India is almost a continent as it is home to almost 1/6th of the world’s population. Geographically, it is the 7th largest country in the world, with a long coast line. Over 48% of its land is arable. It is a secular country with multiple faiths, Hinduism being the biggest religion, with over 80% of the population being Hindu.

It is also the world’s largest democracy. Over the past few years, India has been politically stable and is now one of the fastest growing economies in the world. English is the most important language for commercial correspondence and Hindi is the most widely spoken language. India has traditionally been an agrarian economy but over the recent years phenomenal progress has been made in manufacturing, IT and Healthcare to name but a few. Literacy rates have reached 61%, however, unemployment and a fast-growing population have been the root cause of the slow pace of development in addition to corruption and a “brain drain”. These remain the biggest economic challenges for the country.

Population: 1.324 billion as of 2016.

Currency: Indian Rupee – INR. 1 USD = 68.05 INR

Time Zone: GMT +5.5

GDP Per Capita: USD 1,861.5 as of last recorded in 2016.

Imports per annum:39.63 USD (Aprils 2018, in billions)

Exports per annum: 25.91 USD (April 2018, in billions) as per tradingeconomics.com

Irish exports to India: USD 541.39M in 2017.