Resources, Agriculture, Industry, Population and Environment of Madhya Pradesh
2. Forests and forest produce
The India State of Forest Report 2023 gives Madhya Pradesh the largest forest-cover area of any state, about 77,073 sq km. Including tree cover outside forests, the figure is about 85,700 sq km. The 2021 report classifies the recorded forest area as about 94,689 sq km, split into reserved and protected forest with a small unclassed part. The classes are different measures, so every answer must name the report and the year.
Forest types follow the rain. Moist deciduous forest covers the east, with sal dominant in the north-east (Shahdol, Umaria, Dindori) and teak on the Satpura, the Narmada valley and the central belt. Dry deciduous forest with teak covers the centre and west. Bamboo grows on the slopes of Kanha and Bandhavgarh. The state's forest economy depends on minor forest produce: tendu leaves for bidi wrapping, mahua, chironji, gum and bamboo.
The tendu leaf trade was brought under a state monopoly by the Madhya Pradesh Tendu Patta (Vyapar Viniyaman) Adhiniyam, 1964, which took effect on 28 November 1964. Collection and trade later passed through cooperative federations, set up in the 1980s. The Act is the anchor for questions on minor forest produce.
3. National parks, tiger reserves and biosphere reserves
Madhya Pradesh has nine tiger reserves in the list used for 2025 counts, the most of any state. In the Status of Tigers 2022 estimate, the state had 785 tigers, ahead of Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560) and Maharashtra (444). In the Status of Leopards 2022 report, released in 2024, the state had 3,907 leopards, ahead of Maharashtra (1,985) and Karnataka (1,879). Learn each reserve by its districts and its year of declaration, and check the year before quoting it, since sources differ by a few years for some reserves.
| Area | Status and year | Districts | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kanha | National park 1955; tiger reserve 1973 | Mandla, Balaghat | Barasingha; sal and bamboo |
| Bandhavgarh | National park 1968; tiger reserve 1993 | Umaria | Dense tiger population |
| Pench | Tiger reserve 1992-93; national park 1983 | Seoni, Chhindwara | Pench river runs through it |
| Satpura | National park 1981; tiger reserve 1999-2000 (sources differ) | Narmadapuram | Dhupgarh peak; Pachmarhi and Bori |
| Panna | National park 1981; tiger reserve 1994 | Panna, Chhatarpur | Ken river; tigers reintroduced in 2009 |
| Sanjay-Dubri | Tiger reserve (notified 2011 in one list) | Sidhi, Singrauli | Sanjay national park |
| Veerangana Durgavati | Tiger reserve 2023 (combines Nauradehi and Durgavati sanctuaries) | Damoh, Sagar | Named after Rani Durgavati |
| Madhav | National park 1959; tiger reserve declared 2024-25 (sources differ) | Shivpuri | Shivpuri district; Madhav national park |
| Ratapani | Tiger reserve notified 2024 (reported as the eighth in the state) | Raisen, Sehore | Forest near Bhopal |
| Kuno | National park 2018 | Sheopur (the park edges neighbouring districts; sources differ) | Cheetah reintroduction from 2022 |
Biosphere reserves: Pachmarhi (1999; Betul, Narmadapuram, Chhindwara), Achanakmar-Amarkantak (2005; Anuppur and Dindori, shared with Chhattisgarh) and Panna (Panna and Chhatarpur). Ratapani, in Raisen and Sehore, is not a biosphere reserve; it is a tiger reserve (see the table above).
4. Agriculture, crop ranks and irrigation
The kharif (monsoon) crops are soybean in the Malwa and Nimar plains, cotton in the Nimar belt, and pulses in parts of Bundelkhand. The rabi (winter) crops are wheat, gram and mustard in the Malwa, Chambal and northern districts. Three ranks are stable enough to teach, each with its year: soybean, where the state was first in 2023-24 with about 42 per cent of national output (government data as reported); gram, where it was first in 2023-24 with about 27.5 per cent (Economic Survey 2023-24); and wheat, where it was second after Uttar Pradesh in 2023-24 (about 21.3 million tonnes, Economic Survey 2023-24).
- Bargi (Jabalpur): Narmada reservoir with the Bargi diversion and the Rani Avantibai Lodhi Sagar canal; power station of about 105 MW.
- Indira Sagar (Punasa, Khandwa): 1,000 MW from eight units; irrigation command of about 1.23 lakh hectares; supplies water to the Sardar Sarovar project under the Narmada tribunal's award.
