Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh, located in south India, is the fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. The gross state domestic product (GSDP) for 2007-08, at constant prices stood at US$ 42 billion, while the per capita net state domestic product (NSDP) for 2007-08 at current price was US$ 700. The state is looking at an annual economic growth rate of 9 per cent during the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012).

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in the state between April 2000 and July 2009 were close to US$ 4 billion. The state provides a conducive environment for the growth of knowledge-based industries. The state is a leading IT and biotech hub.

State Presentation (September 2009)
Click here to download

Download here

Indian Agricuture

Updated: September 2009

Agriculture is one of the strongholds of the Indian economy and it accounts for 18.5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP).



The average growth rate of agriculture and allied sectors during the last two years i.e., 2006–07 and 2007–08 has been more than 4 per cent as compared to the average annual growth of 2.5 per cent during the 10th Five-Year Plan.

The current revival in agriculture sector has been possible mainly due to a number of initiatives taken in the recent years. While public sector investment in the farm sector has grown from 1.8 per cent of sectoral gross domestic product (GDP) in 2000–01 to 3.5 per cent in 2006–07, private sector investment has increased from 8.9 per cent in 2003–04 to 9.9 per cent in 2006–07.

According to a Rabobank report the agri-biotech sector in India has been growing at a whopping 30 per cent since the last five years, and it is likely to sustain the growth in the future as well. The report further states that agricultural biotech in India has immense potential and India can become a major grower of transgenic rice and several genetically engineered vegetables by 2010.

The food processing sector, which contributes 9 per cent to the GDP, is presently growing at 13.5 per cent against 6.5 per cent in 2003–04, and is going to be an important driver of the Indian economy.

Production

India has become the world's largest producer across a range of commodities due to its favourable agro-climatic conditions and rich natural resource base.

India is the largest producer of coconuts, mangoes, bananas, milk and dairy products, cashew nuts, pulses, ginger, turmeric and black pepper. It is also the second largest producer of rice, wheat, sugar, cotton, fruits and vegetables.

According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), crop production is expected to rise by 1.7 per cent during FY 10. Foodgrain production is expected to increase by 1.1 per cent. Of this, wheat production is projected to remain at the same level of 80-million tonnes as estimated for FY 09. Rice production is projected to increase by 1.1 per cent to 98.8-million tonnes. Production of coarse cereals and pulses is also expected to rise in FY 10.

Cotton production in India, the world’s second-largest producer, may rise 10 per cent to about 32 million bales (one bale is equal to 170 kg) in the 2009-10 season (October-September) on high support price and more sowing of high-yielding Bt seeds.

India’s coffee output is pegged at 3.1 lakh tonne in 2009-2010, 4.4 per cent higher compared to 2008-09, according to the post-blossom estimates released by the Coffee Board.

Exports
According to the government's agri-trade promotion body, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), India's exports of agricultural and processed food products posted a 38 per cent increase in the 2007–08 fiscal, bolstered by an increase in shipments of coarse cereals like maize, jowar and barley. According to official data, India exported about 17.5 million tonnes of agricultural and processed foods worth about US$ 6.39 billion in FY 2007–08 against 10.9 million tonnes valued at about US$ 4.37 billion in the previous year.

Though the global recession is still lingering on, India’s agri-export turnover is expected to double in the next 5 years, according to APEDA. Agri-export turnover is set to rise from US$ 9 billion to nearly US$ 18 billion by 2014.

Despite recession, the country’s agri-exports have registered a 25 per cent growth in 2008-09.

At present, around 70 per cent of the country’s agricultural and processed food exports are to developing countries in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America.

Investments

India is expected to spend around US$ 14.05 million for the development of organic spices by 2012, particularly on turmeric, chilli, and ginger.
Tata Chemicals has firmed up plans to set up a manufacturing plant for customised fertilisers at Babrala in Uttar Pradesh. The company will invest close to US$ 10.02 million in this facility having a production capacity of 20 tonne per hour.
The National Cooperative Developement Corporation (NCDC), a statutory corporation under Union Ministry of Agriculture, is to take up programmes worth US$ 684.81 million during the year 2009-10. For the 11th Plan Period, a programme with an outlay of US$ 4.07 billion has been chalked out by NCDC for various cooperative development programmes in the country.
Makhteshim-Agan, an Israel-based farm technology company, is planning to invest US$ 91.96 million in the coming years, generating direct and indirect employment to 2,000 people.
Government Initiatives

