Paper: GS – III, Subject: Economy, Topic: Economic Reforms, Issue: Revisiting India’s Economic Reforms.
Context:
The 1991 reforms brought about substantial changes in India, as evidenced by the exponential growth in vehicle ownership, Provident Fund contributions, foreign exchange reserves, stock market value, and phone connections.
Key Takeaways:
The Legacy of 1991: Progress and Missed Opportunities:
- The 1991 reforms brought about substantial changes in India, as evidenced by the exponential growth in vehicle ownership, Provident Fund contributions, foreign exchange reserves, stock market value, and phone connections.
- However, the reforms were incomplete, with a large portion of the workforce still employed in agriculture and a limited number of enterprises contributing to the Provident Fund.
The Poison of Ideology: Zero-Sum Thinking:
- Ideology, whether left or right-wing, can be a poor guide to policy.
- Research suggests that zero-sum beliefs, prevalent in both the left and right, reflect a worldview that assumes limited resources and necessitates heavy policy intervention.
- This suspicion of entrepreneurship has cost India millions of non-farm jobs.
- While such suspicion might have been justified in the past, the modern state is a welfare state financed by taxes paid by thriving citizens and entrepreneurs.
- The divergent prosperity of countries suggests that culture matters less than thinking and choices about entrepreneurship.
Global Challenges and Domestic Solutions:
- The potential risks posed by the current global economic landscape, including a potential economic crash and a new cold war.
- He emphasizes the importance of domestic economic and technical entrepreneurship as the best preparation for these challenges.
A New Era of Reform:
The Prime Minister has articulated an ambitious reform agenda for 2026, focusing on deregulation, decriminalization, digitization, decentralization, and democracy. This overdue reform reflects the aspiration of creating a new story for a new era through new aspirations.
Source: (The Indian Express)
La Excellence IAS Academy, the best IAS coaching in Hyderabad, known for delivering quality content and conceptual clarity for UPSC 2026 preparation.
FOLLOW US ON:
◉ YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@CivilsPrepTeam
◉ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaExcellenceIAS
◉ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laexcellenceiasacademy/
GET IN TOUCH:
Contact us at info@laex.in, https://laex.in/contact-us/
or Call us @ +91 9052 29 2929, +91 9052 99 2929, +91 9154 24 2140
OUR BRANCHES:
Head Office: H No: 1-10-225A, Beside AEVA Fertility Center, Ashok Nagar Extension, VV Giri Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Hyderabad, 500020
Madhapur: Flat no: 301, survey no 58-60, Guttala begumpet Madhapur metro pillar: 1524, Rangareddy Hyderabad, Telangana 500081
Bangalore: Plot No: 99, 2nd floor, 80 Feet Road, Beside Poorvika Mobiles, Chandra Layout, Attiguppe, Near Vijaya Nagara, Bengaluru, 560040