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A great article on "How to do India" by Sam Manicom here.
Region / Country specific information - 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 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 |
|
|
Check out the Books pages for Travel books and videos.
India Attractions:
Mahimapura - by Srinidhi Rhagavendra
Bangalore, by Srinidhi Rhagavendra
|
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