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The culture preserves its religious traditions, while at the same time finding ways to weave in immigrant cultural behaviours, to create an ever-changing and vibrant culture.

 

India overview

The people

Religion is central to the Indian culture and its practice can be seen in virtually every aspect of life. The dominant and oldest religion is Hinduism, which is practiced by over 80 per cent of the population. India’s second largest religion is Islam, making India home to one of the largest Muslim populations outside the Middle East. India is also home to two other ancient religions, Buddhism and Jainism (originally stemming from Hinduism), which together with Hinduism have moulded Indian thinking and philosophy.

 

India’s official language is Hindi, which is the primary tongue of 30 per cent of the population. Hindi, with at least 13 different dialects, was chosen as the official language because of its connection with India's history before independence, rather than because it was the most commonly spoken language. It is one of 18 official Indian languages recognised by the Indian Constitution. In addition, a multitude of other languages and dialects are spoken.

 

English is the second or associate language, and as such, it is the most important language for national, political and commercial communication. It is, however, spoken fluently by less than 5 per cent of the population.

 

Legal system

The common law system is based on the English model. Separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus; judicial review of legislative acts

 

Economy

India is developing into an open-market economy, yet traces of its past autarkic policies remain. Economic liberalisation measures, including industrial deregulation, privatisation of state-owned enterprises, and reduced controls on foreign trade and investment, began in the early 1990s. The measures served to accelerate the country's growth, which averaged under 7 per cent per year from 1997 to 2011.

 

India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Slightly less than half of the workforce is in agriculture, however, services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for nearly two-thirds of India's output with less than one-third of its labour force.

 

However, investors' perceptions of India improved in early 2014, due to a reduction of the current account deficit and expectations of post-election economic reform, resulting in a surge of inbound capital flows and stabilization of the rupee. .

 

Industries

The industries in India include, textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software and pharmaceuticals.

 

Exports

The largest export partners are the UAE 12.3 per cent, US 12.2 per cent, China 5.0 per cent, Singapore 4.9 per cent and Hong Kong 4.1 per cent (Source: The World Factbook, 2012).