My India Series - VI
Indian Armed Forces
India maintains the world's third largest armed forces (after China & USA). The President of India serves as the de jure commander-in-chief of the armed forces while the de facto executive power is held by the Union Government headed by the Prime Minister of India.
Components
- Indian Army (second largest army in terms of military personnel after China)
- Indian Air Force (fourth largest air force in the world)
- Indian Navy (world's fifth largest navy)
- Indian Coast Guard
- Paramilitary Forces of India (PMF)
- Strategic Nuclear Command
- Integrated Space Cell
Gallantry awards
The highest wartime gallantry award given by the Military of India is the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), followed by the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) and the Vir Chakra (VrC). Its peacetime equivalent is the Ashoka Chakra.
The highest decoration for meritorious service is the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.
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States & Union Territories (administered directly by the central Government) of India:| | | |
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(~ from GOI Directory)
Some more facts about States & Union Territories of India:
- Rajasthan is the biggest state.
- Uttar Pradesh is the highest populated state.
- West Bengal is the most dense state.
- The highest per capita income in Maharashtra.
- The fastest growth per capita income in Gujarat
- Chandigarh is both the capital of Haryana and Punjab, and a separate Union Territory of itself.
There are many diverse ethnic groups among the people of India. The 6 main ethnic groups are as follows.
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Negrito
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Proto - Australoids or Austrics
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Mongoloids
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Mediterranean or Dravidian
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Western Brachycephals
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Nordic Aryans
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Population
The population in India as at 0:00 hours on 1st March 2001 stood at 102,70 ,15, 247 persons. With this, India became only the second country in the world after China to cross the one billion mark. ( India is the 2nd most populated country in the world). Although India occupies only 2.4% of the world's land area, it supports over 15% of the world's population.
Population growth rate: 1.95 per cent (1991 – 2001)
Population density: 324 persons per square kilometre
India's estimated population in July 2007: 1,129,866,154 .
India's population rose by 21.34 % between 1991 - 2001. The sex ratio (i.e., number of females per thousand males) of population was 933, rising from 927 as at the 1991 Census. Total literacy rate in India was returned as 65.38%.
Life expectancy: 60.4 years (male: 61.8 years, female: 59 years)Literacy rate: 65.38 %
(Kerala has the highest literacy rate of 90.92 %. As per 2001 census all state and Union Territories have achieved a male literacy rate of 60 % and most of the states have attained a female literacy rate of over 50 %).
(Source: Provisional Population Totals : India . Census of India 2001, Paper 1 of 2001)Languages spoken: The official language of the Republic of India is Hindi, and its subsidiary
official language is English. The individual states can legislate their own official languages, depending on their linguistic demographics.
India is a multilingual society with 18 principal languages recognised by the constitution. Hindi is the language of a large percentage of people (40 percent), while English is the preferred business language.
Languages recognised by the Indian constitution:
- Assamese.
- Bengali.
- Gujarati.
- Hindi.
- Kannada.
- Kashmiri.
- Konkani.
- Malayalam.
- Manipuri.
- Marathi.
- Nepali.
- Oriya.
- Punjabi.
- Sanskrit.
- Sindhi.
- Tamil.
- Telugu.
- Urdu.
Classic Dances of India
Bharata Natyam Dance
Kathakali Dance
Kuchipudi Dance
Odissi Dance
Chau Dance
Dances of Rajasthan
- Chari Dance
- Ghoomar Dance
- Fire Dance
- Kachhi Gori
- Dandiya Dance
- Gidda
- Dindi Dance
International airports: Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, Ahmedabad, Goa, Amritsar, Guwahati.
Major ports of entry: Kandla, Mumbai, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Kochi, Tuticorin, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, Paradip, Kolkata, and Haldia.
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India is today the second fastest growing economy of the world. The country ranked fourth in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in 2005. The business and regulatory environment is evolving and moving towards constant improvement. A highly talented, skilled and English-speaking human resource base forms its backbone. Far-reaching measures introduced by the government over the past few years to liberalise the Indian market and integrate it with the global economy are widely acknowledged. The tenth five year plan document targets a healthy growth rate of above 8% for the Indian economy during the plan period 2002 – 07. According to some experts, the share of the US in world GDP is expected to fall (from 21 per cent to 18 per cent) and that of India to rise (from 6 per cent to 11 per cent in 2025), and hence the latter will emerge as the third pole in the global economy after the US and China. By 2025, the Indian economy is projected to be about 60 per cent the size of the US economy. The transformation into a tripolar economy will be complete by 2035, and India is likely to be a larger growth driver than the six largest countries in the EU to become the third largest economy with a share of 14.3 per cent of global economy by 2015 and graduate to become the “third pole” and growth driver by 2035.
A growth rate of above 9 % was achieved by the Indian economy during the year 2006-07 and 8.6 % in 2007-08. Many factors are behind this robust performance of the Indian economy since in 2001. High growth rates in Industry & Services sector and a benign world economic environment provided a backdrop conducive to the Indian economy. Another positive feature was that the growth was accompanied by continued maintenance of relative stability of prices.
ECONOMIC PROFILE:
GDP at current prices: US$ 1005 billion (2007-08)
Composition of GDP: Services 56%, Agriculture 22% and Industry 22%
Estimate of GDP growth: 8.8 percent (2007-08)
Cumulative FDI inflow: US$ 38.9 million (upto March 2006)
Foreign exchange reserves: US$ 262.4 billion (October 2007)
Exchange rate: Rs 39.32 per US$ (November 2007)
Foodgrain production: 211.8 million tonnes (2006-2007)
Buffer foodgrain stock: 17.73 million tones (March 2007)
Principal exports: Traditional exports include cotton yarn and textiles, readymade garments, leather goods, gems and jewellery and agricultural and processed food products. However, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, automotive components, transport equipment, software, electronic goods and manufactured metals constitute the rapidly growing export segments.
Principal markets for exports: USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Japan, Russia, Belgium, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
Imports: US$ 140 billion (2007-08)
Principal imports: Capital goods, crude oil, lubricants and other petroleum products, precious and semi-precious stones, chemicals, edible oils and fertilizers.
Principal markets of imports: USA, UK, Japan, Germany, Nigeria, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Ghana, South Africa, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
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