UPSC 2016 CDS I GK Paper

The areas marked in the given map account for the production of cotton, a cash crop. Cotton cultivation is closely related to deep black soils (regur) of the Deccan and the Malwa Plateaus and those of Gujarat. It also grows well in alluvial soils of the Sutlej-Ganga Plain and red and laterite soils of the peninsular regions. In India, cotton is grown in three distinct agro-ecological zones, viz., Northern (Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan), Central (Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh), and Southern zone (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka). India is the largest producer of cotton in the world accounting for about 26% of the world cotton production.