The long road to liberalisation

The return of Indira Gandhi and the subsequent takeover by Rajiv Gandhi saw one of the periods of highest economic growth initially but these and associated investments were powered by dollops of debt

INDIA’S FINANCE MINISTERS: Stumbling Into Reforms (1977 to 1998)

Author: A K Bhattacharya

Publisher: Penguin Business

Pages: 536

Price: Rs 999

The second volume of the “India’s Finance Ministers” series with a subtitle “Stumbling into Reforms (1977-1998)” undoubtedly matches, I would say even surpasses, the first. The time period was perhaps the most exciting in post-independent India’s economic history. A new generation, with arguably much greater economic aspirations than those involved in the independence movement were taking over, the Congress had been damaged, and by now it was quite evident that the public sector would not be able to deliver on the promise of