| Country
name |
|
| Conventional
long form |
Republic of
India |
| Conventional
short form |
India |
|
|
| Government
type |
Federal
Republic |
|
|
| Capital |
New Delhi |
|
|
| 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, Pondicherry*, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura,
Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal. |
|
|
| Independence |
15 August
1947 (from UK) |
|
|
| National
holiday |
Republic
Day, 26 January (1950), Independence Day
15 August (1947) |
|
|
| Constitution
formed on |
26 January
1950 |
|
|
| Legal
system |
Based on
English common law; Limited judicial
review of legislative acts, Accepts
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations. |
|
|
| Suffrage |
18 years of
age, Universal |
|
|
| Executive
branch |
|
| Chief
of state |
President
Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (since 26 July
2002) |
| Vice
President |
Bhairon
Singh Shekhawat (since 19 August 2002) |
|
|
| Elections |
|
| For
President |
President
of India is 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; election last held NA
July 2002 (next to be held 18 July
2007). |
| For
Vice President |
Vice
prsident is elected by both houses of
Parliament for a five-year term;
election last held 12 August 2002 (next
to be held NA August 2007); |
| For
Prime Minister |
Prime
minister is elected by parliamentary
members of the majority party following
legislative elections; election last
held 3 October 1999 (next to be held NA
October 2004) |
|
|
| Head
of government |
Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh |
|
|
| Cabinet |
Council of
Ministers appointed by the president on
the recommendation of the prime
minister. |
|
|
| Election
Results |
|
| Dr.
APJ Abdul Kalam |
Elected
president; percent of electoral college
vote - 89.6%; |
| Bhairon
Singh Shekhawat |
Elected
vice president; percent of Parliament
vote - 59.8%; |
| Manmohan
Singh |
Elected
prime minister; percent of vote - NA% |
|
|
| 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 which 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
in April 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) |
|
|
| Election
Results (2004) |
Seats
by party - BJP alliance 185, Congress
(I) 220, Other's 137 |
|
|
| Judicial
branch |
Supreme
Court (judges are appointed by the
president and remain in office until
they reach the age of 65) |
|
|
| Political
parties and leaders |
All
India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or
AIADMK [C. Jayalalitha JAYARAM]; All
India Forward Bloc or AIFB, [D. BISWAS,
general secretary]; Asom Gana Parishad [Brindaban
GOSWAMI]; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI];
Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Venkaiah
NAIDU]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen
PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or
CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan BARDHAN];
Communist Party of
India/Marxist-Leninist or CPI/ML [Dipankar
BHATTACHARYA]; Congress (I) Party [Sonia
GANDHI]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or
DMK (a regional party in Tamil Nadu) [M.
KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National League [Suliaman
SAITH]; Janata Dal (Secular) [H. D. Deve
GOWDA]; Janata Dal (United) or JDU [Sharad
YADAV]; Kerala Congress (Mani faction)
[K. M. MANI]; Marumalarchi Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [VAIKO];
Muslim League [G. M. BANATWALA];
Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad
PAWAR]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo
Prasad YADAV]; Revolutionary Socialist
Party or RSP [Abani ROY]; Samajwadi
Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV];
Shiromani Akali Dal [G. S. TOHRA]; Shiv
Sena [Bal THACKERAY]; Tamil Maanila
Congress [G. K. VASAN]; Telugu Desam
Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU];
Trinamool Congress [Mamata BANERJEE] |
|
|
| Political
pressure groups and leaders |
Numerous
religious or militant/chauvinistic
organizations, including Vishwa Hindu
Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh; various separatist
groups seeking greater communal and/or
regional autonomy, including the All
Parties Hurriyat Conference. |
