Asian Time Zone

FARMING AND FISHING

According to Campingship, livestock farming is a very old activity in India, but it makes very limited contributions to the national income. More than the actual scarcity of pastures (permanent meadows and pastures are equal to 2.6% of the territorial surface) it is the deep-rooted religious beliefs that have a decisive influence on the development of the sector, which in fact always remained on the edge of Indian economic life and characterized from elements of extreme archaicity. The religious norm that prohibits Hindus from consuming beef (the cow is a sacred animal, which is forbidden to kill and of which only milk and its derivatives are consumed) means that these animals, instead of constituting a resource like their huge number could lead to suppose (185 million cattle in 2005, plus 98 million buffaloes, a clear world record), represent a further reason for the impoverishment of rural populations. Although with great difficulty, the government is implementing a policy of improving the races, with a view to abolishing the traditional rule. On the other hand, in the vicinity of large cities, such as Calcutta, Bombay, Delhi and Chennai, there are now some modern herds of cattle destined for slaughter. Buffaloes, used for agricultural work and particularly numerous in West Bengal, the Ganges plain and coastal regions. In north-western India, more arid, goats and sheep are raised; there are few pigs, while poultry are particularly numerous. Sericulture is traditional and still widespread in several states, including iKarnataka and Jammu and Kashmir. Fishing is also not adequately exploited; the activity is carried out mostly on an artisanal level, both in inland and coastal waters, despite India being among the third largest fish producer in the world after China and Peru (the eighth for sea fish, crustaceans and molluscs) and despite the fact that there are modern centers organized also for commercial purposes such as Koilon.

TRADE

The services sector, in particular those linked to the information technology sector, represents the driving force of Indian economic growth and contributes 54.1% to the formation of the GDP. Alongside the most modern services, traditional activities retain considerable importance, including commercial activities: in such a vast territory, and above all with resources so different from area to area, internal trade is, in fact, very developed and tends to strengthen gradually. that consumption is diversifying, despite the delays in establishing a true national market. The state balance saw between 2005 and 2006 expenditure of 1,511,437 ml prevail over revenues; also in 2006, the debt contracted with foreign countries amounted to US $ 136,516 million. Given these deficient values, the the country’s economy draws considerable sustenance from aid provided by foreign countries. Main partner commercial (2006) include the USA, China, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union (Germany and the United Kingdom); in exports the USA, the Arab Emirates, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and, in the European Union, again the United Kingdom and Germany; a considerable share of exports is also directed to developing countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea. India mainly imports oil and petroleum products, machinery and means of transport, plastics, synthetic fibers and chemicals in general, cereals and foodstuffs (in years of bad harvests), while it exports mainly precious materials, oil, chemicals, metal ores, electronic equipment, vehicles, cotton, tea, coffee, sugar, vegetable oils and other foodstuffs; India has considerably expanded the range of exported products, among which the role of manufactured goods is now preponderant (70%), while in the 1950s tea and textile raw materials prevailed.

COMMUNICATION ROUTES AND TOURISM

Indian communications are mainly based on railways, whose network was largely built, on the route of the ancient Moghūl imperial roads, by the English in the century. XIX, as the only means to connect the different parts of the vast colonial domain: of the 63,465 km of overall development of the current railway network (the fourth in the world and the first in Asia), 54,000 constitute a British “legacy”. The main railway junctions are: Delhi, where the network of the Gangetic plain is connected with that of the Indus and Rajasthan plain; Kanpur, where the gangetic network joins up with that of the Central Highlands which, on the opposite side, gravitate towards Bombay; Calcutta, a hub of convergence of the gangetic network and of the whole of eastern India. It is therefore a route that is mainly at the service of large port centers, it is no coincidence that they developed as authentic metropolises and industrial areas. Major ports are Calcutta, Bombay, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, Cochin, Marmagao, Paradip, Mangalore, Tuticorin, Kandla and Haldia. Alongside these main maritime outlets, on the Indian coasts there are many other port centers at the service of small coastal navigation, which is still widely practiced today. Similarly, in inland traffic, fluvial navigation retains its importance, which can count on a navigable network of over 16,180 km consisting of both the major rivers, such as the Ganges and Brahmaputra with their tributaries, and numerous canals. Long neglected, the Indian merchant fleet begins to have a certain international weight: with almost 8 million tons of gross tonnage it is now the fourth largest in Asia. The road network has also had significant impulses, which can count on over 2 million km of roads, half of which are paved with macadam. or asphalt; often these are narrow and not very efficient roads, but on the whole they appear to be quite adequate for the traffic they have to endure, not very intense except in urban areas. However, a 56,000 km motorway network (called the “Golden Quadrilateral”) is under construction to connect Delhi, Calcutta, Mandras and Bombay. All the main centers are now served by good air services, which have taken on an increasingly important role; the Indian Airlines company ensures internal flights and those with neighboring countries (Nepal, Bangladesh etc.), while Air India carries out direct services with about forty states in every part of the world. The major airports, all international, are those of Bombay (Santa Cruz), Calcutta (Dum Dum), Delhi (Palam) and Chennai (Meenambakkam) and Trivandrum. As for telecommunications, in 2005 there were 3.8% of the world total of mobile telephone contracts and over 50 million Internet users (4.7% of the world total), almost a third of those in China or America.. The telephony sector is growing strongly thanks to the recent opening to private individuals and foreign investments. § Tourism, while still playing a limited role due to the serious shortcomings in hotel facilities and services, still registers over 2,000,000 annual admissions and is growing sharply.