31 March

*India, Communications

Railroads:
61,850 km total (1986); 33,553 km 1.676-meter broad gauge, 24,051 km
1.000-meter gauge, 4,246 km narrow gauge (0.762 meter and 0.610 meter);
12,617 km is double track; 6,500 km is electrified
Highways:
1,970,000 km total (1989); 960,000 km surfaced and 1,010,000 km gravel,
crushed stone, or earth
Inland waterways:
16,180 km; 3,631 km navigable by large vessels
Pipelines:
crude oil 3,497 km; petroleum products 1,703 km; natural gas 902 km (1989)
Ports:
Bombay, Calcutta, Cochin, Kandla, Madras, New Mangalore, Port Blair (Andaman
Islands)
Merchant marine:
306 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,278,672 GRT/10,446,073 DWT;
includes 1 short-sea passenger, 6 passenger-cargo, 87 cargo, 1
roll-on/roll-off, 8 container, 63 oil tanker, 10 chemical tanker, 8
combination ore/oil, 114 bulk, 2 combination bulk, 6 liquefied gas
Airports:
total:
336
usable:
285
with permanent-surface runways:
205
with runways over 3,659 m:
2
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
58
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
90
Telecommunications:
domestic telephone system is poor providing only one telephone for about 200
persons on average; long distance telephoning has been improved by a
domestic satellite system which also carries TV; international service is
provided by 3 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth stations and by submarine cables
to Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates; broadcast stations - 96 AM, 4 FM,
274 TV (government controlled)

*India, Defense Forces

Branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, Security or Paramilitary Forces (including Border
Security Force, Assam Rifles, and Coast Guard)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 242,866,053; fit for military service 143,008,471; about
9,466,323 reach military age (17) annually (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $5.8 billion, 2.4% of GDP (FY93/94)

*Indian Ocean, Geography

Location:
body of water between Africa, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica
Map references:
Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
73.6 million km2
comparative area:
slightly less than eight times the size of the US; third-largest ocean
(after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Arctic
Ocean)
note:
includes Arabian Sea, Bass Straight, Bay of Bengal, Java Sea, Persian Gulf,
Red Sea, Straight of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other