iNDIA - Fact Sheet

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Official Name
Republic of India

National Anthem
Jana gana mana, composed by Rabindranath Tagore(Click Here to View and Listen)

National Emblem
An uni-dimensional adaptation of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka, the emblem shows three lions (from the four which stand back-to-back on the original capital), and part of the frieze on the abacus i.e. the Wheel of the Law (Dharma) in the centre flanked by a horse and a bull. The bell-shaped lotus which supports the original capital has been omitted and instead, inscribed below the abacus are the words "Satyameva Jayate" - "Truth Alone Triumphs" in the Devnagari script.

National Flag
Horizontal tricolour with deep saffron on the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom, in equal proportion. In the centre of the white band is a wheel in navy blue with 24 spokes. The width to length ratio of the flag is two is to three.

National Calendar
Based on the Saka Era with Chaitra as its first month and a normal year of 365 days, the national calendar has a permanent correspondence with the Gregorian calendar with 1st Chaitra falling on 22nd March (21st March in leap years).

Structure of the state
Union of 28 states and 7 Union territories with the Central Government based in New Delhi.

Political System
Multi-party parliamentary democracy, based on universal adult franchise

Parliament
Bicameral legislature, with the Upper House known as the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lower House known as the Lok Sabha (Council of the People).

Last Elections
April-May 2004

Current Government
Formed by United Progressive Alliance (UPA), an Indian National Congress-led coalition.

Head of State
President - the current incumbent is Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (http://presidentofindia.nic.in )

(Note : "Shri" is the Hindi equivalent of Mr., "Shrimati" (abbreviated as Smt.) is Mrs., and "Kumari" (Kum.) is Miss).

Head of Government
Prime Minister - the current PM is Dr Manmohan Singh (http://pmindia.nic.in )

Indian Standard Time
(Indian Standard Time) IST is equal to GMT + 5 ½ hours. With reference to Singapore, IST is minus 2½ hours, i.e. 12 noon in Singapore would be 09:30 am in India.

Area
3.29 million square kilometres

Climate
Tropical monsoon type with winter (Jan-Feb), summer (Mar-May), south-west monsoon season (Jun-Sep) and post-monsoon or north-east monsoon season (Oct-Dec). Most of the rainfall is brought by the south-west monsoon. Because of the geographical diversity of India, regional climate conditions in the extreme north, east and west varies from the general conditions given above.

Neighbours
Countries having a common border with India are Pakistan and Afghanistan to the north-west, China, Nepal and Bhutan to the north, Myanmar and Bangladesh to the east. Sri Lanka is separated from the southernmost tip of India by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.

Major cities/towns
The 1991 census showed 25.7% of India's population (217.6 million) as urban, occupying 3,768 identified urban areas. This figure is now estimated to have increased to 32%. The traditional 4 metros are Delhi (population 8.4 million in 1991, now estimated at around 13 million) Bombay, now Mumbai (9.9 million in 1991), Calcutta (Now Kolkata) (11 million in 1991), and Madras, now Chennai (5.4 million in 1991). Other cities like Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Ernakulam (Cochin) etc are rapidly developing into major centres of commerce and industry.

Population
846.3 million (1991 census); end-1999 estimate 980 million; current growth rate 1.63% per annum; Life span (1996-97) 63 years; death rate 9 per 1000; birth rate 27 per 1000.

Languages
Hindi is the official language, and English is widely used as a link language. In addition, there are 13 major languages recognised by the Constitution of India and about 844 dialects.

Adult Literacy
52.21% (1991 census); end-1999 estimate 54%

Religions
India is a secular country and has no state religion. Major religions represented in India include Hinduism (82%), Islam (12%), Christianity (2.3%), Sikhism (1.9%), Buddhism (0.8%) and Jainism (0.4%)

Currency
Rupee (One Rupee=100 paise) Rate of exchange - USD 1 = approx. Rs. 45.00

Fiscal Year
1st April to 31st March.

Mineral resources
Coal, crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, bauxite, limestone, manganese ore, magnesite, chromite, copper ore, zinc, lead, gold, mica, gypsum, tungsten, barytes, graphite, dolomite, kaolin, phosphates and many more, with considerable reserves yet to be exploited in most cases

Agriculture
Rice, wheat, coarse cereals, cotton, jute, sugarcane, oilseeds, pulses, a variety of fruits and vegetables, plantation crops (tea, coffee, various spices etc.), herbal and medicinal crops; animal husbandry and food processing are also well-developed sectors.

Industry
Textiles and yarns (cotton, silk, jute, synthetics etc.), cement, rubber goods, engineering goods, electronics and heavy electrical products, automobiles, food processing, steel, fertilisers, mining, chemicals, paper and newsprint, drugs and pharmaceuticals, a variety of consumer goods industries and small and cottage industries, information technology.

Foreign Trade ( in US$ billions)

Major Trading Partners

Major Exports
Major Export items are Cereals (Rice), Nuts & Seeds (Cashew incl.CNSL), Processed Foods, Marine Products, Iron Ore, Footwear, Leather & Mfrs, Gems & Jewellery, Chemical Products like Basic Chemls.Pharma & Cosmetics, Plastics & Linoleum, Rubber, glass & Other Products, Machinery & Instruments, Primary & Semi-fnshd iron & Steel, Manufactures of Metals, Electronics, Textile materials like Readymade Garments, Cotton, Yarn, fabrics, made-ups,etc, and Man-made textiles made-ups etc., Carpets and Petroleum Products.

Major Imports
Major Imports are Fertilizers, Edible Oil, Paper Board & Mfrs, Non-ferrous Metals, Metalliferrous Ores & metal scrap, Iron & Steel, Petroleum Crude Products, Pearls, Precious & Semi-precious Stones, Machinery other than electrical, Electrical Machinery and Transport Equipment, Coal, coke & briquettes, Organic & Inorganic Chemicals, Artf. resins,etc, Electronic goods, Wood and  Wood Products and Gold & Silver.

Foreign Investment
In the period 1991-99, USD 59.70 billion worth of FDI was approved, with gross FDI inflow amounting to about USD 19.20 billion, around 33.35% of total FDI approved. Inflows received during 1999 account for 24% of the total inflow received since January 1991. Sectors attracting the major share of FDI include telecommunications, fuel (power and oil refinery), transportation industry, metallurgical industry, chemical industry, electrical equipment and the service sector.

Main Investors
About 22.2% of approved FDI in 1991-99 was from the United States. Other major investors include Mauritius (10.58%), UK (7.62%), South Korea (4.62%), Japan (4.62%) and Germany (3.77%). Since 1991, Mauritius has accounted for maximum inflows (17.82%) followed by USA (11.94%), Japan (4.24%), Germany (3.36%) and UK (3.19%).

Tourism
In 1998-99, about 2 million tourists visited India and tourism revenues amounted to USD 3 billion.

GDP
USD 383 billion (1998-99)

GDP
Growth Rate 6% (1998-99)

GNP
USD 421 billion (1988-99)

Per capita GNP
USD 430 (1996-97)

Per capita PPP
USD 1,700 (1998-99)

Per capita
GNP USD 430 (1996-97)

Per capita
PPP USD 1,700 (1998-99)

GDP Distribution in 1998-99

• Agriculture 25%,
• Industry 30% (of which Manufacturing 19%)
• Services 45%

Gross Domestic Savings
23% of GDP in 1998-99

Gross Domestic Investment
5.9% average annual growth in 1990-98

FDI Inflows (US$ Millions.)

Foreign Exchange Reserves (in US$ Millions)

India Economic Data
http://www.finmin.nic.in/stats_data/nsdp_sdds/index.html