3. Explain about the need and types of land reforms introduced.

Transcription

1 1. Why did India pt fr planning? After India attained her independence, the leaders had t decide n the kind f ecnmic system which will suit and prmte the interests f the masses f India and nt just a few individuals. Hence the gvernment had t pt fr planning fr the ecnmic develpment f the cuntry. 2. What are plans? Why shuld plans have gals? Plans are strategies drawn in rder t achieve sme results. Plans shuld have sme gals s that the plans can be made accrding t the gals and be aimed at fulfilling them. 3. Explain abut the need and types f land refrms intrduced. The agricultural sectr neither had grwth nr had equity. The plicies made by Independent India had t cnsider and address these issues. They did this by prmting miracle seeds and thrugh land refrms, thereby bringing in a revlutin in Indian agriculture. Land Refrms : During the time f independence, intermediaries therwise called zamindars and jagirdars characterized the land tenure system. The agricultural sectr had lw prductivity because f which we had t imprt fd frm USA. After just a year f independence, steps were taken t pack ff the intermediaries and give wnership f the lands t the cultivatr f the lands ie the farmer. The bjective f this land refrm was that the wnership f land wuld give the cultivatr an incentive t invest in making imprvements and increasing prductivity if they are prvided with sufficient capital. Land Ceiling: This was anther plicy that was adpted in newly independent India in rder t prmte and establish equity in the agricultural sectr. Land ceiling fixed the maximum size f land that culd be wned by an individual. The bjective was t reduce the cncentratin f land wnership in the hands f a very few peple. The wnership f land made prvided these tenants with the urge t increase the utput and hence cntributed t agricultural grwth. 4. Explain the Green Revlutin in brief. The lack f grwth and stagnatin in the agricultural sectr caused by the clnial rule was brken by the cming f Green Revlutin. This refers t the increase in the prductivity f fd grains by using High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds, especially fr rice and wheat. T use these seeds, the use f pesticides and fertilizers in crrect quantities was essential. Apart frm that, regular supply f water was als needed. 1

2 Hence during the first phase f the Green Revlutin (arund mid 1960s t mid 1970s) the use f HYV seeds was restricted t farmers frm cmparatively richer states like Tamilnadu, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. During the secnd phase (mid 1970s t mid 1980s) the technlgy spread t a greater number f states and HYV seeds f a greater number f crps were available and hence a wider sectin f farmers reaped the benefits. The Green Revlutin helped us achieve self sufficiency in fd grains and we culd meet the requirements f ur ppulatin withut having t imprt frm any freign natin. 5. What were the drawbacks f the Green Revlutin? The drawbacks f green revlutin were: One majr drawback was the increase in the disparity between small and big farmers because nly the bigger farmers culd affrd the HYV seeds and hence reaped mre benefits and prfits. The HYV seeds were prne t pest attacks and hence in case f attacks a small farmer culdn t affrd the lss. 6. What were the methds adpted t vercme the drawbacks f the Green Revlutin? The methds adpted were: The gvernment gave small farmers lans at very lw interest rates and prvided them with subsidies s that they culd als buy the HYV seeds and benefit. The risk f the small farmer lsing his crps t the pest was cnsiderably reduced by the services given by the research rganizatins set up by the gvernment. 7. Explain grwth with equity as a planning bjective. Grwth refers t the increase in the prductin capacity f ur cuntry i.e prductin f utput gds and als the increase f services within the cuntry. This means a large stck f prductive capital r a large quantity f supprting services like transprt and banking r an increase in the efficiency f the prductive capital and services f the cuntry. In ecnmics, the Grss Dmestic Prduct(GDP) is a gd indicatr f the ecnmic grwth f a natin. The GDP is the market value f all the gds and services prduced in a cuntry during a year. GDP can be thught f as a bar f chclate r piece f cake. Grwth is the increase in the size f the chclate r cake. If the chclate r cake is bigger, mre peple can have and enjy it. In the wrds f the first five year plan, it is necessary t prduce mre gds and services if the peple f India are t enjy a mre rich and varied life. Grwth, mdernizatin and self reliance wuld nt lead t the betterment f the standard f living f the peple f a natin unless there is equality. If mdernizatin, grwth and self reliance des nt reach the prer sectins f a cuntry, then nly the rich wuld enjy the benefits f ecnmic prsperity. S apart frm mdernity, grwth and self-reliance, every Indian shuld be able t meet his r her basic needs like fd, clthing, husing, educatin 2

