ts, Central Reserve Police Force,
Central Industrial Security Force, Railway Protection Force, Defense
Security Corps, and Indian Reserve Battalions)

Military manpower - military age: 17 years of age (2002 est.)

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 285,729,565
(2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49:
167,599,380 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 10,879,384
(2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $12,079,700,000 (FY01)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.5% (FY01)

Transnational Issues India

Disputes - international: discussions with Bangladesh remain stalled to
delimit a small section of river boundary, demarcate and fence off the
entire boundary, exchange 162 minuscule enclaves, and allocate divided
villages while skirmishes, illegal trafficking, and violence along the
border continue; Bangladesh has protested India's attempts to fence off
high traffic sections of the porous boundary; dispute with Bangladesh
over New Moore/South Talpatty Island in the Bay of Bengal; much of
the rugged, militarized boundary with China is in dispute but talks to
resolve the least contested middle sector resumed in 2001; with Pakistan,
armed stand-off over the status and sovereignty of Kashmir continues;
dispute with Pakistan over terminus of Rann of Kutch prevents extension
of a maritime boundary; water-sharing problems with Pakistan persist
over the Indus River (Wular Barrage); Joint Border Committee formed with
Nepal in 2001 is intended to resolve 53 disputed sections of boundary
covering an area of 720 sq km

Illicit drugs: world's largest producer of licit opium for the
pharmaceutical trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted
to illicit international drug markets; transit country for illicit
narcotics produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer of hashish
and methaqualone

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002

========================================================================

British Indian Ocean Territory

Introduction

British Indian Ocean Territory

Background: Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of
the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to
the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT
has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos
Archipelago. The largest