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International Area Studies Review
[ Article ]
International Area Studies Review - Vol. 27, No. 3, pp.302-319
ISSN: 2233-8659 (Print)
Print publication date 01 Sep 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.69473/iasr.2024.27.3.302

Developmental Logic and Resurgence of New State Capitalism in India

Rajiv Kumar*
Institute of Indian Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies / Academy of East Asian Studies, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Correspondence to: *Email: rkumar@hufs.ac.kr

Abstract

This paper explores how state capitalism is related to market capitalism in the global South, thereby challenging the dichotomous view frequently adopted in ‘new’ state capitalism literature. We analyze the case of India, where the state has actively mobilized state-own entities to meet new economic challenges. Drawing upon an in-depth analysis of the official documents, this article makes two central claims. First, India’s new state capitalism is driven primarily by developmental logic. The government has mobilized state-owned entities to conduct specific development projects that had progressed slowly when the government relied on the private sector. Second, India’s new state capitalism has been expanding amid not only liberalized but also liberalizing economic regimes. We argue this by analyzing the role that state-owned entities play in improving the business environment, sustaining fiscal health, and attracting private companies and talent. As such, this article suggests that emerging debates in new state capitalism literature should pay more attention to the critical role that state-own entities play in the development process and facilitating the market economy. It also suggests that the developmental state model is conceptually relevant to explaining the revival of state-centered developmentalism in the global South and India.

Keywords:

State capitalism, Developmental logic, Developmental state, State with market, Global South, India

Acknowledgments

The author expresses deep gratitude to Dr. Kyunghoon Kim for his kind support in preparing the initial draft of this paper. Additionally, the author greatly benefited from insightful discussions with Prof. Chanwahn Kim on the Indian political economy over the past seven years, during his tenure at the Institute of Indian Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

AI Acknowledgment

Generative AI or AI-assisted technologies were not used in any way to prepare, write, or complete essential authoring tasks in this manuscript.

Conflict of Interests

The author(s) declare that there is no conflict of interest

Funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2017S1A6A3A02079749).

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