He subsidized fertilizers and modernized agriculture through irrigation development, spurred industrial growth with liberal tax benefits. In the decade of his rule, the GNP rose by 45% and manufactured goods began to overtake such traditional exports as jute and cotton. However, the economists in Planning Commission alleged that his policies were tailored to reward the elite families and major landowners in the country. In 1968, his administration celebrated the so-called "Decade of Development" when the mass protests erupted in all over the country due to an increasingly greater divide between the rich and the poor.