Economy - overview:
India is developing into an open-market economy, yet traces of its past autarkic policies remain. Economic liberalization measures, including industrial deregulation, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and reduced controls on foreign trade and investment, began in the early 1990s and served to accelerate the country's growth, which averaged under 7% per year from 1997 to 2011.India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Slightly less than half of the work force is in agriculture, but, services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for nearly two-thirds of India's output with less than one-third of its labor force. India has capitalized on its large educated English-speaking population to become a major exporter of information technology services, business outsourcing services, and software workers.India's economic growth began slowing in 2011 because of a decline in investment caused by high interest rates, rising inflation, and investor pessimism about the government's commitment to further economic reforms and about the global situation. Growth in 2014 and 2015 again exceeded 7% per year. Rising macroeconomic imbalances in India, and improving economic conditions in Western countries, led investors to shift capital away from India, prompting a sharp depreciation of the rupee. However, investors' perceptions of India improved in early 2014, due to a reduction of the current account deficit and expectations of post-election economic reform, resulting in a surge of inbound capital flows and stabilization of the rupee. Since the election, economic reforms have focused on administrative and governance changes largely because the ruling party remains a minority in India’s upper house of Parliament, which must approve most bills. Despite a high growth rate compared to the rest of the world, in 2015, India’s government-owned banks faced mounting bad debt, resulting in low credit growth and restrained economic growth.The outlook for India's long-term growth is moderately positive due to a young population and corresponding low dependency ratio, healthy savings and investment rates, and increasing integration into the global economy. However, India's discrimination against women and girls, an inefficient power generation and distribution system, ineffective enforcement of intellectual property rights, decades-long civil litigation dockets, inadequate transport and agricultural infrastructure, limited non-agricultural employment opportunities, high spending and poorly-targeted subsidies, inadequate availability of quality basic and higher education, and accommodating rural-to-urban migration are significant long-term challenges.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$8.027 trillion (2015 est.) $7.484 trillion (2014 est.) $6.976 trillion (2013 est.)
note: data are in 2015 US dollars
country comparison to the world: 4
[see also: GDP country ranks ]

GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.183 trillion (2015 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]

GDP - real growth rate:
7.3% (2015 est.) 7.3% (2014 est.) 6.9% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$6,300 (2015 est.) $5,900 (2014 est.) $5,500 (2013 est.)
note: data are in 2015 US dollars
country comparison to the world: 158
[see also: GDP - per capita country ranks ]

Gross national saving:
29.3% of GDP (2015 est.) 30.2% of GDP (2014 est.) 30.8% of GDP (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 22
[see also: Gross national saving country ranks ]

GDP - composition, by end use:
household consumption: 59.7%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - household consumption country ranks ]
government consumption: 11.7%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - government consumption country ranks ]
investment in fixed capital: 26.8%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - investment in fixed capital country ranks ]
investment in inventories: 4.4%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - investment in inventories country ranks ]
exports of goods and services: 19.4%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - exports of goods and services country ranks ]
imports of goods and services: -22% (2015 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - imports of goods and services country ranks ]

GDP - composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture: 16.1%
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 29.5%
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - industry country ranks ]
services: 54.4% (2015 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - services country ranks ]

Agriculture - products:
rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, lentils, onions, potatoes; dairy products, sheep, goats, poultry; fish

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

Industrial production growth rate:
2.8% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 92
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]

Labor force:
502.1 million (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 49%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 20%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - industry country ranks ]
services: 31% (2012 est.)
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - services country ranks ]

Unemployment rate:
7.1% (2015 est.) 7.3% (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 84
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]

Population below poverty line:
29.8% (2010 est.)
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.6%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%: 31.1% (2005)
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10% country ranks ]

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
33.6 (2012) 37.8 (1997)
country comparison to the world: 101
[see also: Distribution of family income - Gini index country ranks ]

Budget:
revenues: $236 billion
[see also: Budget revenues country ranks ]
expenditures: $326.2 billion (2015 est.)
[see also: Budget expenditures country ranks ]

Taxes and other revenues:
10.8% of GDP (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 211
[see also: Taxes and other revenues country ranks ]

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-):
-4.1% of GDP (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 148
[see also: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) country ranks ]

Public debt:
51.7% of GDP (2015 est.) 51.7% of GDP (2014 est.)
note: data cover central government debt, and exclude debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions
country comparison to the world: 76
[see also: Public debt country ranks ]

Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.6% (2015 est.) 6.7% (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 181
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]

Central bank discount rate:
7.75% (31 December 2014) 7.75% (31 December 2013)
note: this is the Indian central bank's policy rate - the repurchase rate
country comparison to the world: 39
[see also: Central bank discount rate country ranks ]

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
9.9% (31 December 2015 est.) 10.25% (31 December 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 83
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]

Stock of narrow money:
$368.2 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $345.6 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
[see also: Stock of narrow money country ranks ]

Stock of broad money:
$1.711 trillion (31 December 2015 est.) $1.612 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]

Stock of domestic credit:
$1.587 trillion (31 December 2015 est.) $1.494 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
[see also: Stock of domestic credit country ranks ]

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$1.263 trillion (31 December 2012 est.) $1.015 trillion (31 December 2011) $1.616 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 11
[see also: Market value of publicly traded shares country ranks ]

Current account balance:
-$30.38 billion (2015 est.) -$27.53 billion (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 190
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]

Exports:
$287.6 billion (2015 est.) $329.6 billion (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 17
[see also: Exports country ranks ]

Exports - commodities:
petroleum products, precious stones, vehicles, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, cereals, apparel

Exports - partners:
US 13.4%, UAE 10.4%, Hong Kong 4.3%, China 4.2%, Saudi Arabia 4% (2014)

Imports:
$432.3 billion (2015 est.) $472.8 billion (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 11
[see also: Imports country ranks ]

Imports - commodities:
crude oil, precious stones, machinery, chemicals, fertilizer, plastics, iron and steel

Imports - partners:
China 12.7%, Saudi Arabia 7.1%, UAE 5.9%, US 4.6%, Switzerland 4.6% (2014)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$370.7 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $322.8 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
[see also: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold country ranks ]

Debt - external:
$459.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.) $427.4 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 28
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$297.1 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $252.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 22
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home country ranks ]

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$137.8 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $129.8 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 31
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad country ranks ]

Exchange rates:
Indian rupees (INR) per US dollar - 64.73 (2015 est.) 61.03 (2014 est.) 61.03 (2013 est.) 53.44 (2012 est.) 46.67 (2011 est.)