Indiana State (U.S.A.), a land of coal power plants, fossil fuels, manufacturing, agriculture and flat taxes

With its powerful work force over 3,084,100, Indiana is a market of + 6 million consumers. A high percentage of Indiana's income is from manufacturing. The Calumet region of northwest Indiana is the largest steel producing area in the U.S.

Indiana's other manufactures include pharmaceuticals and medical devices, automobiles, electrical equipment, transportation equipment, chemical products, rubber, petroleum and coal products, and factory machinery.

Indiana's labor force is located primarily in medium-sized and smaller cities rather than in very large and expensive metropolises. Firms often see in Indiana a chance to obtain higher than average skills at lower than average wages.

Indiana is home to the international headquarters and research facilities of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, the state's largest corporation, as well as the world headquarters of Mead Johnson Nutritionals in Evansville. 

Indiana is located within the U.S. Corn Belt and Grain Belt. The state has a feedlot-style system raising corn to fatten hogs and cattle. Along with corn, soybeans are also a major cash crop. Its proximity to large urban centers, such as Indianapolis and Chicago, assure that dairying, egg production, and specialty horticulture occur. Other crops include melons, tomatoes, grapes, mint, popping corn, and tobacco in the southern counties.

Indiana has a flat state income tax rate of 3.4%. Many Indiana counties also collect income tax. The state sales tax rate is 7% with exemptions for food, prescription medications and over-the-counter medications.

Property taxes are imposed on both real and personal property in Indiana and are administered by the Department of Local Government Finance.

Indiana's power production chiefly consists of the consumption of fossil fuels, mainly coal. Indiana has 24 coal power plants, including the largest coal power plant in the United States, Gibson Generating Station, located across the Wabash River from Mount Carmel, Illinois.

Indiana is also home to the coal-fired plant with the highest sulfur dioxide emissions in the United States, the Gallagher power plant just west of New Albany.

The state has an estimated coal reserves of 57 billion tons; state mining operations produces 35 million tons of coal annually.

Indiana also possesses at least 900 million barrels of petroleum reserves in the Trenton Field, though not easily recoverable.

Most of the new plants in the state have been coal gasification plants. Another source is hydroelectric power.

Indianapolis International Airport serves the greater Indianapolis area and has finished constructing a new passenger terminal. The new airport opened in November 2008 and offers a new midfield passenger terminal, concourses, air traffic control tower, parking garage, and airfield and apron improvements.

Other major airports include Evansville Regional Airport, Fort Wayne International Airport (which houses the 122d Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard), and South Bend International Airport.

The major U.S. Interstate highways in Indiana are Interstate 64 (I-64), I-65, I-265, I-465, I-865, I-69, I-469, I-70, I-74, I-80, I-90, I-94, and I-275. The various highways intersecting in and around Indianapolis, along with its historical status as a major railroad hub, and the canals that once crossed Indiana, are the source of the state's motto, the Crossroads of America.

There are also many U.S. routes and state highways maintained by the Indiana Department of Transportation.

Most Indiana counties use a grid-based system to identify county roads.

Indiana has more than 4,255 railroad route miles, of which 91 percent are operated by Class I railroads, principally CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Indiana annually ships over 70 million tons of cargo by water each year, which ranks 14th among all U.S. states. More than half of Indiana's border is water, which includes 400 miles (640 km) of direct access to two major freight transportation arteries: the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway (via Lake Michigan) and the Inland Waterway System (via the Ohio River). The Ports of Indiana manages three major ports which include Burns Harbor, Jeffersonville, and Mount Vernon.