India in 1982

Republic of India-The World Factbook

LAND

3,136,500 km2 (includes Indian part of Jammu-Kashmir, Sikkim, Goa, Damao and Diu); 50% arable, 5% permanent meadows and pastures, 20% desert, waste, or urban, 22% forested, 3% inland water

Land boundaries: 12,700 km2

WATER

Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 12 nm (fishing 200 nm; additional 100 nm is fisheries conservation zone, December 1968; archipelago concept baselines); 200 nm exclusive economic zone

Coastline: 7,000 km (includes offshore islands)

PEOPLE

Population: 723,762,000, including Sikkim and the Indian-held part of disputed Jammu-Kashmir (July 1982), average annual growth rate 2.2%

Nationality: noun—Indian(s); adjective—Indian

Ethnic divisions: 72% Indo-Aryan, 25% Dravidian, 3% Mongoloid and other

Religion: 83.5% Hindu, 10.7% Muslim, 1.8% Sikh, 2.6% Christian, 0.7% Buddhist, 0.7% other

Language: 24 languages spoken by a million or more persons each; numerous other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually unintelligible; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; English enjoys “associate” status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindustani, a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu, is spoken widely throughout northern India

Literacy: males 39%; females 18%; both sexes 29% (1971 census)

Labor force: about 197 million; 70% agriculture, more than 10% unemployed and underemployed; shortage of skilled labor is significant and unemployment is rising

Organized labor: about 2.5% of total labor force

GOVERNMENT

Official name: Republic of India

Type: federal republic

Capital: New Delhi

Political subdivisions: 22 states, 9 union territories

Legal system: based on English common law; constitution adopted 1950; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic, 26 January

Branches: parliamentary government, national and state; relatively independent judiciary

Government leader: Prime Minister Indira GANDHI

Suffrage: universal over age 21

Elections: national and state elections ordinarily held every five years; may be postponed in emergency and may be held more frequently if government loses confidence vote; last general election in January 1980; state elections staggered

Political parties and leaders: Indian National Congress, controlled national government from independence to March 1977, and split in January 1978; larger Congress group is headed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi; the smaller Congress group is headed by Sharad Pawar; Janata Party led by Chandra Shekhar; Lok Dal Party by Charan Singh; Bharatiya Janata Party by A. B. Vajpayee; Communist Party of India (CPI), C. Rajeswara Rao, general secretary; Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M), E. M. S. Namboodiripad, general secretary; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Satyanarayan Singh, general secretary; All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK), a regional party in Tamil Nadu led by M. G. Ramachandran; Akali Dal representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab

Communists: 470,000 members claimed by CPI, 270,000 members claimed by CPI/M; Communist extremist groups, about 15,000 members

Other political or pressure groups: various separatist groups seeking reorganization of states; numerous “senas” or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Shiv Sena in Bombay, the Anand Marg, and the Rashtriya Swayamserak Sangh

Member of: ADB, AIOEC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMCO, IMF, IPU, ITC, ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO

ECONOMY

GNP: $150.6 billion (FY8I est. at current prices), $217 per capita; real growth 7% in FY81

Agriculture: main crops—rice, other cereals, pulses, oil-seed, cotton, jute, sugarcane, tobacco, tea, and coffee

Fishing: catch 2.5 million metric tons (FY78); exports $151 million (FY77), imports, none in 1976 and 1977

Major industries: textiles, food processing, steel, machinery, transportation equipment, cement, jute manufactures

Crude steel: 9.4 million metric tons of ingots (FY81)

Electric power: 34,831,000 kW capacity (1980); 128.874 million kWh produced (1980), 188 kWh per capita

Exports: $9 billion (f.o.b., FY81 est.); engineering goods, textiles and clothing, tea

Imports: $16 billion (f.o.b., FY81 est.); machinery and transport equipment, petroleum, edible oils, fertilizers

Major trade partners: US, UK, USSR, Japan

Budget: (FY81 revised est.) central government revenue and capital receipts, $26.4 billion; disbursements, $28.9 billion

Monetary conversion rate: 9.11 rupees=US$1 (November 1981)

Fiscal year: fiscal year ends 31 March of stated year

COMMUNICATIONS

Railroads: 60,693 km total (1981); 30,909 km broad gauge (1.676 m), 25,503 km meter gauge (1.00 m), 4,281 km narrow gauge (0.762 m and 0.610 m), government owned; 46 km meter gauge (1.00 m), 855 km broad gauge (1.676 m), 345 km narrow gauge (0.762 m and 0.610 m), privately owned; 12,617 km double track; 4,820 km electrified

Highways: 1,327,450 km total (1979); 514,250 km hard surfaced, 190,600 km gravel or crushed stone, 495,500 km improved earth, 416,700 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 16,000 km; 2,575 km navigable by river steamers

Pipelines: crude oil, 1,980 km; refined products, 1,056 km; natural gas, 854 km; slurry 992 km

Ports: 9 major, 79 minor

Civil air: 93 major transport aircraft

Airfields: 355 total, 321 usable; 186 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m, 55 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 107 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: fair domestic telephone service where available, good internal microwave links; telegraph facilities widespread; AM broadcast adequate; international radio communications adequate; 2.6 million telephones (0.4 per 100 popl.); about 174 AM stations at 80 locations, 17 TV stations, 13 earth satellite stations; submarine cables extend to Sri Lanka; 7 satellite stations under construction

DEFENSE FORCES

Military manpower: males 15-49, 183,001,000; 111,614,000 fit for military service; about 8,343,000 reach military age (17) annually

Military budget: for fiscal year ending 31 March 1982, $5.7 billion; 17.0% of central government budget

The World Factbook (1982)
by the Central Intelligence Agency
India