Green Revolution - Meaning, Features, Schemes & Impact

The Green Revolution (a term used for rapid increases in wheat and rice yields in developing countries brought about by improved varieties combined with the expanded use of fertilizers and other chemical inputs) has had a dramatic impact on incomes and food supplies in many developing countries.

The term green revolution was first used by William Gaud and Norman Borlaug is the Father of the Green Revolution. 

In the year 1965, the government of India launched the Green Revolution with the help of a geneticist, now known as the father of the Green revolution (India) M.S. Swaminathan. The movement of the green revolution was a great success and changed the country’s status from a food-deficient economy to one of the world’s leading agricultural nations. It started in 1967 and lasted till 1978.

To know more about M S Swaminathan, (August 7, 1925) the father of the Green Revolution in India, kindly check the linked article. 

Aspirants must go through all important agricultural revolutions that have taken place, for the IAS Exam preparation:

This article shares details on the Green Revolution, its meaning and features, and how there has been a boost in agricultural production efficiency because of the green revolution in India. You will also know about various schemes under the Green Revolution in India. 

Green Revolution In India PDF- Download PDF Here

The Green Revolution within India led to an increase in agricultural production, especially in Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. Major milestones in this undertaking were the development of a high-yielding variety of seeds of wheat and rust-resistant strains of wheat.

Knowledge of the Green revolution in India is important from the point of view of various competitive exams. Candidates preparing for bank exams, SSC, RRB, Insurance exam, or other Government exams must keep abreast with the green revolution as questions related to this topic are asked in the general awareness section of the exams. 

Aspirants of the UPSC exam should understand the Green Revolution topic for Static GK section and Geography GS I Paper.  

Table of Contents:

Aspects of Green Revolution in India

• High Yielding Varieties (HYV)
• Mechanization of Agriculture
• Use of Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides
• Irrigation

The Green Revolution is referred to as the process of increasing agricultural production by incorporating modern tools and techniques. Green Revolution is associated with agricultural production. It is the period when agriculture of the country was converted into an industrial system due to the adoption of modern methods and techniques like the use of high yielding variety seeds, tractors, irrigation facilities, pesticides, and fertilizers. Until 1967, the government majorly concentrated on expanding the farming areas. But the rapidly increasing population than the food production called for a drastic and immediate action to increase yield which came in the form of the Green Revolution.

The method of green revolution focused on three basic elements, that are:

1. Using seeds with improved genetics (High Yielding Variety seeds).
2. Double cropping in the existing farmland and,
3. The continuing expansion of farming areas

Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Umbrella Scheme Green Revolution – ‘Krishonnati Yojana’ in the agriculture sector for the period of three years from 2017 to 2020 with the Central Share of Rs. 33,269.976 crore.The Umbrella scheme Green revolution- Krishonnati Yojana comprises 11 Schemes under it and all these schemes look to develop the agriculture and allied sector in a scientific and holistic manner so as to increase the income of farmers by increasing productivity, production, and better returns on produce, strengthening production infrastructure, reducing the cost of production and marketing of agriculture and allied produce. The 11 schemes that are part of the Umbrella Schemes under the Green revolution are:

1. MIDH – Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture – It aims to promote the comprehensive growth of the horticulture sector, enhance the production of the sector, improve nutritional security, and increase income support to household farms.
2. NFSM – National Food Security Mission – This includes NMOOP – National Mission on Oil Seeds and Oil Palm. The aim of this scheme is to increase the production of wheat pulses, rice, coarse cereals and commercial crops, productivity enhancement, and area expansion in a suitable manner, enhancing farm level economy, restoring soil fertility and productivity at the individual farm level. It further aims to reduce imports and increase the availability of vegetable oils and edible oils in the country.
3. NMSA – National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture – the aim is to promote sustainable agriculture practices that are best suitable to the specific agro-ecology focusing on integrated farming, appropriate soil health management, and synergizing resource conservation technology.
4. SMAE – Submission on Agriculture Extension – this scheme aims to strengthen the ongoing extension mechanism of State Governments, local bodies, etc. achieving food security and socio-economic empowerment of farmers, to forge effective linkages and synergy amongst various stakeholders, to institutionalize program planning and implementation mechanism, support HRD interventions, promote pervasive and innovative use of electronic and print media, interpersonal communication, and ICT tools, etc.
5. SMSP – Sub-Mission on Seeds and Planting Material – This aims to increase the production of quality seed, upgrade the quality of farm-saved seeds and increase SRR, strengthen the seed multiplication chain, and promote new methods and technologies in seed production, processing, testing, etc., to strengthen and modernize infrastructure for seed production, storage, quality, and certification, etc.
6. SMAM – Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation – aims to increase the reach of farm mechanization to small and marginal farmers and to the regions where availability of farm power is low, to promote ‘Custom Hiring Centres’ to offset the adverse economies of scale arising due to small landholding and high cost of individual ownership, to create hubs for hi-tech and high-value farm equipment, to create awareness among stakeholders through demonstration and capacity building activities, and to ensure performance testing and certification at designated testing centres located all over the country.
7. SMPPQ – Sub Mission on Plant Protection and Plan Quarantine – the aim of this scheme is to minimize loss to quality and yield of agricultural crops from insects, pests, weeds, etc., to shield our agricultural bio-security from the incursions and spread of alien species, to facilitate exports of Indian agricultural commodities to global markets, and to promote good agricultural practices, particularly with respect to plant protection strategies and strategies.
8. ISACES – Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Census, Economics, and Statistics – this aims to undertake the agriculture census, undertake research studies on agro-economic problems of the country, study the cost of cultivation of principal crops, fund conferences, workshops, and seminars involving eminent agricultural scientists, economists, experts so as to bring out papers to conduct short term studies, improve agricultural statistics methodology and to create a hierarchical information system on crop condition and crop production from sowing to harvest.
9. ISAC – Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Cooperation aims to provide financial assistance for improving the economic conditions of cooperatives, remove regional imbalances, to speed up cooperative development in agricultural processing, storage, marketing, computerization, and weaker section programs; ensuring the supply of quality yarn at reasonable rates to the decentralized weavers and help cotton growers fetch a remunerative price for their produce through value addition.
10. ISAM – Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Marketing – this scheme aims to develop agricultural marketing infrastructure; to promote innovative technologies and competitive alternatives in agriculture marketing infrastructure; to provide infrastructure facilities for grading, standardization, and quality certification of agricultural produce; to establish a nation­wide marketing information network; to integrate markets through a common online market platform to facilitate pan-India trade in agricultural commodities, etc.
11. And, NeGP-A – National e-Governance Plan aims to bring farmer-centric & service-oriented programs; to improve access of farmers to information and services throughout the crop-cycle and enhance the reach and impact of extension services; to build upon, enhance and integrate the existing ICT initiatives of the Centre and States; to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of programs through providing timely and relevant information to the farmers for increasing their agriculture productivity.

