PEOPLE AND THE GOVERNMENT Population India’s population, as on 1 March 2011 stood at 1,210,193,422 (623.7 million males and 586.4 million females). Indian Diaspora 22 million Young Demographic Profile 75% below 35 years; 50% below 25 years. Religions India is the birthplace of many religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. The predominant religious faiths present in India are Hinduism (830 million), Islam (140 million), Sikhism (19 million), Christianity (20 million), Buddhism (8 million), Jainism (4 million). Literacy According to the provisional results of the 2011 census, the literacy rate in the Country stands at 74.04%, 82.14% for males and 65.46% for females. Languages 22 National Languages have been listed in the Constitution of India, of which Hindi is the Official Language. Besides these, there are over 844 different dialects spoken in various parts of the country. English is widely spoken and is the language of commerce. Country Name Republic of India; Bharat Ganrajya Government Type Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of Government. Administrative Divisions 29 States and 7 Union Territories. Independence 15th August 1947 (from British colonial rule) Constitution The Constitution of India came into force on 26th January 1950. Executive Branch   The President of India is the Head of the State, while the Prime Minister is the Head of the Government, and runs the office with the support of the Council of Ministers who form the Cabinet Ministry. Legislative Branch The Indian Legislature comprises of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and the Rajya Sabha(Council of States) forming both the Houses of the Parliament. Judicial Branch The Supreme Court of India is the apex body of the Indian legal system, followed by other High Courts and subordinate Courts. Head of State President Shri Pranab Mukherjee Head of Government Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi GEOGRAPHY Location The Indian peninsula is separated from mainland Asia by the Himalayas. The Country is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south. Geographical Coordinates Lying entirely in the Northern Hemisphere, India extends between 8° 4′ and 37° 6′ latitudes north of the Equator, and 68° 7′ and 97° 25′ longitudes east of it. The country measures about 3,214 km from north to south and about 2,933 km from east to west. Indian Standard Time GMT + 05:30 Area 3.3 Million sq. km Telephone Country Code +91 National Capital New Delhi (12.9 mn.) Other Major Cities Mumbai (16.3 mn.) Kolkatta (13.2 mn.) Chennai (6.4 mn.) Bengaluru (5.6 mn.) Hyderabad (5.3 mn.) Ahmedabad (4.5 mn.) 35 cities with a population over 1 million. Coastline The total length of the coastline is 7,516.6 km, encompassing the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Climate The climate of India can broadly be classified as a tropical monsoon one. But, in spite of much of the northern part of India lying beyond the tropical zone, virtually the entire country has a tropical climate marked by relatively high temperatures and dry winters. There are four seasons: winter (December-February) summer (March-June) south-west monsoon season (June-September) post-monsoon season (October-November) Terrain The mainland comprises of four regions, namely the great mountain zone, plains of the Ganga and the Indus, the desert region, and the southern peninsula. Natural Resources Coal, iron ore, manganese ore, mica, bauxite, petroleum, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, magnesite, limestone, arable land, dolomite, barytes, kaolin, gypsum, apatite, phosphorite, steatite, fluorite, etc. Neighbouring Countries Afghanistan and Pakistan to the north-west; China, Bhutan and Nepal to the north; Myanmar to the east; and Bangladesh to the east of West Bengal. Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea, formed by Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.
India – Economic Currency: Indian National Rupee (INR) Area Total: 3,287,590 sq. km Economic Indicators: INDICATOR					2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16
GDP (2011-12 prices) in trillion Rs.					92.3	98.4.	105.5	113.5
GDP Growth Rate %					5.6	6.6	7.2	7.6
Inflation %					10.2	9.5	5.9	4.9

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Composition by Sector (FY 2014)

• Services: 65 per cent
• Industry: 18 per cent
• Agriculture: 17 per cent

The Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.5 per cent in FY 2016-17, as per the forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
More information on the Macro Economic Indicators of India is available on the Economic Survey website at http://indiabudget.nic.in/es2015-16/echapvol2-01.pdf 
Trade & Investment:
(All figures in US$ billion)

INDIA’S TOP 10 EXPORT DESTINATIONS: USA, UAE, Hongkong, China, UK, Singapore, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Srilanka
INDIA’S TOP 10 IMPORT SOURCES: China, UAE, Saudi Arabia, USA, Korea RP, Switzerland, Indonesia, Germany, Iraq and Japan
More Information on India’s foreign trade is available on the website of the Department of Commerce at  http://www.commerce.nic.in/eidb/