Some of the recent initiatives taken by the government to accelerate growth include:

The one-time bank loan waiver of nearly US$ 14.6 billion to cover an estimated 40 million farmers was one of the major highlights of the last Budget. Under the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme (2008), farmers having more than two hectares of land were given time upto June 30, 2009 to pay 75 per cent of their overdues. In the 2009-10 budget, the time frame has been extended by six months upto December 31, 2009.
The government has already approved 60 Agricultural Export Zones (AEZs).
The Government will provide an additional US$ 6.17 billion for new farm initiatives launched by states to double the growth rate in agriculture to 4 per cent over the 11th Plan period.
The National Food Security Mission was launched in 2007, with an outlay of US$ 979.51 million over the 11th Plan (2007–2012). It aims at enhancing the production of rice, wheat and pulses by 10 million tonnes, 8 million tonnes and 2 million tonnes, respectively by the end of the 11th Plan.
The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana was also launched in 2007. Under this the States are being provided with US$ 5.01 billion over the 11th Plan period for investment in various projects based on local requirements.
Services related to agro and allied sectors have been thrown open to 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) through the automatic route.
Cabinet has approved 2 per cent interest subsidy on bank loans taken by farmers. The subsidy would cost the exchequer about US$ 826 million in the fiscal year 2009-10.
Road ahead

Agriculture is set to play a more dynamic role in the economy, with the government's increased focus on the sector.

In the 2009–10 budget, the government has taken many steps to aid the growth of the sector and focus on the achievement of self-sufficiency in food grains. Agriculture credit is likely to touch US$ 67.14 billion for the year 2009-10. In 2008-09 agriculture credit flow was at US$ 59.3 billion.

World Bank's Country Strategy for India 2009 - 2012

The World Bank’s Country Strategy (CAS) for India for 2009-2012 focuses on helping
the country to fast-track the development of much-needed infrastructure and to support the seven poorest states achieve higher standards of living for their people. The strategy envisages a total proposed lending program of US$14 billion, for the next three years, of which US$9.6 billion is from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and US$4.4 billion (SDR 2.982 billion equivalent at the current exchange rate) from the International Development Association (IDA).

The strategy is closely aligned with the Government of India’s own development priorities expressed in the Eleventh Five Year Plan. It was arrived at after a series of consultations with a broad range of stakeholders including the government and civil society. Under the strategy, the Bank will use lending, dialogue, analytical work, engagement with the private sector, and capacity building to help India achieve its goals.

Maintaining rapid and inclusive growth

Infrastructure: For India's rapid and sustained growth, major investments in power, transport, water, and urban development are needed. Inadequate power supply remains a critical constraint to growth; while GDP grew at an average of about 8% a year over the past five years, electricity generation only grew at an average of 4.9% per year. The national and state highway networks have not kept pace with the tremendous growth in demand for road transport: only about 30% of state highways are two-lane and more than 50% are in poor condition. Inadequate urban infrastructure is hampering the expansion of growth centers. While the Eleventh Plan foresees a major role for private sector involvement in infrastructure development through PPPs, these may not materialize to the extent hoped for in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. The Government of India has requested the World Bank to specially focus on infrastructure investment in its new strategy, including on strengthening the capacity of government agencies to design and manage public-private partnerships(PPPs).

Skills: The shortage of skills is preventing large segments of the population from being part of India's growth story. Nearly 44% of India’s labor force is illiterate, only 17% of it has secondary schooling, and enrollment in higher education is just 11%. This compares unfavorably with, for example, China, where access to secondary education is almost universal and enrollment in higher education exceeds 20%. Moreover, the quality of most Indian graduates is poor and employers offer very little skills upgrading (16% of Indian manufacturers offer in-service training to their employees, compared to over 90% of Chinese firms). The informal sector employs over 90% of the workforce, but there is very little investment or opportunity for formal `skilling’ for informal workers and enterprises.

