India 2010 – The Fact Book (Courtesy CIA)
The Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's
oldest, flourished during the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. and extended into
northwestern India. Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated onto the Indian
subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian
inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th
and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of
South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries
A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Arab incursions
starting in the 8th century and Turkic in the 12th were followed by those of
European traders, beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century,
Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian
armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars.
Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas GANDHI and
Jawaharlal NEHRU brought 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. India's nuclear weapons testing in 1998 caused
Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. Despite pressing problems such
as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and
widespread corruption, rapid economic development is fueling the country's rise
on the world stage.
Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between
Burma and Pakistan
Geographic coordinates
20 00 N, 77 00 E
Area
total: 3,287,263 sq km
country comparison to the world: 7
land: 2,973,193 sq km
water: 314,070 sq km
Area -
comparative
slightly more than one-third the size of the US
Land
boundaries:
total: 14,103 km
border countries: 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:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
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
Elevation extreme:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m
Natural
resources:
coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica,
bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone,
arable land
Land
use:
arable land: 48.83%
permanent crops: 2.8%
other: 48.37% (2005)
Irrigated land:
558,080 sq km (2003)
Total
renewable water resources:
1,907.8 cu km (1999)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 645.84 cu km/yr (8%/5%/86%)
per capita: 585 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural
hazards:
droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from
monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes
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; tap water is not potable throughout the
country; huge and growing population is overstraining natural resources
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade
routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border
with Nepal
Population:
1,156,897,766 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
Age
structure:
0-14 years: 31.1% (male 190,075,426/female 172,799,553)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 381,446,079/female 359,802,209)
65 years and over: 5.3% (male 29,364,920/female 32,591,030) (2009 est.)
Median
age
total: 25.3 years
male: 24.9 years
female: 25.8 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.407% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 93
Birth
rate:
21.72 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 90
Death
rate:
7.6 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 115
Net
migration rate:
-0.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 85
Urbanization:
urban population: 29% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 2.4% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex
ratio:
at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant
mortality rate:
total: 50.78 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 51
male: 49.33 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 52.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life
expectancy at birth:
total population: 66.09 years
country comparison to the world: 161
male: 65.13 years
female: 67.17 years (2009 est.)
Total
fertility rate:
2.68 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 86
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.3% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 89
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
2.4 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
310,000 (2001 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
Major
infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and
typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: chikungunya, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, and
malaria
animal contact disease: rabies
water contact disease: leptospirosis
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in
this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible
among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)
Nationality:
noun: Indian(s)
adjective: Indian
Ethnic
groups:
Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
Religions:
Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%,
unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)
Languages
Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%,
Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese
1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9%
note: English enjoys associate status but is the most important
language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the
most widely spoken language and primary tongue of 41% of the people; there are
14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati,
Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit;
Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern
India but is not an official language (2001 census)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 61%
male: 73.4%
female: 47.8% (2001 census)
School
life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 10 years
male: 11 years
female: 9 years (2005)
Education expenditures:
3.2% of GDP (2005)
country comparison to the world: 140
Country
name:
conventional long form: Republic of India
conventional short form: India
local long form: Republic of India/Bharatiya Ganarajya
local short form: India/Bharat
Government type:
federal republic
Capital:
name: New Delhi
geographic coordinates: 28 36 N, 77 12 E
time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
28 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra
Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and
Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,
Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Puducherry*, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
Independence:
15 August 1947 (from the UK)
National holiday:
Republic Day, 26 January (1950)
Constitution:
26 January 1950; amended many times
Legal
system:
based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; separate personal law codes apply
to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Pratibha PATIL (since 25 July 2007); Vice
President Hamid ANSARI (since 11 August 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since 22 May 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the
prime minister
elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of elected
members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states for a
five-year term (no term limits); election last held in July 2007 (next to be
held in July 2012); vice president elected by both houses of Parliament for a
five-year term; election last held in August 2007 (next to be held August 2012);
