Finance Minister Liaquat Ali Khan R. K. Shanmukham Chetty John Mathai Chintamanrao Deshmukh T. T.

Krishnamachari Jawaharlal Nehru Morarji Desai T. T. Krishnamachari Sachindra Chaudhuri Morarji Desai Indira Gandhi Yashwantrao Chavan C. Subramaniam H M Patel Choudhary Charan Singh

Term 1946-1947 1947-1949 1949-1951 1951-1957 1957-1958 1958-1959 1959-1964 1964-1965 1965-1967 1967-1970 1970-1971 1971-1975 1975-1977 1977-1979 1979-1980

Education Aligarh Muslim University; Oxford University; Middle Temple University of Madras Madras Christian College Jesus College, Cambridge University of Madras Trinity College, Cambridge; Middle Temple University of Bombay University of Madras University of Calcutta University of Bombay Visva-Bharati University; University of Oxford Pune University University of Madras University of Bombay Meerut University

Finance Minister
Ramaswamy Venkataraman Pranab Mukherjee V.P. Singh S.B. Chavan Madhu Dandavate Yashwant Sinha Manmohan Singh P.Chidambaram Yashwant Sinha

Term
1980-1982 1982-1985 1985-1987 1987-1989 1989-1990 1990-1991 1991-1996 1996-1998 1998-2002

Education
University of Madras University of Calcutta University of Allahabad; University of Pune University of Madras; Osmania University Royal Institute of Science, University of Bombay University of Patna

Panjab University, Chandigarh; St John's College, Cambridge; Nuffield College, Oxford

University of Madras; Harvard Business School University of Patna

Jaswant Singh
P.Chidambaram Manmohan Singh Pranab Mukherjee

2002-2004
May 2004 - Nov 2008 Dec 2008 - Jan 2009 Feb 2009 - present

National Defence Academy (India)

University of Madras; Harvard Business School Panjab University, Chandigarh; St John's College, Cambridge; Nuffield College, Oxford University of Calcutta

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, along with the statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, formulated and oversaw economic policy during the initial years of the country's existence. They expected favorable outcomes from their strategy, involving the rapid development of heavy industry by both public and private sectors, and based on direct and indirect state intervention, rather than the more extreme Soviet-style central command system.The policy of concentrating simultaneously on capital- and technology-intensive heavy industry and subsidising manual, low-skill cottage industries was criticised by economist Milton Friedman, who thought it would waste capital and labour, and retard the development of small manufacturers.The rate of growth of the Indian economy in the first three decades after independence was derisively referred to as the Hindu rate of growth by economists, because of the unfavourable comparison with growth rates in other Asian countries. Since 1965, the use of high-yielding varieties of seeds, increased fertilizers and improved irrigation facilities collectively contributed to the Green Revolution in India, which improved the condition of agriculture by increasing crop productivity, improving crop patterns and strengthening forward and backward linkages between agriculture and industry.However, it has also been criticised as an unsustainable effort, resulting in the growth of capitalistic farming, ignoring institutional reforms and widening income disparities.

The rate of growth improved in the 1980s. From FY 1980 to FY 1989, the economy grew at an annual rate of 5.5 percent, or 3.3 percent on a per capita basis. Industry grew at an annual rate of 6.6 percent and agriculture at a rate of 3.6 percent. A high rate of investment was a major factor in improved economic growth. Investment went from about 19 percent of GDP in the early 1970s to nearly 25 percent in the early 1980s. India, however, required a higher rate of investment to attain comparable economic growth than did most other low-income developing countries, indicating a lower rate of return on investments. As a result, during the late 1980s India relied increasingly on borrowing from foreign sources . This trend led to a balance of payments crisis in 1990; in order to receive new loans, the government had no choice but to agree to further measures of economic liberalization. This commitment to economic reform was reaffirmed by the government that came to power in June 1991.

Despite a sometimes disappointing rate of growth, the Indian economy was transformed between 1947 and the early 1990s

LIBERALIZATION One example of liberalization was known as "broad-banding." In the earlier period, if a private-sector entrepreneur was given permission to produce something, he produced exactly that and nothing else. Broad-banding meant that as long as he didn't use more raw materials, he was entitled to make something else. What you were entitled to produce was broad-banded, or extended. And that in itself led to an important liberalization of the economy. Manmohan Singh happened to be the finance minister at the time. When he was a young man at Cambridge in the 1950s, he'd written an article that argued that it was a mistake to rely on import substitution, but despite that he'd gone back to India, entered the civil service, and been a loyal civil servant implementing these sorts of policies all those years. But when he became finance minister and was presented with the challenge of finding a way out of the crisis, he set about undertaking a major liberalization of the economy. The macroeconomic part of the package was quite orthodox. After all, if you have a balance-of-payment crisis, if you run out of reserves, you have to fix the balance of payments in a hurry. You really can't start revaluing the exchange rate or spending more, you have to do orthodox things like cutting expenditures, raising taxes, devaluing the exchange rate, and implementing monetary restriction.

