ernment India

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of India
conventional short form: 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, 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, 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; amended many times

Legal system:
based on English common law; limited 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 26 July 2002);
Vice President Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT (since 19 August 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since NA 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; 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 a