India

Radio broadcast stations

AM 96, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios

70 million (1992 est.)

Telephone system

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 : satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean Region); submarine cables to Malaysia and UAE

Telephones

9.8 million (1995)

Television broadcast stations

274 (government controlled)

Televisions

33 million (1992 est.)

Agriculture - products

rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish catch of about 3 million metric tons ranks India among the world's top 10 fishing nations

Budget

revenues: $34 billion expenditures: $52.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY95/96)

Currency

1 Indian rupee (Re) = 100 paise

Debt - external

$97.9 billion (March 1995)

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)

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. A large share of the population, perhaps as much as 40%, remains too poor to afford an adequate diet. The policy in the 1980s of fueling economic growth through high government expenditure proved unsustainable, however, and in the wake of an international payments crisis in 1991 India has been transforming its semi-socialist, insular economy into a more open, market-oriented economy. Production, trade, and investment reforms since 1991 have provided new opportunities for Indian businesspersons and an estimated 200 million plus middle class consumers. New Delhi has stimulated exports, attracted foreign investment, and revived confidence in India's economic prospects. GDP growth exceeded 6% in 1995 and in 1996. Most of the country's external fundamentals - including the current account balance and reserves (now about $19 billion) - are healthy. Even so, the Indian Government needs to restore the early momentum of reform, especially by continuing reductions in the extensive remaining government regulations. The government will also have to deal with rising government expenditures and higher debt servicing which could create a debt trap by the turn of the century. Even if a series of weak coalition governments come to power in the next few years and are 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, its well-developed legal system, and its large middle class.

Electricity - capacity

83.288 million kW 1996)

Electricity - consumption per capita

419 kWh (1995)

Electricity - production

380 billion kWh (1995)

Exchange rates

Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1 - 35.872 (January 1997), 35.433 (1996), 32.427 (1995), 31.374 (1994), 30.493 (1993), 25.918 (1992)

Exports

total value : $30.5 billion (f.o.b., 1995) commodities: clothing, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures, cotton yarn, and fabric partners: US, Japan, Germany, UK, Hong Kong

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

GDP

purchasing power parity - $1.538 trillion (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 30% industry : 28% services: 42% (1993/94)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $1,600 (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

6.5% (1996 est.)

Imports

total value: $34.5 billion (c.i.f., 1995) commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals partners: US, Germany, Saudi Arabia, UK, Belgium, Japan

Industrial production growth rate

11.2% (1996)

Industries

textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery

Inflation rate - consumer price index

10.3% (1995)

Labor force

total: 370 million (1995 est.) by occupation: agriculture 65% or more, services 4%, manufacturing and construction 3%, communications and transport 3%

Unemployment rate

NA%

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

Climate

varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

Coastline

7,000 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point : Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m

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

Environment - international agreements

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, 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 signed, but not ratified : none of the selected agreements

Geographic coordinates

20 00 N, 77 00 E

Geography - note

dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes

Irrigated land

480,000 sq km (1993 est.)

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

Land use

arable land: 56% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures : 4% forests and woodland: 23% other: 16% (1993 est.)

Location

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

Map references

Asia

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

Natural hazards

droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; earthquakes

Natural resources

coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone

Terrain

upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north

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, Himachel 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

Constitution

26 January 1950

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of India conventional short form: India

Data code

IN

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Frank G. WISNER embassy: Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri 110021, New Delhi mailing address: use embassy street address telephone : [91] (11) 600651

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

Executive branch

chief of state: President Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 25 July 1992); Vice President Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN (since 21 August 1992) head of government: Prime Minister I.K. GUJRAL (since 21 April 1997) 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; vice president elected by both houses of Parliament; prime minister elected by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative elections election results: Shankar Dayal SHARMA elected president; percent of electoral college vote - NA; Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN elected vice president; percent of Parliament vote - NA; I.K. GUJRAL elected prime minister; percent of vote - NA

FAX

[1] (202) 483-3972 consulate(s) general : Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco

FAX

[91] (11) 6872028 consulate(s) general: Bombay, Calcutta, Chennai (Madras), Mumbai

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

Government type

federal republic

Independence

15 August 1947 (from UK)

International organization participation

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS (pending member), 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, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIH, UNOMIL, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president

