1987 Edition

Boundary disputes

Bangladesh, China, Cease-Fire Line with Pakistan

Climate

varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

Coastline

7,000 km

Comparative area

about one-third the size of US

Contiguous zone

24 nm

Continental shelf

edge of continental margin or 200 nm

Environment

droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; air and water pollution; desertification

Extended economic zone

200 nm

Land boundaries

12,700 km total

Land use

55% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures; 23% forest and woodland; 17% other; includes 18% irrigated

Special notes

dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Joint River Commission on water sharing with downstream riparian Bangladesh

Terrain

upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges River, deserts in west, Himalayas in north

Territorial sea

12

Total area

Kashit®?") of control 500 km - .J Srinagar Boundary representation 1s. claim hot necessarily authoritative Arabian Bombsy ae Hyderabsa Panaji Bangal Madras Andaman } a Islands ¥ + Caligut . Laccadive epeturel ' Sea Nicobar +: Islands ‘© See segional map Viil

3,287,590 km?; land area: 2,973,190 km?

Ethnic divisions

72% Indo-Aryan, 25% Dravidian, 3% Mongoloid and other

Infant mortality rate

116/1,000 (1984 est.)

Labor force

(1984/85) about 284.4 million; 67% agriculture; more than 10% unemployed and underemployed

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

Life expectancy

54.9

Literacy

36%

Nationality

noun—Indian(s); adjective— Indian

Organized labor

less than 5% of total labor force

Population

800,325,817 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.07%

Religion

83.5% Hindu, 11.0% Muslim, 2.6% Christian, 2.0-2.5% Sikh, 0.7% Buddhist, 0.2% other

Administrative divisions

24 states, 7 union territories

Branches

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

Capital

New Delhi

Communists

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

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 December 1984; state elections staggered Politica] parties and leaders: Indian National Congress, controlled national government from independence to March 1977; split in January 1978 and 1979; party currently headed by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi; Lok Dal Party led by Charan Singh; Janata Party led by Chandra Shekhar; Bharatiya Janata Party led by L. K. Advani; Communist Party of India (CPI), led by C. Rajeswara Rao; Communist Party of India/Marxist (CP1/M) led by E. M. S. Namboodiripad; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CP1/ML) led by Satyanarayan Singh; All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK), a regional party in Tamil Nadu, led by M. G. Ramachandran; Akali Dal, led by Surijit Singh Barnala, representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab; Telugu Desam, a regional party in Andhra Pradesh led by N. T. Rama Rao; National Conference (NC), a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir, split into factions led by Farooq Abdullah and G. M. Shah; Asom Gana Parishad, a regional party in Assam led by Prafulla Mahanta; Mizo National Front, a regional party in Mizoram led by Laldenga; Congress (IG) Party, a breakaway faction of Congress (I) Party, led by Pranab Mukherjee and Gundu Rao

Government leaders

Rajiv GANDHI, Prime Minister (since October 1984); Zail SINGH, President (since July 1982)

Legal system

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

Member of

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

National holiday

Republic Day, 26 January

Official name

Republic of India

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 Swayamsevak Sangh

Suffrage

universal over age 21

Type

federal republic

Voting strength

India Congress, 74%; Telugu Desam Party, 5%; CPM, 4%; Janata, 1.8%; CPl, 1.1%, DMKP, 0.5%; BJP, 0.4%; other, 6.6%

Agriculture

rice, other cereals, pulses, oilseed, cotton, jute, sugarcane, tobacco, tea, coffee; an illegal producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade

Crude steel

10.9 million metric tons, 14 kg per capita (1985)

Electric power

46,663,000 kW capacity; 170,000 million kWh produced, 220 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$8.3 billion (f.0.b., FY85/86), engineering goods, textiles and clothing, tea

Fishing

catch 2.34 million metric tons (1984); exports $337 million (1982)

GNP

$190 billion (FY85/86 at current prices), $250 per capita; real growth 4% (FY85/86 est.)

Imports

$15.0 billion (c.i.f., FY85/86); machinery and transport equipment, petroleum, edible oils, fertilizers

Major industries

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

Major trade partners

US, UK, USSR,

Natural resources

coal, iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, chromite, natural gas

Airfields

346 total, 299 usable; 194 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m, 54 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 95 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

93 major transport aircraft

Highways

1,633,300 km total (1985); 515,300 km secondary and 1,118,000 km gravel, crushed stone, or earth

Inland waterways

16,180 km; 3,63] km navigable by large vessels

Pipelines

crude oil, 3,497 km; refined products, 1,828 km; natural gas, 260 km

Ports

9 major, 79 minor

Railroads

61,850 km total (1985); 33,553 km 1.676-meter broad gauge, 24,051 km 1.000-meter gauge, 4,246 km narrow gauge (0.762-meter and 0.6]0-meter); 12,617 km is double track; 6,078 km is electrified

Telecommunications

fair domestic telephone service where available, good internal microwave links; telegraph facilities widespread; AM broadcast adequate; international radio communications adequate; 3.] million telephones (0.4 per 100 popl.); about 170 AM transmitters at 94 locations, 14 TV centers and 170 TV relays; domestic satellite system for communications and TV; submarine cable extends to Sri Lanka and Malaysia

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Paramilitary Forces

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 March 1986; est. budget $6.5 billion; 15.6% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 211,199,000; 124,745,000 fit for military service; about 9,211,000 reach military age (17) annually