Rice is a unique creation of the domestication of cultivated plants; it is unique in that it has cultivars with maturity durations ranging from less than 80 days to more than 180 days and adapts to a wide range of land conditions and water regimes, including stagnant water conditions where no other crop could be grown.

The domestication of rice may have begun earlier, around 3000 BC, and probably in several centers in South and Southeast Asia. Rice is known as the grain of life and is synonymous with food for Asians. It is the staple food for more than 60% of the world's population. Rice is mainly produced and consumed in the Asian region.

India has the largest area of paddy fields in the world and ranks second in production after China. The rice plant belongs to the genus Oryza of the Gramineae family. The world's sativa rice varieties are generally grouped into three subspecies: indica, japonica, and javanica. The rice cultivated in India belongs to the indica group.

Rice occupies 23.3% of the country's gross cultivated area. Rice contributes 43% of the total food grain production and 46% of the total cereal production.