ABSTRACT
This chapter describes India's economic foundation, paying particular interest to the processes of economic growth and structural change. It begins with an overview of India's record in economic growth, and focuses on to a description of the process of structural change in the economy. The economic policy of a nation is crucial in understanding its economic foundation. The chapter discusses patterns of growth and development in the core economic sectors – agriculture, industry and services – in turn. Land-locked states such as Punjab and Haryana have exhibited strong economic growth and coastal states such as Orissa have shown significantly weaker economic performance. The economic growth trajectories of the states of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal provide strong support for the argument that far more than geographical factors, political and economic institutions played a key role in the differing economic performance of these two states.
