Small enterprise promotion in India

Abstract

The Indian Government has one of the most extensive and lengthy experiences of programmes to assist small-scale industry. This fact has guaranteed that considerable attention has been paid to that programme, as many Indians now re-evaluate the economic strategies India has pursued since independence in 1947. It has also made these programmes a focus of interest to those in other countries who would either like to copy some of their features, or use them as the basis for avoiding similar programmes in their own country. On the one hand, like similar schemes in the United States, these programmes have a considerable constituency and are perceived as politically popular. On the other hand, a body of economic criticism has emerged which questions whether the programmes concerned are a cost-effective use of public resources. The critics suggest that they may even hinder the technological development of Indian industry.