India has surpassed China to become the world’s largest rice producer, harvesting 150.18 million tonnes in 2025 compared with China’s 145.28 million tonnes, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in New Delhi.
He called the achievement historic, saying India is now self-reliant in food production and a major supplier of rice to the world, while unveiling 184 new crop varieties across 25 field crops. Experts, however, cautioned that emerging rice-producing states should learn from Punjab’s experience to avoid long-term ecological damage.
Punjab Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor Dr Satbir Singh Gosal welcomed the milestone but warned that replicating Punjab’s intensive model could lead to groundwater depletion and stubble-burning issues in other regions. He noted that the government has promoted rice cultivation in eastern India through incentives, subsidies, and quality inputs under initiatives like the Green Revolution in Eastern India.
Gosal also highlighted that short-duration, high-yielding rice varieties and ongoing work on flood-tolerant strains are boosting output while aiming to address water scarcity and climate challenges.
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