Indian Economy Since Independence (36th Edition 2025-26)

A comprehensive and critical analysis of India’s economy, 1947-2025

Uma Kapila

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Praise for this book

“The annual publication, Indian Economy Since Independence edited by Dr Uma Kapila is a veritable boon to the Economics student community in India. The authors she chooses for the different  themes are eminent economists or public policy experts. The amount of effort she puts in the editorial notes for each subject area is tremendous. I am greatly impressed by the high quality and rich range of successive editions of the book. I look forward to the latest edition of the book year after year. My hearty compliments to Dr. Kapila.”
— K L Krishna
    Former Director, Delhi School of Economics; Padma Shri Awardee-2025
 
 
Sharing a piece of its history...
Year 1988: On publication of the first edition of this book, which was originally designed for students of the University of Delhi, Prof. VKRV Rao, the legendary economist, policymaker and institution builder, thus wrote   in a letter addressed to the editor Uma Kapila:
“...It will be a most unusual kind of textbook for pioneering which you deserve congratulations. I, therefore, send you   my good wishes for the success of the publication and its use by students who do Economics Honours not only in the University of Delhi but also other universities.”   
— V.K.R.V. Rao 
 
 
Praise for the 25th (silver jubilee) edition:
“Uma Kapila’s 25th edition of this well-known volume contains an excellent and up-to-date collection of essays on the Indian Economy by some of the country’s leading economists, interspersed with very useful contributions by the editor herself. It will be a great boon for all students of the Indian economy…young and old.”
— Shankar Acharya
    Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India (1993-2001)
 
“The annual edition of Dr. Uma Kapila’s Indian Economy since Independence has become a staple, annually updated, reference for University students throughout the country, for aspirants for the civil service and other examinations, and  for all those interested in a single comprehensive source of information, and analysis by a galaxy of scholars, on the Indian economy. This twenty-fifth anniversary edition marks a milestone in a remarkable journey, begun in 1988 by a revered teacher of long standing from Delhi University.” 
— Indira Rajaraman
    Member, 13th Finance Commission and 
    Member, India Advisory Board of the World Gold Council


About the Author(s) / Editor(s)

Dr. Uma Kapila, author/editor of several books on Indian economy, retired as Reader, Department of Economics, Miranda House, University of Delhi. She has taught Indian economy to undergraduate students for more than 42 years. Currently, she is Editorial Director, Academic Foundation.

Contributors

Sarthi Acharya

Pulapre Balakrishnan

Rupa Chanda

Ajay Chhibber

Shaktikanta Das

Bibek Debroy (late)

Satish Y. Deodhar

S. Mahendra Dev

Biswajit Dhar

Tim Dyson

Maitreesh Ghatak

Ashok Gulati

Vijay Joshi

Ritika Juneja

Uma Kapila

Muneesh Kapur

Vijay Kelkar

Nagesh Kumar

Tulsi Lingareddy

Santosh Mehrotra

Rakesh Mohan

R. Nagaraj

Arvind Panagariya

Michael Debabrata Patra

T.S. Papola (late)

Manish Kumar Prasad

C. Rangarajan

C.H. Hanumantha Rao

M. Govinda Rao

Partha Ray

A. Amarender Reddy

Ranjana Roy

Alakh N. Sharma

D.K. Srivastava

K.R. Shanmugam

Jayan Jose Thomas


Contents in Detail

Preface
Acknowledgements
About the Contributors
 
 
Part I
Planning, Institutional Framework,
Constraints and  Role of the State
 
1. Indian Economy at Independence: Planning, Market and the State
Uma Kapila
 
2. India’s Economic Reforms: Reflections on the Unfinished Agenda
Vijay Joshi
 
3. Fiscal and Budgetary Developments: Prospects and Reforms
Editorial Notes
 
4. Sustainable Fiscal Policy in India Post-Pandemic Challenges
M. Govinda Rao
 
5. Reflections on Political Economy of India’s Tax Policies
Vijay Kelkar
 
6. Union Budget 2025-26 (A Summary)
Ministry of Finance
 
7. A Budget that is Mostly Good but with One Wrong Move
C. Rangarajan and D.K. Srivastava
 
8. Communicating Monetary Policy
Michael Debabrata Patra
 
9. Demography and Development
Editorial Notes
 
10. India’s Demographic Transition and its Consequences for Development
Tim Dyson
 
11. The State of Urbanisation: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Rakesh Mohan
 
 
 
