CHAPTER THREE

THE NEW AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY :

ITS IMPACT ON INDIA’S AGRICULTURE

III. 1. The new st rateqy

In discussions on the performance of Indian agricultut e
since independence, it has now become customery to divide the
reference period into two main parts, the dividing line
usually being the two years in the middle of the 1960s, i.e.
the years 1965 and 1966. The choice of this particular
dividing line is not so much because these two years
constitute one of the worst periods for agriculture in
independent India, as for the fact that the strategy of
agricultural development pursued since the mid 1960s is
markedly different from the one that was in vogue in the
previous period . During the first fifteen years of planning
< i.e. from 1951 to 1965 ) institutional reforms of
agriculture , styled as the integrated rural development
approach, constituted the mainstay of India's agricultural
policy. This included encouragement of co-operative farming,
community development programmes and land reform. For sevreal
reasons , including the failure of co-operative farming to
take shape, growing scarcity of food, .. etc. , there was a
major change in India's agricultural policy in the mid-1960s
; from the integrated rural development approach to a
technology oriented agricultural production approach. The new
strategy emphasised the application of modern science and
technology to agriculture supported by substantial investment
 22
in modern inputs, and price incentives for farmers to a d o p t
them .Thus the m a i n strand of the strategy of agricultural
development in India since t he mid -1960s is a superior
agricultural technology based on m o d e r n scientific research.
111.2. The new a g r i c u l t u r a l t e c h n o l o g y : characteristics and
I rnoil ca tl on
The new technology , which was introduced in Indian
agriculture in the late 1960s as a part of the new strategy
of a g r i u l t u r a l development, is based on some newly developed
crop varieties generally known as the high yielding
varieties. As their* name suggests, these new varieties are
capable of giving yields much higher than those of the
traditional verieties, especially when they are used in
combination with a number of complementary inputs, such as
fertilisers and water.
Discovery of these high yielding varieties, was neither
an accident nor a miracle, bu t the product of long and
persistent scientific research in v a r i o u s institutes in
India and abroad. Prominent among these research centres are
the International Centre for Wheat and Maize Improvement (
CIMMYT) in M a x i c o for wheat, and In t e r n a t i o n a 1 R i c e Reaserach
Institute < IRRI) in P h i l i p p i n e s for r i c e. Research in M e x i c o
had culminated in d i s c o v e r y of new varieties of wheat, which
were capable of absorbing high levels of fertilizers to give
yields upto above 70 quitals per hectare ,(i.e. more than
twice those of traditional varieties). In P h i l i p p i n e s in n e w
rice varieties capable of y i e l d i n g 70 to 8 0 quintals per
 23
hectare - nearly three times the maximum yield from local
varieties- were discovered. The good work at these
internationa1 institutes was adequately supplemented by
follow up research in various institutes and i^gricultural
universities in this country. The result of all these is the
evolution of the new semi-dwarf high yielding crop varttties
which were introduced to Indian farmers in the second half of
1960s.
These high yielding vari-’
.ties (referred henceforth as
H.Y.V.s) possess certain distinctive physiological attributes
which are of significant implications. First of all, the new
varieties are capable of turning large amount of soil
nutrients into grains rather than leaf growth. Secondly, they
are quicker maturing in nature i.e. they take shorter
duration to mature than the traditional. local varieties.
Thirdly, they are usually photo-period insensitive i.e. their
maturity duration is independent of the length of exposure to
day1ig ht.
Because of the first attribute these varieties are able
to give higher yields than the traditional varieties,
especially if the supply of nutrients to the soil can be
increased. So to get better results out of the H.Y.V.s, the
soil is to be supplied with additional nutrients through
application of chemical fertilizers to it. Since chemical
fertilizers contain nutrients in concentrated form, they in
turn have to be applied with adequate supply of water to
enable plants to absorb the nutrients without causing damage
 24
to themselves. The use of chemical fertilisers with H.Y.V.
seeds hence necessitates controlled supply of water. Thus,
full utilisation of potentialities of th e new technology
requires adequate application of the complementary inputs of
fertilizers and water with the H . Y . V . s .
