Institutional Change and Competitiveness*

Abstract This chapter describes institutional change in Indian telecommunications—from government monopoly to competition with private players. This transition has produced one of the world’s largest and most efficient telecommunications networks. This transition too follows a tipping-model where changes in the 1980s prepared the way for more significant changes after 1991. The changes were gradual and largely endogenous, and the World Bank was not allowed to fund structural adjustment in the sector. The process was ridden with corruption and financial crises, and was driven to a great extent by the evolution of regulation in the sector.