Which of the following priorities of Government of India immediately after independence regarding food grain availability are correct?
A. Switching over from cash to food crops
B. Intensification of cropping
C. Increasing cultivated area by bringing cultivable and fallow land under plough.
D. Importing food grains from other countries
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → A, B, C only
Just after Independence, the immediate goal of the Government was to grow more foodgrains at home. Three steps were taken for this.
A. Switching over from cash to food crops — Correct. Land used for cash crops was turned to food crops, so that more food was grown.
B. Intensification of cropping — Correct. More crops were taken from the land that was already cultivated.
C. Increasing cultivated area by bringing cultivable and fallow land under plough. — Correct. Cultivable and fallow land was ploughed, so the area under crops grew.
D. Importing food grains from other countries — Incorrect. Imports were not a step taken just after Independence. Foodgrains were imported later, when two droughts in a row in the mid-1960s caused a food crisis.
NCERT (2026-27): “Agricultural Development in India … Indian agricultural economy was largely subsistence in nature before Independence. It had dismal performance in the first half of twentieth century. This period witnessed severe droughts and famines. During partition about one-third of the irrigated land in undivided India went to Pakistan. This reduced the proportion of irrigated area in Independent India. After Independence, the immediate goal of the Government was to increase foodgrains production by (i) switching over from cash crops to food crops; (ii) intensification of cropping over already cultivated land; and (iii) increasing cultivated area by bringing cultivable and fallow land under plough. Initially, this strategy helped in increasing foodgrains production. But agricultural production stagnated during late –1950s. To overcome this problem, Intensive Agricultural District Programme (IADP) and Intensive Agricultural Area Programme (IAAP) were launched. But two consecutive droughts during mid-1960s resulted in food crisis in the country. Consequently, foodgrains were imported from other countries.” |