PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Planning & Economic Development
‘Liberalisation of Indian economy has not been accompanied with adequate reforms. Comment.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
G9 1991 ended License Raj → opening confined to trade & industry → complementary reforms left undone reform real but partial → product markets opened, institutions & factor markets untouched → statement captures the gap
Body flow
1991 changes real: delicensing, tariff cuts, financial liberalisation, FDI → growth, reserves, IT/telecom/services → Ahluwalia’s defence → but no matching reform in agriculture, labour, land, credit, social sector → weak governance, slow courts, exposed regulators, bank bad loans → jobless & regionally uneven growth, vulnerable informal sector, cronyism in land/resources/PSUs → Acemoglu & Robinson: institutions decide long-run success → middle- income-trap risk
Counter-view
defenders’ case (Ahluwalia): real growth + falling poverty vindicate 1991 → set against incompleteness: gains stayed narrow because deeper reform never followed
Conclusion routes
G9 statement holds → reform partial, not misdirected → unfinished agenda remains Ahluwalia’s agenda — factor markets, state capacity, human capital → adequacy still pending
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
