However, the service sector is greatly expanding and has started to assume an increasingly important role. The fact that the English speaking population in India is growing by the day means that India has become a hub of outsourcing activities for some of the major economies of the world including the United Kingdom and the United States. Outsourcing to India has been primarily in the areas of technical support and customer services.
In general, the Indian economy is controlled by the government, and there remains a great disparity between the rich and the poor. Ranked by the exchange rate of the United States Dollar, the Indian economy is the twelfth largest in the world.
In Purchasing Power Parity GDP, the figure for India was 1.5 trillion US Dollars in 2008. The per capita income of India is 4,542 US Dollars in the context of Purchasing Power Parity. This is primarily due to the 1.1 billion population of India, the second largest in the world after China. In nominal terms, the figure comes down to 1,089 US Dollars, based on 2007 figures. According to the World Bank, India is classed as a low-income economy.
Recent trends have seen India exporting the services of a numerous information technology (IT) professionals. IT professionals have been sought for their expertise in software, software engineering and other financial services. This has been possible as a result of the high skill levels of Indian IT professionals.
Other areas where India is expected to make progress include manufacturing, construction of ships, pharmaceuticals, aviation, biotechnology, tourism, nanotechnology, retailing and telecommunications. Growth rates in these sectors are