When one of our former RBI governors expressed his worry that India might be heading toward the "Hindu Rate of Growth," I first heard the phrase.
What did I do then?
Like any modern-day fascinated child, I took to the Internet to resolve my curiosity. Read some articles here and there, crux of which can be summarized as below:
Who coined the term & when?
Raj Krishna, Indian economist in 1978.
What does Hindu Rate of Growth mean?
Refers to the slow rate of economic growth in Independent India before 1991.
Average 4% p.a. during 1950s to 1980s.
Why the word Hindu in it?
Economists believed that Hindu way of life of fatalism & contentedness was responsible for slow growth.
Contrary opinions?
Many economists say that the actual reasons for slow growth were:
· Economic mismanagement
· Highly regulatory model (License Raj)
· India’s No-Alliance Policy during cold war – which led to:
Lower aid from the US compared to other nations
Various roadblocks from the West
Any other name?
As it was the then government’s failure, some economists prefer to use “Nehruvian rate of growth” instead.
Thanks for reading!!! I hope this was a good read for you all😊.
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