Inaugural Lecture: Professor Aradhna Aggarwal: SEZs and Industrialisation: The Indian Experience

Soon after independence in 1947, India embarked on an ambitious industrialisation programme with import substitution and heavy industrialisation as two strategic pillars. As part of this strategy, it set up a SEZ in 1965 and became the first Asian country to have it. By the turn of the 1970s, however the industrial strategy hit the bottlenecks and the industrial growth rate stagnated. The contribution of the then existing SEZs to growth remained minuscule. In an attempt to replicate the success of South East Asian countries with SEZs, the government set up more of them in the 1980s but with little success. In 1991, the economy transitioned from import-substituting to an export-oriented regime. The GDP growth rate did accelerate but much of this acceleration was driven by growth in services. In order to give another major thrust to industrialisation, and this time inspired by the success of China, the government once again turned to SEZs and launched a new SEZ policy. But, soon it came under heavy criticism. This presentation assesses India’s tryst with SEZs in the process of industrialisation as explored by her research on SEZs in the global and Indian contexts.

 

Professor Aradhna Aggarwal is currently professor of Indian Studies at the Asia Research Centre, Department of International Economy and Management. Professor Aggarwal obtained her PhD in Industrial Economics from Delhi School of Economics. She is keenly interested in industry, trade and issues relating to investment and has published widely in these areas. 

 

Please sign up for the inaugural by sending an e-mail to arc.int@cbs.dk no later than 21 April. Seats are limited.