Bihar was constituted in 1936 in the pre-Independence era. The land is mainly plain and forests cover 17 per cent of its area. About 5.603 million hectares^ is the net cultivated area. Rice, wheat, maize, sugarcane, tobacco, oilseeds and jute are some of the crops cultivated. The major industries are steel, heavy vehicles, fertilizers, chemicals, cement, textiles, diesel rail engines, railway wagons and power cables. The State has large mineral deposits of coal, copper, iron, mica and uranium among others, and several ancilliary industrial units are based on these natural resources. The summers are hot, winters cold and the average annual rainfall is 129 cm.

                                         ^ Includes figures for Jharkhand