Mapping the spectrum of India's economic policy

The Indian Economy: Problems and Prospects, first published in 1992, looks at the country's economy and the resolved fiscal crisis from a historical perspective. Edited and updated with a new Introduction by Bimal Jalan, the book retains the thirteen essays written by eminent economic thinkers in 1991 and 1992 in their original form as they provide a comprehensive overview of India's economic development since Independence and answer questions on key economic issues that are as relevant today as they were at that time.

Bipan Chandra conducts a historical survey of fiscal developments during the colonial period, the late V.M. Dandekar evaluates India's economic performance from 1950 to 1990, and Rakesh Mohan traces the history of industrial controls from the pre-independence era. Also included are essays by C.H. Hanumantha Rao, C. Rangarajan and Narendra Jadhav, Raja Chelliah, Sudipto Mundle and M. Govinda Rao, Jyoti and Kirit Parikh, Pravin Visaria, T.S. Papola, Pranab Bardhan and Kaushik Basu. In his revised Introduction, Bimal Jalan assesses the country's economic progress since 1991, examines crucial events and their relative significance.

Exploring diverse aspects of the Indian economy as well as the political, institutional and legal implications of economic reforms, these insightful and revelatory essays will be of enormous interest to experts and the general reader alike.

About the Author
Bimal Jalan is one of India’s well-known economists. He was Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1997 to 2003, demitting office on his nomination to the Upper House of Parliament by the President for distinguished service to the country.

He has held several top positions in the ministries of finance and industry and in the Planning Commission. He was also Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and represented India on the boards of the IMF and the World Bank.

He was educated at Presidency College, Calcutta and Cambridge and Oxford universities. His books include India’s Economic Crisis: The Way Ahead (1991), India’s Economic Policy: Preparing for the Twenty-first Century (1996), India’s Economy in the New Millennium (2002) and, as editor, The Indian Economy: Problems and Prospects (Revised edition, 2004).