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All-India kharif sowing as on 28 August 2026 stood at 1,071.10 lakh hectares, against 1,090.01 lakh hectares in the corresponding period of 2025-26 - a fall of 18.91 lakh hectares - and against a normal area of 1,104.25 lakh hectares.
Rice accounted for almost the entire decline: 414.10 lakh ha against 428.46 lakh ha a year earlier, down 14.36 lakh ha, with the biggest reductions in Karnataka, Telangana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
Pulses were the one major group to gain, rising 1.39 lakh ha to 115.05 lakh ha on the back of Uttar Pradesh (+3.97 lakh ha), Jharkhand, Telangana, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, offsetting declines in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Odisha.
Shri Anna and coarse cereals fell 4.21 lakh ha to 177.90 lakh ha; oilseeds slipped 1.00 lakh ha to 190.45 lakh ha; cotton was down 0.43 lakh ha at 108.80 lakh ha; sugarcane down 0.41 lakh ha; jute and mesta up marginally.
The data comes from the Crop Weather Watch Group, which reviews sowing progress week by week for the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
India's agricultural year runs from July to June and carries three cropping seasons. KHARIF crops are sown with the arrival of the south-west monsoon from about June and harvested from September to October - rice, maize, jowar, bajra, ragi, tur, urad, moong, soybean, groundnut, cotton, jute and sugarcane belong here, and they need heat and rain. RABI crops are sown from October-November on residual soil moisture and winter rain and harvested in March-April - wheat, barley, gram, mustard, peas. ZAID is the short summer season between the two, on irrigated land, growing watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber and fodder. The 'NORMAL' column in this table is not a target: it is the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare's benchmark area for a crop, computed from the average of recent years, and it exists so that a season's sowing can be read against habit rather than against a single previous year that may itself have been unusual. Reading both columns together is what makes the table informative - maize, for example, is DOWN 3.88 lakh ha on last year but still sown across 89.99 lakh ha against a normal of 80.58, so the crop is expanding structurally even in a weaker year, whereas cotton at 108.80 against a normal of 125.51 is contracting on both measures. Note also the limits of area data: it says nothing about yield or output. Actual production comes later, through the Advance Estimates that the Directorate of Economics and Statistics compiles.
Simple Analogy: Area sown is how much of the field was planted; it is the plan, not the harvest. The 'normal' column is what the farmer usually plants, so comparing against it tells you whether this year's plan is unusual or merely different from last year's.
The inter-departmental group that meets WEEKLY through the season to review crop area coverage, crop condition, the rainfall and weather situation, reservoir status, availability of inputs such as seed and fertiliser, and the price and procurement position. Its proceedings feed the crop forecasting machinery and, through it, the Advance Estimates of production. It is the source cited on this release.
The department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare that publishes the weekly sowing report and maintains the 'normal area' benchmarks used in it; its Directorate of Economics and Statistics compiles the Advance Estimates of crop production.
Set up in 1965 as the Agricultural Prices Commission and given its present name in 1985; an ATTACHED OFFICE of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. It RECOMMENDS Minimum Support Prices for 22 mandated crops - including 14 kharif crops - and the Fair and Remunerative Price for sugarcane; the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs takes the final decision.
Supplies the rainfall and monsoon data on which the CWWG's weekly assessment rests. The normal date for the onset of the south-west monsoon over Kerala is 1 June, with withdrawal beginning from north-west India in the second half of September - the window that defines the kharif season.
Kharif area under pulses and oilseeds is watched closely because both are import-exposed; a shortfall feeds into CPI food inflation and therefore into the RBI's rate decisions. That is why this apparently dry table is banking-exam material.
A fall in rice area alongside a rise in pulses is exactly the shift that policy has been pushing for - paddy is water-intensive and its groundwater cost in the north-west is a standing GS3 theme. But the same season shows maize and sugarcane well above their normal areas, so the diversification is not uniform.
Millets were rebranded 'Shri Anna' and given a national mission after the International Year of Millets (2023). Ragi at 5.48 lakh ha against a normal of 12.01 shows how far actual sowing can sit from the policy emphasis.
Oilseed area at 190.45 lakh ha against a normal of 200.08 matters because India imports a majority of its edible oil; the National Mission on Edible Oils exists to close exactly this gap.
CACP recommends, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approves, and the Food Corporation of India and state agencies procure. The recurring question - whether MSP should be a legal guarantee - turns on this chain.
The state-wise pattern here (large falls in Karnataka, Telangana and Jharkhand; gains in Assam, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh) is a reminder that a 'normal' national monsoon can still leave regions short - distribution matters more than the aggregate.
GS Paper 3 > Agriculture > Cropping patterns, MSP, agricultural marketing
General Awareness > Agriculture and food inflation; priority sector
General Awareness > Indian agriculture: seasons and crops
General Awareness > Indian Economy and Agriculture
With reference to 'Initiative for Nutritional Security through Intensive Millets Promotion', which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. This initiative aims to demonstrate the improved production and post-harvest technologies, and to demonstrate value addition techniques, in an integrated manner, with cluster approach. 2. Poor, small, marginal and tribal farmers have larger stake in this scheme. 3. An important objective of the scheme is to encourage farmers of commercial crops to shift to millet cultivation by offering them free kits of critical inputs of nutrients and microirrigation equipment. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer: 1 and 2 only
Among the agricultural commodities imported by India, which one of the following accounts for the highest imports in terms of value in the last five years?
Answer: Vegetable oils
"The crop is subtropical in nature. A hard frost is injurious to it. It requires at least 210 frost-free days and 50 to 100 centimeters of rainfall for its growth. A light well-drained soil capable of retaining moisture is ideally suited for the cultivation of the crop." Which one of the following is that crop?
Answer: Cotton
Cropping seasons, kharif/rabi crop lists and the MSP institutional chain appear every year across UPSC, SSC, banking and railway papers.
The monsoon cropping season - sown from June with the south-west monsoon, harvested September-October.
The winter cropping season - sown October-November, harvested March-April.
The short summer season between rabi and kharif, grown on irrigated land.
The benchmark sown area for a crop, derived from recent years' average, against which a season's coverage is compared.
The Government of India's official designation for millets, used here in the group 'Shri Anna cum Coarse Cereals'.
The weekly inter-departmental review of sowing, weather, reservoirs, inputs and prices that produces this report.
A jute-substitute bast fibre crop, grouped with jute in Indian crop statistics.