Structural Changes in Indian Industries

There key changes that occurred in the Industrial structure of the country during planning period are as follows:

Overall industrial production went up by 5 to 6 times

In last 65 years,  Industrial overall production went up by five-six times, making India one of the top 10 most Industrial nations of the world. The industrial structure has been widely diversified from being only consumer goods to entire range of consumer, intermediate and capital goods.

Rise of Heavy and Capital Goods Sector

As the focus of 2nd five year plan was on heavy industries and capital goods sector; this resulted in a very strong industrial base. Today, India has a very good place in Engineering goods, which is also largest foreign exchange earning sector. Growth of heavy machinery and capital goods sector allowed India to reduce dependence on the other countries and save substantial amount of foreign exchange.

Rise of Public sector

There was no public sector worth the name in the pre-independence period. The entire range of activities in the industrial sector was controlled by the Private sector. After 1947, Public Sector has developed considerably.

Public Sector Enterprises range from Basic and Strategic Industries like Steel, Mining and Metallurgical units, Oil Exploration and Refining, Basic and Intermediate Chemicals, Ship-Building, Heavy Machine Building for Steel Plants, Chemical fertilisers, Cement, Aluminium etc. Besides, Public Sector Enterprises also produce a variety of goods and services ranging from sophisticated electronic goods to products of mass consumption like bread, cloth and drugs.