Agri Books

History of Indian Agriculture

• Indian agriculture began by 9000 BCE as a result of early cultivation of plants, and domestication of crops and animals.
• Wheat, barley, and jujube were domesticated in the Indian subcontinent by 9000 BC.
• 6 million earliest: Evidence of the presence of orange and some legumes crops.
• The first evidence of cultivation of cotton had already developed’. Cotton was cultivated by the 5th millennium BC.
• Irrigation was developed in the Indus Valley Civilization by around 4500 BCE.
• 3000 B.C: Farming of rice had started.
• 2500 B.C.: Rice was an important component of the staple diet in Mohenjodaro near the Arabian Sea.
• 1871: Departments of Agriculture created.
• 1875: Indian Metrology Department (IMD) was established in the year 1875 with its headquarters at Culcutta. The headquarter was shifted to Shimla in 1905, to Pune in 1928 and then to Delhi in 1944.
• 1878: Higher Education in Agriculture at Coimbatore.
• 1880: Famine Commission Appointed.
• 1890: Higher Education in Agriculture at Pune.
• 1891: Dr. J A Voekker report on improving Indian agriculture.
• 1901: First Immigration Commission
• 1906: Forest Research Institute.
• 1906-08: Six Agricultural Colleges were established i.e. Kanpur (U.P.), Lyalpur (Now in Pakistan), Coimbatore (in Tamil Nadu) and Nagpur in 1906, Pune (in Maharashtra) in 1907 and Sabour (Bihar) in 1908.
• 1914: First Tractor Bought for Agriculture use.
• 1914: Destructive Insect and Pest Act.
• 1921: Indian Central Cotton Committee.
• 1926: Royal Commission on Agricultural headed by Lord Linlithgow.
• 1929: Imperial (now Indian) Council of Agricultural Research at New Delhi.
• 1931: Indian Central Lac Committee.
• 1931: Indian Statistic Institute.
• 1936: Indian Central Jute committee.
• 1940: Indian Farming Journal Started by ICAR.
• 1942: Department of Food created.
• 1942: Grow more food campaign.
• 1943: Great Bengal Famine caused by Helminthosporium oryza (Brown Spot).
• 1944: Indian Central Sugarcane Committee.
• 1945: Indian Central Tobacco Committee.
• 1945: Indian Central Coconut Committee.
• 1946: Directorate of Plant Projection & Quarantine.
• 1946: Indian Standard Institute [Renamed Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in 1986].
• 1946: Central Rice Research Institute.
• 1947: Firka Development by T. Prakash and D. Tharugad.
• 1947: Food Policy Committee.
• 1947: Fertilizers &Chemicals Travancore.
• 1948: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
• 1949: Arecanut Committee.
• 1950: Agriculture Pest and Diseases Act.
• 1950: Planning Commission Established.
• 1954: Prevention of Food Adulteration Act.
• 1955: Essential Commodities Act.
• 1955: Food Product Order.
• 1956: Project for Intensification of Regional Research on Cotton, Oil, Seeds, Millets (PIRRCOM).
• 1957: All India Coordinated Maize Improvement Project.
• 1958: Spices and Cashewnut Committee.
• 1958: National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED).
• 2 Oct, 1959: Panchayati Raj in Rajasthan.
• 1960: Intensive Agriculture District Programme (IADP)
• 1960: First Agricultural University at Pantnagar.
• 1963: National Seed Corporation.
• 1965: Intensive Agriculture Area Programme (IAAP).
• 1965: Agriculture Price Commission.
• 1965: Food Corporation of India.
• 1965: National Demonstration Programme (NDP).
• 1966: High Yielding Varieties Programme.
• 1966: Asian Development Bank Act.
• 1966: Indian Seed Act.
• 1966: Multiple cropping schemes.
• 1967: Vegetable Oil Produce Act.
• 1967: Krishi Darshan Programme.
• 1967-68: Farmer Training and Education Center (FTEC).
• 1968: Insecticide Act.
• 1969: Second Immigration Compassion.
• 1970: Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP)
• 1970: National Commission on Agriculture.
• 1971: Small Farmer Development Agency (SFDA).
• 1971: Marginal Farmer and Agricultural Labour Project (MFAL).
• 1971: All India Coordinated Project for Dry Land Agriculture.
• 1972: ICRISAT.
• 1972: Agriculture Produce Market Act.
• 1973: Minikit Trials Programme.
• 1973: Tiger Project.
• 1973: Started Agricultural Research Services (ARS) by Dr. MS Swaminathan.
• 1974: Command Area Development Authority (CADA).
• 1974: Minikit Programme for Rice, Wheat and Core Cereals.
• 1974: Operational Research Project.
