Import policy is one of the most consequential instruments of economic governance in India, shaping the competitive environment faced by domestic industries and, through them, the country's growth trajectory. Since independence the country has moved from a regime of quantitative restrictions and high tariffs to one of progressive liberalisation following the 1991 balance-of-payments crisis. This paper reviews past empirical and theoretical work on how import policies affect domestic industries and economic growth in India, and situates that evidence within a broader cross-country literature. Following a meta-analytic review logic, the study synthesises firm-level, industry-level and macro-level findings, examines the transmission channels of competition, input access and technology diffusion, and compares the direction and magnitude of reported effects. The synthesis suggests that tariff reductions on final goods and intermediate inputs have generally raised productivity and output in manufacturing, while employment and regional outcomes are more heterogeneous. Methodological heterogeneity, endogeneity of policy, and publication selection remain important limitations. The paper concludes by identifying gaps for future meta-regression studies and by recommending that policy design pair liberalisation with labour, infrastructure and innovation support. The review also finds that publication selection and inconsistent reporting of standard errors limit the precision of any single pooled estimate, which underlines the need for transparent coding and replicable synthesis in this field.