Agricultural Growth: Low agricultural productivity is keeping some 60 percent of India’s population behind. Shortages of basic rural infrastructure - from roads to electrification - are hindering the growth of off-farm activities. No doubt, agricultural growth has been faster over the past five years (4.7% per year)- facilitated by very good monsoons, greater production of high-value fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, an increase in the minimum support price for grains, and the sudden increase in global prices for agricultural products. But, sustaining this level of performance over the longer term will be difficult without addressing several policy and structural constraints, including a myriad of restrictions, subsidies, support prices, sector governance issues, as well as the tiny size of landholdings and years of underinvestment. The Indian Government has asked the World Bank to place special emphasis on agricultural development in its new strategy.

Making development sustainable
Most environmental indicators suggest that growth is extracting an increasing toll on the country's natural resources - water, land, forests, soils and biodiversity - and leaving a larger pollution footprint. India is highly vulnerable to climate change; cyclones, floods and droughts are happening with increasing frequency, and the Himalayan glaciers that feed India’s largest rivers show clear signs of retreat. Indeed, climate change will impact India first and foremost through its water resources. Rising temperatures will also affect agricultural yields, forests, and marine and coastal biodiversity. India will need to better manage these resources (particularly water) and reduce the burden that environmental degradation is imposing on the population, particularly on the most vulnerable groups.

Increasing the effectiveness of service delivery
While much progress has been made on primary school enrollment, improvements have been elusive in other sectors, particularly health. Although deaths from TB have fallen and polio cases have reduced dramatically in 2008, child malnutrition levels are worse than in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite large expenditures. No Indian city provides water 24/7, only half the population has access to safe drinking water, and less than a third has access to sanitation. Public services fall short largely because they have little or no accountability to the ultimate client, and outdated management systems are unable to provide the information needed for decision-making. These issues are particularly acute in centrally sponsored schemes which are designed and funded by the central government but implemented by the states and lower echelons of government. Given the importance of these schemes, systemic improvements in design and governance are crucial to get results from public spending. The Government of India has requested the World Bank to place special emphasis in its new strategy on centrally sponsored schemes that aim to achieve the MDGs. The Bank will focus on increasing accountability to citizens, decentralizing responsibilities, and enhancing private sector participation in the delivery of these services.

Strategies for states
Given India’s enormous size and diversity, the Bank will adopt different strategies for states depending on their needs, stages of development, and capacity for project implementation. Special strategies will also be adopted for the Northeastern and Himalayan states.

Low-income states
The new strategy devotes more resources to engaging with India’s seven low-income states - Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh - which are home to more than half of India’s population. Here, the Bank will focus on poverty reduction and on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Intensive technical assistance will be provided to help these states develop their administrative capacity. Bank lending to these states will primarily be in the form of low-interest IDA credits as well as technical and advisory services.

Middle-income states
India's richest states already have incomes comparable to lower middle income countries, with incomes being some five times higher than those in the poorest states. This gap is higher than most other democratic societies.In these states, the Bank will provide support on two fronts: fighting poverty in their lagging regions, and addressing the complex challenges emerging from rapid growth. States such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Gujarat, and Maharashtra will be helped to forge the institutions needed in a middle income economy. Cutting-edge analytical work and the best international expertise will be brought to bear upon complex problems where there are yet no clear solutions. Lending to these states will be in the form of competitively priced IBRD loans, with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – the Bank’s private sector arm – providing support for private sector clients.

Engaging the Center
The World Bank will continue to assist the central government by providing comprehensive analytical work to underpin policy and institutional reform and to improve the implementation of central government projects on the ground. Under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) for example, while schools are now more accessible and gender parity has been reached, the focus will now be on improving the quality of education provided. In the power sector, the Bank will continue to support Powergrid, India’s national electricity transmission agency, which it has helped to grow into a world-class institution.

Key Studies
The World Bank will also support some key multi-year, cross-sectoral studies on important issues confronting policymakers, including poverty and exclusion, skills and job creation, low-carbon growth, the challenges of rapid urbanization, and the management and development of water resources.

Public Private Partnerships
The World Bank and IFC are collaborating to bring India cutting-edge expertise to deal with emerging issues in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), tailored to India’s needs. While this work has so far been the strongest in infrastructure - power transmission, roads, irrigation and rural infrastructure, urban development - it will now be extended to agribusiness, health and education, and renewable energy. The Bank and IFC are also working together on long-term finance: through the proposed India Infrastructure Finance Co. Ltd. Project (IIFCL).

