Changing Patterns of the Composition of India’s Import

India’s import pattern has changed dramatically since independence, driven by crises, policy shifts, and industrial growth. The story begins with a severe food shortage.

In the 1950s and 1960s, India faced serious food scarcity. The largest import items were foodgrains, capital goods, machinery, and equipment. Because imports consistently exceeded exports, the balance of payments remained adverse — even though the government tried import substitution (producing goods domestically to replace imports). The situation changed after the 1970s. The Green Revolution succeeded, and foodgrain imports were discontinued. But almost immediately, the 1973 energy crisis struck, pushing petroleum prices sharply upward. This raised the entire import bill. Foodgrains were replaced by two new major imports: fertilisers and petroleum.

Today, the main items in India’s import basket are machinery and equipment, special steel, edible oil, and chemicals. Table 8.4 of the NCERT textbook (reproduced below) shows the percentage share of different commodity groups in India’s total imports from 2015–16 to 2021–22.

Several clear trends emerge from this table.

First, the import of petroleum products has risen sharply — from 25.4% in 2015–16 to 31.6% in 2021–22. Petroleum is used not only as fuel but also as an industrial raw material. This rise indicates two things: the growing tempo of industrialisation in India, and a better standard of living (more vehicles, more energy use). Sporadic price rises in the international market also contribute to the higher share.

Second, the import of capital goods (machinery, equipment) has steadily declined — from 13.0% to 10.1% over the same period. This suggests that India is becoming more self-reliant in producing its own machinery.

Third, imports of food and allied products have declined — from 5.1% to 4.4%. This is a continuation of the post-Green Revolution trend.

Fourth, fertiliser imports have fluctuated but remain a significant item (2.3% in 2021–22). Paper and newsprint imports are small and stable.

Other major items of India’s import (not shown in the percentage table but listed in the textbook) include pearls, precious and semi-precious stones, gold and silver, and non-ferrous metals. Table 8.5 in the NCERT textbook gives the actual rupee values of some principal commodities imported in 2021–22:

Based on this data, the first five major import items in 2021–22 (in descending order) would be: manufactured goods, mineral fuels and lubricants, agriculture and allied products, and ores and minerals. (Only four categories are listed in this table; the textbook asks students to arrange items from the full Table 8.5.) …