November 5, 2005
Economic Growth and Development
Economy of India
The economy of India has seen an explosive amount of growth during the past few years. India's economy is the fourth largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) followed by a Gross Domestic Product of $3.3 trillion. India also has 8.1% Gross Domestic Product growth rate, which is second in the world (Economy of India 2005).
India was the second fastest growing major economy in the world, with a GDP growth rate of 8.1% at the end of the first quarter of 2005?06. However, India's huge population results in a relatively low per capita income of $3,100 at PPP (Economy of India 2005).
India has an extremely diverse economy which includes many areas in agriculture, crafts, major industries and numerous miscellaneous services. The leading economic growth vehicle in India would be it's multitude of services, however two-thirds of the workforce in India earn their income through agriculture. The labor force of India is estimated to be around 482.2 million people with 57% in agriculture, 17% in industry, and 23% in other services (Economy of India 2005).
In recent times, India has also capitalised on its large number of highly educated people who are fluent in the English language to become a major exporter of software services, financial services and software engineers (Economy of India 2005).
Since India's independence it has adopted to a socialist government which has led to government control over all aspects of the economy. This includes strict policies over the private sector, foreign trade as well as direct foreign investment in India. However, India has recently developed new economic refor ...