• Western Himalayan Zone: Includes Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh hills, 3 sub-zones of Jammu & Kashmir; characterized by skeletal soils of cold regions including podsols, mountain meadow soils, hilly brown soils, silty loam. Terrain is undulating with steep slopes and prone to erosion.

  • Eastern Himalayan Zone: Covers Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Assam, Jalpaiguri and Coochbihar districts of West Bengal. High rainfall and dense forest cover. Mostly alluvial soils; shifting cultivation is practiced. The zone is prone to floods.

  • Lower Gangetic Plains Zone: Includes West Bengal, a high rainfall area.

  • Middle Gangetic Plains Zone: Covers eastern Uttar Pradesh (12 districts), Bihar (27 districts); has potential for exploitation of groundwater, canals, and tube wells.

  • Upper Gangetic Plains Zone: Includes 32 districts of western Uttar Pradesh.

  • Trans Gangetic Plains Zone: Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan. Features highest net sown area, extensive irrigation, crop intensity, and water utilization.

  • Eastern Plateau and Hill Zone: Covers eastern Madhya Pradesh, south West Bengal, inland Odisha. Characterized by medium soil depth and undulating topography. Tank and tube wells are prominent irrigation sources.

  • Central Plateau and Hill Zone: Includes southern Uttar Pradesh, eastern Rajasthan, most of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

  • Western Plateau and Hill Zone: Major parts of Maharashtra, parts of Madhya Pradesh, one district of Rajasthan. Only 12.4% area irrigated, with canals as the main source.

  • Southern Plateau and Hill Zone: Parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu (35 districts); mostly semi-arid climate.

  • East Coast Plains and Ghats Zone: East coast of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. Predominantly alluvial soils and coastal sand. Canal and tank irrigation are main sources.

  • West Coast Plains and Ghats Zone: West coast of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa. Exhibits variety in soil types, rainfall patterns, and cropping patterns.

  • Gujarat Plains and Hills Zone: 19 districts of Gujarat; arid climate with well and tube well irrigation.

  • Western Zone: 9 districts of Rajasthan; characterized by hot desert climate, sandy soils, erratic rainfall, high evapotranspiration, scanty vegetation, low and brackish groundwater. Drought is common.

  • Island Zone: Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep; equatorial climate with over 300 cm rainfall for 8 months, predominantly forested zone.