The Indian Economy Since 1991, 2nd Edition

14

Trends and Patterns of Merchandise Exports and Imports of India in the Post-Liberalization Era

Manu J. Vettickan and R. Anil Varma

14.1 Introduction

The process of trade liberalization and the market-oriented economic reform that started in the early 1980s intensified in the 1990s. During the past 15 years, the Indian economy has become substantially more integrated to the world economy. The focus of these reforms has been on liberalization, openness, transparency and globalization with a basic thrust on the outward orientation and on the export promotion. The philosophy behind the economic reforms was that the role of the government in making decisions on resource allocation should be minimized. It was prophesied that this would not only ...