India Passport

[Country Name] The Republic of India.

【 Natural Geography 】 The largest country in the South Asian subcontinent. It borders China, Nepal, and Bhutan in the northeast, Bangladesh is sandwiched between the northeast territories, Myanmar in the east, Sri Lanka across the sea in the southeast, and Pakistan in the northwest. To the east is the Bay of Bengal, and to the west is the Arabian Sea.

【 Area 】 Approximately 2.98 million square kilometers (excluding the Indian occupied areas along the China India border and the Indian controlled area of Kashmir), ranking 7th in the world.

【 Population 】 Approximately 1.44 billion (2023) (Data)

India has over 100 ethnic groups, with Hindustani accounting for approximately 46.3% of the total population. Other larger ethnic groups include Marathi, Bengali, Bihar, Telugu, Tamil, and others.

All major religions in the world have followers in India, with Hindus and Muslims accounting for 80.5% and 13.4% of the total population, respectively.

[Official Languages] Hindi and English

[Important Festival] Republic Day: January 26th. Independence Day: August 15th. Holi: One of the four major festivals in Hinduism, celebrated annually in March and April of the Gregorian calendar. This festival is also known as the Spring Festival, as the crops are about to be harvested in India during the spring harvest season, and winter is ending and spring is coming. Divali: It is the largest festival for Hindus in October and November of the Gregorian calendar, celebrated for three days nationwide.

【 Capital 】 New Delhi, with a population of 35 million (2023).

[Currency] Indian Rupee

India is one of the four ancient civilizations in the world. The Indus River civilization was created between 2500 and 1500 BC. Around 1500 BC, a branch of the Aryan people who originally lived in Central Asia entered the South Asian subcontinent, conquered the local indigenous people, and founded Brahmanism. The Peacock Dynasty, which rose in the 4th century BC, unified India and reached its peak during the reign of King Ashoka in the 3rd century BC, establishing Buddhism as the state religion. The Gupta Dynasty was established in the 4th century AD, forming a centralized power that ruled for over 200 years. During the Middle Ages, small countries flourished and Hinduism emerged. In 1398, Turkicized Mongolians invaded India from Central Asia. In 1526, the Mughal Empire was established, becoming one of the world's great powers at that time. In 1600, Britain began invading India. In 1757, India became a British colony, and in 1849, the entire territory was occupied by Britain. In June 1947, Britain adopted the "Mountbatten Plan" to divide India into two autonomous territories, India and Pakistan. On August 15th of the same year, India gained independence. On January 26, 1950, the Indian Constitution officially came into effect, and India was established as a republic while still being a member of the Commonwealth.

Since India's independence, it has been ruled by the National Congress Party for a long time, with the opposition party briefly ruling twice, from 1977 to 1979 and from 1989 to 1991. After 1996, the political situation in India was unstable, and by 1999, three general elections had been held, resulting in five governments. From 1999 to 2004, the National Democratic Union led by the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power, with Atal Bihari Vajpayee serving as Prime Minister. From 2004 to 2014, the Unity and Progress Alliance led by the National Congress Party was in power, with Manmohan Singh serving as Prime Minister. From April 7th to May 12th, 2014, India held its 16th People's House election, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party won over half of the seats and became the largest party, with Narendra Modi serving as Prime Minister. From April 11 to May 19, 2019, India held its 17th People's House election, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party led the National League for Democracy to win more than half of the seats, and Modi was successfully re elected as Prime Minister. From April 19 to June 1, 2024, India held its 18th People's House elections. The election results were announced on June 4, and the National League for Democracy won more than half of the seats. Modi was re elected as Prime Minister and was sworn in on June 9.

The Indian Constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950, establishing India as a federal state, a sovereign, socialist, secular democratic republic, and adopting a British style parliamentary democracy. Citizens are equal before the law regardless of race, gender, origin, religious beliefs, or place of birth.

The Federal Parliament is composed of the President and two houses. The President serves as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members from both houses of Parliament and state parliaments, with a term of five years, and exercises his powers in accordance with the recommendations of the Council of Ministers led by the Prime Minister. The current President, Droupadi Murmu (female), took office on July 25, 2022. The two houses include the Federal House (Upper House) and the People's House (Lower House). The Federal Council has a total of 250 seats, including 12 members of parliament designated by the President with specialized knowledge or practical experience, and no more than 238 representatives from various states and central territories. The term of office is six years, with one-third being re elected every two years. The Federal Council holds four meetings annually. The Constitution stipulates that the Vice President is the statutory Chairman of the Federal Council. Jagdeep Dhankhar was elected as the President of the Federal Council on August 6, 2022 and took office on August 11. The People's Court is the main legislative body of the country, with the main functions of: formulating laws and amending the Constitution; Control and adjust the revenue and expenditure of the federal government; Propose a vote of no confidence against the federal government and have the power to impeach the president. The People's House has a total of 543 seats, which are directly elected by voters, and a general election is held every 5 years. The political parties that won more seats in the 18th People's House of Representatives elected in 2024 include the Indian Party (240 seats), the National Congress Party (99 seats), the Socialist Party (37 seats), the Grassroots National Congress Party (29 seats), the Dravida Progressive Alliance (22 seats), the Telugu Rural Party (16 seats), and the People's Party (Coalition) (12 seats). On June 26, 2024, India held its 18th election for the Speaker of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Om Bora, a member of the Indian People's Party and the previous Speaker of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was re elected as the Speaker.