The new technology in the form of H.Y.V.-- fertilizer-
water package also calls for careful and intensive
interculture operations . First, the plants require the
2
fert i1 izer-water input at particular stages of growth.
Secondly, as fertilizer can be absorbed by w e e d s as well as
by plants, effective weeding is required to prevent waste of
expensive fertilizers. Thirdly, while H.Y.V. seeds give
higher yields, they are more prone to damage from excessive
watering . For example, shorter s t e m m e d~ dwarf v a r i e t, i e s a r e
more liable to be flooded . They thus require more effective
water control and better drainage. FcjVthly, being relatively
new and non-acclimatised strains, they are more prone to
local pests and diseases than established i rule g e n e o u s
varieties and therefore require to be protected by
pesticides and germicides.
Photoperiod insensitivity of the new varieties allows
farmers greater flexibility in laying out their cropping
schedules, while shorter duration of maturity of the crops
leaves farmers with enough time to slip in one or two
additional rounds of cultivation during the course of a year.
Thus H.Y.V.s , besides giving higher yeilds on crops, give
farmers an opportunity to a b s t r a c t more out of their land
resource through the practice of m u l t i p l e cropping.
In raising crop-yields per unit of la nd , and in m a k i n g
it possible to raise cropping intensity of la nd , H.Y.V. seed-
fertilizer-water package has the same effect on agricultural
production as that of a n increase in th e total land resource.
This land augmenting character of th e new technology makes it
very appropriate f or Indian conditions, where cultivable l a nd
is becoming increasingly scarce with the continued rapid
population growth.
111..3 M e a s u r e s taken to promote a d o p t i o n o f n e w t ech n o 1o g y
Technical appropriateness of the H.Y.V seed, c he mi c a 1
fertilizer and water package is one thing while effective
implementation of the new technology in the farmers' f i e l d s is
guite another. Adoption of the new technology package by
farmers would require along with other things—
(a) irrigation facilities to ensure controlled supply of
wat e r for crops,
(b ) efficient extension service to help farmers; in a d o p t io n
of new practices,
(c) adequate supply of such inputs as H.Y.V. seeds,
fertilizers, p e s t i c i d e s ...e t c . in appropriate time and at
prices affordable to the farmers,
(d) provision of credit to m a t c h requirements of increased
farm investments on purchase of inputs of new technology,
installation of pumpsets and such other things, and
(e) facilities for marketing the increased volume of farm
products at remunerative prices.
 Various measures have been adopted by g o ve rn me nt . to
meet these requirements. Public investment on irrigation lias
been on the r i s e. Inputs and implements are being supplied to
farmers at subsidised rates. Extension service networks of
the states are being intensified. Steps taken to boost the
flow of institutional credit to a g r i c u l t u r e sector include
extension of branches of nationalised commercial banks to
rural areas, establishment of new financial institutions
(specialised in rural credit) called the Regional Rural
' U jl
Banks, and formulation of N a t i o n a l B a n k f o r A g r i c u l t u r e a n d
Rural Development (NABARD) as the a p e x body for regulation of
the rural credit system. A credit linked crop insurance
scheme is being implemented in a phased manner in the
country. The scheme aims to protect the c r e d i t - w o r t hi n e s s
of farmers in the event of crop failure. Government has also
adopted a practice of annually announcing minimum support,
prices for fifteen crops and procurement prices ( i .e the
prices at w h i c h foodgrains are to be procured for the public
distribution system) for foodgrains, in o r d e r to guarantee
minimum selling prices fo r the products of the farmers.
Desirability, adequacy and methods of implementation of
some of these measures are the subjects of a good deal of
controversy. A survey of these debates has not been attempted
here. However discussions on these measures in the context of
agriculture in A s s a m would come u p at a latter stage.
