Facing a balance-of-payments crisis, India in 1991 dismantled much of the licence-permit system, opened to foreign investment and liberalised trade and industry. The reforms accelerated the growth of service and IT economies, fuelling the rise of technology hubs such as Bangalore and Hyderabad, private townships, malls and gated enclaves. Real-estate and corporate capital became powerful new shapers of the metropolis.
Liberalisation reoriented Indian urbanisation around private capital, services and globalising metropolitan economies.
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