Forest Centenary 21.11.1961

This First Day Cover was issued on 21.11.1961 to commemorate the Forest Centenary.
Forestry in India is a significant rural industry and a major environmental resource. India is ne of the ten most forest-rich countries of the world along with the Russian Federation, razil, 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. India's forest cover grew at 0.22% annually over 1990-2000, and has grown at the rate of 0.46% per year over 2000-2010, after decades where forest degradation was a matter of serious concern.
As of 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations estimates India's forest cover to be about 68 million hectares, or 24% of the country's area. 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. However, the gains were primarily in northern, central and southern Indian states, while north-eastern states witnessed a net loss in forest cover over 2010 to 2012.
In 2002, forestry industry contributed 1.7% to India's GDP. 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. 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. India annually consumes an additional 270 million tonnes of fuelwood, 280 million tonnes of fodder, and about 12 million cubic meter of forest products - valued at about 27500 crore (US$4.5 billion) a year.
India is the world's largest consumer of fuel-wood. India's consumption of fuel-wood is about five times higher than what can be sustainably removed from forests. 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. Around 80% of rural people and 48% of urban people use fuel-wood. 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.
Forestry in India is more than just about wood and fuel. India has a thriving non-wood forest products industry, which produces latex, gums, resins, essential oils, flavours, fragrances and aroma chemicals, incense sticks, handicrafts, thatching materials and medicinal plants. About 60% of non-wood forest products production is consumed locally. About 50% of the total revenue from the forestry industry in India is in non-wood forest products category. In 2002, non-wood forest products were a source of significant supplemental income to over 400 million people in India, mostly rural.