India's economy from Nehru to Modi : a brief history / Pulapre Balakrishnan.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 241-250) and index.

Preface;
Introduction;
1 Breakout;
2 Watershed;
3 Return to the World;
4. Momentum Lost;
5 An Unfinished Journey;
Bibliography;
Index;
TABLES:
1.1 Economic Performance in the Nehru Era;
1.2 Economic Growth in the Nehru Era in Comparative Perspective;
1.3 The Allocation of Public Expenditure on Education, 1951-1966;
3.1 Financing External Payments;
3.2 Manufacturing's Share of the Economy;
4.1 Inflation and the Fiscal Deficit Since 2014;
4.2 Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF);
4.3 Foreign Direct Investment;
4.4 Making in India;
4.5 A Contractionary Macroeconomic Policy;
4.6 Expenditure Priorities of the Modi Government;
4.7 The Macroeconomic Policy Response to COVID-19;
5.1 Human Development in India and the World;
5.2 Public Spending and Educational Outcomes Across the World;
5.3 Regional Variation of Development in India;
5.4 Gender in Development 220 5.5 The Imprint of Caste;
CHARTS:
1.1 A Century of Economic Growth in India;
2.1 A Growth Cycle;
4.1 Economic Growth since 2014;
4.2 Unemployment;
4.3 The Inter-state Variation in covID-19 Mortality.

How has India’s economy fared over the first seventy-years of the country’s independence? More specifically, how has India’s economic journey impacted the life of the Indian citizen? Have the various economic measures and reforms since 1947 improved or worsened matters for the people? These are the core issues addressed within this concise and accessible book.

Given India’s large population, there has always been great interest internationally in the steps taken to shape the country’s economy and its consequent advance. The country, says Pulapre Balakrishnan, has undoubtedly progressed. It is now self-sufficient in food, industrially capable, and globally recognised for its software services.

Yet, while the country has ended famine, it has neither eliminated poverty nor reduced inequality of opportunity. If India has modernised without human development, can the India story amount to much? The author argues that an economy focused largely on growth instead of equally on well-being – which can come about only with substantial public provision of education and health – ignores a founding premise of the Indian republic.

Written by a professional economist with impeccable academic credentials, this invigorating short account illuminates India’s economic journey since 1947 while arguing persuasively for an appreciation of its human dimension. Students, scholars, and the everyday reading public will be enlightened by this fresh and comprehensive overview.