Prime Minister: Indira Gandhi
Partition, planning, aid consortia and nationalised banks.
Bank Rate
9%
+2 pts on 1973
Rupee per dollar
₹8.03
+4.9% on 1973
Inflation
28.6%
+11.66 pts on 1973
GDP growth
1.19%
−2.11 pts on 1973
Reserves
$2,325m
+42.7% on 1973
External debt
$12,697m
+15.8% on 1973
Crude oil · 1 January 1974
Arabian Light posted ≈USD 11.65/bbl (about 4× the pre-October level)
Led to India's drawings from the IMF oil facility (SDR 200 mn in 1974-75, SDR 201.34 mn in 1975-76).
ReportedOfficial record. Source: OPEC postings; IMF Annual Reports 1975 and 1976
Freight, coal supply · 8 May 1974
≈1.7 mn workers (reported); broken by mass arrests
Part of the unrest before the Emergency.
ReportedPress. Source: Press reports 1974
Nuclear trade · 18 May 1974
Canada suspended nuclear cooperation (CIRUS, RAPP). US Tarapur fuel supply became contested. NSG formed 1975.
No general aid cutoff: IMF drawings went ahead in 1974-75 and the consortium kept meeting. The prompt's "sanctions and aid cutoff" overstates this; it describes 1998, not 1974.
ReportedHeterodox institution. Source: CCNR "Canadian Nuclear Cooperation with India and Pakistan"; National Security Archive briefing book 2022-12-09; Wikipedia "Smiling Buddha"
Gold · 31 December 1974
Led to the US Treasury auctions.
ReportedOfficial record. Source: U.S. Mint "Sale of Gold by U.S. Treasury"
COFEPOSA 1974
Allowed preventive detention of smugglers and hawala operators; widely used during the Emergency.
ReportedOfficial record. Source: COFEPOSA Act 52 of 1974
foreign trade / import licensing
Congress MP Tulmohan Ram was indicted in 1974 over licences from the Foreign Trade Ministry under L.N. Mishra. Mishra, reputed to manage party finances, was killed by a bomb at Samastipur on 1975-01-02 and died 1975-01-03. Ram was sentenced in the early 1980s to 5.5 years' simple imprisonment.
ReportedPress. Source: Wikipedia "Tulmohan Ram"
| Creditor | Instrument | Amount | US$ m | Status | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMF | Credit-tranche purchase (IMF FY1974/75) | 235 SDR | 282 | repaid | verified |
| IMF | Oil Facility 1974 + 1975 (cumulative) | 401.3 SDR | 480 | fully repurchased before 1980 | verified |
| International Monetary Fund | Credit-tranche purchase ("Other", Decision 102-(52/11)) | 235 SDR mn | Purchased in FY ended 1975-04-30. | verified | |
| International Monetary Fund, 1974 Oil Facility | Oil-facility purchase | 200 SDR mn | Purchased in FY ended 1975-04-30. The facility was funded by loans at 7% from Saudi Arabia 1,000, Iran 580, Venezuela 450, Kuwait 400, Canada 258, Netherlands 150, Abu Dhabi 100, Nigeria 100 and Oman 20 (SDR mn). No gold was involved. | verified | |
| Aid India Consortium members | Debt relief (continuation) | Amounts not found by me. Primary source would be World Bank Aid-India Consortium chairman's reports. | unknown |
Rows are listed as recorded. Some describe the same loan from different sources and must not be added together.
