We are living in a world where our social structure and life is dictated by privilege and availability of goods. The abundant availability of goods shows a countries purchasing power and the influence it has on general market. The general market is evaluated by the number of population and import/export information of goods, and looking up this information, it is estimated that India’s “population is expected to overtake China’s in 2028″(BBC, 2019). This growth can be seen in India’s two major cities, Mumbai and New Delhi. Mumbai is known to be India’s most populous city with an estimated population of 20,411,274 people, mainly between the ages of 20-45, male and female included. Mumbai is the largest city in the aspect of business and trade activity as people relocate from other cities seeking employment and business opportunities, while New Delhi is considered one of the “fastest urban expansion” (NASA, 2018).
As the capital of India, New Delhi, is the main focus for the group, understanding the imports and exports of India as a whole is significant. India’s relationship to the United States, China, and other countries are essential to their wellbeing (Exim, 2019). The products that India receives from their trading partners, provides them with goods that may be scarce or needed in India. Their exports allow their relationships to their trading partners to be seen as beneficial, offering financial stability to stay afloat and needed. Analyzing specific goods that are being imported and exported, to and from India, will allow a picture of why this country is valuable to be painted. However, due to recent events, India’s imports and exports are drastically being affected by Covid-19.
Imports to India serve a vital purpose to allow this country to survive and prosper. India’s leading imported product is oil, a good that this country depends on just like many others. Just like oil, India relies on heavy and industrial machines that are used to build and grow cities, rapidly (Desk, 2016). Another good that India spends billions on to receive is gold, which can be connected to their cultural appreciation and use of precious and fine jewelry. In terms of exports, some examples of products that are seen as valuable to other countries are spices, technological products such as computers, medicine and more (India: U.S.-India Bilateral Trade and Investment,2019). To showcase the trading relationship between India and the United States when it comes to rare jewelry, gold is imported to India whereas diamonds are exported to the United States. As billions of dollars are being spent and received by imports and exports, the current pandemic has disrupted India’s trading.
Business, lives, countries and more have been negatively affected by Covid-19 and new policies, such as lock down and limiting the amount of trade happening. The percentage of imports and exports has been at its lowest for India, resulting in billions being lost and goods being needed the most. Goods being imported to India and exports being shipped to trading partners since lockdown took effect, has dropped close to sixty percent (Pti, 2020). With orders being cancelled and trading temporarily slowed down due to this pandemic, India faces many challenges just as other countries, eager to fully reopen trading.
When it comes to popular apparel in India, it differs for men and women. Menswear is one of the largest segments in India and denim apparel is the most favored sub category (Gaba, 2020, p. 4), whereas, Women’s-wear segment is known as the most fashionable and can be divided into two sub sections, western wear and traditional wear (Gaba,2020, p. 4).
References
BBC. (2019, February 18). India country profile. Retrieved June 3, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12557384
Desk, I. T. W. (2016, September 29). India’s import report: A look at India’s top 8 imports. Retrieved June 2, 2020, from https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current- affairs/story/india-imports-343823-2016-09-29
Exim, S. (2019, October 22). Major Trading Partners of India. Retrieved June 2, 2020, from https://www.seair.co.in/blog/major-trading-partners-of-india.aspx
Gaba, A. K. (2020). Unit-6 Apparel categories (men, women and kids). Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi. Retrieved June 2, 2020, from http://www.egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/61774/1/Unit-6.pdf
India: U.S.-India Bilateral Trade and Investment. (2019, August 15). Retrieved June 2, 2020, from https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/south-central-asia/india
Mumbai Population. (n.d.). Retrieved June 03, 2020, from http://www.populationu.com/cities/mumbai-population
Mumbai Population 2020. (n.d.). Retrieved June 03, 2020, from https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/mumbai-population/
NASA. (2018, June 5). Urban Growth of New Delhi. Retrieved June 2, 2020, from https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/92813/urban-growth-of-new-delhi
Pti. (2020, May 15). Exports plunge by record 60.28%in April; trade deficit lowest in 4 years. Retrieved June 2, 2020, from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/foreign-trade/covid-19-impact-exports-plunge-60-28-pc-in-april/articleshow/75760239.cms
