Industrial development.

THIS STUDY could not have been taken up but for the initial encouragement from Mr. Mahendra Desai and Dr. B.V. Keskar. The keenness of Mr. Desai, who was the In formation Adviser to the Planning Commission, to see a book written on India's industrial development helped overcome my hesitation, while, as Chairman of the National Book Trust, Dr. Keskar proposed, rather irresistibly, that the title be included in the National Book Trust series 'India-the Land and the People.'

The first edition, published in 1971, has been sold out for a couple of years now. A new edition has also become necessary, perhaps overdue, as many changes have taken place in the industrial scene. The book has, therefore, been extensively revised, Chapters VIII and IX, dealing with the era of planning, have been amplified and rewritten. An independent chapter has been added on the industrial prospect. It is hoped that these changes have brought the book up-to-date and enhanced its usefulness to the reader. Data before Independence were available only in the old British system of measurement. This has been kept in the book as it is. The metric system of measurement is used from Chapter VIII onwards which cover the post-Independence era.