Central to the dynamics of India's post-interventionist era has been the performance of its corporate sector. A lot of hope has been placed on its ability to deliver increased growth rates and levels of 'development'. In the light of this view, the author here examines critically the nature of the Indian corporate sector as a specific socio-historical and political-economic formation. Particular emphasis is placed on the nature of corporate profitability in India, its historical roots and its effects on development.List of Tables List of Figures Preface List of Acronyms PART I India in the Post-Interventionist Era: Towards a New Political-Economy? Corporate Structures, Corporate Control, Corporate Power: Some Conceptual Explorations PART II Corporate Capital in Colonial India: Genesis, structure and transformation Corporate Capitalism in Independent India: The Interventionist Model and its Contradictions (Statistical Appendix to Chapter 4) Corporate Capital in Post-Interventionst India: Paradoxes and More (Statistical Appendix to Chapter 5) PART III The Paradox of Profits: Some Tentative Conclusions Bibliography IndexANANYA MUKHERJEE REED is Associate Professor of Political Science at York University, Toronto. She has recently guest-edited a special thematic issue entitled Corporate Capitalism in Contemporary South Asia, for the journal Contemporary South Asia and in collaboration with the Centre for Islamic Studies, Oxford University, she is currently working on a volume entitled Human Development in South Asia.