1983 Edition

Agriculture

cattle, sheep, dairying, hay, potatoes, turnips

main crops — rice, other cereals, pulses, oilseed, cotton, jute, sugarcane, tobacco, tea, and coffee

Aid

economic authorizations, including ExIm from US, $19.1 million (FY70-81)

Airfields

1 10 total, 100 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 12 with runways 1,2202,439 m

Branches

Police, Coast Guard

bicameral parliament — Council of States, House of the People; relatively independent judiciary

Budget

(1984) expenditures $619.3 million, revenues $619.6 million

(FY83 revised est.) central government revenue and capital receipts, $31.7 billion; disbursements, $35.6 billion

Capital

New Delhi

Civil air

20 major transport aircraft

Coastline

7,000 km (includes offshore islands) People

Communists

466,000 members claimed by CPI, 270,000 members claimed by CPI/M; Communist extremist groups, about 15,000 members

Crude steel

10.8 million metric tons of ingots (1982)

Elections

national and state elections ordinarily held every five years; may be postponed in emergency and may be held more frequently if government loses confidence vote; last general election in January 1980; state elections staggered Political parties and leaders: Indian National Congress, controlled national government from independence to March 1977; split in January 1978 and 1979; larger Congress group currently headed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi; smaller by Sharad Pawar; Janata Party led by Chandra Shekhar; Lok Dal Party split in 1982 into Lok Dal (K), led by Kapoor Thakur, and Lok Dal (C), led by Charan Singh; Bharatiya Janata Party, A. B. Vajpayee; 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 Kazhagam (ADMK), a regional party in Tamil Nadu, led by M. G. Ramachandran; Akali Dal representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab; Telegu Desam, a regional party in Andhra Pradesh led by N. T. Rama Rao; Karnataka Kranti Ranga (KKR), a regional party in Karnataka, led by S. Bangarappa; National Sanjay Front (SVM), led by Maneka Gandhi; National Conference (NC), a regional party in Kashmir, led by Farooq Abdullah

Electric power

789,600 kW capacity (1983); 4.013 billion kWh produced (1983), 17,005 kWh per capita

40,000,000 kW capacity (1983); 140.0 billion kWh produced (1983), 189 kWh per capita

Ethnic divisions

72% IndoAryan, 25% Dravidian, 3% Mongoloid and other

Exports

$677.2 million (f .o.b., 1982); fish and fish products, animal products, aluminum, diatomite Communications

$9.1 billion (f.o.b., FY83 est.); engineering goods, textiles and clothing, tea

Fiscal year

calendar year

1 April-31 March Communications

Fishing

landed 788,000 (1982) metric tons; marine product exports $699.7 million (1981 )

catch 3.36 million metric tons (1980); exports $320 million (FY82)

GNP

$2.2 billion (1983), $9,322 per capita; 64.7% private consumption, 16.2% private investment, 24% government (1981); —4.9% net export of goods and services (1981); growth rate -2.5% (1982, in 1975 prices)

$146 billion (FY82 at current prices), $209 per capita; real growth 2.0% est. in FY83

Government leader

Indira GANDHI, Prime Minister

Highways

12,343 km total; 166 km bitumen and concrete; 1,284 km bituminous treated and gravel; 10,893 km earth

1,633,400 km total (1979); 515,300 km mainly secondary and about 1,118,000 km gravel, crushed stone, or earth

Imports

$92.7 million (c.i.f., 1982); machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs, textiles

$14.8 billion (c.i.f., FY83 est.); machinery and transport equipment, petroleum, edible oils, fertilizers

Inland waterways

16,000 km; 2,575 km navigable by river steamers

Labor force

(1981) about 232 million; 67% agriculture; more than 10% unemployed and underemployed

Land boundaries

12,700km2 Water

Language

Hindi, English, and 14 other official languages; 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 percent 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

Legal system

based on English common law; constitution adopted 1950; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

12 nm (fishing 200 nm; additional 100 nm is fisheries conservation zone, December 1968; archipelago concept baselines); 200 nm exclusive economic zone

Literacy

36%

Major industries

fish processing, aluminum smelting, diatomite production, hydroelectricity

textiles, food processing, steel, machinery, transportation equipment, cement, jute manufactures

Major trade partners

(1982) exports — EC 31.6% (UK 13.2%, FRG 7.1%), US 25.8%, CEMA 8.5%

US, UK, USSR, Japan

Member of

ADB, AIOEC, ANRPC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITC, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO Economy

Military manpower

males 15-49, 63,000; 54,000 fit for military service (Iceland has no conscription or compulsory military service) Land 3,287,590 km2 (includes Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian-annexed part of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir); 50% arable; 22% forest; 20% desert, waste, or urban; 5% permanent meadow and pasture; 3% inland water

Monetary conversion rate

28.14 kronur=US$l (17 November 1983)

10.224 rupees=US$l (October 1983)

National holiday

Republic Day, 26 January

Nationality

noun — Indian(s); adjective — Indian

Official name

Republic of India

Organized labor

less than 5% of total labor force Government

Other political or pressure groups

various separatist groups seeking reorganization of states; numerous "senas" or militant/ chauvinistic organizations, including Shiv Sena (in Bombay), Anand Marg, and Rashtriya Swayamserak Sangh

Political subdivisions

22 states, 9 union territories

Population

746,388,000, including Indian-annexed Jammu and Kashmir (July 1984); average annual growth rate 2.1%

Ports

4 major (Akureyri, Hafnarfjordhur, Reykjavik, Seydhisf jordhur) and about 50

Railroads

none

61,950 km total (1981); 31,750 km 1.676-meter broad gauge, 25,550 km 1.000meter gauge, 4,650 km narrow gauge (0.762meter and 0.610-meter); 12,617 km double track; 5,345 km electrified

Religion

83.5% Hindu, 10.7% Muslim, 2.6% Christian, 1.8% Sikh, 0.7% Buddhist, 0.7% other

Shortages

grains, sugar, vegetables and vegetable fibers, fuel, wood, minerals

Suffrage

universal over age 21

Telecommunications

adequate domestic service, wire and radio communication system; 108,800 telephones (47.5 per 100 popl.); 4 AM, 33 FM, and 96 TV stations; 2 submarine cables; 1 satellite station with Atlantic Ocean antenna Defense Forces

Type

federal republic

Voting strength

India Congress 64%, Lok Dal 7%, CPI/M 7%, Janata 6%, ADMK 3%, Congress 2%, CPI 2%, other 3%; 16 seats vacant in parliament