CONSEQUENCES The growth translated into a fairly substantial fall in poverty over the course of the 1990s. The 1997 East Asian financial crisis really stopped growth in its tracks in many countries. Those countries, some of them more voluntarily than others, had all liberalized their capital accounts, allowing money to flow in and out fairly liberally. In contrast, in India, if you brought money in, you could take it out again, but domestic Indians weren't allowed to take their money out freely, and India in any event hadn't borrowed a great deal. So it wasn't vulnerable to the 1997 crisis. In the second half of the 1990s one also began seeing the rise of the IT sector. Two explanations are given for why that sector became so successful. The first is that the bureaucrats didn't notice what was happening until it had already happened, so they couldn't really interfere and put up a web of regulations and restrictions. That's probably overly harsh. The other is that the government did some things right. Its founding of the Indian Institutes led to a flow of highly qualified manpower, many of whom found vocation in the IT sector. India at long last found its niche in the world economy, which wasn't in exporting manufactures, like the East Asian countries, but instead was in the services sector, and IT in particular. One important consequence of the 1990s is the sharpening of regional differences within India. The fast-growing states were in the south and west: Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat, etc. The large states of the Ganghetic plain-Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Orissa--became relatively poorer during the 1990s. Policy, which became more attuned to rewarding success over the 1990s, may have exacerbated these regional differences. All the governments of the 1990s were effectively reforming governments, even if not as strongly as some of us would have liked. They tried to push the reform agenda, and if they were slow, at least there were no big reversals as in Latin America and elsewhere.

First Five-Year Plan (1951-1956)

The first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru presented the first five-year plan to the Parliament of India on December 8th 1951.This plan was based on Harrod domar's model. The plan addressed, mainly, the agrarian sector, including investments in dams and irrigation. The agricultural sector was hit hardest by the partition of India and needed urgent attention.` The target growth rate was 2.1% annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth; the achieved growth rate was 3.6% . National income increased more than the per capita income due to rapid population growth. Many irrigation projects were initiated during this period, including the Bhakra Dam and Hirakud Dam. The World Health Organization, with the Indian government, addressed children's health and reduced infant mortality, indirectly

contributing to population growth. Second Five-Year Plan (19561961)

The second five-year plan focused on industry, especially heavy industry. Unlike the First plan, which focused mainly on agriculture, domestic production of industrial products was encouraged in the Second plan, particularly in the development of the public sector. The plan followed the Mahalanobis model, an economic development model developed by the Indian statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in 1953. The plan attempted to determine the optimal allocation of investment between productive sectors in order to maximize long-run economic growth . It used the prevalent state of art techniques of operations research and optimization as well as the novel applications of statistical models developed at the Indian Statistical Institute. The plan assumed a closed economy in which the main trading activity would be centered on importing capital goods The total amount allocated under the second five year plan in India was Rs. 4,800 crore. This amount was allocated among various sectors: Power and irrigation Social services Communications and transport Miscellaneous Target Growth:4.2%

Third Five-Year Plan (19611966)

The third plan stressed on agriculture and improving production of wheat, but the brief Sino-Indian War of 1962 exposed weaknesses in the economy and shifted the focus towards the [Defence industry]. In 1965-1966, India fought a [Indo-Pak] War with Pakistan. Due to this there was a severe drought in 1965. The war led to inflation and the priority was shifted to price stabilization. The construction of dams continued. Many cement and fertilizer plants were also built. Punjab began producing an abundance of wheat. Many primary schools were started in rural areas. In an effort to bring democracy to the grassroots level, Panchayat elections were started and the states were given more development responsibilities. State electricity boards and state secondary education boards were formed. States were made responsible for secondary and higher education. State road transportation corporations were formed and local road building became a state responsibility. The target growth rate of GDP(gross domestic product)was 5.6 percent. The achieved growth rate was 2.2 percent.

