Though the origins of India's informal economy doubtless trace back centuries — 400 years of foreign rule under the Mughal and British empires did not foster a strong culture of civic duty — today's problems have more recent roots. Shortages and restrictions during World War II gave rise to a black market in India. Then, after the country gained its independence in 1947, the black market blossomed as a result of the socialist economic model that the country's rulers introduced. The new country was held together only loosely; it had poor communications infrastructure and rugged terrain , and many of its larger regions had been independent principalities for hundreds of years before. A poorly designed tax code, high levels of bureaucratic corruption and weak central control encouraged tax evasion on a massive scale, and the informal economy grew. All That Glitters In the 1970s, the black economy ballooned.