Constitution: 26 January 1950
Legal system: based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic, 26 January (1950)
Executive branch: president, vice president, prime minister,
Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Sansad) consists of an upper house or Government Assembly (Rajya Sabha) and a lower house or People's Assembly (Lok Sabha)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders: Chief of State—President Ramaswamy Iyer VENKATARAMAN (since 25 July 1987); Vice President Dr. Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 3 September 1987);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap SINGH (since 2 December 1989)
Political parties and leaders: Janata Dal Party, Prime Minister
V. P. Singh; Congress (I) Party, Rajiv Gandhi; Bharatiya Janata Party,
L. K. Advani; Communist Party of India (CPI), C. Rajeswara Rao;
Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M), E. M. S. Namboodiripad;
Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Satyanarayan Singh;
All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK), a regional party
in Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham, M. Karunanidhi;
Akali Dal factions representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab;
Telugu Desam, a regional party in Andhra Pradesh, N. T. Rama Rao; National
Conference (NC), a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah;
Asom Gana Parishad, a regional party in Assam, Prafulla Mahanta
Suffrage: universal at age 18