Economic Reforms and Infrastructure Growth

Infrastructure data for the pre-reform period (1980-81 to 1990-91) is with1980-81 as base year and for post-reform period (1993-94 to 2003-04) is with1993-94 as base year. In that sense, the growth rates are not strictly comparable,but they are indicative of the trend. 

Data provided in table 8.11 reveal that in case of saleable steel and cement, growth rates in the post-reform period were higher than in the pre-reform period. In the case of steel, growth rate during 1993-94 to 2002-03 was 9.5 per cent as against only 4.9 per cent in the 1980s. Similarly, in the case of cement, growth rate in the post-reform period was 8.2 per cent as against 4.0 per cent in the pre- reform period. But it may be pointed that in both these cases, the withdrawal of state control in pricing carried out in the 1980s was responsible for the uptrend in the post-reform period.