Fourth Five-Year Plan (19691974)

At this time Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister. The Indira Gandhi government nationalized 14 major Indian banks and the Green Revolution in India advanced agriculture. In addition, the situation in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) was becoming dire as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and Bangladesh Liberation War took place. Funds earmarked for the industrial development had to be diverted for the war effort. India also performed the Smiling Buddha underground nuclear test in 1974, partially in response to the United States deployment of the Seventh Fleet in the Bay of Bengal. The fleet had been deployed to warn India against attacking West Pakistan and extending the war. Target Growth: 5.7% Actual Growth: 3.30%

Fifth Five-Year Plan (19741979)

Stress was by laid on employment, poverty alleviation, and justice. The plan also focused on self-reliance in agricultural production and defence. In 1978 the newly elected Morarji Desai government rejected the plan. Electricity Supply Act was enacted in 1975, which enabled the Central Government to enter into power generation and transmission .The Indian national highway system was introduced for the first time and many roads were widened to accommodate the increasing traffic. Tourism also expanded. Target Growth: 4.4% Actual Growth: 5.0

Sixth Five-Year Plan (19801985)

The sixth plan also marked the beginning of economic liberalization. Price controls were eliminated and ration shops were closed. This led to an increase in food prices and an increase in the cost of living. This was the end of Nehruvian Plan and Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister during this period. Family planning was also expanded in order to prevent overpopulation. In contrast to China's strict and binding one-child policy, Indian policy did not rely on the threat of force. More prosperous areas of India adopted family planning more rapidly than less prosperous areas, which continued to have a high birth rate. Target Growth: 5.2% Actual Growth: 5.4%

Seventh Five-Year Plan (19851989)

The Seventh Plan marked the comeback of the Congress Party to power. The plan laid stress on improving the productivity level of industries by upgrading of technology. The main objectives of the 7th five year plans were to establish growth in areas of increasing economic productivity, production of food grains, and generating employment .As an outcome of the sixth five year plan, there had been steady growth in agriculture, control on rate of Inflation, and favorable balance of payments which had provided a strong base for the seventh five Year plan to build on the need for further economic growth. The thrust areas of the 7th Five year plan have been enlisted below: Social Justice Removal of oppression of the weak Using modern technology Agricultural development Anti-poverty programs Full supply of food, clothing, and shelter Increasing productivity of small and large scale farmers Making India an Independent Economy Seventh Five Year Plan India strove to bring about a self-sustained economy in the country with valuable contributions from voluntary agencies and the general populace. Target Growth: 5.0% Actual Growth: 5.7%.

Eighth Five-Year Plan (19921997)

1989-91 was a period of economic instability in India and hence no five year plan was implemented. Between 1990 and 1992, there were only Annual Plans. In 1991, India faced a crisis in Foreign Exchange (Forex) reserves, left with reserves of only about US$1 billion. Thus, under pressure, the country took the risk of reforming the socialist economy. P.V. Narasimha Rao was the twelfth Prime Minister of the Republic of India and head of Congress Party, and led one of the most important administrations in India's modern history overseeing a major economic transformation and several incidents affecting national security. At that time Dr. Manmohan Singh (currently, Prime Minister of India) launched India's free market reforms that brought the nearly bankrupt nation back from the edge. It was the beginning of privatisation and liberalisation in India. Modernization of industries was a major highlight of the Eighth Plan. Meanwhile India became a member of. The major objectives included, controlling population growth, poverty reduction, employment generation, strengthening the infrastructure, Institutional building,tourism management, Human Resource development, Involvement of Panchayat raj, Nagar Palikas, N.G.O'S and Decentralisation and people's participation. Energy was given priority with 26.6% of the outlay. An average annual growth rate of 6.78% against the target 5.6% was achieved. To achieve the target of an average of 5.6% per annum, investment of 23.2% of the gross domestic product was required. The incremental capital ratio is 4.1.The saving for invetsment was to come from domestic sources and foreign sources,with the rate of domestic saving at 21.6% of gross domestic production and of foreign saving at 1.6% of gross domestic production.

Ninth Five-Year Plan (19972002)

Ninth Five Year Plan India with the main aim of attaining objectives like speedy industrialization, human development, full-scale employment, poverty reduction, and self-reliance on domestic resources. Background of Ninth Five Year Plan India: Ninth Five Year Plan was formulated amidst the backdrop of India's Golden jubilee of Independence. The main objectives of the Ninth Five Year Plan of India are: TO PRIORITIZE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR AND EMPHASIZE ON THE RURAL DEVELOPMENT TO GENERATE ADEQUATE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND PROMOTE POVERTY REDUCTION TO STABILIZE THE PRICES IN ORDER TO ACCELERATE THE GROWTH RATE OF THE ECONOMY TO ENSURE FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY TO PROVIDE FOR THE BASIC INFRASTRUCTURAL FACILITIES LIKE EDUCATION FOR ALL, SAFE DRINKING WATER, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE, TRANSPORT, ENERGY TO CHECK THE GROWING POPULATION INCREASE TO ENCOURAGE SOCIAL ISSUES LIKE WOMEN EMPOWERMENT, CONSERVATION OF CERTAIN BENEFITS FOR THE SPECIAL GROUPS OF THE SOCIETY TO CREATE A LIBERAL MARKET FOR INCREASE IN PRIVATE INVESTMENTS During the Ninth Plan period, the growth rate was 5.35 per cent, a percentage point lower than the target GDP growth of 6.5 per cent.