Part II
Growth and Structural Change since 1950
 
12. Growth and Structural Change Since 1950
Editorial Notes
 
13. The Recovery of India: Economic Growth in the Nehru Era
Pulapre Balakrishnan
 
14. Pressing the Indian Growth Accelerator: Policy Imperative
Rakesh Mohan and Muneesh Kapur
 
15. India on the Growth Turnpike: No State Left Behind
Arvind Panagariya
 
16. India’s Growth Prospects and Policy Options: Emerging from the Pandemic’s Shadow
C. Rangarajan and D.K. Srivastava
 
17. A Plan to Make Growth Inclusive and Empowering
Bibek Debroy
 
 
Part III
Distributional Issues:
Poverty, Inequality and Unemployment
 
18. Assessment of the Growth Experience: Poverty, Inequality and Unemployment
Editorial Notes
 
19. Report of the Expert Group to Review the Methodology for Measurement of Poverty: Executive Summary
Rangarajan Committee Report
 
20. Counting the Poor: Measurement and Other Issues
C. Rangarajan and S. Mahendra Dev
 
 
21. Rising Inequalities in income in India: Key Role of Socio-Political Factors
C.H. Hanumantha Rao
 
22. Debating Inequalities in the Backdrop of Elections
Maitreesh Ghatak
 
23. Labour and Employment in Fast Growing India: Issues of Employment and Inclusiveness
T.S. Papola and Alakh N. Sharma
 
 
 
Part IV
Agriculture
 
24. Indian Agriculture: Developments, Issues, Policies and Agenda for Reforms
Editorial Notes
 
25. A New Deal for Agriculture: Towards Viksit Bharat @2047
Ashok Gulati, Ranjana Roy, Ritika Juneja and Manish Kumar Prasad
 
26. Making a New Beginning on Farm Reform
Satish Y. Deodhar and Vijay Kelkar
 
27. The Agricultural Market Reforms: Is there a Trade-off Between Efficiency and Equality?
Sarthi Acharya and Santosh Mehrotra
 
28. Raising Farmers’ Income Requires More Than MSP Guarantee
A. Amarender Reddy and Tulsi Lingareddy
 
 
 
Part V
Industry, Services and Infrastructure
 
29. Industrial Development and Policies since Independence
Editorial Notes
 
30. Reviving Manufacturing and Employment
R. Nagaraj
 
31. Economic Growth without Employment: The Story of Indian Manufacturing
Jayan Jose Thomas
 
32. On Strategies for Disinvestment and Privatisation
Vijay Kelkar
 
33. India’s Services Sector:Trends, Opportunities and Challengess
Rupa Chanda
 
34. Infrastructure and Economic Development
Editorial Notes
 
 
35. Indian Financial Sector: Structure, Trends and Turns
Rakesh Mohan and Partha Ray
 
36. Seven Ages of India’s Monetary Policy
Shaktikanta Das
 
 
Part VI
The External Sector
 
37. India’s External Sector:  Policies, Developments and Issues
Editorial Notes
 
38. India’s New Foreign Trade Policy: Pluses and Minuses
Biswajit Dhar
 
39. Foreign Direct and Portfolio Investments Flows and Development: A Perspective on Indian Experience
Nagesh Kumar
 
40. India and the WTO
Editorial Notes
 
41. The Challenge of Reforming the WTO
Ajay Chhibber
 
 
 
Part VII
 
42. Indian Economy Today: An Overview and Comparative Perspective
Uma Kapila
 
43. Journey to 2047
C. Rangarajan and D.K. Srivastava
 
44. Viksit Bharat: The Challenges Ahead
C. Rangarajan and K.R. Shanmugam


Publisher AF Press
Publication Date 2025
Number of Pages 1128
ISBN 9789332707016
READ MORE

Academic Foundation (AF), based in New Delhi, is India’s leading independent publisher of academic/scholarly books in Social Sciences, specialising in Economics—Development Economics and Indian Economy in particular, and allied subjects.

