1960s

Ship-to-mouth existence
# Three major droughts
# Country can't feed its people
# Heavy reliance on imported wheat
# Food corporation on India and Agriculture Price Commission set up
# Public distribution system launched
# Laws like the Essential Commodities Act come into being

1970s

Green Revolution
# New and better varieties of seeds developed
# Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh witness surge in crop yields
# The country becomes self reliant foodgrains
# Rural banks setup all over the country
# Government considers winding up FCI

1980s

Stagnation
# Virtually no investment in post-harvest facilities
# Loan melas bankrupt rural credit system
# More emphasis on subsidies than investment
# Government controls all inputs going into farming

1990s

Harvest of Half-hearted Reforms
PANIC SELLING: Support of foodgrains more than doubled, making them higher than market rates. Farmers rush to government but it can't buy all that is on offer. Result: distress sales

DIPPING DEMANDS: Prices of foodgrains sold through PDS more tha treble. This pares demand and leaves FCI with 45 million tones.

RISING COSTS: Rising prices cripple landless agriculture workers whose incomes do not rise as fast. As wages catch up with prices, labour costs go up. Plantations worse hit.

CONTROLLED MARKET: Government controls haven't allowed post harvest facilities to develop so farmers rely excessively on the state.

IMPORT DELUGE: Global prices of agriculture commodities fall after tariffs are lowered, causing a flood of cheap imports.

INVESTMENT TUMBLES: Subsidies rise from Rs 12,000 crore in 1991-92 to Rs 23,500
crore in 1999-2000, forcing the state to cut investment in agriculture.