Fact Sheet: India
PEOPLE
Population: India's population, as on 1 March 2011 stood at 1,210,193,422 (623.7 million males and 586.4 million females).
Indian Diaspora: 22 million
Demographic Profile: 75% below 35 years; 50% below 25 years.
Religions: India is the birth place of many religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. The predominant religious faiths present in India are: Hinduism (830 million), Islam (140 million), Sikhism (19 million), Christianity (20 million), Buddhism (8 million), Jainism (4 million).
Literacy: According to the 2011 census, the literacy rate is 74% (82.14% for males and 65.46% for females).
Languages: 22 languages are included in the 8th schedule of the Constitution of India. Hindi and English are the Official Languages of the Union. Besides these, there are over 844 different dialects spoken in various parts of the country. English is widely spoken and is the language of commerce.
POLITY
|
Country Name
|
Republic of India
|
|
Government Type
|
Parliamentary form of Government
|
|
Administrative Divisions
|
29 States and 7 Union Territories.
|
|
Independence
|
15th August 1947
|
|
Constitution
|
The Constitution of India came into force on 26th January 1950.
|
|
Executive Branch
|
The President of India is the Head of State, while the Prime Minister is the Head of Government
|
|
Legislative Branch
|
The Indian Parliament comprises:
a) Lower House: Lok Sabha (House of the People)
b) Upper House: Rajya Sabha (Council of States)
c) President of India
|
|
Judicial Branch
|
The Indian judiciary is 3-tier with the Supreme Court of India at the apex, 24 High Courts at the mid-level, and Subordinate courts at the bottom.
|
|
Head of State
|
Smt. Droupadi Murmu, President of India
|
|
Head of Government
|
Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India
|
| |
|
GEOGRAPHY
|
Location
|
The Indian sub-continent is separated from mainland Asia by the Himalayas. India is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south.
|
|
Coordinates
|
Lying entirely in the Northern Hemisphere, India extends between 8° 4' and 37° 6' latitudes north of the Equator, and 68° 7' and 97° 25' longitudes east of it. The country measures about 3,214 km from north to south and about 2,933 km from east to west.
|
|
Indian Standard Time
|
GMT + 05:30
|
|
Area
|
3.3 Million sq. km
|
|
Country Code
|
+91
|
|
National Capital
|
New Delhi (12.9 mn.)
|
|
Other Major Cities
|
Mumbai (16.3 mn.)
Kolkata (13.2 mn.)
Chennai (6.4 mn.)
Bengaluru (5.6 mn.)
Hyderabad (5.3 mn.)
Ahmedabad (4.5 mn.)
35 cities with population over 1 million.
|
|
Coastline
|
The total length of the coastline is 7,516.6 km, encompassing the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
|
|
Climate
|
The climate of India can broadly be classified as a tropical monsoon one. But, in spite of much of the northern part of India lying beyond the tropical zone, virtually the entire country has a tropical climate marked by relatively high temperatures and dry winters. There are four seasons: Winter (December-February), Summer (March-June), South-West Monsoon season (June-September), and Post Monsoon season (October-November)
|
|
Terrain
|
The mainland comprises of four regions, namely the Himalayas, the Indo-Gangetic plains, the Thar desert, and the Indian peninsula
|
|
Natural Resources
|
Coal, Iron Ore, Manganese Ore, Mica, Bauxite, Petroleum, Titanium Ore, Chromite, Natural Gas, Magnetite, Limestone, Arable Land, Dolomite, Barites, Kaolin, Gypsum, Apatite, Phosphorite, Steatite, Fluorite, etc.
|
|
Neighbouring Countries
|
Afghanistan and Pakistan to the north-west; China, Bhutan and Nepal to the north; Myanmar to the east; and Bangladesh to the east of West Bengal. Sri Lanka is separated from India by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.
|
ECONOMY
Currency: Indian National Rupee (INR)
|
Economic Indicators
|
2014-15
|
2015-16
|
|
GDP (in trillion Rs.)
|
105.5
|
113.5
|
|
GDP Growth Rate (%)
|
7.2
|
7.6
|
|
Inflation %
|
5.9
|
4.9
|
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Composition by Sector (FY 2014): Services (65%), Industry (18%), Agriculture (17%)
The Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.5% in FY 2016-17, as per the forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). More information on the Macro Economic Indicators of India are available on the Economic Survey website at http://indiabudget.nic.in/es2015-16/echapvol2-01.pdf
Trade & Investment:
|
Indicator
|
2014-15
|
2015-16
|
|
India’s Total Trade
|
758.30
|
642.09
|
|
India’s Total Exports
|
310.34
|
262.29
|
|
India’s Total Imports
|
447.96
|
381.00
|
(All figures in US$ billion)
INDIA’S TOP 10 EXPORT DESTINATIONS: USA, UAE, Hong Kong, China, UK, Singapore, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
INDIA’S TOP 10 IMPORT SOURCES: China, UAE, Saudi Arabia, USA, South Korea, Switzerland, Indonesia, Germany, Iraq and Japan
More Information on India’s foreign trade is available on the website of the Department of Commerce at http://www.commerce.nic.in/eidb/
