In recent years India has made all-round rapid progress. The performance of the Indian economy in 2004-05 so far has exceeded expectations formed at the beginning of the year. According to the advance estimate of the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) released on February 7, 2005, the economy is likely to grow 6.9 per cent in 2004-05. In spite of fast advancement in several fields, India is still suffering from a large fiscal deficit which has risen to an alarming level. During the year 2004-05, the fiscal deficit at the Centre stood at a whopping sum of Rs.1,51,144 crore, i.e. 4.4 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The revenue deficit amounted Rs.95,312 crore. The curve of fiscal deficit has risen sharply from the year 1997-98 mainly because of expenditure on current account. The main reasons for this alarming fiscal deficit are: populist measures of the Central and State Governments, like subsidies on kerosene oil, diesel, petroleum, gas, fertilisers, power for agriculturists, large losses of public sector undertakings, interest payment on ever-increasing public debt, increase in salaries and pensions resulting from the recommendations of Pay Commissions, etc. The global rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S & P) has stated that even the Union Budget 2005-06 shows a lack of success in reducing the country’s deficit burden. It is hoped that the book would be found useful by the researchers and students of Economics, businessmen, government executives concerned with the formulation and execution of economic policies, parliamentarians and legislators, and the general readers interested in knowing the changes that are taking place in our economy.

Table of Contents:
1. Structural Changes in Indian Economy During 1990s with Special Reference to External Sector –Manminder Singh and Divye Kumar Sharma 2. Small-Scale Industry: A New Paradigm –Ram Komal Prasad Prajapati 3. Future Prospects of the Power Sector in India –J.G. Valan Arasu 4. Role of the State in Information Dissemination for Catalysing Technological Diffusion in Indian Manufacturing Vikram Chadha and Sanjeev Dhawan 5. Gender Audit of Budgets—A Case Study of India –Vibhuti Patel 6. Implications of WTO Agreement on Indian Agriculture with Particular References to Punjab –Tejinder Dhaliwal, J.R. Gupta and P.S. Rangi 7. Quality Management in India—Need to Fire Growth Engine on All Cylinders –Manoranjan Sharma 8. A Factory a Day Keeps the Poverty and Un-Employment Away –K. Sitaramaswamy 9. Fiscal Deficits –K.R. Gupta 10. Economic Development in India and China –K.R. Gupta Appendix: Statistical Tables List of Statistical Tables Trade and Balance of Payments 1. India’s Foreign Trade—in US Dollars 2. India’s Foreign Trade—in Rupees 3. Exports of Principal Commodities—in US Dollars 4. Exports of Principal Commodities—in Rupees 5. Imports of Principal Commodities—in US Dollars 6. Imports of Principal Commodities—in Rupees 7. Exports of Selected Commodities to Principal Countries—in US Dollars 8. Exports of Selected Commodities to Principal Countries—in Rupees 9. Direction of Foreign Trade—in US Dollars 327 10. Direction of Foreign Trade—in Rupees 11. Index Numbers and Terms of Foreign Trade 12. Index Numbers of Exports—Quantum and Unit Value 13. Index Numbers of Imports—Quantum and Unit Value 14. India’s Overall Balance of Payments—in US Dollars 15. India’s Overall Balance of Payments—in Rupees 16. Invisibles by Category of Transactions—in US Dollars 17. Invisibles by Category of Transactions—in Rupees 18. Exchange Rate of the Indian Rupee vis-a-vis the SDR, US Dollar, Pound Sterling, D.M./Euro and Japanese Yen (Calendar Year—Annual Average) 19. Exchange Rate of the Indian Rupee vis-a-vis the SDR, US Dollar, Pound Sterling, D.M./Euro and Japanese Yen (Financial year—Annual Average and End-year Rates) 20. Indices of Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) and Nominal Effective Exchange rate (NEER) of the Indian Rupee (36-country bilateral weights) (Calendar year—Annual average) 21. Indices of Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) and Nominal Effective Exchange rate (NEER) of the Indian Rupee (36-country bilateral weights) (Financial year—Annual average) 380 22. External Assistance (Financial year) 23. NRI Deposits in Dollars—Outstanding 24. NRI Deposits in Rupees—Outstanding 25. Inflows (+)/Outflows (-) Under Various NRI Deposit Schemes—US. Dollars 26. Inflows (+)/Outflows (-) Under Various NRI Deposit Schemes—in Rupees 27. Foreign Investment Inflows 28. Foreign Exchange Reserves 29. India’s External Debt—in US Dollars 30. India’s External Debt—in Rupees External Sector 31. Foreign Exchange Reserves