India's key issues

1. Making Growth More Inclusive

Faster economic growth has seen rising disparities between urban and rural areas, prosperous and lagging states, and skilled and low-skilled workers. India’s richest states now have incomes that are five times higher than those of the poorest states – a gap that is higher than in most other democratic countries. The challenge will now be to ensure that pockets of poverty do not increase in this downturn.

Small and medium enterprises (SME): Small and medium enterprises are essential for dynamic economic growth and job creation. The sector has, however, been hit hard by the current downturn with credit growth slowing and demand falling in both domestic and export markets. As access to finance for this sector is key, the World Bank has, in September 2009, agreed to extend budgetary support of $2 million to the Government of India to help public sector banks expand credit for SME, as well as for the development of infrastructure and the rural economy. Moreover, in June 2009, the World Bank provided additional financing of $400 million to the Small Industries Development Corporation of India (SIDBI) to assist India's SME sector through the financial crisis.

Agricultural and rural development: Some two-thirds of India’s people depend on rural employment for a living. While the agriculture sector grew at only about 2.5% a year for a number of years, in recent years growth has touched 4.7% a year, facilitated by good monsoons, greater production of high-value crops, an increase in the minimum support prices for grains, and the rise in global prices for agricultural products. Going forward, it will be essential for Indiato build a productive, competitive, and diversified agricultural sector and facilitate rural, non-farm entrepreneurship. Encouraging policies that promote competition in agricultural marketing will ensure that farmers receive better prices.

• Raising agricultural productivity: In a number of states, the World Bank is improving soil and water conservation on degraded lands, rehabilitating and modernizing surface irrigation systems (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh), reviving traditional rain water harvesting systems, and assisting farmers to diversify crops and reclaim saline lands. The Bank is also working to raise agricultural productivity by linking public research organizations and farmers to promote the use of agricultural innovations.
.
• Improving rural livelihoods: Rural livelihoods projects support the empowerment of the rural poor and the development of their livelihoods. Projects are ongoing in a number of states including Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, and Tamil Nadu, with new projects commencing in Orissa, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
.
• Rural water supply and sanitation: The Bank is also working to improve the quality of life in the rural areas by improving water supply and sanitation. Since 1991, World Bank support has helped India first pilot and then scale up a rural water supply and sanitation services (RWSS) reform program. Bank support to three states (Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh) has been followed by support to Kerala, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Andhra Pradesh, and further support to Karnataka and Maharashtra. In all, the Bank will soon have provided over $1 billion in support to the sector, benefiting 20 million rural people so far.

Informal Sector Jobs: While the services sector has been offering promising job opportunities for skilled workers, some 90% of India’s labor force remains trapped in low-productivity jobs in the informal sector. India’s labor regulations - among the most restrictive and complex in the world - have constrained the growth of the formal manufacturing sector, where these laws have their widest application. Better-designed labor regulations can attract more labor-intensive investment and create jobs for India’s unemployed millions and those trapped in poor quality jobs.

Given the country’s current downturn, the window of opportunity must not be lost for improving the job prospects for the 80 million new entrants who are expected to join the work force over the next decade. The challenge will be to build enough safety nets for those losing their jobs in the informal sector, especially in urban and peri-urban areas hardest hit by the slowdown, while creating the space for the enhancement of skills.

Lagging States: While India’s higher-income states have successfully reduced poverty to levels comparable with the richer Latin American countries, its seven poorest states - Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh - are lagging behind their more prosperous counterparts and remain home to more than half of India’s poor. It will be essential to ensure that states, especially those with the least resources, are able to continue improving social services during the downturn. Lagging states will also need to attract more jobs by becoming an attractive investment destination. Reforming cumbersome regulatory procedures, improving rural connectivity, establishing law and order, creating a stable platform for natural resource investment that balances business interests with social concerns, and providing rural finance are important. Reforms have started in virtually all states, and in many of these the Bank is an active partner. The World Bank’s Development Policy Lending (DPL) – to Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa and more recently to Bihar, and Himachal Pradesh – are helping states to implement reforms and spreading the lessons of success.

2. Improving Infrastructure

Infrastructure: India’s rapidly growing economy has been placing huge demands on power supply, roads, railways, ports and transportation systems. But, infrastructure bottlenecks have been eroding the country’s competitiveness. Increases in power generation during the Tenth Plan period fell short of target; when the economy was growing at a rapid 8% a year, power supply grew at only 4%. And, although the national highway network doubled in size between 1997 and 2007 – almost 35,000 kms were added during this period – soaring demand has far outstripped supply. Urban infrastructure is a severe constraint to the expansion of key centers of growth, while weaknesses in basic rural infrastructure—from roads to electrification—have constrained the growth of the rural economy.

