Q.What is meant by Industrial Policy?

An industrial policy is a government's official statement of the principles it will follow to guide industrial development, including the respective roles of the public and private sectors.

Industrial policy refers to the declared framework of principles and rules through which a government directs and regulates the growth of industry in the country. It specifies which industries will be reserved for the State, which will be open to the private sector, and what regulatory instruments — such as licensing, location restrictions, and rules on foreign investment — will be used to implement these choices.

In India, industrial policy has been announced through a series of official Resolutions: the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1948, which laid the foundation of a mixed economy; the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956, described as the Economic Constitution of India, which classified industries into three schedules and expanded the public sector's role; and the New Industrial Policy of 1991, which reversed this direction through Liberalisation, Privatisation, and Globalisation. Andhra Pradesh Intermediate Economics students preparing for BIEAP board examinations are expected to be able to trace this evolution across all three landmark statements.

Students often confuse industrial policy with a single fixed document; in fact it is a series of Resolutions revised over time. Another common mistake is naming only the year 1991 and omitting 1948 and 1956, which are equally examinable.