prime minister chosen by parliamentary members of the majority party following
legislative elections; election last held April - May 2009 (next to be held no
later than May 2014)
election results: Pratibha PATIL elected president; percent of vote -
Pratibha PATIL 65.8%, Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT - 34.2%
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States or Rajya
Sabha (a body consisting of not more than 250 members up to 12 of whom are
appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen by the elected members of
the state and territorial assemblies; members serve six-year terms) and the
People's Assembly or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543 elected by popular vote, 2
appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Assembly - last held in five phases 16, 22-23, 30 April
and 7, 13 May 2009 (next must be held by May 2014)
election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats
by party - INC 206, BJP 116, SP 23, BSP 21, JD (U) 20, AITC 19, DMK 18, CPI-M
16, BJD 14, SS 11, AIADMK 9, NCP 9, other 61, vacant 2
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (one chief justice and 25 associate justices are appointed by
the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65 or are removed
for "proved misbehavior")
Political parties and leaders:
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [J. JAYALALITHAA]; All
India Trinamool Congress or AITC [Mamata BANERJEE]; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI];
Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Nitin GADKARI]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen
PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [B. BARDHAN]; Communist Party of
India-Marxist or CPI-M [Prakash KARAT]; Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or DMK [Kalaignar
M.KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National Congress or INC [Sonia GANDHI]; Janata Dal
(United) or JD(U) [Sharad YADAV]; Left Front (an alliance of Indian leftist
parties); Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Rashtriya Lok Dal or
RLD [Ajit SINGH]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali
Dal or SAD [Parkash Singh BADAL]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY]; Telugu Desam
Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]; note - India has dozens of national and
regional political parties; only parties or coalitions with four or more seats
in the People's Assembly are listed
Political pressure groups and leaders:
All Parties Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir Valley (separatist group);
Bajrang Dal (religious organization); National Socialist Council of Nagaland in
the northeast (separatist group); Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh [Mohan BHAGWAT]
(religious organization); Vishwa Hindu Parishad [Ashok SINGHAL] (religious
organization)
other: numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations; various
separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy
International organization participation:
ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIMSTEC, BIS,
C, CERN (observer), CP, EAS, FAO, G-15, G-20, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU,
ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW,
PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Meera SHANKAR
chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note -
Consular Wing located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000
FAX: [1] (202) 265-4351
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Timothy J. ROEMER
embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [91] (011) 2419-8000
FAX: [91] (11) 2419-0017
consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Hyderabad; Kolkata (Calcutta),
Mumbai (Bombay)
Flag
description:
three equal horizontal bands of saffron (subdued 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 is developing into an open-market economy, yet traces of its past
autarkic policies remain. Economic liberalization, including reduced controls on
foreign trade and investment, began in the early 1990s and has served to
accelerate the country's growth, which has averaged more than 7% since 1997.
India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern
agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of
services. Slightly more than half of the work force is in agriculture, but
services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for more than half
of India's output, with less than one-third of its labor force. India has
capitalized on its large numbers of well-educated people, skilled in the English
language, to become a major exporter of software services and software workers.
An industrial slowdown early in 2008, followed by the global financial crisis,
contributed to the deceleration in annual GDP growth to 6.1% in 2009. However,
India escaped the brunt of the global financial crisis because of cautious
banking policies and a relatively low dependence on exports for growth. Domestic
demand, driven by purchases of consumer durables and automobiles, has re-emerged
as a key driver of the economy, as exports have fallen since the global crisis
started. India's fiscal deficit increased substantially in 2008 due to fuel and
fertilizer subsidies, a debt waiver program for farmers, a job guarantee program
for rural workers, and stimulus expenditures. The government abandoned its
deficit target and allowed the deficit to reach 6.8% of GDP in FY09. The
government has expressed a commitment to fiscal stimulus in 2010, and to deficit
reduction the following two years. It has proposed limited privatization of
government-owned industries, in part to offset the deficit. India's long term
challenges include inadequate physical and social infrastructure, limited
employment opportunities, and insufficient basic and higher education
opportunities. In the long run, however, the huge and growing population is the
fundamental social, economic, and environmental problem.
GDP
(purchasing power parity):
$3.548 trillion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
$3.344 trillion (2008 est.)
$3.113 trillion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP
(official exchange rate):
$1.243 trillion (2009 est.)
GDP -
real growth rate:
6.1% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
7.4% (2008 est.)
9% (2007 est.)
GDP -
per capita (PPP):
$3,100 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 165
$2,900 (2008 est.)
$2,800 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP -
composition by sector:
agriculture: 17.5%
industry: 20%
services: 62.6% (2009 est.)
Labor
force:
467 million (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
Labor
force - by occupation:
agriculture: 52%
industry: 14%
services: 34% (2003)
Unemployment rate:
9.5% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 110
9.1% (2008 est.)
Population below poverty line:
25% (2007 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 31.1% (2005)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
36.8 (2004)
country comparison to the world: 79
37.8 (1997)
Investment (gross fixed):
33.7% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
Budget:
revenues: $122.7 billion
expenditures: $223 billion (2009 est.)
Public
debt:
60.1% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 31
56.4% of GDP (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9.8% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 192
8.3% (2008 est.)
