The physical extent of land on which crops are actually sown and harvested (counted only once in a year) is known as:

The net sown area (NSA) is the total area of land on which crops are sown and harvested in an agricultural year, counting each piece of land only once, no matter how many crops are grown on it during the year. It shows the physical extent of land actually under crops.

Gross cropped area (GCA):

• The gross cropped area counts the area under crops as many times as it is cropped in a year.
• For example, if 1 hectare is sown with rice in kharif and wheat in rabi, the net sown area is 1 hectare, but the gross cropped area is 2 hectares.
• Area sown more than once = Gross cropped area minus Net sown area.

Cropping intensity:

Cropping intensity = (Gross cropped area / Net sown area) x 100.

It measures how intensively land is used. A cropping intensity of 100 means only one crop a year, while 200 means two crops on all the land.

India's cropping intensity is about 150 to 155 per cent. It is high in Punjab, Haryana and West Bengal, where irrigation allows more than one crop a year.

Land use figures for India (approximate):

India's total reporting area for land use statistics is about 307 million hectares (out of a geographical area of about 328.7 million hectares).

The net sown area is about 140 million hectares, or roughly 43 to 46 per cent of the reporting area. This share is among the highest in the world.

The gross cropped area is about 210 to 220 million hectares.

Total cultivable (culturable) area:

It includes net sown area, all fallow lands, culturable wasteland and land under miscellaneous tree crops.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Gross cropped area counts land as many times as it is cropped.
• ✗Total cultivable area includes fallow and culturable waste land as well as sown land.
• ✗Total reported area is the area for which land use records are available.