8.4 ndian onom
the late 1940s. But due to market failure the uncertainties of monsoon for their
the sector failed to lead the economy irrigational requirements.10
after independence. Without increasing
the income of the people who depend KHArIF & rABI
on agriculture for their livelihood, the
There are certain special terms used to understand
market was not going to support the the cropping seasons of India. The agricultural
industries. As a result, the Government crop year in India is from July to June. The Indian
of India announced agriculture as the cropping season is classified into two main seasons-
prime moving force of the economy only (i) kharif and (ii) rabi based on the monsoon. The
in 2002.6 kharif cropping season is from July to October
(viii) With 1 per cent increase in the share of during the South-West/Summer Monsoon and
agriculture in India’s total exports, the the rabi cropping season is from October to March
money which flows into agriculture is (North-East/Returning/Winter Monsoon). The
calculated to be Rs. 8,500 crores.7 crops grown between March and June are summer
crops, known as jayads.
(ix) In 2017-18 foodgrains production is
Pakistan and Bangladesh are two other countries
estimated to be a record 277.49 million
that are using the term ‘kharif’ and ‘rabi’ to describe
tonnes of which is around 7 per cent
their cropping patterns. The terms ‘kharif’ and ‘rabi’
higher than the total production of originate from Arabic language where kharif means
2015-16 (252.23 MT)8. autumn and rabi means spring.
(x) Productivity of major crops are lower The kharif crops include rice, maize, sorghum,
in case of India in comparison to the pearl millet/bajra, finger millet/ragi (cereals), arhar
world’s best practice. Though it has (pulses), soyabean, groundnut (oilseeds), cotton,
been improving with a slow pace, the etc. The rabi crops include wheat, barley, oats
productivity of rice, wheat and pulses (cereals), chickpea/gram (pulses), linseed, mustard
improved from 2,202 kg, 2,900 kg and (oilseeds) etc.
625 kg per hectare of 2007–08 to 2,390
kg, 2,872 kg (falling from 3,026 kg Food PHIlosoPHy oF IndIA
of 2011-13) and 744 kg per hectare in
Indian food philosophy11 is generally seen divided
2016-17.9 into three phases with their own objectives and
(xi) A total of 66.1 per cent of the cropped challenges:
area in the economy still depends on
the first PhAse
6. Planning Commission, Approach Paper to the Tenth
Five Year Plan (New Delhi: Government of India, This phase continued for the first three decades
2002). after Independence. The main aim and the struggle
7. This was the general opinion of the experts throughout
the s, ut the official document which accepted this
of this phase was producing as much foodgrains as
contention was the Foreign Trade Policy 2002-07, of required by the Indian population, i.e., achieving
the Ministry of Commerce. This View continued with physical access to food.
the govenment in all its forthcoming trade policies till
about four decades. 10. Ministry of Finance, Economic Survey 2015-16, Vol. 2, p. 103.
8. Ministry of Agriculture, GoI, N. Delhi, March, 2018. 11. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR),
9. Ministry of Agriculture, GoI, N. Delhi February 2018. N. Delhi, 1998.