'Columbia University Libraries/Information Services'
Doi
Abstract
Any survey of contributions to economic analysis in India, even though confined to the post-war years and to issues arising from domestic economic events and policy, runs into exceptional difficulties. Not only has practically every conceivable problem been raised and discussed by economists, in a country where interest in economic issues dates back at least to the latter half of the 19th century but there have also been numerous committees and commissions. The Survey does not extend to the growing number of contributions to general theoretical economic analysis that Indian economists have begun to make, as is evident from the contents of reputed journals in the last decade. This Survey, therefore, is neither a comprehensive account of the state of economic research in the country nor does it pretend to give an exhaustive picture of the policy issues that have been discussed on the Indian scene since 1947 when India gained independence. The Survey is broadly divided into three areas i.e. planning theory and techniques, agriculture and foreign trade. The vast majority of India's policy issues and analytical literature, fall within one or more of these categories. Because agriculture is the overwhelmingly important economic activity in the economy and its capacity to act as a significant brake on growth via its role as the supplier of wage goods to other sectors has been increasingly appreciated, this sector has also attracted considerable economic analysis
