tea are the important cash crops of the state. Tripura ranks second only to Kerala in the production of natural rubber in the country. The state is known for its handicraft, particularly hand-woven cotton fabric, wood carvings, and bamboo products. High quality timber including sal, garjan, teak and gamar are found abundantly in the forests of Tripura.
The industrial sector of the state continues to be highly underdeveloped—brickfields and tea industry are the only two organised sectors. Tripura has considerable reservoirs of natural gas, but has meagre deposits of other types of minerals like clay minerals, glass sand, lignite, and limestone. According to estimates by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the state has 400 billion cubic meter reserves of natural gas, out of which 16 billion cubic meter is recoverable. ONGC produced 480 million cubic meter natural gas in the state in 2006–07. Tourism industry in the state is growing— the revenue earned in tourism sector crossed Rs. 1 crore (US$ 182,000) for the first time in 2009–10, and surpassed Rs. 1.5 crore (US$ 273,000) in 2010–11.
The Planning Commission estimates the poverty rate of all north east Indian states by using head count ratio of Assam (the largest state in north east India). According to 2001 Planning Commission assessment, 22 per cent of Tripura's rural residents were below the poverty line. However, Tripura government's independent assessment, based on consumption distribution data, reported that, as of 2001, 55 per cent of the rural population was below the poverty line. Geographic isolation and communication bottleneck coupled with insufficient infrastructure have restricted economic growth of the state. High rate of poverty and unemployment continues to be prevalent
