2008 Edition

Background

Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated onto the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkic in the 12th were followed by those of European traders, beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU brought independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons testing in 1998 caused Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. The dispute between the countries over the state of Kashmir is ongoing, but discussions and confidence-building measures have led to decreased tensions since 2002. Despite impressive gains in economic investment and output, India faces pressing problems such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife.

Area

total: 3,287,590 sq km land: 2,973,190 sq km water: 314,400 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly more than one-third the size of the US

Climate

varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

Coastline

7,000 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m

Environment - current issues

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

Environment - international agreements

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 645.84 cu km/yr (8%/5%/86%) per capita: 585 cu m/yr (2000)

Geographic coordinates

20 00 N, 77 00 E

Geography - note

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

Irrigated land

558,080 sq km (2003)

Land boundaries

total: 14,103 km border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km

Land use

arable land: 48.83% permanent crops: 2.8% other: 48.37% (2005)

Location

Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan

Map references

Asia

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Natural hazards

droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes

Natural resources

coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land

Terrain

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

Total renewable water resources

1,907.8 cu km (1999)

Age structure

0-14 years: 31.5% (male 189,238,487/female 172,168,306) 15-64 years: 63.3% (male 374,157,581/female 352,868,003) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 28,285,796/female 31,277,725) (2008 est.)

Birth rate

22.22 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate

6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Education expenditures

3.2% of GDP (2005)

Ethnic groups

Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.9% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

310,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

5.1 million (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 32.31 deaths/1,000 live births male: 36.94 deaths/1,000 live births female: 27.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Languages

Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9% note: English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 41% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language (2001 census)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 69.25 years male: 66.87 years female: 71.9 years (2008 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 61% male: 73.4% female: 47.8% (2001 census)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: chikungunya, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria animal contact disease: rabies note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)

Median age

total: 25.1 years male: 24.7 years female: 25.5 years (2008 est.)

Nationality

noun: Indian(s) adjective: Indian

Net migration rate

-0.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Population

1,147,995,904 (July 2008 est.)

Population growth rate

1.578% (2008 est.)

Religions

Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 10 years male: 11 years female: 9 years (2005)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.76 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Administrative divisions

28 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Puducherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal

Capital

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)

Constitution

26 January 1950; amended many times

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of India conventional short form: India local long form: Republic of India/Bharatiya Ganarajya local short form: India/Bharat

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador David C. MULFORD embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [91] (011) 2419-8000

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Ranendra SEN chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note - Consular Wing located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000

Executive branch

chief of state: President Pratibha PATIL (since 25 July 2007); Vice President Hamid ANSARI (since 11 August 2007) head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since 22 May 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 21 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2012); vice president elected by both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 12 August 2002 (next to be held August 2007); prime minister chosen by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative elections; election last held April - May 2004 (next to be held May 2009) election results: Pratibha PATIL elected president; percent of vote - 65.8%; Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT - 34.2%

FAX

[1] (202) 265-4351 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco

[91] (11) 2419-0017 consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay)

Flag description

three equal horizontal bands of saffron (subdued orange) (top), white, and green with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk centered in the white band

Government type

federal republic

Independence

15 August 1947 (from UK)

International organization participation

ADB, AfDB (nonregional members), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIMSTEC, BIS, C, CERN (observer), CP, EAS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (one chief justice and 25 associate justices are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65 or are removed for "proved misbehavior")

Legal system

based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States or Rajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more than 250 members up to 12 of whom are appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies; members serve six-year terms) and the People's Assembly or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543 elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms) elections: People's Assembly - last held 20 April through 10 May 2004 (next must be held by May 2009) election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - INC 147, BJP 129, CPI (M) 43, SP 38, RJD 23, DMK 16, BSP 15, SS 12, BJD 11, CPI 10, NCP 10, JD (U) 8, SAD 8, PMK 6, JMM 5, LJSP 4, MDMK 4, TDP 4, TRS 4, independent 6, other 29, vacant 13; note - seats by party as of December 2006

National holiday

Republic Day, 26 January (1950)

Political parties and leaders

Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Rajnath SINGH]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India-Marxist or CPI-M [Prakash KARAT]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National Congress or INC [Sonia GANDHI]; Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) [Sharad YADAV]; Jharkhand Mukti Morcha or JMM [Shibu SOREN]; Left Front (an alliance of Indian leftist parties); Lok Jan Shakti Party or LJSP [Ram Vilas PASWAN]; Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [V. Gopalswamy VAIKO]; Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK [S. RAMADOSS]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD [Parkash Singh BADAL]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY]; Telangana Rashtriya Samithi or TRS [K. Chandrashekhar RAO]; Telugu Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]; United Progressive Alliance or UPA [Sonia GANDHI] (India's ruling party coalition of 12 political parties); note - India has dozens of national and regional political parties; only parties or coalitions with four or more seats in the People's Assembly are listed

