1. Economic Reforms and Indian Agriculture 2. Economic Reforms and Indian Education 3. Economic Reforms and Indian Insurance 4. Economic Reforms and Indian’s International Trade 5. Economic Reforms and Indian Health care, Tax Reforms, Consumption Patterns and Corruption 6. Economic Reforms and Indian Banking, Millennium Development Goals, Women Empowerment, SHGs

The Indian Economy Since 1991: Economic Reforms and Performance is the outcome of a collaborative effort by 28 experts who have made significant contributions in research toward the Indian economy. Using a data-based, analytical approach to key economic issues and problems, coupled with extensive coverage and a critical and in-depth analysis of the developments in all major sub-sectors of the Indian economy, this edited volume examines the impact of the reforms on various fronts such as economic performance, employment, unemployment, planning process, financial and fiscal sectors, external sector, agriculture, industry, infrastructure, health, education, poverty and federal finance since 1991.

The essays in this volume are written by leading economists working on the Indian economy. They collectively emphasize the importance of policies and institutions for sustained growth and poverty reduction, stressing that the success of sector-specific policies is vitally dependent on the nature of markets and the functioning of institutions such as those charged with regulating and overseeing critical sectors. Individual contributions assess the role of Indian government policy in key sectors and emphasize the policies required to ensure improvements in these sectors. The first section discusses aspects of the macro economy; the second deals with agriculture and social sectors; the third with jobs and how labor markets function in agriculture, industry and services; and the fourth with infrastructure services, specifically electricity, telecommunications and transport. The essays are drawn from the most influential papers presented in recent years on Indian economic policy at the Stanford Center for International Development.

The economic reforms that were initiated in India in the early nineties, are the subject of intense debate. Much of this debate centres around the scope of the reforms, their progress and their impact on growth, poverty reduction and sectoral development. In contrast, this volume focuses on the various political dimensions of the Indian economic reform process. The contributors emphasize the political shaping of the reforms, the politics of implementation, and the impact of reforms on political structures and processes. Two major themes run through the book: the relationship between policy reforms and democratic politics; and the impact of reforms on the quality of governance. Bringing together both theoretical contributions and case studies pertaining to particular states or sectors, this volume provides insights into various important questions including: - How was a radical shift in policy possible in a democracy, where the opposition can easily mobilize resistance? - How can reforms be sustained in a context where the majority of the voters are poor and attracted by handouts, and where political parties are accustomed to attracting voters through populist policies? - Do the reforms contribute to more efficient and inclusive administrative and political governance, or do they lead to new forms of corruption, bureaucratic mismanagement and/or undemocratic politics?

'Attitudinal change' in the context of economic reforms has been referred to in Rodrik and Subramanian (2005), DeLong (2003), Kohli (1989), and Panagariya (2004, 2008). This dissertation provides empirical support for this literature, establishing an earlier start for India's economic policy liberalisation than presented in stylized accounts. It demonstrates the endogenous nature of the origins of these policy shifts. 'Attitudinal change' literature had directed attention to the need for further research into India's policy changes of the early 1980s and for studying broader comparability issues in other developing countries. This research makes a contribution towards filling these gaps. This dissertation shows that India started its economic liberalisation under the Indira Gandhi administration from 1980 to 1984. These findings depart from the conventional view that India's economic policy changes were initiated by the Narasimha Rao government in 1991, or by the Rajiv Gandhi administration in the mid to late 1980s. The dissertation establishes that policy shifts of the early 1980s had endogenous origins in the political leadership's attitudinal changes. The Indira Gandhi administration of the early 1980s revisited the statist policies of its previous tenure from 1966 to 1977. The new approach entailed more openness towards private enterprise, scaling back the role of the public sector, and starting India's integration into the global economy. The dissertation also discusses the comparable role of attitudinal changes at the start of China's policy liberalisation led by Deng Xiaoping from 1978 to 1982. It focuses on the significance and challenges faced by China's political leadership in bringing about societal attitudinal change. The dissertation concludes by drawing comparisons between India and China, developing a linkage between their endogenous attitudinal changes and economic policy liberalisation.

The global capitalism has entered into a new and distinct phase, wherein liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation (commonly called LPG) is a central theme. Almost every country, particularly the developing countries, are on the agenda of international monopolies and international financial capital which are controlled and regulated by the industrially developed nations. The vulnerable economies all over the world are being forced to liberalise their economies resulting in unfavourable balance of competitive forces on their side. Free trade rules are dismantling the ‘License Raj’ meant for business and industry under the dictate of global corporations. Market forces have been given once again a primacy to make the major economic decisions. “The free trade systems of small producers and poor consumers are being dismantled and being made illegal in order to create free trade systems for big business and global corporations.”1 All these have been the outcome of certain policy initiatives and developments that have taken place at the national and international level especially since the 1980s.

Three of the largest and strategically most important nations in the world -the Soviet Union, China, and India - are currently in the throes of historic change. The reforms in the giants are transforming global economic and geopolitical relations. The United States must reexamine central tenets of its foreign policy if it is to seize the opportunities presented by these changes.This pathbreaking volume in the Overseas Development Council's series analyzes economic reform in the giants and its implications for U.S. foreign policy. Each of the giants is opening up its economy to foreign trade and investment. What consequences will this have for international trade? Each giant is attempting to catch up to global technological frontiers by absorbing foreign technologies: In what areas might cooperation enhance American interests, and in what areas must the U.S. protect its competitive and strategic assets? What role can key international economic institutions play to help integrate the giants into the international economy? The contributors suggest how U.S. foreign policy should anticipate these new circumstances in ways that enhance international cooperation and security.Contents: Overview: Economic Reform in the Giants and U.S. Policy, by Richard E. Feinberg, John Echeverri-Gent, and Friedemann Miiller; Economic Reform in the USSR, by Friedemann Miiller; Economic Reform in China, by Rensselaer W. Lee III; Economic Reform in India, by John Echeverri-Gent; The Politics of Economic Reform in the Giants, by John Echeverri-Gent, and Friedemann Miiller; Economic Reforms and International Trade, by Thomas Naylor; Technology Transfer to the Giants: Opportunities and Challenges, by Richard P. Suttmeier; and The Geopolitical Consequences of Reform in the Giants, by Elena Borisovna Arefieva.