A Snapshot

On 15 August 1947, India acquired its independence from Britain. The Constitution of India guarantees equal rights to all citizens, and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, caste, and religion; it also allows universal franchise, thereby making the Indian electorate the largest in the world.

India's economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of support services. About a quarter of the population is too poor to be able to afford an adequate diet. India's international payments position remained strong in 2002 with adequate foreign exchange reserves, and stable exchange rates. Growth in manufacturing output has slowed, and electricity shortages continue in many regions. India has large numbers of well-educated people skilled in English language; India is a major exporter of software services and software workers.(7)

GDP: purchasing power parity - US $2.5 trillion

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - US $2,500

Population below poverty line: 24%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.5%

Labor force : Agriculture 60%, services 23%, industry 17%

Budget: Revenues: US $48.3 billion, expenditures: $78.2 billion

Industries: textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software and IT services

Industrial production growth rate: 5.3%

Exports: US $44.5 billion
(commodities: textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, software and IT services, chemicals, leather manufactures)

Imports: US $53.8 billion
(commodities: crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals, IT hardware)

Currency: Indian rupee

Exchange rates: Indian rupees : US dollar ~  1: 47.86 (Feb 2003)

Railways : 65,600 km (16,800 km electrified)

Highways: 3,323,000 km
(paved: 1,519,000 km, unpaved: 1,804,000 km)  

Runways: 335

Waterways: 16,180 km

Pipelines: crude oil 3,150 km; petroleum products 2,687 km; natural gas 1,960 km (10)

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