the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Naresh CHANDRA
chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008;
note-Embassy located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000
FAX: [1] (202) 483-3972
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard CELESTE
embassy: Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri 110021, New Delhi
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [91] (11) 688-9033, 611-3033
FAX: [91] (11) 419-0017
consulate(s) general: Calcutta, Chennai (Madras), Mumbai (Bombay)

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white,
and green with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white
band; similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk
centered in the white band

@India:Economy

Economy-overview: India's economy encompasses traditional village
farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern
industries, and a multitude of support services. 67% of India's labor
force of nearly 400 million work in agriculture, which contributes 30%
of the country's GDP. Production, trade, and investment reforms since
1991 have provided new opportunities for Indian businesspersons and an
estimated 300 million middle class consumers. New Delhi has avoided
debt rescheduling, attracted foreign investment, and revived
confidence in India's economic prospects since 1991. Many of the
country's fundamentals - including savings rates (26% of GDP) and
reserves (now about $24 billion) - are healthy. Inflation eased to 7%
in 1997, and interest rates dropped to between 10% and 13%. Even so,
the Indian Government needs to restore the early momentum of reform,
especially by continuing reductions in the extensive remaining
government regulations. Moreover, economic policy changes have not yet
significantly increased jobs or reduced the risk that international
financial strains will reemerge within the next few years. Nearly 40%
of the Indian population remains too poor to afford an adequate diet.
India's exports, currency, and foreign institutional investment were
affected by the East Asian crisis in late 1997 and early 1998, but
capital account controls, a low ratio of short-term debt to reserves,
and enhanced supervision of the financial sector helped insulate it
from near term balance-of-payments problems. Export growth, has been
slipping in 1