3 and healthcare. Inequality in the distributin f wealth and ecnmic prsperity had t be reduced. 8. Des mdernizatin as a planning bjective create cntradictin in the light f emplyment generatin? Explain. In rder t increase the prductin f gds and services, the prducers have t use new technlgy. Adptin f new technlgy is mdernizatin. Fr example, farmers can use a new hybrid seed variety instead f the ld nes t increase crp yield. Mdernizatin just nt refer t just adptin f new technlgy, it als refers t changes in the thinking and scial utlk f the peple f ur cuntry. Giving equal rights t wmen is an example f mdernizatin. In a traditinal sciety, wmen are restricted t d nly husehld chres, whereas in a mdern sciety they are given pprtunities t wrk in all the sectrs like banking, schls, factries etc. This kind f mdernizatin makes a sciety mre civilized and prsperus. 9. Why was it necessary fr a develping cuntry like India t fllw self-reliance as a planning bjective? The first seven five year plans stressed and gave a lt f weightage t self reliance meaning aviding imprt f gds which can be prduced in ur cuntry itself. This plicy was cnsidered essential in a bid t reduce ur dependence n ther natins, mstly fr fd. A newly independent natin wuld bviusly stress n the need fr self reliance. It was als feared that a dependence n freign natins wuld make ur svereignty vulnerable. 10. What is sectral cmpsitin f an ecnmy? Is it necessary that the service sectr shuld cntribute maximum t GDP f an ecnmy? Cmment. We knw that during the clnial rule, the agricultural sectr neither had grwth nr had equity. The plicies made by Independent India had t cnsider and address these issues. The GDP prprtin cntributed by the Industrial sectr rse t 24.6% in frm 11.8% in The 6% annual grwth rate f the industrial sectr and its increased share f cntributin in the GDP is an imprtant f the grwth f ur natin. By 1990, the Indian industry became very well diversified and was nt restricted t just jute and cttn textile mills. Prmting the small-scale industries resulted in pprtunities given t peple wh did nt have sufficient capital t start an industry f their wn. Prtectin against freign cmpetitin prmted the grwth f industries like electrnics and autmbiles which wuld nt have grwn therwise. 11. Why was public sectr given a leading rle in industrial develpment during the planning perid? The rle t be played by the gvernment and the public sectr in the industrial revlutin was the main questin cnfrnting the plicy makers f newly independent India. During that time, neither did the industrialists have enugh capital t invest in industrial ventures 3

4 required fr ecnmic develpment nr was the market encuraging enugh fr the financially sund industrialists t invest in big ventures. These were the main reasns which prmpted the state t play a big rle in fstering the grwth f the industrial sectr. Apart frm this, since it was decided that the Indian ecnmy was t be develped in scialist lines, it led t the plicy f the state cntrlling the cmmanding heights f ecnmy as the Secnd Five Year plan states. This resulted in the state cntrlling the industries which wuld be instrumental in the grwth f the ecnmy while the private sectr wuld adpt plicies which wuld be cmplimentary t thse adpted and practiced by the public sectr. 12. Explain the statement that green revlutin enabled the gvernment t prcure sufficient fd grains t build its stcks that culd be used during times f shrtage. When India attained her freedm, abut 3/4 th f the cuntry s ppulatin was heavily dependent n the agricultural sectr fr livelihd. The prductivity f this sectr was very lw because f lack f use f mdern technlgy and lack f prper infrastructure. Our agriculture was dependent mainly n the mnsn and a failure in the mnsn caused the farmers a lt f truble because they did n have access t prper irrigatin facilities. The lack f grwth and stagnatin in the agricultural sectr caused by the clnial rule was brken by the cming f Green Revlutin. This refers t the increase in the prductivity f fd grains by using High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds, especially fr rice and wheat. T use these seeds, the use f pesticides and fertilizers in crrect quantities was essential. Apart frm that, regular supply f water was als needed. Farmers wh used HYV seeds had t have regular irrigatin facilities as well as the financial resurces. Hence during the first phase f the Green Revlutin (arund mid 1960s t mid 1970s) the use f HYV seeds was restricted t farmers frm cmparatively richer states like Tamilnadu, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. During the secnd phase (mid 1970s t mid 1980s) the technlgy spread t a greater number f states and HYV seeds f a greater number f crps were available and hence a wider sectin f farmers reaped the benefits. The Green Revlutin helped us achieve self sufficiency in fd grains and we culd meet the requirements f ur ppulatin withut having t imprt frm any freign natin. Mere grwth in the agricultural utput is nt enugh if a large part f the utput is cnsumed by the farmers themselves. Such a higher utput will nt make much f a difference t the grwth f the ecnmy. If a significant amunt f utput cmes t the market cnsumptin, then the increase in the agricultural utput will result the grwth f the natins ecnmy. The prtin f the agricultural utput which is sld in the market by the farmers is called market surplus. Luckily fr us, as pinted ut by C.H. Hanumantha Ra, a famus ecnmist, the Green Revlutin saw a large prprtin f the utput f rice and wheat cming int the cnsumer market as a market surplus which resulted in the reductin in the price f fd grains as cmpared t ther essential cmmdities. The lw incme grups greatly benefited frm this fall in the fd prices. The green revlutin als enabled the gvernment t btain a sizeable amunt f stck f fd grain t be used incase f future shrt supply f fd grains. 4

