponsored and Central Sector Schemes
are being implemented as a catalyst for enhancement of agricultural production and
productivity in the country, and consequential increase in prosperity of the farming
community.
The Macro Management of Agriculture (MMA) Scheme is a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme formulated with the objective to ensure that the Central Assistance is spent
on focused and specific interventions for development of agriculture in areas of priority
of different States. It became operational in 2000-01 in all States and UTs. The Scheme
provides sufficient flexibility to States to develop and pursue the programmes on the
basis of their regional priorities. Thus States have been given a free hand to finalise
their sector-wise allocation as per requirements of their developmental priorities. It is
a major step towards achieving decentralisation in pursuance of restoring primacy
of States in agricultural development planning which aims at development in
agriculture through Work Plans prepared by State Governments themselves.
The scheme initially consisted of 27 Centrally Sponsored Schemes relating to
Cooperative, Crop Production Programmes (for rice, wheat, coarse cereals, jute,
sugarcane) Watershed Development Programme (NWDPRA, RVP/FPR), Horticulture,
Fertiliser, Mechanisation and Seeds Production Programme. However, with the
launching of National Horticulture Mission (NHM), 10 schemes pertaining to
horticulture development were taken out of the purview of this Scheme from the year
2005-06.
The approved pattern of Assistance under the Scheme is in the ratio of 90:10
between the Centre and the States respectively, except in the case of North Eastern
States in case of which 100 per cent Central Assistance is extended. The Central
Assistance to the States is released in two installments in the ratio of 80 per cent
Grant and 20 per cent Loan.
The position regarding Budget Estimates, Revised Estimates and expenditure
incurred under the scheme since 2000-01 is as indicated below:-
(Rs in Crore)
Year Budget Estimate Revised Estimate Expenditure
2000-01 490.00 381.88 381.88
2001-02 850.00 680.49 678.62
2002-03 736.86 597.00 597.59
2003-04 700.00 648.60 648.49
2004-05 712.92 1189.20 1188.94
2005-06 912.62 819.15 841.86
2006-07 910.00 819.15 841.86
An amount of Rs 910.00 crore has been earmarked in BE 2006-07 for
implementation of this Scheme.
NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Soil and water conservation measures are one of the essential inputs for increasing
agricultural output in the country. These programmes were first launched during the
First Plan. From the very beginning, the emphasis has been on development of
technology for problem identification, enactment of appropriate legislation and
constitution of policy coordination bodies. While conceptual framework of soil and
70 India 2008
water conservation activities has been changed, concept of programmes has
undergone considerable revision during successive Five- Year Plans.
The Centrally-Sponsored Scheme of Soil Conservation in the catchments of
River Valley Project (RVP) was started in the Third Five-Year Plan. Subsequently,
another scheme of Flood Prone Rivers (FPR) was started in the Sixth Five-Year Plan
keeping in view the magnitude of floods in 1978. Both the schemes were clubbed
together during the Ninth Five-Year Plan on recommendation of Expenditure Finance
Committee and were subsumed under Macro Management Mode since November
2000. Under the programme for the Catchment Management of River Valley Projects
and Flood Prone Rivers, 53 Catchments are covered, spread over in 27 States. The
total Catchment area is 141 million ha. with Priority Area needing urgent treatment
in 28 million ha. Out of this 6.08 million. ha. have been treated till 2004-05 with an
expenditure of Rs 1894 crore. During 2005-06 an area of 0.17 million ha. have been
treated with an expenditure of Rs 145 crore.
A Centrally-Sponsored Scheme of Reclamation of Alkali Soil was taken up in
Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh during the Seventh Five Year Plan. During the
Ninth Plan, extension of the Scheme to all other States of India was approved where
alkali soil problems exist as per scientific parameters. The Scheme aims at improving
physical conditions and productivity status of alkali soils for restoring optimum
crop production. The major components of the scheme include, assured irrigation
water on farm development works like land leveling, bunding and ploughing,
agriculture, community drainage system, application of soil amendment organic
manures, etc. An area of 0.66 million ha out of 3.5 million ha., of alkali land has been
reclaimed till the end of 2004-05 in the country. The Scheme at present stands
subsumed within the Macro Management Scheme. During 2005-06 an area of 0.03
million ha have been reclaimed with an expenditure of Rs 9.29 crore.
The Scheme of Watershed Development Project in Shifting Cultivation Areas
was launched in seven North–Eastern States during the Eighth Plan from 1994-95
with 100 per cent Central assistance to the State Plan. The Scheme aims at overall
development of jhum areas on watershed basis. During the Eighth Plan an amount of
Rs 31.51 crore was spent by the States of north-east region and 0.67 lakh ha. area was
treated through treatment packages. During the Ninth Plan, 1.57 lakh ha. have been
treated with an expenditure of Rs 82 crore. The new guidelines of the scheme on the
basis of new watershed to common approach has been effective from November 2000
in the revised cost norms of Rs 10,000 per ha. on net treatable area basis with additional
activities and improved institutional mechanism. During the Tenth Plan, an area
of 0.89 lakh ha. has been treated with an expenditure of Rs 88.32 crore up to end of
2005-06.
RAINFED FARMING
Rainfed Farming is complex, diverse and risk prone and is characterised by low
levels of productivity and low input uses. The Government of India has accorded
high priority to the holistic and sustainable development of rainfed areas through
integrated watershed development approach. The key attributes of the watershed
approach are conservation of rain water and optimisation of soil and water resources
in a sustainable and cost-effective mode. Improved moisture management increases
the productivity of improved seeds and fertiliser. So conservation and productivity
enhancing measures become complementary.
Agriculture 71
Graphs
72 India 2008
A National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Area (NWDPRA) was
launched in 1990-91 in 25 states and two UTs. The project was continued during
Tenth Five Year Plan in 28 states inclusive of three newly created States and two UTs
with the purpose of increasing agriculture productivity and production in rainfed
areas. The guidelines for NWDPRA have been radically restructured by retaining the
technical strength and incorporating community participation. The watershed
development programme is now planned, implemented, monitored and maintained
by watershed communities. During Ninth plan, an area of 27.66 lakh ha has been
treated. Now the scheme of NWDPRA has been subsumed within the Macro
Management of Agriculture scheme. The scheme is being continued for implementation
during Tenth plan under the revised guidelines, with people’s participation, covering
more than 6000 micro-watersheds. It is estimated that an area of about 20 lakh ha
would be developed during Tenth plan. In the first four years of Tenth Plan, an area
of 1.59 million hectares has been developed at an expenditure of Rs. 793.82 crore.
A Watershed Development Fund (WDF) has been established at NABARD with
the objective of integrated watershed development in 100 priority districts of 18 States
through participatory approach. The total corpus of WDF is Rs 200 crore. Under
WDF, two-thirds of amount is given for loan based project and one-third of amount is
given for grant based project in the State. A number of externally aided projects are
also under implementation on watershed approach, which covers an area of about
1.5 lakh hectares annually.
INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT
The main objective of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) Division is to ensure
adequate availability of quality fertilisers to farmers through periodical demand
assessment and timely supply, promoting integrated nutrient management, which is
soil test-based, judicious and balanced use of chemical fertilisers in conjunction with
organic manures and bio-fertilisers, promotion of organic farming and ensuring
quality control of fertilisers through implementation of Fertiliser (Control) Order,
1985.
India is the third largest producer and consumer of fertilisers in the world after
China and the USA. Against 18.4 million tonnes of fertiliser nutrients (NPK) consumed
during 2004-05, the nutrient consumption is estimated at 20.2 million tonnes during
2005-06. The consumption of major fertilisers namely, Urea, DAP, MOP, SSP and
Complexes was estimated to be 22.2, 6.8, 2.6, 2.8 and 6.7 million tonnes respectively
during 2005-06. India is, by and large, self sufficient in respect of Urea and about 90
per cent in case of DAP. The all-India average fertiliser consumption is 96.4 kg./ha of
NPK nutrients though there is wide variation from state to state varying from 197
kg./ha in Punjab, 164 kg./ha in Haryana to less than 10 kg./ha in States like
Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim,etc. Considering the skewed pattern of
fertiliser use, Government of India is promoting balanced and integrated use of fertiliser
nutrients through various initiatives. As a result, NPK consumption ratio has now
improved to 5.7: 2.2: 1 during 2004-05 from 7: 2.7: 1 during 2000-01.
Price of fertilisers: Presently urea is the only fertiliser which is under Statutory Price
Control. To ensure adequate availability of fertilisers to farmers at reasonable rates,
subsidy is provided by Government of India. Urea, the most consumed fertiliser, is
subsidised under the New Urea Pricing Scheme, whereas P&K fertilisers, which are
decontrolled, are covered under the Concession Scheme. The existing scheme for
special freight subsidy has been continued for supplies to the North Eastern States
Agriculture 73
and Jammu and Kashmir. There is no change in the prices of major fertilisers level
since 12 March 2003, which are as under:
Fertilizer Product MRP (Rs. per MT)
Urea 4830
DAP (Indigenous) 9350
Complexes 7100-9080
MOP 4455
SSP Price of SSP is fixed by
State Governments.
Buffer Stocking of P&K Fertilisers : To ensure adequate availability of decontrolled
fertilisers in remote and inaccessible areas, there is a scheme under which a buffer
stock of limited quantities of DAP and MOP is being maintained at strategic locations
to meet emergent requirements.
Balanced Use of Fertilisers : The Government is implementing a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme ‘Balanced and Integrated Use of Fertilisers’ to popularise soil test based
judicious application of chemical fertilisers in combination with organic manures
and bio-fertilisers. Under the Scheme, financial assistance is provided for setting up/
strengthening of new soil testing laboratories for advising farmers on major and
micro nutrients application, training and demonstration on balanced use of fertilisers
and also for setting up of production units of useful organic manure from city waste/
garbage. This scheme has since been subsumed within ‘Macro Management Scheme’
with effect from October 2000. State Governments are required to undertake all these
activities through their Annual Work Plans.
FERTILISER QUALITY CONTROL
The Government ensures the quality of fertilisers through Fertiliser (Control) Order
(FCO) issued under Essential Commodities Act (ECA) to regulate the price, trade,
quality and distribution of fertilisers in the country. The State Governments are the
executing agencies to implement the various provisions of FCO. The Order strictly
prohibits the manufacture, import and sale of any fertiliser, which does not meet
prescribed standards. The Central Fertiliser Quality Control and Training Institute at
Faridabad and its 3 Regional centres located at Navi Mumbai, Chennai and Kalyani
have been set up for inspection and analysis of imported and indigenous fertilisers,
giving technical advice and providing training on quality control to state enforcement
agencies and analysts. The Institute has also developed a Quick Testing Kit for onthe-
spot detection of adulteration in fertilisers.
The FCO has been recently amended to make it more user friendly and ensuring
effective enforcement. The important amendments include provision of repackaging
of cut or torn fertiliser bags and reprocessing of damaged fertiliser due to natural
calamities and provisions for commercial trials of provisional fertilisers. Accordingly,
M/s National Fertiliser Limited (NFL), M/s Tata Chemicals, M/s Chambal Fertilisers
Ltd., M/s Indo-Gulf Fertilisers and M/s Shri Ram Fertilisers have been permitted to
manufacture neem-coated urea under Clause 20 A for commercial trials. M/s
Coromandel Fertilisers Ltd. have been permitted to manufacture Bentonite Sulphur
for commercial trials and M/s IFFCO has been permitted to manufacture fortified
74 India 2008
complex fertilisers. Printing of Maximum Retail Price (MRP) on all fertilisers including
urea is now mandatory along with the printing of month and year of manufacture/
import of fertiliser.
Presently there are 67 laboratories in the country (including 4 Central
Government Laboratories) with a total annual analysing capacity of 1.25 lakh samples.
The analytical capacity and the number of samples analysed and found non standard
during the last 5 years are as under:
Year No. of Annual No. of samples Per centage of non
Labs. Analytical analysed standard samples
capacity
2000-01 66 120315 103436 5.3
2001-02 66 120415 104188 5.7
2002-03 67 125480 109504 5.4
2003-04 67 124778 104647 5.5
2004-05 67 124730 108859 6.0
The per centage of non standard samples on all India basis is hovering around
5 - 6 per cent samples during the last 5 years. However, there is a large variation from
state to state like 18 per cent in M.P., 10 to 13 per cent in Maharashtra, HP and UP,
4 to 8 per cent in Bihar, Orissa, W.B., Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, A.P., Kerala,
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and around 1 to 3 per cent in Punjab and Gujarat.
PROMOTION OF BIO-FERTILISERS
With a view to promote the use of bio-fertilisers as an environment-friendly and
cheaper source of plant nutrients, Government of India had earlier taken up a ‘National
Project on Development and Use of Bio fertilisers’ during the Sixth Plan and was
continued till Ninth Plan. The Scheme provided for setting up National Bio-fertiliser
Development Centre at Ghaziabad and its Six Regional Bio-fertiliser Development
Centres (RBDCs) at Jabalpur, Nagpur, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Hissar and Imphal
for promotion, extension, training and demonstration of bio-fertilisers. Under the
Scheme, assistance for setting up of bio-fertiliser production units was also provided.
Presently, there are around 125 bio-fertilisers production units in the country with an
annual capacity of 18,000 tonnes of different types of bio-fertilisers and the annual
production is about 10,000 tonnes. This scheme has been subsumed under a new
Central Sector Scheme “National Project on Organic Farming” from October 2004. To
undertake the new activities, the names of NBDC and RBDCs have been changed to
National Centre of Organic Farming (NCOF) and Regional Centres of Organic Farming
(RCOF).
NATIONAL PROJECT ON ORGANIC FARMING
The Government is implementing a new scheme ‘National Project on Organic Farming’
since October 2004 with an outlay of Rs 57.05 crore for production, promotion, market
development of organic farming in the country during the remaining period of the
Tenth Plan. The main components of the scheme include:
(i) Putting in place a system of certification of organic produce.
(ii) Capacity building through service providers.
(iii) Financial support for commercial production units for production of organic
Agriculture 75
inputs like: (a) fruits and vegetable waste compost units; (b) bio- fertilisers
production; and (c) hatcheries for vermi culture.
(iv) Promotion, extension and market development of Organic Farming.
PLANT PROTECTION
Plant Protection continues to play a significant role in achieving targets of crop
production. The major thrust areas of plant protection are promotion of Integrated
Pest Management, ensuring availability of safe and quality pesticides for sustaining
crop production from the ravages of pests and diseases, streamlining the quarantine
measures for accelerating the introduction of new high yielding crop varieties, besides
eliminating the chances of entry of exotic pests and for human resource development
including empowerment of women in plant protection skills.
The following three Plan Schemes are being implemented by Plant Protection
Division of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation through Directorate of
Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage
STRENGTHENING AND MODERNISATION OF PEST MANAGEMENT
APPROACH IN INDIA
Components :
A. Promotion of Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
B. Locust Control and Research
C. Training in Plant Protection
D. Implementation of Insecticides Act
On the recommendation of Planning Commission the Schemes at A to D have
been merged as a single scheme i.e. “Strengthening and Modernisation of Pest
Management Approach in India” with a total outlay of Rs. 99.95 crore during Tenth
Five year Plan (2002-2007).
(A) Promotion of Integrated Pest Management : Keeping in view the ill effects of
chemical pesticides such as development of pest resistance, pest resurgence, outbreak
of secondary pests, pesticide residues in food, fodder, soil, air and water resulting in
human health hazards and ecological imbalances, Government of India has adopted
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as the cardinal principle and main plank of plant
protection strategy in the country. IPM is an eco-friendly approach aimed at minimum
use of chemical pesticides by employing available alternative methods for pest control
like cultural, mechanical and biological and use of bio-pesticides.
To enhance the production of bio-control agents/bio-pesticides, Government of
India earmarked Rs 1500 lakh as grants-in-aid during the Eighth and Ninth Plans
for establishment of 29 State Bio-control Laboratories of which an amount of Rs 1372
lakh has been released to States. During the Tenth Plan, an amount of Rs 470 lakh has
been approved of which Rs 405 lakh has already been released so far for the said
purpose.
With the adoption of IPM approach, consumption of pesticides has come down
from 72,133 MT (technical grade) during 1991-92 to 40,672 MT (technical grade)
during 2004-05 and there is consistent increase in use of bio-pesticides which are
environmentally safe. In some of the States, farmers have stopped using chemical
pesticides and have adopted organic farming.
(B) Locust Control and Research: The Locust Warning Organisation, Jodhpur with
76 India 2008
its 10 Locust circle offices and 1 Field Station monitors two lakh sq. km., Scheduled
Desert Area in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana for locust surveillance and control.
During 2005-06, an area of 150 lakh hectares has been surveyed and 24 locust bulletins
have been issued. Close liaison is being maintained with other locust prone countries
and the FAO to keep watch over possible locust invasion. The 24th Session of FAO
Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in South West Asia was held in New
Delhi from 10-14 January 2005. During the year 2005-06, 7 Indo-Pak Border Meetings
were conducted with the officers of Pakistan.
(C) Training in Plant Protection: Until 1966, there was no national training facility
in India to cater to the needs of the States. To bridge this gap, the National Plant
Protection Training Institute was established in 1966 at Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh).
The Institute has been recognised as a Regional Training Centre for Plant Protection
by Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations and also as an Advanced
Centre for training in Plant Protection Technology by the World Bank. The Institute
has conducted 912 courses and trained 16,747 officers/officials including 216 foreign
trainees up to 2005-06.
(D) Implementation of Insecticides Act : Pesticides are commonly used in crop
protection measures for sustaining food production. These are also used for the control
of vector-borne diseases. As they are meant for killing insect pests they are toxic by
their nature. Their misuse or abuse results in hazards to human beings, animals and
the environment. Therefore, pesticides are required to be used safely and judiciously.
Keeping this in view, their import, manufacture, sale and use, etc., are being regulated
under the Insecticides Act, 1968 and the Rules framed thereunder. The provisions of
the Act ensure the availability of safe, effective and quality pesticides to the farmers.
The Central Government has constituted the Central Insecticides Board under
Section 4 of the Insecticides Act, 1968 to advise the Central and State Governments on
technical matters arising out of the administration of this Act. The Director General,
Health Services is the Chairman with 29 members. The Central Government has
constituted a Registration Committee to register pesticides after examining their
formulae verifying their efficacy and safety to human beings, animals and environment.
The Government of India has also set up a Central Insecticides Laboratory with
the major objectives of pre and post-registration verification of the properties,
performance and hazards of pesticides and the proposed use claimed by the
manufacturers. To supplement the resources of the States/UTs in the analysis of
pesticides, two Regional Pesticides Testing Laboratories have also been set up at
Chandigarh and Kanpur with an analysis capacity of 900 samples per annum each.
Plant Quarantine Facilities in India : Plant Quarantine regulatory measures are
operative through the ‘Destructive Insects & Pests Act, 1914 (Act 2 of 1914)’ in
the country. The purpose and intent of this Act is to prevent the introduction of any
insect, fungus or other pest, which is or may be destructive to crops. The import of
agricultural commodities is presently regulated through the Plant Quarantine
(Regulation of Import into India) Order, 2003 issued under DIP Act, 1914 incorporating
the provisions of New Policy on Seed Development, 1988. Further, the significance of
Plant Quarantine has increased in view of Globalisation and liberalisation in
International trade of plants and plant material in the wake of Sanitary and
Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement under WTO. The phytosanitary certification of
Agriculture 77
agricultural commodities being exported is also undertaken through the scheme as
per International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), 1951.
The primary objectives of the Scheme are (i) to prevent the introduction and
spread of exotic pests that are destructive to crops by regulating/restricting the import
of plants/plant products and (ii) to facilitate safe global trade in agriculture by
assisting the producers and exporters by providing a technically competent and
reliable phytosanitary certificate system to meet the requirements of trading partners.
The major activities under the scheme include;
l Inspection of imported agricultural commodities for preventing the introduction
of exotic pests and diseases inimical to Indian Fauna and Flora
l Inspection of agricultural commodities meant for export as per the requirements
of importing countries under International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)
l Detection of exotic pests and diseases already introduced for containing/
controlling them by adopting domestic quarantine regulations.
l Undertaking Post Entry Quarantine Inspection in respect of identified planting
materials.
l Conducting the Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) to finalise phytosanitary requirements
for import of plant/plant material.
There are 35 Plant quarantine Stations at different Airports, Seaports and Land
frontiers implementing the Plant Quarantine regulations. The NPQS, New Delhi and
RPQSs at Chennai, Kolkata, Amritsar and Mumbai have been strengthened with
modern equipment for plant quarantine testing, etc., to facilitate speedy clearance of
imports and exports under the FAO-UNDP Project.
The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement of WTO envisages application of
Phytosanitary measures based on scientific justifications therefore it is imperative to
conduct all Plant Quarantine inspections as per the International Standards/
guidelines. Accordingly, the National Standards for Phytosanitary Measures for some
of the important activities have already been developed and adopted including the
Guidelines for Development of National Standards for Phytosanitary Measures and
six draft National Standards are under the process of approval. The Standards which
are critical for our exports have been prioritised. Further, a National Integrated Fruit
Fly Surveillance Programme has also been prepared with a view to establish pest-free
areas against fruit flies. To streamline the Plant Quarantine activities, efforts are
being made to computerise the Plant Quarantine Stations for speedy and transparent
functioning.
Substantial efforts have also been made towards the international cooperation
on the phytosanitary matters including participation in IPPC Standard Committee
meetings for development of International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures,
Training of fumigation service providers and regulators in methyl bromide fumigation
under the Australian Fumigation Accreditation Scheme, finalisation of SPS Protocol
for export of mango to China, harmonisation of phytosanitary measures with reference
to Seed trade through the Workshops organised by Asia Pacific Seed Association
(APSA), negotiations on free trade agreement with Thailand and Singapore,
Memorandum of Understanding and work plan with Chile for cooperation on
Phytosanitary matters and Indo-Nepal Joint trade and economic development
negotiations.
Monitoring of Pesticide Residues : The subject “Monitoring of Pesticide Residues”
78 India 2008
has been allocated to the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation by the Cabinet
Secretariat. Monitoring of pesticide residues at the national level is essential to ensure
food safety in the country. Further, it is essential to ensure that our export consignments
are not rejected due to presence of pesticide residues. The Scheme has been approved
with an outlay of Rs 24 crore during the Tenth Plan.
AGRICULTURAL MECHANISATION
Strategies and programmes have been directed towards replacement of traditional
and inefficient implements by improved ones, enabling the farmers to own tractors,
power tillers, harvesters and other machines, availability of custom services, support
services of human resource development, testing and evaluation and research and
development. A large industrial base for manufacturing of the agricultural machines
has also been developed. Introduction of technologically advanced equipments
through extension and demonstration besides institutional credit has also been taken
up. Equipments for resource conservation have also been adopted by the farmers.
Under various Government sponsored schemes like Macro Management of
Agriculture, Technology Mission for Oilseeds, Pulses and Maize, Technology Mission
on Horticulture and Technology Mission on Cotton, financial assistance is provided
to the farmers for the purchase of identified agricultural implements and machines.
Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institutes : Farm Machinery Training and
Testing Institutes (FMTandTIs) have been established at Budni (Madhya Pradesh),
Hissar (Haryana), Garladinne (Andhra Pradesh) and at Biswanath Chariali (Assam).
The institutes have the capacity to train 5,000 personnel annually on various aspects
of agricultural mechanisation. These institutes also undertake testing and performance
evaluation of agricultural machines including tractors in accordance with national
and international standards. Since inception about 93,503 personnel have been trained
and about 2,162 machines tested by these Institutes till 31 March 2006. During 2005-
06 these Institutes have trained 5734 personnel and tested 112 machines. The training
programmes have been revised for giving more emphasis on crop/area/technology
specific issues for optimised training duration for their implementation through Farm
Machinery Training and Testing Institutes w.e.f. 1 April 2005.
Outsourcing of Training : This is a new component approved for the Tenth Plan
under the Central Sector Scheme “Promotion and Strengthening of Agricultural
Mechanisation through Training, Testing and Demonstration” in order to train large
number of farmers at nearby places. The training programme shall be arranged through
the identified institutions by each State namely State Agricultural Universities (SAUs),
Agricultural Engineering Colleges/Polytechnics, etc. This Department has released
Rs 73 lakh during the year 2004-05 and Rs 38.03 lakh during the year 2005-06 to
various State Governments and ICAR for conducting training programmes at the
identified institutions. For the year 2006-07, a target to train 3000 farmers has been
kept.
State Agro Industries Corporation : Seventeen State Agro Industries Corporations,
Joint Sector Companies, have been promoted by the Government of India and by the
State Governments concerned. The objectives of these Corporations envisage
manufacture and distribution of agricultural machines, distribution of agri-inputs,
promotion and execution of agro based industries and providing technical services
and guidance to the farmers and others. The Government of India’s share in Six State
Agro Industries Corporations viz. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar
Agriculture 79
Pradesh and West Bengal have been disinvested in favour of the respective State
Governments.
Legislative Framework : The Dangerous Machines (Regulation) Act, 1983, came
into force with effect from 14December 1983. The Act provides for the regulation of
trade and commerce and production, supply and use of products of any industry
producing dangerous machines with a view to securing the welfare of persons
operating any machine and for payment of compensation for death or bodily injury
suffered while operating any such machine. Power threshers used for threshing of
the agricultural crops have been brought under the ambit of this Act. The Government
of India have notified the Dangerous Machines (Regulation) Rule, 1985 laying down
the specifications for the feeding chutes and for installation of the power threshers.
Apart from power threshers the inclusion of power operated chaff-cutter and
sugarcane crusher under this Act is in process.
Demonstration of newly developed agricultural/horticultural equipments : With
an objective of introducing new technology in agricultural production system,
demonstration of newly developed/improved agricultural and horticultural
equipments has been approved from the year 1999-2000 which now forms a component
of the restructured Central Sector Scheme “Promotion and Strengthening of
Agricultural Mechanisation through Training, Testing and Demonstration”. Under
this component, 100 per cent Central grant-in-aid is provided to implementing
agencies for procurement and demonstration of new/improved equipments. The
Scheme is implemented through State/Central Government organisations. This
component has helped in adoption of new agricultural/horticultural equipments by
the farmers. During 2005-06, 8099 demonstrations of different new equipments were
conducted benefiting 3,06,798 farmers. During 2006-07, 1500 such demonstrations
will be conducted through the implementing agencies.
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
Agricultural Extension aims at improving technology dissemination of farm
technologies to the farmers. The Extension System has undergone several changes
over a period, in terms of content and delivery approaches. Agricultural Extension is
a State subject, however, the Ministry of Agriculture supplements States’ efforts in
improving extension services.
The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation lays down major policy
guidelines on extension matters and the Directorate of Extension implements specific
programmes and activities in close collaboration with the State Departments of
Agriculture, the State Agricultural Universities and other concerned agencies.
Current efforts in improving extension services include the following:
l Providing innovative and decentralised institutional arrangements in the form
of an Agriculture-Technology Management Agency (ATMA) to make extension
system farmer-driven and farmer accountable;
l Encouraging Public Private Partnership (PPP) in various modes/forms can
provide synergistic approach in the extension efforts;
l Augmentation of Mass Media Support to Agriculture Extension by providing
for location-specific broadcasts through 96FM stations of All India Radio, 180
Low Powered/High Powered Transmitters, 18 Regional Kendras of
Doordarshan and also on DD National Channel for 30 minutes, 5/6 days a
week;
80 India 2008
l Operation of Kisan Call Centres through toll free(1551) lines throughout the
country to provide expert advise to farmers from 6.00 am to 10.00 pm on all 7
days of the week. The replies to the queries of the farming community are being
given in 21 languages;
l Providing fee-based advisory and other support services to the farmers by
training agriculture graduates in agri-business development and establishing
agri-clinics.
l Mainstreaming gender concerns in agricultural policies and programmes.
SEEDS
Seed is a critical and basic input for enhancing agricultural production and
productivity in different agro-climatic regions. Indian seed programme largely adheres
to the limited generation system for seed multiplication. The system recognises three
generations, namely, breeder, foundation and certified seeds and provides adequate
safeguards for quality assurance in the seed multiplication chain to maintain the
purity of variety as it flows from the breeders to the farmers. The level of certified/
quality seed distributed to the farmers since 2000-01 is given below:
(in lakh quintals)
Year Certified/quality seed distribution
(in lakh quintals)
2000-01 86.27
2001-02 91.80
2002-03 98.03
2003-04 108.39
2004-05 113.01
2005-06 118.52(Anticipated)
2006-07 149.63(Targeted)
Indian seed programme includes the participation of Central and State
governments, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), State Agricultural
Universities (SAU) system, public sector, co-operative sector and private sector
institutions. Seed sector in India consists of two national level corporations i.e.
National Seeds Corporation (NSC) and State Farms Corporation of India (SFCI), 13
State Seed Corporations (SSCs) and about 100 major seed companies. For quality
control and certification, there are 22 State Seed Certification Agencies (SSCAs) and
101 State Seed Testing Laboratories (SSTLs). The private sector has started to play a
significant role in the production and distribution of seeds. However, the organised
seed sector particularly for food crops cereals continues to be dominated by the public
sector.
Legislative framework and policy: The Seeds Act, 1966 provides for the legislative
framework for regulation of quality of seeds sold in the country. The Central Seed
Committee (CSC) and the Central Seed Certification Board (CSCB) are apex agencies
set up under the Act to deal with all matters relating to administration of the Act and
quality control of seeds. The proposed Seeds Bill, 2004 in replacement of the Seeds
Act, 1966 was introduced in the Parliament in December 2004 and is currently under
consideration of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture.
In order to encourage export of seeds in the interest of farmers, the procedure for
Agriculture 81
export of seeds has been simplified. Seeds of various crops have been placed under
Open General Licence (OGL) except the seeds of wild varieties, germplasms, breeder
seeds, and onion seeds which are on restricted list under the new Export and Import
Policy 2002-07.
Schemes of the Seed Division : (i) This Department has launched a Central Sector
Scheme namely, “Development and Strengthening of Infrastructure Facilities
for Production and Distribution of Quality Seeds” with an outlay of Rs.159 crore
for the Tenth Plan. The main components of the scheme are Quality Control
Arrangements on seeds, Transport subsidy on movement of seeds to North-East and
other hilly areas, Establishment and Maintenance of Seed Bank, Seed Village Scheme,
Assistance for creation of infrastructure facilities, Assistance for boosting seed
production in private sector, Human Resources Development, Assistance for Seed
Export, Propagation of application of biotechnology in agriculture, Promotion of use
of hybrid seeds of rice and evaluation/review.
(ii) Implementation of Plant Varieties Protection and Farmers’ Rights
Legislation: In order to fulfill the obligations under TRIPS Agreement of the World
Trade Organisation (WTO), which India has ratified, the Department of Agriculture
and Cooperation have enacted a legislation for Protection of Plant Varieties and
Farmers’ Rights. In order to provide necessary back-up support for enactment of the
above Legislation, a Central Scheme is also under implementation. The required
rules and regulations under the Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act have been
notified in 2003. The Protection and Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority
envisaged under the Act has been set up w.e.f. 14 November 2005.
AGRICULTURAL MARKETING
Organised marketing of agricultural commodities has been promoted in the country
through a network of regulated markets. Most of the State governments and Union
Territories have enacted legislations (APMC Act) to provide for regulation of
agricultural produce markets. While by the end of 1950, there were 286 regulated
markets in the country, today the number stands at 7,521 (31.3.2005). Besides, the
country has 27,294 rural periodical markets, about 15 per cent of which function
under the ambit of regulation. The advent of regulated markets has helped in mitigating
the market handicaps of producers/sellers at the wholesale assembling level. but,
the rural periodic markets in general, and the tribal markets in particular, remained
out of its developmental ambit.
Agriculture sector needs well functioning markets to drive growth, employment
and economic prosperity in rural areas of the country. In order to inject dynamism
and efficiency into the marketing system, large investments are required for the
development of post-harvest and cold chain infrastructure nearer to the farmers’
field. A major portion of this investment is expected from the private sector, for which
an appropriate regulatory and policy environment is necessary. Alongside, enabling
policies need to be put in place to encourage procurement of agricultural commodities
directly from farmers’ field and to establish effective linkage between the farm
production and the retail chain and food processing industries. Accordingly,
amendment to the State APMC Act for deregulation of marketing system in the country
is suggested to promote investment in marketing infrastructure, motivating corporate
sector to undertake direct marketing and to facilitate a national integrated market.
The Ministry of Agriculture formulated a model law on agricultural marketing
for guidance and adoption by State Governments. The model legislation provides for
82 India 2008
establishment of Private Markets/Yards, Direct Purchase Centres, Consumer/Farmers
Markets for direct sale and promotion of Public Private Partnership in the management
and development of agricultural markets in the country. Provision has also been
made in the Act for constitution of State Agricultural Produce Marketing Standards
Bureau for promotion of Grading, Standardisation and Quality Certification of
agricultural produce. This would facilitate pledge financing, direct purchasing,
forward/future trading and exports. Several States have initiated steps for amending
the APMC Act.
Infrastructure Requirement : Investment requirement for the development of
marketing, storage and cold storage infrastructure in the country has been estimated
to be huge and with a view to induce investment in the development of marketing
infrastructure as envisaged above, the Ministry has implemented the following Plan
Schemes:
i) A capital investment subsidy scheme titled ‘Construction of Rural Godowns’
is being implemented w.e.f. 1 April 2001. The main objectives of the scheme include
creation of scientific storage capacity with allied facilities in rural areas to meet
various requirements of farmers for storing farm produce, processed farm produce,
agricultural inputs, etc., and prevention of distress sale by creating the facility of
pledge loan and marketing credit. Under the original scheme, back ended subsidy @
25 per cent of capital cost of the project was provided. In case of NE States, hilly areas
and SC/ST entrepreneurs, subsidy was provided @ 33.33 per cent of the capital cost
of the project. The Scheme has since been modified with effect from 20 October 2004,
to provide subsidy @ 25 per cent to farmers, Agriculture graduates, cooperatives and
Central Warehousing Corporation/State Warehousing Corporations. All other
categories of individuals companies and corporations are now given subsidy @ 15
per cent of the project cost. The scheme has been made farmer friendly by allowing
subsidy for smaller godowns of 50 MT size in general and of 25 in hilly areas. Five
lakh tonnes capacity to be created is reserved for small farmers. The scheme is being
implemented through NABARD and NCDC. Till 31 May 2006, 11,583 storage projects
having a capacity of 166.42 lakh tonnes have been sanctioned under the scheme .
ii) With a view to establish a nation-wide information network for speedy
collection and dissemination of price and market related information to farmers,
electronic connectivity is being provided to all important agricultural markets in the
country under a Central scheme, ‘Market Research and Information Network’.
2,408 market nodes and 92 State Marketing Boards and Directorate of Marketing and
Inspection offices have been networked on a single portal, wherein daily prices of
more than 300 commodities and about 2000 varieties are being reported. It is planned
to connect 2,700 markets in all, under the scheme during the 10th Plan.
iii) The Ministry of Agriculture is implementing another Central Sector scheme
for “Development/Strengthening of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure,
Grading and Standardisation”. Under the scheme, investment subsidy is provided
@ 25 per cent on the capital cost of the marketing infrastructure development project
subject to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh for each project in all States and @ 33.3 per cent of
capital cost subject to a maximum of Rs 60 lakh for each project in case of North
Eastern States, hilly areas and to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes entrepreneurs.
In respect of infrastructure projects of State Governments/State Agencies, there is no
upper ceiling on subsidy to be provided under the scheme. The scheme is reformlinked,
to be implemented in those States/Union Territories wherein the law dealing
with agriculture markets (Agricultural Produce Marketing Regulation Act) allows
Agriculture 83
setting up of competitive agricultural markets in private and cooperative sectors,
direct marketing and contract farming. The States of Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala,
Tamil Nadu, Manipur, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland,
Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Union Terriroty of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman
and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have notified to receive assistance under the
Scheme. The remaining States/UTs are in the process of amending their APMC Acts.
158 training and awareness programmes have been conducted in the notified States/
UTs. A total number of 259 new project proposals have been provided advance subsidy
of Rs 516.30 lakh by NABARD in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab,
Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
iv) The Department has recently taken the initiative to promote modern terminal
markets for fruits, vegetables and other perishables in important urban centres of the
country. These markets would provide state of art infrastructure facilities for electronic
auction, cold chain and logistics and operate through primary collection centres
conveniently located in producing areas to allow easy access to farmers. The terminal
markets are envisaged to operate on a ‘Hub-and-Spoke’ format wherein the Terminal
Market (the hub) would be linked to a number of collection centres (the spokes),
conveniently located in key production centers to allow easy access to farmers for the
marketing of their produce. The concept on setting up of Terminal Markets for
perishable commodities was discussed with the State Governments and interested
private enterprises at a national conference of State Ministers held on 20 February
2006 at New Delhi. Based on the discussions, a Committee has been constituted
under the Chairmanship of Director General, National Institute of Agricultural
Marketing, Jaipur with members from participating State Governments to develop a
framework for the bidding process for selecting the enterprise for the implementation
of terminal market projects and to work out implementation modalities. Central
assistance to these projects is planned by way of equity participation.
