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Make a precis of the following passage in about one-third of its length and suggest a suitable title (Use precis-sheet given at the end of the answer book) :
Agriculture Minister’s sympathy for biscuit-makers is not misplaced, but he should not lose sight of larger issues. Biscuits may continue to come cheap, with the government slashing import duty on wheat to zero till December, but the shortfall in wheat output is for real. While the arrival of five million tonnes of imported wheat is expected to take care of the current shortage, the government needs to reframe its policies to address a situation of food deficit.
Gone are the days of overflowing granaries of the Food Corporation of India (FCI). Now, FCI godowns lack the stocks to stabilise the market. How does one explain this transition ? The fact that private procurement of food-grains has increased in recent years to meet the needs of big players in the food business should not
sufficient country. According to studies by the Indian Council for Medical Research, even our cereals output barely measures up to per capita nutritional needs. This cannot change unless India’s food output, now growing at 2% per annum, outstrips population growth. While imports are always an option to plug the supply-demand gap, it should be seriously considered only when possibilities to improve productivity have been explored. India holds a comparative advantage in agriculture, with its unique soil and climatic conditions. It would be foolish to spend wastefully that away. Wheat output has stagnated at 70¬75 million tonnes, clearly suggesting that the green revolution has exhausted its potential in Punjab and Haryana.
The Eleventh Plan rightly calls for a second green revolution, so that Indians can produce and consume increasingly larger quantities of wheat, value-added food products and industrial goods. At present, a flourishing middle class, rural and urban, is driving a change in food consumption patterns. Hence, this represents a shift away from coarse grains to finer varieties and from cereals to a more diversified diet. While the growth of food processing, in order to cater to this segment, will work to the farmers’ advantage, food output should also increase so that consumers as a whole are not put to hardship. The government must promote land consolidation as a new mode of land reform so that farming remains a viable activity. Instead of sinking huge sums in new irrigation projects, it should try to turn around existing systems that have fallen into disuse. State support should be diverted away from regions that have hit diminishing returns to areas that have productivity potential. Let us be a nation of happy food growers, biscuit-makers and consumers.
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