<hdr>The World Factbook 1994: India<nl>Government</hdr><body>
<list>
<item><hi format=bold>Names:</hi>
<list style=hang>
<item>• <hi format=ital>conventional long form:</hi> Republic of India
<item>• <hi format=ital>conventional short form:</hi> India
</list>
<item><hi format=bold>Digraph:</hi> IN
<item><hi format=bold>Type:</hi> federal republic
<item><hi format=bold>Capital:</hi> New Delhi
<item><hi format=bold>Administrative divisions:</hi> 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
<item><hi format=bold>Independence:</hi> 15 August 1947 (from UK)
<item><hi format=bold>National holiday:</hi> Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic, 26 January (1950)
<item><hi format=bold>Constitution:</hi> 26 January 1950
<item><hi format=bold>Legal system:</hi> based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
<item><hi format=bold>Suffrage:</hi> 18 years of age; universal
<item><hi format=bold>Executive branch:</hi>
<list style=hang>
<item>• <hi format=ital>chief of state:</hi> President Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 25 July 1992); Vice President Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN (since 21 August 1992)
<item>• <hi format=ital>head of government:</hi> Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha RAO (since 21 June 1991)
<item>• <hi format=ital>cabinet:</hi> Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime minister
<item><hi format=bold>Council of States (Rajya Sabha):</hi> body consisting of not more than 250 members, up to 12 appointed by the president, the remainder chosen by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies
<item><hi format=bold>People's Assembly (Lok Sabha):</hi> elections last held 21 May, 12 and 15 June 1991 (next to be held by November 1996); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(545 total, 543 elected, 2 appointed) Congress (I) Party 245, Bharatiya Janata Party 119, Janata Dal Party 39, Janata Dal (Ajit Singh) 20, CPI/M 35, CPI 14, Telugu Desam 13, AIADMK 11, Samajwadi Janata Party 5, Shiv Sena 4, RSP 4, BSP 1, Congress (S) Party 1, other 23, vacant 9
<item><hi format=bold>Political parties and leaders:</hi> Congress (I) Party, P. V. Narasimha RAO, president; Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), L.K. ADVANI; Janata Dal Party, Chandra SHEKHAR; Janata Dal (Ajit Singh), Ajit SINGH; Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M), Harkishan Singh SURJEET; Communist Party of India (CPI), Indrajit GUPTA; Telugu Desam (a regional party in Andhra Pradesh), N. T. Rama RAO; All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK; a regional party in Tamil Nadu), Jayaram JAYALALITHA; Samajwadi Party (SP, formerly Samajwadi Janata Party), Mulayam Singh YADAV (President), Om Prakash CHAUTALA, Devi LAL; Shiv Sena, Bal THACKERAY; Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Tridip CHOWDHURY; Bahujana Samaj Party (BSP), Kanshi RAM; Congress (S) Party, leader NA; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Vinod MISHRA; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (a regional party in Tamil Nadu), M. KARUNANIDHI; Akali Dal factions representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab; National Conference (NC; a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir), Farooq ABDULLAH
<item><hi format=bold>Other political or pressure groups:</hi> various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy; numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Adam Sena, Ananda Marg, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
<item>• <hi format=ital>consulate(s) general:</hi> Bombay, Calcutta, Madras
</list>
<item><hi format=bold>Flag:</hi> three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk centered in the white band