A number of Indian financial institutions have headquarters in downtown Mumbai, including the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Reserve Bank of India, the National Stock Exchange of India, the Mint, and numerous conglomerates (the Tata Group, Godrej and Reliance. Many foreign banks and financial institutions also have branches in this area.

Up until the 1980s, Mumbai owed its prosperity largely to textile mills and the seaport, but the local economy has since been diversified to include engineering, diamond-polishing, healthcare and information technology. Mumbai’s status as the state capital means that state and federal government employees make up a large percentage of the city’s workforce. Mumbai also has a large unskilled and semi-skilled labor population, who primarily earn their livelihood as hawkers, taxi drivers, mechanics and other such blue collar professions. The port and shipping industry too employs many residents, directly or indirectly.

The entertainment industry is the other major employer in Mumbai. Most of India’s major television and satellite networks are headquartered in Mumbai, as well as its major publishing houses. The centre of the Hindi movie industry, Bollywood, is also located in Mumbai, along with its largest studios and movie production houses. Marathi television and film industries are also based in Mumbai.

With a GDP growth rate of 9.2%, the Indian economy is among the fastest growing in the world. India has a labor force of 509.3 million, 60% of which is employed in agriculture or agriculture related industries. The service sector accounts for 54% of GDP; the agricultural and industrial sectors make up 28% and 18% respectively. Major agricultural crops include rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, and potatoes. Major industries include automobiles, cement, chemicals, consumer electronics, food processing, machinery, mining, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, steel, transportation equipment and textiles.

Last year exports stood at US$112 billion and imports was around US$187.9 billion. Textiles, jewelry, engineering goods and software are major export commodities.  Crude oil, machineries, fertilizers and chemicals are major import commodities. India’s most important trading partners are the United States, the European Union, Japan, China, and the United Arab Emirates.[16]More recently, India has capitalized on its large pool of educated, English-speaking people to become an important outsourcing destination for multinational corporations. India has also become a major exporter of software as well as financial, research, and technology services. India’s software exports is growing at the rate 30-35% per year.