Neoliberal Economic Reforms, Power Structure, and Poverty Alleviation Measures in India

Abstract

In 1991, India undertook a series of economic reforms following the policies of globalization being uncritically adopted by states all over the world. Most of the globalization policies were part of the wider liberal international political economy and neoliberalism. The Indian state was compelled to adopt the policies of neoliberal economic reforms as India had huge external debt borrowings and fiscal deficit as well as inflation was at an all-time high. These policies of neoliberal economic reforms had adversely aggravated the poverty problematic and widened the gulf between the dominant and dependent classes in India. This chapter seeks to study the interrelationships between the policies of neoliberal economic reforms, power structure and aggravation of poverty in India. It also discusses the different poverty alleviation measures and critically assesses to what extent these have been successful in India.