5 13. While subsidies encurage farmers t use new technlgy, they are a huge burden n gvernment finances. Discuss the usefulness f subsidies in the light f this fact. Tday, a ht tpic f debate is the ecnmic justificatin f subsidies in the agricultural sectr. It was necessary t give subsidies in rder t give the farmers an incentive t adpt the use f HYV seeds, especially the small farmers. The farmers wuld cnsider any new technlgy as risky and hence subsidies were required t encurage the farmers t test the new technlgy. Sme ecnmists feel that nce a technlgy has been tested and prved t be prfitable and finds wide acceptance, the subsidies shuld be slwly remved. Further subsidies are intrduced with the intentin f helping the farmers, but in this prcess even the fertilizer industry sees a huge grwth and als the farmers f the mre fertile and prsperus lands flurish better than the smaller farmers. Hence arguments are put frth saying that the subsidies n fertilizers shuld nt cntinue as it des nt reach the targeted grup and hence is a burden n the gvernment. There is anther branch f peple wh argue that the subsidies in the agricultural sectr shuld cntinue because there is a lt f risk invlved in farming in India and many farmers are pr and need these subsidies withut which they cannt try new technlgies and increase their utput. This set f peple believe that eliminating the subsidies will nly increase the disparity between the pr and the rich farmers and hence plicies shuld be framed t ensure that the subsidies reach just the small farmer and dn t benefit the fertilizer industry r the large farmers. By late 1960s India had achieved self sufficiency in fd grains because f increase in agricultural prductivity. Thugh this is a matter f pride, arund 65% f the ppulatin was still dependent n agriculture fr livelihd even till This was nt very encuraging fr the grwth f the ther sectrs f the natin. The findings f ecnmists shw that a natin becmes mre prsperus when the cntributin f agriculture t the GDP decreases while there is a simultaneus decline in the wrkfrce emplyed in the sectr. In India, between 1950 and 1990, the prprtin f GDP cntributed by the agricultural sectr declined t a great extent but the wrkfrce in the sectr did nt decrease( 67.5% in 1950 t 64.9% by 1990). The questin which cmes t the mind immediately is that why shuld such a huge prtin f the ppulatin be emplyed in agriculture when the agricultural utput culd have grwn with much lesser peple emplyed in the sectr? The answer is that the industrial and service sectr did nt absrb peple wrking in the agricultural sectr. This, accrding t many ecnmists is a majr failure f ur plicies fllwed during Why, despite the implementatin f green revlutin, 65 per cent f ur ppulatin cntinued t be engaged in the agriculture sectr till 1990? One majr drawback was the increase in the disparity between small and big farmers because nly the bigger farmers culd affrd the HYV seeds and hence reaped mre benefits and prfits. The HYV seeds were prne t pest attacks and hence in case f attacks a small farmer culdn t affrd the lss. 5

6 15. Thugh public sectr is very essential fr industries, many public sectr undertakings incur huge lsses and are a drain n the ecnmy s resurces. Discuss the usefulness f public sectr undertakings in the light f this fact. Sme ecnmists still criticize the grwth and perfrmance f public sectr enterprises, despite the cntributin f the public sectr in the grwth f the Indian ecnmy. Thugh, initially the hand f public sectr was needed in a big way fr the grwth f ecnmy, later n there was a wide spread view that the state wned enterprises cntinued t prduce certain gds and services, enjying mnply althugh it was nt required any mre. An example f this was the telecmmunicatin service, which the gvernment mnplized lng after private players came int the fray. This meant that till the late 1990s ne had t wait fr a lng time fr a telephne cnnectin. Anther example, is the establishment f a bread manufacturing firm called Mdern Bread. This was sld t the private sectr in the year The pint that these ecnmists want t make is that there is n distinctin between what the public sectr alne can d and what the private sectr can d. Even tday, nly the public sectr can take care f the natinal security and render free medical service fr the pr. Thugh the private sectr can and des run htels, the public sectr des t. These ecnmists felt that the gvernment shuld cme ut f areas which the public sectr can manage and shuld instead give mre attentin t imprtant services which the private sectr cannt prvide. 6