The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation has three organisations dealing
with marketing under its administrative control, namely, the Directorate of Marketing
and Inspection (DMI), Faridabad, the Ch. Charan Singh National Institute of
Agricultural Marketing (NIAM), Jaipur and the Small Farmers Agri-Business
Consortium (SFAC), New Delhi.
DIRECTORATE OF MARKETING AND INSPECTION
It is an attached office of the Department and is headed by Agricultural Marketing
Adviser. The Directorate has its Head Office at Faridabad (Haryana), Branch Head
Office at Nagpur (Maharashtra), 11 Regional Offices and the Central Agmark
Laboratory at Nagpur. Besides, there are 26 Sub-Offices, 16 Regional Agmark
Laboratories (RALs) spread all over the country.
The main functions of the Directorate are as follows:
1. Rendering advice on statutory regulation, development and management of
agricultural produce markets to the States/UTs;
2. Promotion of Standardisation and Grading of agricultural and allied produce
under the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937;
3. Market Research, Surveys and Planning;
4. Training of personnel in Agricultural Marketing;
5. Marketing Extension;
84 India 2008
6. Agricultural Marketing Information Network;
7. Construction of Rural Godowns; and
8. Development of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure.
Grading and Standardisation : The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking)
Act, 1937 empowers the Government to fix quality standards, known as “AGMARK”
standards and to prescribe terms and conditions for using the seal of ‘AGMARK’. So
far, grade standards have been notified for 182 agricultural and allied commodities.
The purity standards under the provision of the Prevention of Food Adulteration
(PFA) Act, 1954 and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 1986 are invariably taken
into consideration while framing the grade standards. International Standards framed
by Codex/International Standards Organisation (ISO) are also considered so that
Indian produce can compete in the international market.
During the year 2005-06, the final notification of Spices G & M Rules, 2005 was
published, containing standards of eleven spices, namely, large Cardamom,
Cardamom, Turmeric, Chillies, Ginger, Black Pepper, Coriander, Fennel, Fenugreek,
Celery, Cumin, etc. The standards of Walnut duly harmonised with the international
standards have been submitted to APEDA and were discussed in the Core Group’s
Meeting. The approval of Standing Committee on fresh Fruits and Vegetables is
awaited for commodities like Lemons, Limes, Mandarins, Oranges, Grape Fruits,
Walnuts in-shell and shelled Walnut. The final notifications published in the Gazette
during the last three years have been uploaded on website www.agmarknet.in
for users.
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING
The National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM) started functioning at Jaipur
(Rajasthan) from 8 August 1988. NIAM has been imparting training to senior and
middle level executives of agricultural and horticultural departments, Agro Industries,
Corporations, State Marketing Boards, Agricultural Produce Market Committees and
Apex level Cooperatives, Commodity Boards, export houses recognised by Agricultural
and Processed Food Products Export Development Agency (APEDA), Commercial
Banks and non-governmental organisations. Besides these clients, the NIAM also
imparts training to farmers on marketing management. The main objectives of NIAM
are : (1) To provide specialised training in agricultural marketing designed to develop
leadership potential in the management of agricultural marketing enterprises and
services; (2) To undertake research in agricultural marketing for Government,
Cooperative and other Institutes, both on public funding and by contract; (3) To
undertake appraisal of markets/marketing projects for approval and financial
support by the Central Government, on consultancy basis; (4) To formulate objective
criteria for selective development of physical markets and to evolve a practical
methodology for the application of such criteria in their planning; (5) To offer advisory
and consultant services on marketing policies, investment programmes and marketing
development strategies and specific advice to marketing enterprises (State, Private
and Cooperatives); (6) To survey, study and analyse the rural market management
and to examine in depth the principal and practice of market regulation as a
development sector in the agricultural economy.
The NIAM is managed by a Governing Body under the Chairmanship of Minister
of Agriculture and an Executive Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary,
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation.
Agriculture 85
Training Activities : The Institute organises Training Programmes for officials,
farmers and other functionaries. In 2003-04 Management Development Programmes
(MDP) were introduced. So far four MDPs have been successfully organised for leading
companies like Bayer Crop Science, MICO BOSCH, etc. The MDPs were held at NIAM
campus and 120 working executives of these MNCs working in various capacities
have benefited by this programme. All these MDPs were rated excellent by the
participants and many other companies have shown keen interest in organising
MDPs at NIAM, Jaipur.
Research: The domestic Agricultural Marketing scenario has witnessed lot of changes
in policies and regulations. The enactment of Model Act by some States has brought
substantial improvements in trade and marketing. Following Research studies are
being conducted by NIAM during the year 2005-06.
1. Contract Farming – prospects and implications
2. Commodity Trade Research
3. Market led extension – a participatory approach
4. Developing India GAP Standards
5. Information need assessment of stakeholders in Agricultural Marketing – A
case of Rajasthan
Project Formulation: In order to generate resources and ensure optimum utilisation
of the expertise of the NIAM faculty, the Institute is taking up several Consultancy
Projects in the year 2005-06. These include setting up Modern Terminal Market for
fruits and vegetables at Nashik, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Patna, Bhopal, Rai (Haryana),
Multi-utility integrated facility Centre-Pack house at Ludhiana for MARKFED, Punjab,
State Master Plan for Market Development in Orissa, Price Forecasting for Agricultural
Commodity in Karnataka, On-line Market information system for Karnataka,
Designing, Planning and detailed Project report for CA Storage at Kolkata. Detailed
Project Reports have been prepared for the Modern Terminal Markets at Nashik,
Nagpur, Chandigarh, Bhopal and Rai (Haryana).
Post Graduate Programme in Agri-Business Management (PGPABM): The Institute
has undertaken Post-Graduate Programme in Agri-Business Management (PGPABM)
as a Sub-centre of MANAGE, Hyderabad from July 2001 and 50 students are presently
undergoing Post-Graduate Programme in Agri-Business. The programme is designed
to assist agricultural graduates to acquire the critical know-how to compete in the
domestic and global business arena and to make them efficient agri-business
managers.
SMALL FARMERS’ AGRI-BUSINESS CONSORTIUM
The Small Farmers Agri-business Consortium (SFAC) was registered by Department
of Agriculture and Cooperation as a Society under the Societies Registration Act,
1860 on 18 January 1994. Members at present include RBI, SBI, IDBI, EXIM Bank,
Oriental Bank of Commerce, NABARD, Canara Bank, NAFED, United Phosphorous
Ltd., etc.
The SAFC is managed by a Board of Managers consisting of 20 members and
chaired by Hon’ble Union Minister of Agriculture as its Ex-Officio President and the
Secretary (Department of Agriculture and Cooperation), Government of India as its
Ex-Officio Vice President. Managing Director is the Chief Executive of SFAC. SFAC
has established 18 State level SFACs by contributing a corpus fund. The mission of
86 India 2008
the Society is to support innovative ideas for generating income and employment in
rural areas by promoting private investments in agribusiness projects.
The Central sector scheme for agri-business development implemented by SFAC
was approved by the Government on 19 July 2005 for implementation during
remaining period of the Tenth Plan with an outlay of Rs 48 crore. The scheme is being
implemented by SFAC in close association with commercial banks for providing
(a) Venture Capital Assistance to agribusiness projects and (b) assist farmer/producer
groups in preparation of quality Detailed Project Reports (DPR).
The main objectives of the scheme are to facilitate setting up of agribusiness
ventures in participation with banks, catalyse private investment in setting up of
agribusiness projects and thereby providing assured market to producers for
increasing rural income and employment, strengthen backward linkages of agribusiness
projects with producers, assist farmers, producer groups, and agriculture
graduates to enhance their participation in value chain through project development
facility, arrange training and visits, etc., of agripreneurs setting up identified
agribusiness projects. SFAC provides financial assistance to agri-business projects
by way of equity participation.
The quantum of SFAC venture capital assistance depended on the project cost
and will be the lowest of the following -
l 10 per cent of the total project cost assessed by the bank
l 26 per cent of the project equity
l Rs 75 lakh
Higher venture capital assistance can be considered by SFAC to deserving
projects on merit and/or to projects that are located in remote and backward areas,
North-eastern and hilly States and projects recommended by State agencies.
The outlay for implementation of the scheme during 2005–2006 was Rs. 10
crore which has been utilised. During the year venture capital assistance has been
sanctioned to 44 agribusiness projects and assistance has been provided for
preparation of 11 Detailed Project Reports(DPRs). The allocation for implementation
of the scheme during 2006-07 is Rs. 38 crore.
COOPERATION
Cooperative Reforms : The Cooperative movement in India traces its origin to the
agriculture and allied sector and was evolved as a mechanism for pooling meagre
resources of the people with a view to providing them with the advantages of
economies of scale. After independence, the cooperatives were considered as part of
the strategy for planned economic development. The cooperatives are today at the
crossroads of existence particularly in view of the fast emerging scenario of economic
liberalisation and globalisation. These institutions in general suffer from resource
constraint, poor governance and management, inefficiency and unviability. The
cooperative reforms are, therefore, absolutely vital to the future of the cooperatives.
National Policy on Cooperatives : The Union Government has formulated a National
Policy on Cooperatives in consultation with States. The objective of the National
Policy is to facilitate all-round development of the cooperatives in the country and to
work as a guiding force for the States towards successful cooperatives. The policy,
envisages that cooperatives be provided necessary support, encouragement and
assistance and to ensure that they work as autonomous self-reliant and democratically
managed institutions accountable to their members.
Agriculture 87
Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002 : The Central Government
has taken a lead in providing required autonomy to the cooperatives by enacting
MSCS Act,2002, replacing the MSCS Act, 1984. It aims at providing functional
autonomy and democracy applicable to National level cooperative societies/
federations and other Multi-State Cooperative societies. It is expected that it will
work as a Model Act for reforms in State Cooperative Laws.
The NCDC (Amendment) Act, 2002 : The NCDC Act, 1962 has been amended vide
NCDC (Amendment) Act, 2002 expanding the mandate of NCDC to include food
stuff, industrial goods, livestock and services in the programmes and activities in
addition to the existing programmes. The definition of agriculture produce has been
amended to cover wider range of activities by including edible and non-edible oilseeds
cattle feed, produce of horticulture and animal husbandry, forestry, poultry, farming,
pisiculture and other activities allied to agriculture. Vide the amended Act, definition
of industrial goods and livestock have been elaborated covering the products of
allied industries in the rural areas and includes any handicrafts or rural crafts. The
livestock includes all animals to be raised for milk, meat, fleece, skin, wool and other
by-products. NCDC will be able to provide loan directly to the cooperative without
State/Central Government guarantee on furnishing of security to the satisfaction of
the NCDC. So far activities concerning water conservation, animal care/health,
disease prevention, agricultural insurance an agricultural credit, rural sanitation/
drainage/seweage have been made as notified services.
Amendment to the Constitution in respect of Cooperatives : In spite of the felt
need for amendment in the State Cooperative Societies Act, the pace of reforms in
Cooperative legislations by the States is not encouraging. Therefore, to ensure the
democratic, autonomous and professional functioning of cooperatives, it has been
decided to initiate a proposal for amendment to the Constitution for the purpose.
This decision has been taken after careful deliberations with the States in a conference
of State Cooperative Ministers held on 7 December 2004. The proposed amendment
to the Constitution is purported to address the key issues for empowerment of
cooperatives through their voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic
control and professional management. The Constitution One Hundred and Sixth
Amendment Bill 2006 has been introduced in the Lok Sabha on 22 May 2006.
Constitution of High Powered Committee : To review the achievements of
Cooperative movement during the last 100 years and challenges before it, and to
suggest ways and means to face them and to give a new direction to the movement, a
high-powered committee has been constituted with following Terms of Reference:
(1) To review the achievements of the cooperatives during the last 100 years.
(2) To identify the challenges being faced by the cooperative sector and to suggest
measures to address them to enable the movement to keep pace with the changing
socio-economic environment.
(3) To suggest an appropriate policy and legislative framework and changes
required in the cooperative legislation in the country with a view to ensure the
democratic, autonomous and professional functioning of cooperatives.
Revamping of Cooperative Credit Structure : In August 2004, Government of India
constituted a Task Force under the Chairmanship of Prof. A Vaidyanathan for
suggesting measures for revival of cooperative credit institutions. The Task Force has
submitted its Report in respect of short-term cooperative credit structure and
88 India 2008
recommended a financial package of Rs 14,839 crore for the short- term rural credit
cooperative institutions. The package covers accumulated losses, unpaid invoke
guarantees, receivables from State Governments, return of share capital to State
Governments, Human Resources Development, conduct of special audit,
computerisation, implementation costs, etc.
Based on the consensus arrived at with State Governments and other
stakeholders on the recommendations made by the Task Force, the Government has
approved the package for revival of the Short-term Rural Cooperative Credit Structure
involving financial assistance of Rs. 13,596 crore. The provision of financial assistance
under the package has been linked to reforms in the cooperative sector. The same
Task Force has been assigned the mandate for suggesting revival package for the
Long-Term Cooperative Credit Structure. The Government will initiate steps for
reviving Long-Term Cooperative Credit Structure after reviving the report of the Task
Force in this regard.
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development plays a prominent role in the rural
economy in supplementing the income of rural households, particularly, the landless
and small and marginal farmers. It also provides subsidiary occupation in semiurban
areas and more so for people living in hilly, tribal and drought-prone areas
where crop output may not sustain the family. According to estimates of the Central
Statistical Organization (CSO), the value of output from livestock and fisheries sectors
together at current prices was about Rs. 2,25,841 crores at current prices during
2005-06 (Rs. 1,85,166 crores for livestock sector and Rs. 40,675 crores for fisheries)
which is about 31 per cent of value of output of Rs. 7,20,340 crores from total of
Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Fisheries sector. The contribution of these sectors
to the total GDP during 2005-06 was 5.30%.
India is endowed with the largest livestock population in the world. It accounts
for 57 per cent of the world’s buffalo population and 14 per cent of the cattle population.
According to Livestock Census (2003), the country has about 18.5 crore cattle and 9.8
crore buffaloes.
CONTRIBUTION OF LIVESTOCK SECTOR TO FOOD BASKET
The contribution of livestock sector to the food basket in the form of milk, eggs and
meat has been immense in fulfilling the animal protein requirement of ever-growing
human population. The present availability of human protein in an Indian diet is
10gm per person per day, as against a world average of 25gm. However, keeping in
view the growing population, the animal protein availability has to increase at least
twofold, for maintaining the nutritional level of growing children and nursing mothers
in India.
Milk Production : The egg production in the country has reached 46.2 billion numbers
in 2005-06.
Wool Production : The wool production in the country has reached 44.9 million kg
during 2005-06.
Other Livestock Products : Livestock sector not only provides essential protein and
nutritious human diet through milk, eggs, meat etc., but also plays an important role
in utilization of non-edible agricultural by-products. Livestock also provides raw
material by products such as hides and skins, blood, bone, fat etc.
Agriculture 89
Livestock Insurance Scheme : The Livestock Insurance Scheme was
Implemented during the last two years of the 10th Five Year Plan i.e. 2005-2006 and
2006-07 on pilot basis in 100 selected districts across the country. The scheme was
formulated with the twin objective of providing protection mechanism to the farmers
and cattle breeders against any eventual loss of their animals and to demonstrate the
benefit of the scheme to the people and to popularize it with the ultimate goal of
attaining qualitative improvement in livestock and their products. Under the scheme,
50% subsidy on the insurance premium for insuring crossbred and high yielding
cattle and buffaloes was provided. The entire cost of subsidy payment of honorarium
to veterinary practitioners and funds for publicity were borne by the Central
Government. The subsidy in the premium during the pilot period was provided for
an animal for a maximum period of three years and limited to two animals per
beneficiary. The scheme was implemented through the State Implementing Agencies
(SIA) implementing the National Project on Cattle and Buffalo Breeding (NPCBB)
programme of the Department.
During the pilot period, about 4.6 lakh cattle/buffaloes were insured with an
expenditure of Rs. 20.77 crore. About 1750 cases of claim were settled with claim
settlement of Rs. 2.38 crore during the same period.
The continuation of the Scheme in the same form during 2007-08 and 2008-09 is
under consideration of the Government.
CATTLE AND BUFFALO DEVELOPMENT
India possesses 27 acknowledged indigenous breeds of cattle and seven breeds of
buffaloes. Various Central and Centrally sponsored schemes are being implemented
for genetic improvement of cattle and buffalo with a view to enhance the per capita
availability of consumption of milk through increased milk production. Efforts are
also made to protect and preserve the indigenous cattle and buffalo in their native
tract, which are facing threat of extinction. The elite animals are selected and registered
on the basis of their performance for production of superior pedigree bulls, bullmothers,
frozen semen and frozen embryos for future breeding improvements.
The National Project for Cattle and Buffalo Breeding envisages 100 per cent
grant in aid to implementing agencies. The Project will also promote about 34,000
private A.I. practitioners and build up an annual frozen semen production capacity
of 70 million doses. Since inception, 28 states and one Union Territory have been
assisted with Rs. 412.79 crores upto 31st March, 2007 for participating in the project.
A Central Herd Registration Scheme for identification and location of superior
germ plasm of cattle and buffaloes, propagation of superior germ stock, regulating
the sale and purchase, help in formation of breeders society and to met requirement of
superior bulls in different parts of the country is also being implemented. The
Government of India has established Central Herd Registration Unit in four breeding
tracts i.e. Rohtak, Ahmedabad, Ongole, Ajmer. A total of 92 Milk Recording Centres
are functioning to register these breeds of cattle viz. Gir, Kankrej, Hariana and Ongole
and in Buffalo Jaffrabadi, Mehsani, Murrah and Surti. During 2006-07, 14,244 animals
were registered.
The seven Central cattle breeding farms at Suratgarh (Rajasthan), Chiplima
and Semiliguda (Orissa), Dhamrod (Gujarat), Hessarghatta (Karnataka), Alamadi
(Tamil Nadu) and Andeshnagar (Uttar Pradesh) are engaged in scientific breeding
programmes of cattle and buffaloes and production of high pedigreed bulls for National
90 India 2008
Project for Cattle/Buffaio Breeding Programme besides providing training to farmers
and breeders. During 2006-07, these farms produced 326 bull calves and supplied
235 high pedigreed bulls for use under Artificial Insemination Programme in various
parts of the Country. The Central Frozen Semen Production and Training Institute,
Hessarghatta (Karnataka) produced 13.06 lakh doses and supplied 12.88 lakh dozes
of frozen semen of high pedigreed Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Holstein Friesian, Jersey,
crossbred and Murrah bulls to different states for their A.I. Programmes.
