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We all know that the British goal in India was to generate a return for themselves. They were an Empire and that was their goal.

This led the Indian economy to struggle permanently.

However can anyone think of steps that the British could have taken in the late 19th and early 20th century to improve the Indian economy without changing the nature of the colonial relationship.

Any sources I can find suggests that Indian agricultural output was stagnant between 1920-1935 despite an increasing amount of agricultural employment and an increased amount of land under cultivation.

The other major sources I can find suggest that many Indian cash crops were being eliminated during the British raj.

Opium was banned in the UK in 1915. Dyes died between 1897 and 1914 (with a resurgence between 1914-1919 as the Germans were the world leaders in synthetic dyes). Jute trade declined in the 1930s temporarily.

There was no control on the Indian currency til the mid 30s. Anyone with silver could mint rupee which resulted in the largest import into British India in the 20th century being silver as British was on the silver standard and silver was declining in value between the 1870s and 1930s.

Could instituting currency control or moving from the silver standard have allow a stronger economy.

Finally was there any points where British industry could have migrated up the value chain and allow more basic industry in India.
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