Page 140 - DECO502_INDIAN_ECONOMIC_POLICY_ENGLISH

Indian Economic Policy

Notes • The First Five Plan (1951-56) aimed at solving the food crisis India was facing at that time and
also ease the critical agricultural raw material situation, particularly the acute shortage of raw
cotton and raw jute.
• The Government introduced the new agricultural technology known as Intensive Agricultural
District Programme (IADP), which was soon followed by a programme of using improved
seeds, viz., High Yielding Varieties Programme (HYVP). The new agricultural technology was
expected to usher in the green revolution.
• The Tenth Plan targeted 8 per cent rate of growth in GDP and accordingly, estimated the required
level of investment (at 2001-02 prices) of ` 15,92, 300 crores in the public sector - this was 67 per
cent increase over the Ninth Plan outlay.
• So, far we have explained agricultural progress under reach Five Year Plan. We shall give the
progress of agriculture as a whole during the last 58 years. The progress of the agricultural sector,
summarised in Table 8, brings out the tremendous progress the country has achieved since the
First Plan, even though, the targets fixed in each Plan might not have been fully met.
• It will be useful to make a comparison of year per hectare of some selected crops in India with in
other countries of the world so as to show much India lags behind the other countries of the world.
• By cropping pattern is meant the proportion of area under different crops at a point of time. A
change in cropping pattern implies a change in the proportion of area under different crops. At
the begining of the century, more than 83 per cent of land was put under food crops and about
17 per cent under non-food crops.
• The traditional commercial crops, viz., oilseeds, cotton, jute, sugarcane, etc., have made
impressive increases in acreage, much more than food crops (with the exception of wheat). Of
these, the most spectacular was the increase in acreage under potato, viz., by over 300 per cent
between 1951 and 2005. By 2004-05, the ratio of foodgrains to non-foodgrains was 64 : 36.
• The most important consideration affecting cropping pattern is the economic consideration.
Even in a country like India which is dominated by farmers steeped in poverty and conservatism
and where farmers hold tiny bits of land, cropping pattern can be changed through appropriate
change in economic motive.
11.4 Key-Words

1. Domestic product : The total market value of all the goods and services produced within the
borders of a nation during a specified period
2. Crop production : The produce of cultivated plants, esp. cereals, vegetables, and fruit

11.5 Review Questions

1. What is the importance of agriculture in the Indian economy.
2. Do you consider the agricultural sector in India as the backbone of the economy.
3. Trace the growth of production in the agricultural sector in India.
4. What are the main features of cropping pattern in India ?
Answers: Self-Assessment

1. (i)(b) (ii)(c) (iii)(a) (iv)(d) (v)(b)
11.6 Further Readings

1. The Indian Economy; S.K. Ray; Prentic, Hall of India Private Limited
New Delhi - 110001.
2. Indian Economy; Gaurav Datt and Aswani Mahajan; S. Chand and Company
LTD. Ram Nagar, New Delhi-110055.

134 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY