Main Sectors of Indian Economy: Agriculture

Sectors of Indian Economy

Economic activities of the Indian economy are classified into three broad sectors—the primary sector, the secondary sector, and the tertiary sector. Now start reading Sectors of Indian Economy.

  • Primary sector: The agricultural sector is also known as the primary sector and includes agriculture and allied activities such as crop production, horticulture, plantation crops, forestry and allied activities such as dairy, fisheries, poultry, sheep/goat rearing, piggery and rearing of silkworms.
  • Secondary sector: The industrial sector or the secondary sector mainly consists of mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity, and gas and supply. Small- and large-scale industries are included under manufacturing. In this sector, goods are produced with the raw materials from the primary sector. These goods are also known as manufactured goods.
  • Tertiary sector: The service sector or the tertiary sector includes transport and communication, financing, insurance, real estate and business services. The service sector also includes trading of goods which include export and import.

Role of Agriculture in the Indian Economy – Read here

Trends in Agricultural Production and Productivity – Read here

Causes of Low Agricultural Productivity in India – Read here

Impact of Agricultural Practices on the Ecosystem

An ecosystem includes all the living things in a particular area interacting with each other and with their non-living environments. The term ecosystem was coined by the British botanist Tansley in 1935.

Causes of Destruction of an Ecosystem

Changes in land use: Because of an increase in population growth rate and per capita consumption of resources, the ecosystem is being changed and destroyed. Hence, there is a change in land use. Deforestation is undertaken to accommodate more agricultural activity, human settlement, and the construction of dams. Changes in land use have destroyed the natural habitats of organisms and resulted in many being on the verge of extinction.

Urbanization: Urbanisation is a process of relative growth in a country’s urban population. Because of urbanization, there is a change in land use, depletion of water resources, use of large quantities of building materials for construction purposes, and development of slums. More use of land for housing and industries has caused the loss of biological diversity forever. Because of widespread construction, the local groundwater level has declined, and cities have to make provisions for external sources of water.

Soil Erosion and Desertification

Soil erosion refers to the wearing away of a field’s topsoil by the forces of water and wind leading to desertification. Desertification is the most dangerous ecosystem change impacting the life of the poor. Constant reduction of ecosystem services as a result of desertification links land degradation to loss of human well-being. Desertification is defined by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification as ―Land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations and human activities.

Fertilizers are used to increase the fertility of the soil. However, when used in excess, fertilizers may contaminate the soil because of the impurities present in them. The ecosystem can be checked from destruction through the proper use of indigenous agricultural activities. In India, many indigenous practices are being adopted to control and improve the quality of ecosystems. Organic farming is being encouraged to ensure sustainable agriculture. This involves the management of resources for agriculture to satisfy the changing human needs to maintain the quality of the ecosystem.


Related Article

Role of Agriculture in the Indian Economy

Trends in Agricultural Production and Productivity


Read Also

Poverty in India

What is Poverty Line?

Human capital formation in India

Role of Human Capital in Economic Development

Can a growing population lead to economic Development?


Follow us

Sectors of Indian economy

Need more?

Discover more from Home of learning

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Scroll to Top