Capital:

name: New Delhi
geographic coordinates: 28 36 N, 77 12 E
time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

28 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*,
Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*,
Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa,
Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand,
Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Puducherry*, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
West Bengal

Independence:

15 August 1947 (from UK)

National holiday:

Republic Day, 26 January (1950)

Constitution:

26 January 1950; amended many times

Legal system:

based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; separate
personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Pratibha PATIL (since 25 July 2007); Vice
President Hamid ANSARI (since 11 August 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since 22 May 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of
the prime minister
elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of
elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of
the states for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held
21 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2012); vice president elected
by both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election last
held 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: Pratibha PATIL elected president; percent of vote
- 65.8%; Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT - 34.2%

Legislative branch:

bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States or
Rajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more than 250 members up to 12
of whom are appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen by
the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies; members
serve six-year terms) and the People's Assembly or Lok Sabha (545
seats; 543 elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the presid