The economic liberalization process in India, which started in the early 1990s,has encompassed wide-ranging reform measures in the areas of industry, public finances, banking and insurance, foreign trade and exchange rate management. Although agriculture is still the backbone of the Indian economy, at least in terms of employment, the impulses of reforms have been relatively less in scope and depth in this sector. Reforms in the agricultural sector were introduced only towards the end of the 1990s. Nevertheless, a series of policy initiatives have been undertaken in this sector as well. These include (a) partial decontrol; of fetiliser under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, (d) introduction of forward trading in important commercial crops, (e) replacement of the Revamped Public Distribution System with Targeted Public Distribution system, (f) establishment of Rural Infrastructural development Fund, and (g) replacement of quantitative controls tariff. Still further, micro credit, routed through self-help groups (SHGs), has emerged as a visible credit channel to the poor. The National Horticulture Mission was launched on April 1, 2005. In the 2005-06 Union Budget, the Government proposed to introduce a new scheme called Development of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, Grading and Standardisation and a sum of Rs. 72 crore was allocated for the purpose. This book explains the key reform measures undertaken for the development of agricultural and rural areas since 1991. To provide the necessary backdrop to the new order, the work traces the developments in Indian agriculture during the post-Independence period and examines current issues pertaining to this vital sector of the Indian economy. The overall approach to the subject is descriptive, and at places normative.
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