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 members elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the
president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Assembly - last held in five phases on 16,
22-23, 30 April and 7, 13 May 2009 (next must be held by May 2014)
election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - INC 206, BJP 116, SP 23, BSP 21, JD (U) 20, AITC
19, DMK 18, CPI-M 16, BJD 14, SS 11, AIADMK 9, NCP 9, other 61,
vacant 2; note - seats by party as November 2009 - INC 207, BJP 116,
SP 22, BSP 21, JD (U) 20, AITC 19, DMK 18, CPI-M 16, BJD 14, SS 11,
AIADMK 9, NCP 9, other 61, vacant 2
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:
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [J.
JAYALALITHAA]; All India Trinamool Congress or AITC [Mamata
BANERJEE]; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya Janata
Party or BJP [Nitin GADKARI]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen
PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [B. BARDHAN]; Communist
Party of India-Marxist or CPI-M [Prakash KARAT]; Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam or DMK [Kalaignar M.KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National Congress
or INC [Sonia GANDHI]; Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) [Sharad YADAV];
Left Front (an alliance of Indian leftist parties); Nationalist
Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Rashtriya Lok Dal or RLD [Ajit
SINGH]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali
Dal or SAD [Parkash Singh BADAL]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY];
Telugu Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]; note - India has
dozens of national and regional political parties; only parties or
coalitions with four or more seats in the People's Assembly are
listed
Political pressure groups and leaders:
All Parties Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir Valley (separatist
group); Bajrang Dal (religious organization); National Socialist
Council of Nagaland in the northeast (separatist group); Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh [Mohan BHAGWAT] (religious organization); Vishwa
Hindu Parishad [Ashok SINGHAL] (religious organization)
other: numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations;
various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional
autonomy
International organization participation:
ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner),
BIMSTEC, BIS, C, CD, CERN (observer), CICA, CP, EAS, FAO, FATF,
G-15, G-20, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO,
ITU, ITUC, LAS (observer), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW,
PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UN Security
Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL,
UNITAR, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Meera SHANKAR
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 Timothy J. ROEMER
embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [91] (011) 2419-8000
FAX: [91] (11) 2419-0017
consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Hyderabad; 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; saffron represents courage, sacrifice, and the
spirit of renunciation; white signifies purity and truth; green
stands for faith and fertility; the blue chakra symbolizes the wheel
of life in movement and death in stagnation
note: similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk
centered in the white band
National anthem:
name: "Jana-Gana-Mana" (Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All
People)
lyrics/music: Rabindranath TAGORE
note: adopted 1950; Rabindranath TAGORE, a Nobel laureate, also
wrote Bangladesh's national anthem
Economy ::India
Economy - overview:
India is developing into an open-market economy, yet traces of its
past autarkic policies remain. Economic liberalization, including
industrial deregulation, privatization of state-owned enterprises,
and reduced controls on foreign trade and investment, began in the
early 1990s and has served to accelerate the country's growth, which
has averaged more than 7% per year since 1997. India's diverse
economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture,
handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of
services. Slightly more than half of the work force is in
agriculture, but services are the major source of economic growth,
accounting for more than half of India's output, with only one-third
of its labor force. India has capitalized on its large educated
English-speaking population to become a major exporter of
information technology services and software workers. In 2010, the
Indian economy rebounded robustly from the global financial crisis -
in large part because of strong domestic demand - and growth
exceeded 8% year-on-year in real terms. Merchandise exports, which
account for about 15% of GDP, returned to pre-financial crisis
levels. An industrial expansion and high food prices, resulting from
the combined effects of the weak 2009 monsoon and inefficiencies in
the government's food distribution system, fueled inflation which
peaked at about 11% in the first half fo 2010, but has gradually
decreased to single digits following a series of central bank
interest rate hikes. New Delhi in 2010 reduced subsidies in fuel and
fertilizers, sold a small percentage of its shares in some
state-owned enterprises and auctioned off rights to radio bandwidth
for 3G telecommunications in part to lower the government's deficit.
The Indian Government seeks to reduce its deficit to 5.5% of GDP in
FY 2010-11, down from 6.8% in the previous fiscal year. India's long
term challenges include widespread poverty, inadequate physical and
social infrastructure, limited non-agricultural employment
opportunities, insufficient access to quality basic and higher
education, and accommodiating rual-to-urban migration.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$4.046 trillion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
$3.736 trillion (2009 est.)
$3.478 trillion (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$1.43 trillion (2010 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
8.3% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 7
7.4% (2009 est.)
7.4% (2008 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$3,400 (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 163
$3,200 (2009 est.)
$3,000 (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 16.1%
industry: 28.6%
services: 55.3% (2010 est.)
Labor force:
478.3 million (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 52%
industry: 14%
services: 34% (2009 est.)
Unemployment rate:
10.8% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 118
10.7% (2009 est.)
