udi Arabia, UK, Japan

Debt-external: $90.7 billion (1997)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $1.237 billion (1993); US ODA bilateral commitments
$171 million; US Ex-Im bilateral commitments $680 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA bilateral commitments $2.48 billion; OPEC
bilateral aid $200 million; World Bank (IBRD) multilateral commitments
$2.8 billion; Asian Development Bank (AsDB) multilateral commitments
$760 million; International Finance Corporation (IFC) multilateral
commitments $200 million; other multilateral commitments $554 million
(1995-96)

Currency: 1 Indian rupee (Re) = 100 paise

Exchange rates: Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1-39.358 (January 1998),
36.313 (1997), 35.433 (1996), 32.427 (1995), 31.374 (1994), 30.493
(1993)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

Communications

Telephones: 12 million (1996)

Telephone system: probably the least adequate telephone system of any
of the industrializing countries; three of every four villages have no
telephone service; only 5% of India's villages have long-distance
service; poor telephone service significantly impedes commercial and
industrial growth and penalizes India in global markets; slow
improvement is taking place with the recent admission of private and
private-public investors, but demand for communication services is
also growing rapidly
domestic: local service is provided mostly by open wire and obsolete
electromechanical and manual switchboard systems; within the last 10
years a substantial amount of digital switch gear has been introduced
for local service; long-distance traffic is carried mostly by open
wire, coaxial cable, and low-capacity microwave radio relay; since
1985, however, significant trunk capacity has been added in the form
of fiber-optic cable and a domestic satellite system with over 100
earth stations
international: satellite earth stations-8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and
1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean Region); submarine cables to Malaysia and UAE

Radio broadcast stations: AM 96, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: 70 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 274 (government controlled)

Televisions: 33 million (1992 est.)

@India:Transportation

Railways:
total: 62,660 km (12,296 km electrified; 12,617 km double track)
broad gauge: 39,612 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 19,210 km 1.000-m gauge; 3,838 km 0.762-m and 0.610-m
gauge (1995 est.)

Highways:
total: 2.06 million km
paved: 1,034,120 km
unpaved: 1,025,880 km (1