Population
India possesses the fastest growing population in the world, expanding at the rate of 16 million per year. India already is pressing China for the No. 1 spot and is due to pass its fellow Asian giant within the next generation, on its way to 1.5 million people.
This mega-nation's per-capita income is destined to eventually sextuple the per-capita income of its giant neighbor because of its much greater drive toward modern technology.
India's middle class numbers 330 million and is fast growing. Their newly earned money is spent on retail sales growth, averaging 13 percent or more for the next several years.
Infrastructure
The government's investment in the country's infrastructure is skyrocketing, rising 9.9 percent in 2007. Automotive sales are accelerating at a 17 percent growth rate; airline passenger traffic is expected to more than triple over the next five years from 14 million to about 50 million people per year.
India's government already has issued plans on spending $90 billion on industrial-related projects over the next three years.
This will include:
High-speed rail freight lines.
Power plants to supply an additional 4000 megawatts.
Three new seaports.
Six new airports.
12 new industrial clusters.
Over the next four years, by 2012, the Indian government plans on spending a total of $500 billion to build out and improve India's infrastructure.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing accounts for almost 30 percent of India's economy. India has lately become a world leader in the technology service industry. It now handles the outsourcing for hundreds of U.S.-based computer hardware and software manufacturers and telecoms.
- Natural resources
- Investment
- Corporate earnings
By Sumit Kumar, Section Indian Economy
Posted on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 03:08:45 AM EST
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Corporate earnings
Corporate earnings in India are growing at an astounding 35 percent annual rate. The 30 largest companies of that most populous nation have increased their earnings at 35 percent in this year's first quarter. It's far surpassed projected revenues by 20 percent.
Of 800 publicly-traded companies, average earnings growth has reached 17 percent.
Three companies have doubled their earnings over last year - Ambuja Cement and telecom giants Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications.
Such world-class giants as Tata Steel and pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy Labs also have experienced major earnings growth, with 12 percent and 19 percent growth, respectively.
Tata Motors is expected to put thousands of cars on India's growing network of highways late this year. It's expected that millions of Indians will eventually own these incredibly cheap cars ($2,500 each).
Investment
Private equity investors are now putting more money into India than in China. Nearly $20 billion in private equity poured into India in 2007, a 156 percent jump over 2006, and 34 percent greater then invested in China in 2007. Infrastructure investments account for the lion's share of the private equity flows into India, followed by telecom, banking and financial services, and real estate.
Natural resources
To cap such a long list of advantages is India's quest for an increasing search for oil sources all over the world. Its steel industry expects growth of about 8 percent a year as demand nearly doubles from the current level of 36 million tons of steel per year to 65 million tons by 2012. This demands a huge consumption of iron ore.
India's copper consumption stands about 2.5 percent of the world consumption, still less than China's per capita consumption. With the stupendous growth that lies ahead, this subcontinent will be relying on an increasing amount of the world's dwindling supply of global natural resources.
Source: Morris R. Beschloss * Special to The Desert Sun * July 3, 2008, Exploring India's booming economy
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