Forestry in India is a significant rural industry and a major environmental resource.

India is one
of the ten most forest-rich countries of the world along with the Russian Federation, Brazil,
Canada, United States of America, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Australia,
Indonesia and Sudan. Together, India and these countries account for 67 percent of total forest
area of the world.[1] India's forest cover grew at 0.22% annually over 1990-2000,[2] and has
grown at the rate of 0.46% per year over 2000-2010,[2] after decades where forest degradation
was a matter of serious concern.[3]

As of 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations estimates India's forest
cover to be about 68 million hectares, or 22% of the country's area.[4][5] The 2013 Forest Survey
of India states its forest cover increased to 69.8 million hectares by 2012, per satellite
measurements; this represents an increase of 5,871 square kilometers of forest cover in 2 years.[6]
However, the gains were primarily in northern, central and southern Indian states, while
northeastern states witnessed a net loss in forest cover over 2010 to 2012.

In 2002, forestry industry contributed 1.7% to India's GDP.[3] In 2010, the contribution to GDP
dropped to 0.9%, largely because of rapid growth of the economy in other sectors and the
government's decision to reform and reduce import tariffs to let imports satisfy the growing
Indian demand for wood products. India produces a range of processed forest (wood and non-
wood) products ranging from wood panel products and wood pulp to make bronze, rattazikistan
ware and pern resin. India's paper industry produces over 3,000 metric tonnes annually from
more than 400 mills.[3] The furniture and craft industry is another consumer of wood. India's
wood-based processing industries consumed about 30 million cubic metres of industrial wood in
2002.[3] India annually consumes an additional 270 million tonnes of fuelwood, 2800 million
tonnes of fodder, and about 102 million cubic meter of forest products - valued at about 27,500
crore (US$4.3 billion) a year. India is one of the world's largest consumer of fuel-wood.[3] India's
consumption of fuel-wood is about five times higher than what can be sustainably removed from
forests.[3] However, a large percentage of this fuel-wood is grown as biomass remaining from
agriculture, and is managed outside forests. Fuel-wood meets about 40% of the energy needs of
the country.[3] Around 80% of rural people and 48% of urban people use fuel-wood.[3] Unless
India makes major, rapid and sustained effort to expand electricity generation and power plants,
the rural and urban poor in India will continue to meet their energy needs through unsustainable
destruction of forests and fuel wood consumption. India's dependence on fuel-wood and forestry
products as a primary energy source is not only environmentally unsustainable, it is a primary
cause of India's near-permanent haze and air pollution