Pariksha SaathiLesson 7 of 10 · Uttar Pradesh General Knowledge
Agriculture, Minerals and Industries of Uttar Pradesh
Drafted with AI assistance and fact-checked on 28 October 2026; not yet read line by line by a human editor. Spotted a mistake? Tell us. Editorial standards & corrections
Farming seasons
Agriculture is the main livelihood of most people in Uttar Pradesh, supported by deep alluvium, canals and tube wells. There are three crop seasons. Rabi crops are sown in October-November and harvested in March-April: wheat, barley, gram, peas, lentil, mustard and potato. Kharif crops are sown with the monsoon: rice, maize, bajra, jowar, arhar and urad. Zaid crops grow in the short summer season: watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber and vegetables. Sugarcane, a long-duration crop, is planted in spring or autumn. The Green Revolution of the late 1960s spread fastest in the canal-irrigated western districts.
Where UP leads
Uttar Pradesh has long been India's leading producer of sugarcane, wheat, potato and milk. It is a major producer of rice, pulses, mustard, vegetables and mangoes; famous mango varieties are Dasheri of Malihabad near Lucknow, Langra of Varanasi and Chausa. Mentha (Japanese mint), grown around Barabanki, Badaun, Rampur and Sambhal, makes the state the main source of India's mint oil. The Agra region, with Firozabad, Farrukhabad and Kannauj, is a potato belt, and Modipuram near Meerut has a regional station of the Central Potato Research Institute, whose headquarters is at Shimla. Other national research institutes in the state include the Indian Institute of Pulses Research at Kanpur, the Indian Institute of Vegetable Research at Varanasi and the Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute at Jhansi.
The sugar belt
Sugarcane is the main cash crop and the base of the largest agro-industry of the state. It is grown in two main belts: the western belt of Saharanpur, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Bijnor and Moradabad, and the Terai and eastern belt of Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Gorakhpur, Deoria and Kushinagar. Sugar mills stand close to the fields because cut cane loses its sugar quickly. Much cane is also made into jaggery (gur) and khandsari, and Muzaffarnagar has one of the largest jaggery markets in the country. Research is led by the Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research at Lucknow, the National Sugar Institute at Kanpur (1936) and the sugarcane research institute at Shahjahanpur.
Minerals
Uttar Pradesh is poor in minerals because most of it is alluvial plain; minerals occur only in the southern plateau. Sonbhadra and Mirzapur have limestone and dolomite, used by the cement works at Churk and Dalla, and coal in the Uttar Pradesh part of the Singrauli coalfield. Lalitpur, Jhansi, Hamirpur and Mahoba have pyrophyllite and diaspore, and Lalitpur has rock phosphate. Silica sand from Shankargarh in Prayagraj and from Chitrakoot feeds the glass industry of Firozabad. The fine Chunar sandstone of Mirzapur was used for Ashoka's pillars. The Ken river in Banda yields Shajar stone, a quartz with fern-like patterns used in jewellery.
Power
Coal from Singrauli and water from the Rihand reservoir make Sonbhadra the power hub of the state, with the Singrauli Super Thermal Power Station at Shaktinagar (the first project of NTPC), the Rihand station at Bijpur, and the state's own Anpara and Obra stations. Other thermal stations include Dadri (Gautam Buddh Nagar), Unchahar (Rae Bareli), Tanda (Ambedkar Nagar), Harduaganj (Aligarh), Parichha (Jhansi) and Panki (Kanpur), and there is a gas-based plant at Auraiya. The Narora Atomic Power Station in Bulandshahr, with two pressurised heavy water reactors, began commercial operation in 1991 and is the only nuclear plant in the state. Hydroelectric power is small, from Rihand, Obra and Matatila.
Traditional industries by city
Many cities are known for a craft that grew from local materials and old patronage. Kanpur grew under the British as a centre of leather, cotton and woollen mills, and Agra makes leather footwear, marble inlay work and petha. Moradabad is the brass city (Peetal Nagri), Aligarh makes locks and hardware, and Firozabad makes glass bangles and glassware (Suhag Nagri). Bhadohi and Mirzapur form India's main hand-knotted carpet belt. Varanasi is famous for silk saris and brocade, Lucknow for chikankari and zardozi, Kannauj for ittar (perfume), Khurja for ceramic pottery, Saharanpur for wood carving, Meerut for sports goods and scissors, Hathras for asafoetida (hing), Nizamabad in Azamgarh for black pottery and Gorakhpur for terracotta. Modern industry includes the Banaras Locomotive Works at Varanasi (set up in 1961 as the Diesel Locomotive Works), the Mathura refinery (1982) and the electronics and IT hub of Noida, set up in 1976.
One District One Product
Launched by the state government on 24 January 2018, Uttar Pradesh Diwas, the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme picks a distinctive product for each district, which may be a craft, a processed food or a farm product, and supports it with credit, training, design, marketing and common facility centres. The idea is to revive traditional industries, create local jobs and raise exports by building on skills that already exist, such as brassware in Moradabad, glass in Firozabad or carpets in Bhadohi. The model was later taken up at the national level.
Key facts
- UP has long been India's leading producer of sugarcane, wheat, potato and milk.
- Rabi: wheat, barley, gram, mustard, potato; Kharif: rice, maize, bajra, arhar; Zaid: watermelon, cucumber, vegetables.
- Sugar belts: western (Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Bijnor) and Terai-eastern (Kheri, Sitapur, Gorakhpur, Deoria, Kushinagar).
- Sugar research: Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow; National Sugar Institute, Kanpur (1936); research institute at Shahjahanpur.
- Mango varieties: Dasheri (Malihabad), Langra (Varanasi), Chausa; mentha (mint) around Barabanki and Badaun.
- Minerals of the south: limestone and coal (Sonbhadra), pyrophyllite and diaspore (Lalitpur, Jhansi), rock phosphate (Lalitpur), silica sand (Shankargarh, Prayagraj).
- Sonbhadra power: Singrauli (NTPC's first), Rihand, Anpara, Obra; Narora (Bulandshahr) is the state's nuclear plant, commercial since 1991.
- Cities and crafts: Moradabad brass, Aligarh locks, Firozabad glass, Bhadohi carpets, Kannauj ittar, Khurja pottery, Saharanpur wood carving.
- More cities: Kanpur leather, Agra footwear and petha, Meerut sports goods, Hathras hing, Nizamabad black pottery, Gorakhpur terracotta.
- ODOP launched 24 January 2018: one distinctive product per district, backed by credit, training, design and marketing.
Quick revision
Rabi wheat, potato, mustard; kharif rice, maize, arhar; zaid melons; UP leads in sugarcane, wheat, potato and milk; sugar belts west and Terai-east; NSI Kanpur 1936, IISR Lucknow; minerals only in south (Sonbhadra limestone, coal; Lalitpur pyrophyllite, rock phosphate; Shankargarh silica sand); Singrauli NTPC's first plant; Narora nuclear 1991; Moradabad brass, Firozabad glass, Aligarh locks, Bhadohi carpets, Kannauj ittar; Mathura refinery 1982; Noida 1976; ODOP 24 Jan 2018.