DR. B.R.

AMBEDKAR NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

SONIPAT, HARYANA

ECONOMICS ASSIGNMENT

TOPIC- ‘How far have we come in agricultural sector's

improvements after 75 years of independence’

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Ms. Aishwarya Sameer Kumar
Assitant Professor Section-B
DBRANLU, Sonipat Roll. No 2001093
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In preparation for my assignment, I had to take the help and guidance of some respected
persons, who deserve my deepest gratitude. As the completion of this assignment gave
me much pleasure, I would like to show my gratitude to Ms. Aishwarya, Assistant
professor, Dr. BR Ambedkar National Law University for giving me a good guideline
for assignment throughout numerous consultations. I would also like to expand my
gratitude to all those who have directly and indirectly guided me in writing this
assignment.
Introduction

Agriculture plays an essential role in the process of economic development of less

developed countries like India. Besides providing food to nation, agriculture releases
labour, provides saving, contributes to market of industrial goods and earns foreign
exchange. Agricultural development is an integral part of overall economic
development. In India, agriculture was the main source of national income and
occupation at the time of Independence. Agriculture and allied activities contributed
nearly 50 percent to India’s national income. Around 72 percent of total working
population was engaged in agriculture. These confirm that Indian economy was a
backward and agricultural based economy at the time of Independence. After 61 years
of Independence, the share of agriculture in total national income declined from 50
percent in 1950 to 18 percent in 2007-08. But even today more than 60 percent of
workforce is engaged in agriculture. In spite of this, it is also an important feature of
agriculture that is to be noted that growth of other sectors and overall economy
depends on the performance of agriculture to a considerable extent. Because of these
reasons agriculture continues to be the dominant sector in Indian Economy. Since
independence India has made much progress in agriculture. Indian agriculture, which
grew at the rate of about 1 percent per annum during the fifty years before
Independence, has grown at the rate of about 2.6 percent per annum in the post-
Independence era. Expansion of area was the main source of growth in the period of
fifties and sixties after that the contribution of increased land area under agricultural
production has declined over time and increase in productivity became the main
source of growth in agricultural production.

Another important facet of progress in agriculture is its success in eradicating of its

dependence on imported foodgrains. Indian agriculture has progressed not only in
output and yield terms but the structural changes have also contributed. All these
developments in Indian agriculture are contributed by a series of steps initiated by
Indian Government. Land reforms, inauguration of Agricultural Price Commission
with objective to ensure remunerative prices to producers, new agricultural strategy,
investment in research and extension services, provision of credit facilities, and
improving rural infrastructure are some of these steps.

Notwithstanding these progresses, the situation of agriculture turned adverse during

post WTO period and this covered all the sub sectors of agriculture. The growth rates
in output of all crops decelerated from 2.93 percent to 1.57 percent. The livestock
declined from 4.21 percent to 3.40 percent. The fisheries declined from 7.48 percent
to 3.25 percent. Only, forestry witnessed a sharp increase from 0.09 percent to 1.82
percent.

The crop sector, which forms largest segment of agriculture, showed poorest growth
during post-WTO period in comparison to all other periods. Further, within crop
sector, all crops except sugar showed declining trend between initial years of reforms
and post-WTO period. This deceleration is very high in Cereals, Corse Cereals,
Pulses, Oilseeds, and Drugs & Narcotics. The growth rate turned negative in the case
of pulses. Both dominant nature of agriculture and decelerating growth trend in
agriculture attracts attention of policymakers, researchers and economists. The main
cause of failure of all development policy for agriculture is that there is no availability
of any separate development strategy for Indian agriculture. This is due to the fact
that we had not available necessary data to study the characteristics of Indian
agriculture. But presently we have come a long way from Independence and now we
have long-terms data pertaining to Indian agriculture. So, the present study makes
attempt to fill this gap.

Agricultural Policy: A Review

In this section, we try to trace out the principle government policies for promoting
agricultural development. For the overall development of Indian agriculture, many
institutional and infrastructural changes have been introduced since Independence.
Broadly, agricultural policy followed during this period can be distinguished in four
phases: first phase considered from 1947 to mid-sixties, second phase considered
period from mid-sixties to 1980, third phase included period from 1980 to 1991, and
forth phase includes period from 1991-92 onwards.

