Politics
Conventional Long Form Name: Republic of India
Capital City: New Delhi
Type of Government: federal republic
Date of Independence: 15 August 1947
National Holiday: Republic Day, 26 January
Chief of State: President Pranab MUKHERJEE
Head of Government: Prime Minister Narendra MODI
Description of Executive Branch/Powers: president indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and state legislatures for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 19 July 2012 (next to be held in July 2017); vice president indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and state legislatures for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 7 August 2012 (next to be held in August 2017); following legislative elections, the prime minister is elected by parliamentary members of the majority party
Description of Legislative Branch/Powers: bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States or Rajya Sabha (245 seats; 233 members indirectly elected by state and territorial assemblies by proportional representation vote, and 12 members appointed by the president; members serve 6-year terms) and the People's Assembly or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 2 appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms)
Description of Judicial Branch/Powers: Supreme Court (the chief justice and 25 associate justices); note - parliament approved an additional 5 judges in 2008 Supreme Court (the chief justice and 25 associate justices); note - parliament approved an additional 5 judges in 2008
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Name of India's Ambassador to the US: Arun Kumar SINGH
Location of Embassy in the US: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note - Consular Wing located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Location of India's consulates in the US: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco
Name of US Ambassador to India: Richard Rahul VERMA
Location of US Embassy in India: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
Location of US consulates in India: Chennai (Madras), Hyderabad, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay)
Name of their representative in the UN: Syed Akbaruddin
Symbolism of flag: Gandhi first proposed a flag to the Indian National Congress in 1921. The flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya. In the centre was a traditional spinning wheel, symbolising Gandhi's goal of making Indians self-reliant by fabricating their own clothing. The design was then modified to include a white stripe in the centre for other religious communities, and provide a background for the spinning wheel. Subsequently, to avoid sectarian associations with the colour scheme, saffron, white and green were chosen for the three bands, representing courage and sacrifice, peace and truth, and faith and chivalry respectively
National Symbols: 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
International Disputes: 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
Quantity of refugees inside country AND countries of origin of refugees: 109,018 (Tibet/China); 65,057 (Sri Lanka); 14,301 (Burma); 10,395 (Afghanistan) (2014)
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons: at least 616,140 (armed conflict and intercommunal violence) (2015)
Quantity of Stateless Persons: NA
Description of current human trafficking issues related to this country: NA
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use: world's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; transit point for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries and throughout Southwest Asia; illicit producer of methaqualone; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through the hawala system; licit ketamine and precursor production
Capital City: New Delhi
Type of Government: federal republic
Date of Independence: 15 August 1947
National Holiday: Republic Day, 26 January
Chief of State: President Pranab MUKHERJEE
Head of Government: Prime Minister Narendra MODI
Description of Executive Branch/Powers: president indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and state legislatures for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 19 July 2012 (next to be held in July 2017); vice president indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and state legislatures for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 7 August 2012 (next to be held in August 2017); following legislative elections, the prime minister is elected by parliamentary members of the majority party
Description of Legislative Branch/Powers: bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States or Rajya Sabha (245 seats; 233 members indirectly elected by state and territorial assemblies by proportional representation vote, and 12 members appointed by the president; members serve 6-year terms) and the People's Assembly or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 2 appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms)
Description of Judicial Branch/Powers: Supreme Court (the chief justice and 25 associate justices); note - parliament approved an additional 5 judges in 2008 Supreme Court (the chief justice and 25 associate justices); note - parliament approved an additional 5 judges in 2008
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Name of India's Ambassador to the US: Arun Kumar SINGH
Location of Embassy in the US: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note - Consular Wing located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Location of India's consulates in the US: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco
Name of US Ambassador to India: Richard Rahul VERMA
Location of US Embassy in India: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
Location of US consulates in India: Chennai (Madras), Hyderabad, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay)
Name of their representative in the UN: Syed Akbaruddin
Symbolism of flag: Gandhi first proposed a flag to the Indian National Congress in 1921. The flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya. In the centre was a traditional spinning wheel, symbolising Gandhi's goal of making Indians self-reliant by fabricating their own clothing. The design was then modified to include a white stripe in the centre for other religious communities, and provide a background for the spinning wheel. Subsequently, to avoid sectarian associations with the colour scheme, saffron, white and green were chosen for the three bands, representing courage and sacrifice, peace and truth, and faith and chivalry respectively
National Symbols: 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
International Disputes: 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
Quantity of refugees inside country AND countries of origin of refugees: 109,018 (Tibet/China); 65,057 (Sri Lanka); 14,301 (Burma); 10,395 (Afghanistan) (2014)
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons: at least 616,140 (armed conflict and intercommunal violence) (2015)
Quantity of Stateless Persons: NA
Description of current human trafficking issues related to this country: NA
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use: world's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; transit point for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries and throughout Southwest Asia; illicit producer of methaqualone; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through the hawala system; licit ketamine and precursor production