The Economy Of India
India is the sixth largest economy in the world by nominal GDP and the third largest when measured by the purchasing power parity (PPP). It is ranked as one of the newly industrialized countries and also a member of some influential trading blocs as the BRICS. The country has positive growth prospects going by the robust young population, low dependency ratio, and the highly developing service industry. The country buoyed by the large domestic market is well capable of becoming the second largest world economy by the mid of this century. Maharashtra is the wealthiest India state followed by Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh in the third place.
Overview Of The Economy Of India
The country’s nominal GDP at the end of 2016 was $2.3 trillion and $8.7 trillion based on PPP. It uses the Indian Rupee as its currency. The country has been able to maintain an annual GDP growth of 7% for the past several years achieving 7.6% in 2016. Per Capita income is $1718 nominally while based on PPP is $ 6658. The country's per capita income is ranked 122nd globally. The national average unemployment rate is 5% with the rural areas leading the urban in unemployment figures.
Leading Indian Industries
India is a newly industrialized country and is member of the G-20 group of countries. It is also member of the BRICS and its economy has maintained an average growth rate of 7% for the last two decades. The country has a vibrant software, chemical, agriculture, and textile industries among others. Between 2013 and 2014, agriculture accounted for 17% of the GDP, industries 25, and services 45%. Its software industry has experienced tremendous growth especially through outsourcing of services from established multinationals in the Western countries. The agriculture industry has been the leading employer of its citizens, but its contribution to the GDP has been declining.
Top Export Goods And Export Partners Of India
The country exported goods worth about $272 billion in 2015. The main products it exported were software, petrochemicals, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and textiles among others. The leading export destination for Indian products in 2015 were EU (16%), US (15%), UAE (11%) and Hong Kong (5%) among others.
Top Import Goods And Import Partners Of India
The total value of the country’s imports for 2016 was $410 billion. Some of the leading products are crude oil, electronics, gold and precious stones among others. China accounted for (15%) of the total imports, EU (11%), Saudi Arabia (5%), and Switzerland (5%)
Challenges To The Indian Economy
Unemployment levels remain high in the country and millions of Indian citizens are unemployed. India also has the highest percentage of the world’s population that lives below the poverty line. In some instances, child labor has become inevitable as all segments of its population seek means to make ends meet. In spite of the measures by the government to eliminate child labor, it has persisted.
Future Plans
The country has a bright economic future given its vibrant service industry which is the leading globally. It continues to export IT services globally, and the sector is one of the leading private employers. The government continues to enter into trade alignments to seek external markets for its IT industry. It also continues to harness means to send its expatriates abroad to get meaningful employment.
