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| Introduction | India | Top of Page

Background: | Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated onto the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkic in the 12th were followed by those of European traders, beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU brought independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons testing in 1998 caused Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. The dispute between the countries over the state of Kashmir is ongoing, but discussions and confidence-building measures have led to decreased tensions since 2002. Despite impressive gains in economic investment and output, India faces pressing problems such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife.

| Geography | India | Top of Page

Location: | Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
Geographic coordinates: | 20 00 N, 77 00 E
Map references: | Asia
Area: | total: 3,287,590 sq km land: 2,973,190 sq km water: 314,400 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly more than one-third the size of the US
Land boundaries: | total: 14,103 km border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km
Coastline: | 7,000 km
Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate: | varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
Terrain: | upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m
Natural resources: | coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land
Land use: | arable land: 48.83% permanent crops: 2.8% other: 48.37% (2005)
Irrigated land: | 558,080 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources: | 1,907.8 cu km (1999)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): | total: 645.84 cu km/yr (8%/5%/86%) per capita: 585 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards: | droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes
Environment - current issues: | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country; huge and growing population is overstraining natural resources
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: | dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal

| People | India | Top of Page

Population: | 1,147,995,898 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 31.5% (male 189,238,487/female 172,168,306) 15-64 years: 63.3% (male 374,157,581/female 352,868,003) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 28,285,796/female 31,277,725) (2008 est.)
Median age: | total: 25.1 years male: 24.7 years female: 25.5 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate: | 1.578% (2008 est.)
Birth rate: | 22.22 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate: | 6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate: | -0.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 32.31 deaths/1,000 live births male: 36.94 deaths/1,000 live births female: 27.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 69.25 years male: 66.87 years female: 71.9 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 2.76 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.9% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 5.1 million (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 310,000 (2001 est.)
Major infectious diseases: | degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: chikungunya, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria animal contact disease: rabies note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)
Nationality: | noun: Indian(s) adjective: Indian
Ethnic groups: | Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
Religions: | Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)
Languages: | English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 21 other official languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanscrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 61% male: 73.4% female: 47.8% (2001 census)

| Government | India | Top of Page

Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of India conventional short form: India local long form: Republic of India/Bharatiya Ganarajya local short form: India/Bharat
Government type: | federal republic
Capital: | name: New Delhi geographic coordinates: 28 36 N, 77 12 E time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions: | 28 states and 7 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, Puducherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
Independence: | 15 August 1947 (from UK)
National holiday: | Republic Day, 26 January (1950)
Constitution: | 26 January 1950; amended many times
Legal system: | based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: | chief of state: President Pratibha PATIL (since 25 July 2007); Vice President Hamid ANSARI (since 11 August 2007) head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since 22 May 2004) cabinet: Cabinet 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 (no term limits); election last held 21 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2012); vice president elected by both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 12 August 2002 (next to be held August 2007); prime minister chosen by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative elections; election last held April - May 2004 (next to be held May 2009) election results: Pratibha PATIL elected president; percent of vote - 65.8%; Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT - 34.2%
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 whom 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 20 April through 10 May 2004 (next must be held by May 2009) election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - INC 147, BJP 129, CPI (M) 43, SP 38, RJD 23, DMK 16, BSP 15, SS 12, BJD 11, CPI 10, NCP 10, JD (U) 8, SAD 8, PMK 6, JMM 5, LJSP 4, MDMK 4, TDP 4, TRS 4, independent 6, other 29, vacant 13; note - seats by party as of December 2006
Judicial branch: | Supreme Court (one chief justice and 25 associate justices are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65 or are removed for "proved misbehavior")
Political parties and leaders: | Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Rajnath SINGH]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India-Marxist or CPI-M [Prakash KARAT]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National Congress or INC [Sonia GANDHI]; Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) [Sharad YADAV]; Jharkhand Mukti Morcha or JMM [Shibu SOREN]; Left Front (an alliance of Indian leftist parties); Lok Jan Shakti Party or LJSP [Ram Vilas PASWAN]; Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [V. Gopalswamy VAIKO]; Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK [S. RAMADOSS]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD [Parkash Singh BADAL]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY]; Telangana Rashtriya Samithi or TRS [K. Chandrashekhar RAO]; Telugu Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]; United Progressive Alliance or UPA [Sonia GANDHI] (India's ruling party coalition of 12 political parties); note - India has dozens of national and regional political parties; only parties or coalitions with four or more seats in the People's Assembly are listed
Political pressure groups and leaders: | numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy, including the All Parties Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir Valley and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland in the Northeast
International organization participation: | ADB, AfDB (nonregional members), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIMSTEC, BIS, C, CERN (observer), CP, EAS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Ranendra SEN chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note - Consular Wing located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000 FAX: [1] (202) 265-4351 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador David C. MULFORD embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [91] (011) 2419-8000 FAX: [91] (11) 2419-0017 consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay)
Flag description: | three equal horizontal bands of saffron (subdued 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

