Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2014/15 173 KEY FACTS Joined Commonwealth: 1947 Population: 1,252,140,000 (2013) GDP p.c. growth: 4.7% p.a. 1990–2013 UN HDI 2014: World ranking 135 Official languages: Hindi, English Time: GMT plus 5.5 hrs Currency: Rupee (Rs) Geography Area: 3,287,263 sq km Coastline: 7,520 km Capital: New Delhi The Republic of India, which lies across the Tropic of Cancer, comprises most of the Indian subcontinent. It includes the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, and the Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea. Its neighbours are Pakistan, Afghanistan and China to the north, then Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar (formerly Burma). In the south, the Palk Strait separates it from Sri Lanka. India comprises 29 states and seven union territories (including the National Capital Territory of Delhi). Telangana became the 29th state on 2 June 2014. Constitution Status: Republic Legislature: Parliament of India Independence: 15 August 1947 India is a federal republic with 29 states and seven union territories. It has a parliamentary democracy which operates under the constitution of 1950. There is a bicameral federal parliament: the Rajya Sabha or council of states (upper house) and the Lok Sabha or house of the people (lower house). The Lok Sabha has 545 members: 543 representing the states and union territories – 79 seats are reserved for scheduled castes and 40 for scheduled tribes – and two additional seats reserved for the Anglo-Indian community. Members are elected, on a first-past-thepost system in single-member constituencies, every five years or less, based on universal suffrage. The Rajya Sabha has 245 members: 12 presidential appointments, and 233 elected indirectly by the assemblies of the states and union territories for a six-year term, with one-third retiring every two years. Legislation may be introduced in either house, but the Lok Sabha has final say in financial matters. The Prime Minister is elected by the members of the Lok Sabha and appoints and heads the Council of Ministers. The President is elected for five years by an electoral college consisting of members of the federal parliament and state assemblies. Responsibility for enacting laws is set out in three lists: the Union List (for legislation by national parliament), the State List and the Concurrent List (either national or state legislatures). State legislatures make their own laws on such matters as education, health, taxation, public order, lands and forests. Constitutional amendments must be passed by both houses and ratified by at least half the state legislatures. On proclamation of a state of emergency by the President, the federal government may assume temporary executive and financial control of a state and the President may rule it in place of the governor. The President appoints an administrator to govern the union territories. The 1950 constitution set out a number of individual freedoms and abolished discrimination on the basis of caste. India The designations and the presentation of material on this map, based on UN practice, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Commonwealth Secretariat or the publishers concerning the legal status of any country, territory or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. There is no intention to define the status of Jammu and/or Kashmir, which has not yet been agreed on by the parties.
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