The first phase of agricultural policy witnessed tremendous agrarian reforms,

institutional changes, development of major irrigation project and strengthens of
cooperative credit institution. The most important contribution of land reforms was
abolition of intermediaries and giving land titles to the actual cultivators. This
released productive forces and the owner cultivators put in their best to augment
production on their holdings. Land reforms were important in increasing agricultural
production during this phase. The Community Development Programme,
decentralised planning and the Intensive Area Development Programmes were also
initiated for regenerating Indian agriculture that had stagnated during the British
period. In order to encourage the farmers to adopt better technology, incentive price
policy was adopted in 1964 and the Agricultural Price Commission was set up to
advice the Government on the fixation of support prices of agricultural crops. Despite
the institutional changes and development programmes introduced by the
Government during this phase, India remained dependent upon foreign countries for
food to feed the rising population.

The second phase in Indian agriculture started in mid 1960s with adoption of new
agricultural strategy. The new agricultural strategy relies on high-yielding varieties
of crops, multiple cropping, the package approach, modern farm practices and spread
of irrigation facilities. The biggest achievement of this strategy has been attainment
of self sufficiency in foodgrains. Agrarian reforms during this period took back seat
while research, extension, input supply, credit, marketing, price support and spread
of technology were the prime concern of policy makers.

The next phase in Indian agriculture began in early 1980s. This period started
witnessing process of diversification which resulted into fast growth in non-
foodgrains output like milk, fishery, poultry, vegetables, fruits etc which accelerated
growth in agricultural GDP during the 1980s. There has been a considerable increase
in subsidies and support to agriculture sector during this period while public sector
spending in agriculture for infrastructure development started showing decline in real
term but investment by farmers kept on moving on a rising trend.

The fourth phase of agricultural policy started after initiation of economic reform
process in 1991. Economic reforms process involved deregulation, reduced
government participation in economic activities, and liberalization. Although there is
no any direct reforms for agriculture but the sector was affected indirectly by
devaluation of exchange rate, liberalization of external trade and disprotection to
industry. During this period opening up of domestic market due to new international
trade accord and WTO was another change that affected agriculture. This raised new
challenges among policymakers. Because of this, a New Agricultural Policy was
launched by Indian Government in July 2000. This aims to attain output growth rate
of 4 percent per annum in agriculture sector based on efficient use of resources. It
seeks to achieve this objective in a sustainable manner and with equity. This was first
time when government released a national agriculture policy. The policy document
discusses what ought to be done in agriculture but the subsequent step, how and when
policy goals and objective would be achieved is not discussed. Therefore, it is highly
desirable to prepare action plans at both centre and state level in quantity terms to
implement the new policy agenda in a time bound framework.

ANALYSIS OF AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF INDIA SINCE

INDEPENDENCE

The agriculture sector in India is considered to be the backbone of its economy.

Agriculture is a source of livelihood for more than 70% of Indians in rural areas. It
contributes around 18% of the total Gross Domestic Product of India (Department of
Agriculture & Cooperation & Statistics, 2014). Similarly, the agriculture sector in
India is also the largest employer contributing 49% of the total workforce. Apart from
 employment, agriculture also plays an important role in food security. According to
(National Sample Survey Office, 2013) an average Indian still spends more than half
of the income on food security. However, the growth rate of the agriculture sector in
India has been fluctuating. The growth rate of agriculture in India mainly depends on
rainfall as the majority of the cultivated area in India depends on rainfall.

The growth rate of the agriculture sector in India (1950 – 2013).

As shown in the above figure the initial period after the independence the agriculture
sector was facing a negative growth rate. However, after 1958 the growth rate has been
positive except in 2002 -03 when the Indian agriculture sector was affected by severe
drought. With the introduction of the green revolution, the agriculture sector
experienced an impressive growth rate from late 1960 to early 1970.
 Contribution of the agriculture sector to total GDP of India (1954- 2012).

Even though the growth rate of agriculture has been fluctuating, the contribution of
this sector in total Gross Domestic Product in India has been continuously falling.
Despite the fact that the majority of the workforce is employed has been quite low. As
shown in the figure above at the time of Independence agriculture contributed almost
half of the total GDP which has declined to 18% in recent years which was more than
45% in 1954-55.

