ABSTRACT

Trade policy is only one element, albeit an important one, in the overall industrial policy regime in India. This study begins with a review of the original premises of planning for industrialization and the subsequent evolution of the policy regime with special reference to trade policy changes. This is followed by an analysis of the long-term trends in growth and productivity in the industrial sector as well as the long-term trends in exports and imports. The relationship between trade policy and productivity performance is explored within an econometric framework. The new government which took office in June 1991 has since announced major changes in both industrial policy and trade policy which fall beyond the scope of this paper.