Tractors in India are a major industry and significant contributor to its agriculture output gains. In 1947, as India gained independence from the British Empire, the level of agriculture mechanisation was low. The socialist oriented five-year plans of the 1950s and 1960s aggressively promoted rural mechanisation via joint ventures and tie-ups between local industrialists and international tractor manufacturers. Despite these efforts, the first three decades after independence local production of 4-wheel tractors grew slowly. By the late 1980s tractor production was nearly 140,000 units per year, and a prevalence rate of less than 2 per 1,000 farmers. After economic reforms of 1991, the pace of change increased and by late 1990s with production approached 270,000 per year. In early 2000s, India overtook the United States as the world's largest producer of four-wheel tractors. FAO estimated, in 1999, that of total agricultural area in India, less than 50% is under mechanised land preparation, indicating large opportunities still exist for agricultural mechanisation. In 2013, India produced 619,000 tractors accounting for 29% of world's output, as the world's largest producer and market for tractors. India currently has 16 domestic and 4 multinational corporations manufacturing tractors. History of tractors in India 1945 to 1960 War surplus tractors and bulldozers were imported for land reclamation and cultivation in mid-1940s. In 1947 central and state tractor organisations were set up to develop and promote the supply and use of tractors in agriculture and up to 1960, the demand was met entirely through imports. There were 8,500 tractors in use in 1951, 20,000 in 1955 and 37,000 by 1960.In this period Massey Ferguson entered India With Massey Ferguson 35x and 135 1960 - 1970 By 1970 annual production had exceeded 20,000 units with over 146,000 units working in the country. 1971 to 1980 By late 60's the government of India initiated the Green Revolution in India program and the need for mechanisation created more demands for farm tractors.To meet the initial demand the Government allowed lot of imports mostly from USSR and its Eastern Bloc neighbours. In addition six new manufacturers were established during this period although three companies (Kirloskar Tractors, Harsha Tractors and Pittie Tractors) did not survive. HMT, a large public sector unit, began manufacturing Agricultural Tractors in 1972 under the HMT brand name with technology acquired from Zetor of the Czech Republic (and in year 2016 this company was shut down by the government