To help India continue to expand its critical infrastructure, the World Bank has, in September 2009, agreed to extend $1.195 billion to the India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) to help finance private-public partnerships in infrastructure, especially in the roads, power and ports sectors.

Power: In the past, World Bank support has helped India build its largest hydropower plant at Nathpa Jhakri in Himachal Pradesh. The Bank is now helping the country augment the supply of hydropower. Support for the 412 MW run-of-the-river Rampur Hydropower plant on the Satluj river in Himachal Pradesh is ongoing. Two other hydropower projects are in the pipeline; a 444 MW project on the Alakananda river in Chamoli district in Uttarakhand, and the other at Luhri, further downstream from Rampur in Himachal Pradesh. The Bank is also supporting the efficient transmission and distribution of power to consumers. It has helped Powergrid, the national power transmission agency, to emerge as a world class agency. In September 2009, the World Bank extended a loan of $1 billion to Powergrid to strengthen and expand five transmission systems in the northern, western and southern regions of the country. At the state level, improvements in transmission and distribution are being supported in Haryana and Maharashtra.


Transport: In the transport sector, the World Bank has supported Andhra Pradesh to upgrade its state highways. It is now helping to upgrade rail and road connectivity in Mumbai; improve state highways in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh; construct a section of the Golden Quadrilateral in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar; and upgrade rural roads in select districts of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.


Urban Development: India’s frenetically growing cities and towns face major challenges in creating adequate infrastructure including in the transportation, communications, solid waste, water, and power sectors. The World Bank is helping streamline urban transport in Mumbai and improve the delivery of urban civic services in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It has recently supported a successful pilot to provide continuous, reliable water supply in three urban areas in Karnataka. Nevertheless, if economic growth is not to be constrained, it will be essential for India to make faster progress in urban development by investing in public goods and services, including through the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

3. Addressing Issues for Longer-Term Sustainability

High levels of population density and poverty, stressed ecological systems, and a substantial dependence on natural resources have made much of India’s population very vulnerable to climate change. The following areas will thus require long-term vision and urgent action:

• Adapting to climate change and the growing scarcity of water
• Improving energy efficiency and ensuring adequate energy supplies
• Coping with accelerating urbanization through strengthened urban governance
• Protecting India’s fragile environment in the face of the rising pressures created by economic success
Climate change could impact India more than most other countries. Its impact will most likely be felt first and foremost in the water sector. In this context, the World Bank is piloting a new Drought Adaptation Initiative in Andhra Pradesh that will help farmers adapt to warmer and more drought-like conditions. An Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project that seeks to protect India's coastal areas while also ensuring the livelihoods of the people living along the coastline is in the pipeline. In addition, the Bank's studies on groundwater resources and low carbon growth will soon be complete.
The World Bank is also supporting India in its efforts to increase the generation of clean energy. It is helping the country to tap the hydropower resources in the Himalayan region, as well as supporting the rehabilitation of old and inefficient coal-fired power plants so that they produce more energy with the same amount of fuel, reducing their carbon emissions. The Bank is also helping to strengthen power transmission networks to ensure that the power produced reaches consumers efficiently and losses in transmission are reduced. It is also promoting energy efficiency in various sectors (in small and medium enterprise, chillers, etc.) and is seeking to expand this support. .
4. Improving the effectiveness of public services and social protection, especially to the poor

Indiawill have to dramatically improve the impact of every rupee spent. Most public programs suffer from varying degrees of ineffectiveness and poor targeting. Improving them will requiresystemic reform of the public sector service providers, effective systems of accountability to citizens, decentralization of responsibilities, and expansion in the role of non-state service providers.

Education: India has made huge progress in getting more children, especially girls, into primary school. Since 2001, the government’s flagship elementary education program, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, has helped to bring some 20 million children into school; most of them are first-generation learners. The gender gap has reduced and more children are transitioning from primary to upper primary school. Many of India’s states are now either approaching universal primary enrollment or have already achieved it. According to the Government, less than 5 million children between the ages of 6 and14 now remain out of school. The program is now focusing on bringing the hardest-to-reach children into primary school, raising access to upper primary education and improving retention and learning outcomes.

