India's Economic Transition

Book excerpt: India's Economic Transition examines the reforms and their impact on the political economy of India. The introduction to the volume analyzes the politics that shaped economic policy during three broad phases--from independence to 1968, between 1969 and 1974, and the period after 1975--leading to the balance of payment crisis of 1991. The book addresses such questions as: What were the economic reforms undertaken after 1991? Why did they occur and how were they sustained? What was the impact of economic reforms on India's political economy? In addition, it includes significant features of the post-reform political economy like the growing importance of Indian federalism; a new politics of regulation governing markets in areas such as telecommunications, power, and stock exchanges; industrial lobbying; trade union activism; and the curious mix of benefits and costs associated with the rise of India's IT sector.