Background: The Indus Valley civilization one of the oldest in the world goes back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier inhabitants created classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in 12th were followed by European traders beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism under Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU led to 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. Fundamental concerns in India include the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir massive overpopulation environmental degradation extensive poverty and ethnic strife all this despite impressive gains in economic investment and output.

Map reference: Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total area total: 3,287,590 km²
Land: 2,973,190 km²

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

Coastline: 7,000 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or the edge of continental margin
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

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

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

Land use
Arable land: 55%
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows and pastures: 4%
Forest and woodland: 23%
Other: 17%

Irrigated land: 430,390 km² (1989)

Natural hazards: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; subject to earthquakes (a quake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale occurred near Hyderabad killing several thousand people and causing extensive damage in late September 1993)

Geography
Note: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes

Population: 919,903,056 (July 1994 est.)
Growth rate: 1.82% (1994 est.)

Nationality: noun:Indian(s)

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

Languages: English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication, Hindi the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people, Bengali (official), Telugu (official), Marathi (official), Tamil (official), Urdu (official), Gujarati (official), Malayalam (official), Kannada (official), Oriya (official), Punjabi (official), Assamese (official), Kashmiri (official), Sindhi (official), Sanskrit (official), Hindustani a popular variant of Hindu/Urdu, is spoken widely throughout northern India
Note: 24 languages each spoken by a million or more persons; numerous other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually unintelligible

Religions: Hindu 80%, Muslim 14%, Christian 2.4%, Sikh 2%, Buddhist 0.7%, Jains 0.5%, other 0.4%

Population growth rate: 1.82% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 28.45 births/1000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 10.29 deaths/1000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (1994 est.)

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; huge and rapidly growing population is overstraining natural resources

Infant mortality rate: 78.4 deaths/1000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 58.58 years
Male: 58.09 years
Female: 59.09 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.48 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Literacy: age 7 and over can read and write (1991 est.)
Total population: 52.11%
Male: 63.86%
Female: 39.42%

Government type: federal republic

Capital: New Delhi

Administrative divisions: 25 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal

Independence: 15 August 1947 (from UK)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic, 26 January (1950)

Constitution: 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 Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 25 July 1992); Vice President Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN (since 21 August 1992)
Head of government: Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha RAO (since 21 June 1991)

Legislative branch: Army, Navy, Air Force, Security or Paramilitary Forces (including Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, and Coast Guard)
Council of States Rajya Sabha: body consisting of not more than 250 members, up to 12 appointed by the president, the remainder chosen by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies
People's Assembly Lok Sabha: elections last held 21 May, 12 and 15 June 1991 (next to be held by November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (545 total, 543 elected, 2 appointed) Congress (I) Party 245, Bharatiya Janata Party 119, Janata Dal Party 39, Janata Dal (Ajit Singh) 20, CPI/M 35, CPI 14, Telugu Desam 13, AIADMK 11, Samajwadi Janata Party 5, Shiv Sena 4, RSP 4, BSP 1, Congress (S) Party 1, other 23, vacant 9

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

International organization participation: AG (observer), AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-6, G-15, G-19, AfDB, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUSAL, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOMOZ, UNOSOM, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Frank WISNER
From the us chancery: 2,107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
From the us telephone: [91] (11) 600,651
From the us consulates general: Bombay, Calcutta, Madras
From the us embassy: Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri 110,021, New Delhi
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us FAX: [91] (11) 687-2,028

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of 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

Economy overview: India's economy is a mixture of traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of support services. Faster economic growth in the 1980s permitted a significant increase in real per capita private consumption. A large share of the population, perhaps as much as 40%, remains too poor to afford an adequate diet. Financial strains in 1990 and 1991 prompted government austerity measures that slowed industrial growth but permitted India to meet its international payment obligations without rescheduling its debt. Policy reforms since 1991 have extended earlier economic liberalization and greatly reduced government controls on production, trade, and investment. US and other foreign firms are increasing their investment in India. In January 1994, international financial reserves were comfortably high.

Real gdp growth rate: 3.8% (FY94 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $1,300 (FY94 est.)

Agriculture products: accounts for about 40% of GDP and employs 65% of labor force; principal crops - rice, wheat, oilseeds, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; livestock - cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, poultry; fish catch of about 3 million metric tons ranks India among the world's top 10 fishing nations

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

Industrial production growth rate: 2% (1993 est.), accounts for about 25% of GDP

Labor force: 314.751 million (1990)
By occupation: agriculture 65% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues:$29.6 billion

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Exports: $21.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
Commodities: gems and jewelry, clothing, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures, cotton yarn, and fabric
Partners: US 18.9%, Germany 7.8%, Italy 7.8%, (FY93)

Imports: $22 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
Commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, gems, fertilizer, chemicals, machinery
Partners: US 9.8%, Belgium 8.4%, Germany 7.6% (FY93)

Debt external: $90.1 billion (March 1993)

Exchange rates: Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1 - 31.370 (January 1994), 30.493 (1993), 25.918 (1992), 22.742 (1991), 17.504 (1990), 16.226 (1989)

Electricity
Capacity: 82,000,000 kW
Production: 310 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 340 kWh (1992)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: exchange rate conversion - $6.0 billion, 2.4% of GDP (FY93/94)

Airports: 337
Usable: 288
With permanentsurface runways: 208
With runways over 3659 m: 2
With runways 2440-3659 m: 59
With runways 1220-2439 m: 92

Pipelines: crude oil 3,497 km; petroleum products 1,703 km; natural gas 902 km (1989)

Waterways: 16,180 km; 3,631 km navigable by large vessels

Merchant marine: 297 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,236,902 GRT/10,369,948 DWT, bulk 111, cargo 81, chemical tanker 9, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 7, container 7, liquefied gas 6, oil tanker 66, passenger-cargo 6, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1

Disputes international: boundaries with Bangladesh and China; status of Kashmir with Pakistan; water-sharing problems with downstream riparians, Bangladesh over the Ganges and Pakistan over the Indus

Illicit drugs: licit producer of opium poppy for the pharmaceutical trade, but some opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; major transit country for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer of hashish; minor production of illicit opium