New Delhi, Jan 15: Indias foodgrains production, aided by timely and uniform spread of monsoon, is headed for

a new record this year, said Agriculture inister !harad "awar# $owe%er, he e&pressed concerns o%er pulses and edible oilseeds output as the country is still import'dependent to meet the rising demand# ()e will be approaching an all'time record production of foodgrains this year when the second ad%ance estimates will be announced sometime in *ebruary,+ "awar told the ,5th Annual -eneral eeting of the Indian .ouncil of Agricultural /esearch on )ednesday# (0he efforts of scientists in de%eloping the high'yielding, input'efficient, disease'tolerant %arieties1hybrids along with widespread adoption by the farmers are %isible in increasing the farm producti%ity, 2uality and 2uantity,+ "awar said# Indias foodgrains production had touched an all'time high of 354 million tonnes in 3511'13, but fell marginally in the subse2uent year to around 355 mt on account of poor rains# Cultivable area "awar said despite a stagnant culti%able area at around 163 million hectares, foodgrains production in the country o%er the past 15 years has increased from 14, mt in 3556'55 to 354 mt in 3511'13 at an a%erage of about 7 mt per annum# During this period, production of wheat and rice 8 the two main staple cereals ha%e reported an increase of 55 mt# Research programmes "awar e&horted the I.A/ scientists to formulate research programmes that are more focussed and contribute in realising the national goal of 6 per cent growth in agriculture# )ith climate %ariability becoming a ma9or issue, "awar told the scientists that it was the go%ernments constant endea%our to enhance the resilience of Indian agriculture against natural disasters and climate changes# :0his article was published on January 15, 3516; <eywords: *oodgrains production, foodgrains output, timely monsoon, !harad "awar, January 15, 3516: )hen anmohan !ingh assumed office in 3556, there was a sigh of relief, as the .ongress had chosen an economist with a reputation of impeccable personal integrity to lead the -o%ernment#

$e too= o%er at a time when policies of economic liberalisation initiated by "rime Narasimha /ao had set the country on course of high growth#

inister

0he preceding NDA years had been mar=ed by prudent fiscal management and a process of defence modernisation was underway to deal with challenges from "a=istan and .hina# >n foreign relations, ?"A'1 inherited policies that had led to better relations with the ?!, /ussia and the @?, together, with mo%es for greater economic integration with the countries of !outh, !outheast and @ast Asia# In what was e%idently his %aledictory press conference, the "rime inister candidly admitted: ( y best moment as " was when we struc= a nuclear deal with the ?!+# 0he -o%ernment, howe%er, failed to e&plain to people in India what the India'?! nuclear deal really in%ol%ed# It was ne%er clearly e&plained that as a non'signatory to the Non'"roliferation 0reaty, India was facing sanctions on access to all high'tech items which had dual uses, and that its economic growth and modernisation was suffering because of sanctions by 65 members of the Nuclear !uppliers -roup# Ending sanctions A country facing such sanctions could ob%iously not play the role of a responsible, technologically ad%anced power# oreo%er, gi%en its %ast resources of thorium, India has unlimited potential for de%elopment of nuclear energy# Aut, for this process to be =ic='started, it needs %ast amounts of uranium ore, essential for installing new uranium'fuelled nuclear power reactors# It lac=ed e&ploitable indigenous uranium resources for such a programme 8 a %ital shortcoming, which the nuclear deal has o%ercome# 0he most significant aspect of the India'?! nuclear deal was that it ended global nuclear sanctions, without eroding or compromising our nuclear weapons programme# Despite this, the deal faced serious domestic political opposition, especially from the ?"As communist allies# Indias communist parties, unli=e their .hinese counterparts, are still wedded to the dogmas of ar&ism'Beninism, which ha%e been discredited e%erywhere, especially with the collapse of the !o%iet ?nion and .hinas economic reforms# Adding to anmohan !inghs troubles was .ongress "resident !onia -andhis lac= of enthusiasm towards economic liberalisation and her a%ersion to countering the communist efforts to torpedo the deal# *or obser%ing that the .ongress was not bac=ing the "rime inister, !an9aya Aaru, the "rime inisters spo=esman was compelled to 2uit# Aarus departure from the " > had far reaching effects on the functioning of anmohan !ingh and his office# 0he " lost his only aide who could =eep him fran=ly informed of media and public opinion#