| Economy | India | Top of Page

Economy - overview: | India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for more than half of India's output with less than one third of its labor force. About three-fifths of the work force is in agriculture, leading the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to articulate an economic reform program that includes developing basic infrastructure to improve the lives of the rural poor and boost economic performance. The government has reduced controls on foreign trade and investment. Higher limits on foreign direct investment were permitted in a few key sectors, such as telecommunications. However, tariff spikes in sensitive categories, including agriculture, and incremental progress on economic reforms still hinder foreign access to India's vast and growing market. Privatization of government-owned industries remains stalled and continues to generate political debate; populist pressure from within the UPA government and from its Left Front allies continues to restrain needed initiatives. The economy has posted an average growth rate of more than 7% in the decade since 1997, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. India achieved 8.5% GDP growth in 2006, and again in 2007, significantly expanding production of manufactures. India is capitalizing on its large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language to become a major exporter of software services and software workers. Economic expansion has helped New Delhi continue to make progress in reducing its federal fiscal deficit. However, strong growth combined with easy consumer credit and a real estate boom fueled inflation concerns in 2006 and 2007, leading to a series of central bank interest rate hikes that have slowed credit growth and eased inflation concerns. The huge and growing population is the fundamental social, economic, and environmental problem.
GDP (purchasing power parity): | $2.989 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | $1.099 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 9.2% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $2,700 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 17.6% industry: 29.4% services: 52.9% (2007 est.)
Labor force: | 516.4 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 60% industry: 12% services: 28% (2003)
Unemployment rate: | 7.2% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line: | 25% (2007 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3.6% highest 10%: 31.1% (2004)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 36.8 (2004)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 6.4% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): | 34.6% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $141.8 billion expenditures: $178.3 billion (2007 est.)
Public debt: | 58% of GDP (federal and state debt combined) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products: | rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish
Industries: | textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software
Industrial production growth rate: | 8.9% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production: | 661.6 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption: | 488.5 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports: | 67 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports: | 1.764 billion kWh (2005)
Oil - production: | 834,600 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 2.438 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports: | 350,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - imports: | 2.098 million bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - proved reserves: | 5.7 billion bbl (2007 est.)
Natural gas - production: | 28.68 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 34.47 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 5.793 billion cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves: | 1.056 trillion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance: | -$19.35 billion (2007 est.)
Exports: | $150.8 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities: | petroleum products, textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures
Exports - partners: | US 17%, UAE 8.3%, China 7.7%, UK 4.3% (2006)
Imports: | $230.2 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities: | crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals
Imports - partners: | China 8.7%, US 6%, Germany 4.6%, Singapore 4.6%, Australia 4% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient: | $1.724 billion (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $275 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external: | $148.1 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $95.28 billion (2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | $37.62 billion (2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares: | $818.9 billion (2006)
Currency (code): | Indian rupee (INR)
Exchange rates: | Indian rupees per US dollar - 41.487 (2007), 45.3 (2006), 44.101 (2005), 45.317 (2004), 46.583 (2003)
Fiscal year: | 1 April - 31 March

| Communications | India | Top of Page

Telephones - main lines in use: | 49.75 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 166.1 million (2006)
Telephone system: | general assessment: recent deregulation and liberalization of telecommunications laws and policies have prompted rapid growth; local and long distance service provided throughout all regions of the country, with services primarily concentrated in the urban areas; steady improvement is taking place with the recent admission of private and private-public investors, but combined fixed and mobile telephone density remains low at about 20 for each 100 persons nationwide and much lower for persons in rural areas; fastest growth is in cellular service with modest growth in fixed lines domestic: mobile cellular service introduced in 1994 and organized nationwide into four metropolitan areas and 19 telecom circles each with about three private service providers and one state-owned service provider; in recent years significant trunk capacity added in the form of fiber-optic cable and one of the world's largest domestic satellite systems, the Indian National Satellite system (INSAT), with 6 satellites supporting 33,000 very small aperture terminals (VSAT) international: country code - 91; a number of major international submarine cable systems, including Sea-Me-We-3 with landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay), Sea-Me-We-4 with a landing site at Chennai, Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) with a landing site at Mumbai (Bombay), South Africa - Far East (SAFE) with a landing site at Cochin, the i2i cable network linking to Singapore with landing sites at Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras), and Tata Indicom linking Singapore and Chennai (Madras), provide a significant increase in the bandwidth available for both voice and data traffic; satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region); 9 gateway exchanges operating from Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai (Madras), Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, and Ernakulam
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998)
Television broadcast stations: | 562 (1997)
Internet country code: | .in
Internet hosts: | 2.306 million (2007)
Internet users: | 60 million (2005)

