Constitution:
26 January 1950; amended many times
Legal system:
based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; separate
personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President A.P.J. Abdul KALAM (since 25 July 2002);
Vice President Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT (since 19 August 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since 22 May 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of
the prime minister
elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of
elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of
the states for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held
July 2002 (next to be held 18 July 2007); vice president elected by
both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election last held
12 August 2002 (next to be held August 2007); prime minister chosen
by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative
elections; election last held April - May 2004 (next to be held May
2009)
election results: Abdul KALAM elected president; percent of
electoral college vote - 89.6%; Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT elected vice
president; percent of Parliament vote - 59.8%
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States or
Rajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more than 250 members, up to
12 of whom are appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen
by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies;
members serve six-year terms) and the People's Assembly or Lok Sabha
(545 seats; 543 elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the
president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Assembly - last held 20 April through 10 May
2004 (next must be held before May 2009)
election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - INC 147, BJP 129, CPI(M) 43, SP 38, RJD 23, DMK 16,
BSP 15, SS 12, BJD 11, CPI 10, NCP 10, JD(U) 8, SAD 8, PMK 6, JMM 5,
LJSP 4, MDMK 4, TDP 4, TRS 4, independent 6, other 29, vacant 13;
note - party seat composition as of December 2006
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (one chief justice and 25 associate justices are
appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the
age of 65 or are removed for "proved misbehavior")
Political parties and leaders:
note - India has dozens of national and regional political parties;
only parties with four or more seats in the People's Assembly are
listed; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya Janata
Party or BJP [Rajnath SINGH]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen
PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan
BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M) [Prakash
KARAT]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian
National Congress or INC [Sonia GANDHI]; Janata Dal (United) or
JD(U) [Sharad YADEV]; Jharkhand Mukti Morcha or JMM [Shibu SOREN];
Lok Jan Shakti Party or LJSP [Ram Vilas PASWAN]; Marumalarchi
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [VAIKU]; Nationalist Congress
Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK [S.
RAMADOSS]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV];
Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal or
SAD [Prakash Singh BADAL]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY];
Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS [K. Chandrasekhar RAO]; Telugu
Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]
Political pressure groups and leaders: numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy, including the All Parties Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir Valley and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland in the Northeast
International organization participation: AfDB, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIMSTEC, BIS, C, CERN (observer), CP, EAS, FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ranendra SEN
chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note -
Consular Wing located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000
FAX: [1] (202) 265-4351
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco