India's Political Economy @75: Opportunities & Challenges of Development

by Praveen Jha (Editor), Puja Pal (Editor), Bhaskar Majumder (Editor)

Overview

This book provides a comprehensive exploration and reflection of the opportunities and challenges that have shaped India’s growth trajectory in past seven decades. The book contains rigorously researched articles on various contemporary issues and debates around four broad key themes on—political economy appraisal, sectoral challenges, employment, labour and informality and social sector performance, offering conceptual understanding, critical analysis and policy implications. In addition to offering significant insights into recent emerging issues such as the agrarian crisis, non-performing assets (NPAs), post-COVID-19 transformations, shifts in the labor market due to artificial intelligence (AI), digitalization, and more, the book also explores the dominant theoretical discourses essential for comprehending India's political economy since independence till recent. The book offers actionable policy recommendations to address existing gaps between policies and practices of India’s development trajectory. The book is particularly intended for research scholars and students, of economics, political science and development studies. Also, policymakers, institutions, general reader and academics worldwide who are interested in understanding the political aspect of Indian economy, its development trajectory, and the challenges and opportunities that nation faces at the cusp of completing 75 years of independence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789819678815
Publisher:	Springer Nature Singapore
Publication date:	01/27/2026
Series:	The Political Economy of the Asia Pacific
Pages:	350
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Praveen Jha is Sukhamoy Chakravarty Chair Professor of Economics, at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning (CESP), and an Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies (CISLS), School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India. His areas of teaching and research interests include: political economy of development, with particular reference to labour, agriculture and education. His other areas of interest are natural resources, public finance and history of economic thought. He has been Visiting Fellow/Professor to several institutions/ universities, including University of Bremen, Germany; Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, Tianjin, China; Rhodes University, Makhanda (Grahamstown), South Africa; Sam Moyo African Institute of Agrarian Studies, Harare, Zimbabwe; International Labour Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland; Leipzig University, Germany; and Kassel University, Germany. He has been associated with several research studies with UN institutions such as the ILO, the UNICEF, the UNDP, and the FAO etc., and several think tanks in India and abroad. Apart from being one of the founding editors of the journal, Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, he is on the editorial/advisory board of a few well-known journals. He has authored/edited more than twenty books and monographs, and has published well over hundred articles in journals and as book chapters.

Puja Pal is Associate Fellow at the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, Noida, India (institute is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India). She holds a PhD in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India. Prior to her current role, she served as Assistant Professor at the G.B. Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad, India, and at Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi, India. Her research interests focus on labour issues, employment, informality, and development economics. Dr. Pal has published extensively in reputed journals through research articles, book chapters, and commentaries. She has undertaken research projects funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and has also received ICSSR support to organize a national conference. In addition to academic writing, she regularly contributes opinion pieces, commentaries, and blogs on contemporary socio-economic issues. Dr. Pal has presented her work at various national and international conferences.

Bhaskar Majumder has retired as Professor from G.B. Pant Social Science Institute, Prayagraj. He got his Ph.D. degree from University of Calcutta. He has taught in different universities and Institutes in India including Calcutta University, Sri Sri University, Cuttack and Central University of Bihar, Patna. He was Visiting Fellow in different universities and Institutes in India including Banaras Hindu University. He has worked for Planning Commission, India, World Bank, Indian Council of Social Science Research, National Commission for Women, Tata Chemicals. He has authored 13 books, edited and co-edited two books. He published 85 papers in journals of repute. He published 36 articles in books on social science edited by eminent scholars. He is a member in many professional bodies in India.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Political Economy Appraisal of Indian Economy.- Chapter 2: State, Capital and Some Socio-Economic Outcomes in India at the Current Juncture.- Chapter 3: The Standstill, Movement and Transformational Aspects of India's Development Experience.- Chapter 4: Dilemma in Development: India’s Development Experience and the Challenges Ahead.- Chapter 5: A Political Economy appraisal of liberal reforms in India by Rahul De.- Sectoral Challenges in Indian Economy.- Chapter 6: The State, Market and Agrarian Crisis: Political Economy of Agricultural Price in India.- Chapter 7: What Might Have Suppressed the Industry led-growth? by Arup Mitra.- Chapter 8: Exploring the interdependence between the commodity-producing and tertiary sector: Evidence from India.- Chapter 9: Public Finance Trajectories in India Since Liberalization: An Assessment.- Chapter 10: The Political Economy of Non-Performing Assets in Indian Banks during the Neo-Liberal Reform Period: An Analysis of Persistence of GNPAs.- Employment, Labour and Informality.- Chapter 11: An Assessment of India’s Employment Policy.- Chapter 12: Indian Labour Market in the Era of Automation and Artificial Intelligence: Challenges and Opportunities.- Chapter 13: Whither for Work? Tracking Migration, Perceptions and Labour Market Outcomes in Post-COVID India.- Chapter 14: Informality in the Indian Labour Market: Recent Evidences.- Chapter 15: Labour flexibility and employment protection legislation in India's formal industrial sector: issues and perspectives.- Chapter 16: Self-Employment in India: Entrepreneurs or Working Poor.- Social Sector Performance.- Chapter 17: Political Determinants of Health: The Indian Case.- Chapter 18: Shifting Priorities in Financing of Higher Education in India.- Chapter 19: Being Connected: Evaluating the Digital Divide in India.