India

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Pakistan

Area

Total area: 3,287,590 km2
Land area: 2,973,190 km2
Comparative area: slightly more than one-third the size of the U.S.

Land Boundaries

Total 14,103 km, 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
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

International Disputes

Boundaries with Bangladesh and China; status of Kashmir with Pakistan; water-sharing problems with downstream riparians, Bangladesh over the Ganges and Pakistan over the Indus

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
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

Land Use

Arable land: 55%
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows and pastures: 4%
Forest and woodland: 23%
Other: 17%

Irrigated Land

430,390 sq km (1989)

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 rapidly growing population is overstraining natural resources
Natural hazards: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; earthquakes
International agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification

Note: Dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes

PEOPLE

Population

952,107,694 (July 1996 est.)
936,545,814 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

34% (male 168,030,766; female 159,283,151) (July 1996 est.)
35% (male 168,812,255; female 159,921,309) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

62% (male 304,805,787; female 281,311,834) (July 1996 est.)
61% (male 296,145,798; female 274,105,407) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

4% (male 19,148,385; female 19,527,771) (July 1996 est.)
4% (male 18,690,283; female 18,870,762) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

1.64% (1996 est.)
1.77% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

25.94 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
27.78 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

9.61 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
10.07 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.07 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

71.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
76.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total population: 59.71 years (1996 est.); 59.04 years (1995 est.)
Male: 59.12 years (1996 est.); 58.5 years (1995 est.)
Female: 60.32 years (1996 est.); 59.61 years (1995 est.)

Total Fertility Rate

3.2 children born/woman (1996 est.) 3.4 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Noun: Indian(s)
Adjective: Indian

Ethnic Divisions

Indo-Aryan 72%
Dravidian 25%
Mongoloid and other 3%

Religions

Hindu 80%
Muslim 14%
Christian 2.4%
Sikh 2%
Buddhist 0.7%
Jains 0.5%
Other 0.4%

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 Hindu/Urdu, is 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

Age 7 and over that can read and write (1995 est.)

Total population: 52%
Male: 65.5%
Female: 37.7%

Labor Force

314.751 million (1990)

By occupation:

Agriculture 65% (1993 est.)

GOVERNMENT

Names

Conventional long form: Republic of India
Conventional short form: India

Digraph

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 U.K.)

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) was elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states; Vice President Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN (since 21 August 1992) was elected by both houses of Parliament
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 27 April through May 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (545 total, 543 elected, 2 appointed) Congress (I) Party 245, BJP 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; note - the distribution of seats as of 18 January 1995 is as follows: Congress (I) Party 260, BJP 117, CPI/M 36, Janata Dal Party 24, Samata Party 14, CPI 14, AIADMK 12, Janata Dal (Ajit) 7, Telugu Desam 7, RSP 4, Janata Dal (Ex-Ajit) 3, Samajwadi Party 3, BSP 3, AIFB 3, Shiv Sena 2, Congress (S) Party 1, Kerala Congress (Mani faction) 1, Bihar Peoples Party 1, India National League 1, other 14, vacant 16

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president

Political Parties and Leaders

Congress (I) Party, P. V. Narasimha RAO, president; Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), L.K. ADVANI; Janata Dal Party, Laloo Prasad YADAV; Janata Dal (Ajit), Ajit SINGH; Janata Dal (Ex-Ajit), leader NA; Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M), Harkishan Singh SURJEET; Communist Party of India (CPI), Indrajit GUPTA; Telugu Desam (Naidu) (a regional party in Andhra Pradesh), Chandrababu NAIDU; All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK; a regional party in Tamil Nadu), Jayaram JAYALALITHA; Samajwadi Party (SP), Mulayam Singh YADAV (president), Om Prakash CHAUTALA, Devi LAL; Shiv Sena, Bal THACKERAY; Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Tridip CHOWDHURY; Bahujan 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; Bihar Peoples Party, Lovely ANAND; Samata Party (formerly Janata Dal members), George FERNANDES; Indian National League, Suliaman SAIT; Kerala Congress (Mani faction), K.M. MANI; All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), Prem Dutta PALIWAL (chairman), Chitta BASU (general secretary); Congress (Tiwari), Arjun SINGH and N.D. TIWARI

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

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNOMIL, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

National Anthem

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

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. Production, trade, and investment reforms since 1991 have provided new opportunities for Indian businessmen and an estimated 200 million plus middle class consumers. New Delhi has always paid its foreign debts on schedule and has stimulated exports, attracted foreign investment, and revived confidence in India's economic prospects. GDP growth in 1992-95 has averaged nearly 5%. Most of the country's external fundamentals - including the current account balance and reserves (now nearly $17 billion) are healthy. Party politics is increasingly shaping the debate over economic reforms. In addition, the 25 Indian states and several union territories, which are playing a more active role in determining economic policy, are further complicating the economic climate. The Indian Government will also have to watch closely rising government expenditures and higher debt servicing which could create a debt trap by the turn of the century. Nevertheless, India should achieve economic growth of 5.5%-6.5% annually through the next several years. Even if a weak coalition government comes to power in 1996 and is unable to push reforms aggressively, parts of the economy that have already benefited from deregulation will continue to grow. Moreover, the country can build on other strengths, including its diverse industrial base, large scientific and technical pool, well-developed legal system, and its large middle class to achieve higher growth.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.4087 trillion (1995 est.); $1.2539 trillion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

5.5% (1995 est.)
5% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$1,500 (1995 est.)
$1,360 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

9% (1995)
10% (1994 est.)

