Economy (India)
===============


     Overview:
         India's 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 4-5% 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, and
         great numbers of urban residents lack the basic essentials of life. Industry
         has benefited from a partial liberalization of controls. The growth rate of
         the service sector has also been strong. India, however, has been challenged
         more recently by much lower foreign exchange reserves, higher inflation, and
         a large debt service burden.
     GDP:
         exchange rate conversion - $328 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate
         2.5% (FY92 est.)
     Inflation rate (consumer prices):
         12.0% (1991)
     Unemployment rate:
         20% (1991 est.)
     Budget:
         revenues $38.5 billion; expenditures $53.4 billion, including capital
         expenditures of $11.1 billion (FY92)
     Exports:
         $20.2 billion (f.o.b., FY91)
       commodities:
         gems and jewelry, engineering goods, clothing, textiles, chemicals, tea,
         coffee, fish products
       partners:
         EC 25%, US 16%, USSR and Eastern Europe 19%, Japan 10% (1989)
     Imports:
         $25.2 billion (c.i.f., FY91)
       commodities:
         petroleum products, capital goods, uncut gems, gems, jewelry, chemicals,
         iron and steel, edible oils
       partners:
         EC 33%, Middle East 19%, US 12%, Japan 8%, USSR and Eastern Europe 8% (1989)
     External debt:
         $72.0 billion (1991 est.)
     Industrial production:
         growth rate 8.4% (1990); accounts for about 25% of GDP
     Electricity:
         80,000,000 kW capacity; 290,000 million kWh produced, 330 kWh per capita
         (1991)
     Industries:
         textiles, food processing, steel, machinery, transportation equipment,
         cement, jute manufactures, mining, petroleum, power, chemicals,
         pharmaceuticals, electronics
     Agriculture:
         accounts for about 30% of GDP 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 among the world's top 10 fishing nations