Overview:
India's economy is a mixture of traditional village farming and handicrafts,
modern agriculture, old and new branches of industry, and a multitude of
support services. It presents both the entrepreneurial skills and drives of
the capitalist system and widespread government intervention of the
socialist mold. Growth of 4-5% annually in the 1980s has softened the impact
of population growth on unemployment, social tranquility, and the
environment. Agricultural output has continued to expand, reflecting the
greater use of modern farming techniques and improved seed that have helped
to make India self-sufficient in food grains and a net agricultural
exporter. However, tens of millions of villagers, particularly in the south,
have not benefited from the green revolution and live in abject poverty, and
great numbers of urban residents lack the basic essentials of life. Industry
has benefited from a partial liberalization of controls. The growth rate of
the service sector has also been strong. India, however, has been challenged
more recently by much lower foreign exchange reserves, higher inflation, and
a large debt service burden.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $328 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate
2.5% (FY92 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
12.0% (1991)
Unemployment rate:
20% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues $38.5 billion; expenditures $53.4 billion, including capital
expenditures of $11.1 billion (FY92)
Exports:
$20.2 billion (f.o.b., FY91)
commodities:
gems and jewelry, engineering goods, clothing, textiles, chemicals, tea,
coffee, fish products
partners:
EC 25%, US 16%, USSR and Eastern Europe 19%, Japan 10% (1989)
Imports:
$25.2 billion (c.i.f., FY91)
commodities:
petroleum products, capital goods, uncut gems, gems, jewelry, chemicals,
iron and steel, edible oils
partners:
EC 33%, Middle East 19%, US 12%, Japan 8%, USSR and Eastern Europe 8% (1989)
External debt:
$72.0 billion (1991 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 8.4% (1990); accounts for about 25% of GDP
Electricity:
80,000,000 kW capacity; 290,000 million kWh produced, 330 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries:
textiles, food processing, steel, machinery, transportation equipment,
cement, jute manufactures, mining, petroleum, power, chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, electronics
Agriculture:
accounts for about 30% of GDP and employs 67% of labor force;
self-sufficient in food grains; principal crops - rice, wheat, oilseeds,
cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; livestock - cattle, buffaloes,
sheep, goats and poultry; fish catch of about 3 million metric tons ranks
India among the world's top 10 fishing nations
:India Economy
Illicit drugs:
licit producer of opium poppy for the pharmaceutical trade, but some opium
is diverted to illicit international drug markets; major transit country for
illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer of
hashish
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $4.4 billion; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $31.7 billion; OPEC
bilateral aid (1979-89), $315 million; USSR (1970-89), $11.6 billion;
Eastern Europe (1970-89), $105 million
Currency:
Indian rupee (plural - rupees); 1 Indian rupee (Re) = 100 paise
Exchange rates:
Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1 - 25.917 (January 1992), 22.742 (1991), 17.504
(1990), 16.226 (1989), 13.917 (1988), 12.962 (1987)
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March
:India Communications
Railroads:
61,850 km total (1986); 33,553 km 1.676-meter broad gauge, 24,051 km
1.000-meter gauge, 4,246 km narrow gauge (0.762 meter and 0.610 meter);
12,617 km is double track; 6,500 km is electrified
Highways:
1,970,000 km total (1989); 960,000 km surfaced and 1,010,000 km gravel,
crushed stone, or earth
Inland waterways:
16,180 km; 3,631 km navigable by large vessels
Pipelines:
crude oil 3,497 km; petroleum products 1,703 km; natural gas 902 km (1989)
Ports:
Bombay, Calcutta, Cochin, Kandla, Madras, New Mangalore, Port Blair (Andaman
Islands)
Merchant marine:
299 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,991,278 GRT/9,935,463 DWT; includes
1 short-sea passenger, 7 passenger-cargo, 91 cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off, 8
container, 54 oil tanker, 10 chemical tanker, 8 combination ore/oil, 111
bulk, 2 combination bulk, 6 liquefied gas
Civil air:
93 major transport aircraft
Airports:
341 total, 288 usable; 203 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways
over 3,659 m; 59 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 87 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
poor domestic telephone service, international radio communications
adequate; 4,700,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 96 AM, 4 FM, 274 TV
(government controlled); domestic satellite system for communications and
TV; 3 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; submarine cables to Malaysia and
United Arab Emirates
:India Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, Security or Paramilitary Forces, Border Security
Force, Coast Guard, Assam Rifles
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 237,803,153; 140,140,736 fit for military service; about
9,474,290 reach military age (17) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GNP (FY91)
:Indian Ocean Geography
Total area:
73,600,000 km2
Land area:
73,600,000 km2; Arabian Sea, Bass Strait, Bay of Bengal, Java Sea, Persian
Gulf, Red Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary water
bodies
Comparative area:
slightly less than eight times the size of the US; third-largest ocean
(after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Arctic
Ocean)
Coastline:
66,526 km
Disputes:
some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Climate:
northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October);
tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the north
Indian Ocean and January/February in the south Indian Ocean
Terrain:
surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of
currents) in the south Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in
the north Indian Ocean - low pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising,
summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds
and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling,
winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds
and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and
subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean
Ridge, and Ninety East Ridge; maximum depth is 7,258 meters in the Java
Trench
Natural resources:
oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer
deposits, polymetallic nodules
Environment:
endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales;
oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea
Note:
major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of
Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait; ships
subject to superstructure icing in extreme south near Antarctica from May to
October
:Indian Ocean Economy