 27
I I I .4 I m p a c t of t he new t e c h n o l o g y on a g r i c u l t u ral g row t h
TiiTncf ia
In trying to assess the performance of t he new
agricultural strategy, the first thing one tends to consider
is its contribution to a g r i c u l t u r a l growth. It is therefore
questioned whether introduction of the new technology h as led
to a n y enhancement in the pace of agricultural growth in the
country. To answer this question it is n e c e s s a r y to compare
the growth experiences of Indian agriculture since th e l a te
1960s with those of the 1950s and early 1960s.
Estimation of growth rate of a g r i c u l t u r e sector fo r any
period is a complicated problem involving various
m e t h d o 1o g i c a l issues^. According to the estimates of the
Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Department of
Agriculture and Co-operation, Government of India
,
5
production of all crops in India g r e w at an annual compounded
rate of 2 . 6 4 % during the entire period from 1949-50 to 1985-
86. The annual compounded growth rate fo r the period from
1949— 50 to 1964-65 has been given as 3.13% and the same for
the period from 1967-68 to 1 9 8 5 - 8 6 as 2.68%. These figures
indicate that the p>ace of agricultural growth has in fact
slowed down to some extent instead of having an acceleration
since the introduction of the new technology in Indian
agriculture. Prof. Nilkanta Rath's study for t he period 1955-
1978, based on fitting of exponential trend functions to
Index Numbers of production of the major crops in India,
gives similer results. He finds that 't he total a g r i cu 1 1 u r eU.
 28
production in India g r e w at an average rate of 2.48'/. per year
during the 2 3 years 1955-56 to 1977- 7 8 ....... Ilie rate of
growth was somewhat higher, 2.957. d u r i n g the 10 y e a r s ending
in 1964-65, than during the subsequent 13 y e a r s , when it w a s
only abo'urt 2.427. ’. T .N .Si rn i v a s a n however, finds that
7
output and yield of food-grains a n d all crops grew more or
l ess un i f o rrtia 11 y o v e r the entire period 1949-50 to 1977-78,
with no evidence of either acceleration or deceleration since
1967-68 . Studies such as those of S . D . S a w a n t and Desai. a n d
8
Namboodiri , e x a m i n ing traces of a n y possible deceleration
in the growth of a g r i c u l t u r a l production since t he late-
1960s, do not come up wi th any significant positive evidence
in support of the deceleration hypothesis. Similarly,
Mahendra Chattopadhyay and Gautam Bhattacharya's exercise
10
with fitting of alternative trend functions, also does not
find 'any tendency of shifting of trend curves with
introduction of new technology in I n d i a ’ . The safe conclusion
therefore seems to be that any step-up in the growth rate of
overall agricultural production did not materialise foilwing
th e introduction of the new technology in Indian agriculture.
A closer look at the growth experiences of the
agriculture secter however indicates that sustaining the
growth of a g r i c u l t u r a l production in India probably would not
have been possible after the middle of 1960s, but fo r the
introduction of th e new technology . During th e 1950s and
early 1960s, it was on account of increase in total area
under cultivation that much of t he agricultural, g r o w t h t o ok
 29
place. But the scope for area expansion to support output
growth had become fairly limited by the m i d d l e of 1960s. It
is the continued increase in y i e l d per hectare which has been
primarily sustaining the growth of a g r i c u l t u r a l product since
that time. This becomes evident from the comparision of
figures of growth rates of yield and area in the two
periods . The anual compounded growth rate of total area
under cultivation declined from 1.617. f o r the period 1949-50
to 1964-65 to 0.417. f o r t he period 1967-68 to 1985-86, while
that of yield pe r hectare registered am increase from 1.307.
during 1949-50 and 1964-65 to 2.037. d u r i n g 1967-68 and 1985-
86. The relatively high rate of growth of y i e l d , which is
primarily responsible fo r sustaining growth of agricultural
output since the late 1960s, probably would not have been
there without the improvement in the technique of cultivation
in the country during this period .
