India

The Republic of India is a country in South Asia which comprises most of the Indian subcontinent. India has a coastline which stretches over seven thousand kilometres,{{inote|see Indian embassy|i-1}} and shares its borders with Pakistan to the west, the People's Republic of China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, and Bangladesh and Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) on the east. On the Indian Ocean, it is adjacent to the island nations of the Maldives on the southwest, Sri Lanka on the south, and Indonesia on the southeast. India also claims a border with Afghanistan to the northwest.{{mn|afgh|1}}

Economy

Main article: Economy of India

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India has an economy ranked as the tenth largest in the world in terms of currency conversion and fourth largest in terms of purchasing power parity. It recorded one of the fastest annual growth rates of around 8 % in 2003. Owing to its large population, however, India's per-capita income by purchasing power parity works out to be just US$ 3,262, ranked 125th by the World Bank. India's foreign exchange reserves amount to over US$ 143 billion.{{inote| see ecotimes|i-2}} Mumbai serves as the nation's financial capital and is also home to both the headquarters of the Reserve Bank of India and the pre-eminent Bombay Stock Exchange. While a quarter of Indians still live below the poverty line, a large middle class has now emerged along with the rapid growth of the IT industry.

Related Topics:
Purchasing power parity - US$ - Ranked 125th - World Bank - Foreign exchange - Mumbai - Reserve Bank of India - Bombay Stock Exchange - Poverty line - Middle class - IT

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The Indian economy has shed much of its historical dependence on agriculture, which now contributes to less than 25 % of GDP.{{inote|see Indian economy|i-3}} Other important industries are mining, petroleum, diamond polishing, films, textiles, information technology services, and handicrafts. Most of India's industrial regions are centred around major cities. In recent years, India has emerged as one of the largest players in software and business process outsourcing services, with revenues of US$ 17.2 billion in 2004 to 2005.{{inote|software}} There are also a lot of small-scale industries that provide steady employment to many of its citizens in small towns and villages.

Related Topics:
Agriculture - Mining - Petroleum - Diamond - Films - Textile - Information technology - Handicrafts - Business process outsourcing

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While India receives only around three million foreign visitors a year, tourism is still an important but under-developed source of national income. Tourism contributes 5.3 % of India's GDP. The actual employment generation, both direct and indirect, is estimated to be 42 million, or about 10 % of India's work force. In monetary terms, it contributes about US$4 billion in foreign exchange.{{inote|tourism}} India's major trading partners are the United States, Japan, China and the United Arab Emirates.{{inote|trade}}

Related Topics:
United States - Japan - China - United Arab Emirates

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India's main exports items include agricultural products, textile goods, gems and jewellery, software services and technology, engineering goods, chemicals and leather products while its main import commodities are crude oil, machinery, gems, fertiliser, chemicals. For the year 2004, India's total exports stood at US$ 69.18 billion while the imports were worth at US $89.33 billion.{{inote|figure}}

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