Introduction

Abstract This chapter provides a crisp summary of the book, pointing out that the volume is divided into three parts. The primary focus of Part I is on Nehru-era economic thought. It describes Nehru’s own evolution from a radical to a moderate socialist and documents the all-around consensus prevailing around his development strategy at the time of the launch of the foundational second development plan. Part II turns to the history of the implementation of Nehru’s development strategy and its consequences for growth, transformation, and poverty. In particular, it describes the evolution of investment licensing, the highly restrictive import policy after a decade of liberal phase, and the myriad inefficiencies resulting from them. Part III turns to the long-run implications of the Nehru-era strategy. It shows that the entrenchment of socialist thought among nearly all relevant actors made a change of course difficult and greatly slowed down the transition to a market economy.