Thus while the new agricultural strategy had little
success in a c c e l e r a t i n g agricultural growth in I n d i a } i t, h a d
prevented the possibility of a n y significant downward slip in
t he growth rate of a g r i c u l t u r a l output after the middle of
1960s.
I l l .5 The new technology and production of. i nd i.v i d u al cro ps
Among all crops, wheat seems to be the biggest
beneficiary from the new strategy of agriculture in India.
D u r i n g • t he period 1967-68 to 1985-86, wheat production
increased at a very impressive annual compounded rate of
5.647. This was made possible by a n yield growth rate of
12
 30
3.157. a n d area growth rate of 2 . 4 1 % per annum during the same
period. Wheat also gained steadily in its share in total
cropped area , which indicates that wheat cultivation has
13
become relatively more profitable compared to other competing
crops after t he technologicalbreakthough in Indian
agriculture. The phenomenal success of w h e a t under the new
st r a t e g y is the reflection of large scale adoption of new
technology in wheat cultivation.By 1984-85, area under
H.V.V. of wheat had gone up to 19.09 million hectares
comprising 8 1 % of total wheat acreage for that year. The
success of new strategy on w h e a t has be en a i d e d by factors
such as absence of serious problems of pests and diseases
with the new wheat varieties and the existance of superior-
water management systems in a large part of t he wheat
growing areas of the country ( namely Punjab, Haryana and
western Uttar Pradesh) .
The impact of the strategy is however somewhat le ss
spectacular on the production of rice - I n d i a ’s n u m b e r one
foodcrop. Whereas wheat production had gone up fourfold from
10.4 million tonnes in 1965-66 to 4 4 . 9 million tonnes in
1985-86, rice production barely doubled from 30.6 to 64.2
million tonnes during the same period . The smaller extent
of the success of new strategy in case of rice is also
evident from t he fact that by 1984-85 only 22.78 million
hectares were brought under H.Y.V. of rice. This works
16
out to a l o w l y 5 3 % of t o t a l r i c e a c r a g e , compared to 8 1 % of
A
wheat area under H.Y.V. coverage fo r the same year.
 31
The limited nature of the success of the new strategy
in case of r ic e , can be a s c r i b e d partly to technological
factors. Compared to the H.Y.V.s of wheat, the new varieties
of rice are, as Kahlon puts it, ' more susceptible to
17
bacterial diseases , more sensitive to photoperiod and more
subject to risks and uncertainities in agriculture".
Moreover, 'being a kharif crop in m o s t parts of the country ,
it presents a serious water management problem and for these
reasons adoption rate of these varieties is m u c h lower than
that of new wheat". In recent years however, there has been
some improvement in the situation following the development
of some new varieties which produce rice output of superior
quality and which have shown better adaptability to Indian
conditions. Another significant development in case of
cultivation of H . Y . V . rice is that it is being adopated in a
big way in traditionally non-rice-growing areas, where
adequate irrigation facilities are available.
According to Dharam Narain the impact of new
18
technology on productivity of rice h as been obscured to some
extent by "clouding effects" of "locational shift in r ic e
£
ac rage As mentioned above, after th e introduction of
A
H.Y.V.s farmers in t r a d i t i o n a l 1y n o n - r i c e - g r o w i n g areas are
taking up rice cultivation on a substantial scale. This has
resulted in a shift in t h e locational distribution of area
under rice in favour of non traditional areas. Charm Narain
finds that when the effect of locational shift in rice acrage
is eliminated ' the growth rate for pure increase in it< pe r
 32
hectare yield is seen accelerated by a b o u t 50"/.'.
Thus the progress of the new strategy in case of r i ce
has been somewhat slower and less dramatic than in case of
wheat. But nevertheless the results so far achieved are
fairly impressive. Elsewhere in t he agriculture sector, the
new strategy is y e t to m a k e much of impression. Its progress
in case of maize, jawar and bajra has been very limited. The
strategy has so f ar been a complete failure in boosting the
production of pulses. Nor has it been able to m a k e notable
contributions to the production of oil-seeds , cotton , jute
and sugarcane. The prime cause of th e dismal showing of the
new strategy in these areas is the inablity to develop
successfully suitable H.Y.V.s for these crops.
