India is located in the southern part of Asia and is also south of the Himalayan
Mountains. This southern peninsula has the largest mineral deposits and the
largest cultivable land in the continent. The population of India is critically
large and although nearly all people are Hindu, some are of other religious
denominations. The life of the Indian people is usually ruled by their caste
system, but the system is not as firm as it was years ago. India has a mixed
economy. The different elements of India, such as location, resources, and
religious beliefs, mold the outcome of their economy. In the area that India is
geographically located, the climate varies from tropical to extreme frigid
temperatures. In the area closest to the mountains extreme temperature should be
expected. The northern plains have heavy snowfalls. The northeastern part of
India has a cool monsoon season from early December throughout February. A
monsoon is a wind system that produces wet or dry seasons. If there are severe
droughts, famines can result from it. On the other hand, too much rain can cause
malaria. Also, the contradictory temperature of the northern days and nights
fortify pulmonary disorders. The annual amount of precipitation along the
southern slopes of the Himalayas is 60 inches. There is also a hot/dry season
that begins in the middle of March until the beginning of July. During this time
the Himalayan area has had temperatures of about 120 F. Calcutta, which is a
city east the Himalayan mountains, has an average daily temperature of 55 F to
80 F during the month of January and 79 F to 89 F in July. The other areas of
India, the southern and western parts usually have a tropical climate. They also
have monsoons, but are referred to as the dry or wet seasons. These monsoons
control the temperature, rainfall and humidity. The wet or rainy season is from
June through September. Winds blow from the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea.
The rain can be overwhelming and is typically 125 inches during this season. The
Cherrapunji in the Khasi Hills has a yearly rainfall of about 425 inches. In
Bombay, which is located in the west central part of India, have temperatures of
67° F to 83° F in January and 77° F to 85° F in July. With the different
temperatures, natural resources can flourish or degenerate. India has many large
cultivable regions, and numerable timber access. India’s agriculture worth is
one-third of the annual gross domestic product (GDP). The farms are usually
humble and owned by families. The crops that are mostly cultivated for domestic
proposes are rice, wheat, cotton, tea and jute, which is a plant that gives a
fiber which can be made into sacking and cordage. India is responsible for a
large amount of exports to the world. Sugar production a year during the early
1990’s was 230 million metric tons. The annual production of tea was 743,000
tons. Rice was 72.6 million tons and wheat was 56.8 millions tons. Cotton was at
2.0 million and jute was at 1.4 million tons. Other agricultural products that
are sold as exports are cashews, coffee, spices, barley, chickpeas, bananas,
rubber, melons, vegetables, corn, sorghum, linseed, millet and mangoes. The
timber in India is not varied, but is resourceful. In the Himalayan region, the
cedar, pine, oak and magnolia trees are abundant. In the slopes if the Western
Ghats, were there is heavy rainfall which give a home to evergreens, bamboo,
teak, and other timber trees. In the southeastern part, the mangrove and the sal
are very common. These two trees are hardwood timber. Other resources include
fishing, mining, and manufacturing. The fish, forestry mining and manufacturing,
that are of economic significance contribute to the Gross Domestic Products.
Shrimps and prawns, India oil sardines, ducks, croakers, Bombay, Indian
mackerel, anchovies and marine catfish are the sea life that Indian people
consume. Even though the fishing industry is underdeveloped when compared to
other fishing industries, it is a vital tool for the people. In the Ganges delta
in Bengal it most important. The government has encouraged deep-sea fishing by
constructing processing plants and paying for fleets and vessels going to the
ocean. 59% of the country’s 4.2 million annual catch in the early 1990’s was
made of the marine species. 23% of the total land area in India of made up of
forestlands. The regions bordering, the Himalayas are the largest source for
commercial forestry. The annual timber harvest was 9.9 billion cubic feet in the
early 1990’s. The mining industry thrives on Iron ore, coal, mica, dolomite,
copper, bauxite, petroleum, natural gas, zinc, lead, chromium, limestone,
phosphate rock, silver, and gold. India is among the world leaders who produce
iron ore, coal, and bauxite. The other elements mentioned above are also
produced significantly. The annual production during the early 1990’s for iron
ore was 53.7 million metric tons, for coal it was 247.3 million, for bauxite it
was 5 million, for manganese 1.8 million, and zinc 181,00. Three-fifths of the
annual production of petroleum (201.9 millions barrels) is for India’s
consumption. The products that India manufacture are textiles, iron and steel,
machinery, processed agricultural products, fertilizer, transportation
equipment, nonferrous metals, refined petroleum, chemicals, and computer
software. Unfortunately employment in these areas has declined. About 67% in
Agriculture, Forestry and fishing and 20% of employment has gone down in
services, such as transportation and communication. Transportation is composed
mostly of railroad lines. Its broad network if railroad lines is the largest in
Asia and fourth in the world. The total length of an operating railroad track is
about 38,811 miles long. There are about 1.3 million miles of routes. All of the
railroad systems are publicly controlled. There is 21,164 miles of national
highway. India also has a comprehensive network of airlines, which connect to
cities and towns all around India. Connections to the world are controlled by
airlines such as: Air India, Indian Airlines and other air-transport airlines.
The major ports are in the city of Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Vishakhapatnam.
Communications in India include mediums of the telephone, radio and periodicals.
Their telephone system serves about 5.8 millions telephones. The radio system is
owned by the government and is called “All India Radio broadcast”. It serves
about 68.5 millions radio sets. The programs are held in 24 principal languages
and many other dialects. There are 27.8 million television receivers. There are
two English daily newspapers, the “Times of India” and the “India
Express”. In total there are 27.5 million, 3800 of them are daily. The life of
the people of India is very interesting. India is second in the world with the
largest population. It is estimated that 931,044,000 people live in India. The
population density is 294 people per 762 square mile. 73% of these people live
in rural areas. 83% of the people are Hindu, 11% are Muslim, 2% are Christian,
another 2 % are Sikhs, 0.7% are Buddhists and 0.5% are Jain. The Hindu people
see themselves as the ones who follow the Vedas, or the way of the four classes
and stages of life. Behavior is more important than individual beliefs. Most
Hindus have a reverence for the Brahmans and cows, do not eat meat, and are
married with in their own caste or jati. The Hindu religion has many gods and is
one where each individual is free to worship many different gods and have
different ritual for them. The social system may sometimes interfere with
economic growth. The caste system is a religious and social belief that each
person is born into a position, which they may not advance or decline from. If a
person is born into an “untouchable” for example, (the most undesirable
social position) they would try fulfilling their life now and not strive to be
any better, in hope that in an other life, they will be rewarded with a better
position. There is a massive amount of livestock in India that is not used for
consumption. The belief is that a person may return as any living creature and
to kill or consume these animals is to kill oneself in another life, reducing
the ability to be promoted. Most livestock is used for labor in rice and other
agricultural fields. All the different elements together such as resources,
services, and social beliefs bring the economy to a close. India has a mixed
economy. Most of the control is through private owner-ships. India is dependent
on foreign goods such as, manufactured goods, raw materials, and foodstuffs. In
the early 1990’s the United States was India’s leading trading partner. The
US received 16% of their imports from India also has good trading relations with
Japan, Germany, Great Britain, United Arab Emirates, Belgium, Hong Kong, and
Italy. The currency in India is called the Rupee. It is divided into 100 paisa.
In 1995 31.35 rupee was equal to one US dollar. India is a country, which has a
diverse environment, large agriculture, and conflicting social issues.