India
Introduction India
------------------
Background: The Indus Valley civilization, one
of the oldest in the world, goes
back at least 5,000 years. Aryan
tribes from the northwest invaded
about 1500 B.C.; their merger with
the earlier inhabitants created the
classical Indian culture. Arab
incursions starting in the 8th
century and Turkish in 12th were
followed by European traders
beginning in the late 15th century.
By the 19th century, Britain had
assumed political control of
virtually all Indian lands.
Nonviolent resistance to British
colonialism under Mohandas GANDHI
and Jawaharlal NEHRU led to
independence in 1947. The
subcontinent was divided into the
secular state of India and the
smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A
third war between the two countries
in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan
becoming the separate nation of
Bangladesh. Fundamental concerns in
India include the ongoing dispute
with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive
overpopulation, environmental
degradation, extensive poverty, and
ethnic and religious strife, all
this despite impressive gains in
economic investment and output.
Geography India
---------------
Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian
Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between
Burma and Pakistan
Geographic coordinates: 20 00 N, 77 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area: total: 3,287,590 sq km
land: 2,973,190 sq km
water: 314,400 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than one-third the
size of the US
Land boundaries: total: 14,103 km
border countries: Bangladesh 4,053
km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km,
China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km,
Pakistan 2,912 km
Coastline: 7,000 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the
edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in
south to temperate in north
Terrain: upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in
south, flat to rolling plain along
the Ganges, deserts in west,
Himalayas in north
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m
Natural resources: coal (fourth-largest reserves in the
world), iron ore, manganese, mica,
bauxite, titanium ore, chromite,
natural gas, diamonds, petroleum,
limestone, arable land
Land use: arable land: 54.35%
permanent crops: 2.66%
other: 42.99% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 590,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: droughts; flash floods, as well as
widespread and destructive flooding
from monsoonal rains; severe
thunderstorms; earthquakes
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion;
overgrazing; desertification; air
pollution from industrial effluents
and vehicle emissions; water
pollution from raw sewage and runoff
of agricultural pesticides; tap
water is not potable throughout the
country; huge and growing population
is overstraining natural resources
Environment - international party to: Antarctic-Environmental
agreements: Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of
the selected agreements
Geography - note: dominates South Asian subcontinent;
near important Indian Ocean trade
routes
People India
------------
Population: 1,045,845,226 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 32.7% (male 175,858,386;
female 165,724,901)
15-64 years: 62.6% (male
338,957,463; female 316,063,497)
65 years and over: 4.7% (male
24,975,465; female 24,265,514) (2002
est.)
Population growth rate: 1.51% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 23.79 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 8.62 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: -0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/
female
total population: 1.07 male(s)/
female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 61.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 63.23 years
female: 63.93 years (2002 est.)
male: 62.55 years
Total fertility rate: 2.98 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 3.7 million (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 310,000 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Indian(s)
adjective: Indian
Ethnic groups: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%,
Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
Religions: Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian
2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups
including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5%
(2000)
Languages: English enjoys associate status but
is the most important language for
national, political, and commercial
communication; Hindu is the national
language and primary tongue of 30%
of the people; there are 14 other
official languages: Bengali, Telugu,
Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati,
Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi,
Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and
Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular
variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely
throughout northern India but is not
an official language
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 52%
male: 65.5%
female: 37.7% (1995 est.)
Government India
----------------
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of
India
conventional short form: India
Government type: federal republic
Capital: New Delhi
Administrative divisions: 28 states and 7 union territories*;
Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra
Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam,
Bihar, Chandigarh*, Chhattisgarh,
Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and
Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,
Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala,
Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa,
Pondicherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura,
Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, West
Bengal
Independence: 15 August 1947 (from UK)
National holiday: Republic Day, 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 Abdul
KALAM (since 26 July 2002); Vice
President (vacant)
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;
election last held NA July 2002
(next to be held NA July 2007); vice
president elected by both houses of
Parliament for a five-year term;
election last held 16 August 1997
(next to be held NA August 2002);
prime minister elected by
parliamentary members of the
majority party following legislative
elections; election last held NA
October 1999 (next to be held NA
October 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister
Atal Bihari VAJPAYEE (since 19 March
1998)
cabinet: Council of Ministers
appointed by the president on the
recommendation of the prime minister
election results: Kocheril Raman
NARAYANAN elected president; percent
of electoral college vote - NA%;
Krishnan KANT elected vice
president; percent of Parliament
vote - NA%; Atal Bihari VAJPAYEE
elected prime minister; percent of
vote - NA%
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 which 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 5 September through 3 October
1999 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results: People's Assembly
- percent of vote by party - BJP
alliance 40.8%, Congress (I)
alliance 33.8%, other 25.4%; seats
by party - BJP alliance 304,
Congress (I) alliance 134, other 107
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges are appointed
by the president and remain in
office until they reach the age of
65)
Political parties and leaders: All India Anna Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam or AIADMK [C. Jayalalitha
JAYARAM]; All India Forward Bloc or
AIFB, [D. BISWAS (general
secretary)]; Asom Gana Parishad
[Brindaban GOSWAMI]; Bahujan Samaj
Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya
Janata Party or BJP [Jana
KRISNAMURTHY]; Biju Janata Dal or
BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]; Communist
Party of India or CPI [Ardhendu
Bhushan BARDHAN]; Communist Party of
India/Marxist-Leninist or CPI/ML
[Dipankar BHATTACHARYA]; Congress
(I) Party [Sonia GANDHI]; Dravida
Munnetra Kazagham or DMK (a regional
party in Tamil Nadu) [M.
KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National League
[Suliaman SAITH]; Janata Dal
(Secular) [H. D. Deve GOWDA]; Janata
Dal (United) or JDU [Sharad YADAV];
Kerala Congress (Mani faction) [K.
M. MANI]; Marumalarchi Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [VAIKO];
Muslim League [G. M. BANATWALA];
Nationalist Congress Party or NCP
[Sharad PAWAR]; Rashtriya Janata Dal
or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV];
Revolutionary Socialist Party or RSP
[Abani ROY]; Samajwadi Party or SP
[Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani
Akali Dal [G. S. TOHRA]; Shiv Sena
[Bal THACKERAY]; Tamil Maanila
Congress [G. K. VASAN]; Telugu Desam
Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU];
Trinamool Congress [Mamata BANERJEE]
Political pressure groups and numerous religious or militant/
leaders: 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
International organization AfDB, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB,
participation: ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, C,
CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-
19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA
(observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO, ITU, MIPONUH,
MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW,
PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMEE,
UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNU, UPU,
WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Lalit
MANSINGH
consulate(s) general: Chicago,
Houston, New York, and San Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 483-3972
telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000
chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20008; note -
Embassy located at 2536
Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador Robert
US: D. BLACKWILL (nominated March 2001)
embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi 110021
mailing address: use embassy street
address
telephone: [91] (11) 419-8000
FAX: [91] (11) 419-0017
consulate(s) general: Chennai
(Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai
(Bombay)
Flag description: 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
Economy India
-------------
Economy - overview: India's economy encompasses
traditional village farming, modern
agriculture, handicrafts, a wide
range of modern industries, and a
multitude of support services. About
a quarter of the population is too
poor to be able to afford an
adequate diet. India's international
payments position remained strong in
2001 with adequate foreign exchange
reserves, and moderately
depreciating nominal exchange rates.
Growth in manufacturing output has
slowed, and electricity shortages
continue in many regions. India has
large numbers of well-educated
people skilled in English language;
India is a major exporter of
software services and software
workers.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.5
trillion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,500
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 25%
industry: 26%
services: 49% (2001)
Population below poverty line: 25% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 3.5%
percentage share: highest 10%: 33.5% (1997)
Distribution of family income - Gini 37.8 (1997)
index:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.5% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 406 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 60%, services 23%,
industry 17% (1999)
Unemployment rate: 4.4% (1999)
Budget: revenues: $48.3 billion
expenditures: $78.2 billion,
including capital expenditures of
$13.5 billion (FY01/02 est.)
Industries: textiles, chemicals, food
processing, steel, transportation
equipment, cement, mining,
petroleum, machinery, software
Industrial production growth rate: 4.3% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 547.12 billion kWh (FY 2000-01,
utilities only) (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 83.4%
hydro: 13.85%
other: 0.18% (2000)
nuclear: 2.57%
Electricity - consumption: 509.89 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 321 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 1.385 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute,
tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle,
water buffalo, sheep, goats,
poultry; fish
Exports: $44.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: textile goods, gems and jewelry,
engineering goods, chemicals,
leather manufactures
Exports - partners: US 22.8%, Hong Kong 5.8%, Japan
5.3%, UK 5.3%, Germany 4.6% (2000)
Imports: $53.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: crude oil, machinery, gems,
fertilizer, chemicals
Imports - partners: Benelux 8.5%, US 8%, UK 6.2%, Japan
5.7%, Saudi Arabia 4.6% (2000)
Debt - external: $100.3 billion (end-March 2001)
Economic aid - recipient: $2.9 billion (FY98/99)
Currency: Indian rupee (INR)
Currency code: INR
Exchange rates: Indian rupees per US dollar - 48.336
(January 2002), 47.186 (2001),
44.942 (2000), 43.055 (1999), 41.259
(1998), 36.313 (1997)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Communications India
--------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 27.7 million (October 2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2.93 million (November 2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: mediocre
service; local and long distance
service provided throughout all
regions of the country, with
services primarily concentrated in
the urban areas; major objective is
to continue to expand and modernize
long-distance network to keep pace
with rapidly growing number of local
