Evening star., 1952-01-15
Investment in India

The fve-year agreement recently signed by
India and the United States promises to yield
good dividends as an undertaking designed to
help Prime Minister Nehru and his government
cope with the problem of fast-multiplying pop
ulation in country whose agricultural and in
dustrial productivity has been at best standing
still.
AS made clear in last years exhaustive study
by Mr. Nehru's special commission OF experts,
the problem-which exists in varying degrees
elsewhere in the worlds too acute and ur-
gent to be shelved for deferred action. This
is so because India, whose present tillable land
and food output are woefully inadequate for
the people living there, is growing in population
at an annual rate of 1000, or $4,000 900 each
decade. Thus five years from now, the number
of Indian men, women and children, who totaled
about 300,000000 in 1912, is expected to approx
mate $4,000, 900, and If the current trend con-
tinues for another ten years after that, the
figure will be up to around 100000 ,000 Quite
obviously, therefore, it is Of vital Importance
to do everything possible to promote a COM
mensurate increase in farm and factory pro-
duction.
To that end, the Nehru government has
drawn up f1ve-year plan Of action The plan,
which includes controversial proposals for birth
control, places its major emphasis on fostering
economic development by spending, between
now and 1857, the rupee equivalent Of $S.7 bill
lion on projects undermining and expanding
the countrys productive facilities in agriculture
and industry. The new agreement with the
United States will operate primarily in connec-
ton with the effort to improve farming tech-
niques and increase food output Involving a
total Of $50,000,000 in American aid the agree
ment is part of our technical cooperation policy
and is related to the Point Four Program for
building up the economies of underdeveloped
lands. The money outlay-the biggest outright
grant we have yet made to India-will come
from funds that Congress has already appro-
priated for South Asia in the Mutual Security
Act.
Relatively speaking, this $50,0o0,000 in aid
which the Nehru government is to match with
an equal amount Of rupees-is not large sum.
But experience has shown that large sums are
not needed to bring about great increases in
food output by spreading know-how and i'm
proving farming techniqueS. The Indians them
selves have been demonstrating this in number
of rural developmental projects that have led
to excellent results in terms Of not only pro-
duction but lteracy, housing and health as well.
Such projects, whose expenditures will be Jointly
administered by New Delhi officials and our own
representatives, will now be expanded under the
hve-year agreement, and there is good reason
to hope that they will open the way to sharp
cuts in 1ndia's costly agricultural imports-cuts
that would save lot Of money and make it
available for sorely needed industrial progress.
1t is clear, in any event, that action along
these lines is imperative If India is to head of
the disastrous economic, social and political po-
tentialities inherent in its present population
growth and deficient productivity. Our aid in
that sense is an act of enlightened self-interest
-an investment designed to serve our own Sc
curity by cooperating with q free country
whose well-being Is Of vast importance to the
stability and peace Of Asia and the whole world.