Great variation in climatic conditions has given appearance to variety of forest types including tropical and sub-tropical forests in the Western Ghats and eastern Himalaya, temperate and alpine forests in central and western Himalaya and desertforests in the arid and semi-arid regions of the country. According to Forests Survey ofIndia (2003), about 6, 78,333 km2, constituting 20.64 per cent of its geographical area isunder forest cover in the country. Very dense forest (VDF) however accounts for only
1.56 per cent while the moderately dense forest (MDF) and open forest account for 10.32
per cent and 8.76 per cent respectively. The total forest and tree cover of the country isestimated to account for 23.68 per cent of the country’s land.
India contains a great wealth of biodiversity in its forests, wetlands and marine
areas. The country has 7 per cent of the mammals, 12.6 per cent birds, 6.2 per centreptiles, 4.4 per cent amphibians, 11.7 per cent fishes and 6 per cent flowing plants of theworld. Among plants, endemism is estimated as 33 per cent. India contains 172 species
(2.9 per cent of world’s total) of animals considered globally threatened species. TheWestern Ghats and eastern Himalaya are biodiversity hotspots. The faunal species ofIndia is estimated to be about 81,000, representing about 6.4 per cent world’s fauna.
Besides other invertebrates, there are about 2546 fish species, 204 amphibians, 428
reptiles, 1228 birds and 372 mammals. About 4,900 species of flowering plants areendemic to the Indian subcontinent. Among the endemic species, 2532 species are found in the Himalaya and adjoining areas, followed by1782 species in Peninsular India. About1500 endemic flowering species are facing varying degree of threats of extinction. The number of plant species in India is estimated to be over 45,000 representing about 7 percent of world’s flora. India is home to 14 biosphere reserves, of which 3 are in the world network of biosphere reserve viz. Sundarban, Gulf of Mannar, and Nilgiri.
Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy. Agriculture and allied sectors likeforestry, logging and fishing accounted for about 16 per cent of GDP and employed about60 per cent of India’s population. About 43 per cent of total geographical area of thecountry is used for the agricultural practices. Despite a steady decline of its share in the
GDP, agriculture remains largest economic sector and plays a significant role in the
overall socio-economic development of India. Indian agriculture is dependent on
monsoon and is called “Gamble of Monsoon”. Among the non-food crops, oilseeds, fibercrops, several plantation crops and forage crops are important. Rice and wheat are theprincipal food crops grown over the large tract (about 70 per cent of agricultural land) ofthe country.
Economy and Development
According to 2001 Census, a little over 27 per cent of India’s population lives in
5161 urban centres. Going by the world average of 47 per cent living in urban areas, theshare of urban dwellers is rather small, but in terms of total size, the urban population ishuge by any measure. At least three cities namely Mumbai (16.37 million), Kolkata
(13.22 million) and Delhi (12.79 million) contain a population size of over ten million
persons. More than a million people reside in as many as 35 cities of India. The cities ofIndia are a paradox in themselves displaying urban features comparable to any developed
country and simultaneously retaining poverty and squalor as evident in the presence ofslums supporting over 40 million people.
The country however has made strenuous strides in achieving rapid developmentof its industrial base from traditional iron & steel, cotton, jute and sugar to engineering,
computer, information technology, communication and biotech industries. However,
poverty continues to be a major hurdle in faster socio-economic transformation. TheNational Sample Survey for 2004-05 estimates rural poor at 28.3 per cent and urban poorat 25.7 per cent of the respective population. The Five Year Plans and several otherdevelopmental schemes are geared to the enlistment of the poor and weaker sections ofthe society. Since 1991, the liberalization of the economy and the increasing integration
of India with the global economy have helped GDP to grow at 9 per cent or more at thepresent. India in 2000 announced the introduction of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for enhancing foreign investments and to promote exports. More than 500 SEZs have been proposed, 220 of which have been created until 2007.
Human development has become an important agenda in the developmentparadigm in India. Growth and development in literacy have been accorded primacy forsuch an agenda. According to Census of India (2001), 64.8 per cent of Indian population is literate. There exists however a huge disparity in literacy attainment between the sexes as also among other social groups particularly the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes. Various programmes such as National Literacy Mission, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyanand non-formal education etc. have been launched with a view to achieving total literacyin the years to come. Improvement in health has been an important agenda in overallstrategy through the planning period. Sustained effort at improving the health of thepeople has borne some results in bringing down the crude death rate to 8 per thousand and life expectancy has substantially moved up to 64 years.
Improvement in transport and communication in a vast country like India hasbeen recognized as an important sector of development. Total length of roads in India isover 3.0 million kms including both metalled and unmetalled roads. In terms of road
length, India has one of the largest road networks in the world. The National Highwaysaccount for less than 2 per cent of the total road network but carry 40 per cent of themovement of goods and passengers. The total rail route length is about 0.063 million kmsand of this 0.013 million kms is electrified. The railways carry over 11 million passengersand 1.1 million tones of goods every day. There are 14,500 kms of waterways and 346
airports in India. Communication facilities show a phenomenal growth during the recentyears. Public phone booths, mobile phones, internet facility have grown rapidly in India.