• 1974: Food for Work Programme (FWP)
• 1974: Minimum Need Programme (MNP).
• 1975: Establishment of Agriculture Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB) recommendation of G. Gadekar Committee.
• 1975: Vegetable Oil Product (standard and quality) Order.
• 1975: Regional Rural Bank Established.
• 1976: Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP).
• 1976: National Rural Employment Programme (NRED).
• 1976: Desert Development Program.
• 1976: Regional Rural Bank Act.
• 1976: National Commission on Agriculture Act.
• 1977: Training & Visit System (T&V).
• 1977: National Data Center (NDC) created at IMD, Pune.
• 1978: Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP)
• 1981: Coconut Development Board CDB).
• 1982: National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD).
• 1982: Sugar Development Fund Act.
• 1982: Development of Women and Children in Rural Area (DWACRA).
• 1983: Farmer Agriculture Service Center (FASC).
• 1983: Watershed Development Council (WDC).
• 1984: National Oilseeds and Vegetable Oil Development Board (NOVODB).
• 1985: Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme (CCIS)
• 1986: National Agricultural research project (Phase-II).
• 1986: Consumer Protection Act.
• 1986: National Pulses Development Project (NPDP).
• 1986: National Watershed Development Programme for Rainfed Area.
• 1986: Technology Mission on Oilseed (TMO).
• 1987: Dairy Development Board Act.
• 1987: National Institute of Agriculture Extension Management established at Hyderabad (MANAGE).
• 1987: Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd. (TRIFED).
• 1988: Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP)
• 1988: Special Food Production Programme (SFPP).
• 1989: Jawahar Rozgar Yojana.
• 1990: National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP).
• 1990: National Academy of Agriculture Science (NAAS).
• 1990: Agricultural and Rural Debit Relief Scheme (ARDRS).
• 1992: Oil Palm Development Programme (OPDP).
• 1992: Central Agriculture Universities Act.
• 1992: Destructive Insects and Pests (Amendment and Validation) Act.
• 1995: Accelerated Maize Development Programme (AMDP).
• 1995: Agriculture Research Information System.
• 1996: National Gene bank at New Delhi.
• 1996-97: Village Grain Bank Scheme.
• 1997: Indian Agriculture started online by Ministry of Agriculture.
• 1999: National Agriculture Technology Project (NATP).
• 2000: Intensive Cotton Development Program (ICDP)
• 2000-01: Macro-Management of Agriculture Scheme.
• 2001: The Protection of Plant Variety & Farmers Right Act. (PPVFR)
• 2002: Biodiversity Act.
• 2002: Agricultural Employees Protection Act.
• 2002: Agri-clinic and Agri-business Centres.
• 2003-04: Intensive Cotton Development Programme.
• 2004: Integrated Scheme Of Oilseeds, Pulses, Maize And Oilpalm (ISOPOM).
• 2004: National Agricultural Science Complex, New Delhi.
• 2004: Marine Fishing Policy.
• 2004: National Commission on Farmer (Chairman Dr. M.S. Swaminathan).
• 2005: National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).
• 2005: National Horticulture Mission [after 2014 it is known as Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)].
• 2005: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
• 2005: Kisan Call Center (Toll free no- 1551 and 1800-180-1551).
• 2005: Right to Information Act.
• 2006: National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) through World Bank.
• 2006: National Rainfed Area Authority.
• 2006: National Floriculture Mission.
• 2006: Food Safety And Standards Act.
• 2006: Agriculture Produce Markets (Amendments) Act.
• 2006-07: National Bamboo Mission.
• 2007: National Food Security Mission (NFSM).
• 2007: Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).
• 2008-09: Food Security and Quality Year.
• 2011: National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA).
• 2011: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
• 2011-12: National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture.
• 2012: Milk Mission. (National Dairy Plan Phase 1)
• 2012-13: Rural Backyard Poultry Development.
• 2013: National Food Security Act.
• 14 Jun, 2014: Pradhan Mantri Gram Sinchai Yojana.
• Sep, 2014: Make in India.
• Feb, 2015: Soil Health Card Scheme (Shri Narendra Modi gives slogan Swasth Dharaa, Khet Haraa).
• Dec, 2014: Rashtriya Gokul Mission.
• 2014-15: National Livestock Mission (NLM).
• 26^th May 2015: DD Kisan.
• 1^st July, 2015: Digital India.
• 2014-15: The National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change.
• 1^st Jan, 2015: National Institute for Transforming India (NITI).
• 13 Jan, 2016: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
• 2016: Mission Organic Value Chain Development For North Eastern Region.
• 24^th 2017: Model Mandi Act launched by GOI.
• 2017: Dr. Rajendra Prasad Agriculture University has been upgraded to Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University.