Green Revolution in India, History, Impact, Advantages

The Green Revolution brought a major shift in the agriculture sector during the 1960s and 70s, especially in countries like India. It introduced high-yielding crop varieties, chemical fertilizers, improved irrigation, and machines like tractors. This helped in increasing the food production and reduced dependence on imports. Regions like Punjab and Haryana saw huge gains in production. Poorer farmers who weren’t financially stable were deprived of the benefits and over time, the heavy use of chemicals damaged soil and water though the Green Revolution helped prevent famines and made India self-sufficient in grains.

Green Revolution In India

The Green Revolution was a turning point for agriculture in many developing countries, especially during the 1960s and 70s. It focused on increasing food production using high-yielding seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and modern irrigation techniques. Tractors and other machines also replaced traditional farming tools in several regions. 

The Green Revolution Objectives were to avoid food shortages and make countries less dependent on imports. This initiative helped to increase the food production and reduce hunger crisis, it also created gaps, small farmers couldn’t always afford the new methods, and the overuse of chemicals harmed the environment and the soil.

Green Revolution In India History

The Green Revolution in India was introduced during the 1960s when food scarcity had become a serious national concern. To tackle this, scientists introduced high-yielding seeds for crops like wheat and rice, which were first developed in places like Mexico and the Philippines.

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, the Father of Green Revolution played a key role in bringing these changes to India, with support from Norman Borlaug. Farmers in regions like Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh quickly adopted the new methods using chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and better irrigation. It helped India achieve food security, but over time, problems like soil damage and water overuse also came to light.

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Green Revolution in India Components

Several key factors laid the foundation for the Green Revolution in India which includes:

• High-Yielding Varieties (HYVs): The revolution focused on the use of HYV seeds mainly for wheat and rice. These were dwarf, high-output varieties that produced 2 to 3 times more than traditional crops. But they weren’t low-maintenance. These seeds needed more water, more fertiliser, and more protection from pests.

• Irrigation Facilities: In 1960, only about 30 million hectares of land in India were irrigated. Expanding irrigation was essential to support the water-intensive HYVs. 

• Credit and Financing: Farmers couldn’t afford modern seeds, fertilisers, or machinery on their own. A strong rural credit system, including co-operative banks and microfinance institutions, became important to fund the shift.

• Commercialisation of Agriculture: For the first time, farming became market-driven. With the government introducing Minimum Support Prices (MSP), farmers now had guaranteed returns. This changed their approach from growing just enough for survival to growing for profit.

• Farm Mechanisation: New technology like tractors, threshers, and harvesters became part of the farming landscape. Mechanisation saved time, reduced labour costs, and made large-scale farming feasible.

• Command Area Development Programme (CADP) – 1974: The CADP pushed for infrastructure development in irrigated areas. It had two parts:

• On-farm development like levelling land, building water channels, and preparing the soil.

• Off-farm development, by improving the infrastructure such as roads, markets, and rural transport to move produce efficiently.

• Chemical Fertilisers and Pesticides: Indian soils, especially in intensively farmed regions, lacked sufficient nitrogen. To address this, NPK (Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium) fertilisers were recommended in a 4:2:1 ratio. Alongside, insecticides and herbicides were used to protect crops.

Also Read: Blue Revolution

Green Revolution in India Phases

The Green Revolution evolved in phases, each responding to the needs and challenges of the time. It started as a response to food shortages and gradually expanded to tackle regional differences, ecological concerns, and the diversification of agriculture.

Phase I (1965-66 to 1980)

India’s first phase of the Green Revolution was driven by an urgent need for food security. The country was heavily dependent on food imports, and the threat of famine was high. This phase focused on wheat production and was largely limited to regions like Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh, where irrigation and infrastructure were already in place, and natural hazards were minimal.

Programs like the Intensive Agriculture Development Program (IADP) and Intensive Agriculture Area Programme (IAAP) were launched. But the real game-changer was the High-Yielding Varieties (HYV) program introduced in 1965-66. By 1980, food grain production had around 100 million tonnes, up from just 33 MT in 1965 and 25 MT in 1950.

