India's dizzying economic ascent began in 1991, when the government abruptly dismantled the "license raj," a system of tight controls and permits in place since independence in 1947.

However, the growth was relatively slow in the 1950s and 1960s due to nationalisation and the license raj which hampered the Indian private sector.

The license raj, that is.

In the last decade, economic reforms have slowly hacked away at the license raj.

They developed the first in-house designed car in the 1960s, which never saw the light of day due to the license raj.

However, for the next 50 years, the growth of the industry was hobbled by the Socialist policies and the bureaucratic hurdles of the license raj with total restrictions for import of vehicles.

Rajiv Gandhi initiated a series of reforms - the license raj was loosened, and government restrictions on foreign currency, travel, foreign investment and imports decreased considerably.

But advocates of change note that some of the greatest proponents of the so-called "license permit-quota raj" have been businessmen themselves.

Some blame India's lagging performance on the country's still stifling bureaucracy, although many market-limiting regulations have been lifted since New Delhi began dismantling its "license raj" in 1991.

Most of this growth, moreover, was achieved during the years of the "license raj," when officials determined the products, prices and markets for private enterprises.