Names:
conventional long form:
Republic of India
conventional short form:
India
Digraph:
IN
Type:
federal republic
Capital:
New Delhi
Administrative divisions:
25 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*,
Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Dadra
and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland,
Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura,
Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal
Independence:
15 August 1947 (from UK)
National holiday:
Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic, 26 January (1950)
Constitution:
26 January 1950
Legal system:
based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative
acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 25 July 1992); Vice President
Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN (since 21 August 1992)
head of government:
Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha RAO (since 21 June 1991)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on recommendation of
the prime minister
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament (Sansad)
Council of States (Rajya Sabha):
body consisting of not more than 250 members, up to 12 appointed by
the president, the remainder chosen by the elected members of the
state and territorial assemblies
People's Assembly (Lok Sabha):
elections last held 21 May, 12 and 15 June 1991 (next to be held by
November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (545
total, 543 elected, 2 appointed) Congress (I) Party 245, Bharatiya
Janata Party 119, Janata Dal Party 39, Janata Dal (Ajit Singh) 20,
CPI/M 35, CPI 14, Telugu Desam 13, AIADMK 11, Samajwadi Janata Party
5, Shiv Sena 4, RSP 4, BSP 1, Congress (S) Party 1, other 23, vacant 9
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
Congress (I) Party, P. V. Narasimha RAO, president; Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), L.K. ADVANI; Janata Dal Party, Chandra SHEKHAR; Janata
Dal (Ajit Singh), Ajit SINGH; Communist Party of India/Marxist
(CPI/M), Harkishan Singh SURJEET; Communist Party of India (CPI),
Indrajit GUPTA; Telugu Desam (a regional party in Andhra Pradesh), N.
T. Rama RAO; All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK; a
regional party in Tamil Nadu), Jayaram JAYALALITHA; Samajwadi Party
(SP, formerly Samajwadi Janata Party), Mulayam Singh YADAV
(President), Om Prakash CHAUTALA, Devi LAL; Shiv Sena, Bal THACKERAY;
Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Tridip CHOWDHURY; Bahujana Samaj
Party (BSP), Kanshi RAM; Congress (S) Party, leader NA; Communist
Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Vinod MISHRA; Dravida
Munnetra Kazagham (a regional party in Tamil Nadu), M. KARUNANIDHI;
Akali Dal factions representing Sikh religious community in the
Punjab; National Conference (NC; a regional party in Jammu and
Kashmir), Farooq ABDULLAH
Other political or pressure groups:
various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional
autonomy; numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations,
including Adam Sena, Ananda Marg, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh
Member of:
AG (observer), AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-6, G-15, G-19, AfDB,
G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO,
IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU,
LORCS, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUSAL, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOMOZ, UNOSOM, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Siddhartha Shankar RAY
chancery:
2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 939-7000
consulate(s) general:
Chicago, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate Frank WISNER
embassy:
Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri 110021, New Delhi
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
[91] (11) 600651
FAX:
[91] (11) 687-2028
consulate(s) general:
Bombay, Calcutta, Madras
Flag:
three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with a
blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band; similar to
the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk centered in the white
band
@India, Economy
Overview:
India's economy is a mixture of traditional village farming, modern
agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a
multitude of support services. Faster economic growth in the 1980s
permitted a significant increase in real per capita private
consumption. A large share of the population, perhaps as much as 40%,
remains too poor to afford an adequate diet. Financial strains in 1990
and 1991 prompted government austerity measures that slowed industrial
growth but permitted India to meet its international payment
obligations without rescheduling its debt. Policy reforms since 1991
have extended earlier economic liberalization and greatly reduced
government controls on production, trade, and investment. US and other
foreign firms are increasing their investment in India. In January
1994, international financial reserves were comfortably high.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $1.17 trillion (FY94 est.)
National product real growth rate:
3.8% (FY94 est.)