Population below poverty line:
25% (2007 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 31.1% (2005)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
36.8 (2004)
country comparison to the world: 79
37.8 (1997)
Investment (gross fixed):
32% of GDP (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
Public debt:
55.9% of GDP (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42
57.3% of GDP (2009 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
11.7% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 204
10.9% (2009 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
6% (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 74
6% (31 December 2008)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
12.19% (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 59
13.31% (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of narrow money:
$328.4 billion (31 December 2010 est)
country comparison to the world: 15
$268.4 billion (31 December 2009 est)
Stock of broad money:
$1.29 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
$1.04 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of domestic credit:
$1.164 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
$938.8 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$1.179 trillion (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 14
$645.5 billion (31 December 2008)
$1.819 trillion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, lentils, onions,
potatoes; dairy products, sheep, goats, poultry; fish
Industries:
textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation
equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software,
pharmaceuticals
Industrial production growth rate:
9.7% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 17
Electricity - production:
723.8 billion kWh (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
Electricity - consumption:
568 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
Electricity - exports:
810 million kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity - imports:
5.27 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Oil - production:
878,700 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
Oil - consumption:
2.98 million bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
Oil - exports:
738,600 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23
Oil - imports:
2.9 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
Oil - proved reserves:
5.8 billion bbl (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23
Natural gas - production:
38.65 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 22
Natural gas - consumption:
51.27 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 16
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 169
Natural gas - imports:
12.62 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 17
Natural gas - proved reserves:
1.075 trillion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
Current account balance:
-$26.91 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 181
-$26.63 billion (2009 est.)
Exports:
$201 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 22
$168.2 billion (2009 est.)
Exports - commodities:
petroleum products, precious stones, machinery, iron and steel,
chemicals, vehicles, apparel
Exports - partners:
UAE 12.87%, US 12.59%, China 5.59% (2009)
Imports:
$327 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
$274.3 billion (2009 est.)
Imports - commodities:
crude oil, precious stones, machinery, fertilizer, iron and steel,
chemicals
Imports - partners:
China 10.94%, US 7.16%, Saudi Arabia 5.36%, UAE 5.18%, Australia
5.02%, Germany 4.86%, Singapore 4.02% (2009)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$284.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
$274.7 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt - external:
$237.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 28
$221.3 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$191.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23
$157.9 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$89.04 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
$76.62 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Exchange rates:
Indian rupees (INR) per US dollar - 46.163 (2010), 48.405 (2009),
43.319 (2008), 41.487 (2007), 45.3 (2006)
Communications ::India
Telephones - main lines in use:
35.77 million (2010)
country comparison to the world: 8
Telephones - mobile cellular:
670 million (2010)
country comparison to the world: 2
Telephone system:
general assessment: supported by recent deregulation and
liberalization of telecommunications laws and policies, India has
emerged as one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world;
total telephone subscribership base reached 700 million, an overall
teledensity of 60%, and subscribership is currently growing more
than 15 million per month; urban teledensity has reached 100% and
rural teledensity is about 20% and steadily growing
domestic: mobile cellular service introduced in 1994 and organized
nationwide into four metropolitan areas and 19 telecom circles each
with multiple private service providers and one or more state-owned
service providers; in recent years significant trunk capacity added
in the form of fiber-optic cable and one of the world's largest
domestic satellite systems, the Indian National Satellite system
(INSAT), with 6 satellites supporting 33,000 very small aperture
terminals (VSAT)
international: country code - 91; a number of major international
submarine cable systems, including Sea-Me-We-3 with landing sites at
Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay), Sea-Me-We-4 with a landing site at
Chennai, Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) with a landing
site at Mumbai (Bombay), South Africa - Far East (SAFE) with a
landing site at Cochin, the i2i cable network linking to Singapore
with landing sites at Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras), and Tata
Indicom linking Singapore and Chennai (Madras), provide a
significant increase in the bandwidth available for both voice and
data traffic; satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region); 9 gateway exchanges operating
from Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai
(Madras), Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, and Ernakulam
(2010)
Broadcast media:
Doordarshan, India's public TV network, operates about 20 national,
regional, and local services; large number of privately-owned TV
stations are distributed by cable and satellite service providers;
government controls AM radio with All India Radio operating domestic
and external networks; news broadcasts via radio are limited to the
All India Radio Network; since 2000, privately-owned FM stations are
permitted but limited to broadcasting entertainment and educational
content (2007)
Internet country code:
.in
Internet hosts:
4.536 million (2010)
country comparison to the world: 18
Internet users:
61.338 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 6
Transportation ::India
Airports:
352 (2010)
country comparison to the world: 23
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 249
over 3,047 m: 21
2,438 to 3,047 m: 57
1,524 to 2,437 m: 75
914 to 1,523 m: 81
under 914 m: 15 (2010)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 103
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 43
under 914 m: 48 (2010)
Heliports:
40 (2010)
Pipelines:
condensate/gas 2 km; gas 7,542 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,163 km;
oil 7,659 km; refined products 7,201 km (2009)
Railways:
total: 64,015 km
country comparison to the world: 4
broad gauge: 52,808 km 1.676-m gauge (18,172 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 8,473 km 1.000-m gauge; 2,734 km 0.762-m gauge and
0.610-m gauge (2009)
Roadways:
total: 3,320,410 km (includes 200 km of expressways) (2009)
