Agriculture and Rural Development in India Since 1947

On the eve of India's independence in 1947, Indian agriculture was characterized by feudal land relations and primitive technology, and the resultant low productivity per hectare. As a consequence, rural India presented a picture of mass poverty and widespread unemployment or under-employment. Therefore, the first task of the government in the immediate post-independence period was to initiate a growth process in the modernization of agriculture, both in terms of technological and institutional changes. India's Mid-term Appraisal of the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-07) drew attention to the loss of dynamism in agriculture and allied sectors after the mid-1990s. Hence, various policy initiatives have been taken in recent years to promote the agricultural sector. These have included, inter alia, the partial decontrol of fertilizer prices, the removal of bottlenecks in agricultural marketing, the relaxation of restrictions under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and the introduction of forward trading in important commercial crops. Similarly, various schemes/programs have been launched for rural development. This book traces the developments in Indian agriculture and the transformation of rural India during the post-independence period. It explains the key reform measures undertaken for the modernization of agriculture and raising the standard of living of the rural population. The book examines: various aspects of agricultural development in India since independence in 1947 * programs/schemes that have been launched to improve the quality of life of the rural masses * a yearly review of agricultural developments in India, covering the period 1947-48 to 2008-09 * appendices which provide relevant material on different aspects of Indian agriculture and rural development * a glossary of agricultural terms * and time-series data (1950-51 to 2007-08) on Indian agriculture.