Constitution: 26 January 1950
Legal system: based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic, 26 January (1950)
Executive branch: president, vice president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Sansad) consists of an upper house or Government Assembly (Rajya Sabha) and a lower house or People's Assembly (Lok Sabha)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders: Chief of State—President Ramaswamy Iyer VENKATARAMAN (since 25 July 1987); Vice President Dr. Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 3 September 1987);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap SINGH (since 2 December 1989)
Political parties and leaders: Janata Dal Party, Prime Minister V. P. Singh; Congress (I) Party, Rajiv Gandhi; Bharatiya Janata Party, L. K. Advani; Communist Party of India (CPI), C. Rajeswara Rao; Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M), E. M. S. Namboodiripad; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Satyanarayan Singh; All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK), a regional party in Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham, M. Karunanidhi; Akali Dal factions representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab; Telugu Desam, a regional party in Andhra Pradesh, N. T. Rama Rao; National Conference (NC), a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah; Asom Gana Parishad, a regional party in Assam, Prafulla Mahanta
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: People's Assembly—last held 22, 24, 26 November 1989 (next to be held by November 1994, subject to postponement); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(544 total), 525 elected—Congress (I) Party 193, Janata Dal Party 141, Bharatiya Janata Party 86, Communist Party of India (Marxist) 32, independents 18, Communist Party of India 12, AIADMK 11, Akali Dal 6, Shiv Sena 4, RSP 4, Forward Bloc 3, BSP 3, Telugu Desam 2, Congress (S) Party 1, others 9
Communists: 466,000 members claimed by CPI, 361,000 members claimed by CPI/M; Communist extremist groups, about 15,000 members
Other political or pressure groups: various separatist groups seeking greater communal autonomy; numerous senas or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Shiv Sena (in Bombay), Anand Marg, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Member of: ADB, AIOEC, ANRPC, CCC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITC, ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, NAM, SAARC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador-designate Abid HUSSEIN; Chancery at 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-7000; there are Indian Consulates General in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco; US—Ambassador William CLARK; Embassy at Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri 110021, New Delhi; telephone [91](11) 600651; there are US Consulates General in Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras
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 Malthusian economy is a
mixture of traditional village farming and
handicrafts, modern agriculture, old and
new branches of industry, and a multitude
of support services. It presents both the
entrepreneurial skills and drives of the
capitalist system and widespread government
intervention of the socialist mold.
Growth of 4% to 5% annually in the
1980s has softened the impact of population
growth on unemployment, social
tranquility, and the environment. Agricultural
output has continued to expand, reflecting
the greater use of modern farming
techniques and improved seed that have
helped to make India self-sufficient in food
grains and a net agricultural exporter.
However, tens of millions of villagers,
particularly in the south, have not benefited
from the green revolution and live in
abject poverty. Industry has benefited from a
liberalization of controls. The growth rate
of the service sector has also been strong.
GNP: $333 billion, per capita $400; real growth rate 5.0% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.5% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 20% (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $48 billion; expenditures $53 billion, including capital expenditures of $13.6 billion (1989)
Exports: $17.2 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities—tea, coffee, iron ore, fish products, manufactures; partners—EC 25%, USSR and Eastern Europe 17%, US 19%, Japan 10%
Imports: $24.7 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities—petroleum, edible oils, textiles, clothing, capital goods; partners—EC 33%, Middle East 19%, Japan 10%, US 9%, USSR and Eastern Europe 8%
External debt: $48.7 billion (1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 8.8% (1989)
Electricity: 59,000,000 kW capacity; 215,000 million kWh produced, 260 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: textiles, food processing, steel, machinery, transportation equipment, cement, jute manufactures, mining, petroleum, power, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics
Agriculture: accounts for about 33% of GNP and employs 67% of labor force; self-sufficient in food grains; principal crops—rice, wheat, oilseeds, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; livestock—cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats and poultry; fish catch of about 3 million metric tons ranks India in the world's top 10 fishing nations
Illicit drugs: licit producer of opium poppy for the pharmaceutical trade, but some opium is diverted to international drug markets; major transit country for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $4.2 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-87), $18.6 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $315 million; USSR (1970-88), $10.0 billion; Eastern Europe (1970-88), $105 million
Currency: Indian rupee (plural—rupees); 1 Indian rupee (Re) = 100 paise
Exchange rates: Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1—16.965 (January 1990), 16.226 (1989), 13.917 (1988), 12.962 (1987), 12.611 (1986), 12.369 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
Communications
Railroads: 61,850 km total (1986); 33,553
km 1.676-meter broad gauge, 24,051 km
1.000-meter gauge, 4,246 km narrow
gauge (0.762 meter and 0.610 meter);
12,617 km is double track; 6,500 km is
electrified
Highways: 1,633,300 km total (1986); 515,300 km secondary and 1,118,000 km gravel, crushed stone, or earth
Inland waterways: 16,180 km; 3,631 km navigable by large vessels
Pipelines: crude oil, 3,497 km; refined products, 1,703 km; natural gas, 902 km (1989)
143
