Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) and Industrial Development in India

Abstract Industrial sector Division The Indian industrial sector has undergone a phenomenal transformation since independence: colonial underdevelopment and dependence on imports have been transformed to diversified and globally integrated economy. Industry contribution was extremely minimal of only 11 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India at independence in 1947 with the foundations being textiles, jute, mining and small-scale crafts. The sector (manufacturing, mining, construction, and utilities) contribute nearly 25 percent of the GDP in 2024 and is enabled by large infrastructures, modernization and foreign direct investment. The paper also includes a historical narrative of the process of industrial development, as well as the contribution the Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) can add to the trend, in the form of traditional crafts, metallurgy, artisanal production, indigenous design systems, and industrial processes, carried out by the community. The paper has adhered to structural changes between planned-economy period and liberalization, globalization through the secondary data of the Reserve bank of India (RBI), Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), NITI Aayog, World Bank, IMF, and peer-reviewed studies. Findings indicate three key trends, i.e., (1) heavy industry and state-owned enterprises are opened in the post-independence era; (2) integration in the global value chains through liberalization; and (3) modern trends on digitalization, green technologies, and skills. The sustainable industrial development, which is presented in the paper, is claimed to be attained by introducing new science and technology combined with IKS traditions (particularly in handicrafts, indigenous design, sustainable production, and local innovation) into the process of providing inclusive and robust industrialization.