India's economy has grown significantly over the last decade, after economic reforms were initiated in the early 1990's. Previously a socialist state-controlled economy, India has undergone a process of liberalization, with the government relaxing control on foreign trade and investment.
India's abundant labor, trained technical manpower and English-speaking population are seen as valuable assets in the global economy, particularly in the services, research and manufacturing sectors.
Some vital statistics about the Indian Economy are given below:
Currency (code): Indian rupee (INR), 1 Rupee = 100 paisa
Exchange rates:
Indian rupees per US dollar: 43.82 INR = 1USD
Indian rupees per GBP: 80.71 INR = 1 GBP
Indian rupees per Euro: 54.70 INR = 1 EUR
India Inflation rate: 3.84% (2005)
UN Human Development Index ranking for India: 127th
India GDP: $691.9 billion (10th)
India GDP (at PPP): $3.363 trillion (4th)
India GDP real growth rate (at PPP): 6.2% (43rd)
India GDP per Capita $3,100 (155th)
India Population below poverty line 25% (2002 est.)
India Labor force 482.2 million
India Labor force by occupation agriculture (57%), industry (17%), services (23%) (1999)
India Unemployment rate 7.32% (1999)
Primary Economic Problems: Population stress, poor infrastructure, poverty and high unemployment
Primary Exports: Textiles, finished gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather products, and software.
Primary Imports: crude oil, machinery, uncut gemstones, fertilizer and chemicals
Growing sectors of the economy:
Services: India's services sector has recorded positive growth over the last decade and currently employs 23% of India's labor force. Areas such as software and financial services have seen a trend of Outsourcing work from western economies. Operations such as customer care, technical support, bill processing and software development are increasingly being outsourced to India, as companies realize the cost benefit of employing India's educated workforce.
Tourism: India received over 3 million international tourists in 2004. Tourism is increasingly being promoted as a source of employment. Official statistics indicate that tourism brings in about US$4 billion in foreign exchange and provides employment, either directly or indirectly to around 42 million people. This is approximately 10 percent of India's labor force. Tourism is estimated to contribute 5.3 percent of India's GDP.
