Post-Independence Era

Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru

• 1st P.M. of Independent India
• Held office for 17 yrs
• Laid the foundation of modern India
• His vision & determination- lasting
impression on every national endeavour
since independence
 Early economic reforms by Nehru
• Launched a number of reforms
• State control over economic sectors
• Land redistribution= to curtail economic
disparity
• Introduced the Five Year Plan in 1951
• To determine mode of govt expenditure in
important areas (agriculture, industries,
health, industries)
 Nehru’s Ideology
• His economic policies were said to be
socialist in nature
• He however preached ‘mixed economy’
• Against any kind of ‘ism’
• One hand focused on rural development
(like Gandhi); other hand, also industrial
development to serve India's economic
interest.
 Nehru’s industrial policies
• To create a balance between rural & urban
sectors
• Both could go hand in hand
• Harness & fully utilize the natural
recourses for the benefit of India
• The main sector he identified was of
Hydroelectricity
• Constructed a number of dams for this
• Dams=Symbol of India’s collective growth
 Nehru & Foreign investment
• Had strict reservations on the issue of
foreign investment
• According to him India was self-sufficient
& foreign dependence was not essential
• Its growth would be strictly controlled by
the government
• He was criticized for this.
• However he was looking at long term
benefits & stability
 State control in Nehru’s economic
policies
• Most distinctive & debated feature
• High level of state & central control was
exercised on industries & business
• Rigorous state laws & licensing rules put
great restrain
• Even farmers & business people were at
the receiving end of the strict rules of
taxation etc
• Poverty was widespresd
 Views on rural economy
• Rural self-development
• Tried to boost India's cottage industries
• Like Gandhi– rural and cottage industries
• He believed that small scale & cottage
industries were a solution to the
employment problems in India
The economic policies of Nehru are
often blamed for the poor economy
of India in the years that followed
 However it is also true that his
views were such because of the
needs of the times
Strengthening government control
& domestic means by themselves
had its own importance (for future
privatization)