Removal of Import Restrictions and India s Agriculture-The Challenge and Strategy

India's Agriculture The Challenge and Strategy Ramesh Chand There is a demand from some developed countries that India, since it was no more suffering from the balance of payment problem' should come out with a plan to phase out quantitative restrictions (QRs) on imports, On the other hand, Indian officials in the Krishi Bhavan fear that liberalisation of agricultural imports would hit Indian producers and impair the growth prospects of the farm sector. Against this background, this paper discusses: (a) the implications of removal of QRs for Indian agricultural sector, (b) circumstances that would lead to imports after removal of QRs, and (c) strategy and policy the country should follow to minimise the adverse impact of QR removal on agricultural sector.