This is a collection of essays by 16 renowned Indian economists on contemporary issues linked to India's economic development.
Among the topics covered in the essays are structural breaks in the India growth process; relevance of the Solow growth model for a developing economy; sources of the growth acceleration in India from the 1980s and the contribution of sectoral changes to overall economic growth; constraints to achieving 4 per cent annual growth rate in agriculture; measurement of unorganized sector output, and savings and capital formation; ensuring environmental sustainability of the energy requirements for a fast, inclusive growth; the kind of inflation targeting that RBI monetary policy should aim for; evolution and structure of Indian fiscal federalism including tax and expenditure assignments, fiscal imbalances, and the design of general purpose and specific purpose transfers from the Centre to the states; etc.
These essays were originally presented in a conference organised to commemorate the birth centenary of Prof V K R V Rao (1908-1991), one of the foremost Indian social scientists and institution builders of the twentieth century. He was the founder of the Delhi School of Economics and the Institute of Economic Growth in Delhi and the Institute of Social and Economic Change in Bangalore.
Researchers and academics working in economics and development studies would find this compilation a valuable reference. It would also serve as supplementary reading material for MA economics students for the course on Indian economy.