| Transportation | India | Top of Page

Airports: | 346 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 250 over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 52 1,524 to 2,437 m: 75 914 to 1,523 m: 84 under 914 m: 21 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 96 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 47 (2007)
Heliports: | 30 (2007)
Pipelines: | condensate/gas 9 km; gas 7,488 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,861 km; oil 7,883 km; refined products 6,422 km (2007)
Railways: | total: 63,221 km broad gauge: 46,807 km 1.676-m gauge (17,343 km electrified) narrow gauge: 13,290 km 1.000-m gauge (165 km electrified); 3,124 km 0.762-m gauge and 0.610-m gauge (2006)
Roadways: | total: 3,383,344 km paved: 1,603,705 km unpaved: 1,779,639 km (2002)
Waterways: | 14,500 km note: 5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for mechanized vessels (2006)
Merchant marine: | total: 477 ships (1000 GRT or over) 8,350,093 GRT/14,339,440 DWT by type: bulk carrier 101, cargo 220, chemical tanker 18, combination ore/oil 1, container 9, liquefied gas 19, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 10, petroleum tanker 95, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 5 (China 1, Hong Kong 1, UAE 2, UK 1) registered in other countries: 54 (Barbados 1, Comoros 2, Cyprus 1, Dominica 2, North Korea 1, Liberia 2, Malta 3, Mauritius 2, Panama 25, Singapore 9, St Kitts and Nevis 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 5, unknown 2) (2007)
Ports and terminals: | Chennai, Haldia, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mormugao, Mumbai (Bombay), New Mangalore, Vishakhapatnam

| Military | India | Top of Page

Military branches: | Army, Navy (includes naval air arm), Air Force, Coast Guard (2008)
Military service age and obligation: | 16 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2008)
Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 301,094,084 females age 16-49: 283,047,141 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 231,161,111 females age 16-49: 236,633,962 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually: | males age 16-49: 11,592,516 females age 16-49: 10,636,857 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 2.5% (2006)

| Transnational Issues | India | Top of Page

Disputes - international: | since China and India launched a security and foreign policy dialogue in 2005, consolidated discussions related to the dispute over most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, Indian claims that China transferred missiles to Pakistan, and other matters continue; various talks and confidence-building measures have cautiously begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005 earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remains the site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); India and Pakistan have maintained the 2004 cease fire in Kashmir and initiated discussions on defusing the armed stand-off in the Siachen glacier region; Pakistan protests India's fencing the highly militarized Line of Control and construction of the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir, which is part of the larger dispute on water sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries; UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; to defuse tensions and prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary, India and Pakistan seek technical resolution of the disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch in the Arabian Sea; Pakistani maps continue to show its Junagadh claim in Indian Gujarat State; discussions with Bangladesh remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, to exchange territory for 51 Bangladeshi exclaves in India and 111 Indian exclaves in Bangladesh, to allocate divided villages, and to stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh protests India's attempts to fence off high-traffic sections of the border; dispute with Bangladesh over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; India seeks cooperation from Bhutan and Burma to keep Indian Nagaland and Assam separatists from hiding in remote areas along the borders; Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues to examine contested boundary sections, including the 400 square kilometer dispute over the source of the Kalapani River; India maintains a strict border regime to keep out Maoist insurgents and control illegal cross-border activities from Nepal
Refugees and internally displaced persons: | refugees (country of origin): 77,200 (Tibet/China); 69,609 (Sri Lanka); 9,472 (Afghanistan) IDPs: at least 600,000 (about half are Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Kashmir) (2007)
Trafficking in persons: | current situation: India is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced or bonded labor and commercial sexual exploitation; the large population of men, women, and children - numbering in the millions - in debt bondage face involuntary servitude in brick kilns, rice mills, and embroidery factories, while some children endure involuntary servitude as domestic servants; internal trafficking of women and girls for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage also occurs; the government estimates that 90 percent of India's sex trafficking is internal; India is also a destination for women and girls from Nepal and Bangladesh trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; boys from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are trafficked through India to the Gulf states for involuntary servitude as child camel jockeys; Indian men and women migrate willingly to the Persian Gulf region for work as domestic servants and low-skilled laborers, but some later find themselves in situations of involuntary servitude including extended working hours, nonpayment of wages, restrictions on their movement by withholding of their passports or confinement to the home, and physical or sexual abuse tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - India has been on the Tier 2 Watch List since 2004 for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking in persons (2008)
Illicit drugs: | world's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; transit point for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer of methaqualone; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through the hawala system; licit ketamine and precursor production

This page was last updated on 19 June 2008