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

Government type: federal republic 

Capital: New Delhi 

Administrative divisions: 28 states and 6 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, 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 2003); 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 2003); prime minister elected by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative elections; election last held NA October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004) 
election results: Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN elected president; percent of electoral college vote - NA; Krishnan KANT elected vice president; percent of Parliament vote - NA; Atal Behari VAJPAYEE elected prime minister; percent of vote - NA 

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States or Rajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more than 250 members, up to 12 of which are appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies; members serve six-year terms) and the People's Assembly or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543 elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms) 
elections: People's Assembly - last held 5 September through 3 October 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) 
election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - BJP alliance 40.8%, Congress alliance 33.8%, other 25.4%; seats by party - BJP alliance 304, Congress alliance 134, other 105 

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65 

Political parties and leaders: Akali Dal (representing Sikh religious community in Punjab) [Prakash Singh BADAL]; All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [J. JAYALALITHA]; All India Forward Bloc or AIFB [Prem Dutta PALIWAL (chairman), Chitta BASU (general secretary)]; Asom Gana Parishad [Prafulla Kumar MAHANTA]; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [Kanshi RAM]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Kushabhau THAKRE, president, L. K. ADVANI, A. B. VAJPAYEE]; Bihar Peoples Party [Anand Mohan SINGH]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Navin PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [Indrajit GUPTA]; Communist Party of India/Marxist or CPI/M [Harkishan Singh SURJEET]; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist or CPI/ML [Vinod MISHRA]; Congress (I) Party [Sonia GANDHI, president]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK (a regional party in Tamil Nadu) [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National League [Suliaman SAIT]; Janata Dal (Ajit) [Ajit SINGH]; Janata Dal United Party or JDU [Sharad YADAV, president, I. K. GUJRAL]; Kerala Congress (Mani faction) [K. M. MANI]; Muslim League [G. M. BANATWALA]; National Conference or NC (a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir) [Farooq ABDULLAH]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Revolutionary Socialist Party or RSP [Tridip CHOWDHURY]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV, president]; Samata Party or SAP (formerly Janata Dal members) [George FERNANDES]; Shiv Sena or SHS [Bal THACKERAY]; Tamil Maanila Congress [G. K. MOOPANAR]; Telugu Desam (a regional party in Andhra Pradesh) [Chandrababu NAIDU]; Trinamool Congress [Mamata BANNERJEE] 

Political pressure groups and leaders: numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy 

International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, BIS, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO 

Diplomatic representation in the US: 
chief of mission: Ambassador Naresh CHANDRA 
chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note - Embassy located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 
telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000 
FAX: [1] (202) 483-3972 
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco 

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band; which has a small orange disk centered in the white band