POULTRY DEVELOPMENT
The value of output from poultry sector is nearly Rs. 17000 crore from eggs and meat
only and it provides direct or indirect employment to over 3 million people. About
25% of the total egg production in the country comes from desi poultry, which is
unorganized rural backyard system. A target for achieving production of over 52
billion eggs by 2011-12, at a growth rate of 4.3 percent has been set by the Government
of India.
Poultry sector, besides employment generation and subsidiary income increase,
provides nutritonal security especially to the rural poor. Further landless labourers
derive more than 50 percent of their income from livestock especially from poultry.
Central Poultry Development Organization had been playing a pivotal role in
the implementation of the policies of the Government with respect to poultry as a tool
for alleviating nutritional hunger and palliating the impecuniosities of the resource
- poor farmers especially the women. The mandate of Central Poultry Development
Organization has been specially revised, by restructuring all poultry units of this
Department to focus on improved indigenous birds. Which lay on an average 180-
200 eggs per annum and have vastly improved FCR ratio in terms of feed consumption
and weight gain. The Central Poultry Development Organizations have been
entrusted with the responsibility of producing excellent germplasm in the form of
day-old chicks hatching eggs of these varieties like Nirbheek, Hitkari, Vanaraja,
Shyama Cari, CHABRO, etc. Besides these Organizations are imparting training to
approximately 1200-1500 farms every year in-situ and ex-situ. These organization
are also playing a crucial role in analyzing feed samples.
In these organizations, besides the activites stated above, scaling-up of
diversification of other avian species like Ducks/Turkeys/Guinea fowl/Japanese
Quail, upgradation of Training Until into International Tropical Avian Management
Institute in which private-public partnership is envisaged. Presently, these
organizations are also supporting and hand-holding the Centrally Sponsored Scheme
Assistance to State Z Poultry Farms.
The Random Sample Poultry Performance Testing Centre (RSPPTC) Gurgaon is
entrusted with responsibility of testing the performance of layer and broiler varieties.
This Centre conducts one layer test for the period from 0-72 weeks of age where in the
production parameters of the laying birds received from different participants
comprising private and public sector agencies are tested. At the end of the test, data
are analysed and the report indicating the relative performance, of these entrants is
published Accordingly, two broiler test are conducted every year from 0.8 weeks age
and the results are published giving full information about growth rate, feed efficiency
and margin of profit from each entrant. The report is published for the utilization of
the poultry industry in general, and the breeder participants in particular. This Centre
gives valuable information relating to different genetic stock available in the country.
Agriculture 91
A centrally sponsored scheme called Assistance to State Poultry Farms is being
implemented during the Tenth Plan in all States and UTs where one time assistance
is provided to suitably strengthen the farms in terms of hatching, breeding and rearing
of the birds with provision for feed mill and their quality monitoring and in-house
disease diagnostic facilities. During the Tenth Plan, nearly Rs. 75.0 crore has been
released for a listing around 180 farms, some partially.
A scheme ‘‘Dairy/Poultry Venture Capital Fund’’ has been launched during
the year 2004-05, wherein there is a provision to grant subsidy on interest payment.
Components like establishment of poultry breeding Flow/Quil/Emu/Ostrich,
establishment of feed downs, feed mill, feed analytical laboratory, marketing of poutry
products (specialized transport vehicle, cool room storage facilities and retention
sheds for birds etc.) Egg grading, packing and storage for export capacity, Retail
poultry dressing units (300 birds per day), Egg/broiler carts for sale of poultry products
and Central grower unit are considered for financing under this scheme. The nodal
agency for the implementation of this scheme is NABARD through nationalised
commercial banks. As per the largest report, a total of 84 poultry units involving Rs.
3.42 crore has been approved. (Till 31-3-2007)
SHEEP DEVELOPMENT
According to Livestock census 2003, there are about 61.47 million sheep and 124.36
million goats in the country. About five million households in the country are engaged
in the rearing of small ruminants sheep & goats rabbets and other allied activities.
The wool production was about 44.90 million kg during 2005-2006.
Central Sheep Breeding Farm, Hissar is producing acclimatized exotic/cross
bred superior quality rams. The farm has supplied 733 rams during 2006-07 to
different States. It hopes to supply 900 rams in 2007-08.
CONSERVATION OF THREATENED BREEDS
The population of some of the pure bred small ruminants, equines, pigs and pack
animals has come down considerably and such breeds have come to the category of
threatened breeds in the country.
A new centrally sponsored scheme for conservation of such threatened breeds
was started during Tenth Five Year Plan with a budget outlay of Rs. 1500 lakhs.
Farms/farmer’s unit in their respective breeding tract are established under the scheme
with 100% central assistance. The conservation projects are being implemented by
State Governments, Universities and NGO’s. During the Tenth plan period,
conservation projects for 27 breeds were taken up. During 2006-07, an amount of Rs.
241.50 lakh was release for the conservation of Terres Goat (Rs. 50.00 lakh) in Andaman
& Nicobar Islands, Spiti Pony (Rs. 27.55 lakh) in Himachal Pradesh, Zanskari Horse
(Rs. 34.24 lakh) and Doubled Humped Camel (Rs. 25.17 lakh) in Jammu & Kashmir,
Sangamneri Goat (Rs. 32.50 lakh) in Maharastra and Garole Sheep (Rs. 28.54 lakh)
and Black Bengal goat (Rs. 32.25 lakh) in West Bengal. Evaluation of performance of
the Scheme during Xth plan has been entrusted to NABCONS, a wholly subsidiary of
NABARD.
MEAT PRODUCTION/PROCESSING AND EXPORT
There are 15 export-oriented integrated modern abattoirs and 16 meat processing
plants registered with Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development
Authority exporting raw meet (Chilled and frozen) to about 56 countries. During
92 India 2008
2005-06, about 459937.63 M.T. Buffalo Meat and 7177.51 MT sheep/goat meat valued
at Rs. 2629.57 crore and Rs. 80.37 crore respectively were exported. During April-
December 2006, meet and its products worth Rs. 2415.63 crore have been exported
indicating 18.20% growth in rupees export.
PIGGERY DEVELOPMENT
As per Livestock census 2003, the pig population in the country was 139.19 lakhs of
which 21.80 lakhs were cross bred/exotic pigs. Exotic breeds like white Yorkshire,
Hampshire and Landrace are maintained at these farms. There are about 158 pig
breeding farms in the country run by the State Governments/UTs. Efforts are being
made in consultation with Planning Commission and other appraisal agencies to
initiate Integrated Piggery Development Scheme under Macro Management Scheme
during 11th Five Year Plan.
FEED AND FODDER DEVELOPMENT
For the development of the production potentiality of our livestock, availability of
nutritous feed and fodder is essential. To facilitate fodder availability, seven regional
Stations have been established in different agro climatic Zones of the country for
production of high yielding varieties of fodder/fodder seed and transfer of scientific
fodder production technology through training of officers/ farmers, demonstration
of latest fodder agronomic practices and organization of farmer fairs. During 2006-07
these stations produced 178.2 MT of high yielding fodder variety seeds, conducted
4472 field demonstrations, organized 93 training programmes and 83 Farmer Fairs.
During 2006-07 a Central Fodder Seed Production Farm located at Hessarghatta
(Karnataka) working with the same objectives as of Regional Stations produced 101
MT fodder seeds of different varieties of grasses/legumes, conducted 570 field
demonstrations, organizes 13 training programmes and organized 14 farmers lairs.
A Central Minikit Testing programme of fodder crops is under implementation for
popularizing high yielding fodder varieties on a large scale through Director Animal
Husbandry of States. During 2006-07, 5.64 lakh minikits were allotted to the states for
distribution to the farmers free of cost. Besides a centrally sponsored fodder
development scheme is being implemented from 2005-06 for establishment of fodder
Block making units, grass land development including grass reserve, fodder seed
production and bio-technology research project. During 2006-07, financial assistance
of Rs. 2644.61 lakh was provided to States, which includes Rs. 1662.00 lakh released
under Special package for Suicide prone districts of Maharastra, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh and Kerala.
DAIRY DEVELOPMENT
The Indian Dairy Industry has acquired substantial growth from the Eighth Plan
onwards, achieving an annual output of over 97.1 million tones of milk at the end of
2005-06. India’s milk output has not only placed the industry first in the world, but
also represents sustained growth in the availability of milk and milk products. The
per capita availability of milk is estimated to reach 245 gm per day during 2006-07.
The Government implemented four schemes for the development of dairy sector during
2006-07.
(a) Intensive dairy Development Programme : The Scheme, modified as Intensive
Dairy Development Programme on the basis of the recommendation of the evaluation
studies was launched during Eighth Plan period and is being continued during the
Eleventh Plan with an outlay of Rs. 23.00 crore for 2007-08. So far 82 projects with an
Agriculture 93
outlay of 462.75 crore have been sanctioned in 25 States and one UT. A sum of Rs.
307.78 crore has been released to various State Governments upto 31st March, 2007
and 200 districts have been covered. The scheme has benefited about 11.66 lakh farm
families and organized about 1971 8 village level Dairy Cooperative Societies till 31st
March, 2007.
(b) Strengthening Infrastructure for Quality and Clean Milk production : A new
centrally sponsored scheme was launched in Oct 2003, with the main objective of
improving the quality of raw milk produced at the village level in the country. Under
this scheme, assistance is provided for training of farmers on good milking practices.
The scheme is being implemented on 100 per cent grant-in-aid basis to District Coop
Milk Union and State Coop Milk Federation through the State Governments/UTs for
components viz, training of farmer members, detergents, stainless steel utensils,
strengthening of existing laboratory facilities whereas 75 percent financial assistance
is provided for setting up of milk chilling facilities at village level in the form of bulk
milk coolers. Since inception, 122 projects in 22 States at a total cost of Rs. 169.86 crore
with a central share of Rs 139.34 crore have been approved up to 31st March 2007
under this scheme. A sum of Rs. 24.65 crore during 2004-05, Rs. 30.39 crore during
2005-06 and another sum of Rs. 24.65 crore during 2006-07 as central share has been
released to the concerned State Government for implementation of approved project
activities up to 31.03.07.
(c) Assistance ttoo ccooooppeerraattiivveess :: The scheme ‘Assistance to Cooperatives’ is a Central
Sector Plan Scheme started during the year 1999-2000. To revitalize the sick dairy
cooperative unions at the district level and cooperative federations at the State level
National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) is the project implementing agency and
the Central grant under the scheme are provided to the Milk Unions through NDDB.
A number of dairy cooperatives with there-tier structure viz. village level/
primary cooperatives, district level unions and state level federations have been set
up in different parts of the country under the Operation Flood Programme. For a
variety of reasons, a number of these unions/federations have accumulated losses.
These accumulated losses have been imposing severe hardships to the milk producers
and their dairy economy, resulting in, among other things, delayed and irregular
payments to the poor farmer members of these cooperatives. The Scheme seeks to
assist the sick cooperative milk unions/federations to rehabilitate them and make
them viable.
The funds are released on 50-50 sharing basis between Union of India and the
concerned State Government. The maximum assistance of grant is limited to the
minimum amount required so that the net flow becomes positive within seven years.
In any case the total grant does not exceed the accurnulated cash losses.
The Department has approved 31 rehabilitation proposals of Milk Unions in 12
States namely Madhaya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala,
Maharashtra, Assam, Nagaland, Punjab West Bengal, Haryana and Tamil Nadu,
with a total outlay of Rs. 192.5 crore.
Out of 50% Government of India share of Rs. 96.24 crore an amount of which
Rs. 74.14 crore has been release till 31st March, 2007.
(d) Dairy/Poultry Venture Capital Fund : To bring about structural changes in the
unorganized sector, the measures like milk processing at village level, marketing of
pasteurized milk in a cost effective manner, quality up-gradation of traditional
technology to handle commercial scale using modern equipment and management
94 India 2008
skills and to encourage new pieces of birds and low input technology for poultry
farming among rural farmers, a new scheme viz, Dairy/Poultry Venture Capital
Fund was initiated in the Tenth Five Year Plan. The assistance under the scheme is
provided to the rural/urban beneficiaries, under the scheme include agriculture
farmers/individual entrepreneurs and groups of all sections of unorganized as well
organized sector including cooperatives and NGO from any part of the country.
The scheme is being implemented through NABARD and funds amounting to
Rs. 28.00 crore have been released to NABARD during the Tenth Five Year Plan, to be
kept as revolving fund for implementation of the scheme. There is a budget provision
of 45.00 crore for implementation of the scheme during 2007-08.
Pattern of Assistance :
• Entrepreneurs contribution 10 per cent
• Interest-free Loan from revolving fund 50 per cent
• Bank loan at interest applicable for agricultural activities 40 per cent
The interest component applicable for agricultural activities is subsidized by
Government of India to the extent of 50 per cent only in case of regular/timely
repayment by the beneficiary.
(e) Milk and Milk Product Order-1992 : The Government of India notified the Milk
and Milk Product Order on June 1992. As per the provisions of this order, any person/
dairy plant handling more than 10,000 liters per day of milk or 500 MT of milk solids
per annum needs to be registered with the registering authority appointed by the
Central Government on 27th August 1993.
The Order was amended from time to time as per the decision taken in Milk and
Milk Product Advisory Board and as per request received from State Governments. In
pursuance of the Cabinet decision dated 22/2/2002, this Department has amended
MMPO-1992 vide Milk and Milk Product (Amendment) Order 2002, SO No. 335(E)
dated 26.3.2002, where the provisions of assigning milk shed has been done away
with. The power of granting Registration to the units up to 2.00 lakh liters per day
processing capacity where entire activities of units lies within a State has been
delegated to concerned State Registering Authority.
So for Central Registering Authority and State Registering Authority have
granted registration to 818 units with a combined capacity of 952.93 lakh liters per
day of milk up to 31.3.2007.
LIVESTOCK HEALTH
Animal wealth in India has increased manifold. The Animal husbandry practices
have also been changed to a great extent. Due to the liberalization of trade after the
advent of the WTOs SPS agreement, the chances of ingress of exotic diseases into the
country have increased. With the improvement in the quality of livestock through
launching of extensive cross breeding programmes, the susceptibility of these livestock
to various diseases including exotic diseases has increased. For ensuring the
maintenance of disease-free status and to be compatible with the standards led by the
World Animal Health Organization (OIE), major health schemes have been initiated
to support animal health programmes in the State.
In order to reduce morbidity and mortality, efforts are being made by the State/
Union Territory Governments to provide better health care through Polyclinics/
Veterinary Hospitals/Dispensaries/First-Aid Centres including Mobile Veterinary
Agriculture 95
Dispensaries. A network of 26,540 Polyclinics/Hospitals/Dispensaries and 35433
Veterinary aid Centres (including Semen Centres/Mobile Dispensaries), supported
by about 250 Disease Diagnostic Laboratories, are functioning in the States and
Union Territories for quick and reliable diagnosis of diseases. In order to provide
refertal services over and above the existing disease diagnostic Laboratories are also
functioning. Further, for control of major livestock and poultry diseases by way of
propnylactic vaccination, the required quantity of vaccines are produced in the
country at 27 veterinary vaccine production units of these, 22 are in the public sector
and 5 in private sector. Import of vaccines is also permitted as and when required.
A. Animal Quarantine and Certification Service : The objective of this service is to
prevent ingress of livestock diseases into India by regulating the import of livestock
and livestock related products, and providing export certification of International
Standards for livestock and livestock products which are exported from India. There
are four existing Stations for Animal Quarantine and Certification Service one each
at New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata.
B. National Veterinary Biological Products Quality Control Centre : At present
the Indian Veterinary Research Institute has been assisting in the task of monitoring
the quality of vaccines and biologicals. But in order to obtain better monitoring of the
quality, it is essential to establish a separate Institute. For this purpose, it has been
decided to set up National Veterinary Biological Quality Control Centre (National
Institute of Animal Health) at Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh at the end of 9th Plan. The
construction work of the Institute is almost at completion stage and it is expected that
the Institute will be functional very soon.
C. Central/Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratories : In order to provide referral
services over and above the existing disease diagnostic laboratories in the States, one
Central and five Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratories have been set up by
strengthening the existing facilities. The Centre for Animal Disease Research is
functioning as Central Laboratory in conjunction with the Disease Investigation
Laboratory, Pune, Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals, Kolkata,
Institute of Animal Health & Biologicals, Bangalore, Animal Health Institute,
Jalandhar and Institute of Velerinary Biological, Khanapara, Guwahati are
functioning as referral laboratories for Western, Eastern, Southern, Northern and
North-Eastern region, respectively.
D. Livestock Health and Disease Control (LH&DC) : In order to control the
economically important livestock diseases and to undertake the obligatory is
implementing ‘‘Livestock Health and :Disease Control (LH&DC) with the following
components.
(i). Assistance to States for Control of Animal Diseases (ASCAD) : Under this
component, assistance is provided to State/Union territory Governments for control
of economically important diseases of livestock and poultry by way of immunization
strengthening of existing State Veterinary Biological Production Units, strengthening
of existing Disease Diagnostic Laboratories and in-service training to Veterinarians
and para-veterinarians. Besides this, the programme envisaged collection of
information on the incidence of various livestock and poultry diseases from States
and Union Territories and compiling the same for the whole country. The information
so complied is disseminated in the form of Monthly Animal Disease Surveillance
Bulletin to all the States and Union Territories and also Organizations like Office
International Des Epizooties (OIE), Animal Production and Health Commission for
96 India 2008
Asia and Pacific (APHCA), etc. This information system has been harmonized in
accordance with the guidelines of OIE.
(ii). National Project on Rinderpest Eradication (NPRE): The main objective of the
project is to strengthen the veterinary services and to eradicate Rinderpest and
Contagious Bovine Pleura Pneumonia (CBPP) by strengthening the veterinary services
across the Country and to obtain freedom status from Rinderpest & CBPP infection
following the pathway prescribed by Office International des Epizooties (OIE), Paris.
Country attains ‘‘freedom from Rinderpest Infection’’ :
• The first stage of ‘‘Provisional freedom from Rinderpest disease for the whole
country was achieved with effect from 1st March 1998.
• The second stage ‘‘Freedom from Rinderpest disease’’ for the country was
attained with effect from 22nd May, 2004.
• The third stage and final stage of ‘‘Freedom from Rinderpest Infection’’, the
country has been recognized by the World Organisation of animal Health (OIE)
as free from Rinderpest infection in accordance with the provisions of Article
2.2 12.2 of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code on 25th May, 2006.
Country attains ‘‘freedom from Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) :
• As regards the country has been recognized by the World Organisation of animal
Health (OIE) as free from Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) in
accordance with the provisions of Article 2.3 15.2 of the OIE terrestrial Animal
Health Code on 25th May, 2007.
