Openness has affected neither poverty nor inequality adversely. When surveyed, people in disproportionately large volumes from all groups say that their fortunes are improving. The essays in this volume show that trade oppenness has helped reduce poverty among most social groups.

India is the second most populous country in the world and also one of the poorest. From the late 1940s to 1980, India's per capita income grew at an average annual rate of only two percent. Expansionist economic reforms during the 1980s boosted economic growth but also unfortunately resulted in high inflation and a balance of payments crisis. As a consequence, in 1991 the government announced sweeping new changes in economic policies. Economic Policy Reforms and the Indian Economy evaluates the effects of those changes and identifies areas of the Indian economy still in urgent need of reform. After an overview of Indian economic policies and development since independence, papers focus on the country's fiscal situation, the environment for private economic activity, education, the reservation of certain activities for small-scale industry, and determinants of differentials in rates of growth across the different Indian states. Contributors include respected academic specialists on India and policy reform, high-level Indian administrators, and present and past policymakers.

Reforms and Economic Transformation in India is the second volume in the series Studies in Indian Economic Policies. In this book, nine original essays pursue three interrelated themes: Why the movement of workers out of agriculture, into industry and services, and from informal to formal employments has been slow, explaining the impact the reforms have had on profitability and competition among enterprises,and analyzing the impact on the socially disadvantaged in terms of wage and education outcomes and entrepreneurship.

India is the world's largest democracy, and second-largest developing country. For forty years it has also been one of the most dirigiste and autarkic. The 1980s saw most developing and erstwhile communist countries opt for market economic systems. India belatedly initiated similar reforms in 1991. This book evaluates the progress of those reforms, covering all of the major areas of policy; stabilization, taxation and trade, domestic and external finance, agriculture, industry, the social sectors, and poverty alleviation. Will India realize its great potential by freeing itself from the self-imposed constraints that have hindered its development? This is the important and fascinating question considered by this book.

India has fallen far and fast from the runaway growth rates it enjoyed in the first decade of the twenty-first century. In order to reverse this trend, New Delhi must seriously reflect on its policy choices across a wide range of issue areas. Getting India Back on Track broadly coincides with the 2014 Indian elections to spur a public debate about the program that the next government should pursue in order to return the country to a path of high growth. It convenes some of India's most accomplished analysts to recommend policies in every major sector of the Indian economy. Taken together, these seventeen focused and concise memoranda offer policymakers and the general public alike a clear blueprint for India's future. Contents Foreword Ratan N. Tata (Chairman, Tata Trusts) Introduction Ashley J. Tellis and Reece Trevor (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) 1. Maintaining Macroeconomic Stability Ila Patnaik (National Institute of Public Finance and Policy) 2. Dismantling the Welfare State Surjit Bhalla (Oxus Investments) 3. Revamping Agriculture and the Public Distribution System Ashok Gulati (Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices) 4. Revisiting Manufacturing Policy Rajiv Kumar (Centre for Policy Research) 5. Generating Employment Omkar Goswami (Corporate and Economic Research Group) 6. Expanding Education and Skills Laveesh Bhandari (Indicus Analytics) 7. Confronting Health Challenges A. K. Shiva Kumar (National Advisory Council) 8. Accelerating Infrastructure Modernization Rajiv Lall and Ritu Anand (IDFC Limited) 9. Managing Urbanization Somik Lall and Tara Vishwanath (World Bank) 10. Renovating Land Management Barun S. Mitra (Liberty Institute) and Madhumita D. Mitra (consultant) 11. Addressing Water Management Tushaar Shah (International Water Management Institute) and Shilp Verma (independent researcher) 12. Reforming Energy Policy and Pricing Sunjoy Joshi (Observer Research Foundation) 13. Managing the Environment Ligia Noronha (Energy and Resources Institute) 14. Strengthening Rule of Law Devesh Kapur (University of Pennsylvania) and Milan Vaishnav (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) 15. Correcting the Administrative Deficit Bibek Debroy (Centre for Policy Research) 16. Building Advanced Technology Capacity for Competitive Arms Acquisition Ravinder Pal Singh (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) 17. Rejuvenating Foreign Policy C. Raja Mohan (Observer Research Foundation and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

India is the second most populous country in the world and also one of the poorest. From the late 1940s to 1980, India's per capita income grew at an average annual rate of only two percent. Expansionist economic reforms during the 1980s boosted economic growth but also unfortunately resulted in high inflation and a balance of payments crisis. As a consequence, in 1991 the government announced sweeping new changes in economic policies. Economic Policy Reforms and the Indian Economy evaluates the effects of those changes and identifies areas of the Indian economy still in urgent need of reform. After an overview of Indian economic policies and development since independence, papers focus on the country's fiscal situation, the environment for private economic activity, education, the reservation of certain activities for small-scale industry, and determinants of differentials in rates of growth across the different Indian states. Contributors include respected academic specialists on India and policy reform, high-level Indian administrators, and present and past policymakers.