01 Read
What happened
India's agriculture sector recorded significant expansion between 2014 and 2024: foodgrain production rose from 252 million tonnes to 329 million tonnes, agricultural exports crossed ₹4 lakh crore, and the sector's GDP contribution stabilised around 18%. Key interventions include PM-KISAN (₹6,000/year direct transfer), PM Fasal Bima Yojana, e-NAM electronic markets, and the FPO promotion scheme targeting 10,000 farmer producer organisations. Horticulture output crossed 352 million tonnes, and allied sectors — fisheries, dairy, and poultry — saw record production figures.
02 Understand
Why it matters
This PIB factsheet consolidates a decade of agricultural policy outcomes across crops, allied sectors, credit, and market infrastructure — exactly the territory NABARD and UPSC examiners mine for scheme-specific questions.
The core architecture rests on three pillars:
1. INCOME SUPPORT AND INSURANCE: PM-KISAN provides ₹6,000 per year in three equal instalments directly to farmer bank accounts — the examiner regularly blanks out the instalment amount (₹2,000) or the annual figure. PM Fasal Bima Yojana caps farmer premium at 2% for Kharif, 1.5% for Rabi, and 5% for commercial/horticultural crops — these percentages are classic fill-in-the-blank targets.
2. MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE: e-NAM (Electronic National Agriculture Market) integrates APMC mandis into a unified online platform. The 10,000 FPO scheme — jointly implemented by MoA&FW, NABARD, and SFAC — gives each FPO a financial handholding support of up to ₹18 lakh over three years.
3. ALLIED SECTORS: India became the world's largest milk producer (over 230 million tonnes annually), second-largest fish producer, and the poultry sector crossed 100 billion eggs per year. The 'Blue Revolution' covers fisheries; 'White Revolution' covers dairy (Operation Flood); the examiner has asked which revolution maps to which sector.
Foodgrain production crossing 300+ million tonnes situates India among the top global producers — context UPSC uses in food security essays and statement-based MCQs.
The Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF) — ₹1 lakh crore — and the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) for irrigation efficiency complete the static constellation around this factsheet.
The core architecture rests on three pillars:
1. INCOME SUPPORT AND INSURANCE: PM-KISAN provides ₹6,000 per year in three equal instalments directly to farmer bank accounts — the examiner regularly blanks out the instalment amount (₹2,000) or the annual figure. PM Fasal Bima Yojana caps farmer premium at 2% for Kharif, 1.5% for Rabi, and 5% for commercial/horticultural crops — these percentages are classic fill-in-the-blank targets.
2. MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE: e-NAM (Electronic National Agriculture Market) integrates APMC mandis into a unified online platform. The 10,000 FPO scheme — jointly implemented by MoA&FW, NABARD, and SFAC — gives each FPO a financial handholding support of up to ₹18 lakh over three years.
3. ALLIED SECTORS: India became the world's largest milk producer (over 230 million tonnes annually), second-largest fish producer, and the poultry sector crossed 100 billion eggs per year. The 'Blue Revolution' covers fisheries; 'White Revolution' covers dairy (Operation Flood); the examiner has asked which revolution maps to which sector.
Foodgrain production crossing 300+ million tonnes situates India among the top global producers — context UPSC uses in food security essays and statement-based MCQs.
The Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF) — ₹1 lakh crore — and the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) for irrigation efficiency complete the static constellation around this factsheet.
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Key figure and date from this topic
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Specific number or threshold to remember
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Policy or regulatory implication
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