On the eve of 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 and under-employment. Therefore, the first task of the Government in the immediate post-Independence period was to initiate growth process in agriculture on modern lines. Modernization of agriculture was required both in terms of technological and institutional changes. The 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 the following: (a) National Agriculture Policy, 2000, (b) Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana, 2004, (c) National Horticulture Mission, 2005, (d) National Policy for Farmers, 2007, (e) Comprehensive District Agriculture Plan, 2007, (f) Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, 2007 and (g) National Food Security Mission, 2007. The impulses of economic reforms have been relatively less in scope and depth in the agricultural sector. Reforms in this sector were introduced only towards the end of the 1990s. These have included, inter alia, the following: (a) partial decontrol of fertiliser prices, (b) removal of bottlenecks in agricultural marketing, (c) relaxation of restrictions under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and (d) introduction of forward trading in important commercial crops.

Similarly, various schemes/programmes have been launched for rural development including the following: (a) Indira Awaas Yojana, 1986, (b) Rural Infrastructure Development Fund, 1996, (c) Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana, 1999, (d) Total Sanitation Campaign, 1999, (e) Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, 2000, (f) National Nutrition Mission, 2001, (g) National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, (h) National Rural Health Mission, 2005, (i) Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana, 2005, (j) Bharat Nirman, 2005 and (k) Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme, 2008.

    The present work traces developments in Indian agriculture and 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. Part I of the book, containing 15 chapters, provides a detailed description of the various aspects of agricultural development in India since Independence in 1947. Part II contains 11 chapters which deal with various programmes/schemes to improve the quality of life of the rural masses. Part III provides year-wise review of agricultural developments in India, covering the period 1947-48 to 2008-09. Part IV consists of appendices which provide relevant material on different aspects of Indian agriculture and rural development. Part V contains glossary of agricultural terms. Part VI contains time-series data (1950-51 to 2007-08) on Indian agriculture.

1. Agriculture in India: An Introduction - Self-sufficient Village Economy; Agriculture in the Constitution of India; Role of Agriculture in the Indian Economy; Land Resources of India; Subsistence Nature of Farming and Small-sized Holdings; Cropping Pattern in Indian Agriculture; Low Productivity of Indian Agriculture; Land Pollution, Land Degradation and Remedial Measures.

2. Agriculture Policy and Development in India`s Five Year Plans - First Five Year Plan: 1951-52 to 1955-56; Second Five Year Plan: 1956-57 to 1960-61; Third Five Year Plan: 1961-62 to 1965-66; Annual Plans; Fourth Five Year Plan: 1969-70 to 1973-74; Fifth Five Year Plan: 1974-75 to 1978-79; Sixth Five Year Plan: 1980-81 to 1984-85; Seventh Five Year Plan: 1985-86 to 1989-90; Eighth Five Year Plan: 1992-93 to 1996-97; Ninth Five Year Plan: 1997-98 to 2001-02; Tenth Five Year Plan: 2002-03 to 2006-07; Eleventh Five Year Plan: 2007-08 to 2011-12.

3. Agrarian Relations and Land Reforms - Aspects of Land Reforms; Critical Appraisal of Land Reforms in India; Recent Five Year Plans on Land Reforms; National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy (NRRP), 2007.

4. Agricultural Inputs and Services - Seeds; Manures and Fertilizers; Water Availability and Irrigation; Plants Protection and Insecticides; Implements and Machinery (Mechanization Debate); Agricultural Research; National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility, 2008; Conclusion.

5. Agricultural Workers - Problems of Agricultural Workers; Remedial Measures; National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005.

6. Agricultural/Rural Credit - Credit Needs of the Indian Farmers; Extent and Nature of Rural Indebtedness; Credit Co-operative Societies; Co-operative Banks; Rural Co-operatives; Rural Co-operatives: History and Recent Policy Measures; Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS); Task Force on Revival of Rural Co-operative Credit Institutions; NABARD and the Co-operative Sector; Micro Finance; Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs); Moneylenders; Advisory Committee on the Flow of Credit to Agriculture and Related Activities from the Banking System (Chairman: V.S. Vyas), 2004; Agricultural Credit: Recent Policy Announcements; Agricultural Credit in the 2006-07 Union Budget; Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme, 2008; Conclusion.

7. New Agricultural Strategy/Green Revolution - Scope and Achievements of High Yielding Variety (HYV) Programme; Problems Created by Green Revolution.

8. Agricultural Marketing and Trade - Nature and Significance of Agricultural Marketing; Present System of Marketing Agricultural Produce; Measures to Improve Agricultural Marketing; Inter-Ministerial Task Force on Agricultural Marketing; Salient Features of the Model Act for State Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2003; Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) on Agricultural Marketing; Agricultural Marketing and Trade in the National Policy for Farmers; Gramin Bhandaran Yojana, (Rural Godown Scheme), 2007-12; Agricultural Marketing Information Network (AGMARKNET), 2000; Modern Food Retailing.

9. Agricultural Price Policy, Food Subsidy and Public Distribution System - Minimum Support Prices; Food Subsidy; Burgeoning Food Stocks; Public Distribution System (PDS); Report on the High Level Committee on Long-term Grain Policy; Food Policy: An Outlook.

10. Plantation, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Farming and Fisheries - Diversification of Indian Agriculture; Plantation Sector; Horticultural Crops; Animal Husbandry, Dairy Farming, and Fisheries.

