Why in the News?

Trade negotiations between India and the United States remain stalled after President Trump’s administration doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50% and imposed an additional 25% duty on Russian oil imports by India.

Introduction

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar emphasised that while understanding with the US, “the world’s largest market” is essential, India’s economic sovereignty and red lines must be respected.

This impasse reflects the global shift from free trade to protectionism, echoing earlier eras when India resisted externally imposed economic dominance, first under colonial exploitation, and later through planned economic reconstruction after independence.

Colonial Economic Exploitation and India’s Resistance:

1. Transformation of Economy: The British colonial system dismantled India’s self-sufficient agrarian and artisanal base, converting the country into a supplier of raw materials and a market for British-manufactured goods.
2. Drain Theory and Fiscal Exploitation: Dadabhai Naoroji, in Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (1901), argued that India’s wealth was drained to Britain, financing its prosperity: “The British Indian Empire is formed and maintained entirely by Indian money and mainly by Indian blood.”
3. Phases of Colonial Capitalism:
   • Mercantile Capitalism (EIC Era): Extraction through monopoly trade and taxation.
   • Industrial Capitalism (19th Century): India reduced to an exporter of raw cotton and importer of textiles.
   • Finance Capitalism (Early 20th Century): British private capital dominated infrastructure, plantations, and banking, reinforcing dependency.
4. Economic Consequences: The structure produced de-industrialisation, agrarian stagnation, excessive taxation, and recurring famines, resulting in widespread impoverishment.

Intellectual Critiques of the Colonial Economy:

1. R. C. Dutt – Industrial Destruction: In The Economic History of India (1901–02), he demonstrated how colonial policies deliberately destroyed indigenous industries to protect British manufacturers.
2. M. G. Ranade – Economic Dependency: Criticised colonial economic dependence and advocated industrial regeneration through Indian entrepreneurship.
3. R. Palme Dutt – Stages of Imperialism: In India To-day (1940), identified three stages of capitalist domination , mercantile, industrial, and finance , highlighting the evolution of imperial control.
4. G. V. Joshi , an Economist, aptly described railway expenditure as an “Indian subsidy to British industry.”

Economic Reconstruction After Independence:

1. Inherited Structural Weakness: At independence in 1947, India faced an agrarian, impoverished, and unequal economy drained of capital and industrial base.
2. Ideological Synthesis: Rejecting Cold War binaries, India adopted a non-aligned mixed economy, blending socialist planning with capitalist pragmatism to ensure self-reliance and equity.
3. Intellectual Precursors to Planning:
   • Visvesvaraya Plan (1934) – advocated industrialisation and state coordination.
   • National Planning Committee (1938) – set the foundation for state-directed development.
   • Bombay Plan (1944) – proposed large-scale industrialisation with public–private cooperation.
   • Gandhian and People’s Plans (1944–45) – emphasised decentralisation and rural self-sufficiency.
4. First and Second Five-Year Plans:
   • First Plan (1951–56): Focused on agriculture, irrigation, and rural reconstruction.
   • Second Plan (1956–61): Based on P. C. Mahalanobis model, prioritising heavy industries, capital goods, and import substitution.

Planned Economy and Centralisation of Authority:

1. Institutional Creation: The Planning Commission (1950), chaired by the Prime Minister, institutionalised centralised planning and target allocation.
2. Fiscal Centralisation: The Finance Commission (Article 280), though constitutionally mandated for fiscal transfers, became secondary to plan-based resource allocation.
3. Limited Federal Consultation: The National Development Council (1952) was created to involve states but lacked independent financial powers.
4. Command Economy Features: India’s planning structure mirrored Soviet-style central control, aiming for rapid industrialisation, public sector expansion, and poverty eradication, yet it consolidated central dominance in economic governance.

Transition to Federal Economic Governance:

1. Liberalisation Era (1991): The balance-of-payments crisis triggered wide-ranging reforms , ending the Licence–Permit–Quota Raj, deregulating industries, reducing tariffs, and inviting foreign investment.
2. Market Orientation: The 1991 reforms replaced the state-led model with market-driven growth and integration into the global economy.
3. Institutional Transformation:
   • Abolition of the Planning Commission (2014) reflected a shift from central command to federal cooperation.
   • Creation of NITI Aayog (2015) introduced cooperative and competitive federalism, emphasising state innovation and evidence-based policymaking.
4. Fiscal Federal Tensions: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) exemplifies fiscal unity but has also constrained state autonomy, fuelling debates on vertical imbalance and fiscal equity.

India–US Trade Divergences in the Contemporary Context:

1. Tariff Dispute Dynamics: The Trump tariff regime, justified on grounds of national security and domestic job protection, contradicted WTO’s comparative advantage principle, undermining global free-trade norms.
2. India’s Strategic Response: Rooted in historical awareness, India’s trade policy seeks to balance self-reliance with pragmatic global engagement, defending domestic interests while avoiding isolationism.
3. Philosophical Continuity: Jaishankar’s remark, “If trade becomes tariffs, where is competitiveness?”, encapsulates India’s enduring critique of externally imposed asymmetry, echoing nationalist economic thought since the colonial period.

Legacy of India’s Economic Resistance:

1. Continuum of Policy Evolution: From colonial subjugation through planned reconstruction to liberal federalism, India’s economic trajectory reflects a consistent assertion of sovereignty and self-determination.
2. Recurrent Themes: The pursuit of self-reliance, equitable growth, and resistance to external control runs through every policy phase from Naoroji’s drain theory to NITI Aayog’s cooperative model.
3. Contemporary Relevance: The present India–US trade friction is not merely a tactical disagreement but a symbolic reaffirmation of India’s historical resolve to resist economic subordination and preserve strategic autonomy.

Way Forward:

1. Strategic Engagement: Pursue trade negotiations with the US grounded in reciprocity, not submission.
2. Institutional Resilience: Strengthen WTO-aligned frameworks for dispute resolution to safeguard multilateralism.
3. Domestic Competitiveness: Expand manufacturing and exports through PLI schemes and innovation-driven incentives.
4. Federal Balance: Reinforce fiscal autonomy of states to sustain broad-based economic growth.
5. Economic Diplomacy: Integrate trade with technology partnerships, digital cooperation, and sustainable supply chains to mitigate external shocks.

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