Modi’s long tenure as chief minister of the western Indian state of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 burnished his neoliberal credentials in the eyes of Indian and foreign capital. As a result, Indian manufacturing remains heavily dependent on imported technologies. Consequently, FDI has contributed little to technological advancement in Indian industry, with foreign firms establishing few R&D facilities within the country. That development path for industrialisation was abandoned in 1991, when the Indian government decided to liberalise – or more correctly neo-liberalise – the Indian economy and make it more service-oriented. 18 Reserve Bank of India, Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy, 2024–25; Mazumdar, ‘Industrial Development in India under Liberalisation’.

Source: Economic Times January 06, 2026 12:03 UTC