8.8         ndian    onom
              their land reform programmes, where it is  PhAse-ii
              seen as just an economic asset for income-
                                                         The second phase of land reforms can be traced
              earning.                                   in the process of economic reforms. Economic
         (ii) Lack of political will which was required  reforms exposed the economy to the new and
              to affect land reforms and make it a       emerging realities, such as, land acquisition and
              successful programme.                      leasing, food-related issues and the agricultural
       (iii) Rampant corruption in public life,          provisions of the World Trade Organization
              political hypocricy and leadership failure (WTO). We see a shift (Economic Survey
              in the Indian democratic system.           2012–13) in the thinking of the Government of
                                                         India towards the issue of land reforms—a clear
     lAnD reforms & green revolution                     three step policy looks emerging:
     Once the government launched the Green                    (i) Mapping land carefully and assigning
     Revolution, the issue of land reforms almost got              conclusive title,
     marginalised due to the following reasons:               (ii) Devising a fair but speedy process of land
          (i) There is an inherent diabolic relationship           acquisition, and
              between the Green Revolution and the           (iii) Putting in place a transparent and
              land reforms as the former suits bigger              effective land leasing policy.
              and economic land holdings, while the            Land is probably the single most valuable
              latter intended to fragment the land       asset in the country today. Not only could greater
              among a large number of the masses.        liquidity for land allow more resources to be
         (ii) The land reforms were socially opposed     redeployed efficiently in agriculture, it could ease
              by the land-owning caste lobbies, while    the way for land-utilising businesses to set up.
                                                         Perhaps, as important, it could allow land to serve
              there was no such opposition to the
                                                         as collateral for credit.
              Green Revolution.
                                                               The National Land Records Modernisation
       (iii) The level of legislative attempts taken
                                                         Programme (NLRMP), started in 2008, aims at
              by the governments regarding the land
                                                         updating and digitising land records by the end
              reforms till date had almost no positive
                                                         of the Twelfth Plan. Eventually, the intent is to
              socio-economic impact on the country,      move from presumptive title (where registration of
              while the Green Revolution was having      a title does not imply the owner’s title is legally
              all potential of proving higher yields of  valid) to conclusive title (where it does). Important
              foodgrains.                                points related to this process may be summarised
        (iv) The subsidised supplies of foodgrains       as follows:
              under PL480 were hampering India from            (i) Digitisation will help enormously in
              carving out its independent diplomacy, as            lowering the costs of land transactions,
              well as there has always remained a doubt            while conclusive title will eliminate
              about the regular supplies of wheat.                 legal uncertainty and the need to use
         (v) International pressure as well as the                 the government as an intermediary for
              suggestions from the World Bank                      acquiring land so as to ‘cleanse’ title.
              besides the success stories of the Green        (ii) Given the importance of this programme,
              Revolution from the countries where it               its rollout in various states needs to be
              had increased the yield of wheat.                    accelerated—easier and quicker land