India 2018

States and Union Territories 627
Scheduled Castes. The state is represented in the Lok Sabha by two members
and by one member in the Rajya Sabha.
The state is situated in the extreme north-eastern border of the country. It
is bound on the east by upper Myanmar, on the north by Nagaland, on the
west by Cachar district of Assam and on the south by Chin hills of Myanmar
and Mizoram. Manipur has a total border line of about 854 km of which about
352 km are international boundary line with Myanmar on the east and southeast.
This state is in a geographically unique position, since it virtually is the
meeting point between India and South-East Asia. Manipur lies between 23.80 0
N and 25.68 0 N latitude and between 93.03 0 E and 94.78 0 E longitude.
The state has a total area of 22,327 sq. km. There is a small oval shaped
plain in the central part. This central plain known as Imphal Valley is at a
height of about 790 metres above Mean Sea Level (MSL). This valley is
surrounded by hills on all sides. The hill covers about 9/10 of the total area of
the state. The hill ranges are higher on the north and gradually diminish in
height towards the south. The valley itself slopes down towards the south.
Agriculture
Agriculture and allied activities are the only mainstay of the state’s economy
where about 70 per cent of the population depends on it. The state has two
topographical zones — valley and hills. The valley is known as the ‘Rice Bowl’
of the state. The valley has sub-tropical to tropical to sub-temperate climates.
The hills have sub-temperate to temperate climate with an average altitude of
3000 metres above MSL. It has distinct winter, warm, humid and rainy summer.
The average rainfall during the last ten years has been recorded 1482.20 mm,
with heavy precipitation during the month of June, July and August. The growth
of agriculture in the state has been quite uneven for the reason that its
production still depends on seasonal rainfall.
Forest
In terms of forest canopy density classes, it has 701 sq. km of very dense forests,
5474 sq. km. moderately dense forests and 11,105 sq. km open forests.
Irrigation
Major and medium irrigation projects had been introduced in the state. So far
8 (eight) major and medium irrigation and multipurpose projects have been
taken up of which 5 projects viz. Loktak Lift Irrigation Project, Khoupum Dam
Project, Imphal Barrage Project, Sekmai Barrage Project and Singda
Multipurpose Project have been completed.
Commerce and Industries
The handloom industry is by far the largest and most important cottage
industry. It improves the socio-economic conditions of handloom weavers and
has attained high degree of excellence. As per the 3rd National Handloom
Census of Weavers and Allied Workers 2010, Manipur topped in distribution