INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MANDI

School: Humanities and Social Sciences

Course Title: INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Weekly Lecture Hours: 3
Total Credits: 3
Subject Code: HS 201
Instructor: Dr. Sumit Mazumdar
Prerequisites: None
Course Objectives Understanding major economic principles,
concepts and issues underlining Indian
economic development since Independence
to explain and analyze contemporary
social and economic policies in India.

COURSE OUTLINE

Module I Unit 1 Introduction to economic systems – evolution of the Indian

Economy – Overview of key sectors of Indian economy
Unit 2 Macroeconomics overview – terms and concepts (GDP, Inflation,
Price Index, Savings and Investment) – National Accounts in
India) – Central problems in an economy and corrective
instruments
Unit 3 Economic growth and development – measuring growth and
development – social development indicators
Unit 4 Review of Five-year Plans in India
Unit 5 Economic growth in India since independence – stages and
turnarounds – economic growth and structural change
Module Unit 6 Income inequality: Concepts and measures - Income inequality in
II India
Unit 7 The problem of Unemployment in India in an era of growth –
forms of unemployment – organized and unorganized sectors –
employment generation policies and programs
Unit 8 Poverty in India: Measurement and trends - Poverty and economic
growth: Studying the imbalances - Anti-poverty policies and
programs in India
Unit 9 Population and Human development: HDI and other indexes - Human
development in India: Inequalities and Imbalances
Module Unit 10 Role of Monetary and Fiscal Policy in macroeconomic
III stabilization & development - Role of Central Banks in managing
the economy - RBI in India: Brief overview of recent monetary
policies
Unit 11 Inflation: Causes and cures - Inflation in India: Role of govt.
policies
Unit 12 Industrial sector in India: Features and Prospects in an era of
Liberalization, Privatization & Globalization
Unit 13 Agriculture in India: Characteristic features and Prospects –
Economic reforms and Indian agriculture
Unit 14 Overview of international trade: Exchange rate, terms of trade
and gains from trade - BOP in Indian context
Unit 15 Sectoral Case Studies – Manufacturing, Software and
Pharmaceuticals
Each module will include, apart from the topics mentioned above (which will be
covered in the lectures), most of the topics will be followed by a Review hour and
discussions. Module I and Module II will be followed by a short quiz (on Feb 7th
and March 14th). Students are also required to write a short essay (of about 1000-
1500 words) as Project Essay Assignment on a particular topic and submitted by
April1. End-term assessment will cover all the three modules.

Course Readings:

A number of textbooks will be referred to during the course, and a few topics will
be taught from a number of sources. Students can refer the following two books as
basic textbooks of the course.

1. Uma Kapila (ed.). Indian Economy since Independence, 19th/20th edition,

Academic Foundation.
2. A.N. Agarwal. Indian Economy: Problems of Development and Planning (36th
ed.), 2010. New Age International.

For basic understanding of the economic principles and concepts underlying the
processes of economic development, students are advised to consult either of the
following textbooks.

1. N.G. Mankiw. Principles of Economics (5th ed.), South-Western Publication.

2. Samuelson, P.A. and W. D. Nordhaus. Economics (19th ed.). Tata McGraw-Hill
Pub. India.

Other reference texts include:

1. Kaushik Basu. The Oxford Companion to Economics In India, OUP

2. T.N. Srinivasan. 2000. Eight Lectures on India's Economic Reforms, OUP.
3. J. Dreze and A. Sen. India: Economic Development and Social Opportunity,
OUP.
4. T. Dyson, R. Cassen and Leela Visaria (eds.). Twenty-first Century India:
Population, Economy, Human Development and Environment. OUP.
5. Sukhomoy Chakraborty. Development Planning: An Indian Experience, OUP.
6. M.L. Jhingan. The Economics of Development and Planning, 8th edition, Vrinda.
7. J. Dreze, and A. Sen. India: Development and Participation, OUP.
8. T.J. Byres (ed.). The Indian Economy: Major Debates since Independence, OUP

Apart from the books above, interested students can refer to the Economic Survey
(available at http://indiabudget.nic.in/ ) and the National Human Development
Report-2001 (available at
http://www.undp.org.in/national_human_development_report_india).
During the course, a few research papers and reports will be referred and
communicated to the students accordingly.

Course credits:
This is a three-credit course. Assessment will be based on group-discussions,
quizzes and an end-term assessment. The weightage is as follows:

2 end-module quizzes (at the end of

Module I & Module II) – each 0.15 0.3
Project essay (2 essays of ~1000 0.2
words on a given topic)- each 0.10
End-term assessment (a 3 hours 0.5
comprehensive examination)