World Business | Asia | Asia Business | India

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, though two-thirds of the workforce is in agriculture. The UPA government has committed to furthering economic reforms and 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% in 2004) and limits on foreign direct investment are still in place. The government has indicated it will do more to liberalize investment in civil aviation, telecom, and insurance sectors in the near term. Privatization of government-owned industries has proceeded slowly, and continues to generate political debate; continued social, political, and economic rigidities hold back needed initiatives. The economy has posted an excellent average growth rate of 6.8% since 1994, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. 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. The huge and growing population is the fundamental social, economic, and environmental problem. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took nearly 11,000 lives, left almost 6,000 missing, destroyed $1.2 billion worth of property, and severely damaged the fishing fleet.
 

Agriculture - Products
rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish
Department of Agriculture - India

Airlines
Airlines in Asia
Airlines Worldwide

Airports
Airports in Asia
Airports Worldwide

Country Budget
revenues: $67.3 billion
expenditures: $104 billion, including capital expenditures of $13.5 billion (2004 est.)

Currency (code): Indian rupee (INR)

Currency Exchange Rates
Indian rupees per US dollar - 45.317 (2004), 46.583 (2003), 48.61 (2002), 47.186 (2001), 44.942 (2000)

Fiscal Year: 1 April - 31 March

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
GDP (purchasing power parity): $3.319 trillion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 6.2% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,100 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 23.6%
industry: 28.4%
services: 48% (2002 est.)

Imports / Exports
Exports: $69.18 billion f.o.b. (2004 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: $89.33 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals
Imports - partners: China 6.1%, US 6%, Switzerland 5.2%, Belgium 4.4% (2004)

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

Investing
Forex, Foreign Exchange Market: Currency Trading

Labor Force & Unemployment Rate
Labor force:  482.2 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:  agriculture 60%, industry 17%, services 23% (1999)
Unemployment rate:  9.2% (2004 est.)
 
Manufacturers and Manufacturing
Agro Engineers: Manufacturer of worm gear box, right angle gear box, gear reduction box, worm wheel and worm shaft, worm gear, spur, helical and bevel gear, chain sprocket, racks and pinion, other mechanical engineering power transmission equipment.
E-3, Industrial Estate,
Kota - 324007, Rajasthan, INDIA.