Book excerpt: Agriculture has been the backbone of the Indian economy and it will continue to remain so for a long time (Pandey, 2009). It is one of the world's largest agrarian economies, as the agriculture sector contributed about 18 per cent of the country's GDP, 12.8 per cent of the total export in 2012-13 and also provides direct and indirect employment to around 58 per cent of the total work force. Agriculture also plays a crucial role in the development of nation.