Industry overview

High-income countries experienced a decline in the share of industry in GDP over the last thirty years. In the case of India, the share of industry in GDP increased from 20% to 27% during the same period. The service industry accounts for about 60% of the GDP total (April 2007). Industrial production growth rate in India was at 7.5% (2006-07). Industrial production index was at 221.5 in 2006, on a base of 100 in 1993-94.

Steel
- The earliest steel in the world was made in southern India (300 BC), when spongy masses of iron were worked and reheated to make wootz steel, followed by China only in 400 AD
- According to International Iron and Steel Institute, 2007, China is the world’s largest steel producer (422 Million tonnes) followed by Japan (116 Million tonnes), USA (98.6 Million tonnes), Russia (70.6 million tonnes) and South Korea (48.4 million tonnes). India occupies the fifth position with 51 Million tonnes.
- Japan is the top exporter of steel followed by Germany & Russia. USA is the top global importer of steel followed by China & German.
- Per-capita steel consumption is the highest in North America (about 450 kg. of steel). For India, it is about 22 kg.

Cement
India is the fifth largest cement manufacturer in the world, accounting for about 4% of world production. According to the Cement Manufacturers’ Association, industry sales grew to 167.67 million tonne in 2007-08, from 155.26 mt in the previous year. India is also the third largest cement market in the world. It is well endowed with raw materials such as lime, gypsum and coal for the industry. The industry is well spread all over the country, although cement units are concentrated more in the western and southern regions where limestone deposits are located.

Aluminium
India has seven aluminium smelters making it the fifth biggest in the world after USA (23 smelters); China (unknown); Russia (11) and Canada (11). Brazil and Norway also have seven smelters.

Textile
Textiles is the largest single industry in India (and amongst the biggest in the world), accounting for about 20% of the total industrial production. It provides direct employment to around 20 million people. Textile and clothing exports account for one-third of the total value of exports from the country. There are 1,227 textile mills with a spinning capacity of about 29 million spindles. While yarn is mostly produced in the mills, fabrics are produced in the powerloom and handloom sectors as well. The Indian textile industry continues to be predominantly based on cotton, with about 65% of raw materials consumed being cotton. The yearly output of cotton cloth was about 12.8 billion m (about 42 billion ft). The manufacture of jute products (1.1 million metric tons) ranks next in importance to cotton weaving.

Automobiles:

Motor vehicle production, 2002
Source: Automotive News Data Center and Marketing Systems GmbH

Note:
- Above figures include passenger cars and trucks
 

India is the world’s largest producer of two-wheeled motor vehicles and recorded production of 2,621,000 motorbikes and mopeds in 1995/6 alone. India is the second largest cycle manufacturer in the world after China.

Fertilizers:
About 95 per cent of the fertilizer produced in the world is used on farm crops. The United States is one of the world's leading producers of fertilizer. India is the fifth leading fertilizer producer in the world after Canada, China and France. India is the fourth largest consumer of fertilizer in the world.

Marble:
India has the fourth largest Marble industry in the world after Belgium, France and Greece.

Rubber:
In 2007-08 fiscal, the production of natural rubber was 8.25 lakh tons compared to 8.52 lakh tons in the previous fiscal. Consumption was nearly 8.6 lakh tonnes during 2007-08. The country exported 51,381 tonnes of natural rubber in the same fiscal against 56,545 tonnes in the previous fiscal.

More than 80 percent of the world's natural rubber grows on plantations in the Far East, chiefly in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. India and Sri Lanka grow about 10 percent of the world's supply of natural rubber, and Africa grows about 5 percent. The rest comes from South America. The world's annual production of natural rubber is about 61/4 million short tons (5.7 million metric tons). The United States uses about a sixth of the world's total natural rubber production.

Silk:
China produces more raw silk than any other country. Japan ranks second. India ranks fourth after Brazil. South Korea, Thailand, and Uzbekistan also rank as silk producing countries. The United States is the world's leading manufacturer of silk products.

Salt:
India consumes about 12 million tons of salt a year. The surplus is exported to East Africa, South East Asia, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Oriental carpets:
Authentic beautiful handmade Oriental rugs have pile yarns that are hand-knotted onto a woven backing. India is the second biggest maker of such carpets after China. These rugs are also made in Iran, and Turkey.

Other important sectors of manufacturing include processing of agricultural products, including sugar refining, tea, rice, and vegetable oil processing, flour milling, and tobacco production; machinery, including electrical and electronic equipment; transportation equipment, primarily road vehicles and railroad equipment; non-ferrous metals, particularly aluminum and brass; fertilizer; refined petroleum; chemicals; and computer software. Renowned high-quality handmade products include wood carvings, pottery, and brass, copper, and silver objects.

Small scale Industries in India, 2006
Source: Reserve Bank of India

Note - Export figures are for 2003-04

Indian companies stand 6th in the world’s ‘most-taxed’ list

A recent KPMG report comparing corporate tax rates in various countries indicates that Indian companies are the sixth most taxed companies in the world. The global average for corporate taxes is around 35 per cent, but India, with a 38.5 per cent corporate tax rate, comes next only to countries like Germany (51.63%), Pakistan (40%), Japan, Italy, Belgium and the US. These countries have tax rates ranging between 40 per cent and 51.63 per cent.

Significantly, the lowest corporate tax rates are charged by Hong Kong, which has rates as low as 16 per cent, followed closely by Hungary at 18 per cent.