India’s Political Economy of Development (DEVT90051)

This subject is aimed at understanding the process of economic development by first critically reviewing major theories/perspectives/paradigms of economic development and second by deeply engaging with the Indian development experience over the last six decades. This approach allows us to appreciate why India chose the development strategy and subsequent policies at the time of its founding, what were the ideological, historical, and institutional roots of such strategies, how they differed from other countries in Latin America and East Asia, and how and why India has adjusted its economic policies and ideological moorings to contemporary globalization. Development, despite its shared goal of social transformation by way of reforms in policies and institutions, suggests that there is no single path of attaining it. The development outcomes, as the Indian case illustrates, are products of history, institutions, and the ongoing evolution of the structures of the world economy.