Land ceiling refers to the maximum size of land holdings an individual or family can own, with the land over and above the ceiling limit being called surplus land. The main purposes of land ceiling are to minimize the inequalities of income, status, facilities, and opportunities, to ensure that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth, and to give the right to adequate means of livelihood for all citizens.

In India, land ceiling laws were introduced in the early years following Independence to deal with the zamindars and enforce restrictions on land ownership. The laws set a limit on how much land an individual or corporation could hold and allowed the government to redistribute surplus agricultural land to the landless poor. However, several states have amended their land ceiling laws in favor of industry, allowing industries and non-farmers to buy large parcels of agricultural land and put them to non-agricultural uses.

The older land ceiling laws already came with a long list of exemptions, as a result of which only a small percentage of land could be declared surplus and distributed. The failure of the land ceiling in India can be attributed to several factors, including separate ceilings for major sons, exemptions for religious and charitable institutions, benami transfers, falsification of land deeds, judicial interventions, gaps in ceiling laws, non-availability of land records, inefficient administration, and lack of political will.

In summary, land ceiling is a legal limit on the maximum amount of land an individual or family can own, with the purpose of preventing the concentration of wealth and ensuring adequate means of livelihood for all citizens. However, the effectiveness of land ceiling laws in India has been limited due to various factors.