Economics for Global Travelers: Basic Economic Info of India

1. GDP (current US$)

$1.848 trillion (2011)

2. GDP (nominal) per capita

$1,689 (2013)

3. Life Expectancy

65 years (2012)

4. Percent Below Poverty Line

29.8% (2010 est.).

The poverty line is reduced annually. Last reduction of poverty line was reduced in 2012 to 32

Rs. and 29 Rs. for urban and rural areas, respectfully.

5. Literacy (age 15 and over can read and write  total population)

61% (2013)

6. Unemployment rate

9.9% (2012 est.)

7. Inflation rate (consumer prices)

9.2% (2012 est.)

Natural Resources, Labor & Education & Capital

Natural resources

India is famous for its multiple minerals, metals (iron ore, manganese), precious stones, and some non-renewable goods as well as crops. The country has the 4th largest coal reserves worldwide, and much of this coal is unused. Besides the coal and metal reserves, the country consists of deserts, arable land, and rivers (for example Ganges).
Since India is located on a separate tectonic plate, which slides under Asia's tectonic plate, the country creates a snow-capped mountain range known as the Himalayas. The Himalayas form the Northeast border among India, China, and Nepal. On the Northwest side of the country, the Thar desert is the natural border between Pakistan and India. (India and Pakistan are rival countries.) In the south the Indian Ocean forms a border between Sri Lanka and India. Within the borders surrounding India, farming is the most concentrated sector and produces one of the most important exports.

The produce of India depends on the region and time of the year because climate is widely varied. For example during the summer, the northern regions the weather is mild unlike the middle to southern regions which are rainy during monsoon. In addition, unlike fall and spring in the U.S., India has winter, summer, monsoon, and post monsoon for its seasons. With this said, tea and tobacco farming create most of the agricultural sector: India is the largest producer and consumer of tea.

Tea Plantation in Kerala, India

Labor. Education, and Capital

The dense population in India allows the country to have one of the largest human capitals in the world [498.4 million people (est. 2012)]. The human capital, however, consists largely of children and poorly-waged citizens. The government has attempted to prevent/decrease the number of child labor by emphasizing the importance of education, however the government's attempts are not too fruitful.
The education of India has been proven to be lacking in quality and structure according to President Pranab Mukherjee. For example, some of the high school textbooks translated into English have many grammatical and spelling error. Also professors that have not had proper training to instruct are present in India's educational system. Recently the president of India has declared that it was time to dramatically change the education of India. He proposed to bring foreign teachers into the system as well as the reduction of former teacher. (Former teachers will have to attend seminars and refresher courses). If the education of the civilians improves then India's people will be more innovative in Research and Development. Mukherjee's overall goal is to push India's Research and Development sector in order to decrease the poverty rate of India. The newly found technology would improve the economy by advancing the pharmaceutical-production methods, the textile industry, and the agriculture sector. (The three largest export sectors in India.)