Madhya Pradesh came into
being on 1st November 1956. Scheduled Tribes constitute 23.3 per cent of
the population of the State. The land area under irrigation is 5.66
million hectares^, and agriculture is the mainstay of 76.8 per cent of
the populace, with the main crops being wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton,
oilseeds, pulses, soyabean. The major industries of the State are
automobiles, optical fibre for tele-communications, steel, aluminium and
cement. The State has rich mineral deposits of coal, bauxite, iron,
manganese and copper ore. Madhya Pradesh is the only State in the
country where tin and diamonds are found. Nearly 95 per cent of the
villages are electrified. Summers in the State are hot, winters are
mild, and the average annual rainfall is 124 cm.