India

• with the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest, including the Thar Desert, and the mountain fringe in the north, a very high population density exists throughout most of the country;
• the core of the population is in the north along the banks of the Ganges, with other river valleys and southern coastal areas also having large population concentrations

• droughts;
• flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains;
• severe thunderstorms;
• earthquakes volcanism: Barren Island (354 m) in the Andaman Sea has been active in recent years

• 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;
• preservation and quality of forests;
• biodiversity loss

• dominates South Asian subcontinent;
• near important Indian Ocean trade routes;
• Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal

noun:

Indian(s)

adjective:

Indian

0-14 years:

26.98% (male 185,736,879 /female 164,194,080)

15-24 years:

17.79% (male 122,573,662 /female 108,109,968)

25-54 years:

41.24% (male 276,283,581 /female 258,563,835)

55-64 years:

7.6% (male 49,334,703 /female 49,197,817)

65 years and over:

6.39% (male 39,184,523 /female 43,654,994) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

52.2 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

43.6 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

8.6 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

11.7 (2015 est.)

total:

28.1 years (2018 est.)

male:

27.5 years

female:

28.9 years

• with the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest, including the Thar Desert, and the mountain fringe in the north, a very high population density exists throughout most of the country;
• the core of the population is in the north along the banks of the Ganges, with other river valleys and southern coastal areas also having large population concentrations

at birth:

1.11 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.13 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.13 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.9 male(s)/female

total population:

1.08 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

total:

37.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

male:

36.7 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

39.1 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

69.1 years (2018 est.)

male:

67.8 years

female:

70.5 years

degree of risk:

very high (2016)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever (2016)

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria (2016)

water contact diseases:

leptospirosis (2016)

animal contact diseases:

rabies (2016)

conventional long form:

Republic of India

conventional short form:

India

local long form:

Republic of India/Bharatiya Ganarajya

local short form:

India/Bharat

etymology:

• the English name derives from the Indus River;
• the Indian name "Bharat" may derive from the "Bharatas" tribe mentioned in the Vedas of the second millennium B.C.;
• the name is also associated with Emperor Bharata, the legendary conqueror of all of India

name:

New Delhi

geographic coordinates:

28 36 N, 77 12 E

time difference:

UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

• the city's name is associated with various myths and legends;
• the original name for the city may have been Dhilli or Dhillika;
• alternatively, the name could be a corruption of the Hindustani words "dehleez" or "dehali" - both terms meaning "threshold" or "gateway" - and indicative of the city as a gateway to the Gangetic Plain;
• after the British decided to move the capital of their Indian Empire from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911, they created a new governmental district south of the latter designated as New Delhi;
• the new capital was not formally inaugurated until 1931

history:

previous 1935 (preindependence); latest draft completed 4 November 1949, adopted 26 November 1949, effective 26 January 1950

amendments:

• proposed by either the Council of States or the House of the People;
• passage requires majority participation of the total membership in each house and at least two-thirds majority of voting members of each house, followed by assent of the president of India;
• proposed amendments to the constitutional amendment procedures also must be ratified by at least one half of the India state legislatures before presidential assent;
• amended many times, last in 2019 (2019)

• common law system based on the English model;
• separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus;
• judicial review of legislative acts

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of India

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President Ram Nath KOVIND (since 25 July 2017); Vice President M. Venkaiah NAIDU (since 11 August 2017)

head of government:

Prime Minister Narendra MODI (since 26 May 2014)

cabinet:

Union Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister, appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament for a 5-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 17 July 2017 (next to be held in July 2022);
• vice president indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament for a 5-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 5 August 2017 (next to be held in August 2022);
• following legislative elections, the prime minister is elected by Lok Sabha members of the majority party

election results:

• Ram Nath KOVIND elected president;
• percent of electoral college vote - Ram Nath KOVIND (BJP) 65.7% Meira KUMAR (INC) 34.3%;
• M. Venkaiah NAIDU elected vice president;
• electoral college vote - M. Venkaiah NAIDU (BJP) 516, Gopalkrishna GANDHI (independent) 244

highest courts:

Supreme Court (consists of 28 judges, including the chief justice)

judge selection and term of office:

justices appointed by the president to serve until age 65

subordinate courts:

• High Courts;
• District Courts;
• Labour Court

note: in mid-2011, India’s Cabinet approved the "National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reform" to eliminate judicial corruption and reduce the backlog of cases

• Aam Aadmi Party or AAP [Arvind KEJRIWAL]
• All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [Edappadi PALANISWAMY, Occhaathevar PANNEERSELVAM]
• All India Trinamool Congress or AITC [Mamata BANERJEE]
• Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]
• Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Amit SHAH]
• Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]
• Communist Party of India-Marxist or CPI(M) [Sitaram YECHURY]
• Indian National Congress or INC
• Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) [Ram Vilas PASWAN]
• Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]
• Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Lalu Prasad YADAV]
• Samajwadi Party or SP [Akhilesh YADAV]
• Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD [Sukhbir Singh BADAL]
• Shiv Sena or SS [Uddhav THACKERAY]
• Telegana Rashtra Samithi or TRS [K. Chandrashekar RAO]
• Telugu Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]
• YSR Congress or YSRC [Jagan Mohan REDDY]

note: India has dozens of national and regional political parties

chief of mission:

