INDIA

India test-fires Advanced Air Defence missile

2008-01-02T08:01:00.000-08:00

Orissa, Dec 6: India today successfully test-fired it’s indigenously designed and developed Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile.

Aimed at developing a full fledged multi-layer Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system, the test-fire exercise was carried out from two different launch sites of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in the Bay of Bengal.

The target missile was first test-fired from a mobile launcher at 11 am from ITR's launch complex-3 at Chandipur-on-sea, while 2 minutes 40 seconds later the interceptor was fired from Wheeler's Island, 70 nautical miles from Chandipur.

The target missile is a modified version of India's Prithvi ballistic missile.

The 7.5- metre tall interceptor missile named Advanced Air Defence (AAD-02) painted in white, carried the emblem of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on top and the legends “Programme AD (Area Defence), AAD-02” below.

According to ITR sources, the Endo-atmospheric test attempt to hit an incoming missile within the earth's atmosphere.

This test, in which two live missiles launched as a target and an interceptor, is aims to establishing India’s capability for a two-layered Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) shield for protecting vulnerable areas from an incoming enemy missile.

DRDO scientists were glued to their computer consoles at the Mission Control Centre (MCC) on Wheeler Island on Wednesday to complete the range integration checks.

The advanced anti-missile defence system will be slightly better than the American Patriot Advanced Capability - 3 (PAC-3) in terms of range and altitude of interception.

The target missile would ‘mimic M-9 and M-11class of missiles in the world, which are with the adversaries.

The health of the interceptor missile and radar systems was checked as also the communication links between various elements of the weapon systems such as radars, MCC, Launch Control Centre.

The DRDO conducted a successful interception test of a missile at an altitude of 50 km in exo-atmosphere on November 27, 2006. (ANI)

INDIAN

2007-05-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

INDIA-QUOTES

2007-05-14T05:29:00.000-07:00

The arts in India date back thousands of years. India's earliest known civilization, the Indus Valley civilization (about 2500-1700 BC) produced fine sculpted figures and seals. The basis for Indian music may well be traced to the chanting of the Vedas, the Hindu sacred texts of the 1st millennium BC. Architecture from the time of the Buddha (563?-483? BC) includes stone structures called stupas that resemble earlier wooden ones. Much of Indian literature has its roots in the great Sanskrit epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana, which date from the 3rd century BC. Secular literature in the form of story and drama has been important since the classical age of the 4th century AD. Royal patronage of these art forms continued throughout history, and the government of independent India also supports the arts with national academies for music, art, drama, literature, and other programs. There are yearly prizes for work in all the Indian languages, and in the several musical, dramatic, and art traditions. The government's national radio network is a major employer of musicians.

Keith Bellows said: There are some parts of the world that, once visited, get into your heart and won’t go. For me, India is such a place. When I first visited, I was stunned by the richness of the land, by its lush beauty and exotic architecture, by its ability to overload the senses with the pure, concentrated intensity of its colors, smells, tastes, and sounds. It was as if all my life I had been seeing the world in black and white and, when brought face-to-face with India, experienced everything re-rendered in brilliant technicolor.

Albert Einstein said: We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.

Mark Twain said: India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.

French scholar Romain Rolland said: If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India.

Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA said: India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.

We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made!" --Albert Einstein

"If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India!" --French scholar Romaine Rolland

"India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most astrictive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only!" --Mark Twain

"So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked." --Mark Twain

"She (India) has left indelible imprints on one fourth of the human race in the course of a long succession of centuries. She has the right to reclaim ... her place amongst the great nations summarizing and symbolizing the spirit of humanity. From Persia to the Chinese sea, from the icy regions of Siberia to Islands of Java and Borneo, India has propagated her beliefs, her tales, and her civilization!" -- Sylvia Levi

"India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border!" -- Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA

"Civilizations have arisen in other parts of the world. In ancient and modern times, wonderful ideas have been carried forward from one race to another...But mark you, my friends, it has been always with the blast of war trumpets and the march of embattled cohorts. Each idea had to be soaked in a deluge of blood..... Each word of power had to be followed by the groans of millions, by the wails of orphans, by the tears of widows. This, many other nations have taught; but India for thousands of years peacefully existed. Here activity prevailed when even Greece did not exist... Even earlier, when history has no record, and tradition dares not peer into the gloom of that intense past, even from until now, ideas after ideas have marched out from her, but every word has been spoken with a blessing behind it and peace before it. We, of all nations of the world, have never been a conquering race, and that blessing is on our head, and therefore we live....!" -- Swami Vivekananda, Indian Philosopher.

All the above is just the TIP of the iceberg, the list could be endless. BUT, if we don't see even a glimpse of that great India in the India That we see today, it clearly means that we are not working up to our Potential and that if we do, we could once again; be an ever shining and Inspiring country setting a bright path for rest of the world to follow. I Hope you enjoyed it and work towards the welfare of INDIA.

A person who misses a chance and the monkey who misses its branch can't be saved. Source: (India)

Guy Sorman:

Temporal notions in Europe were overturned by an India rooted in eternity. The Bible had been the yardstick for measuring time, but the infinitely vast time cycles of India suggested that the world was much older than anything the Bible spoke of. It seem as if the Indian mind was better prepared for the chronological mutations of Darwinian evolution and astrophysics.

You cannot be a Hindu fundamentalist. It does not mean anything...The concept of fundamentalism does not exist in Hinduism. No one man embodies the spirit of universalism, it runs through the whole of India and there is a place for all religious groups and communities. The spiritual message of India is her capacity to let so many divergent practices coexist. The Enlightenment philosophers seemed to have grasped this profound originality...This the real message of India.

John Archibald Wheeler:

I like to think that someone will trace how the deepest thinking of India made its way to Greece and from there to the philosophy of our times.

Jean-Sylvain Bailly:

The motion of the stars calculated by the Hindus before some 4500 years vary not even a single minute from the tables of Cassine and Meyer (used in the 19-th century). The Indian tables give the same annual variation of the moon as the discovered by Tycho Brahe - a variation unknown to the school of Alexandria and also to the Arabs who followed the calculations of the school... "The Hindu systems of astronomy are by far the oldest and that from which the Egyptians, Greek, Romans and - even the Jews derived from the Hindus their knowledge.

Marcus Leatherdale:

Hinduism has a playful aspect which I've not experienced in any other religion. Its not so righteous or sober as is Christianity, nor is it puritanical. That's one of the reasons I enjoy India. I wake up in the morning, and I'm very content.

You'd have to be brain dead to live in India and not be affected by Hinduism. It's not like Christianity in America, where you feel it only on Sunday mornings … if you go to church at all. Hinduism is an on-going daily procedure. You live it, you breathe it.

Albert Einstein:

When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous.

We owe a lot to Indians who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.

Alan Watts:

To the philosophers of India, however, Relativity is no new discovery, just as the concept of light years is no matter for astonishment to people used to thinking of time in millions of kalpas, (A kalpa is about 4,320,000 years). The fact that the wise men of India have not been concerned with technological applications of this knowledge arises from the circumstance that technology is but one of innumerable ways of applying it.

It is, indeed, a remarkable circumstance that when Western civilization discovers Relativity it applies it to the manufacture of atom-bombs, whereas Oriental civilization applies it to the development of new states of consciousness.

There is an unrecognized but mighty taboo--our tacit conspiracy to ignore who, or what, we really are. Briefly, the thesis is that the prevalent sensation of oneself as a separate ego enclosed in a bag of skin is a hallucination which accords neither with Western science nor with the experimental philosophy religions of the East--in particular the central and germinal Vedanta philosophy of Hinduism. This hallucination underlies the misuse of technology for the violent subjugation of man's natural environment and, consequently, its eventual destruction. It is rather a cross-fertilization of Western science with an Eastern intuition.

Julius Robert Oppenheimer:

Access to the Vedas is the greatest privilege this century may claim over all previous centuries.

George Bernard Shaw:

The Indian way of life provides the vision of the natural, real way of life. We veil ourselves with unnatural masks. On the face of India are the tender expressions which carry the mark of the Creator's hand.

Will Durant:

It is true that even across the Himalayan barrier India has sent to us such unquestionable gifts as grammar and logic, philosophy and fables, hypnotism and chess, and above all our numerals and our decimal system. But these are not the essence of her spirit; they are trifles compared to what we may learn from her in the future.

India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all. Nothing should more deeply shame the modern student than the recency and inadequacy of his acquaintance with India....This is the India that patient scholarship is now opening up like a new intellectual continent to that Western mind which only yesterday thought civilization an exclusive Western thing.

Perhaps in return for conquest, arrogance and spoilation, India will teach us the tolerance and gentleness of the mature mind, the quiet content of the unacquisitive soul, the calm of the understanding spirit, and a unifying, a pacifying love for all living things.

Arnold Joseph Toynbee:

It is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a Western beginning will have to have an Indian ending if it is not to end in self-destruction of the human race. At this supremely dangerous moment in human history , the only way of salvation is the ancient Hindu way. Here we have the attitude and spirit that can make it possible for the human race to grow together in to a single family.

