INDIA 1947-1966

The Economy : In the early years of independence, India suffered food shortage. The state launched a program constructing dams in order to provide water reservoirs for irrigation projects. In 1953, rationing and price controls were abolished in large parts of the country. Rice production in the Republic of India amounted to 32 million metric tons in 1947; the figure rose to 45.6 million metric tons in 1966 (IHS pp.191, 196) B.R. Mitchell has established a table showing the total values of exports and imports in aggregate current values. Imports exceeded imports throughout the period from 1947 to 1966; in 1966, in aggregate current (2003) values, total exports amounted to 11.5 billion Rupees, imports to 20.1 billion Rupees (IHS p.545). India's political leaders in the years immediately after independence blamed the British administration for having prevented Indian development by failing to improve the education of the masses and by preventing the country to industrialize. Many institutions of higher learning were established (where English maintained importance, at least as one of several languages of instruction); the state pursued a protectionist economic policy and, in Five Year Plans, attempted to promote industrialization of the country. The first Five Year Plan was implemented 1951-1956. In 1958, India adopted the metric system..

INDIA 1966-1984The Economy: India's rice production increased from 45.6 million metric tons in 1966 to 87.5 million metric tons in 1984. B.R. Mitchell has established a table showing the total values of exports and imports in aggregate current values. Imports exceeded exports throughout the period from 1966 to 1984 with the exception of 1972. India continued to implement Five Year Plans. The state pursued a protectionist policy. The Oil Crisis of 1973 hit India's economy hard, as the country depended on oil imports. In 1977, Coca Cola was banned in India (readmitted in 1993).

INDIA 1984-1991The Economy: Rice production increased from 87.5 million metric tons in 1984 to 110.5 million metric tons in 1991 (IHS p.198). The Sixth Five Year Plan ended in 1985, followed by the Seventh (1985-1990) and the Eighth (1990-1995). Rajiv Gandhi pursued the economic opening of India, the technological modernization of which he strove for. Bangalore (Karnataka) developed into a computer software development center. On December 3rd 1984, at a Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, where pesticides were produced,

toxic gases leaked; the number of immediate fatalities in the city was estimated at 7,000; the death toll is estimated between 10,000 and 22,000.

INDIA 1991-2004The Economy : In 1991 India produced 110 million metric tons of rice; the figure rose to 134 million in 1999. India's policy of economic liberalization (the cancellation of restrictions against the conversion of Rupees; the permission of the import of gold) showed considerable success. Until 1994, the total value of India's imports exceeded that of the country's exports; since 1992 the export figures sharply increased and by 1996 exports of 1.1 trillion rupees outnumbered imports of 0.84 trillion rupees (at an aggregate current value of 2003; IHS p.545). In 1993 India ended her ban on Coca Cola. A showcase of India's modernizing economy is the computer software business centered on Bangalore (Karnataka). A success story is India's film industry centered on Bombay ("Bollywood"). Lately, outsourcing provides for a considerable number of new jobs in India's economy; India's large number of well-educated, close-native speakers of English, working for a much lower pay than U.S. or European high school or college graduates, attract service sector jobs. India joined the WTO in 1995.

INDIA SINCE 2004

Economic Policy : Under PM Manmohan Singh (Congress Party), the Republic of India continues in her commitment to a free market policy. India experiences high economic growth figures; as many Indians are fluent in English, the country's economy benefits from outsourcing. India's economy requires a rising demand of raw materials, which, in combination with that of China and other emerging industrial economies, drives up prices for these commodities.

INDIAN BOOK HISTERY RECORD………….STUDY