India is the largest democracy and the seventh largest and second most populous country in the world. After receiving independence from the British in 1947, a democratic, socialist form of governance was instituted in the country.   The elected government followed a policy of planned economic development through implementation of 5-year plans.

India is endowed with vast natural resources and this fact contributed to the government’s decision to develop an economy based on agriculture, after independence. But in the past decade, the economy has taken on the characteristics of an industrial economy.   Prior to the recent liberalization, crucial industries such as transportation, communications, steel and so on were government owned and controlled; private ownership of industry, foreign direct investment and foreign ownership was strictly regulated.  In the 1980s, a series of ambitious economic reforms, aimed at deregulating the country and stimulating foreign investment has moved India firmly into the front ranks of the rapidly growing Asia Pacific region and unleashed the latent strengths of a complex and rapidly changing nation. India has made enormous strides since it achieved independence more than 50 years ago. Economic growth since 1980 has been among the fastest in the world; social indicators for literacy, education enrollment, disease and mortality, and gender have steadily improved; and poverty has fallen since the mid-1970s.

Today, India is one of the most exciting emerging markets in the world.   Skilled managerial and technical manpower that match the best available in the world, and a middle class whose size exceeds the population of the USA or the European Union, provide India with a distinct cutting edge in global competition. It has developed a diversified industrial base and a relatively large and sophisticated financial sector. Its software subsector - one of the most dynamic in the world - has experienced a sustained and rapid upswing, with exports rising from US$734 million during the 1995-96 fiscal year to US$2,650 million in fiscal year 1998-99. Software exports were projected at US$3,925 million in fiscal 1999-00, demonstrating the continued strength of the subsector¹. These successes have taken place against a backdrop of India's well-established democratic system - the largest in the world - which provides its population with a significant degree of political freedom and stability.

India is the second largest country in the world, in terms of both population and arable land. It has 16 % of the world's population and 12 % of the world's arable land.   It also is the sixth largest economy with respect to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Growth of real GDP at factor cost, which had fallen to merely 0.8% in the crises year 1991-92, recovered within a year to reach 5.1% in 1992-93. This represents one of the fastest economic recoveries from a macroeconomic crises by international standards. Thus, despite the situation in 1991-92, the average growth of 5.7% over the first four years of the Eighth Plan was higher than the Plan target of 5.6%. Growth of foreign direct investment has averaged 100% per annum over 1992-93 to 1994-95. The same level was maintained over the first eight months of 1995-96.¹
 
 

Per Capita GDP (PPP)	$1,760
GDP Growth	5.8%
Reserves	$35.7
Population (millions)	1000.0
Population Growth	1.9%
Exports (billions)	$37.5

Source: The "Bottom Line",1999
 

Education In India

India has the world's second largest education system after China, with 108 million children aged 6-10 attending primary school. The country has made modest improvements in primary school enrollments rates in the 1990's, indicated by the rise in literacy rates. From 1991- 99, the overall literacy rate increased from 52 percent to 64 percent. Yet more than half of Indian women are still illiterate; about 40 million primary school-age children are not in school (mostly girls and those from the poorest and socially-excluded households); and only about one-third of an age group completes the constitutionally prescribed eight years of education. India still has much work to do to elevate its human resources to the levels needed to sustain current economic growth rates.

Organizations such as The World Bank have been actively involved in supporting and promoting technical and vocational training within the country. Their support of the District Primary Education Program(DPEP) has boosted school enrollment rates.²

There is another scenario of the Indian Education system and that relates to those who can afford to get a decent education. The curriculum at private and most government run schools and universities is extremely rigorous, with an emphasis on mathematics and the sciences. As a result, the system churns out an increasing number of graduates and undergraduates, with degrees in engineering and computer sciences. Graduates from reputable institutes such as Indian Institute of Management, Indian Institute of Technology, Regional Engineering Colleges, etc are in high demand in the market. The intense training recieved during formative school years as well as proficiency in mathematics, gives Indian candidates an edge in the International arena.
 
 

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Report created for: INITEB in the program of MoGIT at the Kogod School of Business, American University,Washington D.C.