Question

why did india opted mixed economy?

Answer 1

Centuries under an exploitative colonial rule had left the new born Nation emasculated of both resources and energy. All economic indicators, like life expectancy, literacy, and income levels of people were abysmally poor. Adopting a free market, capitalist economy at that time might be equivalent to asking a little kid to fend for herself by finding some gainful vocation in a competitive world, or like trying to start a badly stalled,dilapidated old vehicle directly in the fourth gear. Obviously no foreign, developed nations were interested to invest in such a poor Nation, about whose very survival or stability they were not even sure. Domestic enterprise and locally available capital was grossly insufficient if the country was to shift from primarily agrarian to industrial economy, and develop massive infrastructure towards this end.

Answer 2

when India got its independence at that time there were mainly two types of economic system existed [capitalism and socialism ] among them socialism appealed to Jawaharlal Nehru the most.However he was not in favour of kind of socialism established in former soviet union where all means of production that is factories and farmers where owned by the government and there was  no private property . It was not possible in democracy like India to change the ownership of all  the factor of production of its citizen in the way it was done in former soviet union .Nehru and other leader sought an alternative to the extreme versions of capitalism and socialism .They  came to a conclusion that India would have such a economic system which will combine the best features of socialism without its drawback and also with private property[ a part of capitalism] and democracy .