Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-ph5wq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T15:30:02.436Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Preface and Acknowledgements

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2021

R. Nagaraj
Affiliation:
Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Bombay
Get access

Summary

By the middle of the 2010s, India's economic boom had tapered off after the global financial crisis. India did not suffer as much as the advanced economies did because of its large domestic market and relatively modest exposure to international capital flows. However, India's growing import dependence and rising share of short-term capital inflows in managing the balance of payment deficit became increasingly evident.

The widely accepted view of industrial stagnation gave rise to the clarion call for ‘Make in India’ – as coined by the then newly elected government. Such a policy goal resonated well with the public in response to growing import dependence on China for even simple consumer goods, such as kites or Ganesha idols. Modest output performance also meant a lack of manufacturing employment growth.

Around the time, I reviewed academic research status on India's industrialisation trends and patterns for the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), analysing the reasons for India's modest industrial performance. During a discussion with Srinivasan Iyer of the Ford Foundation and P. S. Vijayshankar of Samaj Pragati Sahayog, Bagli, Dewas, an idea emerged for a research programme on the theme of manufacturing growth, employment and livelihood issues. There are many accounts of industrial performance at the aggregate level. However, our understanding of what has happened at the ground level in recent times seems acutely lacking. Likewise, though there is considerable scholarship on labour and employment, the current academic focus on manufacturing production and its implication for jobs and skills appears sparse.

The above idea, it appeared to me, offered an opportunity to bring together scholars to undertake detailed studies into how the labour-intensive industries, locations and clusters were performing. And what would it take to realising the national goals of ‘Make in India’?

Our effort was, in other words, an attempt to do in India's development discourse what the late Alice Amsden graphically described, ‘Bring Production Back In’. Why has India not performed well even in simple consumer goods? After deliberations with many concerned scholars over a year, the programme took root in 2016 at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai.

Type
Chapter
Information
Industrialisation for Employment and Growth in India
Lessons from Small Firm Clusters and Beyond
, pp. xiii - xvi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Preface and Acknowledgements
  • Edited by R. Nagaraj, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Bombay
  • Book: Industrialisation for Employment and Growth in India
  • Online publication: 31 July 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108935920.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Preface and Acknowledgements
  • Edited by R. Nagaraj, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Bombay
  • Book: Industrialisation for Employment and Growth in India
  • Online publication: 31 July 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108935920.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Preface and Acknowledgements
  • Edited by R. Nagaraj, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Bombay
  • Book: Industrialisation for Employment and Growth in India
  • Online publication: 31 July 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108935920.001
Available formats
×