Globalisation and the Indian Economy

This chapter explains how production has become globally organised through multinational corporations (MNCs), which own or control production in more than one nation and spread the production process across countries to cut costs. It distinguishes foreign investment from foreign trade, shows how MNCs interlink production by partnering with, buying up or placing orders with local firms, and how foreign trade integrates the markets of different countries. It defines globalisation as the rapid integration of countries through trade, investment, technology and the movement of people, and examines the factors that enabled it - improvements in transport and information technology, and the liberalisation of trade and investment policy in India from around 1991. It discusses the role of the World Trade Organisation and the debate over fair trade, the uneven impact of globalisation in India on consumers, big companies, small producers and workers, and the steps that governments and people can take to build a fairer globalisation. A high-scoring, analytical chapter of the Board syllabus.