W Power 2025

From desperation to global superpower: How India's landmark 1991 reforms actually played out

In 1991, India bid adieu to a socialist economy, putting in processes for a free and progressive market that would later sow the seeds of a global economy

Rucha Sharma
Published: Aug 25, 2021 11:40:05 AM IST

On the brink of a sovereign default, PV Narasimha Rao’s government decided to take a radical decision. Then finance minister Dr Manmohan Singh announced a series of reforms in his Budget speech on July 24, 1991. India bid adieu to a socialist economy and the process for a free, more progressive market began.

These reforms sowed the seeds of a global economy. Policymakers who came after played a crucial role in keeping the momentum going. Here’s  look at some of the milestones over the past 30 years.

(This story appears in the 30 November, -0001 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)

X