There may or may not be only one single absolute truth and only one single ultimate way of salvation. We do not know. But we do know that there are more approaches to truth than one, and more means of salvation than one. This is a hard saying for adherents of the higher religions of the Judaic family (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), but it is a truism for Hindus. The spirit of mutual good-will, esteem, and veritable love ... is the traditional spirit of the religions of the Indian family. This is one of India’s gifts to the world.

India is not only the heir of her own religious traditions; she is also the residuary legatee of the Ancient Mediterranean World's religious traditions. Religion cuts far deeper, and, at the religious level, India has not been a recipient; she has been a giver. About half the total number of the living higher religions are of Indian origin.

I guess that both the West and the world are getting to turn away from man - worshipping ideologies - Communism and secular individualism alike - and become converted to an Oriental religion coming neither from Russia nor from the West. I guess that this will be the Christian religion that came to the Greeks and the Romans from Palestine, with one or two elements in traditional Christianity discarded and replaced by a new element from India, I expect and hope that this avatar of Christianity will include the vision of God as being Love. But I also expect and hope that it will discard the other traditional Christian vision of God as being a jealous god, and that it will reject the self-glorification of this jealous god's "chosen people" as being unique. This is where India comes in, with her belief that there may be more than one illuminating and saving approach to the mystery of the universe.

Ralph Waldo Emerson:

The Indian teaching, through its clouds of legends, has yet a simple and grand religion, like a queenly countenance seen through a rich veil. It teaches to speak truth, love others, and to dispose trifles. The East is grand - and makes Europe appear the land of trifles. ...all is soul and the soul is Vishnu ...cheerful and noble is the genius of this cosmogony. Hari is always gentle and serene - he translates to heaven the hunter who has accidentally shot him in his human form, he pursues his sport with boors and milkmaids at the cow pens; all his games are benevolent and he enters into flesh to relieve the burdens of the world.

When India was explored and the wonderful riches of Indian theological literature found that dispelled once and for all the dream about Christianity being the sole revelation.

Nature makes a Brahmin of me presently.

Friedrich Mejer:

It will no longer remain to be doubted that the priests of Egypt and the sages of Greece have drawn directly from the original well of India, that it is to the banks of the Ganges and the Indus that our hearts feel drawn as by some hidden urge.

Towards the Orient, to the banks of the Ganges and the Indus, it is there our hearts feel drawn by some hidden urge - it is there that all the dark presentiments point which lie in the depths of our heart...In the Orient, the heavens poured forth into the earth.

Herman Hesse:

It is not only a country and something geographical, but the home and the youth of the soul, the everywhere and nowhere, the oneness of all times.

Annie Wood Besant:

After a study of some forty years and more of the great religions of the world, I find none so perfect ,none so scientific, none so philosophical and no so spiritual that the great religion known by the name of Hinduism. Make no mistake, without Hinduism, India has no future. Hinduism is the soil in to which India's roots are stuck and torn out of that she will inevitably wither as a tree torn out from its place. And if Hindus do not maintain Hinduism who shall save it? If India's own children do not cling to her faith who shall guard it? India alone can save India and India and Hinduism are one.

This is the India of which I speak - the India which, as I said, is to me the Holy Land. For those who, though born for this life in a Western land and clad in a Western body, can yet look back to earlier incarnations in which they drank the milk of spiritual wisdom from the breast of their true mother - they must feel ever the magic of her immemorial past, must dwell ever under the spell of her deathless fascination; for they are bound to India by all the sacred memories of their past; and with her, too, are bound up all the radiant hopes of their future, a future which they know they will share with her who is their true mother in the soul-life.

Friedrich Nietzsche:

One draws a breath of relief when coming out of the Christian sick-house and dungeon atmosphere into this healthier, higher wider world. How paltry the 'New Testament' is compared with Manu, how ill it smells! One sees immediately that it has a real philosophy behind it, in it, not merely an ill-smelling Jewish acidity compounded of rabbinisim and superstition.......All the things upon which Christianity vents its abysmal vulgarity, procreation, for example, woman, marriage, are here treated seriously, with reverence, with love and trust.

Christianity has been up till now mankind's greatest misfortune.

Rudyard Kipling:

Now it is not good for the Christian's health to hustle the Hindu brown For the Christian riles and the Hindu smiles and weareth the Christian down ; And the end of the fight is a tombstone while with the name of the late deceased and the epitaph drear , " A fool lies here who tried to hustle the east".

Koenraad Elst:

The struggle of Hindu society is not primarily with the Muslim community. The most important opponents of Hindu society today are not the Islamic communal leaders, but the interiorized colonial rulers of India, the alienated English-educated and mostly Left-leaning elite that noisily advertises its "secularism." It is these people who impose anti-Hindu policies on Hindu society, and who keep Hinduism down and prevent it from proudly raising its head after a thousand years of oppression.

The Hindu fight is not at all with Muslims; the fight is between Hindus anxious to renew themselves in the spirit of their civilization, and the state, Indian in name and not in spirit and the political and intellectual class trapped in the debris the British managed to bury us under before they left.

The worst torment for Hindu society today is this mental slavery, this sense of inferiority which Leftist intellectuals, through their power positions in education and the media, and their direct influence on the public and political arena, keep on inflicting on the Hindu mind.

Pride in being Indian means, for 99%, pride in Hinduism. So, this legitimate pride has to be nourished with broad and in-depth knowledge of Hindu culture. The two enemies of this effort are the pseudo-secularist morbidity that glorifies the destroyers of Hindu culture, and discourages its study altogether...

Hindus and likewise India make it all the worse for themselves by simply being so tolerant.

Salman Rushdie:

I come from an Indian Muslim family, but I experience India as a very pleasant country, whereas in Pakistan I feel ill at ease. You would think it should be the reverse. But in spite of its many defects, India is a rich and open society, while Pakistan is culturally an impoverished and closed society.

Mark Twain:

This is indeed India!The land of dreams and romance, of fabulous wealth and fabulous poverty,of splendour and rags, of palaces and hovels, of famine and pestilence, of genii and giants and Aladdin lamps, of tigers and elephants, the cobra and the jungle, the country of hundred nations and a hundred tongues, of a thousand religions and two million gods, cradle of the human race, birthplace of human speech, mother of history, grandmother of legend, great-grandmother of traditions, whose yesterday's bear date with the modering antiquities fo the rest of nations-the one sole country under the sun that is endowed with an imperishable interest for alien prince and alien peasant, for lettered and ignorant, wise and fool, rich and poor, bond and free, the one land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for the shows of all the rest of the world combined.

First successful commercial launch of PSLV-C8

2007-05-04T02:35:00.000-07:00

India becomes the fifth country after United States, Russia, China and France to enter the launch market.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C8 (PSLV-C8) was launched successfully Monday from South India's Sriharikota, news website timesofindia.com reported here.

PSLV is carrying the Italian Satellite Agile along with it. This is reported to be the first commercial launch of PSLV-C8 with a 352 kg Italian astronomical satellite onboard from Sriharikota spaceport, about 150 km from Chennai.

The 42-hour countdown for the launch of the 11th flight of PSLV-C8 began on Friday evening. It was launched from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Center, (SHAR) in South India.

A workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO, PSLV has launched nine successful consecutive flights till now since its first launch in 1994. It would also launch India's first mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1 in 2008.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday successfully made the first commercial launch of a foreign satellite through the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C8). Italian satellite, Agile, weighing 352 kg, was placed in a precise orbit about 550 km above the earth.

The PSLV also carried an ISRO payload, Advanced Avionics Module (AAM), to establish the next generation computers, navigation, guidance, control and telemetry systems that will be used in future launch vehicles. It weighed 185 kg.

ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair called the mission "a 100 per cent success" and "a remarkable achievement."

He said: "We have made a good entry into the launch business. I hope we will get more and more business opportunities in future. The contract [to launch the Italian satellite] came at a time when there was a complex, competitive environment."

Italian Space Agency President Giovanni Bignami felt "thrilled" by the successful mission, which would mark "the beginning of a new stage of cooperation" between India and Italy in space endeavours. It has placed India "on a totally different footing"" in the launch market, he said.

The PSLV's final countdown that lasted 48 hours and a half progressed without any hitch at the Mission Control Centre of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

At 3.30 p.m, the 44-metre tall, four-stage vehicle took off from the second launch pad.

Without the firepower of the strap-on booster motors, the vehicle's ascent was a little slow in the beginning. But it soon gathered speed and the ascent was flawless.

In the backdrop of a clear sky, it soared, emitting flames and thick white smoke. Soon the first stage jettisoned.

All events, from ignition and jettisoning, occurred at the appointed time.

After the third stage separated at 518 seconds, the fourth stage coasted on its velocity for about eight minutes.

Then it came into life and 22 minutes after lift-off, it injected Agile into orbit at a velocity of about 25,000 km an hour. Applause filled the air.

