At the time of India's independence, the agricultural situation was bleak. During the four decades preceding 1946–7, India's foodgrain output grew by a mere 12 percent, whereas the population increased by over 40 percent, resulting in a decline in the per capita availability of foodgrains. Foodgrain yields had remained constant over this period. Yields for rice, India's main crop, accounting for close to one-half of its foodgrain output, had in fact dropped. In 1947, only about 15 percent of the cultivated land was under irrigation; the rest was dependent on the proverbial vagaries of the monsoon. Moreover, agriculture in many underdeveloped parts of Asia had moved ahead. Java, through labor-intensive methods, had managed to increase food output to match its population growth. Paddy yields in China were twice as high as average yields in India. Thus, the task of transforming agriculture was daunting and urgent. As a reminder of what could happen, one of the century's worst famines had already taken place in Bengal a few years back – in 1942 – when a million people died.

What strategy should India adopt for transforming agriculture? Political leaders of independent India went through a long and intense debate. There was agreement on the production objective. A substantial increase in food production was essential, new areas had to be brought under cultivation, and yields had to go up.