preview

How India 's Economic Policies And Growth Have Changed Since Independence Essay

Better Essays

Pallabi Chakraborty
404519609
Economic Liberalization in India
On the 15th of August, 1947, India awoke to freedom and democracy, when the British passed on the controls of ‘the brightest jewel in the crown’ (as India was lovingly called) to the Indian people. The Indian subcontinent has been invaded since time immemorial for the riches the land held. It is often said that trading with India and conquering it was a great deal to the Europeans. For the British to reign the country for so long, which became dominant primarily after several wars and diplomatic issues in Indian as well as Europe, was a source of pride. It established them as superior to the Dutch, French and Portuguese. However, if India indeed is a country of such abundance, and has been a free country for so long, why is it still counted amongst low income countries? In this paper, I make an attempt to evaluate how India’s economic policies and growth have changed since independence.
At the time of independence, the value of rupee was at par with the US dollar and India had a clean balance sheet with no borrowings. The Indian government decided to pan out development through Five Year plans, much alike the ones implemented by the former soviet government. These plans were meant to finance welfare and development activities with the help of external funds which would mean that the rupee would have to be devaluated (Economic Times, August 24th, 2013). Source: World Bank and www.knoema.com (Rupees devaluation

Get Access