Licence Raj or the Permit Raj, refers to the elaborate licenses, regulations and accompanying red tape that were required to set up and run businesses in India between 1947 and 1990.

The Licence Raj was a result of India's decision to have a planned economy where all aspects of the economy are controlled by the state and licences are given to a select few. Up to 80 government agencies had to be satisfied before private companies could produce something and, if granted, the government would regulate production.

Reforms since the mid-1980s have significantly reduced regulation, but Indian labour laws still prevent manufacturers from reducing their workforce without prohibitive burdens.

The term plays off "British Raj", the period of British rule in India. It was coined by Indian statesman Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari, who firmly opposed it for its potential for political corruption and economic stagnation and founded the Swatantra Party to oppose these practices.

In his newspaper, Swarajya, C. Rajagopalachari wrote:

Manmohan Singh (Punjabi: ਮਨਮੋਹਨ ਸਿੰਘ [mənˈmoːɦən ˈsɪ́ŋɡ], Hindi: मनमोहन सिंह [mənˈmoːɦən ˈsɪŋɦ] ( listen); born 26 September 1932) is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister from the Indian National Congress (Congress) party. He is a four-time Member of Parliament from the Upper House of the Parliament of India, the Rajya Sabha, representing the state of Assam. His term in the 14th Rajya Sabha was from 22 May 2004 to 26 February 2009. In the 15th Rajya Sabha his term started 22 May 2009 and is scheduled to continue till 2014. On 27 May 2012, he became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Myanmar in 25 years.

Born in Gah, Punjab in British India (now Pakistan) in 1932, he migrated to India with his family at the time of Partition in 1947. Singh studied at Panjab University, University of Cambridge and University of Oxford. Thereafter, while Singh was working at United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Lalit Narayan Mishra, the then Indian Minister for Foreign Trade, appointed Singh as an advisor to his ministry. He was appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of India between 1982 and 1985, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India from 1985 to 1987 and Secretary General of the South Commission from 1987 to 1990. Elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1991, he was inducted into Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao's cabinet as Finance Minister the same year, a post he held until 1996. His tenure as Finance Minister is best remembered for the economic reforms he carried out, which ended the Licence Raj system and helped open the Indian economy.

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS, née Roberts (born 13 October 1925) is a British politician and the longest-serving (1979–1990) British prime minister of the 20th century, and the only woman ever to have held the post. A Soviet journalist nicknamed her the "Iron Lady", which later became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. As prime minister, she implemented conservative policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism.

Originally a research chemist before becoming a barrister, Thatcher was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Finchley in 1959. Edward Heath appointed her Secretary of State for Education and Science in his 1970 government. In 1975 Thatcher defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election and became Leader of the Opposition, as well as the first woman to lead a major political party in the United Kingdom. She became prime minister after winning the 1979 general election.

After entering 10 Downing Street, Thatcher introduced a series of political and economic initiatives to reverse what she perceived as Britain's precipitous national decline. Her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised deregulation (particularly of the financial sector), flexible labour markets, the privatisation of state-owned companies, and reducing the power and influence of trade unions. Thatcher's popularity during her first years in office waned amid recession and high unemployment, until economic recovery and the 1982 Falklands War brought a resurgence of support, resulting in her re-election in 1983. Thatcher was re-elected for a third term in 1987, but her Community Charge (popularly referred to as "poll tax") was widely unpopular and her views on the European Community were not shared by others in her Cabinet. She resigned as Prime Minister and party leader in November 1990, after Michael Heseltine launched a challenge to her leadership.

Raj Shrikant Thackeray (Marathi: राज श्रीकांत ठाकरे) (born 14 June 1968) is the founder and president of the right-wing^{[citation needed]}Marathi ethnocentric regional political party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena ("Maharashtra Reformation Army") in the state of Maharashtra, India. His official name is Swararaj which means the king of musical notes. He is the nephew of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, and a cousin of the current Shiv Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray.

Raj was born on 14 June 1968 in a Marathi Kayastha (CKP) family to Shrikant Thackeray (younger brother of Bal Thackeray) and Kunda Thackeray (younger sister of Bal Thackeray's wife Meena Thackeray). Raj’s father Shrikant Thackeray was a musician, cartoonist and was also well versed in Urdu. He studied in Balmohan Vidyamandir, Mumbai and graduated from the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art, Mumbai. As a child he is said to have learnt the tabla, the guitar and the violin. He also loved drawing which later turned into a passion for drawing cartoons.

Raj Singh Dungarpur (December 19, 1935 – September 12, 2009) was a former president of Board of Control for Cricket in India. He played first class cricket for 16 years and was in and out of the Board of Control for more than 20 years. He was a selector of the national team for two terms. He also managed the Indian cricket team four times on overseas tours.

Raj Singh Dungarpur was the person who introduced Sachin Tendulkar to the world. He was chairman of the selection committee that selected him to tour Pakistan as a member of the Indian cricket team when he was just 16. He is also credited for establishing the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

Maharaj Raj Singh was born in the erstwhile princely state of Dungarpur in Rajasthan (then called Rajputana) on December 19, 1935.^{[citation needed]} He was the youngest son of Maharawal Lakshman Singhji, the ruler of Dungarpur.^{[citation needed]} He has two brothers, namely, Jaisinghji and Mahipalsinghji, and three sisters, one of whom is the Maharani of Bikaner.^{[citation needed]} He studied at Daly College, Indore.^{[citation needed]} It is said that he shared a very close friendship with Lata Mangeshkar, the legendary singer.^{[citation needed]}