The systems approach to economic modeling in India

This paper reviews the evolutionary changes that have taken place in the systems approach to macroeconomic modeling of the Indian economy over the last 40 years in general and the last 5 years in particular. Considering the fact that the systems approach has been used both at the official level, for planning purposes, and at the academic level, as inputs to the planning process, the paper covers both these aspects in a thematic manner. Commencing from the initial official efforts, with their emphasis on aggregate consistency models, through the intermediate phases of developing programming and nonoptimizing systems and, finally, to the current academic interest in control and chaotic systems, this evolution is considered primarily against the backdrop of the changing perspectives of systems theorists and designers.