(iii) Foot and Mouth disease Control Programme (FMD-CP) : ‘‘Foot and Mouth
Disease Control Programme’’ is being implemented in 54 specified districts in the
country to control the Foot and Mouth Disease. This involves 6 monthly vaccinations
of susceptible livestock against FMD. Five rounds of vaccinations have been completed.
Sixth round of vaccination is in progress. About 28.00 million vaccinations are
conducted in every round.
E. AVIVAN INFLUENZA : PREPAREDNESS, CONTROL AND CONTAINMENT:
The first outbreak of Avian Influenza occurred in India on 18th February 2006 in the
western part of India in a small area in the State of Maharashtra running contiguously
over an adjoining territory of the State of Gujarat. A second outbreak was reported
from Maharashtra itself. There has been no outbreak after 18th April 2006. India
declared freedom from Avian Influenza on 18th August, 2006. The report has also
been hosted on the website of World Organization of Animal Health (OIE).
The Government of India initiated immediate action to control and contain the
outbreak. Control and containment measures comprise a series of strategic actions
that are to be taken in accordance with the Action Plans for the Department of Animal
Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DADF) and the Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare (MOHFW).
The actions taken to control and contain Avian influenza are detailed below :
1. Demarcation of infected and surveillance areas was carried out in accordance
with the Action Plan. An area of 3 kms. is designated as the Infected Zone and
a further area of 7 kms. is designated as the Surveillance Zone.
2. However, the poultry, both backyard and commercial, was culled in a radius of
10 kms around the affected farm premises. 10,44,599 birds were killed in the
control operations.
Agriculture 97
3. Other infected materials such as poultry eggs, egg products, feathers, feed, feed
materials, protective cloth used by the staff engaged in operations etc. , was also
destroyed. More than 8500 metric tones of feed material and nearly 17 lakh eggs
were destroyed.
4. Thereafter cleaning and disinfection of the infected premises/area was carried
out. This included physical surveillance in the 10 kms radius where culling
was carried out to ensure that no birds would be stocked for next three months
and sero surveillance in a further radius of 5 k.ms.
6. After completion of culling. disinfection and further surveillance for a period of
three months in accordance with the OIE protocol, India declared itself free
from the disease on 18th August, 2006.
7. Restocking of poultry has been allowed in affected areas based on periodic
testing and sampling.
8. The Government of India has maintained strategic reserve of poultry vaccine.
The option of vaccination is thus available to the country. However, vaccination
has not yet been introduced in the country.
9. The personnel involved in containment work were provided personal protective
equipment and brought under cover of Tamiflu by the health authorities.
10. It is the policy of the Government of India to pay compensation to owner for
culled poultry. The cost will be shared on a 50:50 basis with the State Government.
More than 3 crore Indian Rupees has been paid as compensation. The
compensation is paid soon after carrying out culling especially in case of
backyard poultry.
11. India has developed innovative strategies to control and contain Avian Influenza
especially pertaining to backyard poultry. The decision to kill birds in a 10 km
radius has been acknowledged as a bold and decisive one.
The conduct of the operations has been appreciated by the International
organizations. The FAO by letter dated 23rdFebruary has informed that it has been
closely watching the recent outbreak of Navapur and appreciates the quick response
initiated by the Government of India in general and of the Department of Animal
Husbandry in particular. It was very encouraging to see that the poultry farmers were
quickly compensated for their culled birds. The Asian Development Bank has lauded
India’s efforts for similar reasons.
The WHO through letter of Regional Director, Office for South East Asia dated
10th August, 2006 has lauded the efforts made by Government of India in instituting
early and effective measures through poultry culling and rapid disinfection of the
affected area and restricted movement of the poultry as per the WHO, timely
compensations to poultry farmers also helped in early reporting of outbreaks among
birds and facilitated immediate culling operations. Further, efficient surveillance
during last four months culminated in achieving avian influenza free status for the
country. WHO has appreciated the commitment of the country to continue monitoring
for H5N1 infection. The multi-sectoral coordination of disease prevention activities
between the federal and the three provincial government authorities was considered
as the key to preempt the spread of infection.
An active surveillance programme is being carried out all over the country focusing
on early detection of the disease. India has a fully equipped Bio-Security Level 3
laboratory at Bhopal. More than 1,30,000 samples have been tested at Bhopal after
98 India 2008
the first outbreak of Avian Influenza in February 2006. Targeted surveillance will
focus on areas where outbreak took place; areas visited by migratory birds with
poultry concentrations around them and areas of major poultry population. Personnel
of Animal Husbandry and Forest Departments are being regularly trained in sample
collection and dispatch. Joint mechanisms are in existence between the Health, Forests
and Animal Husbandry sectors at the Central and the State levels and have been
fully operationalised. Reserves of essential equipment and materials have been
developed.
FISHERIES
The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries has been undertaking
various production, input supply and infrastructure development programmes and
welfare oriented schemes besides formulating/ initiating appropriate policies to
increase production and productivity in the Fisheries Sector.
Fish production since 1980-81 is shown in the table below:
(lakh tonnues)
Year Marine Inland Total
1980-81 15.55 8.87 24.42
1990-91 23.00 15.36 38.36
1991-92 24.47 17.10 41.57
1992-93 25.76 17.89 43.65
1993-94 26.49 19.95 46.44
1994-95 26.92 20.97 47.89
1995-96 27.07 22.42 49.49
1996-97 29.67 23.81 53.48
1997-98 29.50 24.38 53.88
1998-99 26.96 26.02 52.98
1999-2000 28.52 23.23 56.75
2000-2001 28.11 28.45 56.56
2001-2002 28.30 31.20 62.00
2002-2003 29.90 32.10 62.00
2003-2004 29.41 34.58 63.99
2004-2005 27.78 35.26 63.04
2005-2006 28.16 37.55 65.71
The fisheries sector has been one of the major contributors of foreign exchange
earnings through export. Export of fish and fishery products has grown manifold
over the years. From about 15,700 tonnes valued at Rs. 3.92 crore in 1961-62, exports
have grown to 5.51 lakh tonnes valued at Rs. 7018.68 crore in 2005-06.
DEVELOPMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE
The ongoing scheme of Development of Freshwater Aquaculture and Integrated
Coastal Aquaculture have been combined with four new programmes on Development
Agriculture 99
of Coldwater Fish Culture, Development of water-logged Area and Derelict water
bodies into aquaculture estates, Use of Inland Saline/Alkaline Soil for Aquaculture
and programme for augmenting the Productivity of Reservoirs. This scheme broadly
has two components. Aquaculture and Inland Capture Fisheries.
DEVELOPMENT OF FRESHWATER AQUACULTURE
The Government has been implementing an important programme in inland sector,
viz., Development of Freshwater Aquaculture through the Fish Farmers Development
Agencies (FFDAs). A network of 429 FFDAs covering all potential districts in the
country are in operation. During, 2005-06, about 22,758 ha of water area was brought
under fish culture and 29,952 fish farmers were trained in improved aquaculture
practices through FEDAs.
DEVELOPMENT OF BRACKISHWATER AQUACULTURE
With the objective of utilizing the country’s vast brackishwater area for shrimp culture,
an area of about 28,885 hectares was developed for shrimp culture till 2005-06 through
39 Brackishwater Fish Farmers Development Agencies (BFDAs) set up in the coastal
areas of the country. The agencies have also trained 26,536 fishermen in improved
practices of shrimp culture till 2005-06. Presently about 50 percent of the shrimp
exported from the country is from aquaculture.
DEVELOPMENT OF MARINE FISHERIES
The Government is providing subsidy to poor fishermen for motorizing their
traditional craft, which increases the fishing areas and frequency of operation with
consequent increase in catch and earnings of fishermen. About 48,226 traditional
crafts have been motorized so far. The Government has also been operating a scheme
on fishermen development rebate on HSD oil used by fishing vessels below 20 meter
length to offset the operational cost incurred by small mechanized fishing boat
operators.
DEVELOPMENT OF FISHING HARBOUR
The Government has been implementing a scheme with the objective of providing
infrastructure facilities for safe landing and berthing to the fishing vessels. Since
inception of the scheme, six major fishing harbours viz., Cochin, Chennai,
Visakhapatnam, Roychowk, Paradip and Season dock (Mumbai), 58 minor fishing
harbours and 189 fish landing centres have been taken up for construction in various
coastal States/UTs.
WELFARE PROGRAMMES FOR TRADITIONAL FISHERMEN
Important programmes for the welfare of traditional fishermen are (i) Group Insurance
Scheme for active fishermen, (ii) Development of Model Fishermen Villages, and (iii)
Saving-cum-relief Scheme.
The fishermen identified or registered with the States/UTs are insured for Rs.
50,000 against death or permanent total disability and Rs. 25,000 against partial
disability. During 2006-07 assistance has been provided to cover 14.0 lakh fishermen
under insurance. Under the Development of Model fishermen in 2006-07. Under the
Saving-cum-relief component, financial assistance is provided to the fishermen during
the lean fishing season. About 2.20 lakh fishermen were assisted under the savingcum-
relief programme in 2006-2007.
100 India 2008
SPECIALISED INSTITUTES
The Central Institute of Fisheries, Nautical and Engineering Training, Kochi with
units at Chennai and Visakhapatnam, aims at making available sufficient number of
operators of deep-sea fishing vessels and technicians for shore establishments.
Integrated Fisheries Project, Kochi, envisages processing, popularizing and test
marketing of unconventional varieties of fish. The Central Institute of Coastal
Engineering for Fisheries, Bangalore, is engaged in techno-economic feasibility study
for location of fishing harbour sites. Fishery Survey of India (FSI) is the nodal
organization responsible for survey and assessment of fishery resources under the
Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
NATIONAL FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT BOARD
In pursuance of the approval of the Cabinet, a National Fisheries Development Board
(NFDB) has been set up recently with its head quarter at hyderabad to realize the
untapped potential of fisheries sector in inland and marine fish capture, culture,
processing and marketing of fish, and over all growth of fisheries sector with the
application of modern tools of research & development including biotechnology for
optimizing production and productivity form fisheries. The board has been registered
under Andhra Pradesh Society Registration Act 2001. Objectives of the National
Fisheries Development Board are:
i) To bring major activities relating to fisheries and aquaculture for focused
attention and professional management;
ii) To coordinate activities pertaining to fisheries undertaken by different
Ministries/Departments in the Central Government and also coordinate with
the State/Union territory Government.
iii) To improve production, processing, storage, transport and marketing of the
products and culture fisheries.
iv) To achieve sustainable management and conservation of natural aquatic
rosources including the fish stocks,
v) To apply modern tools of research and development including biotechnology
for optimizing production and productivity form fisheries;
vi) To provide modern infrastructure mechanisms for fisheries and ensure their
effective management and optimum utilization.
vii) To generate substantial employment.
viii) Totrain and empower women in the fisheries sector, and
ix) To enhance contribution of fish towards food and nutritional security.
Major activities to be taken up by the National Fisheries Development Board :
i) Intensive aquaculture in ponds and tanks.
ii) Enhancing productivity from Reservoir Fisheries.
iii) Brackish water Coastal Aquaculture.
iv) Mariculture.
vi) Sea Ranching.
vii) Seaweed Cultivation.
viii) Infrastructure for Post Harvest Programmes.
ix) Fish Dressing Centres and Solar Drying Fish
x) Domestic Marketing.
Agriculture 101
The proposed total outlay of the Board is Rs. 2100.00 crore. A sum of Rs. 30.00
crore has already been released to NFDB. A budgetary provision of Rs. 100.50 crore
has been made for 2007-08. The Executive Committee under NFDB was constituted
on 17.07.06 and the Governing Body on 2.8.06. The inaugural function and first
meeting of the governing body of the board was held at Hyderabad on 9th September,
2006 and thus it became operational. So far the Governing Body of NFDB met twice
and the six Executive Committee meetings were held. Guidelines for undertaking
various activities with assistance from NFDB have been formulated.
Department of Agricultural Research and Education
The Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of
Agriculture provides government support, service and linkage to the Indian Council
of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and is responsible for coordinating research and
educational activities in the field of agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries.
Also, it helps to bring about inter-departmental and inter-institutional collaboration
with national and international agencies engaged in agriculture and allied sectors.
Indian Council of Agricultural Research
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an apex national organization
for conducting and coordinating research and education in agriculture including
animal husbandry and fisheries. The Council undertakes research on fundamental
and applied aspects in traditional and frontier areas to offer solutions to problems
related to conservation and management of resources, productivity improvement of
crops, animals and fisheries. It plays a pivotal role in developing new technologies in
agriculture and allied sectors and performs the functions of introduction and
exploration of genetic resources of plants, animals and fisheries.
Agricultural Research
The Council has its headquarters at New Delhi and a vest network of Institutes all
over the country consisting of 48 Institutes including 4 national Institutes with Deemed
to be University status; 5 national Bureaux; 32 national Research Centres; 12 Project
Directorates; and 62 All India Coordinated Research Projects (AICRPs). For higher
education in agriculture and allied fields there are 39 State Agricultural Universities
and One Central Agricultural University at Imphal besides 4 Deemed to be
Universities.
Research, Education and Extension Activities of the ICAR
The activity spectrum and the highlight of research, education and extension in
different fields are submitted below :
(1) Crop Sciences
During 2006, 73 new varieties of different field crops were released by Central Varietal
Release Committee and 115 varieties were released by different State Varietal release
Committee. The crop improvement programme includes development of high yielding
varieties of wheat, improvement programme includes development of high yielding
varieties of wheat; improvement of high breeds in maize; sorghum and pearl millets;
popularization of winter maize; high yielding and early duration varieties in
mungbean and urdbean; high breeds in caster; and development of short duration
varieties of pigeon-pea. Nearly 6260 tonnes of breeder seed of different crops were
produced and distributed as per the state indents so that farmers could get a quality
102 India 2008
seed at the appropriate time. A project on seed production in crops and fisheries has
been launched by the government in 2005-06.
An eco-friendly IPM approach in wheat was applied by DWR, Karnal. IPM
module being promoted, is targeted at the pests like termites and aphids. IPM
technology in sorghum based on seed treatment with neem oil @ 5ml/kg seed effectively
controlled shoot fly and stem borer. Integrated Pest Management was effectively tried
for all the major crops including cereals, pulses, oilseeds and cash crops.
A number of accessions were monitored for seed viability, seed quality and seed
health after ten years of storage. 205 accessions of fruit crops, tuber crops, bulbous
crops, spices and medicinal and aromatic plants were added to in vitro gene bank.
Under DNA finger printing, presently database consists of 923 varieties of 16 crops.
(2) Horticulture
Significant Achievements are given below :
• Rejuvenation of unproductive old orchards of mango and litchi.
• A promising mango hybrid ‘H-39’ has attractive blush on fruit, high TSS
(24 Brix), high carotenoid content (7.8 mg/100g), firm pulp, regular bearing
habit and dwarf nature.
• Embryogenic cell suspension cultures have been successfully developed in
Rasthali and Ney Poovan varieties of banana for developing resistant transgenic
plants against Fusarium wilt and resistant in Nendran against Sigatoka leaf
spot.
• Developed ‘Kashi Anmol’, ‘Kashi Early’ and ‘Kashi Vishwanath’ varieties of
chilli, ‘IIVR-11’ of okra, ‘Kashi Kunwari’ of cauliflower, ‘Kashi Hans’ of radish
and ‘Kashi Gauri’ of cowpea.
• Developed onion variety ‘Bhimraj’ for kharif season.
• Developed ‘Kufri Chipsona-3’ and ‘Kufri Himalini’ varieties of potato.
• Developed ‘Sree Padmanabha’ variety of cassava and cashew promising hybrid
‘H 1250’ - VRI - 2 x VTH 40/1.
• Dual purpose variety (leaves as well as seed) of Corinander ‘NRCSS ACr.1’ and
Fennel variety ‘NRCSS AF’1’ having high essential oil, high yielder and suitable
for early transplanted crop.
• Identified INGR 07041 - a promising genotype of Kalmegh (Andrographis
paniculata) - having compact plant type with high andrographolide content
(%).
• Identified ‘IIHRP-1’ hybrid resistant to fusarium wilt in carnation.
• Productivity of apple, almond and apricot has been more than double under
medium high density plantation with pollination, integrated nutrient and pest
management, organic mulching and drip irrigation.
• Developed and launched the web based user-friendly software package entitled
‘Digital Herbarium of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India’
Established gene banks in hill and tribal areas, of five walnut selections having
nut weight of 18.63 to 27.16g and five selections having kernel weight of 10.69 to
12.76g which supercede the varieties developed by USA during last 150 years of
walnut breeding.
Agriculture 103
(3) Natural Resource Management
Tista Basin in Sikkim has a unique combination of landscape and geo-agro climatic
scenario that influence the formation of different kind of soils. Based on the visual
interpretation of the satelite imagery and SOI toposheet total 17 watersheds were
delineated. Total 62 soil series were identified and were; mapped into 63 soil mapping
units. Soils are mainly Inceptisols, Ultisols, Mollisols and Alfisols. The hills are
mostly covered with forests. Most of the cultivable land, except the narrow valley, is
terraced and under crops like maize, millets, potato, pulses ginger and vegetables.
In a study for rehabilitation of eroded Shiwaliks at Chandigarh, maximum
tomato yield was obtained through inoculation with bio-fertilizers. Applications of
vermi-compost, FYM and bio-fertilizers to the eroded soil significantly improved soil
moisture, respiration rate, phosphatse activity, beneficial microbes like azotobactor
and phosphate solublizing bacteria.
Three years mean data (2003-2005) indicated that runoff (% of rainfall) was
highest at Jogindar Nagar (28.6%) followed by Tinbed (25.6%) and Darang (16.3%)
owing to their land slops of 124%, 106% and 81%, respectively. Cut and carry system
(18% runoff) was the best compared to rotational (22.6%) and traditional (28.3%)
grazing. Trenching in combination with vegetative barrier allowed only 8.2% of rain
as runoff compared to 41.5% under control (no measure). Rainfall events of more
than 50 mm, though quite less in number contributed 47.7%, 82.3% and 81.7% to total
runoff at Darang, Joginder Nagar and Tinbed, respectively.
Rice was found to be moderate to marginally suitable in low and middle hill
areas with bunding while maize was found to be moderate to maraginally suitable in
ridge, low and mid mountains of mostly within 30-50% slope. Hand transplanting in
rice and bed planting in wheat was the best treatment combination for maximizing
rice (4.32 t ha--1); and zero till drilling in rice and conventional sowing in wheat was
the best treatment combination for maximizing wheat (3.57 t ha-1) yield at Raipur.
