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Economy of Punjab


Punjab is a state in India known for its agriculture, livestock, forestry, industries, minerals, tourism and so on which altogether constitute the economy of Punjab .

The economy of Punjab is predominantly an agrarian one having a low industrial output. The scarcity of the basic minerals including the fuels is the principal cause for poor industrial progress.
  • The foremost constituent of the Punjab economy is the agricultural sector. The state is known for its huge production of wheat. The agro-based industries include food products, beverages, cotton, wood as well as papers.

  • The second important arm of the economy of Punjab is the livestock. It is one of the largest producers in India in this particular field.


  • The third mention should be made of the wildlife and forestry. This attracts tourists and thereby enriches the economy of Punjab. Moreover, the forest as well as various animal products earns revenue for the state.

  • Industry of course form an integral part of the economy of Punjab but it should be admitted that there is not any outstanding prospect in this field due to several unavoidable constraints.

  • Minerals and energy resources also contribute to the Punjab economy although to a much lesser extent.

  • Apart from these there are the other arms of the economy of Punjab comprising of banking, finance, tourism and real estates.
Hence, we find that the economy of Punjab is mostly dependent upon the agricultural sector. There is effective implementation of modern techniques in this field. The trend is towards betterment and the prospects are high.

Agriculture

Punjab is a state known to the world for its agriculture. An extremely high percentage of the land is cultivated. This high agricultural production in the Punjab plain is because it is free from physical handicaps. The scarcity of rainfall has been mitigated by irrigation facilities.

  • Among the chief products of agriculture mention should be made of wheat, maize, rice and bajra.
  • Wheat predominates the production of the whole crop pattern. The cultivation of rice and bajra is restricted to certain localities only.
  • Rice is an important agriculture of Gurdaspur, Amritsar as well as Kapurthala districts .
  • Cotton is the lead cash crop produced in the state agriculture.
  • Groundnut, Sugarcane and Potatoes are among the other important crops .
The agriculture of Punjab rests mainly on wheat. Punjab ranks first in the production of Wheat in the country. It gives over 2 million tonnes of wheat per annum.

Banking and Finance

Banking and finance in Punjab makes one save resources more effectively which in turn raises the income of the saver as well as the borrower at the same time. If a state does not own a proper system of banking and finance the money saved would not give substantial return and there may be numerous risk factors. Banking and finance of a state is the key to its prospect and growth. The more investment a state makes, the more will be its industrial as well as its technological upliftment.

For a steady state economy, an efficient system of banking and finance machinery is essential. There are some salient features which can make this sector more efficient:

  • proper trading
  • specialization of production
  • professionalism
  • savings
  • efficient use of resources
  • risk-taking


Forestry and Wildlife

Forestry and wildlife forms a major component of the natural resources of a region. Punjab shares a substantial portion of the forestry and wildlife of India.

The Punjab forestry and wildlife is mainly restricted to the following vegetation types which are characteristic to this plain:

  • Coniferous Forests
  • Scrub Forests
  • Range Lands
  • Irrigated Plantations
  • Riverine Forests
  • Canal Side Plantations
  • Roadside Plantations
  • Rail side Plantations
  • Miscellaneous Linear Plantations


ime mover of the economy of a state are its resources particularly the minerals and energy. But to be unfortunate enough Punjab is extremely scarce in its minerals and energy resources.

Potential petroleum oil bearing areas of India include Punjab among the others like Assam, Tripura, Manipur, west Bengal, Himachal, Kutch and the Andamans.

Sufficient as well as dependable availability of minerals and energy are essential for sustained growth of the economy. Renewable and non-renewable sources form the two arms of energy.

  • Renewable sources of energy comprises of hydro-power, fuel wood, bio-gas, solar, wind, geo-thermal and tidal power.
  • Non-renewable sources of energy come from coal, oil and gas.
But in Punjab you will not find any coal mines or oil wells; so the state is dependent mainly on thermal, hydel and solar power.

Due to the deficiency of minerals and energy resources Punjab has been growing principally as an agro-economic sector in India. Energy in the form of electricity is the main input for economic development.

Real Estate

With the beginning of globalization, the Punjab Real Estate industry is turning towards a pioneering phase of prosperity. Along with the local Real Estate agencies, a huge number of Non Resident Indians are flocking to Punjab to take the benefit of low investments and high returns.

Known as the land of industrious agriculturist families, Punjab today has transformed into an advanced industrial state. Major commercial units are vying to capture a share of the state's market. In sync with the rising trade and commerce corners, the infrastructural framework of the place is also experiencing a dynamic changeover.

The Punjab Real Estate agents and companies are playing the lead role in converting the state into a well-organized hub of industrial advancement. The recent entrance of some major Real Estate organizations like Ansals, Omaxe Constructions Ltd, Silver City Group of Companies and DLF Parsvnath Developers, has started a new era of building industry in the place.

Emphasizing on the basic safety guidelines and environmental regulations, the Government of Punjab, along with the governing body of housing development corporations, is implementing every possible measure which will be counted in the long run of the construction sector of the state.

Some of the prominent Real Estate developers functioning in various districts of Punjab are:

  • Avatar Property Dealer
  • Namdhari Real Estate
  • Prime Real Estate Agents
  • Dreams Real Estate
  • Bhandari Estates Private Ltd


Successfully operating across the length and breadth of the state, the industry of Punjab Real Estate is surely leading to a profitable platform of well-developed commercial and non-commercial construction solutions.

Live Stock

Punjab is an Indian state well known to the world for its immense wealth of livestock. Punjab houses the world famous Nili-Ravi buffalo and Sahi-wal cattle.

The livestock in Punjab includes other cattle breeds which are as follows:

  • Dhanni
  • Dajal
  • Rojhan
  • Kundi buffalo
  • Red Sindhi
  • Tharparkar
  • Kankraj
  • Bhagnari
  • Lohani cattle


Buffalo in Punjab is the principal dairy livestock. It accounts for around 75% of the milk produced in the state. The dairy colonies sustain on Nili-Ravi breed as well.

Various agro-ecological zones have different distributional patterns for the livestocks especially for the buffaloes. The maximum concentration of the population is in northern irrigated districts. The buffalo is most densely populated in the districts of

  • Sahiwal
  • Lahore
  • M.Bahaudin
  • Faisalabad
  • Okara
  • Sialkot
  • Pakpattan
  • Gujranwala
  • Gujrat
  • Kasur
  • Hafizabad
  • Sheikhupura
  • T.T.Sing
  • Narowal
  • Sargodha
  • Jhang


Punjab has been concentrating on the cross breeding in its livestock especially in the cattle for the last three decades. The potential of production of these hybrids is much higher if not double than those of the local dairy breeds. There is a very important disadvantage with these cross breeds that they cannot adapt to the local climatic conditions. Their disease resistance power is also very low.

There is no systematic breeding program of the livestock for the production of optimal level of exotic inheritance. Moreover, crossbred bulls (and semen) of desired exotic inheritance are often not available. Well organized drives to promote and develop the indigenous breeds are wanted due to the absence of breed associations.



Last Updated on 6th March 2013