Foreign Direct Investment in Indian Agricultural Sector: Opportunities and Challenges

In India, agriculture is an important sector of the Indian economy and accounts for almost 14% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP). Agriculture forms the backbone of rural India which inhabits 65% of the Indian population; hence any policy decision regarding agriculture has an impact on a large majority of the vast population There is growing evidence that investing in Indian agricultural sector is among the most efficient ways to reduce poverty and hunger. Agricultural investments can generate a wide range of developmental benefits.The agricultural sector is facing a crisis. Ardent students of the Indian Economy and all those who have been following the recent trends in its agricultural growth and development will agree that the sharp deceleration in the agricultural sector despite an overall impressive growth of the Indian economy is a major cause of concern today. There can be no better time than now – the period of second generation reforms – for a critical study of this vital sector of the Indian economy and for ensuring a second green revolution in the near future. FDI in Agricultural Sector is one of the fruitful steps in improving plight of Indian Farmers.This paper attempts to study the FDI policy of Government for agricultural Sector. The present study has focused on the trends of FDI Flow in agricultural sector during 2000-01 to 2015-16 (up to December 2015). At the end, the paper contained the positive and negative impacts of Foreign Investment on Indian Agricultural Sector.