subscriber lines; steady improvement
is taking place with the recent
admission of private and private-
public investors, but, with
telephone density at about two for
each 100 persons and a waiting list
of over 2 million, demand for main
line telephone service will not be
satisfied for a very long time
domestic: local service is provided
by microwave radio relay and coaxial
cable, with open wire and obsolete
electromechanical and manual
switchboard systems still in use in
rural areas; starting in the 1980s,
a substantial amount of digital
switch gear has been introduced for
local and long-distance service;
long-distance traffic is carried
mostly by coaxial cable and low-
capacity microwave radio relay;
since 1985 significant trunk
capacity has been added in the form
of fiber-optic cable and a domestic
satellite system with 254 earth
stations; mobile cellular service is
provided in four metropolitan cities
international: satellite earth
stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean
region); nine gateway exchanges
operating from Mumbai (Bombay), New
Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai
(Madras), Jalandhar, Kanpur,
Gaidhinagar, Hyderabad, and
Ernakulam; 4 submarine cables -
LOCOM linking Chennai (Madras) to
Penang; Indo-UAE-Gulf cable linking
Mumbai (Bombay) to Al Fujayrah, UAE;
India-SEA-ME-WE-3, SEA-ME-WE-2 with
landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai
(Bombay); Fiber-Optic Link Around
the Globe (FLAG) with landing site
at Mumbai (Bombay) (2000)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998)
Radios: 116 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 562 (of which 82 stations have 1 kW
or greater power and 480 stations
have less than 1 kW of power) (1997)
Televisions: 63 million (1997)
Internet country code: .in
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 43 (2000)
Internet users: 5 million (2001)
Transportation India
--------------------
Railways: total: 63,693 km (13,771 km
electrified)
broad gauge: 45,103 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 15,178 km 1.000-
m gauge; 3,105 km 0.762-m gauge; 307
km 0.610-m gauge (2001)
Highways: total: 3,319,644 km
paved: 1,517,077 km
unpaved: 1,802,567 km (1996)
Waterways: 16,180 km
note: 3,631 km navigable by large
vessels
Pipelines: crude oil 3,005 km; petroleum
products 2,687 km; natural gas 1,700
km (1995)
Ports and harbors: Chennai (Madras), Cochin, Jawaharal
Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta),
Mumbai (Bombay), Vishakhapatnam
Merchant marine: total: 319 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 6,325,284 GRT/10,581,459
DWT
ships by type: bulk 115, cargo 80,
chemical tanker 16, combination bulk
1, combination ore/oil 3, container
13, liquefied gas 9, passenger/cargo
5, petroleum tanker 74, short-sea
passenger 2, specialized tanker 1
note: includes some foreign-owned
ships registered here as a flag of
convenience: China 1, United Arab
Emirates 10, United Kingdom 1 (2002
est.)
Airports: 335 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 234
over 3,047 m: 14
2,438 to 3,047 m: 48
914 to 1,523 m: 75
under 914 m: 17 (2001)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 80
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 101
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
under 914 m: 52 (2001)
914 to 1,523 m: 41
Heliports: 18 (2001)
Military India
--------------
Military branches: Army, Navy (including naval air
arm), Air Force, Strategic Nuclear
Command (SNC), Coast Guard, various
security or paramilitary forces
(including Border Security Force,
Assam Rifles, Rashtriya Rifles,
National Security Guards, Indo-
Tibetan Border Police, Special
Frontier Force, Ladakh Scouts,
Central Reserve Police Force,
Central Industrial Security Force,
Railway Protection Force, Defense
Security Corps, and Indian Reserve
Battalions)
Military manpower - military age: 17 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 285,729,565 (2002
est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 167,599,380 (2002
service: est.)
Military manpower - reaching males: 10,879,384 (2002 est.)
military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar $12,079.7 million (FY01)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of 2.5% (FY01)
GDP:
Transnational Issues India
--------------------------
Disputes - international: discussions with Bangladesh remain
stalled to delimit a small section
of river boundary, demarcate and
fence off the entire boundary,
exchange 162 minuscule enclaves, and
allocate divided villages while
skirmishes, illegal trafficking, and
violence along the border continue;
Bangladesh has protested India's
attempts to fence off high traffic
sections of the porous boundary;
dispute with Bangladesh over New
Moore/South Talpatty Island in the
Bay of Bengal; much of the rugged,
militarized boundary with China is
in dispute but talks to resolve the
least contested middle sector
resumed in 2001; with Pakistan,
armed stand-off over the status and
sovereignty of Kashmir continues;
dispute with Pakistan over terminus
of Rann of Kutch prevents extension
of a maritime boundary; water-
sharing problems with Pakistan
persist over the Indus River (Wular
Barrage); Joint Border Committee
formed with Nepal in 2001 is
intended to resolve 53 disputed
sections of boundary covering an
area of 720 sq km
Illicit drugs: world's largest producer of licit
opium for the pharmaceutical trade,
but an undetermined quantity of
opium is diverted to illicit
international drug markets; transit
country for illicit narcotics
produced in neighboring countries;
illicit producer of hashish and
methaqualone
