Rice is one of the chief grains of India. India has the biggest area under rice cultivation, as it is one of the principal food crops. It is in fact, the dominant crop of the country. India is one of the leading producers of this crop. Rice is the basic food crop and being a tropical plant, it flourishes comfortably in hot and humid climate. Rice is mainly grown in rain-fed areas that receive heavy annual rainfall. That is why it is fundamentally a Kharif crop in India. It demands temperature of around 25 degree Celsius and above and rainfall of more than 100 cm. Rice is also grown through irrigation in those areas that receive comparatively less rainfall. Rice is the staple food of eastern and southern parts of India.
The traditional rice-growing states include Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Chattisgarh and the eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh, which account for 61% of the total rice area and 51% of total rice production in India. A major portion of rice-growing areas is rainfed.
Rice production in India is an important part of the national economy. India is one of the world’s largest producer of white rice, accounting for 20% of all world rice production. Rice production in India is preeminent crop and is the staple food of the people of the eastern and southern parts of the country.
Top ten rice producers in India:
- West Bengal – 15.80 %
- Andhra Pradesh – 12.71 %
- Uttar Pradesh – 11.91 %
- Punjab – 10.86 %
- Orissa – 7.31 %
- Tamil Nadu – 7.08 %
- Chattisgarh – 5.40 %
- Bihar – 5.34 %
- Karnataka – 3.70 %
- Haryana – 3.61 %
| State/ UT | 2008-09 | 2009-10* | 2010-11** |
| Andhra Pradesh | 14241 | 10514 | 8645 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 163.9 | # | # |
| Assam | 4008.5 | 3796.7 | 3115.9 |
| Bihar | 5590.3 | 3620.7 | 3069.6 |
| Chattisgarh | 4391.8 | 4110.4 | 5293.8 |
| Goa | 123.3 | # | # |
| Gujarat | 1303 | 1292 | 1427 |
| Haryana | 3298 | 3625 | 3738 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 118.3 | 105.2 | 113.5 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 563.1 | 497.4 | 497.4 |
| Jharkhand | 3420.2 | 1491 | 791.7 |
| Karnataka | 3802 | 3512 | 3193.2 |
| Kerala | 590.3 | 625.1 | 474.1 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 1559.7 | 1260.6 | 1596.9 |
| Maharashtra | 2284 | 2212 | 3220.7 |
| Manipur | 397 | # | # |
| Meghalaya | 203.9 | # | # |
| Mizoram | 46 | # | # |
| Nagaland | 345.1 | # | # |
| Orissa | 6812.7 | 6895 | 5661 |
| Punjab | 11000 | 11236 | 11000 |
| Rajasthan | 241.1 | 228.3 | 238.3 |
| Sikkim | 21.7 | # | # |
| Tamil Nadu | 5182.7 | 6024 | 5400.4 |
| Tripura | 627.1 | # | # |
| Uttar Pradesh | 13097 | 10792.1 | 12202.4 |
| UttaraKhand | 582 | 614 | 628 |
| West Bengal | 15037.2 | 14881.7 | 8320 |
| A & N Islands | 22.1 | # | # |
| D & N Haveli | 23.4 | # | # |
| Delhi | 31.4 | # | # |
| Daman & Diu | 3.8 | # | # |
| Pondicherry | 50.8 | # | # |
| Others | NA | 1794.1 | 1785.4 |
| All India | 99182.4 | 89127.3 | 80412.3 |
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Susan Rice is US Security Adviser