11. Agriculture/Rural Insurance - Why is Insurance Business Agriculture Shy?; Need for Insurance in Agricultural Sector; Classification of Agriculture Sector for Insurance Purpose; Insurance Penetration in Agriculture: Potential and Requirements; Issues for Consideration; Advent and Development of Agriculture/Rural Insurance in India; Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme (CCIS): Scope and Contents; National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS); Pilot Scheme on Seed Crop Insurance; Farm Income Insurance Scheme (FIIS); Non-crop Insurance Schemes; Agriculture Insurance Corporation; R.N. Malhotra Committee (1994) on Rural Insurance; Concluding Observations.

12. Taxation of Agricultural Income - Constitutional Provisions; Committee on Taxation of Agricultural Wealth and Income, 1972; Tax Reforms Committee, 1991; Task Force on Direct Taxes, 2002.

13. Indian Agriculture and Information Technology - Need for IT-based Services to Farmers; IFFCO-ISRO Cooperation; Cyber Dhabas; E-Choupal; National E-governance Plan (2003-07); Other IT Services to Agricultural Sector; Computerisation of Agricultural Census and Input Survey; Concluding Observations.

14. Indian Agriculture and WTO - WTO: An Introduction; Agreements on Agriculture at WTO; Agriculture at Hong Kong Ministerial Conference of WTO; Concluding Observations.

15. Recent Initiatives in the Agricultural Sector - National Agriculture Policy, 2000; Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers` Rights Legislation; Development of Food Processing Industry; Agricultural Exports and Imports; Policy Initiatives for New Employment Opportunities; National Policy for Farmers, 2007; Comprehensive District Agriculture Plan (C-DAP); Agricultural Reforms Proposed by the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-07); Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) on Agriculture; Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), 2007; Macro Management of Agriculture (MMA) Scheme; National Food Security Mission (NFSM), 2007; Oilseeds/Edible Oils: Areas of Concern.

16. Rural India: An Introduction - Degree of Ruralisation; Urban-Rural Work Force Participation Rates; Extent of Rural Poverty; Institutional Framework for Rural Development; Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).

17. Rural Employment - National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), 2005; Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY); Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY).

18. Rural Industries - Importance of Small and Village Industries; Problems of Small Industries; Policy Measures to Help Small and Village Industries; Handlooms; Handicrafts; Powerlooms; Silk and Sericulture; Unorganised Wool Sector; Khadi and Village Industries (KVI); Coir Industry; Food Processing Industries; Conclusion.

19. Rural Housing -Types of Houses in India; Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY); Rural Face of Housing Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO); Bharat Nirman Programme.

20. Education and Training in Rural Areas - Trends in Literacy Rates and Recent Initiatives; Elementary Education; Adult Education; Eleventh Plan Targets and Special Focus Areas.

21. Rural Health and Family Welfare - Constitutional Provisions; Health Indices of Rural and Urban India; Primary Health Care; Incidence of Major Diseases in India; Major Public Health Programmes in India; Shortcomings of the Public Health System; National Health Policy, 2002; Sarva Swasthya Abhiyan (SSA); National Rural Health Mission (NRHM); Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY); Family Planning and Welfare; Nutrition Support; Time-bound Goals of the Eleventh Five Year Plan; Conclusion.

22. Rural Sanitation and Cleanliness - Sanitation: A Basic Need; Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP); Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC); Nirmal Gram Pursakar (NGP); E-governance Initiatives for Sanitation in Rural Areas; Eleventh Plan on Rural Sanitation; Conclusion.

23. Rural Electrification and Water Supply - Rural Electrification; Rural Water Supply.

24. Rural Transport and Communications - Rural Transport; Rural Telephony.

25. Empowerment of Women, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Disabled and Older Persons in Rural Areas - Rural Women Welfare and Empowerment; Scheduled Caste Sub-plan and Tribal Sub-Plan; Disability Persons; Older Persons.

26. E-governance in Rural Areas - Rural Portal; Household Survey (BPL census 2002); National Rural Employment Guarantee Act Software Package (NREGASoft).

Appendix 1: National Policy for Farmers, 2007; Appendix 2: Bharat Nirman; Appendix 3: Main Findings and Recommendations of the Committee on Financial Inclusion (Chairman: C. Rangarajan), January 2008

    Dr. Chandra Shekhar Prasad, M.A., Ph.D. in Economics and a distinguished member of Indian Economic Service (IES), superannuated from the service of the Government of India in June 2004 as Additional Development Commissioner and Economic Adviser, Office of DCSSI, Ministry of Small Scale, Agro and Rural Industries (now Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), Government of India. After retirement from service, Dr. Prasad worked as a consultant to the Government of Mauritius for sometime. As a member of IES, which he joined in 1969, Dr. Prasad worked in various Ministries of the Government of India as researcher, development administrator and economic adviser. These included the Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Small Scale, Agro and Rural Industries, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Defence. Dr. Prasad worked as a Senior Research Officer in the Planning Commission, Government of India, New Delhi from 1975 to 1981. During his posting in the Ministry of Agriculture (1984 to 1987), he worked in the areas of land use management and soil conservation. During his posting as Professor and Head of the Department of Economics at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, Dr. Prasad engaged himself in the study of rural development. Widely travelled, Dr. Prasad has authored three books and written over a hundred articles in reputed journals and economic dailies. Currently, he is Consultant with the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS), New Delhi, constituted by the Government of India.