India has seen tremendous growth in rice production

Rice is one of the major food crops grown in India and is produced in the Kharif season
(or summer season). Rice is also produced in the Rabi season; however, the share of
rice production in this season is low. Rice is considered a diverse crop that can be
grown in diverse climates and soil conditions. Total rice production in India has
increased by 430% from 1950 to 2014. The total production of rice was around 20
million tons in 1950 which has increased to around 106 million tons in 2013 – 14.

The yield of rice has been continuously rising. During 1950 only 668 kg of rice was
produced in one hectare of land which has increased to 2424 kg in one hector in 2014.
The significant increase in the yield is due to the availability of the latest technology,
developed seeds, improvement in irrigation facilities, and new methods of production
(Department of Agriculture & Cooperation & Statistics, 2014).
 Total production of rice in India (1950-2014).

The growth rate of rice production has been very fluctuating. During 1983-84 the
growth rate was as high as 27% whereas in 2002- 03 the growth rate was as low as
23%. The growth rate of rice production in India is majorly dependent on the monsoon
as the majority of the cultivated land is dependent on rainfall. The severe drought of
2002-03 leads to a significant decline in the entire agriculture sector. Similarly, during
1965 – 66 the growth rate of rice production declined significantly. One of the reasons
for the decline is the introduction of the green revolution which led to a shift in the
production of wheat instead of rice.

High yield of wheat in India boosts the agriculture sector

India is the second-largest producer of wheat with a total production of 88.94 million
tons in 2014-15. Wheat is considered to be the staple food for the majority of Indian
states. The total production of wheat in India has been continuously increasing post-
independence. However, the rapid increase in production was after 1965 which was
the first phase of the green revolution. With the much-developed seeds, new methods
for production, new equipment, and technologies, the total wheat production increased
from 11 million tons in 1966-67 to 17 million tons in 1967-68 (Department of
Agriculture & Cooperation & Statistics, 2014).
The green revolution has had a significant impact on the yield curve. In 1966-67 only
887 kg of wheat was produced in one hector, which shows significant improvement
after the green revolution. In 1967-68 in one hector 1103 kilograms of wheat were
produced. Since then per hectare production has been continuously increasing which
shows that wheat production has been continuously rising.

Total wheat production in India (1950-2014).

Similar to rice the growth rate of wheat production has been fluctuating. The growth
of agriculture production in India (including wheat) largely depends on the monsoon.
The highest growth rate was achieved in 1967-68 when the growth rate of wheat
production was 45%. However, after 1970 the average growth rate was less than 10%
from 1980 to 2014 with a growth rate of below 5% (Ministry of Agriculture, 2015;
Sebby, 2011).
Different types of revolutions in agriculture

In the mid-1960s, India witnessed the Green Revolution, which is one of the
momentous milestones in the history of Indian agriculture. The green revolution in
agriculture helped us in increasing the production of food grains and further resulted
in the introduction of high-yield varieties from different parts of the world. This
revolution also led to the increased use of fertilizers and generated new income and
employment for the farming community. Subsequent decades witnessed the red
revolution, yellow revolution, golden revolution, pink revolution, etc., in the country
thus making a visible impact on the national food security.

The last two decades have been important for the evolution of agriculture. It is
remarkable in terms of introducing new policies and reforms, adopting digital
technologies, and investing in the agriculture sector. There has been a rise in
institutional credit in this period. Many effective schemes like National Horticulture
Mission (NHM) and Bringing Green Revolution in Eastern India (BREI) have been
introduced to achieve record production. A centrally sponsored scheme, National Food
Security Mission (NFSM), was launched and has met an overwhelming success. The
scheme has helped achieve the targeted additional production of rice, wheat, and
pulses.

In 2014-15, National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP) and a Weather Based Crop
Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) were launched. While NCIP aimed at ensuring food
security and crop diversification, WBCIS helped in minimizing the financial loss of
the farmers due to crop damages resulting from adverse weather conditions. In 2016,
a pan-India electronic trading portal, eNAM was also launched to create a unified
national market for agricultural commodities. This platform promotes integrated
markets, and real-time price discovery and also helps in removing the information gap
between buyers and suppliers. Alongside eNAM, other digital initiatives like E-sagu
(provides expert advice to farmers to increase productivity), Community Radio
(provides the latest information on weather, farming, etc.), and Digital Green (provides
agricultural information using online videos) were also launched by the Indian
government.

