Protectionism by itself may not be a very bad thing - it was the top-down planning mechanism tacked on top of the protectionism that did India in. Every bloody

Protectionism by itself may not be a very bad thing - it was the top-down planning mechanism tacked on top of the protectionism that did India in. Every bloody aspect of industry was regulated by the government, which was counterproductive. For example, Bajaj scooters could only manufacture a fixed number of scooters, and that number was decided by a bureaucrat with no idea of how much demand there was. The waiting list for these scooters stretched to 10 years at times! [source - interview with Chairman of Bajaj Group here https://www.hbs.edu/creating-emerging-markets/Documents/transcripts/Bajaj_Rahul_Web%20Transcript.pdf https://www.hbs.edu/creating-emerging-markets/Documents/tran... ]