B.N. Suresh, Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, said it "altogether was a new mission for us." The VSSC built the vehicle. The core-alone configuration "further proved the versatility of the PSLV" to launch several satellites from one vehicle, he said.

Firsts in India

2007-04-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

*First British Governor General
Warren Hastings

*First British Governor General of Independent India
LordMountbatten

*First Chief Justice of India
Hiralal J Kania

*First Commander-in-Chief of Free India
General K M Cariappa

*First Chief of Air Staff
Air Marshal Sir Thomos Elmhirst

*First Indian Air Chief
Air Marshal S Mukherjee

*First Chief of Army Staff
General M Rajendra Singh

*First Chief of Naval Staff
Vice Admiral R D Katari

*First Cosmonaut
Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma

*First Female Graduates
Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi Basu

*First Female Head of an Undergraduate Academic Institution
Chandramukhi Basu

*First Female Honours Graduate
Kamini Roy

*First Female Lawyer
Cornelia Sorabjee

*First Female Physician
Kadambini Ganguly

*First Field Marshal
SHFJ Manekshaw

*First Governor-General of Indian Union
C Rajagopalachari

*First Graduate in Medicine
Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty

*First Indian to get an Oscar
Bhanu Athaiya

*First Indian to reach the South Pole
Col I K Bajaj

*First Indian to win a major literary award in the United States
Dhan Gopal Mukerji

*First Indian to win an Olympic medal
Norman Pritchard

*First Indian ICS Officer
Satyendranath Tagore

*First Indian Man to swim across the English Channel
Mihir Sen

*First Indian Woman to swim across the English Channel
Miss Arati Saha

*First Magsaysay Award Winner
Acharya Vinod Bhave

*First Nobel Prize Winner
Rabindranath Tagore

*First President of the Indian National Congress
W C Bonnerjee

*First President of the India
Rajendra Prasad

*First Prime Minister of India
Jawaharlal Nehru

*First Deputy Prime Minister of India
Vallabhbhai Patel

*First Talkie Film
Alam Ara (1931)
*First Woman President of the Indian National Congress
Annie Besant

*First Woman Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi

*First Woman Minister
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur

*First Woman Chief Minister of a State
Sucheta Kripalani

*First Woman Governor
Sarojini Naidu

*First Woman central Minister
Vijayalakshmi Pandit

*First Woman Speaker of a State Assembly
Mrs Shanno Devi

*First Woman Airline Pilot
Durga Banerjee

*First Woman to Win Asiad Gold
Kamlijit Sandhu

*First Woman to Win an Olympic medal
Karnam Malleswari

*First Woman Judge of Supreme Court
Meera Sahib Fatima Beevi

*First Woman IPS Officer
Kiran Bedi

*First Woman to Win Miss Universe Title
Sushmita Sen

*First Woman to win the Ford Supermodel of the World (contest)
Bipasha Basu

*First Woman to Win Nobel Prize
Mother Teresa

*First Woman to win Miss World title
Reita Faria

Official bird's of Indian States

2007-04-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

State Common name Binomial name
Andhra Pradesh Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis
Arunachal Pradesh Great Hornbill Buceros bicornis
Bihar Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis
Chhattisgar Hill Myna Gracula religiosa
Goa Black-crested bulbul Pycnonotus melanicterus
Gujarat Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus
Haryana Black Francolin Francolinus francolinus
Jammu and Kashmir Black-necked Crane Grus nigricollis
Jharkhand Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopacea
Karnataka Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis
Kerala Great Hornbil Buceros bicornis
Lakshadweep Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscata
Meghalaya Hill Myna Gracula religiosa
Madhya Pradesh Asian Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi
Maharashtra Green Imperial PigeonDucula aenea
Manipur Mrs. Hume's Pheasan Syrmaticus humiae
Mizoram Mrs. Hume's Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae
Nagaland Blyth's Tragopan Tragopan blythii
Orissa Peacock Pavo cristatus
Punjab Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis
Rajasthan Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps
Sikkim Blood Pheasant Ithaginis cruentus
Tamil Nadu Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica
Uttaranchal Himalayan Monal Lophophorus impejanus
Uttar Pradesh Sarus Crane Grus antigone
West Bengal White-breasted Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis

The key travel destinations of India.

2007-03-31T09:20:00.000-07:00

Agra :
Agra is possibly the most famous tourist destination in India. Known for the spellbinding Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world and a monument regarded worldwide as a symbol of eternal love, the city invites tourists with open arms from all parts of the world. The other must visit monuments of the state are the Agra Fort, tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah, Jahangiri Mahal, the Rambagh and Dayalbagh Gardens.

Rajasthan :
Rajasthan, the northwestern state of India is a land of majestic forts, opulent palaces, picturesque lakes, shimmering deserts, exotic wild life and colorful bazaars. Ruled by the valorous Rajputs in the yore, the state offers innumerable attractions in its heritage cities of Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Pushkar, Ranthambore, Mount Abu, Shekhawati.

Goa :
Goa, situated in the western coast of India, offers unadulterated sea, sand, surf, and sun accompanied with gracious hospitality of the warm-hearted natives. The state beckons the tourists with its palm fringed beaches, rich cultural heritage and untiring festive mood. The churches such as Se Cathedral, Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, Basilica of Bom Jesus are famous across the world.

Kerala :
Kerala conjures up images of serene beaches, emerald backwaters, lush greenery, coconut groves, cashew plantations, wildlife sanctuaries, and ayurvedic centers for rejuvenating and much more. Alappuzha, Cochin, Kollam, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Thekkady and Trivandrum are the major cities of Kerala.

TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES: AS PER CIA FACTBOOK

2007-03-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

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), 50,730 (Sri Lanka), 9,700 (Afghanistan)
IDPs: at least 600,000 (about half are Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Kashmir) (2006)
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: India is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced or bonded labor and commercial sexual exploitation; the large population of men, women, and children - numbering in the millions - in debt bondage face involuntary servitude in brick kilns, rice mills, and embroidery factories, while some children endure involuntary servitude as domestic servants; internal trafficking of women and girls for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage also occurs; the government estimates that 90 percent of India's sex trafficking is internal; India is also a destination for women and girls from Nepal and Bangladesh trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; boys from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are trafficked through India to the Gulf states for involuntary servitude as child camel jockeys; Indian men and women migrate willingly to the Persian Gulf region for work as domestic servants and low-skilled laborers, but some later find themselves in situations of involuntary servitude including extended working hours, nonpayment of wages, restrictions on their movement by withholding of their passports or confinement to the home, and physical or sexual abuse
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - India has been on the Tier 2 Watch List since 2004 for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking in persons
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; illicit producer of methaqualone; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through the hawala system; licit ketamine and precursor production

DEFENCE: AS PER CIA FACTBOOK

2007-03-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

Military branches:
Army, Navy (includes naval air arm), Air Force, Coast Guard, various security or paramilitary forces (includes Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, National Security Guards, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Special Frontier Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Railway Protection Force, and Defense Security Corps)
Military service age and obligation:
16 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 287,551,111
females age 16-49: 268,524,835 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 219,471,999
females age 16-49: 209,917,553 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 11,446,452
females age 16-49: 10,665,877 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.7% (2006 est.)

TRANSPORT: AS PER CIA FACTBOOK

2007-03-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

Airports:
341 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 243
over 3,047 m: 17
2,438 to 3,047 m: 51
1,524 to 2,437 m: 73
914 to 1,523 m: 81
under 914 m: 21 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 98
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 42
under 914 m: 48 (2006)
Heliports:
28 (2006)
Pipelines:
condensate/gas 8 km; gas 5,184 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,993 km; oil 6,500 km; refined products 6,152 km (2006)
Railways:
total: 63,230 km
broad gauge: 45,718 km 1.676-m gauge (16,528 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 14,406 km 1.000-m gauge (165 km electrified); 3,106 km 0.762-m gauge and 0.610-m gauge (2005)
Roadways:
total: 3,383,344 km
paved: 1,603,705 km
unpaved: 1,779,639 km (2002)
Waterways:
14,500 km
note: 5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for mechanized vessels (2005)
Merchant marine:
total: 316 ships (1000 GRT or over) 7,772,313 GRT/13,310,858 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 96, cargo 72, chemical tanker 13, container 8, liquefied gas 17, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 10, petroleum tanker 96, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 10 (China 2, Hong Kong 1, UAE 6, UK 1)
registered in other countries: 46 (Bahamas 1, Comoros 1, Cyprus 5, North Korea 1, Liberia 3, Malta 1, Mauritius 2, Panama 19, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6, Singapore 5, Venezuela 1, unknown 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Chennai, Haldia, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay), New Mangalore, Vishakhapatnam

