Indian economy since 1980 - Virtuous growth or polarisation?

It is widely believed that India's economic growth in the 1990s accelerated - in response to the orthodox economic reforms initiated in 1991 - mainly on account of a faster growth in the tertiary sector. There is also a growing consensus that (i) the improved growth since 1980-81 reduced poverty, and (ii) the reforms in the 1990s increased the growth rate further without dampening the process of poverty reduction. This study seeks to verify these propositions. Further, it examines some dimensions of income distribution - a neglected issue in the recent times - to assess if the developments during the last two decades led to a diffusion of growth - or a polarisation in the economy.