Which one of the following was not a part of the strategies followed by the Government of India to increase food grain production in India immediately after Independence?
Intensification of cropping over already cultivated land and fallow land
Increasing cultivable area by bringing cultivable area under plough
Using high-yielding varieties (HYV) seeds
Switching over from cash crops to food crops
Answer is Right!
Answer is Wrong!
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CDS-2 – 2018
The correct answer is C) Using high-yielding varieties (HYV) seeds.
Immediately after India gained independence in 1947, the focus of agricultural policy was primarily on increasing food production through methods available at the time, such as expanding the cultivated area (by bringing fallow land and culturable wasteland under plough), promoting intensification of cropping on existing land, and encouraging a shift from cash crops to food crops to address immediate food shortages. The extensive use of High-Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds, along with chemical fertilizers and assured irrigation, was the cornerstone of the Green Revolution, which was initiated in the mid-1960s, particularly from 1965-66 onwards. Thus, HYV seeds were not a strategy employed “immediately after Independence.”