Praise for this book

“The annual publication, Indian Economy Since Independence edited by Dr Uma Kapila is a veritable boon to the Economics student community in India. The authors she chooses for the different  themes are eminent economists or public policy experts. The amount of effort she puts in the editorial notes for each subject area is tremendous. I am greatly impressed by the high quality and rich range of successive editions of the book. I look forward to the latest edition of the book year after year. My hearty compliments to Dr. Kapila.”
— K L Krishna
    Former Director, Delhi School of Economics; Padma Shri Awardee-2025
 
 
Sharing a piece of its history...
Year 1988: On publication of the first edition of this book, which was originally designed for students of the University of Delhi, Prof. VKRV Rao, the legendary economist, policymaker and institution builder, thus wrote   in a letter addressed to the editor Uma Kapila:
“...It will be a most unusual kind of textbook for pioneering which you deserve congratulations. I, therefore, send you   my good wishes for the success of the publication and its use by students who do Economics Honours not only in the University of Delhi but also other universities.”   
— V.K.R.V. Rao 
 
 
Praise for the 25th (silver jubilee) edition:
“Uma Kapila’s 25th edition of this well-known volume contains an excellent and up-to-date collection of essays on the Indian Economy by some of the country’s leading economists, interspersed with very useful contributions by the editor herself. It will be a great boon for all students of the Indian economy…young and old.”
— Shankar Acharya
    Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India (1993-2001)
 
“The annual edition of Dr. Uma Kapila’s Indian Economy since Independence has become a staple, annually updated, reference for University students throughout the country, for aspirants for the civil service and other examinations, and  for all those interested in a single comprehensive source of information, and analysis by a galaxy of scholars, on the Indian economy. This twenty-fifth anniversary edition marks a milestone in a remarkable journey, begun in 1988 by a revered teacher of long standing from Delhi University.” 
— Indira Rajaraman
    Member, 13th Finance Commission and 
    Member, India Advisory Board of the World Gold Council


About the Author(s) / Editor(s)

Dr. Uma Kapila, author/editor of several books on Indian economy, retired as Reader, Department of Economics, Miranda House, University of Delhi. She has taught Indian economy to undergraduate students for more than 42 years. Currently, she is Editorial Director, Academic Foundation.

Contributors

Sarthi Acharya

Pulapre Balakrishnan

Rupa Chanda

Ajay Chhibber

Shaktikanta Das

Bibek Debroy (late)

Satish Y. Deodhar

S. Mahendra Dev

Biswajit Dhar

Tim Dyson

Maitreesh Ghatak

Ashok Gulati

Vijay Joshi

Ritika Juneja

Uma Kapila

Muneesh Kapur

Vijay Kelkar

Nagesh Kumar

Tulsi Lingareddy

Santosh Mehrotra

Rakesh Mohan

R. Nagaraj

Arvind Panagariya

Michael Debabrata Patra

T.S. Papola (late)

Manish Kumar Prasad

C. Rangarajan

C.H. Hanumantha Rao

M. Govinda Rao

Partha Ray

A. Amarender Reddy

Ranjana Roy

Alakh N. Sharma

D.K. Srivastava

K.R. Shanmugam

Jayan Jose Thomas


Contents in Detail

Preface
Acknowledgements
About the Contributors
 
 
Part I
Planning, Institutional Framework,
Constraints and  Role of the State
 
1. Indian Economy at Independence: Planning, Market and the State
Uma Kapila
 
2. India’s Economic Reforms: Reflections on the Unfinished Agenda
Vijay Joshi
 
3. Fiscal and Budgetary Developments: Prospects and Reforms
Editorial Notes
 
4. Sustainable Fiscal Policy in India Post-Pandemic Challenges
M. Govinda Rao
 
5. Reflections on Political Economy of India’s Tax Policies
Vijay Kelkar
 
6. Union Budget 2025-26 (A Summary)
Ministry of Finance
 
7. A Budget that is Mostly Good but with One Wrong Move
C. Rangarajan and D.K. Srivastava
 
8. Communicating Monetary Policy
Michael Debabrata Patra
 
9. Demography and Development
Editorial Notes
 
10. India’s Demographic Transition and its Consequences for Development
Tim Dyson
 
11. The State of Urbanisation: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Rakesh Mohan
 
 
 
