India Economy 1997

Economy - overview India's economy is a mixture of traditional village farming, modernagriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitudeof support services. A large share of the population, perhaps as much as 40%,remains too poor to afford an adequate diet. The policy in the 1980s of fuelingeconomic growth through high government expenditure proved unsustainable,however, and in the wake of an international payments crisis in 1991 Indiahas been transforming its semi-socialist, insular economy into a more open,market-oriented economy. Production, trade, and investment reforms since 1991have provided new opportunities for Indian businesspersons and an estimated200 million plus middle class consumers. New Delhi has stimulated exports,attracted foreign investment, and revived confidence in India's economic prospects.GDP growth exceeded 6% in 1995 and in 1996. Most of the country's externalfundamentals - including the current account balance and reserves (now about$19 billion) - are healthy. Even so, the Indian Government needs to restorethe early momentum of reform, especially by continuing reductions in the extensiveremaining government regulations. The government will also have to deal withrising government expenditures and higher debt servicing which could createa debt trap by the turn of the century. Even if a series of weak coalitiongovernments come to power in the next few years and are unable to push reformsaggressively, parts of the economy that have already benefited from deregulationwill continue to grow. Moreover, the country can build on other strengths,including its diverse industrial base, large scientific and technical pool,its well-developed legal system, and its large middle class.

GDP purchasing power parity - $1.538 trillion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 6.5% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,600 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 30%
industry : 28%
services: 42% (1993/94)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 10.3% (1995)

Labor force
total: 370 million (1995 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 65% or more, services 4%, manufacturing and construction3%, communications and transport 3%

Unemployment rate NA%

Budget
revenues: $34 billion
expenditures: $52.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY95/96)

Industries textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment,cement, mining, petroleum, machinery

Industrial production growth rate 11.2% (1996)

Electricity - capacity 83.288 million kW 1996)

Electricity - production 380 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 419 kWh (1995)

Agriculture - products rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle,water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish catch of about 3 million metrictons ranks India among the world's top 10 fishing nations

Exports
total value : $30.5 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: clothing, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures,cotton yarn, and fabric
partners: US, Japan, Germany, UK, Hong Kong

Imports
total value: $34.5 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals
partners: US, Germany, Saudi Arabia, UK, Belgium, Japan

Debt - external $97.9 billion (March 1995)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $1.237 billion (1993); US ODA bilateral commitments $171 million;US Ex-Im bilateral commitments $680 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODAbilateral commitments $2.48 billion; OPEC bilateral aid $200 million; WorldBank (IBRD) multilateral commitments $2.8 billion; Asian Development Bank(AsDB) multilateral commitments $760 million; International Finance Corporation(IFC) multilateral commitments $200 million; other multilateral commitments$554 million (1995-96)

Currency 1 Indian rupee (Re) = 100 paise

Exchange rates Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1 - 35.872 (January 1997), 35.433 (1996),32.427 (1995), 31.374 (1994), 30.493 (1993), 25.918 (1992)

Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March

NOTE: The information regarding India on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of India Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about India Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.