In hilly soils of Uttranchal, deficiency of S was more wide spread in the soils of
Chamba ADB as compared to those of Fakot ADB; the magnitude being 45.0 and 31
percent, respectively.
At Bhubaneshwar, four field crops (ragi, groundnut, sesame and black gram)
were grown in the alleys (8 m wide) of two fast growing timber trees (Acacia mangium
and Gmelina arborea at 625 trees/ha.). Crops yield in terms of ragi equivalent yield
was highest in groundnut followed by sesame. In Guava based agri-hortisilvi, the
highest mean fruit yield of guava was obtained in association with Dalbergia sissoo
(3.4 t/ha). The net return (Rs. 8136/-) as well as B: C ratio (2.25) were highest for
seasmum in association with Dalbergia sissoo.
At Jabalpur, in guava and paddy-based system significantly higher rice grain
yield (1.93 t ha-1) was recorded in 25% higher seed rate and fertilizer dose whereas
lowest yield (1.1. t ha-1) was recorded in normal doses of seed rate and showed more
than 90% survival and attained 6 m highest and 7.6 cm DBH within three years of its
planting. Under this system, turmeric was successfully intercropped and a yield of
7./6 q/ha was realized.
At Jhargram (W. Bengal), bottle gourd grown as intercrop in Gmelina arborea +
Sweet orange and G. arborea + Guuava - based agroforestry system gave maximum
return (Rs. 74,150 and Rs. 73,480/ha/year respectively during 2nd year of
experimentation.
104 India 2008
Effective control of Parthenium hysterophorus in grassland at Palampur was
achieved with metsulfuron methyl 0.0905 per cent, metributzin 0.5 per cent,
glyphosate 0.5 per cent 2,4-DEE 0.3 per cent and atrazine 0.3% when applied at 2-3
leaf stage of weed and recorded higher herbage yield.
In upland rice at jorhat pretilachlor 0.75 kg/ha + safener was found effective in
reducing the weed growth and increasing the grain yield and was at par with the
treatment where cowpea was grown as intercrop along with application of butachlor
1.0 kg/ha.
In direct seeded rice, cowpea grown as intercropping in additive series and
harvested at 30 DAS followed by working with grubber at 40 DAS was found effective
for control of weeds and realizing higher yield. State seed bed along with grubber at
20-25 DAS was also effective for control of weeds.
In rice-rice sequence, application of pretilachlor 0.75 kg ha-1 was found effective
for control of weeds in autumn rice. In succeeding winter rice, narrow spacing (15 cm
x 15 cm) followed by one hand weeding was equally effective with buttachlor 1.25 kg
ha-1 + almix 4g ha-1.
(4) Agricultural Engineering
A number of agricultural implements such as, lug wheel puddler, inclined plate
planter, garlic planter, tractor drawn ridger seeder/raised bed planter, three row
rotary weeder, air sleeveboom sprayer, flail type chopper cum spreader, flail type
forage harvester-cum chopper etc. have been developed as tractor operated machinery.
Under power tiller-operated machinery, air assisted seed drill, groundnut digger and
power weeder have been fabricated. In case of self-propelled machinery, self propelled
biasi cultivator, mini combine, 8-row paddy transplanter, high clearance sprayer and
vertical conveyor reaper have been developed. Under animal drawn machinery, raised
bed planter, bullock drawn-sprayer, tool carrier etc. have been developed. Ergonomic
studies w.r.t. layout of tractor operator’s workplace have been carried out. The tractor
seat has been designed based on the enthropometric data collected of about 5500
male agricultural workers.
Optimisation of process parameters for hulling of pigeonpea, cleaner-cumgrader
for light seeds, curry leaf stripper, model for prediction of maturity of mango
on tree, process technology for making aonla beverage, sunflower kernel based
confectionery products, process technologies for value added products from
pomegranate, technology for soy-millet biscuits, guava leather/bar, fish container
mounted on cycle rickshaw hand operated aonla pricking machine and seed pelletiser
are significant achievements in post-harvest engineering technology.
Improved cotton saw gin, low cost silver making machine, pilot plant for particle
board from cotton plant stalks, value-added textile from sunhemp fibres, warm fabric
(shaw) using bulked yarn made from jute polyter blends, small scale processing unit,
pilot plant for lac have also been developed.
A family size floating done type biogas plant for solid-state digestion of cattle
dung has been designed. Technology for enrichment of biogas digested slurry,
annerobic digestion of crop residues, biodiesel production and jute caddies briquettes
as an alternative fuel has been developed.
(5) Animal Sciences
India has a large livestock and poultry wealth comprising about 485 million livestock
that includes 185 million cattle, 98 million buffaloes, 62 million sheep, 124 million
Agriculture 105
goats, 14 million pigs and 489 million poultry. Some of the major achievements
including activities in hill and tribal areas are detailed below.
Based on the structure of cattle population in the Gaushalas, a new model, was
developed for conservation of cattle in Gaushalas. Four Gaushalas have implemented
the model by separating out the best cows in their herd and permitting controlled
breeding by bulls of the same breed.
The synthetic breed development programme through cross breeding continued
during the current year also. A total of five hundred sixty six (566) male calves were
produced through elite mating at 22 military Farms in different years and were sent
to Bull rearing Unit (BRU), Meerut for rearing and future bull production. Presently,
Project Directorate on Cattle has 305 doses of pure HF semen and 4,08,179 doses of
Frieswal semen in the gene bank.
129 genetically superior Murrah breeding bulls have so far been selected from
various centres of the Project on Murrah breed and their semen was frozen for progeny
testing programme. At present 4,88,555 doses of frozen semen from genetically superior
bulls are in stock. :Elite herds of Nili-ravi, Surti, jaffarabadi, Bhadawari, Pandharpuri,
Godavari and swamp buffaloes have been established.
Genetic improvement of Jamunapari and Barbari goats is being carried out
through selective breeding in the nucleus flock. Use of bucks selected on the basis of
index value combining 9 month body weight and 90 day’s milk yield of the dam
indicated improvement in both milk yield and body weight.
Besides improving indigenous sheep through selection, improved breeds/
strains like Bharat Merino, Avikalin and GaroleX Malpura were developed for
enhanced meat production.
Genetical stability in terms of litter size at birth through inter se mating in 50%
Hampshire (11th generation) and 75% Hampshire (10th generation) was recorded to
be 6.67 and 6.91 respectively in the 1st crop and 8.69 and 8.1 respectively in 2nd crop
i.e. from the tried sows in eight states. A survey on pig production status in North
Eastern hill region was also carried out.
Breeding and production of German Angora rabbit for wool and New Zealand
White (NZW), White Giant (WG), Grey Giant (GG), Soviet Chinchilla (SC), Dutch and
Black Brown (BB) for broiler purposes were taken up in sub-temperate region of
Himalayan hills to support small farmers' income.
In order to address the issue of developing suitable poultry birds for backyard
rearing, ICAR has developed two breeds - Vanaraja for dual purpose and Gramapriya
for egg type with a record production of 165 eggs against 65 eggs per annum from
indigenous birds. Several backyard units were established at farmers field in the hill
states of north east India.
Modulation of Prolactin hormone in blood using active immunizing agent like
Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP) has shown to reduce the number of pause days in
White Leghorn birds leading to increased egg production upto 4%.
The production and reproductive performance of cattle and buffaloes and their
disease resistance ability was enhanced by supplementing area specific mineral
mixture. Trials showed significant increase in growth rate and milk production of
cattle and buffaloes to the extent of 20-30%.
Feeding total mixed ration to mithum (Bos frontalis) incorporating perennial
tree leaves like Ficus hirta and herb like Borrena hirticulata up to 30 percent of total
106 India 2008
mixed ration showed no adverse effects on nutrient utilization and growth
performance, and therefore, recommended for stall fed Mithuns. Feed blocks were
prepared at NRC on Mithun, Nagaland by incorporating urea treated paddy straw
and concentrate mixture at 70:30 ratio. Feeding of these blocks showed better growth
rate, nutrient utilization and nitrogen retention.
Considering dwindling yak population and also the need for larger number of
yaks for the highlanders, embryo transfer technology in yak was tried for the first
time with success.
In order to ensure faster diagnosis of important diseases, nucleic acid based
discase diagnostic techniques developed and applied besides monitoring the seroprevalence
from infectious diseases of economic importance. Avian influenza in birds
in the country as a whole was investigated and controlled successfully through use
of diagnostics and vaccines developed at High Security Animal Disease Lab, Bhopal.
Parasitic disease diagnostic Kits for use by field veterinarians were developed
using real time PCR and ELISA technique.
(6) Fisheries
Fisheries represent an important and fast growing food production sector in India
that contributes more than 1% to the National GDP and 4.7% to the agricultural GDP
With an annual production of 6.57 million tonnes from marine and inland waters,
the country is the third fish producer in the world and the second largest producer of
inland fish, next only to China. Annual export earnings form fish and shellfish are
about Rs. 8,357 crore, accounting for nearly 20% of the agricultural export. Fish is a
health food that is relatively cheap and affordable to the poor.
Major technological interventions that drove this developement in the freshwater
aqaculture segment are induced breeding of major carps, catfishes and other fresh
water finfishes; fish farming technologies of carps, mahseers and snow trouts for
upland ecosystems and commercialization of fish feeds for inland aquaculture. In
recent years, genetically improved rohu with a growth enhancement up to 17% per
generation has also been developed. Through cryopreservation of sperm and eggs of
freshwater fishes, many constraints of timely availability of sperm and eggs have
been removed. Breeding of giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, using
inland saline waters, has been achieved, opening up possibilities for utilizing the
vast tracts of such water bodies existing in different parts of the country. Polymorphic
microsatellite and allozyme markers have been developed for fifteen fish species and
Macrobrachium rosenbergii and a database containing karyomorphological
information on 126 finfish species from 34 families and 9 orders is in place. In the
riverine fisheries front, stock structure of fishes was analysed using allozyme and
mircro satellite. PCR-based diagnostic capability has been developed for exotic OIE
listed pathogens and guidelines developed for introduction of aquatic Exotics and
Quarantine procedures. Seed production technology has been developed for the two
inland and three marine ornamental fishes. In resevoir fisheries, high production
levels of 220 kg/ha/year have been achieved from small reservoirs as against the
national average of 20 kg/ha/year.
In marine fisheries, breeding of sand lobster has been achieved in captivity and
Iarval rearing protocols have been developed for honey comb gruper, Epinephehus
merra. In vitro marine pearl production through tissue culture technique in Indian
pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata and abalone, Haliotis varia provides opens up new
avenues for marine pearl culture. The sea cucumber, Holothuria scabra has been bred
Agriculture 107
in captivity and its seed used for sea ranching. A database on about 2,420 finfishes
and shellfishes including of the Indian waters including 46 stocks of commercially
important ones has been created. In the coastal aquaculture segment, new methods
have been developed for detection of White Spot Disease in shrimp as also RT-PCR
technique for diction of Yellow Head Virus. Seed production technology has been
developed for kuruma shrimp, Marsupenaeus japonicus, a candidate species for
diversification. Culture of banana shrimp, Penaeus merguenis has been demonstrated
in Billamora, Gujarat. A technology package for hatchery seed production of sea bass
has been developed paving the way for it commericialization.
New designs for fuel-efficient, cost-effective and eco-friendly fishing craft and
gear are now available. National standards have been developed for quality assurance
in fishery products. Technology for producing chitin and chitosan from shrimp head
and shell has been commercialized. HACCP-based package has been developed for
the practices for quality control of fish products. Many new value-added products
have been produced from cuttlefish, squids, threadfin breams and carps including
reportable flexible pouch technology for fish products. V form otter boards, Turtle
Excluder device (TED) and square mesh cod ends are the new fishing craft and
devices developed for eco- friendly marine fishing.
(7) Agricultural Education
In Agricultural Education several new initiatives have been taken to build a strong
scientific base for research and technology transfer. Recommendations of the IV Deans
Committee addressing quality and relevance of education by reorienting course
curricula and syllabi for employability of graduates are being implemented in
agricultural universities. For quality assurance in agricultural education 14
agricultural universities have already been accredited and several others are under
the process of accreditation. With an objective of providing skill oriented hand-ontraining
to student, 138 experiential learning units have been established in 43
agricultural universities. For engendering education by encouraging women
candidates for higher agricultural education, 60 new girls’ hotels were constructed
in agricultural universities. Similarly, for global visibility of our education system, 12
new international students’ hotels were constructed and during the academic year
2007, yearly 300 students from 25 countries were admitted in various degree
programmes of agriculture and allied sciences.
For building global visibility in research and education, 28 Niche Areas of
Excellence initiated in universities in their area of attained capabilities like
competitiveness and nationalized character in various degree programmes was
achieved through All India Entrance Examination for 15 per cent seats at
undergraduates level and 25 per cent at post-graduates level in agricultural
universities. Scholarships and financial assistance was provided to students for
Rural Awareness Work Experience, Internship B.V.Sc & A.H. students, merit-cummeans
scholarship, National Talent Scholarship (undergraduate programme), junior
Research Fellowship (master’s programme) and Senior Research scientists. Nearly
150 HRD training courses of 10 days to 4 weeks duration were organized annually in
which about 300 persons participated. Basic and strategic research in agriculture is
encouraged through 25 national fellow and 10 national professional chairs. ICAR
also facilitates logical completion of work that remains in hand at the time of
superannuation of scientists by providing 50 emeritus scientists awards. Incentive
and encouragement is provided to the faculty who attain excellence in teaching
108 India 2008
through 3-5 Best Teacher Awards annually per university. Training, consultancy,
research and policy support has been provided by the National Academy of
Agricultural Research Management through induction training programme to entry
level scientists, other training programmes, off-campus programmes, workshops and
seminars.
(8) Agricultural Extension
The Council has established a network of 533 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) and
SAUs, ICAR institutes, NGOs, State Governments and other education institutions,
aiming at assessment, refinement and demonstration of technology/product. These
KVKs conducted 4109 on-farm trials in order to identify frontline demonstrations to
establish the production potentials of improved agricultural technologies on the
farmers’ fields. The KVKs organized 30672 training programmes benefiting 8.16 lakh
women, 1.59 lakh rural Youth and 0.97 lakh extension personnel on various aspects
of crop production crop protection, livestock production and management, fishery,
resource management and other related areas. The beneficiaries of KVKs from the
training programme also includes 2.27 lakh women farmers, 0.60 lakh rural girls and
0.21 lakh women extension personnel. In order to create awareness on improved
agricultural technologies, the KVKs organized a large number of extension
programmes including 41.90 lakh farmers. In addition, 8.482 newspaper coverages,
publication of 2,231 popular articles and 6,075 extension literatures, and 3,786 and/
TV talks were taken by the KVKs. The KVKs produced 87,782 quintal of seeds, 71.98
lakh saplings/seedlings of fruits, vegetables, spice, medieinal plants ornamental
plants, planation crops and forest species and 29.98 lakh livestock strains and
fingerlings for availability to farmers, besides production of bio-fertilizers, biopesticides
and bio-agents.
(9) National Agricultural Innovation Project
Under NAIP, the concept notes submitted under competitive mode are under review
and 7 projects have been approved and about 33 projects are under different stages of
advanced processing. The projects approved under research on Sustainable Rural
Livelihood Security (Component-III) cover 25 destruction the seven north eastern
states, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttranchal, Maharashtra and Andhra
Pradesh. The approved projects under Basic and Strategic Research (Component-IV)
include arsenic in food chain, fixation of heterosis and plants and genomic analysis
of cotton boll fibre.
(10) National Fund for Basic and Strategic Research
Under this scheme (of ICAR), 21 projects have been approved in the frontier areas of
agricultural sciences covering botic and abotic stress management in rice, soreghum,
pulse, oilseeds and cutton, animal improvement in buffalo, Immune response in
cattle, prolificacy in black Bengal goat, mitigation of methane emission and
productivity enhancement in dairy animals and targeted gene integation in rice and
cotton.
(11) Research for Hill and Tribal Regions
ICAR through the Vivekananda Paravatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan (VPKAS),
Almora, the ICAR Research Complex for North-Eastern Hills Regions, Umiam,
Meghalaya and the Central Agricultural Research Institutes (CARI), Portblair evolve
technologies to meet the needs of tribals and hill farmers. These technologies are
Agriculture 109
intended to improve their social-economic status and to help them acquire special
skills through vocational training in traditional and non-traditional crops, agroforestry,
apiculture, sericulture, horticulture, animal husbandry, poultry and fisheries.
During 2006, 9 varieties of different crops were released for Uttarakhand, HP,
J&K and North-Eastern Hills by VPKAS Almora. Development of water resource by
harvesting surface runoff and perennial hill streams of LDPE lined poly-tanks and
protected cultivations of off-season vegetables utilizing the harvested water have
helped farmers in Almora District. Similarly microirrgation system (MIS) helped
initilizing water efficiently in National District. VPKAS, Almora also designed a
user-friendly low cost light trap of efficient mass trapping of beetles.
A detailed digitiszed climatical as covering all growing seasons was prepared
for Meghalya by the ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region. A genotypeindependent
multiple shoot induction protocol for pigeon-pea was developed. Three
varieties of Kiwi fruit were successfully propagated. The Institute has developed
raised and sunken bed technology for increasing cropping intensity using marshy
lands. A seed drill was developed for high lope condition simple multiplex PCR for
rapid diagnosis of sex in ducks and duck embryos was developed. Captive breeding
of chocolate mahaseer was achieved using the brood stocks from Meghalya.
CARI, Portblair found five local strains of Pseudomonas species which proved
effective as bio control agents against pathogens of solanaceous vegetables. Sesbania
aculeta inter-cropping in wet seeded rice proved beneficial in The Islands. Propionate
chelated organic trace mineral supplementation improved the daily milk production
in crossbred cows. The institute identified enterprise combinations for slapping valley
and valley areas. Also, diverse fishery resources of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
were documented.
110 India 2008
5 Art and Culture
THE Ministry of Culture plays a vital role in the preservation and promotion of art
and culture. Its aim is to develop ways and means by which basic cultural and
aesthetic values and perceptions remain active and dynamic among the people. It
also undertakes programmes for the promotion of various manifestations of
contemporary art. The Department is a nodal agency for commemorating significant
events and celebrating centenaries of great artists.
VISUAL ARTS
LALIT KALA AKADEMI
To promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, both within and outside
the country, the Government of India established Lalit Kala Akademi (National
Akademi of Arts) at New Delhi in 1954. The Akademi has regional centres called
Rashtriya Lalit Kala Kendras at Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Garhi in New Delhi
and Bhubaneswar with workshop facilities in painting, sculpture, print-making and
ceramics.