Central
bank discount rate:
6% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 76
6% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
13.31% (31 December 2008)
Stock
of money:
$NA (31 December 2008)
$250.9 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock
of quasi money
$NA (31 December 2008)
$647.3 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock
of domestic credit:
$NA (31 December 2008)
$769.3 billion (31 December 2007)
Market
value of publicly traded shares:
$645.5 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 9
$1.819 trillion (31 December 2007)
$818.9 billion (31 December 2006)
Agriculture - products:
rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, lentils, potatoes;
onions, dairy products, sheep, goats, poultry; fish
Industries:
textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment,
cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software, pharmaceuticals
Industrial production growth rate:
5.2% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 20
Electricity - production:
761.7 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
Electricity - consumption:
568 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
Electricity - exports:
216 million kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
4.96 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Oil -
production:
883,500 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23
Oil -
consumption:
2.94 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
Oil -
exports:
671,200 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23
Oil -
imports:
2.518 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
Oil -
proved reserves:
5.625 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 22
Natural
gas - production:
32.2 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
Natural
gas - consumption:
42.99 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19
Natural
gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 171
Natural
gas - imports:
10.79 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 22
Natural
gas - proved reserves:
1.075 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
Current
account balance:
$-4.294 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 169
$-36.09 billion (2008 est.)
Exports:
$155 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
$187.9 billion (2008 est.)
Exports
- commodities:
petroleum products, textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods,
chemicals, leather manufactures
Exports
- partners:
US 12.3%, UAE 9.4%, China 9.3% (2008)
Imports:
$232.3 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 16
$315.1 billion (2008 est.)
Imports
- commodities:
crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals
Imports
- partners:
China 11.1%, Saudi Arabia 7.5%, US 6.6%, UAE 5.1%, Iran 4.2%, Singapore
4.2%, Germany 4.2% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$282 billion (31 October 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4
$254 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Debt -
external:
$232.5 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
$229.3 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock
of direct foreign investment - at home:
$156.3 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
$144.2 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock
of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$76.59 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
$61.77 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Exchange rates:
Indian rupees (INR) per US dollar - 48.766 (2009), 43.319 (2008), 41.487
(2007), 45.3 (2006), 44.101 (2005)
Telephones - main lines in use:
37.54 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 7
427.3 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 2
Telephone system
general assessment: recent deregulation and liberalization of
telecommunications laws and policies have prompted rapid growth; local and long
distance service provided throughout all regions of the country, with services
primarily concentrated in the urban areas; steady improvement is taking place
with the recent admission of private and private-public investors, but combined
fixed and mobile telephone density remains low at about 40 for each 100 persons
nationwide and much lower for persons in rural areas; extremely rapid growth in
cellular service with modest declines in fixed lines
domestic: mobile cellular service introduced in 1994 and organized
nationwide into four metropolitan areas and 19 telecom circles each with
multiple private service providers and one or more state-owned service
providers; in recent years significant trunk capacity added in the form of
fiber-optic cable and one of the world's largest domestic satellite systems, the
Indian National Satellite system (INSAT), with 6 satellites supporting 33,000
very small aperture terminals (VSAT)
international: country code - 91; a number of major international submarine
cable systems, including Sea-Me-We-3 with landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai
(Bombay), Sea-Me-We-4 with a landing site at Chennai, Fiber-Optic Link Around
the Globe (FLAG) with a landing site at Mumbai (Bombay), South Africa - Far East
(SAFE) with a landing site at Cochin, the i2i cable network linking to Singapore
with landing sites at Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras), and Tata Indicom
linking Singapore and Chennai (Madras), provide a significant increase in the
bandwidth available for both voice and data traffic; satellite earth stations -
8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region); 9 gateway
exchanges operating from Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai
(Madras), Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, and Ernakulam (2008)
Radio
broadcast stations
AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
562 (1997)
Internet country code:
.in
Internet hosts:
3.611 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 22
Internet users:
81 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 4
Airports:
349 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 23
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 250
over 3,047 m: 20
2,438 to 3,047 m: 56
1,524 to 2,437 m: 76
914 to 1,523 m: 84
under 914 m: 14 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 99
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 42
under 914 m: 47 (2009)
Heliports:
37 (2009)
Pipelines:
condensate/gas 2 km; gas 6,061 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,156 km; oil 7,678
km; refined products 6,876 km (2008)
Railways:
total: 63,327 km
country comparison to the world: 4
broad gauge: 49,820 km 1.676-m gauge (17,786 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 10,621 km 1.000-m gauge (135 km electrified); 2,886 km
