The purpose of this paper is to undertake a descriptive-interpretative analysis of the political economy of economic reforms in India in order to interrogate the idea of the developmental state in the Indian context, through a study of the structural changes that took place as a result of the New Economic Policy. This is done by examining two long-term reflecting engagement with diverse economic interests – nature of state-capital relations and imperfect financialisation of the economy. It is seen that the post-1991 changes have led to a certain kind of configuration of the developmental state in its relationship with the political economy. Despite the processes of liberalization, there is not a clear reversal of the kind of developmental model which marginalized growth-oriented market outcomes in favour of growth-oriented outcomes produced by state intervention. Rather, what we have is the emergence of a state whose structure is geared towards the production of developmental outcomes while processes are actualized through a market-determined course. Such a state structure will be examined through the two components of the bureaucratic structure (relationship between government and regulatory bodies) and the relationship with business, and is seen to produce mixed developmental outcomes untranslatable into socio-economic well-being.
Developmental State, Political Economy, New Economic Policy
