INDIA GEOGRAPHY Total area: 3,287,590 km2; land area: 2,973,190 km2 Comparative area: slightly more than one-third the size of the US Land boundaries: 14,103 km total; Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km Coastline: 7,000 km Maritime claims: Contiguous zone: 24 nm; Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm Disputes: boundaries with Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan; water sharing problems with downstream riparians, Bangladesh over the Ganges and Pakistan over the Indus 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 Natural resources: coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, crude oil, limestone Land use: arable land 55%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 4%; forest and woodland 23%; other 17%; includes irrigated 13% Environment: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; air and water pollution; desertification Note: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes PEOPLE Population: 866,351,738 (July 1991), growth rate 1.9% (1991) Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population (1991) Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1991) Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991) Infant mortality rate: 87 deaths/1,000 live births (1991) Life expectancy at birth: 57 years male, 59 years female (1991) Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1991) Nationality: noun--Indian(s); adjective--Indian Ethnic divisions: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% Religion: Hindu 82.6%, Muslim 11.4%, Christian 2.4%, Sikh 2.0%, Buddhist 0.7%, Jains 0.5%, other 0.4% Language: Hindi, English, and 14 other official languages--Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; 24 languages spoken by a million or more persons each; numerous other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually unintelligible; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindustani, a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu, is spoken widely throughout northern India Literacy: 48% (male 62%, female 34%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) Labor force: 284,400,000; 67% agriculture (FY85) Organized labor: less than 5% of the labor force GOVERNMENT Long-form name: Republic of India Type: federal republic Capital: New Delhi 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, Himachal 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 Independence: 15 August 1947 (from UK) 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 Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and a lower house or House of the People (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 P. V. Narasimha RAO (since 21 June 1991) Political parties and leaders: Congress (I) Party, P. V. Narasimha RAO, president; Bharatiya Janata Party, L. K. ADVANI; Janata Dal Party, V. P. SINGH; Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M), E. M. S. NAMBOODIRIPAD; Communist Party of India (CPI), C. Rajeswara RAO; Telugu Desam (a regional party in Andhra Pradesh), N. T. Rama RAO; All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK; a regional party in Tamil Nadu), JAYALALITHA; Samajwadi Janata Party, CHANDRA SHEKHAR; Shiv Sena, Bal THACKERAY; Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Tridip CHOWDHURY; Bahujana Samaj Party (BSP), Kanshi RAM; Congress (S) Party, leader NA; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Satyanarayan SINGH; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (a regional party in Tamil Nadu), M. KARUNANIDHI; Akali Dal factions representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab; 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 21 May, 12 and 15 June 1991 (next to be held by November 1996); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(545 total), 509 elected--Congress (I) Party 225, Bharatiya Janata Party 117, Janata Dal Party 55, Communist Party of India (Marxist) 35, Communist Party of India 13, Telugu Desam 12, AIADMK 11, Samajwadi Janata Party 5, Shiv Sena 4, RSP 4, BSP 1, Congress (S) Party 1, other 26; note--second and third rounds of voting were delayed because of the assassination of Congress President Rajiv GANDHI on 21 May 1991 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 religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Adam Sena, Anand Marg, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-6, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Diplomatic representation: Ambassador 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, Jr.; 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 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 partial liberalization of controls. The growth rate of the service sector has also been strong. India, however, has been challenged more recently by much lower foreign exchange reserves, higher inflation, and a large debt service burden. GNP: $254 billion, per capita $300; real growth rate 4.5% (1990 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10.0% (1990) Unemployment rate: 20% (1990 est.) Budget: revenues $34 billion; expenditures $54 billion, including capital expenditures of $13.3 billion (FY91) Exports: $17.0 billion (f.o.b., FY90); commodities--gems and jewelry, engineering goods, clothing, textiles, chemicals, tea, coffee, fish products; partners--EC 25%, US 19%, USSR and Eastern Europe 17%, Japan 10% Imports: $24.8 billion (c.i.f., FY90); commodities--petroleum, capital goods, uncut gems and jewelry, chemicals, iron and steel, edible oils; partners--EC 33%, Middle East 19%, Japan 10%, US 9%, USSR and Eastern Europe 8% External debt: $69.8 billion (1990 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 8.4% (1990); accounts for about 25% of GDP Electricity: 70,000,000 kW capacity; 245,000 million kWh produced, 290 kWh per capita (1990) Industries: textiles, food processing, steel, machinery, transportation equipment, cement, jute manufactures, mining, petroleum, power, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics Agriculture: accounts for about 30% 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 among the world's top 10 fishing nations Illicit drugs: licit producer of opium poppy for the pharmaceutical trade, but some opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; major transit country for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $4.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-88), $20.1 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $315 million; USSR (1970-89), $11.6 billion; Eastern Europe (1970-89), $105 million Currency: Indian rupee (plural--rupees); 1 Indian rupee (Re) = 100 paise Exchange rates: Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1--18.329 (January 1990), 17.504 (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) Ports: Bombay, Calcutta, Cochin, Kandla, Madras, New Mangalore, Port Blair (Andaman Islands) Merchant marine: 308 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,087,451 GRT/10,150,460 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 8 passenger-cargo, 100 cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 8 container, 54 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 10 chemical tanker, 9 combination ore/oil, 115 bulk, 2 combination bulk Civil air: 93 major transport aircraft Airports: 345 total, 288 usable; 198 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 57 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 88 with runways 1,220-2,439 m Telecommunications: poor domestic telephone service, international radio communications adequate; 4,700,000 telephones; stations--96 AM, 4 FM, 274 TV (government controlled); domestic satellite system for communications and TV; 3 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; submarine cables to Malaysia and United Arab Emirates DEFENSE FORCES Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force, Border Security Forces, Coast Guard, Assam Rifles Manpower availability: males 15-49, 232,793,714; 137,259,444 fit for military service; about 9,431,908 reach military age (17) annually Defense expenditures: $9.2 billion, 3.5% of GNP (FY91)