That the Food Ministry and the Planning Commission do not see eye to eye on the food situation in the country is by now quite well known. So the reported divergence between the two in regard to the continuation of P L 480 aid does not come as a surprise. It is, in fact, entirely to be expected since it is fundamental to their different viewpoints.
The Planning Commission’s reluctance to continue this particular type of US assistance is understandable. After all, the Third Plan does set down that one of its five “principal aims” is “to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains and increase agricultural production to meet the requirements of industry and exports”. In practice, however, this lofty objective has been ignored…