- India’s external debt has remained within manageable limits as indicated by the external debt to GDP ratio of 23.5% and debt service ratio of 5.9% in 2013-14.
- During the Tenth Plan, the contribution of agriculture and allied sectors to the GDP (at 2004- 05 prices) of the country was 19% and it declined to 15.2% during the Eleventh Plan.
- For the year 2013-14, total foodgrain production has been estimated at 265.6 million tonnes.
- Recommendations of the Shanta Kumar Committee provide useful suggestions for the future road-map of food policy. Every effort should be made to bring states on board for creating a national common market for agricultural commodities.
- As per recently released national accounts data, with 2011-12 as the base year, industrial growth was much better in 2012-13 and 2013- 14 at 2.4% and 4.5% respectively than earlier estimated, with 2004-05 as the base year.
- The industrial growth picture as per the IIP suggests that industrial production which had slowed down since 2011-12, reversed the trend in 2014-15.
- While the growth in intermediate goods remained sluggish, consumer goods contracted in April-December 2014-15, particularly due to contraction in the consumer durables sector.
- Growth in infrastructure, based on an index of eight core industries, has improved slightly to 4.4% during April-December 2014-15 as compared to 4.1% in the same period in 2013-14. The performance of coal, electricity, and cement has shown marked improvement, steel and refinery products have grown marginally by 1.6% and 0.2%, while crude oil, gas, and fertilizers have seen negative growth.
- Of the total 246 central infrastructure projects costing Rs 1000 crore and above, 124 are delayed with respect to the latest schedule and 24 have reported additional delays.
- All the other major industrial sectors except mining have witnessed slowdown in the growth of credit in 2014-15 as compared to 2013-14.
- During April-November 2014-15, total FDI inflows (including equity inflows, reinvested earnings, and other capital) were US$ 27.4 billion, while FDI equity inflows were US$ 18.9 billion.
- India’s services sector remains the major driver of economic growth contributing 72.4% of GDP growth in 2014-15. Services-sector growth has increased from 8.0% in 2012- 13 to 9.1% in 2013-14 and further to 10.6% in 2014-15.
- During the last twelve years, with a compound annual growth average (CAGR) of 8.7%, India had the second fastest growing services sector, just below China’s 10.7%.
- In commercial services exports, India had the highest CAGR of 20% during this period. India’s share in global exports of commercial services increased to 3.2% in 2013 from 1.2% in 2000. Its ranking among the leading exporters in 2013 was sixth.
- In 2014, foreign tourist arrivals and foreign exchange earnings increased by 7.1% and 6.6% respectively.
- The gross non-performing advances (NPAs) of scheduled commercial banks (SCB) as a percentage of the total gross advances increased to 4.5% in September 2014 from 4.1% in March 2014.
- To achieve the objective of financial inclusion, the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was launched on 28 August 2014. The Yojana envisages universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for every household.
- The year 2014-15 saw other reform initiatives in the banking and insurance sector, which include allowing banks to raise capital from the market to meet capital adequacy norms by diluting the government’s stake up to 52% and notifying of an ordinance to enhance the foreign equity cap in the insurance sector.
- India is projected to be the youngest nation in the world by 2020. India’s total fertility rate (TFR) has been steadily declining and is currently at 2.3 although state-wise disparities exist. As per Sample Registration System (SRS) data for 2013, there has been a gradual decline in the share of population in the age group 0-14 from 41.2 to 38.1% during 1971 to 1981 and from 36.3 to 28.4 percent during 1991 to 2013, whereas the economically active population (15-59 years) has increased from 53.4 to 56.3% during 1971 to 1981 and from 57.7 to 63.3% during 1991 to 2013.
- Of concern is the secular decline in the child sex ratio (CSR). A new scheme, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, for promoting survival, protection, and education of the girl child was launched in January 2015. It aims to address the declining CSR through a mass campaign targeted at changing social mindset and creating greater awareness.
- In 2020 the average age of India’s population at around 29 years is expected to be among the lowest in the world. Consequently, while the global economy is expected to witness a shortage of young population of around 56 million by 2020, India will be the only country with a youth surplus of 47 million.
- While only 73% literacy has been achieved (Census 2011), there is marked improvement in female literacy. Male literacy at 80.9% is still higher than female literacy at 64.6% but the latter increased by 10.9 percentage points compared to the 5.6 percentage points for the former. Total enrolment in primary schools has declined in 2013- 14 while upper primary enrolment has grown.
- As per the Labour Bureau Report 2014, the current size of India’s formally skilled workforce is small, approximately 2%; this number compares poorly with smaller countries like South Korea and Japan which report figures of 96 and 80% respectively. At all-India level, around 6.8% of persons aged 15 years and above are reported to have received/are receiving vocational training.
- As per the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), for the period between 2013 and 2022 there is an incremental requirement of 120 million skilled persons in the non-farm sector. A dedicated Department of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has been created for focused attention to skill development.
