India Development Report 2015

According to recent estimates, India is the third largest economy in the world after USA and China in terms of purchasing power parity. More significantly, the country witnessed a major shift in political leadership when a clear mandate was provided to the BJP-led NDA coalition in the national elections in May 2014. This has empowered the new government to take bold economic decisions to meet the short- and longer-term challenges of this country. Accelerating growth is the immediate challenge for the new government as it is expected to deliver on the economic front as well as on the social front. It has to bolster businesses as well as the common people. India, aspiring to be a global power, must promote harmonious and inclusive socio-economic development. Keeping this in mind, many crucial questions are raised: How has the economy been performing? What should be done to revive GDP growth? What is the relationship between investment and growth? How to address Indiaas vulnerability to external crises? How to control inflation? How to achieve social and environmental goals? Providing answers to these and other such questions, this volume, the eighth in India Development Report series, examines: macroeconomic developments and economic growth, inflation, and external shocks investment and growth nexus dynamics of a firm's competitive behavior small enterprises and the corporate debt market oil and gas price reforms and agriculture, changing face of rural areas, food inflation, and food security health and health care, and health insurance and corporate social responsibility, climate change, urban sustainability, transport, and sustainable development. The Report includes a statistical appendix, which is a treasure trove of various economic and social indicators and helps provide an independent assessment of the Indian economy.