| 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 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 strife, all this despite impressive
gains in economic investment and output. |
| Location: |
Southern Asia,
bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between
Burma and Pakistan |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
20 00 N, 77 00 E |
| 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 |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous
zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the
continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 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:
56%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 4%
forests and woodland: 23%
other: 16% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
535,100 sq km
(1995/96 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
droughts, flash
floods, severe thunderstorms common; 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 agreements: |
party to:
Antarctic-Environmental 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 |
| Population: |
1,029,991,145
(July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
33.12% (male 175,630,537; female 165,540,672)
15-64 years: 62.2% (male 331,790,850; female
308,902,864)
65 years and over: 4.68% (male 24,439,022;
female 23,687,200) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.55% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
24.28
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
8.74 deaths/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-0.08 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 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 (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
63.19
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 62.86 years
male: 62.22 years
female: 63.53 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
3.04 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.7% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
3.7 million (1999
est.) |
| 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, Hindi the
national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people,
Bengali (official), Telugu (official), Marathi (official),
Tamil (official), Urdu (official), Gujarati (official),
Malayalam (official), Kannada (official), Oriya (official),
Punjabi (official), Assamese (official), Kashmiri
(official), Sindhi (official), Sanskrit (official),
Hindustani (a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely
throughout northern India)
note: 24 languages each spoken by a million or
more persons; numerous other languages and dialects, for the
most part mutually unintelligible |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 52%
male: 65.5%
female: 37.7% (1995 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Republic of India
conventional short form: India |
| Government
type: |
federal republic |
| 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 Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN (since
25 July 1997); Vice President Krishnan KANT (since 21 August
1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Atal Behari
VAJPAYEE (since 19 March 1998)
cabinet: Council of Ministers 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; election last held 14 July 1997 (next to be
held NA July 2002); 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)
election results: Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN
elected president; percent of electoral college vote - NA%;
Krishnan KANT elected vice president; percent of Parliament
vote - NA%; Atal Behari 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 alliance
33.8%, other 25.4%; seats by party - BJP alliance 304,
Congress 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 [Prem Dutta PALIWAL
(chairman), Chitta BASU (general secretary)]; Asom Gana
Parishad [Prafulla Kumar MAHANTA]; Bahujan Samaj Party or
BSP [Kanshi RAM]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Bangaru
LAXMAN, president]; 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 [Vinod
MISHRA]; Congress (I) Party [Sonia GANDHI, president];
Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK (a regional party in Tamil
Nadu) [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National League [Suliaman
SAIT]; Janata Dal (Secular) [H. D. Deve GOWDA]; Janata Dal
(United) or JDU [Sharad YADAV, president, I. K. GUJRAL];
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]; National Democratic Alliance, a 16-party alliance
including BJP, DMK, Janata Dal (U), SHS, Shiromani Akali Dal,
Telugu Desam, BJD, Rinamool Congress]; Rashtriya Janata Dal
or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Revolutionary Socialist Party
or RSP [Tridip CHOWDHURY]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam
Singh YADAV, president]; Shiromani Akali Dal [Prakash Singh
BADAL]; Shiv Sena [Bal THACKERAY]; Tamil Maanila Congress
[G. K. MOOPANAR]; Telugu Desam Party or TDP (a regional
party in Andhra Pradesh) [Chandrababu NAIDU]; Trinamool
Congress [Mamata BANERJEE] |
| 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 |
| International
organization participation: |
AfDB, ARF
(dialogue partner), AsDB, 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, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol,
IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM,
OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNU, UPU, WCL,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Naresh CHANDRA
chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008; note - Embassy located at 2536
Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000
FAX: [1] (202) 483-3972
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New
York, and San Francisco |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Richard F. CELESTE
embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi
110021
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [91] (11) 688-9033, 611-3033
FAX: [91] (11) 419-0025
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
- overview: |
India's economy
encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture,
handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a
multitude of support services. More than a third of the
population is too poor to be able to afford an adequate
diet. India's international payments position remained
strong in 2000 with adequate foreign exchange reserves,
moderately depreciating nominal exchange rates, and booming
exports of software services. Growth in manufacturing output
slowed, and electricity shortages continue in many regions. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $2.2 trillion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
6% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $2,200 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
25%
industry: 24%
services: 51% (2000) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
35% (1994 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
3.5%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1997) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
5.4% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 67%,
services 18%, industry 15% (1995 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$44.3 billion
expenditures: $73.6 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
| Industries: |
textiles,
chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment,
cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
7.5% (2000 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
454.561 billion
kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
79.41%
hydro: 17.77%
nuclear: 2.52%
other: 0.3% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
424.032 billion
kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
200 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
1.49 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
rice, wheat,
oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle,
water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish |
| Exports: |
$43.1 billion
(f.o.b., 2000) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
textile goods,
gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather
manufactures |
| Exports
- partners: |
US 22%, UK 6%,
Germany 5%, Japan 5%, Hong Kong 5%, UAE 4% (1999) |
| Imports: |
$60.8 billion
(f.o.b., 2000) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
crude oil,
machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals |
| Imports
- partners: |
US 9%, Benelux
8%, UK 6%, Saudi Arabia 6%, Japan 6%, Germany 5% (1999) |
| Debt
- external: |
$99.6 billion
(2000) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$2.9 billion
(FY98/99) |
| Currency: |
Indian rupee (INR) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Indian rupees per
US dollar - 46.540 (January 2001), 44.942 (2000), 43.055
(1999), 41.259 (1998), 36.313 (1997), 35.433 (1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
1 April - 31
March |
| 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 in order 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: |
4.5 million
(2000) |
| Railways: |
total:
62,915 km (12,307 km electrified; 12,617 km double track)
broad gauge: 40,620 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 18,501 km 1.000-m gauge; 3,794 km
0.762-m and 0.610-m gauge (1998 est.) |
| 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:
315 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,433,831 GRT/10,691,973
DWT
ships by type: bulk 117, cargo 70, chemical
tanker 15, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 3,
container 15, liquefied gas 9, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum
tanker 76, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 2 (2000
est.) |
| Airports: |
337 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
235
over 3,047 m: 13
2,438 to 3,047 m: 48
1,524 to 2,437 m: 81
914 to 1,523 m: 77
under 914 m: 16 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
102
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 40
under 914 m: 55 (2000 est.) |
| Heliports: |
16 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Army, Navy
(including naval air arm), Air Force, various security or
paramilitary forces (includes Border Security Force, Assam
Rifles, Rashtriya Rifles, and National Security Guards) |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
17 years of age |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age
15-49: 280,204,502 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age
15-49: 164,410,461 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males:
10,879,384 (2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$13.02 billion
(FY01) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
2.5% (FY00) |
| Disputes
- international: |
boundary with
China in dispute; status of Kashmir with Pakistan;
water-sharing problems with Pakistan over the Indus River (Wular
Barrage); a portion of the boundary with Bangladesh is
indefinite; exchange of 151 enclaves along border with
Bangladesh subject to ratification by Indian parliament;
dispute with Bangladesh over New Moore/South Talpatty Island |
| 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 |
|
