996-97, averaging only about 4% to 5%-a large drop from
the more than 20% increases it was experiencing over the prior three
years-mainly because of the fall in Asian currencies relative to the
rupee. Energy, telecommunications, and transportation shortages and
the legacy of inefficient factories constrain industrial growth which
expanded only 6.7% in 1997-down from more than 11% in 1996. Growth of
the agricultural sector is still fairly slow rebounding to only 5.7%
in 1997 from a fall of 0.1% in 1996. Agricultural investment has
slowed, while costly subsidies on fertilizer, food distribution, and
rural electricity remain. Nevertheless, even if a series of weak
coalition governments continue to rule in New Delhi over the next few
years and are unable to push reforms aggressively, parts of the
economy that have already benefited from deregulation will continue to
grow. Indian think tanks project GDP growth of at least 5.5% in 1998.

GDP: purchasing power parity-$1.534 trillion (1997 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 5% (1997 est.)

GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$1,600 (1997 est.)

GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 30%
industry: 28%
services: 42% (1996 est.)

Inflation rate-consumer price index: 7% (1997 est.)

Labor force:
total: 390 million (1997 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 67%, services 18%, industry 15% (1995 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $39 billion
expenditures: $61 billion, including capital expenditures of $10
billion (FY97/98 est.)

Industries: textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel,
transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery

Industrial production growth rate: 6.7% (1997 est.)

Electricity-capacity: 83.288 million kW (1996)

Electricity-production: 398.28 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity-consumption per capita: 427 kWh (1995)

Agriculture-products: rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea,
sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry;
fish catch of about 3 million metric tons ranks India among the
world's top 10 fishing nations

Exports:
total value: $33.9 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
commodities: gems and jewelry, clothing, engineering goods, chemicals,
leather manufactures, cotton yarn, and fabric
partners: US, Hong Kong, UK, Germany

Imports:
total value: $39.7 billion (c.i.f., 1997)
commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, machinery, gems,
fertilizer, chemicals
partners: US, Belgium, Germany, Kuwait, Sa