COMMUNICAYTION: AS PER CIA FACTBOOK

2007-03-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

Telephones - main lines in use:
49.75 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
69.193 million (2006)
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 telephone density remains low at about ten for each 100 persons nationwide and only one per 100 persons in rural areas; there remains a national waiting list of over 1.7 million; fastest growth is in cellular service with modest growth in fixed lines
domestic: expansion of domestic service, although still weak in rural areas, resulted from increased competition and dramatic reductions in price led in large part by wireless service; mobile cellular service (both CDMA and GSM) introduced in 1994 and organized nationwide into four metropolitan cities and 19 telecom circles each with about three private service providers and one state-owned service provider; 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 six satellites supporting 33,000 very small aperture terminals (VSAT)
international: country code - 91; 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; 6 submarine cables, including Sea-Me-We-3 with landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay), Sea-Me-We-4 with landing site at Chennai, Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) with landing site at Mumbai (Bombay), South Africa - Far East (SAFE) with landing site at Cochin, i2icn 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 (2006)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
562 (1997)
Internet country code:
.in
Internet hosts:
1.543 million (2006)
Internet users:
60 million (2005)

ECONOMY: AS PER CIA FACTBOOK

2007-03-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$4.042 trillion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$796.1 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
8.5% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$3,700 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 19.9%
industry: 19.3%
services: 60.7% (2005 est.)
Labor force:
509.3 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 60%
industry: 12%
services: 28% (2003)
Unemployment rate:
7.8% (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line:
25% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1997)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
32.5 (2000)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.3% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
29.2% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $109.4 billion
expenditures: $143.8 billion; including capital expenditures of $15 billion (2006 est.)
Public debt:
52.8% of GDP (federal and state debt combined) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products:
rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish
Industries:
textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software
Industrial production growth rate:
7.5% (2006 est.)
Electricity - production:
630.6 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - consumption:
587.9 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports:
60 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports:
1.5 billion kWh (2004)
Oil - production:
785,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:
2.45 million bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - exports:
350,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - imports:
2.09 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - proved reserves:
5.6 billion bbl (2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:
28.2 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
30.83 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
2.63 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
853.5 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)
Current account balance:
$-26.4 billion (2006 est.)
Exports:
$112 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities:
textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures
Exports - partners:
US 16.7%, UAE 8.5%, China 6.6%, Singapore 5.3%, UK 4.9%, Hong Kong 4.4% (2005)
Imports:
$187.9 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities:
crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals
Imports - partners:
China 7.3%, US 5.6%, Switzerland 4.7% (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$165 billion (2006 est.)
Debt - external:
$132.1 billion (30 June 2006 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$2.9 billion (FY98/99)
Currency (code):
Indian rupee (INR)
Exchange rates:
Indian rupees per US dollar - 45.3 (2006), 44.101 (2005), 45.317 (2004), 46.583 (2003), 48.61 (2002)
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

TRIVIA: AS PER CIA FACTBOOK

2007-03-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

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, Uttaranchal, West Bengal
Independence:
15 August 1947 (from 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 A.P.J. Abdul KALAM (since 25 July 2002); Vice President Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT (since 19 August 2002)
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 July 2002 (next to be held 18 July 2007); vice president elected by both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 12 August 2002 (next to be held August 2007); prime minister chosen by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative elections; election last held April - May 2004 (next to be held May 2009)
election results: Abdul KALAM elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 89.6%; Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT elected vice president; percent of Parliament vote - 59.8%
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 20 April through 10 May 2004 (next must be held before May 2009)
election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - INC 147, BJP 129, CPI(M) 43, SP 38, RJD 23, DMK 16, BSP 15, SS 12, BJD 11, CPI 10, NCP 10, JD(U) 8, SAD 8, PMK 6, JMM 5, LJSP 4, MDMK 4, TDP 4, TRS 4, independent 6, other 29, vacant 13; note - party seat composition as of December 2006
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:
note - India has dozens of national and regional political parties; only parties with four or more seats in the People's Assembly are listed; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Rajnath SINGH]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M) [Prakash KARAT]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National Congress or INC [Sonia GANDHI]; Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) [Sharad YADEV]; Jharkhand Mukti Morcha or JMM [Shibu SOREN]; Lok Jan Shakti Party or LJSP [Ram Vilas PASWAN]; Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [VAIKU]; Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK [S. RAMADOSS]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD [Prakash Singh BADAL]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY]; Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS [K. Chandrasekhar RAO]; Telugu Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy, including the All Parties Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir Valley and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland in the Northeast
International organization participation:
AfDB, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIMSTEC, BIS, C, CERN (observer), CP, EAS, FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ranendra SEN
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 David C. MULFORD
embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [91] (11) 2419-8000
FAX: [91] (11) 2419-0017
consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), 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

PEOPLE: AS PER CIA FACTBOOK

2007-03-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

Population:
1,095,351,995 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 30.8% (male 173,478,760/female 163,852,827)
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 363,876,219/female 340,181,764)
65 years and over: 4.9% (male 27,258,020/female 26,704,405) (2006 est.)
Median age:
total: 24.9 years
male: 24.9 years
female: 24.9 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.38% (2006 est.)
Birth rate:
22.01 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate:
8.18 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate:
-0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 54.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 55.18 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 54.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64.71 years
male: 63.9 years
female: 65.57 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.73 children born/woman (2006 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.9% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
5.1 million (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
310,000 (2001 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and Japanese encephalitis are high risks in some locations
animal contact disease: rabies
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified among birds in this country or surrounding region; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2007)
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:
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% 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
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 59.5%
male: 70.2%
female: 48.3% (2003 est.)

GEOGRAPHY: AS PER CIA FACTBOOK

2007-03-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

Location:
Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
Geographic coordinates:
20 00 N, 77 00 E
Map references:
Asia
Area:
total: 3,287,590 sq km
land: 2,973,190 sq km
water: 314,400 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 extremes:
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)
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

Indian Member of Parliament (MP)

2007-03-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

Monthly Salary: 12,000
Expense for Constitution per month: 10,000
Office expenditure per month: 14,000

Daily BETA during parliament meets : 500

Charge for 1 class (A/C) in train : Free(For any number of times - All over India)

Charge for Business Class in flights : Free for 40 trips / year (With wife or PA)

Rent for MP hostel at Delhi: Free

Electricity costs at home: Free up to 50,000 units

Local phone call charge: Free up to 1,70,000 calls.

TOTAL expense for a MP per year: 32,00,000

TOTAL expense for 5 years : 1,60,00,000

For 534 MPs, the expense for 5 years : 8,54,40,00,000 (nearly 855 cores)

POLITICAL SYSTEM

2007-03-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

Federal System

India, a union of states, is a Sovereign, Secular, Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of Government. The Indian polity is governed in terms of the Constitution, which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 November 1950.

The President is the constitutional head of Executive of the Union. Real executive power vests in a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as head. Article 74(1) of the Constitution provides that there shall be a Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister to aid and advise the President who shall, in exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha, the House of the People.

In the states, the Governor, as the representative of the President, is the head of Executive, but real executive power rests with the Chief Minister who heads the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers of a state is collectively responsible to the elected legislative assembly of the state.

The Constitution governs the sharing of legislative power between Parliament and the State Legislatures, and provides for the vesting of residual powers in Parliament. The power to amend the Constitution also vests in Parliament.

The Union Executive consists of the President, the Vice-President and Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President.

President

The President is elected by members of an Electoral College consisting of elected members of both Houses of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of the states, with suitable weightage given to each vote. His term of office is five years.

Among other powers, the President can proclaim an emergency in the country if he is satisfied that the security of the country or of any part of its territory is threatened whether by war or external agression or armed rebellion. When there is a failure of the constitutional machinery in a state, he can assume to himself all or any of the functions of the government of that state

Vice President

The Vice-President is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. He holds office for five years. The Vice-President is Ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers comprises Cabinet Ministers, Minister of States (independent charge or otherwise) and Deputy Ministers. Prime Minister communicates all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to administration of affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation to the President.

Generally, each department has an officer designated as secretary to the Government of India to advise Ministers on policy matters and general administration. The Cabinet Secretariat has an important coordinating role in decision making at highest level and operates under direction of Prime Minister.

Parliament

The Legislative Arm of the Union, called Parliament, consists of the President, Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. All legislation requires consent of both houses of parliament. However, in case of money bills, the will of the Lok Sabha always prevails.

Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha consists of 250 members. Of these, 238 represent states and union territories and 12 members are nominated by the President. Elections to the Rajya Sabha are indirect; members are elected by the elected members of Legislative Assemblies of the concerned states. The Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution, one third of its members retire every second year.

Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of the people chosen by direct election on the basis of universal adult suffrage. As of today, the Lok Sabha consists of 545 members with two members nominated by the President to represent the Anglo-Indian Community. Unless dissolved under unusual circumstances, the term of the Lok Sabha is five years.

State Governments

The system of government in states closely resembles that of the Union. There are 29 states in the country.

