"Bombay Plan and its economic significance in Independent India"
Speaker : Prof Shivanand Kanavi
Adjunct Faculty, NIAS
@ : shivanand.kanavi@nias.res.in
Chairperson : Prof Sharada Srinivasan
Honoring Visiting Professor, NIAS
@ :sharadasrini@nias.res.in
Date : 17th June, 2026
Time : 2.30 PM
Venue : Lecture Hall
Abstract: A Plan for India's Economic development was presented by leading Indian businessmen: J R D Tata, G D Birla, Kasturbhai Lalbhai, Lala Sriram, Purushottamdas Thakurdas, Ardeshir Dalal, A D Shroff and John Mathai in 1944-45. It came to be known as Bombay Plan or Tata-Birla plan. The talk will discuss the main features of this plan and its impact on Indian economy post-independence. Dr Manmohan Singh said in 2004 "Bombay Plan defined the framework for India's transition from agrarian feudalism to industrial capitalism. In many ways, it encapsulated what all subsequent Plans have tried to achieve. Nowhere in the developing world had a group of businessmen come together to draw up such a long-term plan for a country."
About the speaker: Prof Shivanand Kanavi, Adjunct Faculty at NIAS is a Theoretical Physicist trained at IIT Kanpur, IIT Bombay and Northeastern University, Boston, USA. After a brief academic career he became an Economic Consultant and a Business Journalist, ending his professional career as Vice President in TCS of TATA Group. He continues to write in media and lecture widely on science, technology, Indian business, and the economy.