Ambassador Kenneth I. JUSTER (since 23 November 2017)

telephone:

[91] (11) 2419-8000

embassy:

Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021

mailing address:

use embassy street address

FAX:

[91] (11) 2419-0017

consulate(s) general:

Chennai (Madras), Hyderabad, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay)

• 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

• the Lion Capital of Ashoka, which depicts four Asiatic lions standing back to back mounted on a circular abacus, is the official emblem;
• Bengal tiger;
• lotus flower;
• national colors: saffron, white, green

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

• rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, lentils, onions, potatoes;
• dairy products, sheep, goats, poultry;
• fish

agriculture:

47%

industry:

22%

services:

31% (FY 2014 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.6%

highest 10%:

29.8% (2011)

general assessment:

• supported by deregulation and liberalization of telecommunications laws and policies, India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing telecom markets in the world;
• implementation of 4G/LTE services shift to data services across the country;
• steps taken towards 5G services;
• fixed broadband penetration is expected to grow at a moderate rate over the next five years to 2023 (2018)

domestic:

• fixed-line subscriptions stands at 2 per 100 and mobile-cellular at 91 per 100;
• 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) (2018)

international:

• country code - 91;
• a number of major international submarine cable systems, including SEA-ME-WE-3 & 4, AAE-1, BBG, EIG, FALCON, FEA, GBICS, MENA, IMEWE, SEACOM/ Tata TGN-Eurasia, SAFE, WARF, Bharat Lanka Cable System, IOX, Chennai-Andaman & Nicobar Island Cable, SAEx2, Tata TGN-Tata Indicom and i2icn submarine cables to Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South East Asia, numerous Indian Ocean islands including Australia ;
• satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region (2019)

• Doordarshan, India's public TV network, has a monopoly on terrestrial broadcasting and operates about 20 national, regional, and local services;
• a large and increasing number of privately owned TV stations are distributed by cable and satellite service providers;
• in 2015, more than 230 million homes had access to cable and satellite TV offering more than 700 TV channels;
• 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 have been permitted and their numbers have increased rapidly

Indian Armed Forces:

• Army, Navy (includes marines), Air Force, Coast Guard;
• Defense Security Corps (paramilitary forces);
• Ministry of Home Affairs paramilitary forces: Central Armed Police Force (includes Assam Rifles, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, National Security Guards, Sashastra Seema Bal) (2019)

• 16-18 years of age for voluntary military service (Army 17 1/2, Air Force 17, Navy 16 1/2);
• no conscription;
• women may join as officers, currently serve in combat roles as pilots, and under consideration for Army combat roles (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

20 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 485 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

98,927,860 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

1,833,847,614 mt-km (2015)

total:

68,525 km (2014)

narrow gauge:

9,499 km 1.000-m gauge (2014)

broad gauge:

58,404 km 1.676-m gauge (23,654 electrified) (2014); 622 0.762-m gauge

total:

1,719

by type:

bulk carrier 75, container ship 22, general cargo 582, oil tanker 133, other 907 (2018)

major seaport(s):

Chennai, Jawaharal Nehru Port, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay), Sikka, Vishakhapatnam

container port(s) (TEUs):

Chennai (1,549,457), Jawaharal Nehru Port (4,833,397), Mundra (4,240,260) (2017)

LNG terminal(s) (import):

Dabhol, Dahej, Hazira

Hizbul Mujahideen (HM):

aim(s): annex the state of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan

area(s) of operation:

HM is an indigenous Kashmiri militant group that operates in Jammu and Kashmir (2018)

Indian Mujahedeen (IM):

• aim(s): establish Islamic rule in India and, ultimately, convert all non-Muslims to Islam;
• stated goal is to carry out terrorist attacks against Indians for perceived atrocities against Indian Muslims

area(s) of operation:

formerly based in the western state of Maharashtra, India's third-largest and second-most populous state, and now probably operates mostly outside India, particularly Nepal (2018)

• 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;
• Kashmir 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 resumed bilateral dialogue in February 2011 after a two-year hiatus, have maintained the 2003 cease-fire in Kashmir, and continue to have disputes over water sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries;
• UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan 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;
• Prime Minister Singh's September 2011 visit to Bangladesh resulted in the signing of a Protocol to the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh, which had called for the settlement of longstanding boundary disputes over undemarcated areas and the exchange of territorial enclaves, but which had never been implemented;
• Bangladesh referred its maritime boundary claims with Burma and India to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea;
• Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues to examine contested boundary sections, including the 400 sq km 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 (country of origin):

108,008 (Tibet/China), 60,802 (Sri Lanka), 18,813 (Burma), 6,984 (Afghanistan) (2018)

IDPs:

479,000 (armed conflict and intercommunal violence) (2018)