- Tawa (Itarsi, Narmadapuram): reservoir on the Tawa river, a Narmada tributary, irrigating land in Narmadapuram and Harda.
- Bansagar (Deolond, Shahdol) on the Son: multipurpose dam of about 435 MW; the 1973 agreement shares its costs and water among Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in a 2:1:1 ratio.
- Ken-Betwa Link: the Daudhan dam (77 m) on the Ken is the first phase; the foundation stone was laid at Khajuraho (Chhatarpur) on 25 December 2024. It is described as the first river-interlinking project under the national plan; completion is planned over about eight years and the date may change.
5. Minerals and their districts
The Indian Bureau of Mines state review (2022) says Madhya Pradesh is the only diamond-producing state in India, and that it holds about 90 per cent of the country's diamond resources. It also holds about 74 per cent of diaspore, 48 per cent of pyrophyllite and 27 per cent of dolomite resources, and the review names it a leading producer of copper concentrate, diaspore, pyrophyllite and manganese ore. The minerals are placed by district below.
| Mineral | Districts | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond | Panna | Majhgawan mine; the state's only producing area |
| Copper ore | Balaghat, Betul, Jabalpur | Malanjkhand (Balaghat) is the main mine |
| Manganese ore | Balaghat, Jhabua | Among the leading producers |
| Bauxite | Balaghat, Guna, Jabalpur, Katni, Mandla, Rewa, Satna, Shahdol, Shivpuri, Sidhi, Vidisha | Widest spread |
| Diaspore, pyrophyllite | Chhatarpur, Shivpuri, Tikamgarh (pyrophyllite also Sagar) | Refractory and ceramic raw materials |
| Iron ore (haematite) | Betul, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Katni | Used in steel and cement industries |
| Coal | Betul, Shahdol, Sidhi (Singrauli coalfield) | Singrauli holds the largest reserves |
| Rock phosphate | Chhatarpur, Jhabua, Sagar | Fertiliser feedstock |
| Potash, gold | Panna (potash); Jabalpur, Sidhi (gold) | Gold also explored in Singrauli |
| Limestone | About twenty districts, including Satna, Sagar, Katni, Jabalpur and Sidhi | Cement raw material |
Coal reserves as on 1 April 2022 (Coal Directory of India) total about 30,917 million tonnes. Singrauli holds about 16,919 million tonnes and Sohagpur about 8,159; Pench-Kanhan, Sonhat, Johilla and Umaria are much smaller. The Singrauli coalfield is therefore the anchor of the state's power economy.
6. Power, solar and industrial clusters
Thermal power follows the coal: the state generating company's stations at Birsinghpur (Umaria, Sanjay Gandhi), Sarni (Betul, Satpura), Chachai (Anuppur, Amarkantak) and in Khandwa district (Shree Singaji). NTPC's Vindhyachal station at Waidhan in Singrauli district is one of the largest power stations in India by installed capacity. Hydro power comes from the Narmada and Son dams. The Rewa Ultra Mega Solar park at Gurh in Rewa district has a capacity of 750 MW and was dedicated on 10 July 2020, with its output shared between the state utility and the Delhi Metro.
- Cement: the Satna and Rewa belt has the most large plants; Katni (Kymore), Damoh, Sidhi, Neemuch and Dhar also have units, as in the 2022 yearbook list.
- Aluminium and refining: Hindalco's smelter at Mahan (Singrauli) and the Bharat Oman Refineries at Bina (Sagar).
- Automobile and engineering: the Pithampur cluster in Dhar district, near Indore, known as the 'Detroit of India', was built up from the 1980s.
- Security printing and paper: the Bank Note Press at Dewas, a unit of the Security Printing and Minting Corporation, printing currency notes, and the Security Paper Mill at Hoshangabad (now Narmadapuram district), set up in 1968, making currency paper. The NEPA newsprint mill is at Nepanagar in Burhanpur district.
- Handicraft GIs: in the April 2023 batch the Gond painting of Dindori, the carpet of Gwalior, the batik print of Ujjain, the stone craft of Bhedaghat (Jabalpur), the Waraseoni saree (Balaghat) and the Sunderja mango of Rewa were tagged.
7. Water, wetlands and urban cleanliness
Madhya Pradesh has five Ramsar wetlands in the lists used in 2026. The Bhoj Wetland at Bhopal, designated in 2002, is the oldest. The others include Sirpur and Yashwant Sagar in Indore, Sakhya Sagar in Shivpuri and the Tawa reservoir in Narmadapuram, the last designated in 2024. Water security rests on the reservoirs and river-linking projects described in section 4, and on groundwater in the western plateau, where the surface supply is thinner.
