School of Business, Public Policy and Social

Entrepreneurship

SUBJECT- 202
LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE


India Since 1991



Under the guidance of Submitted by :
Dr. Kuriakose Mamkoottam Aditya Kashyap (S143F0001)
Professor & Director Amrita Arora (S143F0005)
School of Business, Public Policy Ritika Rupal (S143F0028)
& Social Entrepreneurship (SBPPSE) Mridul C.P. (S143F0039)
Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD)


India Since 1991
India is the pivot of our Empire. If the Empire loses any other part of the Dominion
we can survive, but if we lose India, the sun of our empire will have set.
Victor Alexander Vruce, the Viceroy of British India, 1894

This statement shows how much important Indian economy has always been in the world. India
has always had a history as a pioneer in world trade- The Golden Sparrow. This was the reason
that the British invaded India, used its resources for around 400 years and left India to be born
again. Despite that, today after 67 years of Independence, India has again made its mark in the
world.

The spot that India holds today in the world, is the result of the efforts of India as a whole. But,
the Economic Reforms of 1991 have served as the turning point for the Indian economy. Under
these reforms, major stress was laid by the government on three areas, namely Liberalization-
relaxation of government restrictions, Privatization- transfer of ownership from public to private
sector and Globalization opening up of the Indian economy to the world economy.

Since 1991, there have been a lot of changes in the Indian society, politics, economy, legal
framework and technology. All these changes have together designed the new Indian outlook.
Well discuss each of them below.

SOCIETY
The Indian society has changed drastically. While retaining the core Indian values, Indians have
also accepted new ideas from Western cultures. People have become more independent, career
oriented, technologically advanced, more aware of their rights and duties and there also
has been a shift from joint family system to nuclear families. During this period,
improvement has also been seen in the areas of education and health. The literacy rate grew
at 52.21 per cent in 1991, 64.84 per cent in 2001 and 74.04 per cent in 2011.The parliament had
also passed the Constitution 86th Amendment Act, 2002, to make elementary education
a Fundamental Right for children in the age group of 614 years. Expectation of life at birth
reflects overall health conditions of the people. In India, the expectation of life at birth was 45
years during the decade ending 1971, 54 years in 1981, 62 years in 1991 and 67.8 years in 2011
indicating progressive improvement. India is also overpopulated with a population of
121,01,93,422 which means India today is a powerhouse of talent, which needs to be utilized
judiciously for its further growth.

POLITICS
The winds of change have also been felt in the Indian politics. The introduction of reforms itself
was a big step taken under the leadership of then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. The
biggest change scene in the political system was a change from the single party government to a
coalition government. Two main alliances had emerged UPA and NDA. All the governments
had to face various political issues like poverty, unemployment, development, terrorism,
naxalism, caste and religion based violence, lack of homogeneity etc. In an attempt to make
Indian politics corruption free, a movement was launched by social activist Anna Hazare for
introduction of Lokpal Bill, which was finally passed in December 2013. Also, hoping for
Acche Din in political scenario, the people of India elected NDA Government with Narendra
Modi as its leader in May 2014. The road to a corruption free politics is emerging with the recent
conviction of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha.

ECONOMY
The Indian economy has also undergone substantial changes since 1991. GDP has been
growing at a higher rate, reaching a high of 9% in 2007 to currently 5.7% in 2014. Agricultures
contribution to GDP has steadily declined, yet it is still the largest employment source and a
significant piece of the overall socio-economic development of India. The industrial sector has
responded to the reforms through mergers and acquisitions, adoption of cost cutting measures,
foreign collaboration, technology upgradation and outward orientation in sectors such as cement,
steel, aluminum, pharmaceuticals, and automobiles. The services sector has the largest share in
the GDP and 27% share in employment. It is the fourth largest in the world when purchasing
power is taken into account. Information technology, business process outsourcing, retail,
energy and power, infrastructure, tourism, banking and finance are among the major service
sectors in India. As the third-largest economy in the world in PPP terms, India has
attracted foreign direct investment in telecommunication, information technology and other
significant areas such as auto components, chemicals, apparels, pharmaceuticals, and
jewellery. FDI by Indian companies outside India amounted to 1.34 per cent of its GDP. Tata is
United Kingdom's largest manufacturer and private sector employer. Starting in 2012, India
entered a period of more anaemic growth, with growth slowing down to 4.4%. Other economic
problems also became apparent: a plunging Indian rupee, a persistent high current
account deficit and slow industrial growth. Still, India is often seen by most economists as a
rising economic superpower and is believed to play a major role in the global economy in the
21st century.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK
There have also been changes in the Legal Framework of the country. They started with the
Industrial Policy of 1991, which included various tax reforms, the MRTP Act, the industrial
licensing policy and foreign technology agreement that had brought about structural changes in
the economy. Then came various important acts like FERA Act, SEBI Act, IT Act, RTI Act,
RTE Act, Food Security Act and The Indian Companies Act, 2013. These acts changed the
legal scenario of the country. Besides them, there had also been continuous amendments in the
Constitution of India.

TECHNOLOGY
Technology has emerged as one of the most dynamic sectors in Indias economic development
and is responsible for the global recognition of India as a soft power. This industry has been
influencing the lives of its people through active direct and indirect contribution to various
socio-economic parameters such as employment, standard of living and diversity. The
Government is also coordinating strategic activities, promoting skill development programmes,
enhancing infrastructure capabilities and supporting R&D for Indias leadership position in IT
and IT-Enabled services. Besides this, India has the world's third largest number of Internet
users and second largest number of mobile subscribers in the world.

Thus, by bringing about constant changes, India is progressing
towards a better future.