Machilipatnam has big industries. Fashion gold (also called rold gold or gold covering) ornaments produced there. Agriculture is the most important occupation, with rice being the main food crop. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a unit of the Union Defence Ministry, of the Government of India, operates a manufacturing unit in Machilipatnam. BEL is involved in design, development and manufacture of Opto-electronic equipments that are used by the Indian Defence Services and paramilitary organizations. It also produces cyclone detection radar under the IMD Department of Science and Technology
