As India celebrates 75 years of Independence, it is important to recall that as a democratic republic, it has been able to overcome the burden of colonialism and emerge as the world’s third-largest economy. Sanjaya Baru, economist and political analyst, traces the nature of this transformation, introducing the ideas and events that have shaped economic policy, transforming a feudal, agrarian economy into a modern, industrial and services-based one. He introduces to a young audience of millennials the role played by the drain of wealth under British colonial rule on nationalist thinking and post-Independence policy. He explains how Indian political and intellectual leaders influenced policy with regard to agrarian relations, industrialization and the creation of a knowledge-based economy. Baru offers a ringside view of the historic 1991 reform programme and its role in defining India’s development trajectory in the twenty-first century. 75 Years of Indian Economy is a part of the series Journey of a Nation. This book is written for a general audience that wishes to be informed about the nature of India’s economic transformation over the past 75 years. India’s economic rise as a secular, plural democracy holds great value for the entire world. ‘The first two decades of the twenty-first century have witnessed a significant transformation of the economy. There was a perceptible reduction in poverty, a rapid spread of urbanization and the establishment of a globally competent services economy. India led the world in the production of several agricultural commodities. However, the manufacturing sector remained a laggard, despite the launch of a new “manufacturing strategy” by the Manmohan Singh government in 2012 that was subsequently modified and relaunched as the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat programmes by the Narendra Modi government.’