Since its inception, the Akademi has been organising national exhibition of
contemporary Indian art with 15 national awards, each of Rs 50,000. Every three
years, the Akademi also organises Triennial India, an International exhibition of
contemporary art in New Delhi.
The Akademi honours eminent artists and art historians every year by electing
them as Fellows of the Akademi. To propagate Indian art outside, the Akademi
regularly participates in International Biennials and Triennials abroad and also
organises exhibitions of works of art from other countries. To foster contracts with
artists from outside, it sponsors exchange of artists with other countries under the
various Cultural Exchange Programmes and Agreements of the Government.
The Lalit Kala Akademi accords recognition to art institutions/associations
and extends financial assistance to these bodies as well as State Academies. It also
gives scholarships to deserving young artists belonging to its regional centres. Under
its publication programme, the Akademi brings out monographs on the works of
Indian contemporary artists in Hindi and English and books on contemporary,
traditional, folk and tribal arts authored by eminent writers and art critics. The
Akademi also brings out bi-annual art journals, Lalit Kala Contemporary (English),
Lalit Kala Ancient (English) and Samkaleen Kala (Hindi). Apart from these, it brings
out large size multi-colour reproductions of contemporary paintings and graphics
from time to time. The Akademi has started a regular programme on research and
documentation. Scholars are given financial assistance to undertake projects in
contemporary projects on various aspects of Indian society and culture.
PERFORMING ARTS
MUSIC
Two main schools of classical music—Hindustani and Carnatic continue to survive
through oral tradition being passed on by teachers to disciples. This has led to the
existence of family traditions called gharanas and sampradayas.
Art and Culture 111
DANCE
Dance in India has an unbroken tradition of over 2,000 years. Its themes are derived
from mythology, legends and classical literature, two main divisions being classical
and folk. Classical dance forms are based on ancient dance discipline and have
rigid rules of presentation. Important among them are Bharata Natyam, Kathakali,
Kathak, Manipuri, Kuchipudi and Odissi. Bharata Natyam though it derives its
roots from Tamil Nadu, has developed into an all India form. Kathakali is a dance
form of Kerala. Kathak is a classical dance form revitalised as a result of Mughal
influence on Indian culture. Manipur has contributed to a delicate, lyrical style of
dance called Manipuri, while Kuchipudi is a dance form owing its origin to Andhra
Pradesh. Odissi from Orissa, once practised as a temple dance, is today widely
exhibited by artistes across the country. Folk and tribal dances are of numerous
patterns.
Both classical and folk dances owe their present popularity to institutions like
Sangeet Natak Akademi and other training institutes and cultural organisations.
The Akademi gives financial assistance to cultural institutions and awards
fellowships to scholars, performers and teachers to promote advanced study and
training in different forms of dance and music, especially those which are rare.
THEATRE
Theatre in India is as old as her music and dance. Classical theatre survives only in
some places. Folk theatre can be seen in its regional variants practically in every
region. There are also professional theatres, mainly city-oriented. Besides, India has
a rich tradition of puppet theatre, prevalent forms being puppets, rod puppets,
glove puppets and leather puppets (shadow theatre). There are several semiprofessional
and amateur theatre groups involved in staging plays in Indian
languages and in English.
SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI
Sangeet Natak Akademi, India’s National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama,
may be regarded as a pioneer in the process of creation of modern India that led
politically to India’s freedom in 1947. The ephemeral quality of the arts, and the
need for their preservation led to the adapting of a democratic system in which a
common man had the opportunity to learn, practice and propagate the art. Within
the first few decades of the twentieth century, public perception of responsibility
for both preservation and development of the arts had started inclining towards
the state.
The first comprehensive public appeal to government in this direction was
made in 1945, when the Asiatic Society of Bengal submitted a proposal for the
creation of a National Cultural Trust consisting of three academies - an Academy of
Dance, Drama, and Music, an Academy of Letters, and an Academy of Art and
Architecture.
The entire question was reconsidered after independence, in a Conference on
Art held in Kolkata in 1949, and two Conferences, on Letters, and the other on
Dance, Drama, and Music, held in New Delhi in 1951. These Conferences convened
by the Government of India finally recommended the creation of three national
academies: an Academy of Dance, Drama, and Music, an Academy of Letters and
an Academy of Art.
112 India 2008
The National Academy of Dance, Drama, and Music, named Sangeet Natak
Akademi, was the first of these entities to be established by a resolution of the
Ministry of Education, headed by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, signed on 31 May
1952. On 28 January 1953, Sangeet Natak Akademi was inaugurated by the then
President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad.
The Akademi’s charter of functions contained in the 1952 resolution was
expanded along the original lines in 1961, when Sangeet Natak Akademi was
reconstituted by the Government as a society and registered under the Societies
registration Act of 1860 (as amended in 1957). These functions are set down in the
Akademi’s Memorandum of Association, adopted at its registration as a society on
11 September 1961.
Since its inception the Akademi has worked towards building up a unified
structure of support for the practice of music, dance and drama in India. This support
encompasses traditional and modern forms, and urban as well as rural environments.
The festivals of music, dance and drama presented or promoted by the Akademi
are held all over India. The great masters of the performing arts have been elected
as Fellows of the Akademi. The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards conferred annually
on eminent artists and scholars are considered the most coveted honours in the
field of the performing arts. Thousands of institutions across the country, including
many in the remote areas, engaged in teaching or promotion of music, dance and
theatre have received financial assistance for their work, from the Akademi, as do
researchers, authors and publishers in relevant disciplines.
The extensive recording and filming of the performing arts carried on by the
Akademi since its inception have resulted in a large archive of audio-and videotape,
16-mm film, photographs and transparencies, and remains the single most
important resource for researchers in the performing arts of India.
The Akademi’s Gallery of Musical Instruments has a collection of more than
600 instruments of prominence and has been the source of a great deal of published
documentation over the years. The library of Sangeet Natak Akademi has similarly
attracted, and continues to attract, authors, students and researchers in these
disciplines. Sangeet Natak, the Akademi’s journal published since 1965, had proved
to be one of the longest-running periodicals in its own domain, and has published
the original work of both eminent writers as well as those of lesser known.
The Akademi also establishes and looks after institutions and projects of
national importance in the performing arts. Chronologically, the Jawaharlal Nehru
Manipuri Dance Academy in Imphal, the premier institution in Manipuri dance
and music established in 1954, is the first of these institutions. In 1959 the Akademi
established the National School of drama and in 1964 the Kathak Kendra, both
being based in Delhi. The Akademi’s ongoing projects of national importance are in
Kutiyattam theatre of Kerala, which commenced in 1991 received recognition from
UNESCO as a Master piece of oral and intangible heritage of Humanity in 2001.
The project in Chhau dance of Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal began in 1994.
The project support to Sattriya music, dance, theatre and allied arts of Assam was
started in 2002.
As the apex body specialising in the performing arts, the Akademi also renders
advice and assistance to the Government of India in the task of formulating and
implementing policies and projects in the field. Additionally, the Akademi carries a
part of the responsibilities of the state for fostering cultural contacts between various
Art and Culture 113
regions in India, and between India and other countries. The Akademi has held
exhibitions and major festivals in foreign countries. The Akademi has held exhibition
and seminars in Hongkong, Rome, Moscow, Athens, Valladolid, Cairo and Tashkent
and Spain. Major festivals of foreign countries like Japan, Germany and Russia
have been presented by the Akademi.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi is at present an autonomous body of the Ministry
of Tourism and Culture, Government of India and is fully funded by the Government
for implementation of its schemes and programmes.
NATIONAL SCHOOL OF DRAMA
The National School of Drama (NSD) - one of the foremost theatre institutions in
the world and the only one of its kind in India was set up by Sangeet Natak Akademi
in 1959. Later in 1975, it became an autonomous organisation, totally financed by
Department of Culture. The objective of NSD is to train students in all aspects of
theatre, including theatre history, production, scene design, costume design, lighting,
make-up, etc. The training course at NSD Art and Culture is of three years duration.
Each year, 20 students are admitted to the course. The eligible applicants for
admission to the course are screened through two stages. The Diploma of NSD is
recognised by the Association of Indian Universities as equivalent to M.A. Degree
for appointment as teachers in colleges/universities and for purposes of registration
for Ph.D.
The School has a performing wing, a Repertory Company which was set up in
1964 with the dual purpose of establishing professional theatre on one hand and
continuing with the regular experimental work on the other. The NSD has made a
significant contribution in promoting children’s theatre. The Theatre-in-Education
Company (renamed as Sanskar Rang Toli) was founded in 1989 and has been actively
involved in production of plays for children, organising summer theatre workshops
in the schools of Delhi and also promoting children’s theatre through Saturday Club.
Since 1998, the School has organised National Theatre Festival for Children
christened ‘Jashne Bachpan’ every year. The first ever National Theatre Festival
christened Bharat Rang Mahotsav was held from 18 March to 14 April 1999 to
commemorate the 50th year of India’s Independence. Encouraged by the success of
the first Bharat Rang Mahotsav, it has been made an annual feature.
To reach a vast majority of theatre artists in various states with diverse
languages and cultural backgrounds, who cannot have access to the regular training
course provided by the School, a short-term teaching and training programme titled
‘Extention Programme’ was started in 1978. Under this programme, the School
organises workshops in collaboration with the local theatre groups/ artists and
these programmes are invariably held in the local languages. The workshops could
be broadly divided under three categories, Production Oriented Workshops,
Production Oriented Children Workshops and Teaching and Training Programme
in Theatre. The School has also set up a Regional Research Centre at Bangalore to
cater to the theatrical needs of the four Southern States and Pondicherry.
Another important activity of the School is the publication of textbooks on
theatre and arrange the translation of important books on theatre from English into
Hindi.
SAHITYA AKADEMI
Sahitya Akademi is the Indian National Academy of Letters meant to promote the
114 India 2008
cause of Indian literature through publications, translations, seminars, workshops,
cultural exchange programmes and literary meets organised all over the country.
The Akademi was founded in March 1954 as an autonomous body fully funded by
the Department of Culture. It was registered as a Society in 1956 under the Societies
Registration Act, 1860. The Akademi has recognised 24 languages. It has an Advisory
Board for each of the languages that suggests various programmes and publications
in the concerned languages. There are four Regional Boards to promote regional
interaction among the languages of the North, West, East and South. Besides its
Head Office in New Delhi, it has four offices : in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and
Chennai. The Akademi has two Translation Centres at Bangalore and Kolkata,
besides a Project Office at Shillong for promotion of oral and tribal literature and an
Archives of Indian literature in Delhi. It maintains a unique multilingual library in
New Delhi and at its regional offices at Bangalore and Kokata, having about 1.5
lakh books in over 25 languages.
The highest honour conferred by the Akademi on a writer is by electing him
its Fellow. This honour is reserved for the ‘Immortals of Literature’ and limited to
21 at any given time. So far 66 writers have been elected Fellows of the Sahitya
Akademi. It has so far recognised 850 authors and 283 translators with its Awards
and Translation Prizes for distinguished contribution to literature, and given 31
Bhasha Sammans, awards meant to promote peripheral languages and Honorary
Fellowships for foreign scholars who have done significant work in Indian literature.
The Akademi publishes books in 24 languages including translations of Awardwinning
works, monographs on the great pioneers of Indian literature, histories of
literature, Indian and foreign classics in translation, anthologies of fiction, poetry
and prose, biographies, Register of Translators, Who’s Who of Indian Writers,
National Bibliography of Indian Literature and Encyclopedia of Indian Literature.
So far, the Akademi has published over 4,000 books in these different categories. It
has three journals, Indian Literature (bi-monthly in English), Samkaleena Bharatiya
Sahitya (bi-monthly in Hindi) and Samskrita Pratibha (half-yearly in Sanskrit). Every
year the Akademi publishes 250-300 books on an average. It has certain special
projects like the Ancient Indian Literature, Medieval Indian Literature and Modern
Indian Literature together constituting ten volumes of the best of Indian writing
over five millennia. It has also launched a new project Encyclopedia of Indian Poetics.
Sahitya Akademi holds a number of regional, national and international
seminars every year on various topics in literature, literary history and aesthetics.
The Akademi also regularly holds Translation Workshops.
The Akademi holds an annual week-long ‘Festival of Letters’, usually in
February with Award-giving ceremony, Samvatsar Lecture and a National Seminar.
The Akademi also introduced a new series of programmes entitled Sur Sahitya as
part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2004-05.
SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP DIVISION
The Scholarship and Fellowship Division operates four schemes to provide monetary
assistance to individuals engaged in promoting cultural activities in the country.
Scholarships to Young Artistes in different Cultural Fields : The Scholarships
are awarded to young artistes in the fields of Indian Classical dances, Indian Classical
Music, Theatre, Visual Arts and Folk, Traditional forms of Arts, etc. Under the
Scheme, a total of 400 scholarships are awarded each year for a period of two years.
The value of Scholarships is Rs. 2000 per month.
Art and Culture 115
Artistes in the age group of 18-25 years are eligible to apply. The scholarships
are awarded for taking advance training.
Fellowships to Outstanding Artistes in the fields of Performing, Literary and
Visual Arts : Fellowships are awarded to the outstanding Artistes in the fields of
Indian Classical Dances, Indian Classical Music, Theatre, Visual Arts, Folk,
Traditional forms of Performing Arts and Literature. A total of 170 fellowships are
awarded for a period of two years; out of this 85 are Senior fellowships having a
value of Rs. 12000 per month and 85 are Junior fellowships having a value of Rs.
6000 per month. Artistes in the age bracket of 41 years and above are eligible to
apply for Senior fellowship and artistes from 25-40 years of age can apply for Junior
fellowships. The applicants who are employed in the Central Government/
Undertakings/Government Organisations/UGC aided Colleges, etc., will be
required to take study leave or any other kind of leave for a period of two years, if
selected.
The Fellowships are awarded for undertaking research oriented projects. While
both the academic research and performance related research are encouraged, the
applicant is required to provide evidence of his/her capabilities in undertaking the
project. The fellowships are not intended for providing training, conducting
workshops, seminars or writing autobiographies/fictions, etc.
Award of Senior/Junior Fellowships in New Areas related to Culture :
Fellowships are awarded in the fields of Indology, Epigraphy, Sociology of Culture,
Cultural Economics, Structural and Engineering aspects of monuments,
Numismatics, Scientific and Technical aspects of Conservation, Management aspects
of Art and Heritage and Studies relating to application of Science and Technology
in areas related to culture and creativity. A total of 19 fellowships are awarded each
year; 11 Senior and 8 Junior. Post-graduates in the relevant field and in the age
group of 41 years and above are eligible for Senior fellowships and eligibility age is
25-40 years for Junior Fellowships. The value of fellowships is Rs. 12000 per month
and Rs. 6000 per month respectively.
The Senior and Junior fellowships are awarded for undertaking projects in
the new areas with the objective to encourage application of modern ideas, principles,
methodology and technology to art and culture related issues. The objective is to
encourage analytical application of new research techniques, technologies and
modern management principles to contemporary issues and problems in the art
and culture related areas.
Scheme of Financial Assistance for Research Support to Voluntary Organisations
Engaged in Cultural Activities : The scheme covers voluntary organisations which
are engaged in cultural activities and are doing research in different aspects of Indian
Culture as related to its traditions and philosophy, etc. They should have been
functioning for at least three years and registered under the Societies Registration
Act (XXI of 1860). Financial assistance is given for the following purposes : (a)
Holding of conference, seminars and symposia on important cultural matters. (b)
To meet expenditure on activities of development nature like conduct of surveys,
pilot project, etc.
Grants for specific projects shall be restricted to 75 per cent of the expenditure,
subject to a maximum of Rs. one lakh per project as recommended by the Expert
Committee.
116 India 2008
In the year 2004-05, 176 proposals were selected by the Expert Committee for
financial assistance for research work to voluntary organisations.
RAMAKRISHNA MISSION INSTITUTE OF CULTURE, KOLKATA
The Institute was conceived in 1936 as one of the permanent memorials to Sri
Ramakrishna (1836-1886) on the occasion of his first birth centenary. It was formally
established on 29 January 1938 as a branch centre of the Ramakrishna Mission
founded by Swami Vivekananda to propagate the message of Vedanta as
propounded by Sri Ramakrishna whose basic teachings stressed: (i) the equality of
all religions; (ii) the potential divinity of man; and (iii) service to man as a way of
worshipping God - a new religion for mankind.
Dedicated to promote the ideal of the unity of mankind the Institute has
endeavoured over the years to make people aware of the richness of the cultures of
the World and also of the urgent need for inter-cultural appreciation, understanding
and acceptance of each other’s points of view - an approach which is conducive to
international understanding at the global level and national integration at home.
The key note of everything the Institute does is thus respect for others point of view
and its assimilation and acceptance for one’s own enrichment.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA
The Anthropological Survey of India is a premier research organisation under the
Ministry of Culture. It has completed 59 years of its splendorous existence and has
adhered itself to its commitments to carry out anthropological researches in the
area of bio-cultural aspects of Indian population in general and on those who are
referred to as the ‘‘Weakest of the Weak’’ in particular. Besides this there are other
pertinent activities of the Survey, which include collection, preservation,
maintenance; documentation and study of ethnographic materials as well as ancient
human skeletal remains. Over the years the Survey generated information from
grass-root level through sustained research by its Head Office at Kolkata and also
its seven Regional Centres, one Sub-regional Centre, one permanent field station
and eight other field stations located in various parts of the country, besides a Camp
Office at New Delhi.
During the Tenth Plan following National Projects are being studied namely,
Cultural Dimension of Tourism in the Biosphere Reserve in addition to the locations
of tourists interest.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was established in 1861. It functions as an
attached office of the Department of Culture. The organisation is headed by the
Director General.
The major activities of the Archaeological Survey of India are :
i) Survey of archaeological remains and excavations;
ii) Maintenance and conservation of centrally protected monuments sites and
remains;
iii) Chemical preservation of monuments and antiquarian remains;
iv) Architectural survey of monuments;
v) Development of epigraphical research and numismatic studies;
Art and Culture 117
vi) Setting up and re-organisation of site museums;
vii) Expedition abroad;
viii) Training in Archaeology;
ix) Publication of technical report and research works.
There are 21 Circles and 3 Mini-Circles through which the Archaeological
Survey of India administer the work of preservation and conservation of monuments
under its protection.
Under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act,
1958, the ASI has declared three thousand six hundred and fifty six monuments/
sites to be of national importance in the country which includes twenty one properties
that are inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO. Since its establishment
one hundred and forty four years ago, the ASI has grown into a large organisation
with an all India network of offices, branches and circles.