Unemployment Rate

Budget

Revenues: $36.5 billion (FY94/95); $30.85 billion (FY93/94)
Expenditures: $54.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $11.4 billion (FY94/95); $48.35 billion, including capital expenditures of $10.5 billion (FY93/94)

Exports

$29.96 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
$24.4 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

Commodities:

Clothing
Gems and jewelry
Engineering goods
Chemicals
Leather manufactures
Cotton yarn
And fabric

Partners:

U.S.
Japan
Germany
U.K.
Hong Kong

Imports

$33.5 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
$25.5 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)

Commodities:

Crude oil and petroleum products
Machinery
Gems
Fertilizer
Chemicals

Partners:

U.S.
germany
Saudi Arabia
U.K.
Belgium
Japan

External Debt

$97.9 billion (March 1995)
$89.2 billion (November 1994)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 10% (1995 est.); 7% (1994 est.); accounts for 28% of GDP

Electricity

Capacity: 81,200,000 kW
Production: 314 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 324 kWh (1993)

Industries

Textiles
Chemicals
Food processing
Steel
Transportation equipment
Cement
Mining
Petroleum
Machinery

Agriculture

Accounts for 34% of GDP; 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 an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; major transit country for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer of hashish and methaqualone; produced 70 metric tons of illicit opium in 1995; 82 metric tons in 1994

Economic Aid

Recipient: ODA, $1.237 billion (1993); US ODA bilateral commitments $171 million; US Ex-Im bilateral commitments $680 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA bilateral commitments $2.48 billion; OPEC bilateral aid $200 million; World Bank (IBRD) multilateral commitments $2.8 billion; Asian Development Bank (AsDB) multilateral commitments $760 million; International Finance Corporation (IFC) multilateral commitments $200 million; other multilateral commitments $554 million (1995-96)
U.S. 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 - 35.766 (January 1996), 32.427 (1995), 31.374 (1994), 30.493 (1993), 25.918 (1992), 22.742 (1991), 17.504 (1990)

Fiscal Year

1 April - 31 March

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Total: 62,462 km (12,617 km double track)
Broad gauge: 37,824 km 1.676-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 20,653 km 1.000-m gauge; 3,985 km 0.762-m and 0.610-m gauge (1995 est.)

Highways

Total: 2.037 million km
Paved: 981,834 km
Unpaved: 1,055,166 km (1995 est.)

Inland Waterways

16,180 km; 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

Calcutta, Cochin, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Madras, Mumbai (Bombay), Vishakhapatnam

Merchant Marine

Total: 310 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,787,834 GRT/11,296,222 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 133, cargo 65, chemical tanker 10, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 3, container 11, liquefied gas tanker 6, oil tanker 73, passenger-cargo 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1 (1995 est.)

Airports

Total: 288
With paved runways over 3,047 m: 11
With paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 48
With paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 59
With paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 68
With paved runways under 914 m: 62
With unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 36 (1995 est.)

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

9.8 million telephones (1995); probably the least adequate telephone system of any of the industrializing countries; three of every four villages have no telephone service; only 5% of India's villages have long-distance service; poor telephone service significantly impedes commercial and industrial growth and penalizes India in global markets; slow improvement is taking place with the recent admission of private and private-public investors, but demand for communication services is also growing rapidly

Domestic: local service is provided mostly by open wire and obsolete electromechanical and manual switchboard systems; within the last 10 years a substantial amount of digital switch gear has been introduced for local service; long-distance traffic is carried mostly by open wire, coaxial cable, and low-capacity microwave radio relay; since 1985, however, significant trunk capacity has been added in the form of fiber-optic cable and a domestic satellite system with over 100 earth stations
International: 8 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth stations and submarine cables to Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates

Radio

Broadcast stations: AM 96, FM 4, shortwave 0
Radios: 70 million (1992 est.)

Television

Broadcast stations: 274 (government controlled)
Televisions: 33 million (1992 est.)

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, various security or paramilitary forces (includes Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, and Coast Guard)

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 260,624,007; males fit for military service 153,176,413; males reach military age (17) annually 9,770,331 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $8.0 billion, 2.7% of GDP (FY95/96); $7.8 billion, 2.8% of GDP (FY94/95)

India
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