Prime Minister: Indira Gandhi

The Age Of Stars

Partition, planning, aid consortia and nationalised banks.

Vol. XCIIIThe edition of 1967 · The Planned Republic14 records
Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi
Presidents
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan · Zakir Husain
Finance Ministers
Sachindra Chaudhuri · Morarji Desai
RBI Governors
P. C. Bhattacharya · L. K. Jha

Bank Rate

6%

unchanged on 1966

Rupee per dollar

₹7.5

+17.9% on 1966

Inflation

13.06%

+2.26 pts on 1966

GDP growth

7.83%

+7.88 pts on 1966

Reserves

$664m

+8.9% on 1966

Arabian Light

$1.8

unchanged on 1966

FX (INR/GBP) · 18 November 1967

Sterling devaluation (2.80 → 2.40 USD/GBP); India does not follow

INR/GBP 21.00 → 18.00

First time the rupee did not track sterling, marking the start of the break from the sterling area

ReportedOfficial record. Source: IMF IFS; RBI

Markets & Money

3 items

freight / insurance · 5 June 1967

Suez Canal closed (Six-Day War)

Closure lasted to 1975

ReportedPeer-reviewed. Source: general histories

FX (GBP/INR) · 18 November 1967

Sterling devaluation (-14.3 per cent); rupee holds its dollar parity

Rs 21.00 to 18.00 per GBP

India's sterling holdings lost value in dollar terms. The exposure size was not extracted.

ReportedOfficial record. Source: IMF par-value records

GBP/USD; INR/GBP · 18 November 1967

Sterling devaluation

GBP −14.3% (USD 2.80 → 2.40); INR/GBP ≈21.0 → 18.0

India did not devalue with sterling. The prompt's "1969 sterling devaluation" is this date.

ReportedOfficial record. Source: IMF IFS; Bank of England

Trade & Tariffs

4 items

Post-devaluation retreat (by July 1967 "status quo resumed")

The liberalisation was largely reversed as aid shrank to about USD 600 mn, a recession set in (1966–67) and…

The liberalisation was largely reversed as aid shrank to about USD 600 mn, a recession set in (1966–67) and political backlash followed the 1967 election. The World Bank itself judged that the devaluation had not delivered liberalisation.

ReportedHeterodox institution. Source: the1991project.com; FRUS 1964–68 vol IX doc 66

Return to import controls and export subsidies

Cash export subsidies and import replenishment (REP) licences were restored and actual-user import licensing…

Cash export subsidies and import replenishment (REP) licences were restored and actual-user import licensing tightened. Bhagwati & Srinivasan treat this as the end of the 1966 liberalisation.

ReportedPeer-reviewed. Source: Bhagwati & Srinivasan (1975), NBER

India does not follow the sterling devaluation (1967-11-18)

Final break of the rupee from the sterling anchor

Sterling-area preference is effectively dead for India.

ReportedOfficial record. Source: IMF par-value records

India does not follow the sterling devaluation

Sterling was devalued 14.3% on 1967-11-18 (USD 2.80 → 2.40)

India kept INR 7.50/USD, so the rupee rose against sterling (≈INR 21 → 18 per GBP). This weakened the sterling-area tie. The prompt's "1969 sterling devaluation" is this event.

ReportedOfficial record. Source: IMF International Financial Statistics; Bank of England history

War & Unrest

4 items

Middle East

Six-Day War; Suez Canal closed 1967-06 to 1975-06-05

Eight-year closure: all India–Europe/Black Sea sea trade, including Soviet rupee-trade cargo, diverted via the Cape. Higher freight on the "UK–India conference" routes; west-coast ports lost their locational advantage

ReportedOfficial record. Source: UN records; Suez Canal Authority reopening 1975-06-05

Middle East / Suez

Six-Day War; Suez Canal closed 1967-06-05 (until 1975-06-05)

Longer Cape routing for India–Europe trade for eight years. Higher freight and war-risk premia.

ReportedPeer-reviewed. Source: general histories

Sikkim–Tibet border

Nathu La and Cho La clashes with China (Sept–Oct 1967)

Limited economic effect; relevant to post-1962 defence-budget persistence.

ReportedPeer-reviewed. Source: general histories

Sikkim–Tibet border

Nathu La and Cho La clashes with China (1967-09/10)

Defence spending pressure; no measurable market effect found.

ReportedOfficial record. Source: Indian Army / MoD histories

Shipping & Insurance

2 items

all

Suez Canal (closed) → Cape route; Red Sea / Gulf of Aqaba

UnconfirmedOfficial record. Source: [M4] not found

general cargo / tanker

Suez closure / Red Sea

UnconfirmedOfficial record. Source: Not found by me. The Cape routing from 1967-06-05 was permanent until 1975. Primary source: Lloyd's List June 1967.

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