I I 1 .6 T h e new technology and regional di s p a r i t y .
One of the criticisms of I n d i a ’s new agricuItura]
strategy is that it has significantly benefited only some
selected geographical areas (namely Punjab, Haryana, western
Uttar Pradesh ), and consequently widended the regional
disparities in agricultural production in the country.
Studies on inter-regional agricultural performance confirm
an increase in the regional irnblance in agricultural
production since the introduction of the new technology. For
example, C.H.Hanumanta Rao f o un d that i n t e r - s t a t e v a r i a t i o n
19
in the output of f o o d g r a i n s as a w h o l e had i n c r e a s e d s o m e w h a t
during, the period 1964-65 to 1970-71 , the co-efficient of
variation ( in the output of foodgrains in different states)
being 50.5 for the year 1964-65 and 53.6 for 1970-71. T he
 33
variation in the output of foodgrains in p er capita terms was
found to have increased by a m u c h greater extent during the
same period, the co-efficient of variation ( inter-state) in
the output of foodgrains per head of total population
recording a significant rise from 34.2 in 1964-65 to 5 0 . 3 in
1970-71 . V.S. Vyas also found evidence of increase in the
20
regional variation in the pe r hectare production of food-
— grains between the triennia 1959-62 and 1969-70. He further
observed that the bulk of the increase in the regional
variation in foodgrain production during that period could be
accounted for by the performance of the state of Punjab (
including Haryana), for , the exclusion of that state from
the analysis left the difference in his measure of regional
variation for the two periods more or less insignificant.
This indicates that the observed increase in the regional
variation in foodgrains production in India in t he early
1970s was on a c c o u n t of the technological breakthrough in
foodgrain production in the two states of Punjab and Haryana.
The increase in the regional imblance in agricultural
production following the introduction of t he new technology
is a direct conseguence of government's policy to initially
confine the new technology to selected geographical areas
with favourable initial conditions. The rationale f or this
policy was that given the limited amount of resources at the
dispos.ol of the state the strategy would yield better result
if efforts were concentrated in selected areas having
necessary infrastructure (of irrigation and extention
 34
service ), instead of scanting the resources in a t h i n way
through out the country. It w a s hoped that once the new
strategy worked out successfully in these areas, it would
gradually spread to other areas subsequently and with that,
the regional disparities would be reduced . In fact S. M.
Dev's study reveals that inter-regional variations of
output per area , which had earlier incerasedin 1970-73 as
compared to 1962-65, decline in 1975-78 to the level of 1962-
65. The co-efficient of variation in output p er capita among
the regions was however found to increase continuously
from 1962-65 to 1970-73 and from 1970-73 to 1975-78. Mr. Dev
ascribes this increase in regional variation in per capita
a g r i c u 11ura 1 production mainly to demographic factors, rather
than technological factors.
Hence, with the spread of the new technology to
agriculturally backward areas in due course, the regional
imblance created in the initial years under the strategy
is likely to be a u t o m a t i c a 1 1 y corrected.
I l l .7 The other consequences of the new a g r i c u l t u ral
technology : the q u e s t i o n of equity and e'mployineriT'.
Besides the volume, coni p o s i t i o n and regional
distribution of a g r i c u l t u r a l production, the new strategy of
agriculture has significant consequences for various other
aspects of socio-economic conditions in rural India. Of
particular importance are the consequences of the new farm
technology for equity and employment in the villages. The
issues involved are of great importance in the context of
social justice. A sizable volume of literature on t hi s
subject has already appeared in prints. But being not quite
directly relevant in the context of the present research, the
subject will be discussed very briefly here.
Regarding equity, it is often argued that the new
strategy has benifi^ed mostly the large farmers, thereby
increasing the economic inequality in the villages .
