Sonalika and Ratna respectively are 'High Yielding Varieties' (HYV) of:

Wheat and Rice

India is mainly an agricultural country. Agriculture accounts for approximately 33 per cent of India’s GDP and employs nearly 62 per cent of the population.

During the period 1960 to 2000, wheat production increased from 11 million tonnes to 75 million tonnes while rice production went up from 35 million tonnes to 89.5 million tonnes. This was due to the development of semi-dwarf varieties of wheat and rice. Nobel laureate Norman E. Borlaug, at International Centre for Wheat and Maize Improvement in Mexico, developed semi-dwarf wheat.

In 1963, several varieties such as Sonalika and Kalyan Sona, which were high yielding and disease resistant, were introduced all over the wheat-growing belt of India.

Semi-dwarf rice varieties were derived from IR-8, (developed at International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines) and Taichung Native-1 (from Taiwan). The derivatives were introduced in 1966. Later better-yielding semi- dwarf varieties Jaya and Ratna were developed in India.