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

• 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

total:

29.8 years (2024 est.)

male:

29.1 years

female:

30.5 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:

1.1 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.11 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.85 male(s)/female

total population:

1.06 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

30.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

30 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

30.8 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

68.2 years (2024 est.)

male:

66.5 years

female:

70.1 years

total:

3.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

0.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

2.85 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

27.2% (2020 est.)

male:

41.3% (2020 est.)

female:

13% (2020 est.)

women married by age 15:

4.8%

women married by age 18:

23.3%

men married by age 18:

2.6% (2021 est.)

• 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

urban population:

36.4% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

2.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

50.17 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

2,407.67 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

559.11 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

168,403,240 tons (2001 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

8,420,162 tons (2013 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

5% (2013 est.)

municipal:

56 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

17 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

688 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of India

conventional short form:

India

local long form:

Republic of India (English)/ Bharatiya Ganarajya (Hindi)

local short form:

India (English)/ Bharat (Hindi)

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

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

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 2023

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 Droupadi MURMU (since 25 July 2022)

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 18 July 2022 (next to be held in July 2027);
• 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 2022 (next to be held in August 2027);
• following legislative elections, the prime minister is elected by Lok Sabha members of the majority party

election results:

• 2022: Droupadi MURMU elected president;
• percent of electoral college vote - Droupadi MURMU (BJP) 64%, Yashwant SINHA (AITC) 35.9%;
• Jagdeep DHANKHAR elected vice president;
• percent of electoral college vote - Jagdeep DHANKHAR (BJP) 74.4%, Margaret ALVA (INC) 25.6%

;

• 2017: Ram Nath KOVIND elected president;
• percent of electoral college vote - Ram Nath KOVIND (BJP) 65.6%, Meira KUMAR (INC) 34.4%;
• Venkaiah NAIDU elected vice president;
• percent of electoral college vote - Venkaiah NAIDU (BJP) 67.9%, Gopal-krishna GANDHI 32.1%

highest court(s):

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

• Aam Aadmi Party or AAP
• All India Trinamool Congress or AITC
• Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP
• Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP
• Biju Janata Dal or BJD
• Communist Party of India-Marxist or CPI(M)
• Dravida Munnetra Khazhagam
• Indian National Congress or INC
• Nationalist Congress Party or NCP
• Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD
• Samajwadi Party or SP
• Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD
• Shiv Sena or SS
• Telegana Rashtra Samithi or TRS
• Telugu Desam Party or TDP
• YSR Congress or YSRCP or YCP

chief of mission:

Ambassador Vinay Mohan KWATRA (since 18 September 2024)

chancery:

2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 939-7000

FAX:

[1] (202) 265-4351

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.indianembassyusa.gov.in/

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle

chief of mission:

Ambassador Eric M. GARCETTI (since 11 May 2023)

embassy:

Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi - 110021

mailing address:

9000 New Delhi Place, Washington DC 20521-9000

telephone:

[91] (11) 2419-8000

FAX:

[91] (11) 2419-0017

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://in.usembassy.gov/

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

• largest South Asian economy;
• strong, sustained GDP growth led by technology and service sectors, foreign investment, and improved regulatory framework;
• high poverty rate and income inequality;
• initiatives on infrastructure development, digitization, manufacturing, and financial access

Fitch rating:

BBB- (2006)

Moody's rating:

Baa3 (2020)

Standard & Poors rating: BBB- (2007)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

agriculture:

16% (2023 est.)

industry:

25% (2023 est.)

services:

49.8% (2023 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

15.8% (2023 est.)

male:

15.8% (2023 est.)

female:

15.7% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

32% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

2.1% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.3% (2021 est.)

highest 10%:

25.6% (2021 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

Number of operational nuclear reactors:

20 (2023)

Number of nuclear reactors under construction:

7 (2023)

Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors:

6.92GW (2023 est.)

Percent of total electricity production:

3.1% (2023 est.)

production:

985.671 million metric tons (2022 est.)

consumption:

1.2 billion metric tons (2022 est.)

exports:

1.775 million metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

215.649 million metric tons (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

111.052 billion metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

795,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

5.049 million bbl/day (2022 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

4.605 billion barrels (2021 est.)

production:

33.17 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

consumption:

58.867 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

exports:

91.921 million cubic meters (2019 est.)

imports:

27.446 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

1.381 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

• 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 2020, 130 million households paid for cable and satellite television across India and as of 2018, cable and satellite TV offered over 850 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 (2020)

number of registered air carriers:

14 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 485

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

164,035,637 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

2,703,960,000 (2018) mt-km

total:

65,554 km (2014)

narrow gauge:

1,604 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge

broad gauge:

63,950 km (2014) (39, 329 km electrified)