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- Economy
-
- Overview: India's Malthusian 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% to 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.
- Industry has benefited from a liberalization of controls.
- The growth rate of the service sector has also been strong.
-
- GNP: $333 billion, per capita $400; real growth rate 5.0%
- (1989 est.).
-
- Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.5% (1989 est.).
-
- Unemployment rate: 20% (1989 est.).
-
- Budget: revenues $48 billion; expenditures $53 billion,
- including capital expenditures of $13.6 billion (1989).
-
- Exports: $17.2 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--tea,
- coffee, iron ore, fish products, manufactures; partners--
- EC 25%, USSR and Eastern Europe 17%, US 19%, Japan 10%.
-
- Imports: $24.7 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--petroleum,
- edible oils, textiles, clothing, capital goods; partners--
- EC 33%, Middle East 19%, Japan 10%, US 9%, USSR and Eastern
- Europe 8%.
-
- External debt: $48.7 billion (1989).
-
- Industrial production: growth rate 8.8% (1989).
-
- Electricity: 59,000,000 kW capacity; 215,000 million kWh
- produced, 260 kWh per capita (1989).
-
- Industries: textiles, food processing, steel, machinery,
- transportation equipment, cement, jute manufactures, mining,
- petroleum, power, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics.
-
- Agriculture: accounts for about 33% of GNP 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 in the world's top 10 fishing nations.
-
- Illicit drugs: licit producer of opium poppy for the
- pharmaceutical trade, but some opium is diverted to
- international drug markets; major transit country for
- illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries.
-
- Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $4.2 billion;
- Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
- (1980-87), $18.6 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89),
- $315 million; USSR (1970-88), $10.0 billion; Eastern Europe
- (1970-88), $105 million.
-
- Currency: Indian rupee (plural--rupees); 1 Indian rupee
- (Re) = 100 paise.
-
- Exchange rates: Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1--16.965 (January
- 1990), 16.226 (1989), 13.917 (1988), 12.962 (1987), 12.611
- (1986), 12.369 (1985).
-
- Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March.
-