India

Background:​

The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated onto Indian lands about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in the 12th were followed by those of European traders, beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU brought independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Despite impressive gains in economic investment and output, India faces pressing problems such as the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife.

 

[vengabeats]

Economy - overview:

India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for half of India's output with less than one quarter of its labor force. About three-fifths of the work-force is in agriculture, leading the UPA government to articulate an economic reform program that includes developing basic infrastructure to improve the lives of the rural poor and boost economic performance. Government controls on foreign trade and investment have been reduced in some areas, but high tariffs (averaging 20% on non-agricultural items in 2004) and limits on foreign direct investment are still in place. The government in 2005 liberalized investment in the civil aviation, telecom, and construction sectors. Privatization of government-owned industries essentially came to a halt in 2005, and continues to generate political debate; continued social, political, and economic rigidities hold back needed initiatives. The economy has posted an average growth rate of more than 7% in the decade since 1994, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. India achieved 7.6% GDP growth in 2005, significantly expanding manufacturing. India is capitalizing on its large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language to become a major exporter of software services and software workers. Despite strong growth, the World Bank and others worry about the combined state and federal budget deficit, running at approximately 9% of GDP; government borrowing has kept interest rates high. Economic deregulation would help attract additional foreign capital and lower interest rates. The huge and growing population is the fundamental social, economic, and environmental problem.​

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$3.699 trillion (2005 est.)​

GDP (official exchange rate):

$720.3 billion (2005 est.)​

GDP - real growth rate:

7.6% (2005 est.)​

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$3,400 (2005 est.)​

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 20.6%
industry: 28.1%
services: 51.4% (2005 est.)​

Labor force:

496.4 million (2005 est.)​

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture 60%, industry 17%, services 23% (1999)​

Unemployment rate:

9.9% (2005 est.)​

Population below poverty line:

25% (2002 est.)​

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1997)​

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

32.5 (2000)​

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

4.6% (2005 est.)​

Investment (gross fixed):

24.8% of GDP (2005 est.)​

Budget:

revenues: $111.2 billion
expenditures: $135.8 billion; including capital expenditures of $15 billion (2005 est.)​

Public debt:

82% of GDP (federal and state debt combined) (2005 est.)​

Agriculture - products:

rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish​

Industries:

textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software​

Industrial production growth rate:

8.2% (2005 est.)​

Electricity - production:

556.8 billion kWh (2003)​

Electricity - consumption:

519 billion kWh (2003)​

Electricity - exports:

187 million kWh (2003)​

Electricity - imports:

1.4 billion kWh (2003)​

Oil - production:

785,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)​

Oil - consumption:

2.32 million bbl/day (2003 est.)​

Oil - exports:

350,000 bbl/day​

Oil - imports:

2.09 million bbl/day​

Oil - proved reserves:

5.7 billion bbl (2005 est.)​

Natural gas - production:

27.1 billion cu m (2003 est.)​

Natural gas - consumption:

27.1 billion cu m (2003 est.)​

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2001 est.)​

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2001 est.)​

Natural gas - proved reserves:

853.5 billion cu m (2005)​

Current account balance:

$-13.19 billion (2005 est.)​

Exports:

$76.23 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)​

Exports - commodities:

textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures​

Exports - partners:

US 17%, UAE 8.8%, China 5.5%, Hong Kong 4.7%, UK 4.5%, Singapore 4.5% (2004)​

Imports:

$113.1 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)​

Imports - commodities:

crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals​

Imports - partners:

China 6.1%, US 6%, Switzerland 5.2%, Belgium 4.4% (2004)​

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$145 billion (2005 est.)​

Debt - external:

$119.7 billion (2005 est.)​

Economic aid - recipient:

$2.9 billion (FY98/99)​

Currency (code):

Indian rupee (INR)​

Exchange rates:

Indian rupees per US dollar - 44.101 (2005), 45.317 (2004), 46.583 (2003), 48.61 (2002), 47.186 (2001)​

Fiscal year:

1 April - 31 March​