Wrong credits ost independent analysts were con%inced that ?"As electoral %ictory in 3554 was primarily because anmohan !ingh had 2uietly o%erseen a period of rising economic growth and prosperity, with manageable and publicly acceptable le%els of inflation# 0he .ongress, howe%er, chose to interpret this %ictory as a ringing endorsement of the p"arty presidents populist programmes and a re9ection of economic liberalisation# oreo%er, ?"A'3 saw ministers from not only the .ongress, but also its allies, openly disregarding the "rime inisters wishes# 0his was all too e%ident in the actions of A# /a9a in the 3- !cam and the inefficient and less than transparent manner in which the .ommonwealth -ames were mismanaged, amidst allegations of widespread corruption# oreo%er, two successi%e en%ironment ministers, political lightweights who ha%e ne%er won e%en a panchayat election, stalled, delayed and e%en denied clearances for %ital industrial and infrastructure pro9ects, with the "rime inister unwilling and e%idently unable to rein them in# 0hings ine%itably reached a state where the "rime inister was seen as being unable to e%en select officials for the " ># $e was saddled with a spo=esman =nown to ha%e been chosen by the courtiers in 15 Janpath# @%en his "rincipal !ecretary, a competent official, was =nown to be the choice of 15 Janpath# 0he "rime inister soon did not ha%e a spo=esman, while his office had a functionary initially designated as (.ommunications Ad%iser to the "rincipal !ecretary+# Return to populism In the meantime, the .ongress decided to return to its old ways of populism and fiscal profligacy, while neglecting the reforms process that commenced in Narasimha /aos tenure and were ta=en forward by the NDA# oreo%er, while the "rime inister retained his reputation for probity, his go%ernment was soon seen as the most corrupt of its =inde%er in independent India# 0o ma=e matters worse, economic populism and a growing budget deficit slowed growth, spiralled inflation, led to an unacceptably high current account deficit and the depreciation of the rupee# In this en%ironment, Indias standing in the world suffered, with global ratings agencies contemplating downgrading the countrys credit rating# Internationally, the "rime inister was seen as losing control and authority, most notably on relations with Aangladesh and !ri Ban=a# $is inability to de%ise a political strategy and o%errule his own cabinet ministers from 0amil Nadu, who were publicly eroding his influence to decide

rationally on his %isit to !ri Ban=a for the .ommonwealth !ummit, only confirmed that the "rime inisters writ o%er his go%ernment and in his party was waning precipitously# Not surprisingly, chief ministers in !tates such as )est Aengal did not see any merit or gain in being influenced by New Delhi, when the writ of the "rime inster was limited in the capital itself# Recipe for failure anmohan !ingh spo=e emotionally about his (legacy#+ $e held that history would 9udge him more positi%ely than the media in India# 0here is little doubt that if he had called it a day after his first term, he would ha%e left in a blaCe of glory, as a prime minister who too= economic growth to near double digits, ended global nuclear sanctions and was a shining e&ample of personal financial integrity# 0his reality cannot be wished away# At the same time, condoning corruption is a charge that will continue to haunt him# It is a pity he did not realise in 3554 that a fractious parliamentary democracy dominated by an all powerful .ongress leader with power and no constitutional responsibility on the one hand and a prime minster with constitutional responsibility, but %ery limited e&ecuti%e power, or political influence on the other, was a recipe for disaster# :0he author is a former $igh .ommissioner to "a=istan#;