Union Territories

Union Territories are administered by the President through an Administrator appointed by him. There are 6 Union territories in India.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

2007-03-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

The Supreme Court is the apex court in the country. The High Court stands at the head of the state's judicial administration. Each state is divided into judicial districts presided over by a district and sessions judge, who is the highest judicial authority in a district. Below him, there are courts of civil jurisdiction, known in different states as munsifs, sub-judges, civil judges and the like. Similarly, criminal judiciary comprises chief judicial magistrate and judicial magistrates of first and second class.

Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction. Its exclusive original jurisdiction extends to all disputes between the Union and one or more states or between two or more states. The Constitution gives an extensive original jurisdiction to the Supreme Court to enforce Fundamental Rights.

Appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court can be invoked by a certificate of the High Court concerned or by special leave granted by the Supreme Court in respect of any judgement, decree or final order of a High Court in cases both civil and criminal, involving substantial questions of law as to the interpretation of the constitution. The President may consult the Supreme Court on any question of fact or law of public importance. The Supreme Court of India comprises of the Chief Justice and not more than 25 other Judges appointed by the President. Judges hold office till 65 years of age.

High Court
There are 18 High Courts in the country, three having jurisdiction over more than one state. Bombay High Court has the jurisdiction over Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Guwahati High Court, which was earlier known as Assam High Court, has the jurisdiction over Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. Punjab and Haryana High Court has the jurisdiction over Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. Among the Union Territories, Delhi alone has had a High Court of its own. The other six Union Territories come under jurisdiction of different state High Courts. The Chief Justice of a High Court is appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the state. Each High Court has powers of superintendence over all courts within its jurisdiction. High Court judges retire at the age of 62. The jurisdiction as well as the laws administered by a High Court can be altered both by the Union and State Legislatures. Certain High Courts, like those at Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, have original and appellate jurisdictions. Under the original jurisdiction suits, where the subject matter is valued at Rs.25,000 or more, can be filed directly in the High Court. Most High Courts have only appellate jurisdiction.

Lok Adalat
Lok Adalats are voluntary agencies for resolution of disputes through conciliatory method.

HISTORY UNFOLDS

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Civilization
The roots of Indian civilization stretch back in time to pre-recorded history. The earliest human activity in the Indian sub-continent can be traced back to the Early, Middle and Late Stone Ages (400,000-200,000 BC). Implements from all three periods have been found from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, parts of what is now Pakistan and the southern most tip of the Indian Peninsula.

The earliest known civilization in India, the starting point in its history, dates back to about 3000 BC. Discovered in the 1920s, it was thought to have been confined to the valley of the river Indus, hence the name given to it was Indus Valley civilization. This civilization was a highly developed urban one, and two of its towns, Mohenjodaro and Harappa, represent the high watermark of the settlements. The Archaeological excavations at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa reveal that the people lived in brick houses and had wells, bathrooms, drainage systems, and well-made household utensils and copper weapons. Subsequent archaeological excavations established that the contours of this civilization were not restricted to the Indus valley but spread to a wide area in northwestern and western India. Thus this civilization is now better known as the Harappan civilization. Mohenjodaro and Harappa are now in Pakistan and the principal sites in India include Ropar in Punjab, Lothal in Gujarat and Kalibangan in Rajasthan.

Succession of Foreigners
Despite formidable barriers in the form of the mighty Himalayas and oceans, India also received a succession of foreigners, many of them carrying swords and guns. But nearly all of them stayed on. Out of these waves of immigration has emerged the composite culture of India and made it a land of unity in diversity. India became a land of assimilation and learning, a land of change and continuity. Foreigners who came to India included Aryans, Greeks, Persians, Mughal and even British, Portuguese and French. Over the years there have been many major ruling dynasties like the Shakas, the Kushans, the Maurayas and Guptas.

Aryans
The Aryans were among the first to arrive in India (around 1500 BC), which was inhabited by the Dravidians, and they said to have entered India through the fabled Khyber pass. They intermingled with the local population, and assimilated themselves into the social framework. They adopted the settled agricultural lifestyle of their predecessors, and established small agrarian communities across the state of Punjab.

The Aryans are believed to have brought with them the horse, developed the Sanskrit language and made significant inroads in to the religion of the times. All three factors were to play a fundamental role in the shaping of Indian culture. Cavalry warfare facilitated the rapid spread of Aryan culture across North India, and allowed the emergence of large empires. By the 6th century BC at least 16 Aryan states had been established south of the Himalayas,

The Aryans did not have a script, but they developed a rich tradition. They composed the hymns of the four Vedas, the great philosophic poems that are at the heart of Hindu thought.

The events described in the two great Indian epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, are thought to have occurred around this period. (1000 to 800 BC).

Mauryans

By the end of the third century BC, most of North India was knit together in the first great Indian empire by Chandragupta Maurya. His son Bindusara extended the Mauryan empire over virtually the entire subcontinent, giving rise to an imperial vision that was to dominate successive centuries of political aspirations. The greatest Mauryan emperor was Ashoka the Great (286-231 BC) whose successful campaigns culminated in the annexation of Kalinga (modern Orissa) and the Mouryan empire began to break up shortly after his death.

Overcome by the horrors of war, Ahoka was probably the first victorious ruler to renounce war on the battlefield. Ashoka converted to Buddhism, but did not impose his faith on his subjects. Instead, he tried to convert them through edicts inscribed on rock in the local dialects, using the earliest known post-Harappan script known as Brahmi.

Guptas

Candra Gupta 1, who reigned from AD 320 to 330, was the founder of the imperial dynasty of the Guptas, which flourished until the mid-6th century. It covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, but its administration was more decentralised than that of the Mauryas. Alternately waging war and entering into matrimonial alliances with the smaller kingdoms in its neighbourhood, the empire's boundaries kept fluctuating with each ruler.

The Gupta Dynasty marked the peak of classical Indian civilization. The invasions of the White Huns signalled the end of this era of history, although at first, they were defeated by the Guptas. After the decline of the Gupta empire, north India broke into a number of separate Hindu kingdoms and was not really unified again until the coming of the Muslims.

The Southern Kingdoms
While kingdoms rose and fell in the north of India, the south remained generally unaffected by these upheavals. Religions like Jainism and Buddhism gradually became popular in the centre and north of India, but Hinduism continued to flourish in the south.

The prosperity in the southern parts of the country was based upon the long-established trade links of India with other civilisations. The Egyptians and Romans had trade relations with southern India through sea routes and later, links were also established with South-East Asia. Other outside influences in the south included the arrival of Saint Thomas in Kerala in 52 AD, who brought Christianity to India.

Great dynasties that rose in the south were the Cholas, Pandyas, Cheras, Chalukyas and Pallavas. These empires constantly vied with each other for supremacy. The Chalukyas ruled mainly over the Deccan region of central India, although at times, their reign extended further north. Further south, the Pallavas pioneered Dravidian architecture with its exuberant, almost baroque style. They also took Indian art forms and Hinduism to Java in Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia.

In 850 AD, the Cholas rose to power and gradually superseded the Pallavas. They too were great builders, and their architectural styles can be witnessed at the temples in Thanjavur. Under the rule of Raja Raja Chola, the Chola empire spread all over southern India, the Deccan, Sri Lanka, parts of the Malay peninsula and Sumatra.

In Kerala, the Cheras acted host to an influx of Arab traders who had discovered a fast sea route to India using the monsoon winds. Some of them settled here permanently, and were allowed to freely practice their religion.

Advent of the Muslims

The Delhi Sultanate
An event of immense and lasting impact in Indian history was the advent of the Muslims in the north-west. Lured by tales of the fertile plains of the Punjab and the fabulous wealth of Hindu temples, Mahmud of Ghazni first attacked India in 1000 AD. Other raiders from Central Asia followed him, but these invasions were no more than banditry. It was only in 1192 that Muslim power arrived in India on a permanent basis. In that year, Mohammed of Ghori, who had been expanding his power all across the Punjab broke into India and took Ajmer. The following year his general Qutb-ud-din Aibak took Varanasi and Delhi and after Mohammed Ghori's death in 1206, he became the first of the Sultans of Delhi. Qutb-ud-din Aibak founded the so called Slave Dynasty in India at Delhi, setting up the nucleus of the Delhi Sultanate, or the rule of Turkish and Afghan sultans, the Khiljis, the Tughlaqs and the Lodis.

The Great Mughals
The most important Islamic empire was that of the Mughals, a Central Asian dynasty founded by Babur early in the sixteenth century. Babur was succeeded by his son Humayun and under the reign of Humayun's son , Akbar the Great (1562-1605), Indo-Islamic culture attained a peak of tolerance, harmony and a spirit of enquiry.

The nobles of his court belonged to both the Hindu and the Muslim faiths, and Akbar himself married a Hindu princess. Leaders of all the faiths were invited to his court at Fatehpur Sikri to debate religious issues at the specially built 'Ibadat Khana'. Akbar tried to consolidate religious tolerance by founding the Din-e-Ilahi religion, an amalgam of the Hindu and the Muslim faiths.

Mughal culture reached its zenith during the reign of Akbar's grandson Shahjehan, a great builder and patron of the arts. Shahjehan moved his capital to Delhi and built the incomparable Taj Mahal at Agra.

