India’s economic reforms: Interpreting the dynamics of change from a contextual perspective

If one traces the changes in India's economic policies over the last five decades, they bear the imprint of changing geopolitical dynamics. While India's policy makers often couch their agendas in ideological terms, in reality the economy has been steered by the ruling elite to their economic advantage. Therefore, liberalization and the permissible boundaries within which a reform process will operate can be best understood if contextually examined and interpreted. This paper attempts to explain the dynamics of the economic policy process and outlines the contours of India's liberalization program.