Licence Raj


Licence Raj

A term used to describe the regulation of the private sector in India between 1947 and the early 1990s. In India at that time, one needed the approval of numerous agencies in order to set up a business legally. Manufacturing in particular was heavily regulated. The Licence Raj was the result of a mixed economy that used a government planning commission established after India's independence. The Licence Raj was largely successful in the 1950s and after, but eventually led to low rates of growth and investment. India began to liberalize its economy in the 1980s, ending the Licence Raj.