Political pressure groups and leaders

All Parties Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir Valley (separatist group); Bajrang Dal (religious organization); National Socialist Council of Nagaland in the northeast (separatist group); Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (religious organization); Vishwa Hindu Parishad (religious organization other: numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations; various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish

Budget

revenues: $141.2 billion expenditures: $172.6 billion (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate

6% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

13.02% (31 December 2007)

Currency (code)

Indian rupee (INR)

Currency code

INR

Current account balance

-$12.11 billion (2007 est.)

Debt - external

$149.2 billion (31 December 2007)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

36.8 (2004)

Economic aid - recipient

$1.724 billion (2005)

Economy - overview

India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for more than half of India's output with less than one third of its labor force. About three-fifths of the work force is in agriculture, leading the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to articulate an economic reform program that includes developing basic infrastructure to improve the lives of the rural poor and boost economic performance. The government has reduced controls on foreign trade and investment. Higher limits on foreign direct investment were permitted in a few key sectors, such as telecommunications. However, tariff spikes in sensitive categories, including agriculture, and incremental progress on economic reforms still hinder foreign access to India's vast and growing market. Privatization of government-owned industries remains stalled and continues to generate political debate; populist pressure from within the UPA government and from its Left Front allies continues to restrain needed initiatives. The economy has posted an average growth rate of more than 7% in the decade since 1997, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. India achieved 8.5% GDP growth in 2006, and again in 2007, significantly expanding production of manufactures. India is capitalizing on its large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language to become a major exporter of software services and software workers. Economic expansion has helped New Delhi continue to make progress in reducing its federal fiscal deficit. However, strong growth combined with easy consumer credit and a real estate boom fueled inflation concerns in 2006 and 2007, leading to a series of central bank interest rate hikes that have slowed credit growth and eased inflation concerns. The huge and growing population is the fundamental social, economic, and environmental problem.

Electricity - consumption

517.2 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports

378 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - imports

3.189 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - production

665.3 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 81.7% hydro: 14.5% nuclear: 3.4% other: 0.3% (2001)

Exchange rates

Indian rupees (INR) per US dollar - 41.487 (2007), 45.3 (2006), 44.101 (2005), 45.317 (2004), 46.583 (2003)

Exports

$151.3 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

petroleum products, textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures

Exports - partners

US 15%, China 8.7%, UAE 8.7%, UK 4.4% (2007)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 17.8% industry: 29.4% services: 52.8% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$2,600 (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

9% (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$1.099 trillion (2007 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$2.966 trillion (2007 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 3.6% highest 10%: 31.1% (2004)

Imports

$230.5 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities

crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals

Imports - partners

China 10.6%, US 7.8%, Germany 4.4%, Singapore 4.4% (2007)

Industrial production growth rate

8.5% (2007 est.)

Industries

textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

6.4% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

33.9% of GDP (2007 est.)

Labor force

516.4 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 60% industry: 12% services: 28% (2003)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$818.9 billion (2006)

Natural gas - consumption

41.7 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports

10 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - production

31.7 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

1.075 trillion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Oil - consumption

2.722 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - exports

450,700 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - imports

2.159 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - production

880,500 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

5.625 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Population below poverty line

25% (2007 est.)

Public debt

58.2% of GDP (federal and state debt combined) (2007 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$275 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$37.5 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$95.96 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$769.3 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of money

$250.9 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money

$647.3 billion (31 December 2007)

Unemployment rate

7.2% (2007 est.)

Internet country code

.in

Internet hosts

2.707 million (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

43 (2000)

Internet users

80 million (2007)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998)

Radios

116 million (1997)

Telephone system

general assessment: recent deregulation and liberalization of telecommunications laws and policies have prompted rapid growth; local and long distance service provided throughout all regions of the country, with services primarily concentrated in the urban areas; steady improvement is taking place with the recent admission of private and private-public investors, but combined fixed and mobile telephone density remains low at about 30 for each 100 persons nationwide and much lower for persons in rural areas; rapid growth in cellular service with modest declines in fixed lines domestic: mobile cellular service introduced in 1994 and organized nationwide into four metropolitan areas and 19 telecom circles each with about three private service providers and one state-owned service provider; 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) international: country code - 91; a number of major international submarine cable systems, including Sea-Me-We-3 with landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay), Sea-Me-We-4 with a landing site at Chennai, Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) with a landing site at Mumbai (Bombay), South Africa - Far East (SAFE) with a landing site at Cochin, the i2i cable network linking to Singapore with landing sites at Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras), and Tata Indicom linking Singapore and Chennai (Madras), provide a significant increase in the bandwidth available for both voice and data traffic; satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region); 9 gateway exchanges operating from Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai (Madras), Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, and Ernakulam (2008)

