India Case Study

• Site


  The physical location of a place
• Situation


  The position of a place in relation to its surroundings and other places
• India's site


  • Himalayas mountains
  • Rivers (Ganges and many others)
  • Huge coastline
  • Oceans/seas (Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal)
• India's borders


  • Pakistan
  • Afghanistan
  • Bangladesh
  • Myanmar
  • China
  • Bhutan
  • Sri Lanka
• India's climate


  • Tropical wet
  • Tropical monsoon
  • Tropical wet and dry
• India's situation


  • Well connected, especially through major cities like Mumbai and Delhi
  • One of 5 major emerging national economies (BRICS)
  • Has a range of TNC companies like Tata group
  • Biggest democracy in the world
  • Has a huge manufacturing and IT sector
  • Former British colony, gained independence in 1947
• India is one of the 5 major emerging national economies (BRICS)
• India has a range of TNC companies like the Tata group
• India is the biggest democracy in the world
• India has a huge manufacturing and IT sector
• India was a former British colony and gained independence in 1947
• Globalisation


  • Over 50% of Indians now have a mobile, helping small businesses earn more
  • 12 major ports and 20 international airports
  • Railway carrying 8 billion people a year and almost 3 million tonnes of freight per day
  • Easier to transport goods, increase trade and TNC investment
  • Large TNCs (Microsoft, Nokia, Unilever and Coca-Cola) outsource manufacturing and IT to India, bringing jobs, income, taxes, technology
• Government policy


  • 1991- India received $2.2 billion in aid from the IMF in return for the government changing its economic policies
  • 2009- primary education free and compulsory
  • Rail network, roads and airports upgraded reducing travel time for commuters
  • Top location for FDI, India is trying to attract more FDI by relaxing the rules on how much land, property etc foreign companies can own
• India's population has changed rapidly, with declining fertility rates and improving life expectancy
• Core


  Rich and usually urban areas of a country, well connected with majority of services, businesses and people, generating wealth, where big businesses, industries and government have their headquarters
• Periphery


  Poor and remote rural areas often involved in producing raw materials which the core regions will use
• In 2010, average income per capita in Bihar (a rural periphery) was £251 per year, while in Maharashtra (an urban core) it was £1,011
• Impact on men in an emerging world

  • Many men have to leave their rural homes and children with elderly relatives to work in factories in urban areas
  • Men gain increased access to urban secondary and tertiary jobs
• Impact on women in an emerging world

  • Many women work in 'sweatshops' for TNCs, stitching clothes for minimal pay, in tough conditions with limited or no breaks
  • Women gain access to urban secondary and tertiary jobs
  • Women have increased access to education
  • Status of women can improve
  • Women can be left with a 'double burden' as they need to work and look after the home as men move to urban areas
• India's fertility rate has rapidly declined, life expectancy has improved, and cities/towns are growing from rural-urban migration
• In 2015, only 32.7% of India's population lived in an urban area, below the global average
• GDP per capita varies greatly between Indian states, with Bihar ranked the lowest at US$682
• Between 2001 and 2011, female literacy improved more than male literacy in India
• In 2015, women made up only 12% of India's parliament
• In 2015, only 1/3 of India's working age women had jobs
• Impacts of development on the environment

  • Air pollution
  • Water pollution
  • Deforestation and desertification
  • Greenhouse gases and climate change
• 13 of the world's top 20 polluted cities are in India, and air pollution reduces life expectancy by 3.2 years for 660 million Indians
• The number of rivers defined as 'polluted' in India rose from 121 to 275 between 2010 and 2015, mainly due to high levels of sewage from cities
• Deforestation and overgrazing have caused tremendous land erosion and landslides in India, with the country losing about 6,000 million tonnes of topsoil annually
• 25% of India's land is experiencing desertification, and 32% is facing degradation that has affected its productivity
• India is the world's third largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) after China and the USA
• Geopolitics


  The way in which a country's geography and economy affect its relations with other countries
• India is one of the BRICS group of 5 emerging countries, which together account for 42% of the world's population and 25% of the world's GDP
• The BRICS nations have set up the New Development Bank to provide resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging countries
• G20


  The group of 20 major developed and emerging economies, formed as they realised that globalisation had changed the world economic order and major global problems required greater international cooperation
• India is a member of the influential G20 group
• In 2016, the EU-India Summit in Brussels discussed a Free Trade Agreement, trade in goods and services, foreign direct investment, and counter-terrorism
• In 2014, India's exports to the USA were $45,200 million, while imports from the USA were $21,600 million
• India cooperates with the EU and USA on topics like education, science, technology, and global issues like climate change
• India has a permanent seat in the UN Security Council and a bigger influence in global organisations like the World Bank, IMF and WTO