I completed my education and professional training in the early 1990s, just as India stood at the edge of profound change. The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 had created a vacuum in the Congress party. P.V. Narasimha Rao led a fragile minority government through a perfect storm: a balance-of-payments crisis; two failed monsoons; the Gulf War spike in oil prices; double-digit inflation; a crippling fiscal deficit; the Harshad Mehta scam; and simmering insurgencies in J&K, Punjab, & the Northeast. Mandal reservations and the Ayodhya movement had polarized society; the 1992 demolition and subsequent Mumbai blasts shattered everyday calm.
In that crucible, Rao and Finance Minister Manmohan Singh launched the 1991 liberalization. Industrial licensing was slashed, the rupee was devalued by nearly 20% in two swift moves, trade was opened, foreign portfolio investment welcomed, and the foundations of modern capital markets laid. Within five years the economy was back on a higher growth path.
The 1996 election ended Congress rule and ushered in three years of political instability (Three general elections during 1996–99). Yet the reform momentum not only survived but accelerated. The United Front government deepened financial-sector and fiscal reforms. Vajpayee’s NDA (1998–2004) opened core sectors—telecom, power, roads, ports, oil & gas—to private and foreign players, launched the National Highways Development Project, announced the SEZ policy, conducted nuclear tests, and weathered sanctions and the dot-com crash. India emerged as a recognized IT powerhouse and strategic nuclear power.
The UPA years (2004–14) built on this foundation while adding a strong social dimension. Markets were opened further, NPCI was established (laying groundwork for later digital payments), and landmark rights-based legislation was enacted: RTI, MNREGA, RTE, NRHM, and the Food Security Act. Growth averaged over 8% for much of the period despite the 2008 global crisis, though a current-account scare in 2012-13 required swift RBI action.
When the NDA returned in 2014 under Narendra Modi, it inherited an economy recovering but scarred by the previous slowdown. Far from avoiding major reforms, the government completed and launched several of its own: the long-awaited GST (2017) created a unified national market; the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (2016) cleaned up NPAs; four Labour Codes rationalized archaic laws; corporate tax rates were cut; direct benefit transfers scaled massively via the JAM trinity; and UPI revolutionized digital payments. Infrastructure spending surged, Ease of Doing Business rankings improved, and schemes emphasizes on manufacturing were reinforced under Make in India and Production-Linked Incentives banners.
Growth has not been linear though. The 2016 demonetization and GST rollout caused temporary disruption; COVID-19 delivered a sharp contraction. Yet India has remained the fastest-growing major economy in most post-pandemic years. Recent quarters have shown strong rebounds, though challenges persist: uneven job quality (especially for educated youth), volatile foreign flows, a tight fiscal position, and rising aspirations of one billion young Indians.
I still believe we are witnessing a pause in our journey of growth, not a break. The institutional scaffolding built over three decades—open markets, digital public infrastructure, a resilient banking system—remains intact.
In my view, the next three years will be decisive. How the government sequences the next wave of reforms (land, labour, agriculture marketing, and trade openness), executes with consistency, and manages fiscal discipline will determine whether India’s growth story merely pauses or regains its full stride. The momentum built since 1991 has bent but not broken. With pragmatic course-correction, the best chapters may still lie ahead.
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