Politics of economic liberalization in India

Attempts at "liberalizing" India's import-substitution model of development have had a mixed record. Some success in changing the policy regime highlights the role of a new technocratic leadership that has received support from both Indian business groups and from external aid agencies. Conversely, "popular sectors" within India-including the rank and file of the ruling party, the organized workers in the public sector, and the numerically significant middle and lower peasantry - have registered their opposition. While the government remains committed to liberalizing the economy, the momentum has slowed down and, given the pressures of electoral politics, a populist economic program has been simultaneously readopted. It appears that the marriage of political and economic liberalism may not be an easy one in countries like India.