Indian Economy — Cheatsheets
Planning eras
|---|---|---|
| 1951–2014 | Five Year Plans | Centralized allocation via Planning Commission |
|---|
| 2015–present | NITI Aayog | Advisory, cooperative-federalism model, no direct fund allocation |
1991 reforms — LPG
|---|---|
| Liberalization | Dismantling License Raj — reducing licensing/permit requirements |
|---|
| Privatization | Reducing state ownership/control, expanding private-enterprise role |
| Globalization | Opening economy to foreign trade and investment (FDI reforms) |
Trigger: 1991 balance-of-payments crisis (critically low forex reserves).
Sectoral composition — key pattern
|---|---|
| Agriculture | Declining GDP share; still employs disproportionately large workforce share |
|---|
| Industry | Moderate GDP share |
| Services | Now largest GDP contributor; hasn't absorbed labor at same scale as industry-led growth elsewhere |
(needs verification — recheck against current source: exact sectoral GDP percentages updated with each national accounts release.)
Poverty and inequality measurement
|---|---|
| Poverty line | Minimum consumption expenditure threshold (rural/urban, periodically revised — Tendulkar, Rangarajan committees) |
|---|
| Multidimensional poverty | Deprivation across health, education, living standards (not just income) |
| Gini coefficient | Income/consumption inequality, 0 (equal) to 1 (unequal) |
| Income-share analysis | Share of national income by population decile |
(needs verification — recheck against current source: current official poverty-line methodology periodically revised.)
Union Budget structure
|---|---|
| Revenue Budget | Revenue receipts (taxes) + revenue expenditure (salaries, subsidies, interest) |
|---|
| Capital Budget | Capital receipts (borrowing, disinvestment) + capital expenditure (infrastructure) |
| Fiscal deficit | Total expenditure minus total receipts (excluding borrowing) |
Quality distinction: capital-expenditure-funded deficit generally viewed more favorably than revenue-expenditure-funded deficit.
Major scheme categories
|---|---|---|
| Employment guarantee | MGNREGA | Rural employment, agricultural-productivity gap |
|---|
| Financial inclusion | Jan Dhan Yojana | Banking access, DBT infrastructure foundation |
| Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) | Cross-scheme mechanism | Reduces leakage/intermediary corruption |
(needs verification — recheck against current source: scheme names, coverage, and funding revised periodically.)
