Towards an Alternative Economic Development Framework for India: The Challenge of the Developmental State Approach

The overarching intention of this contribution is to propose an alternative economic development framework for India taking into account the country’s historical, social, cultural, institutional, and political characteristics. The main focus of the paper is to sketch out the policy framework that might be advisable to promote an internally-propelled growth pattern and diversify the production lines of India while broadly spreading the socioeconomic gains. To this end, a “developmental state argument with Indian characteristics” is proposed as a realistic alternative policy framework for the support of selected industries of high potential and achievability while leaving space for further social and political advancement.