2017 was the year when farmers in Indore Agricultural Produce Market Committee
(APMC) adopted a cashless payment policy and started using alternative modes of
payment like RTGS and cheques. In 2018, Agriculture Export Policy was framed to
support agriculture export-oriented production and better price realization. The policy
lifted all the restrictions on processed and organic foods to contribute to the
government’s efforts to double farmers’ income. 2020 witnessed changes in
agricultural policy and financial support were provided by the government through
investments that aim to reduce the adversity caused by COVID 19.

Also, a couple of years back, many agri-trading digital apps came into the picture for
digitizing agri value chains and helping traders get all the support they need for
expanding their business. Bijak is the most trusted agri-trading app in India that acts
as a one-stop e-marketplace for agri-traders including commodity suppliers, mandi
aadathis, and other institutional buyers. Bijak allows pan-India trade and solves real-
life trading problems of its users including counterparty discovery, timely payments,
business exposure, etc.

Union Budget 2020-21 has recognized agriculture as one of the key drivers of the
economy. In this budget, Krishi Udaan scheme was announced to facilitate the
movement of agri-produce by air. A viability gap funding was promised for setting up
warehouses at the block level. Also, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan
Mahabhiyan scheme was expanded to help 20 lakh farmers in setting up stand-alone
solar pumps.

Despite newer challenges coming along the way, Agriculture has never stopped
growing. It has shown us impressive progress during the past 75 years of India’s
independence and will continue to do so. It has been proven time and again that when
all the sectors failed, agriculture came as a savior for India. Its performance during the
COVID-19 situation is the best testimony.
CHALLENGES TO AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

Three agriculture sector challenges will be important to India’s overall development

and the improved welfare of its rural poor:

1. Raising agricultural productivity per unit of land: Raising productivity per unit of
land will need to be the main engine of agricultural growth as virtually all cultivable
land is farmed. Water resources are also limited and water for irrigation must contend
with increasing industrial and urban needs. All measures to increase productivity will
need exploiting, amongst them: increasing yields, diversification to higher value crops,
and developing value chains to reduce marketing costs.

2. Reducing rural poverty through a socially inclusive strategy that comprises both
agriculture as well as non-farm employment: Rural development must also benefit the
poor, landless, women, scheduled castes and tribes. Moreover, there are strong
regional disparities: the majority of India’s poor are in rain-fed areas or in the Eastern
Indo-Gangetic plains. Reaching such groups has not been easy. While progress has
been made - the rural population classified as poor fell from nearly 40% in the early
1990s to below 30% by the mid-2000s (about a 1% fall per year) – there is a clear need
for a faster reduction. Hence, poverty alleviation is a central pillar of the rural
development efforts of the Government and the World Bank.

3. Ensuring that agricultural growth responds to food security needs: The sharp rise in
food-grain production during India’s Green Revolution of the 1970s enabled the
country to achieve self-sufficiency in food-grains and stave off the threat of famine.
Agricultural intensification in the 1970s to 1980s saw an increased demand for rural
labor that raised rural wages and, together with declining food prices, reduced rural
poverty. However agricultural growth in the 1990s and 2000s slowed down, averaging
about 3.5% per annum, and cereal yields have increased by only 1.4% per annum in
the 2000s. The slow-down in agricultural growth has become a major cause for
concern. India’s rice yields are one-third of China’s and about half of those in Vietnam
and Indonesia. The same is true for most other agricultural commodities.
Policy makers will thus need to initiate and/or conclude policy actions and public
programs to shift the sector away from the existing policy and institutional regime that
appears to be no longer viable and build a solid foundation for a much more productive,
internationally competitive, and diversified agricultural sector.

Priority Areas for Support

1. Enhancing agricultural productivity, competitiveness, and rural growth

Promoting new technologies and reforming agricultural research and extension: Major
reform and strengthening of India’s agricultural research and extension systems is one
of the most important needs for agricultural growth. These services have declined over
time due to chronic underfunding of infrastructure and operations, no replacement of
aging researchers or broad access to state-of-the-art technologies. Research now has
little to provide beyond the time-worn packages of the past. Public extension services
are struggling and offer little new knowledge to farmers. There is too little connection
between research and extension, or between these services and the private sector.