0.762-m gauge and 0.610-m gauge (2007)
Roadways:
total: 3,316,452 km (includes 200 km of expressways) (2006)
country comparison to the world: 3
Waterway:
14,500 km
country comparison to the world: 9
note: 5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for
mechanized vessels (2008)
Merchant marine:
total: 501
country comparison to the world: 23
by type: bulk carrier 102, cargo 241, carrier 1, chemical tanker 19,
container 13, liquefied gas 18, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 11, petroleum
tanker 92, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 12 (China 1, Germany 2, Hong Kong 1, UAE 6, UK 2)
registered in other countries: 61 (Barbados 1, Comoros 2, Cyprus 2,
Dominica 2, Liberia 2, Malta 2, Marshall Islands 1, Panama 27, Saint Kitts and
Nevis 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7, Singapore 13, unknown 1) (2008)
Ports
and terminals:
Chennai, Haldia, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mormugao,
Mumbai (Bombay), New Mangalore, Vishakhapatnam
Military branches:
Army, Navy (includes naval air arm), Air Force
(Bharatiya Vayu Sena), Coast Guard (2009)
Military service age and obligation:
16 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; women
officers allowed in noncombat roles only (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 301,094,084
females age 16-49: 283,047,141 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 237,042,868
females age 16-49: 243,276,310 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 11.795 million
female: 10,820,590 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures:
2.5% of GDP (2006)
country comparison to the world: 66
Disputes - international:
since China and India launched a security and foreign policy dialogue in
2005, consolidated discussions related to the dispute over most of their rugged,
militarized boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, Indian claims that China
transferred missiles to Pakistan, and other matters continue; various talks and
confidence-building measures have cautiously begun to defuse tensions over
Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005 earthquake in the region; Kashmir
nevertheless remains the site of the world's largest and most militarized
territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai
Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern
Areas); India and Pakistan have maintained the 2004 cease fire in Kashmir and
initiated discussions on defusing the armed stand-off in the Siachen glacier
region; Pakistan protests India's fencing the highly militarized Line of Control
and construction of the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir,
which is part of the larger dispute on water sharing of the Indus River and its
tributaries; UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has
maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949; India does not recognize
Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; to defuse tensions
and prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary, India and Pakistan seek
technical resolution of the disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth
of the Rann of Kutch in the Arabian Sea; Pakistani maps continue to show its
Junagadh claim in Indian Gujarat State; discussions with Bangladesh remain
stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, to exchange territory for
51 Bangladeshi exclaves in India and 111 Indian exclaves in Bangladesh, to
allocate divided villages, and to stop illegal cross-border trade, migration,
violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh
protests India's attempts to fence off high-traffic sections of the border;
dispute with Bangladesh over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay
of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; India seeks cooperation from
Bhutan and Burma to keep Indian Nagaland and Assam separatists from hiding in
remote areas along the borders; Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues to
examine contested boundary sections, including the 400 square kilometer dispute
over the source of the Kalapani River; India maintains a strict border regime to
keep out Maoist insurgents and control illegal cross-border activities from
Nepal
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 77,200 (Tibet/China); 69,609 (Sri Lanka);
9,472 (Afghanistan)
IDPs: at least 600,000 (about half are Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and
Kashmir) (2007)
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: India is a source, destination, and transit country for
men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and
commercial sexual exploitation; internal forced labor may constitute India's
largest trafficking problem; men, women, and children are held in debt bondage
and face forced labor working in brick kilns, rice mills, agriculture, and
embroidery factories; women and girls are trafficked within the country for the
purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage; children are
subjected to forced labor as factory workers, domestic servants, beggars, and
agriculture workers, and have been used as armed combatants by some terrorist
and insurgent groups; India is also a destination for women and girls from Nepal
and Bangladesh trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation;
Indian women are trafficked to the Middle East for commercial sexual
exploitation; men and women from Bangladesh and Nepal are trafficked through
India for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation in the Middle East
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - India is on the Tier 2 Watch List for a
fifth consecutive year for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts
to combat human trafficking in 2007; despite the reported extent of the
trafficking crisis in India, government authorities made uneven efforts to
prosecute traffickers and protect trafficking victims; government authorities
continued to rescue victims of commercial sexual exploitation and forced child
labor and child armed combatants, and began to show progress in law enforcement
against these forms of trafficking; a critical challenge overall is the lack of
punishment for traffickers, effectively resulting in impunity for acts of human
trafficking; India has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
Illicit
drugs:
world's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical trade, but
an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug
markets; transit point for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries
and throughout Southwest Asia; illicit producer of methaqualone; vulnerable to
narcotics money laundering through the hawala system; licit ketamine and
precursor production
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