National product per capita:
$1,300 (FY94 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
8% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues:
$29.6 billion
expenditures:
$45.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $11.2 billion (FY93)
Exports:
$21.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities:
gems and jewelry, clothing, engineering goods, chemicals, leather
manufactures, cotton yarn, and fabric
partners:
US 18.9%, Germany 7.8%, Italy 7.8%, (FY93)
Imports:
$22 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities:
crude oil and petroleum products, gems, fertilizer, chemicals,
machinery
partners:
US 9.8%, Belgium 8.4%, Germany 7.6% (FY93)
External debt:
$90.1 billion (March 1993)
Industrial production:
growth rate 2% (1993 est.); accounts for about 25% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
82,000,000 kW
production:
310 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
340 kWh (1992)
Industries:
textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment,
cement, mining, petroleum, machinery
Agriculture:
accounts for about 40% of GDP and employs 65% of labor force;
principal crops - rice, wheat, oilseeds, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane,
potatoes; livestock - cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, poultry; fish
catch of about 3 million metric tons ranks India among the world's top
10 fishing nations
Illicit drugs:
licit producer of opium poppy for the pharmaceutical trade, but some
opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; major transit
country for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries;
illicit producer of hashish; minor production of illicit opium
Economic aid:
recipient:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $4.4 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $31.7
billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $315 million; USSR (1970-89),
$11.6 billion; Eastern Europe (1970-89), $105 million
Currency:
1 Indian rupee (Re) = 100 paise
Exchange rates:
Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1 - 31.370 (January 1994), 30.493 (1993),
25.918 (1992), 22.742 (1991), 17.504 (1990), 16.226 (1989)
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March
@India, Communications
Railroads:
61,850 km total (1986); 33,553 km 1.676-meter broad gauge, 24,051 km
1.000-meter gauge, 4,246 km narrow gauge (0.762 meter and 0.610
meter); 12,617 km is double track; 6,500 km is electrified
Highways:
total:
1.97 million km
paved:
960,000 km
unpaved:
gravel, crushed stone, earth 1.01 million km (1989)
Inland waterways:
16,180 km; 3,631 km navigable by large vessels
Pipelines:
crude oil 3,497 km; petroleum products 1,703 km; natural gas 902 km
(1989)
Ports:
Bombay, Calcutta, Cochin, Kandla, Madras, New Mangalore, Port Blair
(Andaman Islands)
Merchant marine:
297 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,236,902 GRT/10,369,948 DWT,
bulk 111, cargo 81, chemical tanker 9, combination bulk 2, combination
ore/oil 7, container 7, liquefied gas 6, oil tanker 66,
passenger-cargo 6, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1
Airports:
total:
337
usable:
288
with permanent-surface runways:
208
with runways over 3,659 m:
2
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
59
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
92
Telecommunications:
domestic telephone system is poor providing only one telephone for
about 200 persons on average; long distance telephoning has been
improved by a domestic satellite system which also carries TV;
international service is provided by 3 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth
stations and by submarine cables to Malaysia and the United Arab
Emirates; broadcast stations - 96 AM, 4 FM, 274 TV (government
controlled)
@India, Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, Security or Paramilitary Forces (including
Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, and Coast Guard)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 247,948,906; fit for military service 145,881,705;
reach military age (17) annually 9,408,586 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $6.0 billion, 2.4% of GDP (FY93/94)
@Indian Ocean, Geography
Location:
body of water between Africa, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica
Map references:
Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
73.6 million sq km
comparative area:
slightly less than eight times the size of the US; third-largest ocean
(after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the
Arctic Ocean)
note:
includes Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Strait of
Malacca, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Oman, Mozambique Channel, and
other tributary water bodies
Coastline:
66,526 km
International disputes:
some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Climate:
northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to
October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November
in the north Indian Ocean and January/February in the south Indian
Ocean
Terrain:
surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of
currents) in the south Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface
currents in the north Indian Ocean, low atmospheric pressure over
southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest
monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high
pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in
the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents;
ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided
by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and
Ninety East Ridge; maximum depth is 7,258 meters in the Java Trench
Natural resources:
oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer
deposits, polymetallic nodules
Environment:
current issues:
endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and
whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea
natural hazards:
NA
international agreements:
NA
Note:
major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of
Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait;
ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme south near Antarctica
from May to October
@Indian Ocean, Government