Green Revolution in India

India’s Green Revolution was the sharp rise in foodgrain production achieved by introducing high-yielding crop varieties together with modern agricultural inputs. Its initial phase, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, was primarily a technology-led effort to improve food security and reduce dependence on imports.

Package of modern inputs

The new seeds generated high yields only when supported by a coordinated package of practices, rather than through seed replacement alone.

• High-yielding variety seeds were combined with assured irrigation, chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
• Mechanisation, institutional credit and improved extension services supported the adoption of the new technology.
• The approach was relatively capital-intensive because farmers had to purchase seeds and complementary inputs.

Selective spread

The initial phase was concentrated geographically and by crop because the technology required reliable water, inputs, credit and infrastructure.

• The largest early gains came from wheat, while high-yielding varieties of rice also formed part of the programme.
• Adoption was concentrated in better-irrigated and agriculturally developed regions, especially Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, with important diffusion to some southern areas.
• Better-endowed farmers and regions adopted the technology more readily, creating concerns about interpersonal and regional disparities.

Strong state support and outcome

The government supported adoption through irrigation investment, subsidised inputs, credit, research and extension. Price support and public procurement reduced marketing risk and linked increased production to national food management.

• The principal achievement was a substantial rise in foodgrain output, particularly wheat, which strengthened food self-sufficiency.
• The strategy increased marketed surplus and enabled larger public procurement and buffer stocks.
• Its early benefits remained uneven because rain-fed regions and many non-foodgrain crops were largely outside the initial technological breakthrough.