DOES INDIA HAS THE CAPACITY TO LEAD THE

WORLD???!!

WRITTEN AND EDITED BY:-

NANDEESH LAXETTY

IX C

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF INDIA

India is one of world’s fastest growing economies. Apart from China, no other country has as high an economic growth rate as India. This country offers several economic advantages to its nationals as well as foreign investors. India’s economic boom has been made possible mainly through its information technology and outsourcing business. India’s rise as an Asian economic powerhouse has been quite remarkable. Economic conditions in India are now favorable for a wider cross section of people. India GDP (purchasing power parity) stood at around $2965 billion, as per CIA’s 2007 estimates, of which services accounted for maximum percentage, followed by industry and agriculture. As per CIA estimates, total Indian exports totaled $140.8 billion and total imports totaled about $224 billion.With economic liberalization of India in 1990s, this nation began to generate a lot of interest among foreign investors. A rapidly developing economy coupled with national government’s favorable attitude towards foreign investors , have generated a lot of revenue for India foreign direct investments.

NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS IN INDIA

• Nuclear power is the fourth-largest source of electricity in India after thermal, hydro and renewable sources of electricity. As of 2010, India has 19 nuclear power plants in operation generating 4,560 MW while 4 other are under construction and are expected to generate an additional 2,720 MW. India is also involved in the development of fusion reactors through its participation in the ITER project.

• Since early 1990s, Russia has been a major source of nuclear fuel to India Due to dwindling domestic uranium reserves, electricity generation from nuclear power in India declined by 12.83% from 2006 to 2008.Following a waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group in September 2008 which allowed it to commence international nuclear trade, India has signed nuclear deals with several other countries including France, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Namibia, Mongolia, Argentina, Kazakhstan. In February 2009, India also signed a US$700 million deal with Russia for the supply of 2000 tons nuclear fuel.

• India now envisages to increase the contribution of nuclear power to overall electricity generation capacity from 4.2% to 9% within 25 years. In 2010, India's installed nuclear power generation capacity will increase to 6,000 MW. As of 2009, India stands 9th in the world in terms of number of operational nuclear power reactors and is constructing 9 more, including two EPRs being constructed by France's Arena. Indigenous atomic reactors include TAPS-3, and -4, both of which are 540 MW reactors. India's US$717 million fast breeder reactor project is expected to be operational by 2010.

INDIAN ARMED FORCES• The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of

India encompassing the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, the Indian Air Force and various other inter-service institutions.

• The Indian military currently employs some 1,325,000 Regular troops, 1,155,000 Reserve troops and 1,293,300 Paramilitary troops (total of 3,773,300 troops), thus giving India the third-largest standing military in the world as of 2006 after the People's Republic of China. Auxiliary services include the Indian Coast Guard, the Central Paramilitary Forces (CPF) and the Strategic Forces Command. India's official defense budget stands at US$32 billion but the actual spending on the armed forces is estimated to be much higher than that Undergoing rapid expansion and modernization the Indian Armed Forces plans to have an active military space program and is currently developing a missile defense shield and nuclear triad capability. The Armed Forces of India possess nuclear weapons and operate short and intermediate-range ballistic missiles as well as nuclear-capable aircraft, and naval vessels.

• India is moving to build a  9,970.16 crore (US$2.2 billion) dedicated, highly secure and state-of-the-art optical fiber cable (OFC) network for the Army, Navy and Air Force. This will be one of the world's largest, closed user group (CUG) networks for exclusive use by the million-plus personnel of the Indian armed forces.

EDUCATION IN INDIA• Education in India is mainly provided by the public sector, with control and funding coming from

three levels: federal, state, and local. Child education is compulsory. The Nalanda University was the oldest university-system of education in the world. Western education became ingrained into Indian society with the establishment of the British Raj. Education in India falls under the control of both the Union Government and the states, with some responsibilities lying with the Union and the states having autonomy for others. The various articles of the Indian Constitution provide for education as a fundamental right. Most universities in India are Union or State Government controlled.

• India has made a huge progress in terms of increasing primary education attendance rate and expanding literacy to approximately two thirds of the population. India's improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to the economic rise of India Much of the progress in education has been credited to various private institutions. The private education market in India is estimated to be worth $40 billion in 2008 and will increase to $68 billion by 2012 However, India continues to face stern challenges. Despite growing investment in education, 35% of its population is still illiterate; only 15% of Indian students reach high school, and just 7% graduate. As of 2008, India's post-secondary high schools offer only enough seats for 7% of India's college-age population, 25% of teaching positions nationwide are vacant, and 57% of college professors lack either a master's or PhD degree As of 2007, there are 1522 degree-granting engineering colleges in India with an annual student intake of 582,000 plus 1,244 polytechnics with an annual intake of 265,000. However, these institutions face shortage of faculty and concerns have been raised over the quality of education

PROBLEMS FACING INDIA TODAY:-OVERPOPULATION, ILLITERACY, CORRUPTION

India is one of the most poorest countries in the world. A new multidimensional poverty Index shows that India is far poorer than Africa in both intensity and in number. The Multidimensional Poverty Index developed by Oxford University (which will appear in the upcoming UNDP human development report) shows that India is far poorer than Africa not just in number but also in intensity. The new poverty measure shows that 8 states in India have more poor people than 26 poorest African countries combined. The Multidimensional poverty index views poverty from several different angles instead of just GDP figures. India like any other developing country is crippled by so many problems. For example, India's population growth rate is increasing by the day putting pressure on the limited resources and leaving many Indians in absolute poverty. India is very poor in terms of education, in terms of economic improvement, infrastructure, heath care, etc. Here are some of the problems facing India today.

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