Chapter 9: Economic Development: Section 3

1
Chapter 9 Economic Development Section 3
2
Lesson Questions

• What economic goals did Nehru set for India?
• What progress has Indian industry made?
• How has India tried to increase farm output?

3
Economic Goals

• In year 1947 A.D., Indias economy was
  undeveloped and it had to import machinery and
  finished goods from industrialized nations
• Nehru (leader of India 1945 -1966) aimed to
  modernize the country
• He used many socialist principles and tried to
  limit foreign investment
• Indias mixed economy had some government
  industries such as steel, mining, transportation,
  and energy
• It also included private consumer businesses such
  as bicycles, sewing machines, and hand tools

4
Nehru
5
Industrial Growth

• To lessen dependence on developed nations,
  Indias people needed to produce basic materials
  such as steel, plastics, and capital goods needed
  for factory production
• Money was invested from cash crops and taxes
• Nehru referred to hydroelectric plants and steel
  factories, as Indias new temples.
• After independence, iron ore output tripled
• Energy doubled, and coal/steel production rose
• By 1960, India was ranked sixth as one of the
  worlds most industrialized countries (today it
  is ranked 12th in GDP)
• GDP - total amount of goods and services in a
  country
• 1970, production dropped due to world oil prices,
  like most industrialized countries a rise in oil
  burdens Indias economy

6
Economic Reforms

• Indias government ran many industries, however
  an economic slow down meant moving toward
  privatization
• State-owned industries were sold to private
  investors
• Instead of total foreign investment, they set up
  joint projects
• In the 1990s, the Indian government allowed more
  foreign investment which led to a financial boom
• High-technology industries grew such as computer
  software industries
• Despite growing amount of jobs, rapid population
  growth meant that unemployment was always a
  problem (US has roughly 4.4, India around 9.9)

7
Progress in Agriculture

• ¾ of Indians live in rural areas, and most are
  subsistence farmers
• In the 1940s, India could not feed its
  population. It also had poor soil and outdated
  farming methods. Droughts even made matters
  worse.
• Despite monsoons, some areas do not get rain for
  6-8 months irrigation systems became a priority
  of the new government
• Dams, canals, and wells coupled with the new
  irrigation systems allowed for better water
  control. Farmers could now plant a second,
  dry-season crop as well.
• The building of dams have become controversial
  for environmentalists because they disturb the
  ecosystems.

8
Land Reform

• Only a few had large land holdings, whereas most
  lived on small plots of land
• Some people had no land at all and worked as
  tenant farmers
• People sharecropped, which meant they gave their
  landlord a portion of their harvest
• The government wanted to redistribute land but it
  had little affect
• Landowners controlled enforcement of policies and
  hardly anyone could raise enough money to buy
  land
• The government tried to implement a 25 tax of
  sharecropping but it failed as well

9
Green Revolution

• 1960s- 1970s, new technology improved food output
• Scientists developed miracle crops through
  improved wheat and rice seeds
• Farmers have trouble yielding crops because they
  cannot afford proper equipment, irrigation, and
  fertilizer
• Food is sometimes produced enough to be exported

---