Indore has been ranked India's cleanest city for eight consecutive years in the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25, with the awards given on 17 July 2025. Surat was second. The reasons taught are door-to-door waste collection, segregation at source and processing of waste. The Super Swachh League, a newer category, recognises cities that have stayed in the top three over three years.
Key takeaways
- Madhya Pradesh has 55 districts in 10 divisions (October 2026 list). The 2011 census gives 7.26 crore people, density 236 per square km and sex ratio 931; quote the census year with each figure.
- Forests: the largest forest-cover area of any state (ISFR 2023); sal in the north-east, teak in the centre and west; the tendu trade under a state monopoly by the 1964 Adhiniyam.
- Tigers: nine tiger reserves, and the highest tiger (785) and leopard (3,907) counts in the 2022 estimates. Learn each reserve by its districts and check its declaration year.
- Crop ranks change; teach the crops and their regions, and quote the year. Soybean and gram were first in 2023-24, and wheat was second after Uttar Pradesh.
- Minerals are dispersed by district: diamond only in Panna, coal in Singrauli, copper in Balaghat, manganese in Balaghat and Jhabua.
- Power and industry follow the coal, the rivers and the mineral belts: thermal at the coalfields, hydro on the Narmada and Son, solar at Rewa, automobiles at Pithampur.
Practice questions (18)
Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.
As per Census 2011, which district of Madhya Pradesh had the largest population?
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Answer: B — Indore
Indore was the most populous district in the 2011 census, with about 32.8 lakh residents. Jabalpur (about 24.6 lakh) is the second-largest and the tempting distractor, while Sagar and Bhopal, at about 23.8 and 23.7 lakh, are close behind. The answer uses the 2011 base, which predates the district creations of 2013 to 2023.As per Census 2011, which district of Madhya Pradesh had the lowest population density?
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Answer: C — Dindori
Dindori had the lowest density, about 94 persons per square km, in the 2011 census. Sheopur, at about 104, is the close alternative and the tempting distractor, and Harda (about 171) and Alirajpur (about 229) are much denser. The gap between Dindori and Sheopur is small, so the figure must be recalled exactly.As per Census 2011, which district recorded the lowest literacy rate in Madhya Pradesh?
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Answer: D — Alirajpur
Alirajpur had the lowest district literacy in 2011, at about 37 per cent. Jhabua and Barwani are the tribal districts that come next, and Sheopur is higher than all three. A candidate who ranks by tribal share alone will pick Jhabua, which is wrong.Which tiger reserve of Madhya Pradesh lies in Umaria district?
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Answer: B — Bandhavgarh
Bandhavgarh is in Umaria district, and it was declared a national park in 1968 and a tiger reserve in 1993. Kanha, in Mandla and Balaghat, is the best-known reserve but lies elsewhere. Satpura is in Narmadapuram and Panna is in Panna and Chhatarpur, so none of the other options lies in Umaria.Which tiger reserve of Madhya Pradesh covers parts of the Mandla and Balaghat districts?
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Answer: A — Kanha
Kanha lies in Mandla and Balaghat districts. Pench lies in Seoni and Chhindwara, Bandhavgarh in Umaria and Panna in Panna and Chhatarpur. Pench is the closest in name and in the Jungle Book association, which is why it is the tempting distractor.Kuno National Park, where the cheetah reintroduction began in 2022, lies mainly in which district?
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Answer: A — Sheopur
Kuno National Park lies mainly in Sheopur district of the Chambal region, and its landscape reaches into neighbouring districts. Guna is a Gwalior-division district where the park is not centred, Dhar holds the Dinosaur fossil park and western forests, and Sidhi holds Sanjay-Dubri. Each distractor is a real protected area in the state.In the Status of Leopards in India 2022 estimate, released in 2024, which state had the largest leopard population?
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Answer: B — Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh had about 3,907 leopards in the 2022 estimate, the highest of any state. Maharashtra, with about 1,985, is the close national rival in the same table, and Karnataka (about 1,879) and Tamil Nadu (about 1,070) follow. The two-state comparison is where candidates confuse the counts.Which biosphere reserve of Madhya Pradesh lies partly in Betul, Narmadapuram and Chhindwara districts?
