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thepublicsector.Althoughtherewere300scheduledcommercialbanksintheearly1990s,morethan
85percentofdepositsandcreditswereaccountedforbythe27public-sectorbanks.

MoneylendingpracticesinruralIndiahaveledtoproblemsofwidespreadindebtedness.Credit
societiesandcooperativebankshavebeensetuptotrytoovercometheseproblemsandhave

becomeincreasinglyimportantparticularlyintheprovisionofcredittofarmerstoenablethemto
purchaseseeds,fertilizers,andotheragriculturalinputs.

CommerceandTrade

Becauseofthehighlevel,untilrecently,ofprotectionism,thevolumeofforeigntraderelativetothe

sizeanddiversityoftheIndianeconomyhasbeenlow.Inaddition,therehasbeenapersistenttrade

deficit,causedbyimportsofoil,rawmaterials,consumergoods,jewels,chemicalsandfertilizers,and
aggravatedbyahighlevelofsmuggling.In2003IndiasannualimportscostsomeUS$77.2billion,

anditsyearlyexportsearnedaboutUS$63billion.Theexporttradeisveryvaried,andisdominated
bytextiles,garments,jewelleryandgemstones,leathergoods,tea,engineeringgoods,andbasic

chemicals.TheUnitedStates,inthemid-1990s,receivedabout19percentofIndiasyearlyexports

andsuppliedabout10percentofitsimports.OtherleadingtradingpartnersareGermany,Japan,the
UnitedKingdom,SaudiArabia,Belgium,theCommonwealthofIndependentStates,France,Australia,
theNetherlands,andIran.

Transport

Atindependencein1947,Indiahadoneofthebest-developedtransportnetworksofanycolony

particularlyitsrailwaysystem,whichhadbeenestablishedduringBritishrule.Sincethenithasbuilt
onthisbase,increasingthelengthofroadsandestablishingacomprehensiveinternalairtransport
network.However,thecountrysbroadnetworkofstate-ownedrailwaylinescontinuestocarrythe

bulkofgoodstraffic.Thetotallengthofoperatedrailwaytrackwas63,465km(39,435mi)in2005of
which17percentwaselectrified.Threedifferentgauges(widths)oftrackareinuse.Therewere

morethan3.4millionkm(2.1millionmi)ofroadsofwhichabouthalfweresurfaced.In1995there
wereanestimated3.8millioncarsinIndia;in1996therewasaratioofapproximately6carsfor
every1,000people.ThemajorIndianports,includingKolkata,Mumbai,Chennai,and

Vishakhapatnam,arereachedbycargocarriersandpassengerlinersoperatingtoallpartsofthe
world.Thecivilaviationnetworkwasnationalizedin1953,withAirIndiaoperatingthelong-haul

internationalroutesandIndianAirlinesdomesticandregionalroutes.Since1991somedomestic
routeshavebeenopenedtotheprivatesector.Thenetworksandvolumeoftrafficisexpanding

rapidlyandairroutesnowconnectnotonlythemajorcitiesandtownsbutalsoremoteareasinthe
Himalayaandnorth-eastIndia.Thereareanestimated290airportsinIndia.

Communications

Despitethepovertyofmuchofthepopulation,limitingthedevelopmentofthecommunication

system,Indiastelephonenetworkhasexpandedsignificantlyinrecentyears,gainingfromthe

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