Aurangzeb, the last major Mughal, extended his empire over all but the southern tip of India, though he was constantly harried by Rajput and Maratha clans.

The Marathas
The power that came closest to imperial pretensions was that of the Marathas. Starting from scratch, the non-Brahmin castes in the Maharashtra region had been organised into a fighting force by their legendary leader, Shivaji. Dimunitive in height, clever beyond his enemy's imagination, Shivaji led everyday of his life like a drama in which he was always a step ahead of his adversaries. The Marathas moved like lightning and appeared in areas where least expected, at times hundreds of miles away from their home. They always went back with their hands full of plunder.

Gradually, states began to pay them vast amounts in "protection money," insurance aginst their plundering raids. By the third quarter of the 18th century, the Marathas had under their direct administration or indirect subjection enough Indian territory to justify use of the term "the Maratha Empire", though it never came near the dimensions of the Mughal empire. The Marathas also never sought to formally substitute themselves for the Mughals; they often kept the emperor under their thumb but paid him formal obeisance.

When Nadir Shah of Persia attacked Delhi in 1739, the declining Mughals were even further weakened, but the expansion of the Maratha power came to an abrupt halt in 1761 at Panipat. There the Marathas were defeated by Ahmad Shah Durrani from Afganisthan. Their expansion to the west halted, they nevertheless consolidated their control over central India and their region known as Malwa. Soon, however, they were to fall to India's final imperial power, the British.

Advent of the Europeans
The next arrival of overwhelming political importance was that of the Europeans. The great seafarers of north-west Europe, the British, French, Dutch and Portuguese, arrived early in the seventeenth century and established trading outposts along the coasts. The spices of Malabar (in Kerala) had attracted the Portuguese as early as the end of the 15th century when, in 1498, Vasco da Gama had landed at Calicut, sailing via the Cape of Good Hope. Early in the 16th Century, the Portuguese had already established their colony in Goa; but their territorial and commercial hold in India remained rather limited. During the late 16th and 17th century they remained unrivalled as pirates on the high seas; but inland the other European companies were making their presence felt, though entirely in commercial terms.

The Years of The Raj
The newcomers soon developed rivalries among themselves and allied with local rulers to consolidate their positions against each other militarily. In time they developed territorial and political ambitions of their own and manipulated local rivalries and enmities to their own advantage. The ultimate victors were the British, who established political supremacy over eastern India after the Battle of Plassey in 1757. They gradually extended their rule over the entire subcontinent, either by direct annexation, or by exercising suzerainty over local rajas and nawabs.

Unlike all former rulers, the British did not settle in India to form a new local empire. The English East India Company continued its commercial activities and India became 'the Jewel in the Crown' of the British empire, giving an enormous boost to the nascent Industrial Revolution by providing cheap raw materials, capital and a large captive market for British industry. The land was reorganised under the harsh Zamindari system to facilitate the collection of taxes to enrich British coffers. In certain areas farmers were forced to switch from subsistence farming to commercial crops such as indigo, jute, coffee and tea. This resulted in several famines of unprecedented scale.

In the first half of the 19th century, the British extended their hold over many Indian territories. A large part of the subcontinent was brought under the Company's direct administration; in some parts local rulers were retained as subsidiaries of the Company, militarily and administratively completely at its mercy and yilelding to it an overwhelming portion of the revenues. By 1857, "the British empire in India had become the British empire of India." The means employed to achieve this were unrestrained and no scruple was allowed to interfere with the imperial ambition.

The Struggle for Independence

The First War of Independence or The Mutiny of Sepoys
A century of accumulated grievances erupted in the Indian mutiny of sepoys in the British army, in 1857. This was the signal for a spontaneous conflagration, in which the princely rulers, landed aristocarcy and peasantry rallied against the British around the person of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah. The uprising, however, was eventually brutally supressed. By the end of 1859, the "emperor" had been deported to Burma where he died a lonely death, bringing to a formal end the era of Mughal rule in India.

The Mutiny, even in its failure, produced many heroes and heroines of epic character. Above all, it produced a sense of unity between the Hindus and the Muslims of India that was to be witnessed in later years.

The rebellion also saw the end of the East India Company's rule in India. Power was transferred to the British Crown in 1858 by an Act of British Parliament. The Crown's viceroy in India was to be the chief executive.

Freedom Struggle
The British empire contained within itself the seeds of its own destruction. The British constructed a vast railway network across the entire land in order to facilitate the transport of raw materials to the ports for export. This gave intangible form to the idea of Indian unity by physically bringing all the peoples of the subcontinent within easy reach of each other.

During World War 1 Indian troops served the British loyally, but nationalist agitation increased afterward. The British Parliament passed a reform act in 1919, providing for provincial councils of Indians with some powers of supervision over agriculture, education, and public health. Far from satisfied, the extreme nationalists, led by Mohandas K. Gandhi, gained control of the Congress. Gandhi preached resistance to the British by "noncooperation". Hundreds of thousands joined his civil disobediencecampaigns. The Congress party quickly gained a mass following.

Rioting broke out when Parliament placed no Indians on the Simon Commission, appointed in 1927 to investigate the government of India. The British imprisoned Gandhi and his associates. In 1929 Jawaharlal Nehru was elected president of the Congress. Like Gandhi, Nehru was passionately devoted to the cause of freedom. He had absorbed Western ideas at Harrow and Cambridge, however, and, unlike Gandhi, wanted to bring modern technology and industrialization to India.

After three "round-table" conferences in London had considered the commission's report. Parliament passed a new Government of India Act in 1935. It provided for elected legislatures in the provinces, but property and educational requirements restricted the number of voters to about 14 percent of tlie population. To protect the interests of minorities, voting was by communal groups. Upper-caste Hindus, Untouchables, Muslims, Sikhs, and others voted for their own candidates. The system perpetuated religious strife. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, leader of the Muslim League, charged that Congress ministries mistreated their Muslim minorities (see Jinnah). He agitated for the separation of the Muslim provinces (rom India and thecreation of a state called Pakistan, which means "country of the pure." When World War II broke out, the Congress demanded complete and immediate freedom for India as tlie price (or India's active participation. In 1942 Sir Stafford Crippswent to India with a plan for granting dominion status after tlie war, but Indian leaders could not agree on the terms. The Congress insisted on a unified India. The Muslim League demanded a separate Pakistan. The princes were determined to preserve their states.

The Japanese invaded northeast India from Burma with a small force in the spring of 1944. It was quickly driven out. In spite of opposition to British rule, India raised a volunteer army of nearly 2.5 million. Its industries expanded greatly to supply arms and other goods for the war effort.

Independence
India achieved independence on August 15,1947. Giving voice to the sentiments of the nation, the country's first prime minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said, "Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we will redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance .... We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again."

The progress and triumph of the Indian Freedom movement was one of the most significant historical processes of the twentieth century. Its repercussions extended far beyond its immediate political consequences. Within the country, it initiated the reordering of political, social and economic power. In the international context, it sounded the death knell of British Imperialism, and changed the political face of the globe.

India is the fifth largest economy in the world and has the second largest GDP among emerging economies, based on purchasing power parity.

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In 1994-95, the GDP was estimated at Rs. 8,541 billion (US$ 272 billion) at current prices. About 31% of the GDP originated in the primary sector, around 28% in the manufacturing sector and 41% in the services sector. More than two-thirds of the working population is employed in the primary sector (mainly agriculture), while the secondary sector (mainly manufacturing) and the tertiary sector (mainly services, trade and commerce) employ around 14.5% and 20.5%, respectively, of the work force.

The Indian economy moved to a high growth path in the 1980s, with economic growth averaging 5.5% per annum through the decade. This was possible because of a high investment rate of over 22% of the GDP, financed mainly (over 90%) by domestic savings. Annual increase in employment was estimated at 4.3 million in the 1980s. Industrial growth averaged over 7% annually. Population growth, which is continually decelerating had come down to 2.1% per annum.

India’s major achievements are: advances in agriculture, making India one of the largest food grain producers in the world; a broad-based and diversified industrial sector; a modern financial sector spread across the country; a well developed market infrastructure; and an educational system that produces a large pool of high quality human resources. While the state played an active role in guiding industrial activity, private enterprise and market mechanisms developed well in agriculture, manufacturing, trading and in the services sector. The economy was, however, largely shielded from foreign competition, both in production and trade.

However, despite large investments and impressive growth, the infrastructure sector retains potential for development, both in terms of availability and quality. The social sector remained an area of concern, and employment opportunities could not keep pace with demand for jobs. Economic growth was unsustainable as it led to high fiscal deficits, inflation and external debt.

Sweeping reforms continue in policies relating to virtually every sector of the economy - trade, industry, foreign investment, finance, taxation and the public sector. The government is committed to a Common Minimum Program, which ensures a continuation of the direction and pattern of economic development. The reforms have succeeded in large measure in achieving macro economic stabilization. The economy is now clearly on the path of global integration, accelerating growth, improving productivity, innovation and international competitiveness, thus making available government resources for focusing on rural development and the social sector.

