India

Question 1

Describe The site of India, And what this means

Answer 1

– Former British colony, in Asia, forms a peninsula dividing the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal

– aims to become a hub of transport, communication and traits within its wider region and is motivated by the rapid development of other emerging nations in the region such as Malaysia and Indonesia

Question 2

Describe the situation of India

Answer 2

– Shares borders with the six countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh and China

Question 3

What are examples of organisations which India is a part of and what this means

Answer 3

– United Nations and the WTO and a number of other associations including the Commonwealth – seeks to promote democracy, rule of law, human rights, good governance and social and economic development

Question 4

What is the population of India, what is this in relativity to the worlds countries and what did it used to be

Answer 4

– A former British colony

– 1.3 billion–7 largest country in the world in London area

Question 5

When did India become independent

Answer 5

1947

Question 6

How is India split economically

Answer 6

– Village India with traditional agriculture and urban India which is one of the most heavily industrialised areas of the world

Question 7

What is the number of people that make up the Indian Diaspora estimate to that, how many countries over and in 2014 how much did they send in remittances back to India and what does this exceed

Answer 7

– 20 million, scattered over 100 countries

– 2014– $71 billion – exceeds revenues from the software industry

Question 8

What type of countries India classed as in terms of development and why

Answer 8

Emerging – India’s development has been rapid in recent decades

Question 9

How has GDP changed over time

Answer 9

– Grown steadily since 1950 and increased rapidly in the 1990s – growing 7% on average for the last two decades
– was the worlds fastest growing economy in 2014 and is now worlds seventh largest economy by GDP and third by PPP

Question 10

What has happened to GNI between 2006 and 2014

Answer 10

Almost doubled

Question 11

How has the percentage of people working in each sector as employment changed in India, And what is each sector

Answer 11

Primary (agriculture) – 37% to 14%

Secondary – manufacturing – 17 to 18%

Tertiary – services – 46% to 67%

Question 12

What are key features of India’s trade – give numbers– 2006 to 2012, And what is the main market for its goods and imports

Answer 12

-India is becoming more integrated into the global economy with the volume of imports and exports increasing from $252 billion in 2006-$794 in 2012
– Higher value goods becoming more prominent e.g. petroleum, gold and electronic goods
– Asia is the main market for India’s goods and China for its imports

Question 13

What is the government scheme to encourage FDI for, what were the two biggest sources of it in 2014, and what is a key indicator of India’s development

Answer 13

– For countries infrastructure including some of the largest railway projects
– Mauritius and Singapore
– gap between outward and inward FDI is narrowing

Question 14

What factors in India have helped influence economic change

Answer 14

Government policy, AID and globalisation

Question 15

Describe how government policy has helped influence economic change

Answer 15

– Since 1990 it has been easier for Indian companies to make international links due to economic reforms with the government encouraging innovation and increasing the science budget
– education has been a priority for the government with free and compulsory education for 6 to 14 year olds
– Now has 1.4 million schools and 36,000 HE facilities
– significant improvements in literacy

Question 16

Describe how globalisation is changing in India, And the key factors which have contributed to its growth

Answer 16

– Due to its improve connectivity, its rate of growth has increased attracting FDI from TNCs
– factors which have contributed to its growth includes cheap skilled workforce, large and well educated English-speaking workforce, improvements in transport and communications – rail network 63,000 km, 12 ports, 11 international airports, 6 million km of roads

Question 17

How has the service sector improved economic growth in India

Answer 17

– Software and ICT services have played an important role in countries growth – worth about $100 billion in 2014 to 15
– particularly outsourcing ICT and other services to develop the countries e.g. call centres in Bangalore for UK-based companies eg BT
– tourism growing rapidly – in 2014 this accounted for 6.4% of total GDP with 22 million visitors and 39 million people were employed in tourism

Question 18

What has the demographic change been due to India’s economic growth

Answer 18

– Fertility rate has dropped from 5.2 in 1971 to 2.3 in 2013 – close to the replacement level of 2.1
– as a result of government backed family planning program, birthrate fell from 45/1000 in 1951 to 21/1000 today
– infant mortality fallen from 129/1000 in 1972 to 40/1000 in 2013
– Life expectancy was 50 in 1970 but now it is 68% in the present day although there are significant regional differences due to healthcare and education

Question 19

What has happened where people live in India due to the economic growth

Answer 19

– More people live in urban areas – urbanisation – because this is where the better paid jobs and entertainment are

Question 20

What are some of the gender gaps in India

Answer 20

– Literacy rates improved more that for meals between 2001 and 2011
– girls on average gets less food and medical care than boys
– only one third of working age women have jobs
– only 12% of the Indian parliament are woman

Question 21

Describe groups of people who have not benefited as much from India’s economic development

