The Enigma of the ‘Indian Model’ of Development

The paper is an attempt to unveil the enigma of the ‘Indian model’ of development. After discussing the evolution of India’s development policies over the last six decades, the paper attempts to unfold India’s development trajectory. However, the Indian model of development, principally driven by rapid expansion of high-end knowledge-intensive sectors, comes with a tragic neglect of low-end labour intensive mass manufactures. From an agriculture-dominated economy, India straight away jumped to an economic structure, albeit with a transition period of three or four decades, during which services and high-end manufacturing assumed the lead role. This development model is not only inequitable in the extreme, but it is also a prescription for political volatility and is definitely not a sustainable development model, especially in a democracy.