(I) Party 245, Bharatiya Janata Party 119, Janata Dal
Party 39, Janata Dal (Ajit Singh) 20, CPI/M 35, CPI 14, Telugu Desam 13,
AIADMK 11, Samajwadi Janata Party 5, Shiv Sena 4, RSP 4, BSP 1, Congress (S)
Party 1, other 23, vacant 9
Executive branch:
president, vice president, prime minister, Council of Ministers

*India, Government

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament (Sansad) consists of an upper house or Council of
States (Rajya Sabha) and a lower house or People's Assembly (Lok Sabha)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 25 July 1992); Vice President K.R.
NARAYANAN (since 21 August 1992)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha RAO (since 21 June 1991)
Member of:
AG (observer), AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-6, G-15, G-19, AfDB, G-24,
G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM,
ONUSAL, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOMOZ,
UNTAC, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Siddhartha Shankar RAY
chancery:
2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 939-7000
consulates general:
Chicago, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering
embassy:
Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri 110021, New Delhi
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
[91] (11) 600651
FAX:
[91] (11) 687-2028, 687-2391
consulates general:
Bombay, Calcutta, Madras
Flag:
three equal horizontal bands of 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

*India, Economy

Overview:
India's economy is a mixture of traditional village farming, modern
agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude
of support services. Faster economic growth in the 1980s permitted a
significant increase in real per capita private consumption. A large share
of the population, perhaps as much as 40%, remains too poor to afford an
adequate diet. Financial strains in 1990 and 1991 prompted government
austerity measures that slowed industrial growth but permitted India to meet
its