Professor Bauer's book, first published in 1961, reviews the major elements of contemporary official Indian development policy, considers their economic implications and their probable political and economic results. He then examines alternative approaches to the promotion of development. The development plans, notably the Second Five Year Plan and the official outlines of the Third Plan, receive major attention, but the author also considers other official policies and measures affecting economic development, which do not usually figure prominently in the formal development plans.

1. Aspects of the Indian Economy 2. The Second Five Year Plan: Public Investment and Development 3. The Second Plan: Cooperation, Land Reform and Cottage Industry 4. The Private Sector Under the Plan 5. Indian Planning and Economic Advance 6. The Politics of Indian Planning 7. The West and India: Alternative Policies