Tenth Five-Year Plan (20022007)

Attain 8% GDP growth per year. Reduction of poverty ratio by 5 percentage points by 2007. Providing gainful and high-quality employment at least to the addition to the labour force. Reduction in gender gaps in literacy and wage rates by at least 50% by 2007.

Eleventh Five-Year Plan (20072012)

The eleventh plan has the following objectives: Income & Poverty Accelerate GDP growth from 8% to 10% and then maintain at 10% in the 12th Plan in order to double per capita income by 2016-17 Increase agricultural GDP growth rate to 4% per year to ensure a broader spread of benefits Create 70 million new work opportunities. Reduce educated unemployment to below 5%. Raise real wage rate of unskilled workers by 20 percent. Reduce the headcount ratio of consumption poverty by 10 percentage points. Education Reduce dropout rates of children from elementary school from 52.2% in 2003-04 to 20% by 2011-12 Develop minimum standards of educational attainment in elementary school, and by regular testing monitor effectiveness of education to ensure quality Increase literacy rate for persons of age 7 years or above to 85% Lower gender gap in literacy to 10 percentage point Increase the percentage of each cohort going to higher education from the present 10% to 15% by the end of the plan Women and Children Raise the sex ratio for age group 0-6 to 935 by 2011-12 and to 950 by 2016-17 Ensure that at least 33 percent of the direct and indirect beneficiaries of all government schemes are women and girl children Ensure that all children enjoy a safe childhood, without any compulsion to work

INDIRA GANDHI
Gandhis legacy has largely been remembered, at least by her critics, in the context of her decision to bring the country under Emergency rule in 1975 to retain political power and the bloody riots that broke out after her 1984 assassination. It is my sense that a lot of newsprint and air time would be devoted to these aspects this week. Context had been set in 1979 with the onset of an external sector crisis triggered after the second oil shock. By the time Gandhi regained power, the situation was rapidly deteriorating. There was no option other than to approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for assistance. Eventually, a loan came througharound $6 billion (Rs27,900 crore today), at that time the largest to any developing country, to be disbursed over a three-year period and in three tranchesin November 1981. By that time, the economy recovered and her government decided to exit the loan programme in 1984 and in the process also avoided implementing an IMF reform programme. Gandhi was shrewd enough to realize that the country was not prepared for such a rapid structural transformation. Though the programme ceased to bind India, the process of reform had already been initiated. Not surprisingly, therefore, if you look back, the biggest reform initiatives came immediately after. Revamp of the public sector was kicked off by spinning off the telecom circles in Mumbai and Delhi into separate corporate entities under Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd in 1987; the Long Term Fiscal Policy, 1984, which is the basis of all tax and fiscal reform; selective delicensing of industry. And, it was Yashwant Sinha in his aborted 1990 budget who first formally referred to public sector disinvestment. To sum up, then, economic reform, as we know of it today, was first initiated in 1980-81 and then accelerated at an unprecedented pace in 1991. That she laid the foundation is, to me, the laudable part of Gandhis legacy to this country.

Following the advice of International Monetary Fund in 1991, Singh as Finance Minister, freed India from the License Raj, source of slow economic growth and corruption in the Indian economy for decades. He liberalized the Indian economy, allowing it to speed up development dramatically. During his term as Prime Minister, Singh continued to encourage growth in the Indian market, enjoying widespread success in these matters. Singh, along with the former Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, have presided over a period where the Indian economy has grown with an 89% economic growth rate. In 2007, India achieved its highest GDP growth rate of 9% and became the second fastest growing major economy in the world.[ Singh is now a strong supporter of globalization, seeing India's immense labor capacity as a path to delivering Indian goods in a worldwide market and eventually relieving large-scale poverty.[ Singh's government has continued the Golden Quadrilateral and the highway modernization program that was initiated by Vajpayee's government. Singh has also been working on reforming the banking and financial sectors, as well as public sector companies. The Finance ministry has been working towards relieving farmers of their debt and has been working towards pro-industry policies. In 2005, Singh's government introduced the value added tax, replacing sales tax. In 2007 and early 2008, the global problem of inflation impacted India

Indian economy is changed from no mans land to a prospering land. Thanks to our reformer to do all these work for our development .