Country name
conventional long form: Republic of India
conventional short form: India
local long form: Republic of India/Bharatiya Ganarajya
local short form: India/Bharat
Government type
federal republic
Capital
name: New Delhi
geographic coordinates: 28 36 N, 77 12 E
time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
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, Puducherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil
Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
Independence
15 August 1947 (from UK)
National holiday
Republic Day, 26 January (1950)
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 - seats by party 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
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]; note - India
has dozens of national and regional political parties; only parties
with four or more seats in the People's Assembly are listed
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
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
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador David C. MULFORD
embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [91] (11) 2419-8000
FAX: [91] (11) 2419-0017
consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai
(Bombay)
Flag description
three equal horizontal bands of saffron (subdued 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
