Missing the Reality

Sumit K Majumdar The Reality of Foreign Investments: German Investments in India (1991-1996) by Kavaljit Singh; Madhyam Books, Delhi, 1997; pp 83, Rs 80, INDIA is in the news as a location of consequence for overseas firms wishing to invest abroad, India, however, has had a long history of foreign investment, and at independence in 1947, the predominant share of capital in industry was foreign-owned as established by Kidron (1965), Since the 1950s, India has followed a command-and- control based economy regime, one which became autarkic in the 1960s, with negative consequences on her ability to attract or retain foreign investment; however, since 1991, a fundamental economic policy-switch is in progress as a result of which there has been a move towards a market-based regime in which foreign capital is expected to play a significant part.