In India today, there has been a significant relaxation of regulations on investment and production. Private participation is now permitted in virtually all industries. Foreign investment is welcome and is generally treated at par with domestic investment. There is ample room for all modes of investment. The cumulative needs of investment in infrastructure over the next five years is estimated to be US $200 billion (Rs. 7,100 billion). India has the capacity to absorb around US $10 billion per year as FDI. It also encourages the inflow of modern technology and management practices into the country. Proposed foreign investment is 11.45% of total proposed investment, which underlines the tremendous potential for further inflows.

A disinvestment commission to advise on public sector disinvestment and restructuring is on the anvil. Import barriers including tariffs have been brought down drastically. Capital markets are open to foreign investment. Banking sector controls have been eased and private investment encouraged. The tax structure has been simplified and rates reduced.

The new economic policies have substantially relaxed foreign exchange controls. All transactions are conducted at a market determined rate of exchange. The Indian rupee is now convertible on the current account. For foreign investors, it is also convertible on the capital account. The rupee, which was floated in March 1993, has shown remarkable stability over time against the US dollar. According to experts, the rupee is expected to remain at the current level as the fundamentals of the economy are strong.

CONSTITUTION

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Preamble

We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic and to secure to all its citizens :
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;
In our constituent assembly this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this constitution.

Fundamental Rights

Right to Equality
Right to Freedom
Right against Exploitation
Right to Freedom of Religion
Cultural and Educational Right
Right to Constitutional Remedies
Saving of Certain Laws

Fundamental Duties

To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem;
To cherish and follow the noble ideas which inspired our national struggle for freedom;
To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities;
To renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures;
To develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of enquiry and reform;
To safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity, sothat the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement.

Directive Principles of State Policy

State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people;
Certain principles of policy to be followed by the state;
Organisation of village panchayats;
Right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases;
Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief;
Living wage, etc., for workers;
Uniform civil code for the citizens;
Provision of free and compulsory education for children;
Promotion of education and economic interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections;
Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health;
Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry;
Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wild life;
Protection of monuments and places and objects of national importance;
Separation of judiciary from executive;
Promotion of international peace and security.

INDIA UNPLUGGED CONT....

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India was richest country on earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th century.
India was the only source for diamonds to the world until 1896.
The number 0 was invented in India
Bathrooms were first built in India almost 4500 years ago
Toilets made with bricks and wood were first made in India
The airmail delivery system started in India
Sugar was first used in India
Peppers and mangos were first grown in India
The idea of vegetarianism started in India
Indians built the first hospital thousands of years ago
Surgery was first done in India
The game Parcheesi came from India
Pajamas and cummerbund came in India
The word shampoo is derived from Hindi, the national language of India
The word catamaran, describing a sailboat, comes from Tamil, a southern language in India
Guru, which means teacher, is also an Indian word
The first university was built in Takshila, India
Sanskrit is the mother of all European languages
The decimal system was invented in India
Algebra, Trigonometry, and Calculus were all invented in India
The navigation system was invented in India almost 6000 years ago
The earth's revolution around the sun was first calculated in India

INDIA , UNPLUGGED

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Famous Quotes on India (by non-Indians)
Albert Einstein said: We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.
Mark Twain said: India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.
French scholar Romain Rolland said: If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India.
Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA said: India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.

Facts to make every Indian proud

Q. Who is the co-founder of Sun Microsystems?
A. Vinod Khosla

Q. Who is the creator of Pentium chip (needs no introduction as 90% of the
today's computers run on it)?
A. Vinod Dahm

Q. Who is the third richest man on the world?
A. According to the latest report on Fortune Magazine, it is Aziz Premji,
who is the CEO of Wipro Industries. The Sultan of Brunei is at 6th
position now.

Q. Who is the founder and creator of Hotmail (Hotmail is world's No.1 web
based email program)?
A. Sabeer Bhatia

Q. Who is the president of AT & T-Bell Labs (AT & T-Bell Labs is the creator
of program languages such as C, C++, Unix to name a few)?
A. Arun Netravalli

Q. Who is the GM of Hewlett Packard?
A. Rajiv Gupta

Q. Who is the new MTD (Microsoft Testing Director) of Windows 2000,
responsible to iron out all initial problems?
A. Sanjay Tejwrika

Q. Who are the Chief Executives of CitiBank, Mckensey & Stanchart?
A. Victor Menezes, Rajat Gupta, and Rana Talwar.
We Indians are the wealthiest among all ethnic groups in America, even
faring better than the whites and the natives.

There are 3.22 millions of Indians in USA (1.5% of population). ,

FACTS DONT LIE, STATISTICS DO

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Chess was invented in India.

Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India.

The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India.

The first six Mogul Emperor's of India ruled in an unbroken succession from father to son for two hundred years, from 1526 to 1707.

The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The shikhara is made from a single ' 80-tonne ' piece of granite. Also, this magnificient temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola

India is.......the Largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country in the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations (at least 10, 000 years old).

The game of snakes & ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat.' The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. Later through time, the game underwent several modifications but the meaning is the same i.e good deeds take us to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.

The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh.
Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.

India has the most post offices in the world !

The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people !.

The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.

Although modern images & descriptions of India often show poverty, India was one of the richest countries till the time of British in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth and was looking for route to India when he discovered America by mistake.

The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word 'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.

Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculations was - Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: ( 5th century ) 365.258756484 days.

The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, which was long before the European mathematicians.

Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also orignated from India. Quadratic equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 ( i.e 10 to the power of 53 ) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C. during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12( 10 to the power of 12 ).

Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. ( Source . Gemological Institute of America )

The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.

Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries.

Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.

REAL INDIA- BELIEVE IN LIVE AND LET LIVE

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There are 3.22 Million Indians in America
38% of Doctors in America are Indians.
12% of Scientists in America are Indians.
36% of NASA employees are Indians.
34% of MICROSOFT employees are Indians
28% of IBM employees are Indians
17% of INTEL employees are Indians
13% of XEROX employees are Indians
23% of Indian Community in America is having Green-Card

Following FACTS ABOUT INDIA were recently published in a German
Magazine which deals with WORLD HISTORY.

1. India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of
history.

2.. India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by
Aryabhatta.

3.. The World's first university was established in Takshila in
700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world
studies more than 60 subjects.

4.. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one
of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of
education.

5.. Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages.

6.. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software -
a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987.

7. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans.
Charaka, the father

National Flower

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Lotus (Nelumbo Nucipera Gaertn) is the National Flower of India. It is a sacred flower and occupies a unique position in the art and mythology of ancient India and has been an auspicious symbol of Indian culture since time immemorial.
India is rich in flora. Currently available data place India in the tenth position in the world and fourth in Asia in plant diversity. From about 70 per cent geographical area surveyed so far, 47,000 species of plants have been described by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).

National Bird

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The Indian peacock, Pavo cristatus, the national bird of India, is a colourful, swan-sized bird, with a fan-shaped crest of feathers, a white patch under the eye and a long, slender neck. The male of the species is more colourful than the female, with a glistening blue breast and neck and a spectacular bronze-green train of around 200 elongated feathers. The female is brownish, slightly smaller than the male and lacks the train. The elaborate courtship dance of the male, fanning out the tail and preening its feathers is a gorgeous sight.

National Animal

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The magnificent tiger, Panthera tigris is a striped animal. It has a thick yellow coat of fur with dark stripes. The combination of grace, strength, agility and enormous power has earned the tiger its pride of place as the national animal of India. Out of eight races of the species known, the Indian race, the Royal Bengal Tiger, is found throughout the country except in the north-western region and also in the neighbouring countries, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. To check the dwindling population of tigers in India, ‘Project Tiger' was launched in April 1973. So far, 27 tiger reserves have been established in the country under this project, covering an area of 37,761 sq km.

National Calendar

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The national calendar based on the Saka Era, with Chaitra as its first month and a normal year of 365 days was adopted from 22 March 1957 along with the Gregorian calendar for the following official purposes:

(i) Gazette of India,
(ii) news broadcast by All India Radio,
(iii) calendars issued by the Government of India and
(iv) Government communications addressed to the members of the public.

Dates of the national calendar have a permanent correspondence with dates of the Gregorian calendar, 1 Chaitra falling on 22 March normally and on 21 March in leap year.

National Song

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The song Vande Mataram, composed in Sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a source of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It has an equal status with Jana-gana-man a. The first political occasion when it was sung was the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress. The following is the text of its first stanza:

Vande Mataram!

Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja shitalam,

Shasyashyamalam, Mataram!

Shubhrajyotsna pulakitayaminim,

Phullakusumita drumadala shobhinim,

Suhasinim sumadhura bhashinim,

Sukhadam varadam, Mataram!

