»	India is a Union of States with parliamentary system of Government
»	Land area : 3.29 million square kilometers
»	Capital : New Delhi
»	Population : 1.027 billion (March 1, 2001)
»	Climate : mainly tropical with temperature ranging from 10° – 40°C in most parts
»	Time zone : GMT + 5 1/2 hours
»	Major international airports : New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram
»	Major ports of entry : Chennai, Ennore, Haldia, Jawaharlal Nehru, Kolkata, Kandla, Kochi, Mormugao, Mumbai, New Mangalore, Paradip and Tuticorin, Vizag.

Introduction

India has shown tremendous potential with its consistent growth and performance and provides enormous opportunities for investments due to the availability of highly skilled manpower in abundance . India is the largest democracy and tenth largest economy in the world. India is the fourth largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity.

India has a federal system of Government with clear demarcation of powers between the Central Government and the State Governments.

India provides a liberal, attractive, and investor friendly investment climate.

India has the most liberal and transparent policies on foreign direct investment (FDI) among major economies of the world.

»	100% FDI is allowed under the automatic route in all sectors/activities except in few areas, which require prior approval of the Government.
»	Under automatic route, investors are required to only notify the Reserve Bank of India within 30 days of receipt of inward remittances.

India has liberalized and simplified foreign exchange controls.

»	Rupee is freely convertible on current account.
»	Rupee is almost fully convertible on capital account for non-residents.
»	For FDI- Profits earned, dividends and proceeds out of the sale of investments are fully repatriable.
»	There are some restrictions for resident Indians on capital account on incomes earned in India.

Indian economy has been growing at an average growth rate of about 8.8% p.a over the last three years; the growth rate in 2007-08 was 9%.

»	Imports in 2007-08 grew by 29% and exports by 25.8%.
»	Manufacturing sector grew by 8.8% and services by 12% in 2007-2008. India has a large middle class and 55% of its population is below the age of 25.
»	High economic growth and rising per capita income has resulted in high growth in the domestic market, which is the prime growth engine for Indian economy.

Government of India accords high priority to development of infrastructure in highways, ports, railways, airports, power, telecom. Government is actively seeking domestic and foreign private investment, for infrastructure sector development.