Introduction
India is continuously strengthening its strategic position on the world map as it is increasingly opening-up to the international standards, culture and business opportunities. Economic liberalisation (including industrial de-regulation, privatisation, and reduction of controls over foreign trade and investments) was implemented in early 1990s and has spurred growth for the country like never-before. India’s diverse economy encompasses conventional village farming, advanced agriculture, unique handicrafts, a plethora of modern industries and a huge basket of professional services. India has leveraged on its large educated English-speaking population to become a major exporter of technical services like IT and software. Owing to its robust financial system and strong domestic demand, the country came out strong through the 2010-financial crisis that caused huge damages to other developed economies.
Indian economy has made significant progress over the last few years, with the gross domestic product (GDP) growing at an average rate of 5.3 per cent. The country is the world’s third largest economy in terms of the purchasing power parity (PPP) and has investments amounting to nearly a trillion dollars lined up in partnership with the private sector in the coming years.
Location: India lies to the north of the equator in Southern Asia
Latitude: 8° 4' to 37° 6' north
Longitude: 68° 7' to 97° 25' east
Neighbouring Countries: Pakistan and Afghanistan share political borders with India on the West while Bangladesh and Myanmar stand adjacent on the Eastern borders. The northern boundary comprises the Sinkiang province of China, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. Sri Lanka is another neighbouring country which is separated by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.
Capital: New Delhi
Coastline: 7517 km, including the mainland, the coastlines of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshwadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea.
Climate: Southern India majorly enjoys tropical climate but northern India experiences temperatures from sub-zero degrees to 50 degrees Celsius. Winters embrace northern India during December to February while springs blossom in March and April. Monsoons arrive in July and stay till September, followed by autumn in October and November.
Area: India measures 3, 214 km from north to south and 2, 933 km from east to west with a total land area of 3,287,263 sq km.
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Natural Resources: Coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, rare earth elements, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land.
Land: 2,973,190 sq km
Water: 314,070 sq km
Political Profile
Political System and Government:
The world's largest democracy implemented its Constitution in 1950 that provided for a parliamentary system of Government with a bicameral parliament and three independent branches: the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The country has a federal structure with elected governments in States.
Administrative Divisions: 28 States and 7 Union Territories
Constitution: The Constitution of India came into force on 26th January 1950
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Executive Branch: The President of India is the Head of State, while the Prime Minister is the Head of the government and runs office with the support of the Council of Ministers who forms the Cabinet.
Legislative Branch: The Federal Legislature comprises of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) forming both the Houses of the Parliament.
Judicial Branch: The Supreme Court of India is the apex body of the Indian legal system, followed by other High Courts and subordinate Courts.
Chief of State: President, Mr Pranab Mukherjee (since 25 July 2012)
Head of Government: Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh (since 22 May 2004)
Demographic profile
Population: 1,205,073,612 (July 2012 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 1.312 per cent (2012 est.)
Religions: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism
Languages: Hindi, English and at least 16 other official languages
Literacy: Total population: 74.04 per cent (provisional data-2011 census)
Male: 82.14 per cent
Female: 65.46 per cent
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Life expectancy: 66.08 years (men), 68.33 years (women) (2012 est.)
Economic Profile
Indian Economy
HSBC and Morgan Stanley predict India's gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 6 per cent for 2013-14.
Reflecting an overall improvement in living standard, India's per capita income is estimated to have gone up 11.7 per cent to Rs 5,729 (US$ 105.88) per month in 2012-13 at current prices, compared with Rs 5,130 (US$ 94.81) in the previous fiscal.
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Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Composition by Sector (2011 estimate)
- Services: 65 per cent
- Industry: 18 per cent
- Agriculture: 17 per cent
- Forex Reserves: US$ 290.574 billion for the week ended March 1, 2013-03-13
- Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) at current prices: It is estimated to expand by 2.47 per cent in 2012-13.
GFCF, at current prices, is estimated at Rs. 7, 55, 466 crore (US$ 139.63 billion) in Q3 of 2012-13 as against Rs. 6, 75, 030 crore (US$ 124.76 billion) in Q3 of 2011-12.
Value of Exports: Exports during February, 2013 were valued at US$ 26, 259.36 million. Cumulative value of exports for the period April-February 2012 -13 was US$ 265, 946.37 million
- Export Partners: US, Germany, UAE, China, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and European Union. India is also tapping newer markets in Africa and Latin America.
- Currency (code): Indian rupee (INR)
- Exchange Rates: Indian rupees per US dollar - 1 US$ = INR 54.112 (March 13, 2013)
- Fiscal Year: 1 April - 31 March
- Cumulative FDI equity Inflows: US$ 280, 412 million (April 2000 to December 2012)
- Share of Top Investing Countries FDI Equity Inflows: Mauritius, Singapore, UK, Japan, USA, Netherlands and Cyprus (as on December 2012)
- Major Sectors Attracting Highest FDI Equity Inflows: Services Sector, Construction Activities, Telecommunications, , Computer Software & Hardware, Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals (as on December 2012)
- Transportation in India
Operational Airports: 85
International Airports: Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Chennai, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram
Railways: The Indian Railways network is spread over some 64,000 km, with 12,000 passenger and 7,000 freight trains each day from 7,083 stations plying 23 million travellers and 2.65 million tonnes of goods daily.
Roadways: India’s road network of 4.1 million km is the second largest in the world. With the number of vehicles growing at an average annual pace of 10.16 per cent, Indian roads carry about 65 per cent of freight and 80 per cent of passenger traffic.
Waterways: 14, 500 km
Major Ports of Entry: Chennai, Ennore, Haldia, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Kolkata, Kandla, Kochi, Mormugao, Mumbai, New Mangalore, Paradip, Tuticorin and Vishakhapatnam.
Exchange Rate: INR 1 = US$ 0.01848 as on March 13, 2013
References: Press Releases, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-The World Fact book, National Highways Authority of India website, Census India portal
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