22
Technically the H . Y . V . seed-fertilizer-water package is scale
neutral in c h a r a c t e r , i .e it c an be adopted with equal
efficiency for both small and large scale farming. However,
the fact that adoption of the new technology package involves
sizable investment in b u y i n g inputs like fertilizers and
pesticides, installation of pumpsets ..etc., puts large
farmers in an advantageous position. Because of their
stronger resource base they usually enjoy easier access to
scarce inputs as well as to such things as bankcredit and
extension service. Thus ' t he reason why large farmers have
done better under the new technology lies not in their being
large so m u c h as in their being rich* . Recent case studies
23
show that small farmers are progressively catching up with
the large farmers in a d o p t i n g new varieties . But t he
24
effective rate of utilisation of new varieties has been found
to be relatively high for large farmers, the principal reason
for the relatively low rate of utilisation for the small
farmers, b e i n g their low resource base. The inequality between
the small and th e large farmers in a d o p t i o n and effective
utilisation of the new technology therefore c an be corrected
 36
by extending infrastructure and c r a d it facilities to small
farmers.
Regarding employment effects of new technology, it can
be seen that in requiring more careful planting, better
weeding and water management, more vigorous plant protection
measures, ..etc, the adoption of H .Y .V . - f e r t i 1 i z e r - w a t e r
package creates additional demand for labour in farming.
Larger harvests resulting from the use of the new technology
should also increase demand for labour in harvesting and
post-harvesting operations. Moreover, in-so-far-as th e new
technology leads to increase in the cropping intensity, it
increases labour demand over the year as a whole. Thus the
spread of H .Y .V .- f e r t i 1 i z e r - w a t e r technology c an be expected
to increase employment opportunities f or agricultural
labourers substantially, provided of course, the spread is
not accompanied by labour displacing mechanisation of farm
o p e r a t i ons .
Although adoption of new technology in th e form of
H.Y.V seed, fertilizer and water package does not necessitate
much me c h a n i s a t j o n , some farmers - particularly the large
ones - may find it convenient to replace labour by capital
in d i f f e r e n t farm operations. There is some evidence to show
that me c h a n i s a t i o n of Indian agriculture, through the
introduction of power dgiven tubewells, tractors, thrashers
and com'bine harvesters in farming operations, has been on the
rise since 1966 . The states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar
25
Pradesh, in which the new agricultural strategy ha s already
 37
worked out fairly successfully, have been found to be in th e
lead in t h e mechanisation process.
The question therefore arisen as to what extent
mechanisation negates th e positive employment effects of
H.Y.V. seed - fartilizer and water package. The question
however cannot be answered a priori. For instance,
tractorisation has both employment generation effects and
labour displacing effects. It displaces labour employment in
ploughing and transportation. On the other hand, it
facilitates multiple cropping by reducing land preperation
time and raises yield per unit of land because of better
ploughing of l and . These effects are likely to generate more
employment opportunity. Thus t he net effect of tractorisation
on employment may go either way depending on th e magnitudes
of the labour displacing effects and employment generating
effects . Empirical evidence on the nature of the ne t
26
e m p l o y m e n t e f f e c t of t r a c t o r s is inconclusive.
While employment effect of tractarisation is a m b i g u o u s ,
mechanisation through the use of combine harvesters and
thrashers almost certainly displaces labour employment.
In the face of severity of the problems of rura 1
proverty and unemployment in India, appropriate measures are
called for to restrict indiscriminate mechanisation of
farming operations in t he country.
1 1 1 .8 T h e new technology and environme n t .
