The then Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Sastri, Food Minister, C. Subramanian, and Indira Gandhi, who succeeded Sastri in 1966 after his brief tenure, put their efforts to the development of agriculture. The term Green Revolution was coined by Dr William Gadd of USA in 1968, when Indian farmers brought about a great advancement in wheat production. The introduction of modern methods of agriculture such as high-yield variety seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides agricultural machineries such as tractors, pump-sets and agricultural education considerably increased the food grain production in India. India attained food self-sufficiency by the 1980s. The effects of Green Revolution were notable in the north- western region of Punjab, Haryana and western U.P., Andhra Pradesh, parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Growth of Science and Technology

Independent India has also witnessed a tremendous growth in the sphere of science and technology. After 1947, Nehru became aware of the significant role of scientific research and technology for the progress of India. India’s first national laboratory, the National Physical Laboratory was established in 1947. It was followed by seventeen such national laboratories for specializing in different areas of research. Nehru himself assumed the chairmanship of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

In 1952, the first Indian Institute of Technology, on the model of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was set up at Kharagpur. Subsequently, IITs were set up at Madras, Bombay, Kanpur and Delhi. The expenditure on scientific research and science-based activities has increased year by year.

There are about 200 research laboratories in India carrying out research in different areas. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) which was set up in 1971 has been assigned the responsibility of formulating science policy.

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