ABSTRACT
The British industrial revolution had set a precedent which other countries could follow. In doing this they even had a certain advantage; they at first imported British industrial products, then they erected tariff walls behind which they could nurture their infant industries, which would initially go in for import substitution and later on progress to production for export. On the European continent, investment banking helped to raise capital for much larger plants than those that had been built by the pioneers of the industrial revolution. Theoretically, India could have pursued the same course: there was some scope for import substitution as well as for production for export. In the latter field, only jute and leather provided some opportunities of progressing from raw material exports to processed goods, whereas opium, grain and other produce did not provide such opportunities. A jute industry did in fact emerge in India, whereas the new process of chemical treatment of leather actually meant a setback for Indian tanneries. Earlier they had produced semi-finished leather for export, but as the new process required a continuous treatment from the raw hide to the finished product, India could provide raw hides only and the indigenous tanneries lost most of their export business.