Telephones - main lines in use

38.76 million (2008)

Telephones - mobile cellular

296.08 million (2008)

Television broadcast stations

562 (1997)

Televisions

63 million (1997)

Airports

346 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 250 over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 52 1,524 to 2,437 m: 75 914 to 1,523 m: 84 under 914 m: 21 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 96 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 47 (2007)

Heliports

30 (2007)

Merchant marine

total: 501 by type: bulk carrier 102, cargo 241, carrier 1, chemical tanker 19, container 13, liquefied gas 18, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 11, petroleum tanker 92, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 12 (China 1, Germany 2, Hong Kong 1, UAE 6, UK 2) registered in other countries: 61 (Barbados 1, Comoros 2, Cyprus 2, Dominica 2, Liberia 2, Malta 2, Marshall Islands 1, Panama 27, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7, Singapore 13, unknown 1) (2008)

Pipelines

condensate/gas 9 km; gas 7,488 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,861 km; oil 7,883 km; refined products 6,422 km (2007)

Ports and terminals

Chennai, Haldia, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mormugao, Mumbai (Bombay), New Mangalore, Vishakhapatnam

Railways

total: 63,221 km broad gauge: 46,807 km 1.676-m gauge (17,343 km electrified) narrow gauge: 13,290 km 1.000-m gauge (165 km electrified); 3,124 km 0.762-m gauge and 0.610-m gauge (2006)

Roadways

total: 3,316,452 km (includes 200 km of expressways) (2006)

Waterways

14,500 km note: 5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for mechanized vessels (2006)

Manpower available for military service

males age 16-49: 301,094,084 females age 16-49: 283,047,141 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 16-49: 231,161,111 females age 16-49: 236,633,962 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

male: 11,592,516 female: 10,636,857 (2008 est.)

Military branches

Army, Navy (includes naval air arm), Air Force (Bharatiya Vayu Sena), Coast Guard (2008)

Military expenditures

2.5% of GDP (2006)

Military service age and obligation

16 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; women officers allowed in noncombat roles only (2008)

Disputes - international

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; various talks and confidence-building measures have cautiously begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005 earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless 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 have maintained the 2004 cease fire in Kashmir and initiated discussions on defusing the armed stand-off in the Siachen glacier region; Pakistan protests India's fencing the highly militarized Line of Control and construction of the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir, which is part of the larger dispute on water sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries; UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) 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; discussions with Bangladesh remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, to exchange territory for 51 Bangladeshi exclaves in India and 111 Indian exclaves in Bangladesh, to allocate divided villages, and to stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh protests India's attempts to fence off high-traffic sections of the border; dispute with Bangladesh over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; India seeks cooperation from Bhutan and Burma to keep Indian Nagaland and Assam separatists from hiding in remote areas along the borders; Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues to examine contested boundary sections, including the 400 square kilometer 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

IDPs

at least 600,000 (about half are Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Kashmir) (2007)

Illicit drugs

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 This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin): 77,200 (Tibet/China); 69,609 (Sri Lanka); 9,472 (Afghanistan)

Trafficking in persons

current situation: India is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation; internal forced labor may constitute India's largest trafficking problem; men, women, and children are held in debt bondage and face forced labor working in brick kilns, rice mills, agriculture, and embroidery factories; women and girls are trafficked within the country for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage; children are subjected to forced labor as factory workers, domestic servants, beggars, and agriculture workers, and have been used as armed combatants by some terrorist and insurgent groups; India is also a destination for women and girls from Nepal and Bangladesh trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; Indian women are trafficked to the Middle East for commercial sexual exploitation; men and women from Bangladesh and Nepal are trafficked through India for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation in the Middle East tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - India is on the Tier 2 Watch List for a fifth consecutive year for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking in 2007; despite the reported extent of the trafficking crisis in India, government authorities made uneven efforts to prosecute traffickers and protect trafficking victims; government authorities continued to rescue victims of commercial sexual exploitation and forced child labor and child armed combatants, and began to show progress in law enforcement against these forms of trafficking; a critical challenge overall is the lack of punishment for traffickers, effectively resulting in impunity for acts of human trafficking; India has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)