Golden Revolution & National Horticulture Mission

In this article you will know about the Golden Revolution, meaning and importance of Golden Revolution in India, the products to which the golden revolution is related to and the National Horticulture Mission.

Candidates preparing for various competitive exams must be well versed with the Golden Revolution as it is an important topic from exams point of view. 

Candidates preparing for the UPSC exam, bank exams, SSC, RRB, Insurance exam or other Government exams must keep abreast with Golden revolution as a minimum of 1-2 questions related to this topic are asked in the general awareness section of the exams.

Aspirants of UPSC exam should prepare Green Revolution and National Horticulture Mission topic for Static GK section and Geography GS I Paper.

What is Golden Revolution?

The period between 1991 to 2003 is known as the period of Golden Revolution in India. The Golden revolution is related to the production of honey and horticulture. It is a part of the important agricultural revolutions of India. Nirpakh Tutej is considered to be the Father of The Golden Revolution in India.

Golden Revolution In India

The period between 1991 – 2003 was regarded as the Golden revolution period because, during this period, the investment planned in the horticulture segment became highly productive.

India became the world leader in the production of a variety of fruits like coconut, mangoes, cashew nuts and more. The sector emerged as a sustainable livelihood option and became the second-largest producer of vegetables and fruits. 

Economic conditions of many farmers who were engaged in horticulture improved thus improving the livelihood for many underprivileged classes.

Factors Affecting the Growth of Horticulture Sector during Golden Revolution

Horticultural development had not been a priority in India until the early 1990’s. The performance of the horticultural sector in India surged drastically from 1991 to 2003. In the period 1948 to 1980, the main focus of India was on the production of cereals hence, researchers described it as a ‘golden revolution’, supposedly to distinguish it from the ‘green revolution’.

The factors that affected the growth of horticulture sector during Golden Revolution in India are as mentioned below:

• The shift in cropping pattern in favour of crops with higher returns
• Increase in the are of harvesting
• Improvement in the techniques of cultivation.

Horticulture Exports during Golden Revolution in India

The horticulture sector of the country faced several hurdles such as lack of cold storage facilities, low productivity, etc. but the shifting food pattern as a consequence of increasing income and the health awareness of the population has transformed the horticulture of India as a vibrant commercial venture.

The Horticulture exports of India marked an increase from ₹ 6308.53 crores in 2004- 2005 to ₹ 28,62861 crores in 2014-2015. This significant growth in the sector is undoubtedly attributed to the organized and planned policies of the horticulture sector under Golden Revolution. 

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National Horticulture Mission

The Government of India launched the National Horticulture Mission in the year 2005-2006 with a mandate to increase the production in the horticulture sector. 

The government decided to provide all necessary funds to the National Horticulture Mission to usher in the golden revolution in horticulture sector in the country. The States had to take advantage of the National Horticulture Mission and come up with good and relevant schemes for the betterment of their horticulture sector.

The total area under vegetables and fruits was 11.72 million hectares and the total production stood at 150.73 million tons in the year 2005. As a result of huge spurt in the sector due to the National Horticulture Mission, the production of horticulture tremendously increased to 281 million tonnes from an area of 23.2 million hectares in 2015-2016.

This remarkable increase in the horticulture productivity made India the second-largest producer of vegetables and fruits in the world, after China. 

Knowing about the Golden Revolution, factors affecting the growth of horticulture production during Golden Revolution in India and the National Horticulture Mission by the government holds relevance in competitive exams like Bank exam, RRB, SSC, Insurance exam and other Government exams. 

To know more about scheme related to the development of Horticulture, read Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) in the linked article.

Golden Revolution & National Horticulture Mission:- Download PDF Here

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