The Council of Ministers, led by the Prime Minister, is the highest administrative body of the government. The Prime Minister appoints the leader of the parliamentary group of the majority party in the People's House of Representatives, and the Council of Ministers also includes Cabinet Ministers and State Ministers. The Cabinet composed of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers is the decision-making body. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, Inspection and Pensions, Atomic Energy Agency, and Space Agency. There are a total of 30 cabinet ministers: Raj Nath Singh, Minister of Defense; Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs and Cooperatives; Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Jagat Prakash Nadda, Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers; Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development; Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs; and Su, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs and Electricity Manohar Lal, H. D. Kumaraswamy, Minister of Heavy Industry and Steel, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Minister of Small and Medium sized Enterprises Affairs, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Minister of Rural Autonomous Organizations (Panchayat Affairs), Fisheries, Livestock and Dairy, Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Social Equity and Rights Minister Virendra Kumar, Minister of Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, Pralhad Joshi, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and New and Renewable Energy; Jual Oram, Minister of Tribal Affairs; Giriraj Singh, Minister of Textiles; Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and Information Technology; Jyotiraditya M., Minister of Communications and Northeast Development Scindia）， Bhupender Yadav, Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Culture and Tourism, Annpurna Devi, Minister of Women and Child Development, Kiren Rijiju, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Ethnic Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Oil and Gas, Mansukh Mandavya, Minister of Labor and Employment, Youth Affairs and Sports, and G. Mandavya, Minister of Coal and Mining. G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of Food Processing Industry Chirag Paswan, and Minister of Water Resources C.R. Patil.

Five independent ministers in charge of departmental affairs: Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of Statistics and Project Execution (independent chairman), Minister of Planning (independent chairman), Minister of Science and Technology (independent chairman), Minister of Earth Sciences (independent chairman) Jitendra Singh, Minister of Justice (independent chairman) Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of Traditional Medicine (independent chairman) Jadhav Prataprao Ganpatrao, Minister of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship (independent chairman) Hosted by Jayant Chaudhary.

The Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority with the power to interpret the Constitution and hear disputes between the central government and the states. Each state has a high court, and counties have county courts. Supreme Court judges are appointed by the President. The current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud）。 The Attorney General is appointed by the government and his main responsibilities include providing advice and recommendations to the government on law enforcement matters, exercising prosecutorial powers as stipulated by the Constitution and laws, and supervising the implementation of the Constitution and laws. The current Attorney General is R. Venkataraman, who took office in October 2022.

【 Political Party 】 (1) Bharatiya Janata Party. Established in April 1980, its predecessor was the Indian People's Alliance established in 1951, claiming to have 110 million party members representing the interests of northern Hindu forces and small and medium-sized businessmen in towns, with strong nationalist and sectarian colors. In 1996, it became the largest party in parliament for the first time and briefly held power. Served twice from 1998 to 2004. In 2014, it once again won more than half of the seats in the People's House, becoming the largest party and ruling independently in the central government. In the 2019 People's House elections, the number of seats further increased. The number of seats won in the 2024 People's House elections has decreased and has not yet exceeded half, but it remains the largest party in the People's House. The current chairman is Jagat Prakash Nadda.

(2) The Indian National Congress. Abbreviated as the National Congress Party. It is reported that there are 30 million junior party members and 1.5 million active party members. The National Congress Party was founded in December 1885 and led the struggle against British colonial rule and for Indian independence. After independence, India held power for a long time and split twice in 1969 and 1978. In 1978, Gandhi formed a new party and adopted its current name. In the 2004 and 2009 elections, it became the largest party in parliament twice, but suffered a heavy defeat in the 2014 elections, winning only 44 seats. In the 2019 and 2024 People's House elections, there was some improvement, with 52 and 99 seats respectively. The current chairman, Mallikarjun Kharge, was elected on October 17, 2022, becoming the first non Gandhi party chairman in the 24 year history of the National Congress Party.

(3) Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Progressive Alliance of Dravida. Established in September 1949, it is a regional political party in Tamil Nadu, with its main political forces in the Thai state and local governance of the central territories. In the 2019 and 2024 People's House elections, they ranked third and fifth respectively, with the current party chairman, M. K. Stalin.

(4) The Grassroots Trinamul Congress Party. Established in January 1998, the main political force is in West Bengal, representing the interests of the middle and lower classes. Ranked as the fourth largest party in both the 2019 and 2024 People's House elections. Current Party Chairperson Mamata Banerjee (female).

(5) The Communist Party of India (Marxist). The Communist Party of India (Marxist), abbreviated as CPI (M), is the largest left-wing political party in India. In 1964, a faction represented by Sundaraya and Nambudiribad split from the Communist Party of India and was established. Approximately one million party members (2018). He had been in power in West Bengal for 34 consecutive years, ending in May 2011.

