India in Global Economy: Beyond Reform and Rhetoric

Those challenging for the liberalisation and globalisation have begun to question the role and importance of the state. Yet the state cannot be wished away nor can it be truly relegated to the background. While it continues to remain extremely strong in communist countries like China, even in free societies like India, it is needed to ensure economic and social justice. The policy of economic liberalisation, introduced in India after the ‘balance of payment’ crisis in 1991 has strongly brought into focus the failure of state planning. It is extremely ironical that the Indian state, notwithstanding its proclamation of welfare state, became a prime example of the adequacy of the state of ensure this type of justice. This book attempts to understand the reasons behind the failure and emphasises the need for the state to reinvent itself, not only to regain its lost credibility, but also to ensure that new economic order becomes a socially responsive one.