Growth and Development Planning in India
The central theme of this book is to appraise the role of planning to maximize the rate of economic growth, and improve the standards of living and quality of life of the people in India since Independence. The book addresses four core areas. First, it delves into the circumstances which led to the adoption of planning and presents a comprehensive analysis of the economic scenario that unfolded in the six decades between 1951 and 2011, documenting shifts in growth and development strategy. Second, it explores the rate and pattern of economic growth, and traces reasons behind the shortfall in growth rate from the target. Third, the book contextualizes the backdrop against which economic reform measures were introduced to understand how different areas and sectors of the economy were integrated with the reform process. Fourth, it analyses the transition from growth measures pursued until the 1970s, to a mix of growth and redistribution from the 1980s, and then to inclusive growth in the 2000s, and finds out how income, especially of the poor and marginalized sections of the population increased. It makes an assessment of the level and change in poverty over time, and the impact of economic growth on poverty reduction. These four thematic areas of the book are essential to understand the process of economic growth and its impact on the lives of the people in India's rapidly changing socio-economic environment. Finally, it assesses the economic scenario in the 2010s, when planning was abandoned, and pinpoints the reasons behind dipping growth rate, and suggests measures for its revival.