Economic development since independence : forty year's of India's development experience.

India has gone a long way in terms of economic growth during these years. India's foodgrains production increased from 55 million tonnes at the beginning of plan era to 150 million tonnes 1986-87. No other developing country except China, could boast of a sophisticated industrial base that India possesses today. A country that imported even pins at the time of its independence is capable of producing steel, cement and fertiliser plant. India's achievements in the field of space, tele-communications and computer are highly impressive. Gross irrigated area expanded from 22.6 million hectares of 17.1 per cent of the gross cropped area to 70 million hectares or 33 per cent of the gross cropped area during the period. The rate of gross domestic saving more than doubled during the period. It rose from 10.2 per cent to 22.8 per cent and that of gross domestic capital formation from 10.0 per cent to 24.6 per cent. However, the most significant, achievement has been the long-term over all rate of economic growth which was around 3.5 percent till 1973-74, moved upto around 4.5 per cent per annu between 1973-74 and 1986-87.
The greatest problem before India today is that of poverty and unemployment as it was at the time of her independence. The efforts to put the economy on sound path have met with both natural and human obstacles.

The present volume is collection of essays written by the best brains and is being published to make the completion of forty years of independence. It is the story of our successes and failures and suggest solutions in our quest to rid India of the ancient scourges of poverty, ignorance and disease. Each essay provides the way to move forward at a still faster pace onto the path of progress, prosperity, social justice and self-reliance. In a sense it is the story of the dynamics of development of the last forth years: This outstanding book is of great use to scholars and students of economics, and policy-makers planners.