Drain of Wealth during British rule

What do you understand about 'Drain of Wealth' during British rule? Examine its effects on Indian economy.
The constant flow of wealth from India to England for which India did not get an adequate economic, commercial or material return has been described by Indian national leaders and economists as 'Drain of Wealth' from India.

The colonial government was utilizing Indian resources-revenues, agriculture, and industry not for developing India, but to serve British interests. The theory of Drain of Wealth was proposed by Dada Bhai Naoroji, who gave its main constituents as follows:

• Home charges i.e. cost of maintaining British officers in London for India.
• Remittances i.e. expenditure on British officials working in India.
• Foreign trade i.e., payment of interest to British capital invested in India and tax holdings for the foreign traders.

The main consequences of Drain of Wealth were as follows:

• Huge public debt undertaken by the government and the subsequent payment of interest on it increased burden of tax on the people of India.
• The tax proceeds on the debt impoverished agriculture. It also led to the stagnation of trade and industries.
• The poverty and underdevelopment led to frequent famines and shortage of food.

It led to unemployment and the per capita income of people came down. The theory brought out the selfish nature of British rule in India and served to debunk the theories of civilizing mission and benevolent despotism.