Answer 21

– Women still remain generally low state as in Indian society and this is a huge hindrance to its development particularly in low castes
– All the people have also not benefited from its developments in education and healthcare because they remain in Rurel areas rather than migrating to urban areas where standards are better

Question 22

Describe some of the disparities regionally in India’s development

Answer 22

– Significant differences in the level of developments between states in the urban coal e.g. Kerala and the Rurel periphery for example Bihar
– Can be seen in terms of GDP, literacy rates and life expectancy

Question 23

What are different effects of India’s development on the natural environment

Answer 23

– Air pollution
– water pollution
– deforestation and desertification
– greenhouse gases
– climate change

Question 24

Describe the impact of economic growth on air pollution, What the effects of this are, and who is most at risk

Answer 24

– Study by the world health organisation found that 13 of the worlds top most polluted cities are in India, with Delhi topping the list – 900 km² with 17.8 million population
– low standards for vehicle emissions and fuel
– air pollution in India reduces life expectancy by 3.2 years for the 660 million that live in cities
– India’s fifth biggest cause of death
– in rural areas, more than 1 million people are killed per year from indoor population created from dung fuel to fires and paraffin stove
– the poorest to live on the streets are at greatest risk, and there are concerns that it may affect tourism and reduce crop yields

Question 25

What has the effect of India’s economic growth been on deforestation and desertification, What’s the effects of this are and name infected areas

Answer 25

– Deforestation has become a major problem due to logging, Agriculture, mining, urbanisation reservoirs and forest fires
– flooding, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and climate change all the resultant problems
– 25% of India’s land is facing certification and 32% degradation – affecting the livelihoods in the food security of millions
– 68% of India is prone to drought with the largest affected areas of desertification experienced in state such as Gujarat
– half of India’s wetland and lakes disappeared between 1911 and 2014

Question 26

What are the effects of India’s economic developments on greenhouse gases

Answer 26

– India is the worlds third largest emitter of CO2 dash off to China and the USA due to its reliance on coal from which 4/5 of the countries electricity is produced
– still around 400 million people in India without electricity so there are plans to use alternative energy sources in the future e.g. solar
– CO2 emissions per capita in India (1.8 tons) are still way behind developed countries e.g. the USA (16.5 tons)

Question 27

Describe the effects of India’s economic development on climate change

Answer 27

– Some people consider this to be biggest threat to India’s economy due to its affect on the monsoon
– more than 60% of farmers relying on monsoon rain this threatens a sector worth $370 billion and millions of jobs

Question 28

How has India’s international role changed, And what is projected for the future

Answer 28

– Has the second largest market in the world and many countries are keen to establish good trading links
– by 2025, India is on track to become an upper middle income country and a major international player

Question 29

What group of countries in India are part of, what are the other countries in this, what are they responsible for, and what is an example of their collaboration

Answer 29

–BRICS
– Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa
– accountable for 42% of the worlds population and around 25% of global GDP
– high demand for goods and services from these countries has increased economic power
– the new development banks set up to provide resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects

Question 30

What development group is India a part of and what does this do

Answer 30

The G-20

A group of 20 major developed and emerging economies, forms to improve international cooperation required in a modern globalised economy

Question 31

Describe India’s relationship with the EU and the USA

Answer 31

– Cooperates with the EU and USA in work around science, education and issues such as climate change
– imports and exports with the EU are balanced however exports to the USA are double the imports from the USA – $45,200 and $21600 respectively

Question 32

What are views of FDI on India

Answer 32

– Benefits are clear, there are still concerns about the actions of some TNCs in particular
– TNCs can move out of a country as quickly as they move in to it taking the investment and jobs with them
– they can also exploit workers, sometimes don’t pay their taxes and compete with some of India smaller businesses

Question 33

What are the views on changing international relations in India

Answer 33

– Most in favour of India playing a bigger role internationally
– some would like government to place more emphasis on solving India’s internal problems

Question 34

What are poverty statistics in India

Answer 34

– 400 million live on less than $1.12 a day which is the international poverty line
– 800 million live on less than $2 a day
– this is all despite poverty falling from the 37% in 2005 to 22% in 2012
– 40% of India’s children are malnourished and 54% of its population do not have a source of drinking water at home

Question 35

Describe urban versus raw lifestyle change in India

Answer 35

– Much of India remains Rurel despite the growth of large cities such as Mumbai and Delhi were big differences can be seen with bartering for goods and services still common place in rural India

Question 36

Where is India ranked in the world according to the index of economic freedom, what is still common in many areas

Answer 36

– 128

– corruption is still common in many areas of economic activity, weak rule of law

Question 37

Describe projections for India’s population and what this means

Answer 37

– Set to rise to 1.5 billion by 2015, with the urban population rising from 377,000,000 to an estimated 609, million
– increases demand for electricity, water, food and placing pressure on sewage systems that are already struggling to cope