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The Table displays the entire spectrum of the Indian economy's
heterogeneity. The excellent status of its market volume is in contrast to
the lowly 275 US Dollar GDP perhead in 1992 which places India close
to Nigeria among the 20 poorest nations of the world. The enormous
concentration of poor people in South Asia is striking. Whereas the
proportion of South Asia's population in the total population of the Third
World is 30%, the proportion of the poorer masses of this region is
approx. 46%. As can be seen in the following Table, India displays the
highest values both in absolute figures of poorer sections of population
as well as in the poverty index.
In the context of the teeming poor in India, a look at the gulf
between urban and rural areas will make it evident that the phenomenon
of villagers flocking to the cities and the resulting rapid growth of
informal sector in the cities is of special relevance. Only 10% of India's
workforce are engaged in the formal sector, whereas 90% work in the
informal sector. In the case of women the corresponding figure in the
informal sector is as high as 95%.
3.2 The relative significance of the three economic sectors
The economic structure and its development give an idea of India's
