International Journal of Education and Science Research Review E-ISSN 2348-6457 Volume-2, Issue-1 February- 2015 P-ISSN 2348-1817 www.ijesrr.org Email- [email protected] Theoretical & Historical Observation of India's Exports (Before 1100 AD to 1947AD) Dr. Himanshu Agarwal Associate Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration D N (P.G.) College Meerut (U.P.) ABSTRACT: India is a developing country moving fast on the track of development. Success of development programmers and strategies depends to a large extent upon the availability of foreign exchange reserves. Exports being a key source of foreign exchange reserves play an important role in development process. Planning authority in India has adequately recognized the need and importance of augmenting exports. Process of export growth in India is influenced by a number of domestic and external factors. Recent economic changes and liberalizations have created new challenges before India's exports. All this has necessitated a fresh study and analysis-'of India's exports. Key words: export, economy, liberalization Introduction (Exports: A Base of Economic Development) The Economic prosperity of a country depends in a large measure on its foreign trade. Prof. Alfred Marshall, known as the father of Economics, has stated that the causes which determine the economic progress of a nation belong to the study of foreign or international trade. Foreign trade is the foundation of the economic structure of a country in the modern world. It has become a necessity of the present day Economic order for world peace & prosperity. The economic progress of most of the present industrially advanced countries of the worlds is largely attributable to their ever expanding foreign trade. For instance, it was foreign trade that brought growth to the United States of America. The U.S.A. received a large inflow of foreign reserves from Europe to which it exported food-stuffs and raw materials. Japan, also, could entirely reconstruct its economy through development of its foreign trade. The Industries of Japan depend mostly on foreign trade, both for the supplies of raw materials and for the sale of manufactured goods. Foreign trade has also played an important role in the economic development of France & the United Kingdom’s. In the early stages of its economic development, the U.K. imported food-stuffs, beverages and other raw materials from its colonies in Asia. Africa and America and sold its manufactured goods in the whole world market. Indeed, the United Kingdom was the largest trading nation during the nineteenth century. Even now, the U.K. gets food, fibres, tobacco, etc. from foreign countries in exchange for manufactured goods and technical know-how. The Economic development of France which had its colonies in Africa and Asia was made possible only by foreign trade. Both developed and developing countries of the world stand on the same platform as regards the importance of foreign trade. For the economic development of developing countries, foreign trade is an indispensable tool. These countries believe that without speedy industrialization, they cannot solve their twin problems of poverty and unemployment. To enable them to build sound in frastructal know-how have to be imported from advance countries. They have to depend upon the mercy of these so called developed countries for the sale of their manufactured goods also. This way, foreign trade provides a foundation for economic prosperity of developing countries. For a country of the size of India, foreign trade has a vital role to play. The importance of foreign trade in such an economy is determined to a large extent, by the nature of the developmental plans formulated. Planning in India is aimed at efficient exploitation of the limited resources of the country for the www.ijesrr.org Page 76 International Journal of Education and Science Research Review Volume-2, Issue-1 February- 2015 P-ISSN 2348-1817, E- ISSN 2348-6457 www.ijesrr.org Email- [email protected] achievement of a rapid rise in the standards of living of the people. Further, the transformation and modernization of Indian economy require an increasing inflow of essential imports such as capital equipment and raw materials, at least in the initial stages of development. The dream of self-dependence cannot be realized without rapid industrialization and rapid industrialization, obviously, means the promotion of foreign trade. Determinants of exports in India: Study of determinants of exports is also very important because it helps in assessing the export potential of a country. Such study is particularly important for the developing countries like India, Important determinants of exports in India may be enumerated as under- World Demand is the very first determinant of exports therefore, the need is that we should study the volume, time and pattern of demand of goods and services that we intend to export. Exportable Surplus is the second most important determinant of exports. We can export only those goods and services that we have in surplus. More the surplus of production over consumption, more we can export. Internal Demand Pressure is also an important factor determining the size of exports of a country. This factor plays more important role in the countries feeding large population like India. Internal demand pressure bears negative effect on the performance of exports. More the pressure, less will be the export potential of a country. Relative Prices of goods and services to be exported is again an important determinant of exports because every country has to compete other countries in world market. The prices of goods and services should be competitive enough so that they may bargain. Cost per unit of output is another important determinant of exports of a country. Lower is the cost per unit of output, higher will be the export potential of a country because it will enable a country to compete better in the world market. This factor becomes more important when we study it in respect of labour cost per unit. The countries, in which labor supply is abundant, like India, can do better in the export of labour intensive products. Price and non- price competitive factors play an important role in determining the size of exports. Price factors played an important role as price elasticity exceeded unity. However, export growth responded disproportionately to price and non-price competition factors. Effect of these factors on exports and imports differs from country to country, commodity to commodity and time to time. Export Subsidies and Export Protection also plays determining role in export promotion. Through the relevance of these factors is declining in the present wave of globalization, liberalization and privatization, yet the importance of these factors cannot be under estimated. The countries which provide subsidy to their exports oriented units and protection to their exporters get price advantage and compete better. Exchange Rate plays in important role in determining the size of exports. It affects the price competitiveness of exportable goods and services of concerned country will be costly in the world market. It will bear an adverse effect on exports. It, on the contrary, exchange rate is undervalued, goods and services of concerned country will be quite competitive in the world market. Domestic Market conditions bear an important relationship with export performance. If sufficient exportable surplus is available in domestic market, the county can perform better in exports. It there is an instinct among entrepreneurs to produce and export to the maximum possible extent, it will help in export promotion. The history of India’s exports may be studied conveniently under the following heads : Ancient Period (Before 1100 A.D.) The archaeological excavations carried out during the 1920s and 1930s at Mohan-je-daro and Harappa have proved beyond doubt that India had established trade relations in by-gone ages with Egypt, Arabia, Germany, China, Japan, Jawa, Sumatra, Iran and Babylon. She had trading settlements in Southern China, www.ijesrr.org Page 77 International Journal of Education and Science Research Review Volume-2, Issue-1 February- 2015 P-ISSN 2348-1817, E- ISSN 2348-6457 www.ijesrr.org Email- [email protected] the Malayan, Peninsula, Arabia, all the chief cities of persia and all over he east coast of Africa. She had cultivated trade relations not only with the countries of Asia but also with the whole of the world, then known. Both the east and the west had become the theatre of Indian Commercial activity. In ancient days, India enjoyed the glory of being the leader in industrial development. It used to supply manufactured and semi-manufactured goods to all parts of the world. It is an established fact that in India the arts of cotton spinning and cotton weaving had achieved a high state of proficiency two thousand years ago. Indians knew the art of iron manufacturing thousands of years before the Englishmen came to know of the technique of producing iron and steel manufactures. The famous iron pillar near Delhi, which is atleast fifteen hundred years old, indicates great skill in the manufacture of wrought iron, Even today, there are very few factories where such a mass of metal could be tuned out. In ancient times, our shipping industry was flourishing. The whole foreign trade of India in ancient days was regulated by the state. India exported only those articles which were in excess of domestic consumption, provided, however, that they were highly prized by the foreigners. The ancient Indian trade consisted of rate and costly commodities of comparatively great value, though small in bulk. Our exports during ancient days consisted of silk goods, muslin, cutlery, armour embroidery, rugs, ivory work, drugs, perfumes, brocade, jewellery and gold, India also exported timber, dye-stuffs and spices and cotton manufactures.