Agriculture is one of the strongholds of the Indian economy and accounts for 14.6 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009-10, and 10.23 per cent (provisional) of the total exports. Furthermore, the sector provided employment to 55 per cent of the work force. India’s agriculture and allied sector grew by 3.8 per cent in the first six months of the current fiscal (2010-11), against one per cent in the year-ago period on the back of better Kharif crop output. According to the GDP data released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) on November 30, 2010, the country’s farm sector grew by 2.5 per cent and 4.4 per cent each in the first two quarters of the current fiscal, against 1.9 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively, in the same period last year. The Government is giving highest priority to agriculture and allied sector. The Eleventh Plan allocation has been considerably higher over the Tenth Plan allocation. An amount of US$ 19 billion has been allocated for the Ministry of Agriculture during the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Capital investment in agriculture has increased from US$ 1.2 billion in 2007-08 to US$ 3.26 billion in 2010-11 (inclusive of State Plan Scheme Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana), as per a Ministry of Agriculture press release dated August 3, 2010.In this study focus on history, importance and problems of Indian agriculture and also discuss about modern agricultural development.

Keywords: Agriculture, GDP, Global Positioning System, Development.