Three sites, namely, Champaner - Pavagarh Archaeological Park in Gujarat,
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Teminus) Station in Mumbai and
the Brihadisvara temple complex, Gangakondacholapuram and the Airavatesvaira
temple complex, Darasuram as an extension to the Brihadisvara temple complex,
Thanjavur (now commonly called as the Great Living Chola Temples) have been
inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO in 2004.
Nomination dossiers for the following sites have been sent to the World
Heritage Centre for inscription on the World Heritage List of UNESCO : (i) Shri
Harminder Sahib (Golden Temple) at Amritsar, Punjab. (ii) Majuli Island in Midstream
of river Brahmaputra in Assam. (iii) Valley of Flowers as an extension to the
Nanda Devi National Park in Uttaranchal. (iv) Red Fort, Delhi (a deferred
nomination).
The total number of individual structures being maintained by the ASI is over
five thousand.
Underwater Archaeology Wing : Search, study and preservation of cultural
heritage lying submerged in inland or territorial waters are among the principal
functions of the Underwater Archaeology Wing. It carries out exploration and
excavation in Arabian Sea as well as in Bay of Bengal.
Science Branch : The Science Branch of the Survey with its headquarters at Dehradun
and field laboratories in different parts of the country carries out chemical
preservation of monuments, antiquities, manuscripts, paintings, etc.
Laboratories of Science Branch at Dehradun have undertaken the following
Scientific Projects : (1) Evaluation of new materials as preservative coatings and
strengthened for stone, terracotta, bricks & adobe structures. (2) Scientific studies
related to conservation of ancient lime plaster. (3) Evaluation of physical
characteristics of plaster cement with addition of rapid hardening plaster cement in
different proportions.
Horticulture Branch : The Horticulture Branch of the ASI maintains gardens in
about two hundred and eighty seven centrally protected monuments/sites located
in different parts of the country. The branch provides periodic plants to be used in
gardens by developing base nurseries at Delhi, Agra, Srirangapatna and
Bhubaneswar.
Epigraphy Branch : The Epigraphy Branch at Mysore carries out research work in
118 India 2008
Sanskrit and Dravidian languages while the one at Nagpur carries out research
work in Arabic and Persian.
Expeditions Abroad : The ASI has taken up the conservation project of Ta Prohm,
Cambodia under the ITEC programme of Ministry of External Affairs with an outlay
of Rs. 19.51 crore. The conservation project has been started as per the assurance of
the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, during his visits to Cambodia in April and
November 2002, on the request of the Royal Government of Cambodia for India’s
assistance in Conservation and Restoration of Prasat Ta Prohm. The conservation
project is for a period of ten years and is to be completed in five phases.
The ASI has commenced the conservation project from January 2004 onwards
and it was formally launched in February 2004 in Cambodia.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF INDIA
The National Archives of India (NAI), New Delhi known until Independence as
Imperial Record Department was originally established in Kolkata on 11 March
1891. It is the official custodian of all non-current record of permanent value to the
Government of India and its predecessor bodies. It has a Regional Office at Bhopal
and three Record Centres at Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Pondicherry.
Major activities of the Archives include: (1) making public records accessible
to various Government agencies and research scholars; (ii) preparation of reference
media; (iii) preservation and maintenance of records and conducting of scientific
investigations for the said purpose; (iv) evolving records management programmes;
(v) rendering technical assistance to individuals and institutions in the field of
conservation of records; (vi) imparting training in the field of archives administration,
records management, reprography, repair and conservation of records, books and
manuscripts at professional and sub-professional levels; and (vii) creation and
promotion of archival consciousness in the country by organising thematic
exhibitions.
The National Archives of India provides financial assistance to States/Union
Territories Archives, Voluntary Organisations and other custodial institutions, so
that the documentary heritage is preserved and archival science is promoted.
NATIONAL MISSION FOR MANUSCRIPTS
The National Mission for Manuscripts was launched in February, 2003 by the
Ministry of Culture to save the most valuable of our cultural inheritance, i.e.,
manuscripts. An ambitious five year Project, the Mission seeks not merely to locate
catalogue and preserve India’s manuscripts but also to enhance access, spread
awareness and encourage their use for educational purposes. The Web Site of
National Mission for Manuscripts is www.namami.nic.in.
NATIONAL MUSEUM
The National Museum, which was set up in 1949 and which has been functioning
as a subordinate office under the Ministry of Culture since 1960, houses over 2.6
lakh art objects dating from prehistoric era onwards. The main activities of the
Museum are as follows: Exhibitions, Reorganisation/Modernisation of Galleries,
Educational Activities and Outreach Programmes, Public Relations, Publications,
Photo Documentation, Summer Holiday Programme, Memorial Lectures, Museum
Corner, Photo Unit, Modelling Unit, Library, Conservation Laboratory, and Teaching
and Workshop.
Art and Culture 119
NATIONAL MUSEUM INSTITUTE OF HISTORY OF ART, CONSERVATION
AND MUSEOLOGY
The National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology,
New Delhi, an autonomous organisation fully funded by the Ministry of Culture
was established and declared a Deemed to be University in 1989. This is the only
Museum University in India and is presently functioning at the first floor of National
Museum, New Delhi. As per its Memorandum of Association, the Director General,
National Museum is the ex-officio Vice-Chancellor of this University.
Main objectives : (a) To provide education and training in the specialised areas of
Art History, Conservation and Museology leading to the award of M.A. and Ph.D.
Degrees in these three disciplines. (b) A few short-term courses - India Art and
culture, Art Appreciation and Bhartiya Kalanidhi (Hindi Medium) are also
conducted to popularise the Indian culture. (c) To organise seminars/workshops,
conferences and special lectures on Museum Education, Art and Culture in a befitting
manner so as to open new areas in this field.
NATIONAL LIBRARY
The National Library, Kolkata was established in 1948 with the passing of the
imperial Library (Change of Name) Act, 1948. The basis functions of the Library,
which enjoys the status of an institution of national importance, are : (i) Acquisition
and conservation of all significant production of printed material (to the exclusion
only of ephemera) as well as of manuscripts of national importance; (ii) Collection
of printed material concerning the country, no matter where this is published; (iii)
Rendering of bibliographical and documentary services of current and retrospective
material, both general and specialised. (This implies the responsibility to produce
current national bibliographies and retrospective bibliographies on various aspects
of the country); (iv) Acting as referral centre, purveying full and accurate knowledge
of all sources of bibliographical information and participation in international
bibliographical activities; and (v) Acting as a centre for international book exchange
and internal loan.
CENTRAL SECRETARIAT LIBRARY
The Central Secretariat Library (CSL) originally known as Imperial Secretariat
Library, Kolkata was established in 1891. Since 1969 the Library has been housed at
Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi. It has a collection of over seven lakh documents mainly
on Social Sciences and Humanities. It is a depository of Indian Official Documents,
Central Government and has a strong collection of State Government documents
also.
The collection of Area Studies Division is unique in which books have been
arranged according to geographical area. Besides this, its biographical collection is
very large and has an extremely rich rare book collection.
The CSL is a Microfilm repository under Microfilming of Indian Publication
Project (MIPP) having large number of microfilm collection.
The CSL is mainly responsible for overall collection and development on all
subjects useful in policy decision-making process and is also responsible to build
its collection on developmental literature. It provides all possible readers' services
to Central Government Officials and other research scholars visiting the Library
from all over India. In the recent past CSL has undertaken the development of IT
120 India 2008
based products by digitizing the Government of India Gazette, Committee and
Commission Reports and has also developed the OPAC system for its collection.
The Library has two branches, namely, Hindi and Regional Languages Wing
popularly known as Tulsi Sadan Library, Bahawalpur House, New Delhi that houses
about 1.9 lakh volumes of Hindi and 13 other constitutionally approved Indian
Regional Language books and a Text Book Library located at R.K. Puram, New
Delhi which caters to the needs of wards of Central Government Employees of
Under Graduate level.
The CSL has recently launched, a portal “India Information Gateway” and its
Web Site http://www.csl.nic.in was inaugurated by Secretary, Ministry of Culture
on 21 March 2005.
CENTRE FOR CULTURAL RESOURCES AND TRAINING
The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) is one of the premier
institutions working in the field of linking education with culture. The Centre was
set up in May 1979 as an autonomous organisation by the Government of India.
Today it operates under the administrative control of Ministry of Culture,
Government of India. With headquarters in New Delhi, it has two regional centres
at Udaipur and Hyderabad.
The broad objectives of CCRT have been to revitalise the education system by
creating an understanding and awareness among students about the plurality of
the regional cultures of India and integrating this knowledge with education. The
main thrust is on linking education with culture and making students aware of the
importance of culture in all development programmes. One of the CCRT’s main
functions is to conduct a variety of training programmes for in-service teachers
drawn from all parts of the country. The training provides an understanding and
appreciation of the philosophy, aesthetics and beauty inherent in Indian art and
culture and focuses on formulating methodologies for incorporating a culture
component, in curriculum teaching. This training also stresses the role of culture in
science and technology, housing, agriculture, sports, etc. An important component
of training is to create awareness amongst students and teachers of their role in
solving environmental pollution problems and conservation and preservation of
the natural and cultural heritage. To fulfill these objectives, the Centre organises
variety of training programmes for teachers, educators, administrators and students
throughout the country.
The CCRT organises academic programmes on Indian art and culture for
foreign teachers and students on special request. Workshops are conducted in various
art activities like drama, music, narrative art forms, etc., to provide practical training
and knowledge in the arts and crafts. In these workshops, teachers are encouraged
to develop programmes in which the art form can be profitably utilised to teach
educational curriculum.
The CCRT organises various educational activities for school students, teachers
and children belonging to governmental and non-governmental organisations under
its extension and community feedback programmes which includes educational
tours to monuments, museums, art galleries, craft centres, zoological parks and
gardens, camps on conservation of natural and cultural heritage, camps on learning
crafts using low cost locally available resources, lectures and demonstrations by
artists and experts on various art forms, demonstrations by artists and craft persons
Art and Culture 121
in schools. These educational activities emphasise the need for the intellectual and
aesthetic development of the students.
Over the years, CCRT has been collecting resources in the form of scripts,
colour slides, photographs, audio and video recordings and films. Each year the
CCRT’s documentation team conducts programmes in different parts of the country
with the objective of reviving and encouraging the art and craft forms of rural India.
The Centre also prepares publications, which attempt at providing an understanding
and appreciation of different aspects of Indian art and culture.
One of the most important functions of CCRT is to implement the Cultural
Talent Search Scholarship Scheme, which was taken over from the Department of
Culture in 1982. The scheme provides scholarships to outstanding children in the
age group of 10 to 14 years, studying either in recognised schools or belonging to
families practicing traditional performing or other arts to develop their talent in
various cultural fields particularly in rare art forms. The scholarships continue till
the age of 20 years or the first year of a University degree. About 350 scholarships
are offered every year.
The Centre has instituted CCRT Teachers Award which is given every year to
selected teachers for the outstanding work done by them in the field of education
and culture. The Award carries with it a citation, a plaque, an angavastram and a
cash prize of Rs 10,000.
ZONAL CULTURAL CENTRES
Zonal Cultural Centres have been conceptualised with the aim of projecting cultural
kinship which transcend territorial boundaries. The idea is to arouse awareness of
the local cultures and to show how these merge into zonal identities and eventually
into the rich diversity of India’s composite culture. These centres have already
established themselves as a premier agency in the field of promotion, preservation
and dissemination of culture in the entire country. They are not only promoting
performing arts but also making a significant contribution in the associated field of
literary and visual arts. The seven zonal cultural centres were established under
this scheme during 1985-86 at Patiala, Kolkata, Thanjavur, Udaipur, Allahabad,
Dimapur and Nagpur. The participation of states in more than one zonal cultural
centre according to their cultural linkage is a special feature of the composition of
the zonal centres. With the approval of the Cabinet a Corpus fund for each ZCC
was created by Government of India and the participating State Governments to
enable the ZCCs to finance their activities from the interest earned on the investment
of this Corpus Fund. The Government of India has provided a grant of Rs five crore
to each ZCC and each constituent state has been provided Rs one crore. In the event
of a State being a member of more than one centre, the State’s contribution would
not exceed Rs one crore in all. From 1993 all the Zonal Cultural Centres have been
sending their folk artistes for participation in the Republic Day Folk Dance Festival.
This festival is inaugurated by the Hon’ble President of India every year on 24th/
25th January at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium. The Festival provides a unique
opportunity for folk artistes to perform at the national level. A Crafts Fair is also
held in the various zones along with the Republic Day Folk Dance Festival. Master
craftsmen and artisans from various ZCCs participate in this Crafts Fair. The Crafts
Fair has been providing a valuable opportunity for crafts persons from different
parts of India to exhibit their products as well as their process of manufacturing
directly to the customers. Documentation of various Folk and Tribal Art forms
122 India 2008
especially those which are rare and on the verge of vanishing, is one of the main
thrust areas of the ZCCs. Under the National Cultural Exchange Programme (NCEP),
exchanges of artists, musicologists, performers and scholars between different region
within the country take place. It has been extremely useful in promoting awareness
of different tribal/folk art forms in different parts of the country and thus a very
useful expressions of the concept of unity within diversity of our country. A scheme
of Theatre Rejuvenation has been started to provide an opportunity to students,
actors. artists, directors and writers to perform on a common platform and to interact
with each other. To promote new talents in the field of music and dance a scheme of
Guru Shishya Parampara has been introduced where masters will be identified in
the zone, pupil assigned to them and scholarship provided for the purpose. The
ZCCs also provide promotion and marketing facilities to craftsmen through
Shilpgrams. ZCCs have also started a new scheme for recognition and
encouragement of young talents in which each ZCC will identify the different
performing/folk art forms in their area and select one or two talented artists in
each of the fields.
NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART
The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi was founded in 1954.
The main aim of the NGMA is the promotion and development of contemporary
Indian Art. The collection of NGMA inter-alia comprises 17858 works of art,
representing about 1748 contemporary Indian artists. The collection has been built
up mainly by purchase and also by gift. The NGMA’s important collections include
paintings, sculpture, graphic arts and photographs. NGMA organises exhibitions
from its collection and under Cultural Exchange Programme periodically. Several
colour reproductions have been brought out. The objective of NGMA is to help
people look at the works of modern art with understanding and sensitivity. Keeping
this in view, NGMA Mumbai was inaugurated in 1996, while a new one is being set
up at Bangalore.
INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE ARTS
The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) is a premier national
institution engaged in the pursuit of knowledge on arts and culture and in the
exploration of relationships of arts and culture with various disciplines of learning
and diverse aspects of life. Established in 1985 in the memory of the Late Prime
Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi, it is involved in multifarious activities such as research,
publication, training, documentation, dissemination and networking and is poised
to grow into a large repository of information pertaining to the arts in India. The
IGNCA seeks to place the arts within the natural environment by providing a forum
for creative and critical dialogue between the diverse arts, between the arts and
sciences, between arts and the traditional and current knowledge systems. The
IGNCA promotes interaction and understanding between diverse communities,
regions, social strata, and between India and other parts of the world.
The IGNCA has been designated as a nodal agency for setting up a National
Data Bank on Arts, Humanities and Cultural Heritage. It has an outstanding
reference library, documented material including audio/video material,
manuscripts, slides, photographs and artifacts. A major initiative is a Cultural
Informatics Lab (CIL), which employs an integrated methodology to develop
applications to access diverse media on all fields relating to arts through multimedia
and digital technology. Broadly, the major activities of CIL can be classified under
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three categories of digitization, web-enabled digital library and CRDROM/
DVDROM project.
NATIONAL RESEARCH LABORATORY FOR CONSERVATION OF
CULTURAL PROPERTY
The National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property (NRLC),
which was established in 1976, is a Subordinate Office of the Department of Culture,
and is recognised by the Department of Science and Technology as a scientific
institution of the Government of India. The aims and objectives of the NRLC are to
develop conservation of cultural property in the country. To meet its objectives,
NRLC provides conservation services and technical advice in matters concerning
conservation to museums, archives, archaeology departments and other similar
institutions, imparts training in different aspects of conservation, carries out research
in methods and materials of conservation, disseminates knowledge in conservation
and provides library services to conservators of the country. The headquarters of
NRLC is situated at Lucknow, and to further the cause of conservation in the southern
region of the country, a regional centre of the NRLC, the Regional Conservation
Laboratory is functioning at Mysore. For more information visit NRLC at http://
www.nrlccp.org.
124 India 2008
6 Basic Economic Data
THE Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation consists of two wings
namely : Statistics Wing and Programme Implementation Wing. The Ministry is the
apex body in the official statistical system of the country. It is the authority that
control the Indian Statistical Service (ISS) and Subordinate Statistical Service (SSS).
It is also the Administrative Ministry for the Indian Statistical Institute, an autonomous
registered scientific society of national importance. The Ministry includes,
inter-alia, the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) and the National Sample Survey
Organisation (NSSO).
CENTRAL STATISTICAL ORGANISATION
The Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) located in Delhi with a wing at Kolkata,
is responsible for formulation and maintenance of statistical standards, work
pertaining to national accounts, industrial statistics, consumer price indices for urban
non-manual employees, conduct of economic census and surveys, training in official
statistics, coordination of statistical activities undertaken within the country and
liaising with international agencies in statistical matters.
NATIONAL AND PER CAPITA INCOME
National Income is defined as the sum of incomes accruing to factors of production,
supplied by normal residents of the country before deduction of direct taxes. It is
identically equal to the net national product at Factor Cost. Table 6.1 gives National
and Per Capita Income at Factor Cost at current and 1999-00 prices, while table 6.2
gives the relationship of national income and other aggregates at current prices.
Table 6.3 gives the performance of the public sector and table 6.4 gives private final
consumption expenditure, net domestic saving and capital formation.
CATEGORIES OF WORKERS
For the 2001 census, the population was divided into main workers, marginal
workers, and non-workers. The table 6.5 shows total workers sub-divided into main
workers and marginal workers and distribution of total workers in four broad
categories in rural and urban areas as on 1 March 2001. Employment in the organised
sector has been shown in table 6.6.
UNEMPLOYMENT
The number of persons on the live register of the employment exchanges gives an
idea of the trend of unemployment subject to certain limitations. Table 6.7 gives
registrations, vacancies, placements and job seekers on the ‘live register’ for the
period 1994-2006.
NATIONAL SAMPLE SURVEY ORGANISATION
The National Sample Survey (NSS) was set up in 1950 for conducting large-scale
sample surveys to meet the data needs of the country for the estimation of national
income and other aggregates. It was reorganised in 1970 by bringing together all
aspects of survey work under a single agency. Known as the National Sample Survey
Organisation (NSSO) under the overall technical guidance of the Governing Council
Basic Economic Data 125
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