country comparison to the world: 3
Waterways:
14,500 km
country comparison to the world: 9
note: 5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for
mechanized vessels (2008)
Merchant marine:
total: 324
country comparison to the world: 29
by type: bulk carrier 94, cargo 78, chemical tanker 23, container
15, liquefied gas 11, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 12, petroleum
tanker 87
foreign-owned: 8 (China 1, Hong Kong 1, Jersey 1, Malaysia 1, UAE 4)
registered in other countries: 56 (Cyprus 2, Dominica 2, Liberia 1,
Malta 4, Marshall Islands 8, Nigeria 1, Panama 17, Singapore 19,
unknown 2) (2010)
Ports and terminals:
Chennai, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai
(Bombay), Sikka, Vishakhapatnam
Military ::India
Military branches:
Army, Navy (includes naval air arm), Air Force (Bharatiya Vayu
Sena), Coast Guard (2009)
Military service age and obligation:
17 years 6 months of age for voluntary military service; no
conscription; women may join as officers, but for noncombat roles
only (2010)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 313,905,989
females age 16-49: 291,755,100 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 244,727,406
females age 16-49: 235,662,750 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 12,011,217
female: 10,639,158 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
2.5% of GDP (2006)
country comparison to the world: 62
Transnational Issues ::India
Disputes - international:
since China and India launched a security and foreign policy
dialogue in 2005, consolidated discussions related to the dispute
over most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclear
proliferation, Indian claims that China transferred missiles to
Pakistan, and other matters continue; various talks and
confidence-building measures have cautiously begun to defuse
tensions over Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005
earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remains the site of
the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with
portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin),
India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern
Areas); India and Pakistan have maintained the 2004 cease fire in
Kashmir and initiated discussions on defusing the armed stand-off in
the Siachen glacier region; Pakistan protests India's fencing the
highly militarized Line of Control and construction of the Baglihar
Dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir, which is part of the
larger dispute on water sharing of the Indus River and its
tributaries; UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan
(UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949;
India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to
China in 1964; to defuse tensions and prepare for discussions on a
maritime boundary, India and Pakistan seek technical resolution of
the disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann
of Kutch in the Arabian Sea; Pakistani maps continue to show its
Junagadh claim in Indian Gujarat State; discussions with Bangladesh
remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, to
exchange territory for 51 Bangladeshi exclaves in India and 111
Indian exclaves in Bangladesh, to allocate divided villages, and to
stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of
terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh protests India's
attempts to fence off high-traffic sections of the border; India
seeks cooperation from Bhutan and Burma to keep Indian Nagaland and
Assam separatists from hiding in remote areas along the borders;
Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues to examine contested
boundary sections, including the 400 square kilometer dispute over
the source of the Kalapani River; India maintains a strict border
regime to keep out Maoist insurgents and control illegal
cross-border activities from Nepal
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 77,200 (Tibet/China); 69,609 (Sri
Lanka); 9,472 (Afghanistan)
IDPs: at least 600,000 (about half are Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu
and Kashmir) (2007)
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: India is a source, destination, and transit
country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of
forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation; internal forced
labor may constitute India's largest trafficking problem; men,
women, and children are held in debt bondage and face forced labor
working in brick kilns, rice mills, agriculture, and embroidery
factories; women and girls are trafficked within the country for the
purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage;
children are subjected to forced labor as factory workers, domestic
servants, beggars, and agriculture workers, and have been used as
armed combatants by some terrorist and insurgent groups; India is
also a destination for women and girls from Nepal and Bangladesh
trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; Indian
women are trafficked to the Middle East for commercial sexual
exploitation; men and women from Bangladesh and Nepal are trafficked
through India for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation in
the Middle East
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - India is on the Tier 2 Watch List
for a fifth consecutive year for its failure to provide evidence of
increasing efforts to combat human trafficking in 2007; despite the
reported extent of the trafficking crisis in India, government
authorities made uneven efforts to prosecute traffickers and protect
trafficking victims; government authorities continued to rescue
victims of commercial sexual exploitation and forced child labor and
child armed combatants, and began to show progress in law
enforcement against these forms of trafficking; a critical challenge
overall is the lack of punishment for traffickers, effectively
resulting in impunity for acts of human trafficking; India has not
ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
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 point for illicit narcotics
produced in neighboring countries and throughout Southwest Asia;
illicit producer of methaqualone; vulnerable to narcotics money
laundering through the hawala system; licit ketamine and precursor
production
page last updated on January 20, 2011
======================================================================
@Indian Ocean (Oceans)
Introduction ::Indian Ocean
Background:
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's five oceans
(after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the
Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically important access
waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb
(Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of
Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). The decision by the International
Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth
ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Indian Ocean
south of 60 degrees south latitude.
Geography ::Indian Ocean
Location:
body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia
Geographic coordinates:
20 00 S, 80 00 E
Map references:
Political Map of the World
Area:
total: 68.556 million sq km
note: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Flores Sea,
Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Java Sea,
Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Savu Sea, Strait of
Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative:
about 5.5 times the size of the US
Coastline:
66,526 km
Climate:
northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to
October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and
October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February
in the southern Indian Ocean
Terrain: