6.10 ndian onom
deepening as well as broadening of the political reforms were announced by the governments.31A
process in this sense.29 total of three generations of reforms have been
India became one of the founding members announced till date, while experts have gone
of the WTO and was obliged to promote the to suggest the fourth generation, too. We may
process of globalisation, though its economic substantiate the components of the various
reforms started with no such obligations. It is a generations of reforms to properly understand
different thing that India started the process of the very characteristics and nature of the reform
globalisation right after the reforms 1991.30 process in India.
Now we may connect the three simultaneous
processes—the LPG with which India launched its
first generAtion reforms (1991–2000)32
reform programme. The process of liberalisation It was in the year 2000–01 that the government,
shows movement of the economy towards the for the first time, announced the need for the
market economy, privatisation is the path/route Second Generation of economic reforms and it
through which it will travel to realise the ultimate was launched in the same year. The ones which had
‘goal’, i.e., globalisation. been initiated by then (i.e., from 1991 to 2000)
It should be noted here that the Indian idea were called by the government as the reforms of
of globalisation is deeply and frequently inclined the First Generation. The broad coordinates of the
towards the concept of welfare state, which First Generation of reforms may be seen as under:
keeps coming in the day to day public policy as
(i) Promotion to Private Sector
an emphatic reference. The world, including the
IMF, the WB and the developed nations have now This included various important and liberalising
increasingly shown their recognition to the fact policy decisions, i.e., ‘de-reservation’ and ‘de-
that the official goal of globalisation of the world licencing’ of the industries, abolition of the
economies would not take place without giving MRTP limit, abolition of the compulsion of the
the poor of the world a better standard of living. phased-production and conversion of loans into
Even if globalisation is complete without including shares, simplifying environmental laws for the
almost one-fifth of the world population, i.e. the establishment of industries, etc.
poor, will it be called development of the world?
(ii) Public Sector Reforms
GEnEratIons of EconomIc rEforms The steps taken to make the public sector
undertakings profitable and efficient, their
Though there were no such announcements or disinvestment (token), their corporatisation, etc.,
proposals while India launched its reforms in were the major parts of it.
1991, in the coming times, many ‘generations’ of
29. As put by the Oxford’s Dictionary of Politics, N. Delhi, 31. It should be noted here that many economists regard
24 pp. 222–25; Andrew Heywood, Politics, p.138. the economic reforms of the mid-1980s as the First
30. It should be noted here that the whole Euro-America Generation reforms. However, the governments of the
has already started promoting globalisation by the mid- time have not said anything like that. It was only in
1980s as the WTO deliberations at Uruguay started. the year that ndia officially tal s a out the
The formation of the WTO only gave globalisation an generations of reform for the first time.
official mandate in , once it started its functions. 32. Based on the New Industrial Policy, 1991 & several
It means, for India, globalisation was a reality by 1991 Economic Surveys as well as many announcements by
itself—one has to move as the dominant forces move. the governments.