1. Introduced High Yielding Variety seeds in Indian agriculture. 
2. The HYV seeds were highly effective in regions that had rich irrigation facilities and were more successful with the wheat crop. Therefore, the Green Revolution at first focused on states with better infrastructure such as Tamil Nadu and Punjab.
3. During the second phase, the high yielding variety seeds were given to other states, and crops other than wheat were also included in the plan. 
4. The most important requirement for the high yielding variety seeds is proper irrigation. Crops grown from HYV seeds need good amounts of water supply and farmers could not depend on monsoon. Hence, the Green Revolution has improved the irrigation systems around farms in India.
5. Commercial crops and cash crops such as cotton, jute, oilseeds, etc were not a part of the plan. Green revolution in India mainly emphasized food grains such as wheat and rice. 
6. To enhance farm productivity green revolution increased the availability and use of fertilizers, weedicides, and pesticides to reduce any damage or loss to the crops.
7. It also helped in promoting commercial farming in the country with the introduction of machinery and technology like harvesters, drills, tractors, etc.

Aspirants of any competitive exams can check the important links given below to boost their preparation:

1. Green Revolution has remarkably increased Agricultural Production. Foodgrains in India saw a great rise in output. The biggest beneficiary of the revolution was the Wheat Grain. The production increased to 55 million tonnes in the early stage of the plan itself. 
2. Not just limited to agricultural output the revolution also increased per Acre yield. Green Revolution increased the per hectare yield in the case of wheat from 850 kg per hectare to an incredible 2281 kg/hectare in its early stage.
3. With the introduction of the Green revolution, India reached its way to self-sufficiency and was less dependent on imports. The production in the country was sufficient to meet the demand of the rising population and to stock it for emergencies. Rather than depending on the import of food grains from other countries India started exporting its agricultural produce. 
4. The introduction of the revolution inhibited a fear among the masses that commercial farming would lead to unemployment and leave a lot of the labour force jobless. But the result seen was totally different there was a rise in rural employment. The tertiary industries such as transportation, irrigation, food processing, marketing, etc created employment opportunities for the workforce.
5. The Green Revolution in India majorly benefited the farmers of the country. Farmers not only survived but also prospered during the revolution their income saw a significant rise which enabled them to shift from sustenance farming to commercial farming.

Besides the positive impact, the revolution had a gloomy side too.  Some of the negative effects of the Green Revolution are stated below:

• Retardation of agricultural growth due to inadequate irrigation cover, shrinking farm size, failure to evolve new technologies, inadequate use of technology, declining plan outlay, unbalanced use of inputs, and weaknesses in credit delivery system.
• Regional dispersal of the evolution created regional inequalities. The benefits of the green revolution remained concentrated in the areas where the new technology was used. Moreover, since the revolution for the number of years remained limited to wheat production, its benefits were mostly accrued only to wheat-growing areas.
• Interpersonal inequalities between large and small scale farmers. The new technologies introduced during the revolution called for substantial investments which were beyond the means of a majority of small farmers. Farmers having large farmlands continued to make greater absolute gains in income by reinvesting the earnings in farm and non-farm assets, purchasing land from the smaller cultivators, etc.

Knowledge of the Green revolution, Schemes under the Green revolution its aspects, features, and impact are important for various exams, especially the most coveted UPSC exam. Candidates can also read about the agricultural revolutions in India in the linked article. 

Green Revolution In India PDF- Download PDF Here

Candidates can find out what are the topics in the UPSC Exams by visiting the UPSC Syllabus page. For more preparation materials they can refer to the links given in the table below. 

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