Indian Economy Since Independence — Policy Reforms

Entry	Year	Description	Impact
First Amendment Act	1951	Introduced Article 31A and 31B, and the Ninth Schedule, primarily to protect land reform laws from judicial challenge on grounds of violating fundamental rights. This was crucial for implementing the agrarian reforms envisioned in the early Five Year Plans.	Facilitated land reforms and the abolition of zamindari, a key economic policy objective of the newly independent state to address rural inequality and boost agricultural productivity.
Fourth Amendment Act	1955	Further clarified the scope of Article 31A and 31B, and restricted judicial review of laws related to acquisition of property for public purpose, stating that the adequacy of compensation could not be questioned in court.	Strengthened the state's power to acquire private property for public projects and economic development, reducing legal hurdles for large-scale infrastructure and industrialization initiatives.
Twenty-Fifth Amendment Act	1971	Introduced Article 31C, which stated that any law made to give effect to the Directive Principles specified in Article 39(b) and (c) (equitable distribution of material resources, prevention of concentration of wealth) would not be void on the ground that it violated Articles 14, 19, or 31.	Prioritized certain DPSP over fundamental rights, particularly the right to property, to facilitate socialist economic policies like nationalization and land reforms, reflecting the state's commitment to social justice.
Forty-Second Amendment Act	1976	A comprehensive amendment that, among other things, extended the scope of Article 31C to cover all DPSP, effectively giving primacy to all DPSP over fundamental rights (Articles 14, 19, 31). It also added 'socialist' and 'secular' to the Preamble.	Further strengthened the state's hand in implementing socialist economic policies, though this was later curtailed by the Minerva Mills case (1980) which restored the balance between Fundamental Rights and DPSP.
Forty-Fourth Amendment Act	1978	Repealed Article 31 (Right to Property) as a Fundamental Right and made it a legal right under Article 300A. It also reversed some changes made by the 42nd Amendment.	A significant step towards reducing the constitutional hurdles for economic reforms, particularly those involving land acquisition and property rights, aligning with a more pragmatic approach to economic development.
One Hundred and First Amendment Act	2016	Introduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a comprehensive indirect tax reform, by inserting new articles (246A, 269A, 279A) and amending others.	Transformed India's indirect tax structure into a unified national market, eliminating cascading taxes and improving ease of doing business, a major post-1991 economic reform aimed at enhancing efficiency and competitiveness.