India's economy is on the fulcrum of an ever increasing growth curve. With positive indicators such as a stable 8-9 per cent annual growth, rising foreign exchange reserves of close to US$ 180 billion, a booming capital market with the popular "Sensex" index topping the majestic 14,000 mark, the Government estimated FDI flow of US$ 12 billion in this fiscal and a more than 35 per cent surge in exports, it is easy to understand why India is a leading destination for foreign investment.
- * The economy has grown by 8.9 per cent for the April-July quarter of '06-07, the highest first-quarter growth rate since '00-01.
* The growth rate has been spurred by the manufacturing sector, which has logged an 11.3 per cent rise in Q1 '06-07, according to the GDP data released by the Central Statistical Organisation. It was 10.7 per cent in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. The GDP numbers come just weeks after the monthly IIP growth figures touched 12.4 per cent.
* Agriculture, which accounts for nearly a quarter of the GDP, has also grown by a healthy 3.4 per cent, unchanged from the corresponding period of last fiscal.
* Other propellers of GDP growth for the first quarter this fiscal have been the trade, hotels, transport and communications sector which grew by 9.5 per cent and construction, which grew by 13.2 per cent. In the corresponding period of last fiscal, these sectors had grown by 11.7 per cent and 12.4 per cent, respectively.
* Electricity also grew by 5.4 per cent this first quarter as opposed to 7.4 per cent in the same period last year. The overall growth in this sector was fuelled by growth in July and August. The services sector also grew by 10.6 per cent in the first quarter of '06-07. It was only 9.8 per cent last year in the same period.
* There has been exceptional growth rate in some specific industries, like commercial vehicles at 36 per cent, telephone connections, at 48.9 per cent and passenger growth in civil aviation by 32.2 per cent.
Some highlights:
* India has more billionaires than China. This year there were 15 billionaires in China but last year in India, there were 20 billionaires, according to the Forbes magazine.
- * India has emerged as the world's fastest growing wealth creator, thanks to a buoyant stock market and higher earnings.
* A number of Indian companies surpassed last year's net profit in just six months of the current fiscal, reflecting an accelerated growth in corporate earnings.
* Forty-four per cent of Top 100 Fortune 500 companies are present in India.
With its manufacturing and services sector on a searing growth path, India’s economy may soon touch the coveted 10 per cent growth figure.