Country Name: Â | Conventional long form:Â Â Republic of India Conventional short form:Â Â India |
Government Type: | federal republic |
Capital: | New Delhi |
Administrative Divisions: | 28 states and 7 union territories; Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Biha, 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, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal. Â |
Country Name: | Conventional long form:Â Â Republic of India Conventional short form:Â Â India |
Government Type: | federal republic |
Capital: | New Delhi |
Administrative Divisions: | 28 states and 7 union territories; Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Biha, 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, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal. |
Independence: | 15 August 1947 (from UK) |
National Holiday: | Republic Day, 26 January (1950) |
Constitution: | 26 January 1950 |
Legal System: | Based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
Executive Branch: | Chief of state:  Dr APJ Abdul Kalam – (since 2002)  Vice President: Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat  Dr Manmohan Singh (assumed charges on 13 May 2004)   Cabinet:  Council of Ministers 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; ele |
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 which 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) |