Improving Water Resources and Irrigation/Drainage Management: Agriculture is

India’s largest user of water. However, increasing competition for water between
industry, domestic use and agriculture has highlighted the need to plan and manage
water on a river basin and multi-sectoral basis. As urban and other demands multiply,
less water is likely to be available for irrigation. Ways to radically enhance the
productivity of irrigation (“more crop per drop”) need to be found. Piped conveyance,
better on-farm management of water, and use of more efficient delivery mechanisms
such as drip irrigation are among the actions that could be taken. There is also a need
to manage as opposed to exploit the use of groundwater. Incentives to pump less water
such as levying electricity charges or community monitoring of use have not yet
succeeded beyond sporadic initiatives. Other key priorities include:

• modernizing Irrigation and Drainage Departments to integrate the participation

of farmers and other agencies in managing irrigation water;
 • improving cost recovery;
• rationalizing public expenditures, with priority to completing schemes with the
highest returns;
• allocating sufficient resources for operations and maintenance for the
sustainability of investments.

Facilitating agricultural diversification to higher-value commodities: Encouraging

farmers todiversify to higher value commodities will be a significant factor for higher
agricultural growth, particularly in rain-fed areas where poverty is high. Moreover,
considerable potential exists for expanding agro-processing and building competitive
value chains from producers to urban centers and export markets. While diversification
initiatives should be left to farmers and entrepreneurs, the Government can, first and
foremost, liberalize constraints to marketing, transport, export and processing. It can
also play a small regulatory role, taking due care that this does not become an
impediment.

Promoting high growth commodities: Some agricultural sub-sectors have particularly

high potential for expansion, notably dairy. The livestock sector, primarily due to
dairy, contributes over a quarter of agricultural GDP and is a source of income for 70%
of India’s rural families, mostly those who are poor and headed by women. Growth in
milk production, at about 4% per annum, has been brisk, but future domestic demand
is expected to grow by at least 5% per annum. Milk production is constrained,
however, by the poor genetic quality of cows, inadequate nutrients, inaccessible
veterinary care, and other factors. A targeted program to tackle these constraints could
boost production and have good impact on poverty.

Developing markets, agricultural credit and public expenditures: India’s legacy of

extensive government involvement in agricultural marketing has created restrictions
in internal and external trade, resulting in cumbersome and high-cost marketing and
transport options for agricultural commodities. Even so, private sector investment in
marketing, value chains and agro-processing is growing, but much slower than
potential. While some restrictions are being lifted, considerably more needs to be done
to enable diversification and minimize consumer prices. Improving access to rural
finance for farmers is another need as it remains difficult for farmers to get credit.
Moreover, subsidies on power, fertilizers and irrigation have progressively come to
dominate Government expenditures on the sector, and are now four times larger than
investment expenditures, crowding out top priorities such as agricultural research and
extension.

2. Poverty alleviation and community actions

While agricultural growth will, in itself, provide the base for increasing incomes, for
the 170 million or so rural persons that are below the poverty line, additional measures
are required to make this growth inclusive. For instance, a rural livelihoods program
that empowers communities to become self-reliant has been found to be particularly
effective and well-suited for scaling-up. This program promotes the formation of self-
help groups, increases community savings, and promotes local initiatives to increase
incomes and employment. By federating to become larger entities, these institutions
of the poor gain the strength to negotiate better prices and market access for their
products, and also gain the political power over local governments to provide them
with better technical and social services. These self-help groups are particularly
effective at reaching women and impoverished families.

3. Sustaining the environment and future agricultural productivity

In parts of India, the over-pumping of water for agricultural use is leading to falling
groundwater levels. Conversely, water-logging is leading to the build-up of salts in the
soils of some irrigated areas. In rain-fed areas on the other hand, where the majority of
the rural population live, agricultural practices need adapting to reduce soil erosion
and increase the absorption of rainfall. Overexploited and degrading forest land need
mitigation measures. There are proven solutions to nearly all of these problems. The
most comprehensive is through watershed management programs, where communities
engage in land planning and adopt agricultural practices that protect soils, increase
water absorption and raise productivity through higher yields and crop diversification.
At issue, however, is how to scale up such initiatives to cover larger areas of the
country. Climate change must also be considered. More extreme events – droughts,
floods, erratic rains – are expected and would have greatest impact in rain-fed areas.
The watershed program, allied with initiatives from agricultural research and
extension, may be the most suited agricultural program for promoting new varieties of
crops and improved farm practices. But other thrusts, such as the livelihoods program
and development of off-farm employment may also be key.