Legal system

based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

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; members serve five-year terms) elections: People's Assembly - last held 27 April through May 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results : People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - BJP and allies 194, Congress I Party 140, Janata Dal Party 44, CPI/M 32, Tamil Maanila Congress 20, Dravida Munnetra Kazagham 17, SP 17, Teluga Desam (Naidu) 16, CPI 11, RSP 5, Asom Gana Parishad 5, Congress (Tiwari) 4, AIFB 3, Muslim League 2, Madhya Pradesh Vikas Congress 2, Karnataka Congress Party 1, independents and other regional parties 30

National capital

New Delhi

National holiday

Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic, 26 January (1950)

Political parties and leaders

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), A. B. VAJPAYEE; Congress (I) Party, Sitaram KESRI, president; Janata Dal Party, Laloo Prasad YADAV; Janata Dal (Ajit), Ajit SINGH; Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M), Harkishan Singh SURJEET; Tamil Maanila Congress, G. K. MOOPANAR; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (a regional party in Tamil Nadu), M. KARUNANIDHI; Samajwadi Party (SP), Mulayam Singh YADAV (president), Om Prakash CHAUTALA, Devi LAL; Telugu Desam (Naidu) (a regional party in Andhra Pradesh), Chandrababu NAIDU; Communist Party of India (CPI), Indrajit GUPTA; Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Tridip CHOWDHURY; Asom Gana Parishad, Prafulla Kumar MAHANTA; Congress (Tiwari), Arjun SINGH and N.D. TIWARI; All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), Prem Dutta PALIWAL (chairman), Chitta BASU (general secretary); Muslim League, G. M. BANATWALA; Madhya Pradesh Vikas Congress, Madhavro SCINDIA; Karnataka Congress Party, S. BANGARAPPA; Shiv Sena, Bal THACKERAY; Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Kanshi RAM; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Vinod MISHRA; 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 note: subsequent to the election, the following parties were dissolved - Congress (Tiwari), Madhya Pradesh Vikas Congress, and Karnataka Congress Party

Political pressure groups and leaders

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Military branches

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

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$8 billion (FY95/96)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

2.7% (FY95/96)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 258,172,895 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males : 151,693,072 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - military age

17 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males: 10,465,427 (1997 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 35% (male 173,420,822; female 163,433,648) 15-64 years: 61% (male 304,048,569; female 281,625,342) 65 years and over: 4% (male 22,536,104; female 21,718,686) (July 1997 est.)

Birth rate

26.19 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate

8.87 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Ethnic groups

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

Infant mortality rate

65.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 62.41 years male: 61.68 years female: 63.18 years (1997 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 52% male: 65.5% female: 37.7% (1995 est.)

Nationality

noun: Indian(s) adjective: Indian

Net migration rate

-0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Population

966,783,171 (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate

1.72% (1997 est.)

Religions

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

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: 1.04 male(s)/female total population : 1.07 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.29 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Disputes - international

boundaries with Bangladesh and China in dispute; status of Kashmir with Pakistan; water-sharing problems with downstream riparian Pakistan over the Indus (Wular Barrage); Bangladesh and India signed a treaty 12 December 1996 to share water from the Ganges

Illicit drugs

world's largest licit producer of opium 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 47 metric tons of illicit opium in 1996 INDIAN OCEAN [Map of Indian Ocean]

Airports

290 (1996 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 249 over 3,047 m: 12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 48 1,524 to 2,437 m : 59 914 to 1,523 m: 68 under 914 m: 62 (1996 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 41 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 37 (1996 est.)

Heliports

15 (1996 est.)

Highways

total : 2,009,600 km paved: 1,006,810 km unpaved: 1,002,790 km (1995 est.)

Merchant marine

total : 306 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,832,647 GRT/11,376,028 DWT ships by type: bulk 132, cargo 59, chemical tanker 8, combination bulk 3, combination ore/oil 3, container 11, liquefied gas tanker 8, oil tanker 75, passenger-cargo 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1 (1996 est.)

Pipelines

crude oil 3,005 km; petroleum products 2,687 km; natural gas 1,700 km (1995)

Ports and harbors

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

Railways

total: 62,462 km (11,793 km electrified; 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.)

Waterways

16,180 km; 3,631 km navigable by large vessels