About India
The Republic of India is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of over one billion, and is the seventh largest country by geographical area. India has grown significantly in population and in strategic importance since the mid-1980s. The Indian economy is the fourth largest in the world in Gross Domestic Product, measured in terms of purchasing power parity, and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. India, the world's largest liberal democracy, has also emerged as an important regional power, possessing one of the world's largest military forces and a declared nuclear weapons capability.
Located in South Asia with a coastline of over 7000 km, and constituting most of the Indian subcontinent, India straddles many important and historic trade routes. It shares its borders with Pakistan, the People's Republic of China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Afghanistan1. Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Indonesia are the adjacent island nations. India is home to some of the most ancient civilisations and has given birth to four major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. The country was a part of the British Empire before gaining independence in 1947.
Government and politics
India is a democratic republic. It is a federation of states within a federal structure. The head of state is the President, who has a largely ceremonial role. The President and Vice-President are elected indirectly by an electoral college for five-year terms.
The Prime Minister wields the executive power. The Prime Minister is designated by legislators of the political party or coalition commanding a parliamentary majority. He or she is assisted by the Council of Ministers, or the cabinet, appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. All ministers are sworn in by the President.
Geography and climate
The Himalaya stretch from Jammu and Kashmir in the north to Arunachal Pradesh in the far east making up most of India's eastern borders.India's entire north and northeast states are made up of the Himalayan Range. The rest of northern, central and eastern India consists of the fertile Indo-Gangetic plain. Towards western India, bordering southeast Pakistan, lies the Thar Desert. The southern Indian peninsula is almost entirely composed of the Deccan plateau. The plateau is flanked by two hilly coastal ranges, the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats.
India is home to several major rivers such as the Ganga (Ganges), the Brahmaputra, the Yamuna, the Godavari, and the Krishna.
The Indian climate varies from a tropical climate in the south to a more temperate climate in the north. Parts of India which lie in the Himalayan mountains have a tundra climate. India gets its rains through the monsoons.
States and Union territories
India is divided into twenty-eight states (which are further subdivided into districts), six Union Territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. States have their own elected government, whereas Union Territories are governed by an administrator appointed by the union government.
States of India
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Orissa
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttaranchal
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal
Union Territories
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Chandigarh
Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Daman and Diu
Lakshadweep
Pondicherry
National Capital Territory
Delhi
Economy of India
A nation in rapid development, India has an economy ranked as the twelfth largest in the world in terms of currency conversion and fourth largest in terms of purchasing power parity. It recorded one of the fastest annual growth rate of around eight percent in 2003. Owing to its large population, however, India's per-capita income by purchasing power parity works out to be just US$ 2,540, ranked 143rd by the World Bank. India's foreign exchange reserves amount to over US$130 billion. Mumbai serves as the nation's financial capital and is also home to both the headquarters of the Reserve Bank of India and the Bombay Stock Exchange. While 25% of Indians still live below the poverty line, a large middle class has now emerged along with the growth of a promising IT industry.
The IT industry in India is one of India's fastest growing industries pegged at $13 billion in revenues. Pictured here is Infosys, one of India's leading IT companies.The Indian economy has shed much of its historical dependence on agriculture, which now contributes to less than 25% of the GDP. Other important industries are mining, petroleum, diamond polishing, films, textiles, information technology services, and handicrafts. Most of India's industrial regions are centred around the major cities. In recent years, India has emerged as one of the largest players in software and business process outsourcing services, with revenues of US$ 12.5 billion in 2003-2004. There are also a lot of small-scale industries that provide steady employment to many of its citizens in small towns and villages. While India receives only around three million foreign visitors a year, tourism is still an important source of its national income. India's major trading partners are the United States, China, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union.
Demographics of India
India is the second most populous country in the world, with only China having a larger population. Language, religion, and caste are major determinants of social and political organisation within the highly diverse Indian population today. Its biggest metropolitan agglomerations are Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Delhi, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), and Chennai (formerly Madras).
India's literacy rate is 64.8%, with 53.7% of females being literate. The sex ratio is 933 females for every 1000 males.
Although 80.5% of the people are Hindus, India is also home to the second largest population of Muslims in the world (13.4%). Other smaller religious minorities include Christians (2.33%), Sikhs (1.84%), Buddhists (0.76%), Jains (0.40%), Jews, Parsis, Ahmadi, and Bahá'ís. Religion in India is very public, with many practices imbued with pomp and vitality accompanying their underlying spiritual qualities. A melting pot of many religions, India has rich festivals celebrated by one and all. The most widely known and popular celebrations include the Hindu festivals of Diwali, Holi and Dussera.
India is home to two major linguistic families, those of the Indo-Aryan and Dravidian-derived languages. The Indian constitution recognises 22 languages. Hindi along with English are the languages used by the Central Government for official purposes. Two classical languages native to the land are Sanskrit and Tamil. The number of mother tongues in India is as high as 1652.
Culture of India
The Taj Mahal in Agra is India's most popular tourist destination.India has a rich and unique cultural heritage, and has actively preserved its established traditions throughout history. It has also absorbed customs from both invaders and immigrants. Many cultural practices and monuments, such as the Taj Mahal, have been inherited from the rule of Mughal emperors.Indian society is largely pluralist, multilingual and multicultural. Religious practices of various faiths are an integral part of everyday life in society. Education is highly regarded by members of every socio-economic stratum. The traditional Indian family values are highly respected and considered sacred, although urban families have grown into a nuclear family system, owing to the socio-economic constraints imposed by the traditional joint family system.
Indian music is represented by a wide variety of forms. The two main forms in terms of classical music are the Carnatic from South India and Hindustani from the north. Popular forms of music also prevail, the most notable being Filmi music. Interestingly, Hindu religious bhajans and Urdu ghazals often transcend the classical and popular realms. In addition to this are the diverse traditions of folk music. Many dance forms exist in India— Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Kathakali and others. They often have a narrative form (based on the Indian epics) and are usually infused with devotional and spiritual elements.
The Gumpa dance is a mystic dance celebrated by the Tibetan Buddhist community in Sikkim during the Buddhist New Year — Losar.The earliest literary traditions were mostly oral and were later transcribed. Most of these spring from Hindu tradition and are represented by sacred works like the Vedas and the epics of the Mahabharatha and Ramayana. Sangam literature from Tamil Nadu represents some of India's oldest secular traditions. There have been many notable Indian writers in modern times, both in Indian languages and English. India's only Nobel laureate in literature was the Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore.
India produces the world's highest number of films annually. The most recognisable face is that of Bollywood, based in Mumbai, which produces mainly commercial Hindi films. Cinema in other language bases is particularly strong, with movies regularly produced in well-established Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu industries. India's gift to world cinema was the internationally renowned Bengali language director Satyajit Ray.
Rice and wheat (in bread forms) are the staple foods in the country. The gastronomy of India is extremely diverse, as ingredients, spices and cooking methods all vary from region to region. The country is notable for its wide variety of vegetarian cuisine. Spicy food and sweets are popular in India.
Traditional dress in India greatly varies across the regions in its colours and styles. The sari and salwar kameez are popular styles of dress for women. Traditional raiments for men are the kurta and dhoti.
Mass media in India
India has a fairly free and independent media. The Indian press has flourished since independence and has a vast number of English language and local language newspapers and journals. The total number of registered newspapers in India, as of 2003 was 55,780, of which 22,000 are Hindi language publications and periodicals. The total newspaper circulation is 142,005,543.
There are four major publishing groups in India, each of which control a number of national and regional English-language and vernacular publications. They are the Times of India Group, the Indian Express Group, the Hindustan Times Group, and the Anandabazar Patrika Group. The Times of India is India's largest English-language daily, which is published in six cities and has a circulation of 656,000. The Indian Express, with a daily circulation of 519,000, is published in seventeen cities. There also are seven other English language newspapers with circulation between 134,000 and 477,000. Indian-language newspapers also enjoy a large readership with a few having circulations larger than the English dailies.
The national television (Doordarshan) and radio (All India Radio) networks are state-owned and managed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Doordarshan offers national, regional, and local service for Indian television viewers, with two terrestrial channels (one of which is available in almost all parts of the country) and various satellite based cable channels. Since the late 1980s, India has experienced a rapid increase in television broadcasting that has helped shape popular culture. Since 1991 there has been a proliferation of large number of private networks offering numerous channels to cater to its polyglot populace. The major private networks who offer national channels are Star TV, Zee TV, and Sony TV. A large number of households are now served by cable operators, who offer more than a hundred channels. Direct To Home is another option availabe to some parts of India.
Sports and games in India
Unlike other comparable countries, India is not a major sporting power. India's national sport is field hockey, although cricket is now the de facto national game due to its success and popularity in recent times. India has had little success in international events like the Olympics, where it has garnered just a single medal in each of the previous three Olympics.
Some traditional indigenous sports are kabaddi, Kho Kho and gilli-danda, which are played in most parts of the country. Chess, carrom, polo, and badminton are some other games and sports that are said to have originated in India. Football (soccer) also finds a large viewership in almost the entire country.