Agriculture is the mainstay of Indian economy because of its high share in employment and livelihood notwithstanding its reduced contribution to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). The share of agriculture in GDP has registered a steady decline from 36.4 per cent in 1982-83 to 18.5 per cent in 2006-07. Yet this sector continues to support more than half a billion people providing employment to 52 per cent of the workforce (Government of India, 2008a). In spite of rapid urbanisation during last few decades, India’s rural population still accounts for about three-fourths of the total population. The rural population constitutes about 80 per cent of the total population in 1971 and the population has been continuously falling marginally since then to 76.7, 74.3 and 72.2 per cent in 1981, 1991 and 2001, respectively.
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