The economic development in India followed socialist-inspired policies for most of its independent history, including state-ownership of many sectors; India's per capita income increased at only around 1% annualised rate in the three decades after Independence.[1] Since the mid-1980s, India has slowly opened up its markets through economic liberalisation. After more fundamental reforms since 1991 and their renewal in the 2000s, India has progressed towards a free market economy.[1]
In the late 2000s, India's growth reached 7.5%, which will double the average income in a decade.[1] Analysts[who?] say that if India pushed more fundamental market reforms, it could sustain the rate and even reach the government's 2011 target of 10%.[1] States have large responsibilities over their economies. The annualised 1999–2008 growth rates for Tamil Nadu (9.8), Gujarat (9.6%),Haryana (9.1%), or Delhi (8.9%) were significantly higher than for Bihar (5.1%), Uttar Pradesh (4.4%), or Madhya Pradesh (6.5%).[2] India is the tenth-largest economy in the world and the third largest by purchasing power parity adjusted exchange rates (PPP). On per capita basis, it ranks 140th in the world or 129th by PPP.
India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry, logging and fishing accounted for 18.6% of the GDP in 2005, employed 60% of the total workforce[6] and despite a steady decline of its share in the GDP, is still the largest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic development of India. Yields per unit area of all crops have grown since 1950, due to the special emphasis placed on agriculture in the five-year plans and steady improvements in irrigation, technology, application of modern agricultural practices and provision of agricultural credit and subsidies since the green revolution.[citation needed]
Corruption is widespread in India. India is ranked 95 out of a 179 countries in Transparency...