As India celebrates 75 years\n of Independence, it is important to recall that as a democratic republic, it\n has been able to overcome the burden of colonialism and emerge as the world’s\n third-largest economy. \n \n Sanjaya Baru, economist and political analyst, traces the nature of this\n transformation, introducing the ideas and events that have shaped economic\n policy, transforming a feudal, agrarian economy into a modern, industrial and\n services-based one. He introduces to a young audience of millennials the role\n played by the drain of wealth under British colonial rule on nationalist\n thinking and post-Independence policy. He explains how Indian political and\n intellectual leaders influenced policy with regard to agrarian relations,\n industrialization and the creation of a knowledge-based economy. Baru offers\n a ringside view of the historic 1991 reform programme and its role in\n defining India’s development trajectory in the twenty-first century.\n 75 Years of Indian Economy is a part of the series Journey of a Nation.\n This book is written for a general audience that wishes to be informed about\n the nature of India’s economic transformation over the past 75 years. India’s\n economic rise as a secular, plural democracy holds great value for the entire\n world.\n ‘The first two decades of the twenty-first century have witnessed a\n significant transformation of the economy. There was a perceptible reduction\n in poverty, a rapid spread of urbanization and the establishment of a\n globally competent services economy. India led the world in the production of\n several agricultural commodities. However, the manufacturing sector remained\n a laggard, despite the launch of a new “manufacturing strategy” by the\n Manmohan Singh government in 2012 that was subsequently modified and\n relaunched as the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat programmes by the\n Narendra Modi government.’