Part II
Growth and Structural Change since 1950
 
12. Growth and Structural Change Since 1950
Editorial Notes
 
13. The Recovery of India: Economic Growth in the Nehru Era
Pulapre Balakrishnan
 
14. Pressing the Indian Growth Accelerator: Policy Imperative
Rakesh Mohan and Muneesh Kapur
 
15. India on the Growth Turnpike: No State Left Behind
Arvind Panagariya
 
16. India’s Growth Prospects and Policy Options: Emerging from the Pandemic’s Shadow
C. Rangarajan and D.K. Srivastava
 
17. A Plan to Make Growth Inclusive and Empowering
Bibek Debroy
 
 
Part III
Distributional Issues:
Poverty, Inequality and Unemployment
 
18. Assessment of the Growth Experience: Poverty, Inequality and Unemployment
Editorial Notes
 
19. Report of the Expert Group to Review the Methodology for Measurement of Poverty: Executive Summary
Rangarajan Committee Report
 
20. Counting the Poor: Measurement and Other Issues
C. Rangarajan and S. Mahendra Dev
 
 
21. Rising Inequalities in income in India: Key Role of Socio-Political Factors
C.H. Hanumantha Rao
 
22. Debating Inequalities in the Backdrop of Elections
Maitreesh Ghatak
 
23. Labour and Employment in Fast Growing India: Issues of Employment and Inclusiveness
T.S. Papola and Alakh N. Sharma
 
 
 
Part IV
Agriculture
 
24. Indian Agriculture: Developments, Issues, Policies and Agenda for Reforms
Editorial Notes
 
25. A New Deal for Agriculture: Towards Viksit Bharat @2047
Ashok Gulati, Ranjana Roy, Ritika Juneja and Manish Kumar Prasad
 
26. Making a New Beginning on Farm Reform
Satish Y. Deodhar and Vijay Kelkar
 
27. The Agricultural Market Reforms: Is there a Trade-off Between Efficiency and Equality?
Sarthi Acharya and Santosh Mehrotra
 
28. Raising Farmers’ Income Requires More Than MSP Guarantee
A. Amarender Reddy and Tulsi Lingareddy
 
 
 
Part V
Industry, Services and Infrastructure
 
29. Industrial Development and Policies since Independence
Editorial Notes
 
30. Reviving Manufacturing and Employment
R. Nagaraj
 
31. Economic Growth without Employment: The Story of Indian Manufacturing
Jayan Jose Thomas
 
32. On Strategies for Disinvestment and Privatisation
Vijay Kelkar
 
33. India’s Services Sector:Trends, Opportunities and Challengess
Rupa Chanda
 
34. Infrastructure and Economic Development
Editorial Notes
 
 
35. Indian Financial Sector: Structure, Trends and Turns
Rakesh Mohan and Partha Ray
 
36. Seven Ages of India’s Monetary Policy
Shaktikanta Das
 
 
Part VI
The External Sector
 
37. India’s External Sector:  Policies, Developments and Issues
Editorial Notes
 
38. India’s New Foreign Trade Policy: Pluses and Minuses
Biswajit Dhar
 
39. Foreign Direct and Portfolio Investments Flows and Development: A Perspective on Indian Experience
Nagesh Kumar
 
40. India and the WTO
Editorial Notes
 
41. The Challenge of Reforming the WTO
Ajay Chhibber
 
 
 
Part VII
 
42. Indian Economy Today: An Overview and Comparative Perspective
Uma Kapila
 
43. Journey to 2047
C. Rangarajan and D.K. Srivastava
 
44. Viksit Bharat: The Challenges Ahead
C. Rangarajan and K.R. Shanmugam


Publisher AF Press
Publication Date 2025
Number of Pages 1128
ISBN 9789332707016
Expected delivery date:
25 Jun Usually ready in 2-3 days.

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Indian Economy Since Independence (36th Edition 2025-26)

Indian Economy Since Independence (36...

₹ 1,345.00
₹ 1,345.00