Economic freedom provides a right of property ownership, realised freedoms of movement for labour, capital, and goods, and absence of coercion or constraint of economic liberty beyond the extent necessary for citizens to protect and maintain liberty. This book attempts to showcase the degree to which the policies and institutions are supportive of economic freedom in the States of India. Most states have shown a marked improvement in terms of legal structure and security of property rights, but continue to remain heavily regulated. It is the third successive edition, which tracks the performance of Indian states over a three year period. Some states have bettered their performance in certain areas, but few states have slipped down for slow pace of reforms. The point to be noted is that all states have scope for improvement in providing an economically free environment for their citizens; however, the individual areas requiring attention differ from one state to the other. In other words, the analysis points out specific areas which require government action for economic freedom. This book should be of interest to all, especially entrepreneurs, industry, and policy makers, alike.

P.D. Kaushik is Associate Director at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies. He is an engineer, MBA and Ph.D. During his Ph.D., he was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship. He has wide experience of industry and academics. He was also associated with consultancy work for the FAO, Commonwealth Secretariat and the World Bank. He is a visiting faculty at leading business schools in Delhi. He has publications on policy issues emerging from electronic commerce and WTO and has authored number of books, ranging from trade and regulatory reforms.

Simrit Kaur is Reader with the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi. She has acted as an advisor to institutes and organisations such as the NCAER and the OECD. Her areas of specialisation are privatisation, economic freedom, growth, inequality and competition. In addition, she has published and presented several papers at national and international conferences. Dr. Kaur's work has been widely appreciated, like the Best Research Paper Award by the AIMA and the Best Book Award for her book Privatization and Public Regulation: The Indian Experience by the ISTD.

Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit (FNF) is the German foundation for liberal politics working for the promotion of ideas on liberty and strategies for freedom across the world. Its main instruments are civic education, political consultancy and political dialogue. FNF lends its expertise for endeavours to consolidate and strengthen freedom, democracy, market economy and the rule of law. As the only liberal organisation of its kind world-wide, the Foundation facilitates to lay the groundwork for a future in freedom that bears responsibility for the coming generations. Within South Asia, with its strong tradition of tolerance and love for freedom, with its growing middle classes which increasingly assert themselves, and with its liberalising economies, the Foundation works with numerous partner organisations to strengthen the structures of democracy, the rule of law, and the economic preconditions for social development and a life in dignity.