INDIA'S BOLD STRIDES

From Rs 2.75 lakh crore of GDP in 1980 to Rs 295 lakh crore today, India races ahead. Next stop, a global top-three economy

- By Ashish Sinha

WHEN WE LOOK back at India's economic journey, the story reads like a marathon that began with slow strides and ended with a sprint. The last 45 years have transformed the way the country looks at growth, business, consumption, and opportunity. To understand this change, it helps to divide the journey into two parts--the two decades from the 1980s till 2000, and the following 25 years that redefined India's place in the global economy.

Let's rewind to the 1980s. At the start of the decade, India's economy was still very much a closed one, tightly controlled with high tariffs, licensing restrictions, and limited space for private enterprise. GDP, measured in current prices, was a mere Rs 2.75 lakh crore in 1980. Through the 1980s, the economy gradually opened up, although reforms were cautious and hesitant. By 1990, GDP had reached about Rs 6.1 lakh crore. That's more than doubling in ten years, but still far behind global peers.