The English translation of the stanza rendered by Sri Aurobindo in prose 1 is:

I bow to thee, Mother,
richly-watered, richly-fruited,
cool with the winds of the south,
dark with the crops of the harvests,
The Mother!
Her nights rejoicing in the glory of the moonlight,
her lands clothed beautifully with her trees in flowering bloom,
sweet of laughter, sweet of speech,
The Mother, giver of boons, giver of bliss.

National Anthem

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The song Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950. It was first sung on 27 December 1911 at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of five stanzas. The first stanza contains the full version of the National Anthem:

Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he

Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.

Punjab-Sindh-Gujarat-Maratha

Dravida-Utkala-Banga

Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga

Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga.

Tava shubha name jage,

Tava shubha asisa mange,

Gahe tava jaya gatha,

Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he

Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.

Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,

Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he!

Playing time of the full version of the national anthem is approximately 52 seconds. A short version consisting of the first and last lines of the stanza (playing time approximately 20 seconds) is also played on certain occasions. The following is Tagore's English rendering of the anthem:

Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
dispenser of India's destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind,
Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Jamuna and Ganges and is
chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
thou dispenser of India's destiny.
Victory, victory, victory to thee.

National Emblem

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The state emblem is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. In the original, there are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the Capital is crowned by the Wheel of the Law (Dharma Chakra) .

In the state emblem, adopted by the Government of India on 26 January 1950, only three lions are visible, the fourth being hidden from view. The wheel appears in relief in the centre of the abacus with a bull on right and a horse on left and the outlines of other wheels on extreme right and left. The bell-shaped lotus has been omitted. The words Satyameva Jayate from Mundaka Upanishad , meaning 'Truth Alone Triumphs', are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script.

National Flag

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The National Flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (kesaria) at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. The ratio of width of the flag to its length is two to three. In the centre of the white band is a navy-blue wheel which represents the chakra. Its design is that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Its diameter approximates to the width of the white band and it has 24 spokes. The design of the National Flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July 1947.

Apart from non-statutory instructions issued by the Government from time to time, display of the National Flag is governed by the provisions of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 (No. 12 of 1950) and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 (No. 69 of 1971). The Flag Code of India, 2002 is an attempt to bring together all such laws, conventions, practices and instructions for the guidance and benefit of all concerned.

The Flag Code of India, 2002, took effect from 26 January 2002 and superseded the ‘Flag Code—Indias' as it existed. As per the provisions of the Flag Code of India, 2002, there are no restriction on the display of the National Flag by members of general public, private organisations, educational institutions, etc., except to the extent provided in the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 and any other law enacted on the subject.

ECONOMY

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Economy – Overview: Half a Century after gaining its independence, India has overcome all odds and achieved phenomenal standards of economic stability, courtesy the indomitable contributions of various sectors such as agriculture, tourism, commerce, power, communications, science & technology, etc., which have acted as the pillars of the Indian economy. India is today one of the six fastest growing economies of the world. The country is ranked fourth in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in 2001. The business and regulatory environment is evolving and moving towards constant improvement.

GDP – Real Growth Rate: The second quarter (July-September) of the financial year 2005-06 registers a growth rate of 8 percent.

GDP – Purchasing Power Parity: India is the fourth largest economy, with US$ 3 trillion GDP in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) after USA, China, and Japan.

GDP – Per Capita: As of September 2005, the GDP per capita of the Country stood at US$ 543.

GDP – Composition by Sector: Services 56%, Agriculture 22%, and Industry 22% (As of September 2005).

Labour Force: According to the Report of the Committee on India Vision: 2020, India’s labour force has reached approximately 375 million in 2002.

Unemployment Rate: 9.1% (As of Sep 2005)

Population below Poverty Line: 26.10% as on 1999-2000

Public Debt: The total Debt as on 31st March 2002 stands at Rs. 1372117.58 crores.

Agriculture Products: Rice, wheat, tea, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, jute, oilseed, poultry, etc.

Industries: Steel, garments, petroleum, cement, machinery, locomotive, food processing, pharmaceutical products, mining, etc.

Currency (Code): Indian Rupee (INR)

Fiscal Year: 1st April to 31st March.

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GOVERNMENT

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Country Name: Republic of India; Bharat Ganrajya

Government Type: Sovereign Socialist Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of Government.

Capital: New Delhi

Administrative Divisions: 29 States and 6 Union Territories.

Independence: 15th August 1947 (From the British Colonial Rule)

Constitution: The Constitution of India came into force on 26th January 1950.

Legal System: The Constitution of India is the fountain source of the legal system in the Country.

Executive Branch: The President of India is the Head of the State, while the Prime Minister is the Head of the Government, and runs office with the support of the Council of Ministers who form the Cabinet Ministry.

Legislative Branch: The Indian Legislature comprises of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) forming both the Houses of the Parliament.

Judicial Branch: The Supreme Court of India is the apex body of the Indian legal system, followed by other High Courts and subordinate Courts.

Flag Description: The National Flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (kesaria) at the top, white in the middle, and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. At the centre of the white band is a navy blue wheel, which is a representation of the Ashoka Chakra at Sarnath.

National Days: 26th January (Republic Day)
15th August (Independence Day)
2nd October (Gandhi Jayanti; Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday)

PEOPLE

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Population: India's population, as on 1 March 2001 stood at 1,028 million (532.1 million males and 496.4 million females).

Population Growth Rate: The average annual exponential growth rate stands at 1.93 per cent during 1991-2001.

Birth Rate: The Crude Birth rate according to the 2001 census is 24.8

Death Rate: The Crude Death rate according to the 2001 census is 8.9

Life Expectancy Rate: 63.9 years (Males); 66.9 years (Females) (As of Sep 2005)

Sex Ratio: 933 according to the 2001 census

Nationality: Indian

Ethnic Groups: All the five major racial types - Australoid, Mongoloid, Europoid, Caucasian, and Negroid find representation among the people of India.

Religions: According to the 2001 census, out of the total population of 1.028 million in the Country, Hindus constituted the majority with 80.5 %, Muslims came second at 13.4%, followed by Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and others.

Languages: There are 22 National Languages have been recognized by the Constitution of India, of which Hindi is the Official Union Language. Besides these, there are 844 different dialects that are practiced in various parts of the Country.

Literacy: According to the provisional results of the 2001 census, the literacy rate in the Country stands at 64.84 per cent, 75.26% for males and 53.67% for females.

GEOGRAPHY

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Location: The Indian peninsula is separated from mainland Asia by the Himalayas. The Country is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south.

Geographic Coordinates: Lying entirely in the Northern Hemisphere, the Country extends between 8° 4' and 37° 6' latitudes north of the Equator, and 68°7' and 97°25' longitudes east of it.

Indian Standard Time: GMT + 05:30

Area: 3.3 Million sq km

Telephone Country Code: +91

Border 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 a narrow channel of sea, formed by Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.

Coastline: 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, the entire country has a tropical climate marked by relatively high temperatures and dry winters. There are four seasons - winter (December-February), (ii) summer (March-June), (iii) south-west monsoon season (June-September), and (iv) post monsoon season (October- November).

Terrain: The mainland comprises of four regions, namely the great mountain zone, plains of the Ganga and the Indus, the desert region, and the southern peninsula.

Natural Resources: Coal, iron ore, manganese ore, mica, bauxite, petroleum, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, magnesite, limestone, arable land, dolomite, barytes, kaolin, gypsum, apatite, phosphorite, steatite, fluorite, etc.

Natural Hazards: Monsoon floods, flash floods, earthquakes, droughts, and landslides.

Environment – Current Issues: Air pollution control, energy conservation, solid waste management, oil and gas conservation, forest conservation, etc.

Environment – International Agreements: Rio Declaration on environment and development, Cartagena Protocol on biosafety, Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on climatic change, World Trade Agreement, Helsinki Protocol to LRTAP on the reduction of sulphur emissions of nitrogen oxides or their transboundary fluxes (Nox Protocol), and Geneva Protocol to LRTAP concerning the control of emissions of volatile organic compounds or their transboundary fluxes (VOCs Protocol).

Geography – Note: India occupies a major portion of the south Asian subcontinent.

BACKGROUND

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The civilization of India is one of the oldest civilizations in the World, spanning more than 4000 years and witnessing the rise and fall of several Empires, and projecting a unique assimilation of various cultures and heritage. The Country has always been portrayed as a land of spiritual integrity with professors of Philosophy, who have engineered the magnanimity of its nationalism. One of the oldest scriptures in the World, the four-volume Vedas that many regard as the repository of national thoughts, which have anticipated some of the modern scientific discoveries, has been created in the orb of this myth oriented Country. This strong affinity with religion and mythology has been reflected time and again through various art forms and performing arts, which are symbolical of the composite culture of India. Unity in diversity is another facet of the Country’s inherent nationalism, which had been fused by the feeling of national fervour incited by various foreign invasions that ever made its way to the Indian shores. Religious tolerance and cultural amalgamation have given shape to a uniquely secular Nation, which has created an impressive status of itself in the global arena.