Q.Explain any four features of Indian agriculture.

Agriculture's share in national income has been decreasing since independence — option (c).

At the time of independence agriculture contributed more than half of India's national income. As the country developed, the industrial and service sectors grew faster, so the share of agriculture in national income steadily declined to well under one-fifth today. This is a normal feature of structural change in a developing economy. (Note: agriculture's share in employment has fallen much more slowly, so it still supports the largest share of the workforce.)

The agriculture sector provides the maximum employment in India.

Despite its declining share in national income, the agriculture (primary) sector still gives employment to the largest share of India's workforce — a majority of the rural population depends directly or indirectly on farming and allied activities for their livelihood. This mismatch — a large workforce producing a relatively small share of income — is a sign of low productivity and disguised unemployment in Indian agriculture.

Agriculture provided about 49% of employment in 2014-15 — option (c).

A key point in the chapter on the role of agriculture is the mismatch between agriculture's shrinking contribution to national income and its still very large share in employment. Around 2014-15, agriculture and allied activities engaged roughly 49% of India's total workforce, even though the sector's share in GDP had fallen well below that. This over-dependence of population on agriculture for livelihood is a defining feature of the Indian economy and a cause of disguised unemployment.