India

For most of the period between 1950when India first became a republicand the late 1980s, the Congress held a majority in the parliament. Since then, however, it has increasingly shared the political stage with the BJP,[143] as well as with powerful regional parties which have often forced the creation of multi-party coalitions at the centre.[144] Since its independence in 1947, India has maintained cordial relations with most nations. In the 1950s, it strongly supported decolonisation in Africa and Asia and played a lead role in the Non-Aligned Movement.[172] In the late 1980s, the Indian military twice intervened abroad at the invitation of neighbouring countries: a peace-keeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990; and an armed intervention to prevent a coup d'tat attempt in Maldives. India has tense relations with neighbouring Pakistan; the two nations have gone to war four times: in 1947, 1965, 1971, and 1999. Three of these wars were fought over the disputed territory of Kashmir, while the fourth, the 1971 war, followed from India's support for the independence of Bangladesh.[173] After waging the 1962 Sino-Indian War and the 1965 war with Pakistan, India pursued close military and economic ties with the Soviet Union; by the late 1960s, the Soviet Union was its largest arms supplier.[174] he President of India is the supreme commander of the nation's armed forces; with 1.6 million active troops, they compose the world's thirdlargest military.[190] It comprises the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force; auxiliary organisations include the Strategic Forces Command and three paramilitary groups: the Assam Rifles, the Special Frontier Force, and the Indian Coast Guard.[8] The official Indian defence budget for 2011 was US$36.03 billion, or 1.83% of GDP.[191] For the fiscal year spanning 20122013, US$40.44 billion was budgeted.[192] According to a 2008 SIPRI report, India's annual military expenditure in terms of purchasing power stood at US$72.7 billion,[193] In 2011, the annual defence budget increased by 11.6%,[194] although this does not include funds that reach the military through other branches of government.[195] As of 2012, India is the world's largest arms importer; between 2007 and 2011, it accounted for 10% of funds spent on international arms purchases.[196] Much of the military expenditure was focused on defence against Pakistan and countering growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.[194] The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India. It is seated in New Delhi, the capital of India.

The government comprises three branches: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. The head of the executive branch is the President, who is the Head of State and exercises his or her power directly or through officers subordinate to him / her.[1] The legislative branch or the Parliament consists of the lower house, the Lok Sabha, and the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, as well as the President. The judicial branch has the Supreme Court at its apex, 21 High Courts, and numerous civil, criminal and family courts at the district level. India is the largest democracy in the world. The basic civil and criminal laws governing the citizens of India are set down in major parliamentary legislation, such as the Civil Procedure Code, the Indian Penal Code, and the Criminal Procedure Code. The union and individual state governments consist of executive, legislative and judicial branches. The legal system as applicable to the federal and individual state governments is based on the English Common and Statutory Law. India accepts International Court of Justice jurisdiction with several reservations. By the 73rd and 74th amendments to the constitution, the Panchayat Raj system has been institutionalized for local governance. The legislature is the Parliament. It is bicameral, consisting of two houses: the directly elected 545-member Lok Sabha ("House of the People"), the lower house, and the 250-member indirectly elected and appointed Rajya Sabha ("Council of States"), the upper house. According to the World Bank, as of 2011, the Indian economy is nominally worth US$1.848 trillion;[7] it is the tenth-largest economy by market exchange rates, and is, at US$4.457 trillion, the third-largest by purchasing power parity, or PPP.[198] With its average annual GDP growth rate of 5.8% over the past two decades, and reaching 6.1% during 201112,[199] India is one of the world's fastest-growing economies.[200] However, the country ranks 140th in the world in nominal GDP per capita and 129th in GDP per capita at PPP.[198] Until 1991, all Indian governments followed protectionist policies that were influenced by socialist economics. Widespread state intervention and regulation largely walled the economy off from the outside world. An acute balance of payments crisis in 1991 forced the nation to liberalise its economy;[201] since then it has slowly moved towards a free-market system[202][203] by emphasizing both foreign trade and direct investment inflows.[204] India's recent economic model is largely

capitalist.[203] India has been a member of WTO since 1 January 1995.[205]

Capital Largest city Official language(s) Recognised regional languages National language(s) Demonym Government President Vice President Prime Minister Speaker of the - House Chief Justice Legislature Upper house Lower house Independence Dominion Republic Area Total Water (%) -

New Delhi
2836.8N 7712.5E

Mumbai Hindi, English

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Eighth Schedule
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none[3] Indian Federal parliamentary constitutional republic[1] Pranab Mukherjee

Mohammad Hamid Ansari Manmohan Singh (INC)

Meira Kumar (INC)

Altamas Kabir[4]

Parliament of India Rajya Sabha

Lok Sabha

from the United Kingdom 15 August 1947

26 January 1950

3,287,263 km2 [b](7th) 1,269,219 sq mi 9.56

Population 2011 census Density GDP (PPP) Total Per capita GDP (nominal) Total Per capita Gini (2004) HDI (2011) Currency Time zone Summer (DST) Date formats Drives on the ISO 3166 code Internet TLD Calling code

1,210,193,422[5] (2nd) 370.8/km2 (31st) 960.5/sq mi 2011 estimate $4.457 trillion[6] (3rd)

$3,693[6] (129th)

2011 estimate $1.848 trillion[7] (10th)

$1,388[6] (140th)

36.8[8] (79th) 0.547[9] (medium) (134th) Indian rupee ( ) (INR) IST (UTC+05:30) not observed (UTC+05:30) dd-mm-yyyy (AD) left IN .in other TLDs
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91