SSC
The term 'Green Revolution' was coined by:
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Answer: Option A — William Gaud
Detailed Solution
The term "Green Revolution" was first used by William S. Gaud, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in a speech on 8 March 1968. He used it to describe the dramatic increase in food grain production in developing countries brought about by new agricultural technologies. He contrasted it with a violent "Red" revolution, like that of the Soviet Union, and a "White" revolution, like that of the Shah of Iran.
The Green Revolution refers to the period from the mid-1960s onwards, when high-yielding varieties (HYV) of seeds, especially of wheat and rice, along with chemical fertilisers, pesticides, irrigation and farm machinery, led to large increases in crop yields.
Key people associated with the Green Revolution:
Norman Borlaug, an American agronomist, developed high-yielding, disease-resistant, dwarf varieties of wheat in Mexico. He is called the "Father of the Green Revolution" worldwide and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.
M.S. Swaminathan, an Indian agricultural scientist, brought Borlaug's wheat varieties to India and adapted them to Indian conditions. He is called the "Father of the Green Revolution in India". He received the first World Food Prize in 1987 and the Bharat Ratna (posthumously) in 2024.
- Subramaniam, the Union Minister of Food and Agriculture (1964-67), provided the political support for the new strategy. He received the Bharat Ratna in 1998.
In India, the Green Revolution began in 1966-67 with the High Yielding Varieties Programme. It was most successful in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, which had good irrigation. Wheat production more than doubled, India became self-sufficient in food grains and stopped depending on food imports under the American PL-480 scheme.
However, it also had drawbacks: it benefited mainly wheat and rice, large farmers and irrigated regions; it increased regional inequality; and the heavy use of chemicals and groundwater caused soil degradation, falling water tables and health problems.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Norman Borlaug is the father of the Green Revolution worldwide.
M.S. Swaminathan is the father of the Green Revolution in India.
- Subramaniam was the Agriculture Minister who supported it.
Quick tip
Remember: "Green Revolution" term = William Gaud (USAID, 1968); world father = Norman Borlaug (Nobel Peace 1970); India's father = M.S. Swaminathan; minister = C. Subramaniam.
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This question tests your understanding of Poverty, Unemployment & Development, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the problems of the Indian economy and how they are measured: poverty and the poverty line, committees on poverty estimation, types of unemployment, human development indices, and the programmes designed to tackle poverty and unemployment. Questions often ask which committee estimated poverty (such as the Lakdawala, Tendulkar and Rangarajan committees), what disguised and seasonal unemployment mean, and which organisation publishes the Human Development Index (UNDP). Rankings and indices change every year, so check the latest reports for those questions. Practise the poverty, unemployment and development questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.