Of l a t e, the new technology of Indian agriculture Iras
come under serious criticism from the environmentalists. In
 38
the early years, the implications of the new agricultural
strategy for ecology and environment escaped largely
unnoticed by the public e ye . But with the growing environment
consciousness in the country in th e last few years, the
conservationists' criticisms of the new technology ha v e
gained wider public attention and support. It has been
alleged that the new agricultural strategy involving the use
H.Y.V.s, water, chemical fertilisers and pesticides ha s
resulted in 'steady depletion of micro - nutrients from the
soil and utter degradation of its natural chemistry, lowering
of the water table to n e w depths, sometimes as l o w as hundred
or even two hundred feet, inadequate re p u r g i n g of
underground acquifiers due to high evaporation losses,
destruction of contours of the land leading to excessive
water run of f and top soil erosion, spread of salinity and
waterlogging and poisoning of the air, water,land and
vegitation by toxic agro-chemicals at an extensive scale"
27
Although all this may appear as a bit too strongly worded,
the environmentalists’ y allegations against the new
agricultural technology are not without any substance. The
danger posed to th e environment by the new agricultural
technology cannot therefore be lightly dismissed. It. is
necessary to take stock of the damage already done and
whatever redressing measure is possible should be taken up
with a s e n s<L of urgency. Further spread of th e new
technology should proceed along with caution so as to keep
its environmental degradation effects to the unavoidable
 39
minimum. Research on d e v e 1o p m e n t of crop varieties more
resistant to pests and diseses and less intensive in agro­
chemicals and, intensification of soil and water conservation
measures, assume added importance in this context.
/
•H- -H- -H-

III.9 To sum up, it c an be said that the new agricultural

strategy in Indian p o p u l a r l y referred as the Green Revolution
did not exactly succeed in bringing about a full blown
agricultural revolution, b ut it has contributed significantly
in sustaining the growth of agricultural production in the
country since the late 1960s. To realise its full potentials,
the new agricultural technology needs to be extended to a r e a s
in w h i c h the strategy is y e t to m a k e its m a r k . But the spread
of the new technology should now be pursued with more caution
so as to avoide further degradation of the environment in the
country. The problems concerning equity and social justice
associated with t he new s t rat e g y are more of institutional
rather than techno 1ogycal origin and therefore these can be
solved through appropriate policy measures. As Ladejinsky
28
puts it,"It is n o t the fault of th e new technology that the
credit service deosn't serve those for whom it w a s originally
intended, that the extension service is n o t living up to
expectation ..... . tenurial legislation in general is
deliberately miscarried, or that wage scales are hardly
sufficient to keep body and soul together. All these are to a
considerable degree man-made institutional inequalities. If
only some of them are dealt with .... a measure of economic
 40
or social justice would be fused with economic necessity,
thereby adding another essential dimension to the Green
Revolution". Adoption of such corrective measures and their
implementation in letter and spirit, is however, a political
and administrative matter, involving political will of the
government and honesty and efficiency of the bureaucracy.

Notes and references s-

1. V. N. Balasubramanyam "The Economy of India", Weidenfeld

and Nicolson, London, 1984, Page 81.
2. Description of the new technology is now available in a
large number of writings. $ome useful sources care -
(a) W.Ladeginsky "How Green is the Indian Green
Revolution ?", EPW, December 1973 (Review of
Agriculture).
(b) Pramit Chaudhuri "Indian Economy, Poverty &
Development", Vikash 1978, Chapter 5.
(c) D.S.Sidhu and A.J.Singh "Technological Change in
Indian Agriculture" in "Indian Agricultural Development
since indenpendence" (ed) Indian Society of Agricultural
Economics, Oxford and I.B.H., 1986.
3. Promit Chaudhuri, op cit, page 121.
4. A discussion on these issues is available in V .M .
Dandekar's 'introduction', IJAE, April-June 1980.
More details can be found in No. XIV Seminar on Data
Base and Methodology for Study of Growth Rates in
Agriculture, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics
1980.
5. Government of India, "Indian Agriculture in Brief" Hist
Edition, Directorate of Economics and Statistics,
Department of Agriculture and Co-operation, Ministry of
Agriculture New Delhi, 1987, Table No. 1.65.
6. Nilkanta Rath "A note on Agricultural Production in India
during 1955-78" IJAE April-June 1980.
 41
7. T .N .S r i n i v a s a n "Trends in A g r i c u l t u r e in India 1949-50
1977-78" EPW August 1 97 9 , S p e c i a l N u m b e r .
