government

                                                                                     Government of India

Country name:             India
Government type:        Federal republic
Capital:                        New Delhi

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

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, Pondicherry*, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, 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; limited 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 A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (since 26 July 2002); Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekawat (since 19
August 2002)

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; election last held July 2002 (next to be held 18 July 2007); 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)

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)

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")

Some Sources - CIA

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