subject: An Overview of the Indian Economy [print this page] An Overview of the Indian Economy An Overview of the Indian Economy
India has been the leader in the field of education, art and literature, administration and finance in the ancient and medieval times and according to Angus Maddison, it was so till the colonial era. After India regained her independence in 1947, it has again tried to rise to its former glory and today it is the 11th largest economy in the world. With vast amounts of human and natural resource and with the rising of new age entrepreneurs and Economic Conditions , India is not only fats developing but is expected to become one among the top three ranking economies in the world in another forty years.
Agricultue: India has always been an agricultural land and today it is the second in agricultural output in the whole world. In this case, the contribution of the Green Revolution and the Five Year Plans cannot be denied, which enabled the government to make firm plans, set goals and achieve them by the deadlines. The use of technology in agriculture has resulted in better irrigation and in the improvement in other related industries like fishing, forestry and logging.
And as it is the largest producer in the world of crops like rice, milk, coconuts and the very valuable spices and silk, the export of these products also adds a considerable amount to the Indian economy.
Industries: The Iron and Steel Industry, shipping industry, chemical industry, automobile industry and many other large and small industries are doing very well, largely to to corporate investments. The financial development of the country and the incentives to the different sectors were provided largely by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, when in 1969 she nationalized 14 banks and made it mandatory for them to contribute 40% of their credit to the different sectors like agriculture, retail trade and small scale businesses.
The cottage industries of India also contribute significantly to the GDP. Moreover, over time, big scale industries like the Tata Group and Reliance have changed the scenario of the private sector. The tourism industry has always been doing well, but now it has become more organized and doing its best to attract more international tourists which contributes significantly to the Indian economy.
And the positive thing about this development is that the progress is not just limited to the modernization of the urban areas, but the rural India too is making great progress, thanks to the various Economic Improvement and schemes. True, there is corruption at all levels, but then which country does not have a few corrupt individuals in the system. India would soon become one of the leaders in world economy.
