India's Economic Odyssey: Green Revolution & Public Sector Dominance

Introduction: Acknowledge the statement's premise of dual impact – its undeniable success in food production alongside significant unintended consequences.

Technological Triumph: Detail how the adoption of High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilizers, expanded irrigation, and modern machinery led to a massive surge in food grain production (especially wheat and rice). Emphasize its success in achieving food self-sufficiency, ending dependence on food imports, and creating buffer stocks. Mention the scientific efforts of ICAR and agricultural universities.

Social Challenges:

• Regional Disparities: Benefits were largely concentrated in already well-irrigated regions like Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh, while dryland and rain-fed areas lagged significantly, leading to increased regional inequalities.
• Inter-personal Inequalities: Larger farmers with better access to credit, inputs, and irrigation facilities benefited disproportionately, widening the income gap between rich and poor farmers. Small and marginal farmers often struggled to afford the capital-intensive inputs.
• Impact on Landless Labour: While increased cropping intensity initially boosted demand for labor, later mechanization (e.g., use of combine harvesters) displaced agricultural labor in some areas, potentially leading to increased rural unemployment or distress migration.
• Inter-crop Imbalances: The focus on wheat and rice led to neglect and slower growth in the production of other crucial crops like pulses, oilseeds, and coarse grains, affecting nutritional diversity and creating new import dependencies.

Ecological Challenges:

• Soil Degradation: Excessive and imbalanced use of chemical fertilizers led to loss of soil fertility, micronutrient deficiencies, and in some areas, soil salinization and alkalization.
• Water Depletion and Pollution: Over-exploitation of groundwater through tubewells for assured irrigation caused alarming drops in water tables, particularly in states like Punjab and Haryana. Runoff of chemical fertilizers and pesticides contaminated surface and groundwater bodies, impacting aquatic ecosystems and human health.
• Loss of Biodiversity: The widespread adoption of a few HYV seeds led to the neglect and gradual extinction of numerous traditional, locally adapted, and resilient indigenous seed varieties, reducing agricultural biodiversity.

Conclusion: The Green Revolution was a critical technological intervention that pulled India out of a severe food crisis and established food security. However, its implementation came with significant social and ecological costs, creating "second-generation problems" that underscore the need for more inclusive, sustainable, and ecologically sensitive agricultural practices in the future, often termed an "Evergreen Revolution." The statement aptly captures its dual legacy.

Introduction: In the post-independence era, India adopted a mixed economic model with a strong emphasis on state-led industrialization. Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) were envisioned to play a pivotal role, particularly in heavy industries and infrastructure, to achieve self-reliance and social justice as outlined in the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956.

Contributions of PSUs to Industrial Development:

• Building Basic and Heavy Industrial Base: PSUs played an indispensable role in establishing core industries like steel (e.g., SAIL), heavy engineering (e.g., HMT, BHEL), machine tools, and chemicals, which private capital was either unwilling or unable to invest in due to long gestation periods and high capital requirements.
• Infrastructure Development: They significantly contributed to critical infrastructure sectors such as power generation (e.g., NTPC), transport (Railways, Shipping Corporation of India), and communication, which are foundational for overall economic growth.
• Employment Generation: PSUs were major employers, providing large-scale formal employment and contributing to the development of a skilled industrial workforce.
• Regional Development: By setting up industries in industrially backward areas, PSUs helped promote balanced regional development and reduced regional disparities, as envisioned by planners.
• Self-Reliance in Strategic Sectors: They were crucial for achieving self-reliance in strategic sectors like defense production, atomic energy, and oil exploration (e.g., ONGC, HAL), safeguarding national interests.
• Fostering Ancillary Industries: Large PSUs often stimulated the growth of numerous small and medium-sized ancillary units that supplied components and services, leading to a broader industrial ecosystem.

Major Factors Hampering PSU Efficiency:

• Bureaucratic Control & Political Interference: PSUs often functioned more like government departments than commercial enterprises, suffering from excessive bureaucratic control, lack of operational autonomy, and frequent political interference in decision-making, leading to delays and suboptimal choices.
• Low Profitability & Operational Inefficiencies: Many PSUs suffered from low productivity, overstaffing, and high operational costs. This often resulted in poor financial returns, or even continuous losses, burdening the national exchequer.
• Overmanning & Inefficient Labor Practices: Due to social objectives and political pressures, PSUs often had surplus labor, making it difficult to rationalize the workforce, improve productivity, or adopt flexible labor practices.
• Administered Pricing & Social Obligations: Many PSUs were compelled to sell their goods or services at artificially low, "administered" prices (e.g., electricity, steel) or undertake projects for social rather than commercial objectives, which severely impacted their financial viability and ability to generate surpluses for reinvestment.
• Technological Obsolescence: Protected from competition by licensing and import restrictions, many PSUs were slow to adopt new technologies or innovate, leading to outdated production processes and low-quality output.
• Long Gestation Periods & Cost Overruns: A number of large PSU projects experienced significant delays in completion and substantial cost overruns, further contributing to their financial woes.
• Lack of Accountability: Absence of clear performance metrics, coupled with a lack of commercial orientation, often led to a diluted sense of accountability among PSU management.

Conclusion: PSUs were instrumental in laying India's industrial foundation and achieving critical development goals in the initial decades after independence. However, by the 1980s, their inherent inefficiencies, coupled with the restrictive "Licensing Raj" and external shocks, became a significant drag on the economy. Their growing losses and fiscal burden ultimately became a key driver for the comprehensive economic reforms initiated in 1991, signaling a shift away from state dominance towards market-led growth.