World Bank support in the mid-1990s helped India pioneer new initiatives to bring children into school. Since 2004, Bank support to the SSA has played an important role in scaling up the program to the hardest-to-reach communities, improve the quality of learning, and assess learning outcomes. Between 2002 and 2007, the World Bank contributed $500 million of the total program cost of $3.5 billion. Between 2008 and 2010, domestic funding of over $9 billion for the program was complemented by another $600 million in Bank support.

Skills: Equally important is the building of skills among India’s rapidly rising work force, whose ranks are joined by some 8-9 million new entrants each year. Presently, nearly 44 percent of India’s labor force is illiterate, only 17 percent has secondary schooling, and enrollment in higher education is a mere 11 percent. Moreover, the quality of most graduates is poor and employers offer very little upgrading of skills; only 16 percent of Indian manufacturers offer in-service training compared to over 90 percent in China. To help produce engineers of international standards, the World Bank has supported improvements in the quality of education in engineering institutes in 13 states. A project is now supporting 400 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) to become centers of excellence in technical skills that are in demand.

Health: The health sector presents a mixed picture. Despite some gains - in infant mortality, institutional births, family planning, and the understanding of AIDS - a large unfinished agenda remains. Maternal mortality rates and child malnutrition levels remain persistently high - 45 percent of India’s children remain underweight and 70 percent are anemic. India also needs to get better prepared to deal with the rapidly emerging challenge of non-communicable diseases.


The World Bank has been lending for health and nutrition in India since the early 1990s. It has supported India in eliminating leprosy as a national health problem, and in bringing the WHO- recommended DOTS TB treatment to all districts in the country. Ongoing Bank projects support national programs for disease control - such as kala azar, polio and malaria, HIV/AIDS, and TB. They also support child nutrition and reproductive and child health programs. Other projects are working to strengthen state-level systems for rural healthcare (Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka), as well as national programs for food and drug regulation, and disease surveillance.


Safety Nets: The global economic crisis has lent new urgency to strengthening safety nets. The expansion of the NREGA has fortunately provided a social safety net in the rural areas. It will now be important to consider this and other alternatives for urban areas hard-hit by the downturn. Innovative and new schemes for urban renewal and construction and the delivery of public services can offer synergistic opportunities.

India Overview in 2009

In the past two decades, India has been making sustained progress on a scale, size and pace that is unprecedented in its own history. A low-income country with mass poverty at the time of Independence in 1947, India now has a diminishing pool of very poor people and is poised to cross the threshold to join the ranks of the world’s middle-income countries. Over these past 62 years, the country has been successful on a number of fronts:

It has maintained electoral democracy
Reduced absolute poverty by more than half*
Dramatically improved literacy
Vastly improved health conditions
Become one of the world’s fastest growing economies with average growth rates of 9% over the past four years
Emerged as a global player in information technology, business process outsourcing, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals

President of India

The President of India or Rashtrapati is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. In theory, the President possesses considerable power. With few exceptions, most of the authority vested in the President is in practice exercised by the Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister.
The President is elected by the elected members of the Parliament of India (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) as well as of the state legislatures(Vidhan Sabhas), and serves for a term of five years. Incumbents are permitted to stand for re-election. A formula is used to allocate votes so there is a balance between the population of each state and the number of votes assembly members from a state can cast, and to give an equal balance between State Assembly members and National Parliament members. If no candidate receives a majority of votes there is a system by which losing candidates are eliminated from the contest and votes for them transferred to other candidates, until one gains a majority. The Vice-President is elected by a direct vote of all members (elected and nominated) of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
The president of India resides in an estate in New Delhi known as the Rashtrapati Bhavan (which roughly translates as President's Abode). The presidential retreat is The Retreat in Chharabra, Shimla and Rashtrapati Nilayam (President's Place) in Hyderabad.

Qualifications required to become the President
A citizen of India who is of 35 years of age or above may be a Presidential candidate. The Presidential candidate should be qualified to become a member of the Lok Sabha and should not hold any office of profit under the government. Certain office-holders, however, are permitted to stand as Presidential candidates. These are:
 The current Vice President.
 The Governor of any State.
 A Minister of the Union or of any State.
In the event that the Vice President, a State Governor or a Minister is elected President, they are considered to have vacated their previous office on the date they begin serving as President.