India Economy

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India economy, the third largest economy in the world, in terms of purchasing power, is going to touch new heights in coming years. As predicted by Goldman Sachs, the Global Investment Bank, by 2035 India would be the third largest economy of the world just after US and China. It will grow to 60% of size of the US economy. This booming economy of today has to pass through many phases before it can achieve the current milestone of 9% GDP. The history of Indian economy can be broadly divided into three phases: PreColonial, Colonial and Post Colonial. Pre Colonial: The economic history of India since Indus Valley Civilization to 1700 AD can be categorized under this phase. During Indus Valley Civilization Indian economy was very well developed. It ha d very good trade relations with other parts of world, which is evident from the coins of various civilizations found at the site of Indus valley. Before the advent of East India Company, each village in India was a self sufficient entity. Each village w as economically independent as all the economic needs were fulfilled with in the village. Then came the phase of Colonization. The arrival of East India Company in India ruined the Indian economy. There was a two-way depletion of resources. British used to buy raw materials from India at cheaper rates and finished goods were sold at higher than normal price in Indian markets. During this phase India's share of world income declined from 22.3% in 1700 AD to 3.8% in 1952. After India got independence from this colonial rule in 1947, the process of rebuilding the economy started. For this various policies and schemes were formulated. First five year plan for the development of Indian economy came into implementation in 1952. These Five Year Plans, started by Indian government, focused on the needs of Indian economy. If on one hand agriculture received the immediate attention on the other side industrial sector was developed at a fast pace to provide employment opportunities to the growing population and to keep pace with the developments in the world. Since then India n economy has come a long way. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at factor cost, which was 2.3 % in 1951-52 reached 9% in financial year 2005-06 Trade liberalization, financial liberalization, tax reforms and opening up

to foreign investments were some of the important steps, which helped Indian economy to gain momentum. The Economic Liberalization introduced by Man Mohan Singh in 1991, then Finance Minister in the government of P V Narsimha Rao, proved to be the stepping -stone for Indian economic reform movements. To maintain its current status and to achieve the target GDP of 10% for financial year 2006-07, Indian economy has to overcome many challenges. Challenges before Indian economy:
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Population explosion: This monster is eating up into the success of India. According to 2001 census of India, population of India in 2001 was 1,028,610,328, growing at a rate of 2.11% approx. Such a vast population puts lots of stress on economic infrastructure of the nation. Thus India has to control its burgeoning population. y Poverty: As per records of National Planning Commission, 36% of the Indian population was living Below Poverty Line in 1993-94. Though this figure has decreased in recent times but some major steps are needed to be taken to eliminate poverty from India. y Unemployment: The increasing population is pressing hard on economic resources as well as job opportunities. Indian government has started various schemes such as Jawahar Rozgar Yojna, and Self Employment Scheme for Educated Unemployed Youth (SEEUY). But these are proving to be a drop in an ocean. y Rural urban divide: It is said that India lies in villages, even today when there is lots of talk going about migration to cities, 70% of the Indian population still lives in villages. There is a very stark difference in pace of rural and urban growth. Unless there isn't a balanced development Indian economy cannot grow.

These challenges can be overcome by the sustained and planned economic reforms. These include:
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Maintaining fiscal discipline

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Orientation of public expenditure towards sectors in which India is faring badly such as health and education. y Introduction of reforms in labour laws to generate more employment opportunities for the growing population of India. y Reorganization of agricultural sector, introduction of new technology, reducing agriculture's dependence on monsoon by developing means of irrigation. y Introduction of financial reforms including privatization of some public sector banks.

India's GDP rate since 1951-51:

Financial year 1951-52 1952-53 1953-54 1954-55 1955-56 1956-57 1957-58 1958-59 1959-60 1960-61 1961-62 1962-63 1963-64 1964-65 1965-66 1966-67 1967-68

GDP of India at factor cost (in percent) 2.3 2.8 6.1 4.2 2.6 5.7 -1.2 7.6 2.2 7.1 3.1 2.1 5.1 7.6 -3.7 1 8.1

1968-69 1969-70 1970-71 1971-72 1972-73 1973-74 1974-75 1975-76 1976-77 1977-78 1978-79 1979-80 1980-81 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86 1986-87 1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 1990-91 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95

2.6 6.5 5 1 -0.3 4.6 1.2 9 1.2 7.5 5.5 -5.2 7.2 6 3.1 7.7 4.3 4.5 4.3 3.8 10.5 6.7 5.6 1.3 5.1 5.9 7.3

1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2005-06 2004-05 2005-06

7.3 7.8 4.8 6.5 6.1 4.4 5.8 3.8 8.5 7.5 9

Agriculture, services and manufacturing industries all contribute to the development of the Indian economy. The IT outsourcing, software and call center/ BPO industries in particular have helped propel Indian economic development in recent years. Economic development in India depends on the various sectors that constitute the Indian economy ± these are primarily the agriculture, services and manufacturing industries. India is rated as one of the top economies in the world in terms of the purchasing power parity of the gross domestic product by leading financial entities of the world such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the CIA (as referenced in the CIA World Factbook). As far as agriculture is concerned, India is in the second l argest in volume of output. Certain connected sectors of the agricultural sector have played a major role in the development of the Indian economy by providing employment to a number of people in the forestry, fishing and logging industries. During 2005, the agricultural sector contributed 18.6% to the entire GDP, and at least 60% of the total labor force working in India was employed in the agricultural sector.

Production volume has gone up in Indian agriculture at a consistent rate since the 1950s. Much of this improvement can be credited to the various five-year plans that were instituted for the development of Indian agriculture. Developments in irrigation processes, as well as various modern technologies used have contributed to the overall improvem ent of agricultural processes. Substantial amounts of research and development have been carried out in the agricultural sphere in India by organizations such as the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, the Indian Agricultural Research Statistics Institute, and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. In the industrial arena, India is 14th in volume of factory output. Economic developmental roles are also being played in the areas of gas, mining, electricity and quarrying. All these sectors contr ibute significantly to the GDP, and provide jobs to India¶s citizens. India is regarded as the 15th best economy in terms of work production by the services sector. A sizeable amount of the Indian workforce is also employed by the service sector. In the ten-year period between 1990 and 2000, the rate of growth has been 7.5%, which is more than the 4.5% rate during the 30-year period from 1951 to 1980. Sectors such as information technology (IT), software development, call centers, IT outsourcing, business process outsourcing (BPO), and other IT-enabled services have been the biggest contributors in the services sectior of the Indian economy. An increasing number of Indian companies are becoming global players. The following Indian companies are part of the Forbes Global 2000 list:

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