Food Crops of India
The five crops that feed India: rice, wheat, maize, millets and pulses, each marked at its leading state.
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Every place on this map
Asked in exams
Actual questions from UPSC and state PCS papers that this map answers. The key detail column carries the correct fact behind each question.
| Exam | Question | Key detail |
|---|---|---|
| UPPCS | Leading producer of rice: West Bengal | old key; UP is No. 1 in 2024-25 |
| UPPCS | Food grain: largest contributor: Uttar Pradesh | — |
| UPSC 2011 | Lower Gangetic plain, humid and hot: paddy and jute | — |
| UPPCS | Leading producer of rice: West Bengal | old key |
| UPPCS | Largest producer of rice per hectare: Punjab | — |
| UPPCS | Largest wheat producer: Uttar Pradesh | — |
| UPPCS | Top three wheat states: UP, Punjab, Haryana | MP is now No. 2, ahead of Punjab |
| UPPCS | UP first in: wheat, sugarcane, potato | — |
| UPSC 2002 | Wheat HYVs among Arjun, Jaya, Padma, Sonalika: Arjun and Sonalika | — |
| UPPCS | Maize can be grown: all through the year | — |
| UPSC 2012 | Groundnut, sesamum, pearl millet: all predominantly rainfed | — |
| UPPCS | Largest producer of pulses: Madhya Pradesh | — |
| UPSC 2002 | About 90% of the area under pulses is rainfed ✓ | — |
| UPSC 2012 | Cowpea, green gram, pigeon pea: all used as pulse, fodder and green manure | — |
| UPSC 2019 | Black gram can be grown as both kharif and rabi ✓ | pulse statements |
| SSC CHSL 2022 | India is the largest producer of pulses in the world ✓ | also largest consumer and importer; MP is No. 1 state |
| State PCS | Maize: Karnataka is the largest producer ✓ | about 15%, ahead of MP and Bihar |
| RRB NTPC 2022 | India is the world’s second-largest rice producer ✓ | after China; also the largest rice exporter |
About this map
The food crops behind India's farm economy: rice, wheat, maize, millets and pulses, each marked at a leading producing state. The fact names who leads and the growing conditions.
Leading-state questions dominate, and the answers change: check the latest APEDA/agriculture ministry figures rather than decade-old rankings. Rice (West Bengal/UP), wheat (UP/MP) and millets (Rajasthan/Karnataka) are the core set.
Millets get asked through the International Year of Millets and the nutri-cereal push. Pulses through the import-dependence and MSP angle.