World Bank Support

With some $5.5 billion in net commitments from both IDA and IBRD, and 24 ongoing
projects, the World Bank’s agriculture and rural development program in India is by
far the Bank’s largest such program worldwide in absolute dollar terms. This figure is
even higher when investments in rural development such as rural roads, rural finance
and human development are included. Nonetheless, this amount is relatively small
when compared with the Government’s - both central and state - funding of public
programs in support of agriculture. Most of the Bank’s agriculture and rural
development assistance is geared towards state-level support, but some also takes place
at the national level.

The Bank’s Agricultural and Rural Development portfolio is clustered across three
broad themes with each project, generally, showing a significant integration of these
themes:

• Agriculture, watershed and natural resources management

• Water & irrigated agriculture
• Rural livelihood development
Over the past five to ten years, the Bank has been supporting:

R&D in Agricultural Technology through two national level projects with pan-India
implementation (the National Agriculture Technology Project and the National
Agriculture Innovation Project) coordinated by the Government of India’s Indian
Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Dissemination of Agricultural Technology: New approaches towards the

dissemination of agricultural technology such as the Agriculture Technology
Management Agency (ATMA) model have contributed to diversification of
agricultural production in Assam and Uttar Pradesh. This extension approach is now
being scaled-up across India.

Better delivery of irrigation water: World Bank support for the better delivery of
irrigation water ranges from projects covering large irrigation infrastructure to local
tanks and ponds. Projects also support the strengthening of water institutions in several
states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar
Pradesh) improved groundwater management practices (for instance, in the upcoming
Rajasthan Agriculture Competitiveness Project).

Sustainable agricultural practices through watershed and rainfed agriculture

development (Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand), soil reclamation efforts
(Uttar Pradesh) and, more recently, improved groundwater management practices (for
instance, in the upcoming Rajasthan Agriculture Competitiveness Project).

Improved access to rural credit and greater gender involvement in rural economic
activities through rural livelihood initiatives undertaken by a number of states (Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu) and soon to be scaled
up by GOI with Bank support through a National Rural Livelihood Mission.
Agricultural insurance by advising GOI on how to improve the actuarial design and
implementation of the insurance program (e.g. rating methodology and product design,
index insurance, use of mobile and remote sensing technology to measure yields, etc.).

Improved farmer access to agriculture markets through policy reforms and investments
under the Maharashtra Agricultural Competitiveness Project which aims to reform
regulated wholesale markets and provide farmers with alternative market
opportunities.

The land policy agenda through analytical work as well as non-lending technical
assistance in support of GOI’s National Land Records Modernization Program.

Better rural connectivity through IDA support to the Prime Minister’s National Rural
Roads Program (PMGSY), and by connecting rural poor and smallholder farmers
through collective action to public services through Self-Help Groups (and SHG
federations), Water User Associations and Farmer Producer Organizations. Recently
the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved the National Rural Livelihood
Mission, which supports SHG approaches through a pan-India approach.

CONCLUSION

Agriculture has always been the most crucial sector of the Indian economy. As of
today, this sector alone provides employment to over 60% of the Indian population
and over 70% of the rural households depend on it. However, before independence,
the agriculture scenario in India was a bit different as our economy was 95% dependent
on agriculture and the revenues generated from it. Agriculture, despite being a primary
source of income for a major population, faced a decline during that time. It would be
fair to say that Indians did not reap profits or even make a decent living from
agriculture under British rule. Later on, after independence, with the evolution of
agriculture, India transformed itself from a food-scarce to a food-surplus nation.
One of the major reasons causing a multifold increase in agricultural production i.e.
from 135 million tons in 1950-51 to over 1300 million tons in 2021-22 is the adoption
of technological innovations and multiple revolutions that took place. During this
particular time period, the production of food grains increased by 6 times, horticultural
crops by 11 times, eggs by 53 times, and milk by 10 times, thus making a great impact
on the national food and nutritional security of India. Today, we are the largest
producer of milk, pulses, and jute and the second largest producer of rice, wheat,
cotton, fruits, and vegetables in the world. We are also leading in the production of
spices, poultry, fish, livestock, and plantation crops.
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