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INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT INDIA
The name `India’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were
the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river
Indus as the Sindhu.
The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who
invented the digit zero.
Sanskrit
is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the
most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software. ( a report
in Forbes magazine, July 1987 ).
Chess was
invented in India.
Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also orignated from India. Quadratic
equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers
the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as
10*53 ( i.e 10 to the power of 53 ) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C.
during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12( 10
to the power of 12 ).
The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in
India.
The first six Mogul Emperor's of India ruled in an unbroken succession from
father to son for two hundred years, from 1526 to 1707.
The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil
Nadu. The shikhara is made from a single ' 80-tonne ' piece of granite. Also,
this magnificient temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009
AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola
India is.......the Largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country in
the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations (at least 10, 000
years old).
The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh.
Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above
sea level.
India has the most post offices in the world !
The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a
million people !
The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than
10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The
University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest
achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of
medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
Although modern images & descriptions of India often show poverty, India was one
of the richest countries till the time of British in the early 17th Century.
Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth and was looking for route
to India when he discovered America by mistake.
The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years
ago. The very word 'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The
word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.
Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun
hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculations was - Time taken
by earth to orbit the sun: ( 5th century ) 365.258756484 days.
The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana,
and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He
discovered this in the 6th century, which was long before the European
mathematicians.
Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world.
The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh
valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built
by the Indian Army in August 1982.
Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata &
his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs,
cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain
surgeries.
Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge
of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics
and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
Facts about India
The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, goes
back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded
about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier inhabitants created the
classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century
and Turkish in 12th were followed by European traders, beginning in
the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed
political control of virtually all Indian lands. Nonviolent resistance
to British colonialism under Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU led
to independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular
state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war
between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming
the separate nation of Bangladesh. Fundamental concerns in India
include the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive
overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and
ethnic and religious strife, all this despite impressive gains in
economic investment and output.
Geography of India
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Location:
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Southern
Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between
Burma and Pakistan |
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Geographic coordinates:
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20 00 N,
77 00 E |
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Area:
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total:
3,287,590 sq km
land: 2,973,190 sq km
water: 314,400 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly
more than one-third the size of the US |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
14,103 km
border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km,
Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912
km |
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Coastline:
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7,000 km |
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Maritime claims:
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contiguous
zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the
continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
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Climate:
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varies
from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north |
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Terrain:
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upland
plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along
the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest
point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m |
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Natural resources:
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coal
(fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese,
mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds,
petroleum, limestone, arable land |
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Land use:
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arable
land: 54.35%
permanent crops: 2.66%
other: 42.99% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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590,000 sq
km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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droughts;
flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding
from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes |
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Environment - current issues:
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deforestation;
soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from
industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution
from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap
water is not potable throughout the country; huge and growing
population is overstraining natural resources |
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Environment - international
agreements:
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party
to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine
Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements |
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Geography - note:
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dominates
South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade
routes |
Population of India
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Population:
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1,049,700,118 (July 2003 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 32.2% (male
173,973,350; female 163,979,116)
15-64 years: 63% (male 342,620,712; female 319,259,867)
65 years and over: 4.8% (male 25,281,756; female
24,585,317) (2003 est.) |
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Median age:
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total: 24.1 years
male: 24.1 years
female: 24.2 years (2002) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.47% (2003 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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23.28 births/1,000 population
(2003 est.) |
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Death rate:
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8.49 deaths/1,000 population
(2003 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-0.07 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2003 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 59.59 deaths/1,000
live births
female: 58.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 60.23 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 63.62
years
male: 62.92 years
female: 64.37 years (2003 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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2.91 children born/woman (2003
est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Indian(s)
adjective: Indian |
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Ethnic groups:
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Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%,
Mongoloid and other 3% (2000) |
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Religions:
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Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%,
Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups including Buddhist,
Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000) |
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Languages:
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English enjoys associate status
but is the most important language for national, political,
and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language
and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other
official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu,
Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese,
Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular
variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India
but is not an official language |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and
over can read and write
total population: 59.5%
male: 70.2%
female: 48.3% (2003 est.) |
Government
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Republic of India
conventional short form: India |
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Government type:
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federal
republic |
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Capital:
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New Delhi |
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Independence:
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15 August
1947 (from UK) |
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National holiday:
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Republic
Day, 26 January (1950) |
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Constitution:
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26 January
1950 |
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Legal system:
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based on
English common law; limited judicial review of legislative
acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme
Court (judges are appointed by the president and remain in
office until they reach the age of 65) |
Economy
India's economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern
agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a
multitude of support services. Overpopulation severely handicaps the
economy and about a quarter of the population is too poor to be able
to afford an adequate diet. Government controls have been reduced on
imports and foreign investment, and privatization of domestic output
has proceeded slowly. The economy has posted an excellent average
growth rate of 6% since 1990, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage
points. India has large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the
English language; India is a major exporter of software services and
software workers. The severe monsoon of mid-2002 has reduced
agricultural output by perhaps 3%. The World Bank and others worry
about the continuing public-sector budget deficit, running at
approximately 10% of GDP in 1997-2002.
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GDP:
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purchasing
power parity - $2.66 trillion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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4.3% (2002
est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing
power parity - $2,540 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
25%
industry: 25%
services: 50% (2002 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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25% (2002
est.) |
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Household income or consumption by
percentage share:
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lowest
10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1997) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini
index:
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37.8
(1997) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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5.4% (2002
est.) |
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Labor force:
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406
million (1999) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture
60%, services 23%, industry 17% (1999) |
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Unemployment rate:
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8.8%
(2002) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$48.3 billion
expenditures: $78.2 billion, including capital
expenditures of $13.5 billion (FY01/02 est.) |
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Industries:
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textiles,
chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment,
cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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6% (2002
est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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533.3
billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil
fuel: 81.7%
hydro: 14.5%
other: 0.4% (2001)
nuclear: 3.4% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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497.2
billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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321
million kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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1.54
billion kWh (2001) |
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Oil - production:
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732,400
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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2.13
million bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - proved reserves:
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4.33
billion bbl (January 2002 est.) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
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542.4
billion cu m (January 2002 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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rice,
wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes;
cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish |
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Exports:
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$44.5
billion f.o.b. (2001) |
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Exports - commodities:
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textile
goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather
manufactures |
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Exports - partners:
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US 20.9%,
UK 5.2%, Germany 4.3%, Japan 4.0%, Benelux 3.3% (2000) |
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Imports:
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$53.8
billion f.o.b. (2001) |
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Imports - commodities:
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crude oil,
machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals |
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Imports - partners:
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UK 6.3%,
US 6.0%, Belgium 5.7%, Japan 3.5%, Germany 3.5% (2000) |
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Debt - external:
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$100.6
billion (2001 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$2.9
billion (FY98) |
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Currency:
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Indian
rupee (INR) |
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