Sector
Irrigation & Agricultural Water
Access to irrigation, the pace of irrigation projects, and the groundwater that much irrigation draws on.
2 problems within this
Close to half of gross cropped area has no irrigation
The Economic Survey 2024-25 reported that irrigation covered 55 per cent of gross cropped area in FY21, up from 49.3 per cent in FY16, with irrigation intensity rising from 144.2 to 154.5 per cent. The remaining area — about 45 per cent of gross cropped area — depends on rainfall. Irrigation projects are planned, funded, executed and maintained by State Governments, with central technical and financial support. Evidence confidence: High for FY21; later coverage is not established here.
1 sub-problem
Groundwater is drawn faster than it is replenished in about one in ten assessment units
The 2025 Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment by the Central Ground Water Board and the States classified 730 of 6,762 assessment units (10.80 per cent) as over-exploited — extraction exceeding annual recharge — with a further 201 critical and 758 semi-critical. Nationally, extraction for all uses was 60.63 per cent of the extractable resource. The share of over-exploited units is falling: it was 11.1 per cent in the 2024 assessment, which also reported improvement in 128 units over 2023. The assessment counts irrigation, industrial and domestic extraction together; this entry does not apportion it between them. Evidence confidence: High.
1 sub-problem
Alongside this
Soil Health & Farm Practices
The condition of agricultural soils and the farm practices — fertiliser use, residue burning — that change it.
Seeds, Fertilisers & Pesticides
The quality of the inputs farmers buy and the law that regulates it.
Farm Mechanisation
How far farm operations are mechanised, and whether small farmers can reach machinery.
Agricultural Markets & Price Realisation
Whether farmers can reach a market, sell at the support price, and rely on stable prices.
Agricultural Credit & Indebtedness
Farm households' debt, where it comes from, and how formal agricultural credit is distributed.
Crop Insurance & Farm Risk
Whether farmers are insured against crop loss, and whether the insurance pays.
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