Agriculture losing significance in Indian GDP

One of the early lessons that most of us learnt in school about the Indian economy was that it depends on agriculture. Agriculture was always considered to be the backbone of our society. This is why the monsoons have always been watched so closely. After all no rain means bad agriculture which translates to poor economic data. Therefore it would be interesting to note that the contribution of agriculture to total GDP has been declining over the years. It formed nearly 19% of total GDP way back in 2004-2005 (FY05). And as per the latest data the contribution has declined to just 14% in FY12. The main reason behind this is the healthier growth in other sectors that contribute to GDP. Despite the capital invested in agriculture, it has grown by a mere 3.3% annually in the 11th 5-year plan. Though this is better than the 2.4% growth seen in the previous 5-year plan but is nowhere near the growth rates seen in other sectors.

Data Source: Firstpost