Phase II (1980-1991)

With wheat production stable, attention turned to rice production during the 6th and 7th Five-Year Plans. This phase aimed to replicate the success of Phase I in wetter regions like West Bengal, Bihar, Eastern UP, Assam, and coastal areas with over 100 cm of rainfall.

While areas like the Krishna-Godavari delta, Cauvery basin, and parts of West Bengal saw progress, the impact was uneven. In Bihar, only a few regions like Bhojpur benefitted.

Phase III (1991-2003)

By the 1990s, the revolution aimed to reach India’s semi-arid and dryland regions. Crops like cotton, oilseeds, pulses, and millets were targeted under the 8th and 9th Five-Year Plans.

Efforts like the Integrated Watershed Management Programme tried to improve water usage in dry areas. A few regions like the Narmada-Tapi doab, Tungabhadra basin, and Bhima-Krishna basin showed success but overall, the results were limited.

Green Revolution in India Impact

The Green Revolution may have solved India’s immediate food crisis, but it came with long-term impact. It mostly benefited a few regions like Punjab, Haryana, and western UP, leaving other parts of the country behind. Rich farmers grew richer; small ones lost land and became labourers. Heavy use of chemicals damaged soil and water, and mechanisation reduced rural jobs.

Economic Impact

The Green Revolution increased social and economic differences. As some regions like Punjab and western UP prospered, others like eastern UP and Bihar were left behind. This growth created interpersonal, inter-regional, and interstate disparities. People in high-yield areas earned more, invested more, and pulled further ahead. Meanwhile, farmers in left-out zones struggled to compete.

In regions including Punjab and Bihar during 1960, both had similar crop output. By 1990, Punjab was miles ahead by utilising early access to HYVs, irrigation, and capital. On the other hand, many small farmers took informal credit to keep up, falling into debt cycles.

Social Impact

Rural landlessness increased as small and marginal farmers, unable to purchase new technology instruments, sold their land. Many ended up working as agricultural labourers in wealthy owner’s fields. That shift increased poverty, worsened health conditions, and made rural communities more vulnerable.

Machines including tractors, harvesters, and threshers contributed to utilise less human capital needed in the field, so the lands became efficient yet the employment level declined Rural unemployment increased especially among the unskilled.

Ecological Impact

Initially soil degradation was a serious problem, the push for higher yields led to farming practices that ignored the land’s natural limits. Over-irrigation, poor drainage, and heavy chemical use resulted in salinisation, alkalisation, and the formation of unproductive soils like reh and kallar especially in regions like Punjab and Haryana.

Waterlogging became another side-effect. Excessive canal irrigation, without proper drainage systems which damaged soil structure over time. The chemical overload by the utilisation of synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, and weedicides poisoned the soil. Over time, soil microbes died off, fertility declined, and the land became dependent on chemical inputs to stay productive.

Rivers, ponds, tanks, and reservoirs in the Green Revolution started showing signs of pollution. There was large-scale deforestation. Forests in the Punjab, Tarai, and Bhabhar zones were cleared to make way for farmland. This wiped out biodiversity and weakened ecological balance in those regions.

Green Revolution in India Advantages

1. The Green Revolution helped in tackling the chronic food shortage during a time of rapid population growth in India.
2. Eliminated recurring famines and brought food security to millions allowing farmers to generate surplus production, which led to agricultural commercialisation.
3. The government improved rural infrastructure including roads, irrigation, storage which became essential support systems for the producers.
4. The Green Revolution made India self-sufficient in food grain production which reduced the import dependence, freeing up funds for poverty alleviation schemes like IRDP and Tribal Area Development.
5. Rising farm wages increased rural cash flow which helped in promoting the agro and food-processing industries. It also enabled land reforms like land consolidation and ceiling implementation.

Green Revolution in India Disadvantages

1. Overuse of chemical fertilisers and pesticides degraded soil health and polluted water bodies like rivers and canals through disposals of the chemicals.
2. Intensive irrigation practices led to groundwater depletion and even the surface water sources such as wells.
3. Majorly wealthy farmers with the benefits of the initiatives introduced by the government with land and capital, leaving small and marginal farmers behind.
4. Economic inequality in rural areas increased, with resource-rich regions advancing while others stagnated.
5. Crop diversity declined due to the focus on a few high-yield varieties, increasing vulnerability to pests and diseases.