【 Important Person 】 Draupadi Murmu (female): President. Born in June 1958 in Odisha, India. Joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1997 and served as the Governor of Jharkhand State from 2015 to 2021. In July 2022, she was elected as the 15th President of India, becoming the second female president in Indian history and the first president from a listed tribe (a vulnerable group in Indian society).

Narendra Modi: Prime Minister. Born in Gujarat, India in 1950, a Hindu with a Master's degree in Political Science. Joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1987 and served as the General Secretary, National Secretary, and General Secretary of the Gujarat branch of the party. Since 2001, he has served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat for 13 consecutive years. Appointed as Prime Minister of India on May 26, 2014. Twice re elected as Prime Minister on May 30, 2019 and June 9, 2024.

Since independence, there has been significant economic development. Agriculture has gone from severe food shortages to basic self-sufficiency, while industry has formed a relatively complete system with strong self-sufficiency capabilities. Since the 1990s, the service industry has developed rapidly and its proportion of GDP has been increasing year by year. India has become an important exporter of software, finance and other service industries worldwide. In July 1991, a comprehensive economic reform was implemented, relaxing regulations on the industrial, foreign trade, and financial sectors. From 1992 to 1996, the economy achieved an average annual growth rate of 6.2%. During the Ninth Five Year Plan period (1997 to 2002), the economy grew at an average annual rate of 5.5%. During the 10th Five Year Plan period (2002 to 2007), we continued to deepen economic reforms, accelerate the privatization of state-owned enterprises, implement the liberalization of sales of some essential goods, including agricultural products, improve the investment environment, streamline government agencies, and reduce fiscal deficits. Achieving an average annual economic growth rate of 7.8%, it is one of the fastest developing countries in the world. In 2006, the "Eleventh Five Year Plan" (2007-2012) was launched, proposing to maintain a high-speed growth of 10% in the national economy, create 70 million job opportunities, reduce poverty by 10%, vigorously develop public utilities such as education and health, continue to accelerate infrastructure construction, and increase environmental protection. In August 2011, the Planning Commission of India adopted the guidance document for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017), proposing a target of a 9% growth rate for the national economy. In 2015, India abolished the Planning Committee. After the end of the 12th Five Year Plan, India will no longer implement the five-year plan. According to data from the International Monetary Fund, the main economic data for the fiscal year 2024 are as follows (at current prices):

Gross Domestic Product: $3.55 trillion. (Data for fiscal year 2024, sourced from the Department of Statistics)

Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate: 9.6%.

Per capita Gross Domestic Product: 2430 US dollars.

Currency name: Indian Rupee (Rupee).

Exchange rate: 1 US dollar ≈ 84.1 Indian rupees (October 2024 data).

Inflation rate (measured by CPI): 3.65% (August 2024 data).

Foreign exchange reserves: 704.69 billion US dollars (September 2024 data, sourced from the Reserve Bank of India).

【 Resources 】 Rich in resources, with nearly 100 types of mineral deposits. Mica production ranks first in the world, while coal and barite production ranks third in the world. The estimated recoverable reserves of the main resources are: 3241.28 billion tons of coal, 13.46 billion tons of iron ore, 646 million tons of bauxite, 97 million tons of chromite, 167 million tons of manganese ore, 7.43 million tons of zinc, 5.297 million tons of copper, 1.9 million tons of lead, 75.679 billion tons of limestone, 142 million tons of phosphate, 68 tons of gold, 587 million tons of oil, and 1372.64 billion cubic meters of natural gas. In addition, there are gypsum, diamonds, titanium, thorium, uranium, etc. The forest covers an area of 809000 square kilometers with a coverage rate of 24.62%. data

The main industries include textiles, food processing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, steel, cement, mining, petroleum, and machinery. Emerging industries such as automobiles, electronics manufacturing, aviation, and space technology have developed rapidly in recent years. In the fiscal year 2023/2024, India's industrial production index increased by 5.8% year-on-year, with the power industry growing by 7.1% year-on-year, the mining industry growing by 7.5% year-on-year, and the manufacturing industry growing by 5.5% year-on-year.

Agriculture has 1/10 of the world's arable land, with an area of approximately 150 million hectares and a per capita of 0.11 hectares, making it one of the largest food producing countries in the world. The rural population accounts for 65% of the total population.

In recent years, the service industry in India has achieved rapid development. Growth of 6.9% in the 2020/2021 fiscal year. In the 2020/2021 fiscal year, the service industry contributed 55.39% to the total value added of the national economy, making it the main sector for creating employment, generating foreign exchange, and attracting foreign investment in India. It is estimated that the contribution rate of the service industry to the total value added of the Indian national economy in the fiscal year 2023/2024 is 54.86%.

The central and local finances are separated, with budgets at both the federal and state levels. The fiscal year is from April 1st to March 31st of the following year. The fiscal deficit for the 2023/2024 fiscal year accounts for 5.63% of the gross domestic product.

In recent years, the situation of foreign trade (including goods and services trade) is as follows (in billions of US dollars):