India’s GDP can be broken down, by industrial sectors, into the major players of agriculture (19.9%), general industry (19.3%), and that which falls under the broad umbrella of “services” (60.7%). India is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as the South Asian Free Trade Association (SAFTA). In 2006, India’s unemployment rate was estimated at approximately 7.8%–rate higher than that of the United States, the United Kingdom, and China, but lower than the average unemployment rates seen across countries of the European Union.

With a labor force of approximately 516 million people (the 2nd largest labor force in the world behind only China), approximately 60% of India’s workers are employed in the agricultural industry. Major agricultural crops include rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, and potatoes. India’s long tradition in this sector has resulted in it accounting for a full 28% of the nation’s GDP. Including the economic activities generated by industries allied with agriculture (such as forestry, logging, and fishing), this sector accounts for a full 46.6% of the country’s overall GDP.

This being said, it should also be noted that India is highly active in a variety of other industries—including steel, textiles, mining, petroleum products, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food processing, transportation equipment, cement, heavy machinery, and computer software. Its major mineral resources are coal (India having the 4th largest coal reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, and thorium (the world's largest reserves being found along India’s Kerala shores in the south of the country).

In fiscal year 2007, India’s exports were estimated at US$140 billion—with exports of primary importance being textiles, gems and jewelry, engineering products, manufactured leather products, and other services. India’s main exports partners are the United States (18%), China (8.9%), the United Arab Emirates (8.4%), the United Kingdom (4.7%), and Hong Kong (4.2%).

Over the same 2007 time period, India’s imports of goods and services were estimated at around US$225 billion—with primary imported goods being crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, and chemicals. India’s main import partners are China (7.2%), the United States (6.4%), Belgium (5.1%), Singapore (4.7%), Australia (4.2%), Germany (4.2%), and the United Kingdom (4.1%). Crude oil reserves—particularly those found in “Bombay High” off the coast of the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and eastern Assam—meet a full 25% of the nation’s crude oil demands. Yet, despite this, a high population growth rate and rapid increases in the country’s business sector have created concomitant energy demands. Because of this perpetual “energy crunch,” however, India is rich in a number of other progressive or alternative energy resources, such as solar and wind power, and the biofuels of jatropha and sugarcane.

n addition to these many traditional and emerging modern industries, India has primarily distinguished itself by its capitalization on the country’s large numbers of highly educated, computer-literate workers, leading it to become one of the world’s major

exporters of software services, as well as software technicians. Indian’s unique and massive young workforce has also made it a key outsourcing destination for multinational corporations operating in a wide variety of service and support sectors. The nation has also become a major destination for so-called “medical tourism.”

Aware of India’s somewhat weak construction, transportation, and telecommunications infrastructure, the country’s government has made a concerted effort to open the private sector to foreign investment, hoping such moves will encourage higher and sustainable economic growth rates in the long term. As a result, the country’s economic growth rate has hovered around 9% per annum over the past six quarters. India ranks 2nd in the world in terms of railway construction activity (more than twice the activity seen in China), and ranks 14th in the world in terms of factory output.

In sum, liberalization in India’s private sector, an increased emphasis on the courting of foreign investment, and the degree to which India has established itself as the go-to point for outsourcing activity by western multinationals have all led to major changes in the global importance of India as a crucial economic powerhouse. The year 2008 saw 34 Indian companies listed in the Forbes Global 2000 rankings, the ten leading companies being: Reliance Industries, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, the State Bank of India, the Indian Oil Corporation, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Steel Authority of India Limited, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel India, and Reliance Communications.