The document discusses India's Industrial Development and Regulation Act of 1951 and the license raj system it established. The act defined what constituted an industrial undertaking and applied to manufacturing industries. It led to a period of widespread government control over the economy from the 1950s to 1980s, where the public sector dominated and licenses were required not just for starting industries but also for production amounts and prices (restrictive). After economic reforms began in 1991, most industries were liberalized, though atomic energy and railways remain reserved for the public sector and some industries still require licenses (reformative, creative).