Telugu (official), Marathi (official), Tamil (official),
Urdu (official), Gujarati (official), Malayalam (official), Kannada
(official), Oriya (official), Punjabi (official), Assamese (official),
Kashmiri (official), Sindhi (official), Sanskrit (official),
Hindustani (a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout
northern India)
note: 24 languages each spoken by a million or more persons; numerous
other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually
unintelligible

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 52%
male: 65.5%
female: 37.7% (1995 est.)

@India:Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of India
conventional short form: India

Data code: IN

Government type: federal republic

Capital: New Delhi

Administrative divisions: 25 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman
and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar,
Chandigarh*, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa,
Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka,
Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim,
Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal

Independence: 15 August 1947 (from UK)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic, 26
January (1950)

Constitution: 26 January 1950

Legal system: based on English common law; limited judicial review of
legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN (since 25 July
1997); Vice President Krishnan KANT (since 21 August 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Atal Behari VAJPAYEE (since 19
March 1998)
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 14 July 1997 (next
to be held NA July 2002); vice president elected by both houses of
Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 16 August 1997
(next to be held NA August 2002); prime minister elected by
parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative
elections; election last held NA October 1999 (next to be held NA