Presidencies and provinces of British India Presidencies and provinces of British India The Provinces of India, earlier Presidencies of India and still earlier, Presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in the subcontinent. Collectively, they were called British India. In one form or another, they existed between 1612 and 1947, conventionally divided into three historical periods: In 1608, Mughal authorities allowed the English East India Company to establish a small trading settlement at Surat (now in the state of Gujarat), and this became the company's first headquarters town. It was followed in 1611 by a permanent factory at Machilipatnam on the Coromandel Coast, and
Economy of India under the British Raj Economy of India under the British Raj The Indian economy under the British Raj describes the economy of India during the years of the British Raj, from 1858 to 1947. During this period, the Indian economy essentially remained stagnant, growing at the same rate (1.2%) as the population. India experienced deindustrialization during this period. Compared to the Mughal Era, India during the British colonial era had a lower per-capita income, a large decline in the secondary sector, and lower levels of urbanisation. The subject of the economic impact of British imperialism on India remains disputable. The issue was raised by