The landline telephones have expanded from about 0.084 million connections at the timeof independence to about 40 million by the year 2007. In addition, there are about 217
million mobile phones in India in 2007.
1.56 per cent while the moderately dense forest (MDF) and open forest account for 10.32
per cent and 8.76 per cent respectively. The total forest and tree cover of the country isestimated to account for 23.68 per cent of the country’s land.
India contains a great wealth of biodiversity in its forests, wetlands and marine
areas. The country has 7 per cent of the mammals, 12.6 per cent birds, 6.2 per centreptiles, 4.4 per cent amphibians, 11.7 per cent fishes and 6 per cent flowing plants of theworld. Among plants, endemism is estimated as 33 per cent. India contains 172 species
(2.9 per cent of world’s total) of animals considered globally threatened species. TheWestern Ghats and eastern Himalaya are biodiversity hotspots. The faunal species ofIndia is estimated to be about 81,000, representing about 6.4 per cent world’s fauna.
Besides other invertebrates, there are about 2546 fish species, 204 amphibians, 428
reptiles, 1228 birds and 372 mammals. About 4,900 species of flowering plants areendemic to the Indian subcontinent. Among the endemic species, 2532 species are found in the Himalaya and adjoining areas, followed by1782 species in Peninsular India. About1500 endemic flowering species are facing varying degree of threats of extinction. The number of plant species in India is estimated to be over 45,000 representing about 7 percent of world’s flora. India is home to 14 biosphere reserves, of which 3 are in the world network of biosphere reserve viz. Sundarban, Gulf of Mannar, and Nilgiri.
Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy. Agriculture and allied sectors likeforestry, logging and fishing accounted for about 16 per cent of GDP and employed about60 per cent of India’s population. About 43 per cent of total geographical area of thecountry is used for the agricultural practices. Despite a steady decline of its share in the
GDP, agriculture remains largest economic sector and plays a significant role in the
overall socio-economic development of India. Indian agriculture is dependent on
monsoon and is called “Gamble of Monsoon”. Among the non-food crops, oilseeds, fibercrops, several plantation crops and forage crops are important. Rice and wheat are theprincipal food crops grown over the large tract (about 70 per cent of agricultural land) ofthe country.
Economy and Development
According to 2001 Census, a little over 27 per cent of India’s population lives in
5161 urban centres. Going by the world average of 47 per cent living in urban areas, theshare of urban dwellers is rather small, but in terms of total size, the urban population ishuge by any measure. At least three cities namely Mumbai (16.37 million), Kolkata
(13.22 million) and Delhi (12.79 million) contain a population size of over ten million
persons. More than a million people reside in as many as 35 cities of India. The cities ofIndia are a paradox in themselves displaying urban features comparable to any developed
country and simultaneously retaining poverty and squalor as evident in the presence ofslums supporting over 40 million people.
The country however has made strenuous strides in achieving rapid developmentof its industrial base from traditional iron & steel, cotton, jute and sugar to engineering,
computer, information technology, communication and biotech industries. However,
poverty continues to be a major hurdle in faster socio-economic transformation. TheNational Sample Survey for 2004-05 estimates rural poor at 28.3 per cent and urban poorat 25.7 per cent of the respective population. The Five Year Plans and several otherdevelopmental schemes are geared to the enlistment of the poor and weaker sections ofthe society. Since 1991, the liberalization of the economy and the increasing integration
of India with the global economy have helped GDP to grow at 9 per cent or more at thepresent. India in 2000 announced the introduction of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for enhancing foreign investments and to promote exports. More than 500 SEZs have been proposed, 220 of which have been created until 2007.
Human development has become an important agenda in the developmentparadigm in India. Growth and development in literacy have been accorded primacy forsuch an agenda. According to Census of India (2001), 64.8 per cent of Indian population is literate. There exists however a huge disparity in literacy attainment between the sexes as also among other social groups particularly the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes. Various programmes such as National Literacy Mission, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyanand non-formal education etc. have been launched with a view to achieving total literacyin the years to come. Improvement in health has been an important agenda in overallstrategy through the planning period. Sustained effort at improving the health of thepeople has borne some results in bringing down the crude death rate to 8 per thousand and life expectancy has substantially moved up to 64 years.
Improvement in transport and communication in a vast country like India hasbeen recognized as an important sector of development. Total length of roads in India isover 3.0 million kms including both metalled and unmetalled roads. In terms of road
length, India has one of the largest road networks in the world. The National Highwaysaccount for less than 2 per cent of the total road network but carry 40 per cent of themovement of goods and passengers. The total rail route length is about 0.063 million kmsand of this 0.013 million kms is electrified. The railways carry over 11 million passengersand 1.1 million tones of goods every day. There are 14,500 kms of waterways and 346
airports in India. Communication facilities show a phenomenal growth during the recentyears. Public phone booths, mobile phones, internet facility have grown rapidly in India.
The landline telephones have expanded from about 0.084 million connections at the timeof independence to about 40 million by the year 2007. In addition, there are about 217
million mobile phones in India in 2007.
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