Ch-3 of Indian Economy Notes
Ch-3 of Indian Economy Notes
Ch-3 of Indian Economy Notes
REVISION NOTES
CHAPTER-3
• The Following Points Highlight the Need for Economic Reforms in the Country
1) Increasing fiscal deficit.
2) Adverse balance of payments.
3) Gulf crisis.
4) Rise in prices.
5) High rate of deficit financing.
LIBERALISATION
Liberalisation was introduced to put an end to these restrictions and open various sectors
of the economy. It is generally defined as loosening of government regulations in a
country to allow for private sector companies to operate business transactions with fewer
restrictions. In relation to Developing countries this refers to opening of economic
borders for multinational and foreign investment.
• Objectives of Liberalisation
1) To increase competition among domestic industries.
2) To increase foreign capital formation and technology.
3) To decrease the debt burden of the country.
4) To encourage export and import of goods and services
5) To expand the size of the market.
1) Deregulation of Industrial sector: In India, the following steps were taken to deregulate
the industrial sector.
i. Abolition of Industrial Licensing government abolished the licensing requirement
of all Industries, except for the five Industries which are: Liquor, Cigarettes,
Defence equipment, Industrial explosives, Dangerous chemicals and
pharmaceuticals.
ii. Contraction of Public Sector: The number of industries reserved for the public
sector was reduced from 17 to 8. Presently only three Industries are ‘reserved for
public sector’. They are Raliways, Atomic Energy and Defence.
iii. De-reservation of Production Areas: The production which were early reserved
for SSIs were de-reserved.
iv. Expansion of Production Capacity: The producers were allowed to expand their
production capacity according to market demand. The need for licensing was
abolished.
v. Freedom to Import Capital Goods: The business and Production units were given
freedom to import capital goods to upgrade their technology.
3) Tax Reforms: Tax reforms are concerned with the reforms in the government’s taxation
and public expenditure policies, which are collectively known as its fiscal policy. Since
1991, there has been a continuous reduction in the taxes on individual incomes as it was
felt that high rates of income tax were an important reason for tax evasion.
4) Foreign Exchange Reforms: It includes reforms relating to foreign exchange and
foreign trade
5) Trade and Investment Policy Reforms: Liberalisation of trade and investment regime
was initiated to increase international competitiveness of industrial production and also
foreign investments and technology into the economy.
PRIVATISATION
It implies shedding of the ownership or management of a government owned enterprise.
Government companies are converted into private companies.
Privatisation of the public sector enterprises by selling off part of the equity of PSEs to
the public is known as disinvestment.
GLOBALISATION
It means integration of the economy of the country with the world economy.
Globalisation encourages foreign trade and private and institutional foreign investment.
Globalisation is a complex phenomenon as it is an outcome of the set of various policies
that are aimed at transforming the world towards greater interdependence and integration.
• Outsourcing
This is one of the important outcomes of the globalisation process. In outsourcing, a
company hires regular service from external sources, mostly from other countries, which
was previously provided internally or from within the country (like legal advice,
computer service, advertisement, security — each provided by respective
departments of the company).