History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c96.s2.60

v7.c96.s2.60

Our country's great handicap is population and food production. Statistics for the growth of population ²⁶⁴⁹ are '(in millions). 1901 (235 5), 1911 (249), 1921 (248.1), 1931 (275.5), 1941 (314.8), 1951 (356.9), 1961 (438). This indicates that by about 1966-1967 the population of our country may be about 480 millions. Article 39a (referred to on p. 1666) requires the State to direct its policy towards securing that every citizen has the right to an adequate means of livelihood. Our country has been an agricultural country from time immemorial, yet we have to import millions of tons of wheat and other grain for feeding our large population The finance minister in his speech on the Budget for 1961-62 states (p 79 para 36) that in May 1961 an agreement under P. L 480 was signed by India's minister with the U. S A for the import in four years of 18 million tons of wheat, one million tons of rice and also certain quantities of maize, cotton, tobacco and soya bean oil This is-the biggest agricultural commodities agreement ever signed between two countries. There were four previous agreements commencing from August 1956 but they were all on a lesser scale. The fifth agreement of May 1960 was for agricultural commodities worth 1369.8 million dollars (= 655.8 crores of rupees). The average intake of food in India is below the nutritional standards laid down by scientists. Ours is one of the poorest countries in the world as the following table ²⁶⁵⁰ for national income *'per capita* for 1957 will show