India Government 1997

Country name
conventional long form: Republic of India
conventional short form: India

Data code IN

Government type federal republic

National capital New Delhi

Administrative divisions 25 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, AndhraPradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*,Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachel Pradesh, Jammu andKashmir, 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 legislativeacts; 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 PresidentKicheril Raman NARAYANAN (since 21 August 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister I.K. GUJRAL (since 21 April 1997)
cabinet : Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendationof the prime minister
elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of elected membersof both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states for a five-yearterm; vice president elected by both houses of Parliament; prime ministerelected by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislativeelections
election results: Shankar Dayal SHARMA elected president; percent of electoral collegevote - NA; Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN elected vice president; percent of Parliamentvote - NA; I.K. GUJRAL elected prime minister; percent of vote - NA

Legislative branch bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States orRajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more than 250 members, up to 12 of whichare appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen by the elected membersof the state and territorial assemblies; members serve six-year terms) andthe People's Assembly or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543 elected by popular vote,2 appointed; members serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Assembly - last held 27 April through May 1996 (next to beheld NA 2001)
election results : People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -BJP and allies 194, Congress I Party 140, Janata Dal Party 44, CPI/M 32, TamilMaanila Congress 20, Dravida Munnetra Kazagham 17, SP 17, Teluga Desam (Naidu)16, CPI 11, RSP 5, Asom Gana Parishad 5, Congress (Tiwari) 4, AIFB 3, MuslimLeague 2, Madhya Pradesh Vikas Congress 2, Karnataka Congress Party 1, independentsand other regional parties 30

Judicial branch Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president

Political parties and leaders Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), A. B. VAJPAYEE; Congress (I) Party, SitaramKESRI, president; Janata Dal Party, Laloo Prasad YADAV; Janata Dal (Ajit),Ajit SINGH; Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M), Harkishan Singh SURJEET;Tamil Maanila Congress, G. K. MOOPANAR; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (a regionalparty in Tamil Nadu), M. KARUNANIDHI; Samajwadi Party (SP), Mulayam SinghYADAV (president), Om Prakash CHAUTALA, Devi LAL; Telugu Desam (Naidu) (aregional party in Andhra Pradesh), Chandrababu NAIDU; Communist Party of India(CPI), Indrajit GUPTA; Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Tridip CHOWDHURY;Asom Gana Parishad, Prafulla Kumar MAHANTA; Congress (Tiwari), Arjun SINGHand N.D. TIWARI; All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), Prem Dutta PALIWAL (chairman),Chitta BASU (general secretary); Muslim League, G. M. BANATWALA; Madhya PradeshVikas Congress, Madhavro SCINDIA; Karnataka Congress Party, S. BANGARAPPA;Shiv Sena, Bal THACKERAY; Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Kanshi RAM; CommunistParty of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Vinod MISHRA; Akali Dal factionsrepresenting Sikh religious community in the Punjab; National Conference (NC; a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir), Farooq ABDULLAH; Bihar PeoplesParty, Lovely ANAND; Samata Party (formerly Janata Dal members), George FERNANDES;Indian National League, Suliaman SAIT; Kerala Congress (Mani faction), K.M. MANI
note: subsequent to the election, the following parties were dissolved - Congress(Tiwari), Madhya Pradesh Vikas Congress, and Karnataka Congress Party

Political pressure groups and leaders various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy;numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including AdamSena, Ananda Marg, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

International organization participation AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS (pending member), C, CCC, CP, ESCAP,FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM(observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD,UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIH, UNOMIL, UNU, UPU, WFTU,WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission : Ambassador Naresh CHANDRA
chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note - Embassy locatedat 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000
FAX: [1] (202) 483-3972
consulate(s) general : Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Frank G. WISNER
embassy: Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri 110021, New Delhi
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone : [91] (11) 600651
FAX: [91] (11) 6872028
consulate(s) general: Bombay, Calcutta, Chennai (Madras), Mumbai

Flag description three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green witha blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band; similar to theflag of Niger, which has a small orange disk centered in the white band

NOTE: The information regarding India on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of India Government 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about India Government 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.