Page 58 - BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2015

Part2 | MarketIntelligence-Background
Background: Rising India
Indians build a modern state
on the firm foundations of
an ancient civilization
From its independence in 1947 through its first four decades as a sovereign state, and despite some reform attempts, India functioned as a centralized highly regulated economy. By 1991, the country was in political and economic turmoil.
fffffffPrime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated while campaigning for reelection. The country was close to default, unable to pay its foreign debts. India agreed to reform its economy
as a condition of a bailout by the International Monetary Fund.
In just 25 years, India moved from the brink of bankruptcy to become one of the world’s most dynamic markets. The transformation began when the India National Congress party won the 1991 election and Prime Minister Narasimha Rao appointed Oxford-educated economist Manmohan Singh as finance minister.
Singh implemented economic reforms and eventually served 10 years as prime minister, from 2004 to 2014. Change happened incrementally, subject to
the competing interests of a robust democracy.
Frustrated with the pace of change, Indians elected Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Narendra Modi as prime minister in 2014, deposing the Indian National Congress Party, which had governed India almost continuously since 1947.
Modi presented a vision of transformation, opening the country to greater foreign investment and launching programs to build a more inclusive, equitable and technologically advanced society.
In 2014, with GDP growing at an annual rate of 7.5 percent, faster than any other major country, the economy spiked to $2 trillion. It had taken India 60 years to reach $1 trillion, only seven years earlier.
2001
The US lifts economic sanctions imposed on India and Pakistan after nuclear tests in 1998.
The Indian government inaugurates the Golden Quadrilateral, a national infrastructure initiative to build over 3,600 miles of modern multilane highway to loop inside of India and connect its major cities. The project is completed in 2012.
1991
Finance Minister Manmohan Singh introduces reforms that promote a market- driven-economy, more open to both domestic and foreign investment. Singh later serves as prime minster for 10 years, from 2004 to 2014.
1998
India conducts underground nuclear tests, its first since 1974, and draws international criticism and sanctions.
1999
Following optimism about resolving the dispute over Kashmir, the decade ends with India and Pakistan in armed conflict.
2000
As the new Millennium begins, India’s population reaches one billion.
With India more
open to international engagement, US President Bill Clinton makes an historic visit.
2000s
1990s 58