In a country like India, agriculture provides the largest source of not only income but also employment. Economic growth, in this context, is critically dependent upon a breakthrough in agriculture. The problems of modernizing the agricultural sector are the subject of this study. The governmental strategy of agricultural development and its success or failure are described and analysed. In spite of a remarkable increase in agricultural production and a slightly improved per capita income and availability of foodgrain since Independence, the basic questions remain: how far reaching are the changes in Indian agricultural practice and do they favour the majority of the farmers in a village community?