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Reassessing FERA: examining British firms’ strategic responses to ‘Indianisation’

Author

Listed:
  • Aldous, Michael
  • Roy, Tirthankar

Abstract

The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, introduced in India in 1973, was the culmination of efforts to ‘Socialise’ economic policies and ‘Indianise’ corporate ownership. It resulted in a flight of foreign capital as Multinational Enterprises exited India to avoid these risks, finally driving out long-established British commercial interests. This article uses new sources to reassess how British businesses perceived the threats of Indianisation and analyses how they strategically responded to them. It shows that British-owned firms used a diverse range of strategies, some drawing on their extensive experience, knowledge and networks, built through long tenures in India, to adapt successfully.

Suggested Citation

  • Aldous, Michael & Roy, Tirthankar, 2018. "Reassessing FERA: examining British firms’ strategic responses to ‘Indianisation’," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 89975, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:89975
    as

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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/89975/
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jones, Geoffrey & Wale, Judith, 1998. "Merchants as Business Groups: British Trading Companies in Asia before 1945," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 72(3), pages 367-408, October.
    2. Roy, Tirthankar, 2014. "Trading Firms in Colonial India," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 88(1), pages 9-42, April.
    3. Jones, Geoffrey, 2000. "Merchants to Multinationals: British Trading Companies in the 19th and 20th Centuries," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198294504.
    4. Panagariya, Arvind, 2011. "India: The Emerging Giant," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199751563.
    5. Roy, Tirthankar, 2017. "Transfer of Economic Power in Corporate Calcutta, 1950–1970," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 91(1), pages 3-29, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    British multinationals; foreign direct investment; strategy; India; post-colonial;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General
    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General

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