Indian Economy

The Indian economy is the fourth largest economy of the world on the basis of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). It is one of the most attractive destinations for business and investment opportunities due to huge manpower base, diversified natural resources and strong macro-economic fundamentals. Also, the process of economic reforms initiated since 1991 has been providing an investor-friendly environment through a liberalised policy framework spanning the whole economy.

The growth and performance of the Indian economy in the world market is explained in terms of statistical information provided by the various economic parameters. For example, Gross National Product (GNP), Gross Domestic product (GDP), Net National Product (NNP), per capita income, Gross Domestic Capital Formation (GDCF), etc. are the various indicators relating to the national income sector of the economy. They provide a wide view of the economy including its productive power for satisfaction of human wants.

In the industrial sector, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is a single representative figure to measure the general level of industrial activity in the economy. It measures the absolute level and percentage growth of industrial production.

The four main monetary aggregates of measures of money supply which reflect the state of the monetary sector are:- (i) M1 (Narrow money)= Currency with the public + demand deposits of the public; (ii) M2= M1 + Post Office Savings deposits; (iii) M3 (Broad money)= M1 + time deposits of the public with banks; and (iv) M4= M3 + Total post office deposits.

Price movement in the country is reflected by the wholesale price index (WPI) and the consumer price index (CPI). WPI is used to measure the change in the average price level of goods traded in the wholesale market, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) captures the retail price movement for different sections of consumers. There are at present four consumer price indices covering different socio-economic groups in the economy. These four indices are Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW); Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL); Consumer Price Index for Rural Labourers (CPI -RL) and Consumer Price Index for Urban Non-Manual Employees (CPI-UNME).

All such economic indicators not only measure/analyse the present performance of an economy but also help in predicting and forecasting its future growth prospects.