A study on changing foreign trade pattern of India before pre liberalization era

Abstract

India's foreign trade was based on the needs of the British colonial powers prior to independence in 1947. India being an agrarian economy used to supply raw materials and agricultural commodities to Britain and other industrial countries and imported manufactured goods. The paper discusses the trends of foreign trade in India from pre plan period up to liberalization in 1991. The study is based on secondary data of annual reports collected from various government sites, journals and newspapers. The paper highlights the changes in exports and Imports and examined the factors responsible for Balance of Trade.