8. S.D.Sawant "Investigation of the Hypothesis of
Deceleration in Indian Agriculture", IJAE - October
D e c e m b e r 1 983 .
9. B . M . D e s a i a n d N .V .N a m b o o d i r i " D e c e l e r a t i o n H y p o t h e s i s a n d
Yield Increasing Inputs in Indian Agriculture" IJAE
O c t o b e r D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 3.
10. M a h e n d r a C h a t t o p a d h y a y a n d G a u t a m B h a t t a c h a r y a " G r o w t h of
Indian Agriculture : a reappraisal", IJAE Janu ar y March
1986 .
11. Government of I n d i a , op c it , tab 1e 1 .6 5 .
12. Government of India, o p c it , table 1.65.
13. Government of India, op c i t , t a b 1e 1. 16.
14. Government of India, op c it , t a b 1e 1.54 (1)
15. G o v e r n m e n t of I n d i a , op c i t , t a b l e 1 . 1 8 a n d G o v e rn m e n t o f
India, Economic Surve y 1985-86, Ministry of F i n an c e
(Economic D i v i s i o n ) N e w D e l h i , 1 986 .
16. Government of I n d i a , 11
Indian Agriculture in brief", 21st
E d i t i o n op c i t , t a b 1e 1 .54(1)
17. A.S.Kahlon "New F a r m T e c h n o l o g y - its Implications in
A g r i c u l t u r a l E c o n o m i c s " , I J A E O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 1 970 .
18. Dharm Narain "Growth of Productivity in Indian
A g r i c u l t u r e - I J A E , J a n u a r y - M a r c h 1 977 .
19. C .H .H a n u m a n t a R a o , " T e c h n o 1o g y c a l Change and Distribution
of G a i n s in I n d i a n Agriculture". M a c M i l l a n 1 9 7 5, C h a p t e r
8.
20. V.S.Vyas " R e g i o n a l I m b a l a n c e s in F o o d g r a i n P r o d u c t i o n in
the Last decade-some preliminery results", EPW
D e c e m b e r ' 2 9 , 1 9 7 3 r e v i e w of a g r i c u l t u r e .
21. S.M* D e v " D i r e c t i o n of C h a n g e in P e r f o r m a n c e of All
C r o p s in I n d i a n A g r i c u l t u r e in L a t e 1 9 7 0 s - a l o o k at th e
l e v e l s of d i s t r i c t s a n d a g r o - c 1 i m a t i c r e g i o n s .
22. N o t a b l e a m o n g e a r l y w o r k s C m t h e s u b j e c t is F .R .F r a n k e 1 ' s
"India's Green Revolution : Economic Gains and Political
Costs", 1 971 , Princeton U n i v e r s i t y Press, New Jersey,
ftlso Oxford U n i v er si ty Press, Bombay.
 42
23. Pramit Chaudhari, op cit, page 136.
24. M .P r a h a l a d a c h a r , "Income Distribution Effects of the
Green Revolution in I n d i a : A R e v i e w of Empirical
Evidence" World D e v e l o p m e t vol 11 ( N o v e m b e r 1983) for
a r e v i e w of t h e s e c a s e studies.
25. S.D.Sidhu and A.J.Singh, op cit, ( T he section on
m e c h a n i s a t i o n ).
26. A.K.Sen "Employment Technology and Development" Oxford,
Clarendon Press, 1 9 7 5, pages 1 5 4 - 6 5 for d i s c u s s i o n on
studies on t r a c t o r i s a t i o n a n d e m p l o y m e n t .
27. P r af ul la Bidwai, "Indian Agriculture in C r i s i s , W a g e s of
Ecological D e v a s t a t i o n " T h e T i m e s of India, New Delhi,
F e b r u a r y 20 , 1 988 .
28. W .L a d e j i n s k y , " G r e e n R e v o l u t i o n in B i h a r : The Kosi Area"
E P W S e p t e m b e r 2 7 1 9 6 9.