India's Economic Development (Essay Sample)

AN ANALYSIS OF ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN INDIA SINCE INDEPENDEENCE
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India as a country has had a lot of histories coupled with many struggles and economic frustrations as well as success stories. There was a period after independence where the self-rule regime introduced the socialism style of economy that denied people chances of exercising their skills to their benefit like in the case of capitalism. There was massive brain drain to European and American nations where Indians went to seek greener pastures. The brain drain situation changed in 1990s after the change in regime that introduced reforms facilitating free trade and open markets. These mechanisms led to the influx of foreign investors and opened up of entrepreneurial activities in the nation. Such reforms led to the massive returning of educated and experienced Indians from the Diaspora, who ended up establishing businesses and taking on jobs in the foreign-based establishments. It can be said that economic reforms introduced by the government after 1991 reversed the brain drain situation since many Indians started returning home from foreign nations.
The world petroleum economy helped the Indian companies to access petroleum oil at reduced prices. India started as a socialist nation soon after gaining independence where it traded with members of the Soviet Union. Indian authorities could access oil in large quantities that were enough to power the industries and other uses thus leading to substantial development. This arrangement did not last long since it ended after the collapse and disruption of the Soviet Union where India was forced to identify alternative sources of petroleum products.
India has a competitive advantage economic wise that puts it ahead of other developing nations like Russia and Mexico among others. India has a large population that serves both as consumers and workers in various industries. The high number of population means that the producers can hire labor at reduced costs thus increasing profit margins and the level of production. There are a high number of people in the middle class that offers a ready market for the products. Population makes India an attractive business destination among multinational companies that compete for this emerging market.
There have been numerous social and political obstacles that have tended to slow down the rate of development experienced in the Indian economy. One of the social problems in India is poverty where a large proportion of the population is living below the recognized poverty levels. The government is forced to use huge sums of money to address hunger and other related issues emanating from poverty thus denying development projects the required finances for their operations. The poverty in India is culminated by the large population that has to be fed and educated by the government thus leading to financial deficits to other sectors. On the political front, the government is not ready to cooperate and work with other nations in facilitating free trade to the required levels. The bureaucracy witnessed in India is propelled by lack of political goodwill where the leadership is still reluctant to commit itself to joining hands with foreign development partners. The hesitation is being fueled by the suspicion that the foreigners may have malicious interests in the Indian economy, which may turn out to be fatal in future.
The winners of the economic liberalization are the educated Indians especially those who have gained foreign training. They have come back to establish flourishing business activities that are reaping millions of dollars. The losers can be said to be ordinary Indians who are still chained in poverty that does not allow them to enjoy...