B. M. Bhatia. Indian Agriculture: A Policy Perspective. New'Delhi: Sage Publications India Pvt. Ud., 1988.191 pp.Rupees (Indian) 140.00 (Hardbound Edition).

India is self-sufficient in the production of foodgrains, andin good years has substantial exportable surpluses. This is no smallachievement for a country which, in the late Sixties, had to import asmuch as 13 percent of its requirements of foodgrains. The turnaroundcame as a result of the distribution of high-yielding seeds, fertilizer,modern agricultural technology, and provision of extension services. Butagricultural growth has remained concentrated in the north-west of thecountry, which is well-endowed with infrastructures like irrigation,rural electrification, roads, markets, etc. By one estimate, theseareas, which account for less than 15 percent of the total area underfoodgrains cultivation in the country, have contributed as much as 56percent of the increase in foodgrain production in the post-green·revolution period. No doubt, this has led to an increase in the regionaldisparities as well. Another serious imbalance in Indian agriculture hasarisen because of cropwise disparities in growth, between foodgrains andnon-foodgrains on the one hand, and among different foodgrains on theother. About 70 percent of the total cultivated area in the country israin-fed, which contributes a large proportion of the total output ofimportant crops like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, and cotton; and over 40percent of the total food grains production of the country. Butproductivity in these areas is low and fluctuates according to theamount of rainfall. Dr Bhatia shows that stagnation in the agriculturesector has coincided not only with adverse weather conditions but alsowith adverse inputoutput price ratios, particularly between fertilizerand procurement prices of cereals.