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Answer: D — Pachmarhi
Pachmarhi, designated in 1999, lies partly in Betul, Narmadapuram and Chhindwara districts and includes the Satpura, Bori and Pachmarhi sanctuaries. Achanakmar-Amarkantak lies in Anuppur and Dindori and crosses into Chhattisgarh, and Panna is in Panna and Chhatarpur. Kanha is a tiger reserve, not a biosphere reserve in this list.In which district is the Majhgawan diamond mine, the state's only diamond-producing area, located?
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Answer: A — Panna
The Majhgawan mine is in Panna district, and the Indian Bureau of Mines lists diamond only in Panna. Chhatarpur and Tikamgarh hold diaspore and pyrophyllite, minerals that are often confused with diamond in lists, and Shivpuri holds bauxite and the same diaspore and pyrophyllite. None of them is the diamond district.According to the Coal Directory of India, reserves as on 1 April 2022, which coalfield of Madhya Pradesh holds the largest total reserves?
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Answer: C — Singrauli
The Singrauli coalfield has about 16,919 million tonnes in total reserves, against about 8,159 for Sohagpur. Pench-Kanhan and Johilla are far smaller. Sohagpur is the tempting distractor because it is the second-largest field and sits in the same north-eastern belt.Manganese ore is mined in which two districts of Madhya Pradesh, according to the Indian Bureau of Mines state review for 2022?
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Answer: B — Balaghat and Jhabua
The Indian Bureau of Mines review names manganese ore in Balaghat and Jhabua districts. Panna and Chhatarpur are diamond and diaspore districts, Dhar and Dewas have barytes, and Sidhi and Shahdol have coal, gypsum and bauxite. Each pair is a real mineral geography, so only the manganese pair is correct.According to government data reported for 2023-24, which state is known as the 'Soya State' and ranks first in soybean production in India?
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Answer: D — Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh returned to the top of soybean production in 2023-24, with about 5.47 million tonnes, about 42 per cent of national output, as reported from government data. Maharashtra, with about 5.23 million tonnes, is the close rival and the tempting distractor. Rajasthan is third in the same ranking.In the wheat production ranking for 2023-24 reported in the Economic Survey, Madhya Pradesh was second in India. Which state was first?
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Answer: A — Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh was first, with about 35.4 million tonnes, and Madhya Pradesh second, with about 21.3 million tonnes, as the Economic Survey 2023-24 reports. Punjab was third, so it is the tempting distractor. Haryana and Rajasthan both produced less than Madhya Pradesh, and the answer rests on the year as well as the state.In the Economic Survey 2023-24 table on gram (chickpea) production, which state had the largest national share?
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Answer: C — Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh had about 27.5 per cent of national gram output in 2023-24, ahead of Maharashtra at about 24.7 per cent and Rajasthan at about 19.3 per cent. The close alternative is Maharashtra, which many sites list as the second producer, so the answer depends on the figure rather than the rank order alone.The Bansagar Dam on the Son river, shared among three states under the 1973 agreement, distributes costs and water between Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in what ratio?
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Answer: A — 2:1:1 among Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
The 1973 agreement set the ratio at 2:1:1 for Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, so Madhya Pradesh bears the largest share. A 1:1:1 split is the tempting equal-share error, and the 2:2:1 and 3:2:1 options swap the weight among the three states. Only the 2:1:1 ratio matches the agreement.The 750 MW Rewa Ultra Mega Solar park at Gurh is located in which district of Madhya Pradesh?
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Answer: B — Rewa
The Rewa Ultra Mega Solar park at Gurh is in Rewa district, and it was dedicated on 10 July 2020. Satna is the neighbouring cement district, and Sidhi and Singrauli are the power-producing districts of the Vindhya-Son belt. The solar park is named for the district that hosts it, which is the point of the question.Pithampur, an automobile and engineering cluster known as the 'Detroit of India', lies in which district of Madhya Pradesh?
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Answer: C — Dhar
Pithampur is in Dhar district, close to Indore, and it was built up from the 1980s. Indore is the tempting answer because the city is nearby and the cluster is part of its metropolitan region, but the district is Dhar. Ujjain and Dewas are other industrial districts of the Ujjain division.In the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 results, Indore was declared India's cleanest city for which consecutive year?
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Answer: C — Eighth
Indore was declared India's cleanest city for the eighth consecutive year in the 2024-25 survey, with awards presented on 17 July 2025. The seventh is the tempting distractor, because some reports describe the run before 2024-25 as seven times. Surat was second. The streak measures urban cleanliness, not environmental quality in general.