SSC CGL Geography · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport
Agriculture and the Green Revolution
India's three cropping seasons with their crops, the States that lead in a crop, the Green Revolution with its people and its side effects, and the planning programmes for farmers and dry areas.
Why this matters
Eighteen questions in the bank: seven from the 2023 shifts and 11 from the 2024 shifts, 13 of them EASY. The commonest is 'which crop is NOT grown in this season', so learn the three seasons with two or three crops each before anything else.
Concept 1 of 2: Seasons, crops and leading States
Definition
The three seasons:
- Kharif (sown with the monsoon, June to October): rice (paddy), cotton, maize, jowar, bajra, soyabean.
- Rabi (sown in winter, harvested in spring): wheat, mustard, gram, barley.
- Zaid (the short summer, March to June): watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder.
West Bengal grows three rice crops a year: aus, aman and boro.
Leading States and places:
- Pulses: Madhya Pradesh. Grapes: Maharashtra (Nashik). Tea: Assam, then West Bengal.
- Coffee first came to India on the Baba Budan Hills in Karnataka.
- Tamil Nadu is divided into seven agro-climatic zones.
| Season | When | Crops |
|---|---|---|
| Kharif | With the monsoon | Rice, cotton, maize, soyabean |
| Rabi | Winter | Wheat, mustard, gram, barley |
| Zaid | March to June | Watermelon, muskmelon, cucumberQ |
Practise this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 1 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Agriculture and the Green Revolution
Wheat is rabi
Concept 2 of 2: The Green Revolution and land
Definition
The Green Revolution:
- Its first phase (mid-1960s to mid-1970s) was limited to wheat and rice in irrigated areas, above all Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.
- The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (the Pusa Institute) is in New Delhi. Dr D. S. Athwal, who bred dwarf wheat, is called the father of the Wheat Revolution.
- Its harms: a falling groundwater table, soil degradation from chemicals and over-irrigation, and higher input costs.
Land degradation elsewhere: in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh the main cause is deforestation by mining.
Planning approaches:
- Target area: programmes for a kind of land, such as Command Area Development, Drought Prone Areas and Hill Areas.
- Target group: programmes for a kind of people, such as the Small and Marginal Farmers Development Agencies.
- Neeru-Meeru ('water and you') built water-harvesting works in Andhra Pradesh.
Practise this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 2 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Agriculture and the Green Revolution
Target group means people, target area means land
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (2)
Seasons, crops and leading States3 rows
| Season | When | Crops |
|---|---|---|
| Kharif | With the monsoon | Rice, cotton, maize, soyabean |
| Rabi | Winter | Wheat, mustard, gram, barley |
| Zaid | March to June | Watermelon, muskmelon, cucumberQ |
Watch out for (2)
- Wheat is rabi→ Seasons, crops and leading States
- Target group means people, target area means land→ The Green Revolution and land
Test yourself on Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport
20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.