GEOGRAPHY
Size: Total land area 2,973,190 square kilometers. Total area,
including territorial seas, claimed is 3,287,590 square
kilometers.
Topography: Three main geological regions: Indo-Gangetic Plain
and Himalayas, collectively known as North India; and
Peninsula or South India. Ten physiological regions: Indo-Gangetic
Plain, northern mountains of the Himalayas, Central Highlands, Deccan or
Peninsular Plateau, East Coast (Coromandel Coast in south), West Coast
(Konkan, Kankara, and Malabar coasts), Great Indian Desert (known as Thar
Desert in Pakistan) and Rann of Kutch, valley of the Brahmaputra River
in Assam, northeastern hill ranges surrounding Assam Valley, and islands
of Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.
Climate: Climate varies significantly from Himalayas in north
to tropical south. Four seasons: relatively dry, cool winter
December to February; dry, hot summer March to May; southwest monsoon
June to September when predominating
southwest maritime winds bring rains to most of country; and northeast,
or retreating, monsoon October and November.
TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: Track route length 62,458 in mid-1990s, fourth most
heavily used system in world, both for passengers and freight;
all government-owned and operated by Indian Railways. Some 14,600 kilometers
double or multiple tracked; 11,000 kilometers electrified, 116,000 bridges;
some high-speed routes; domestic production of most rolling stock and other
components. Major government investment in modernization in 1990s.
Full metro system in Calcutta, rapid transit system in
Madras, and major system planned for New Delhi; Bombay served by suburban
rail network.
Roads: Almost 2 million kilometers; 960,000 kilometers surfaced
roads, and more than 1 million kilometers constructed of gravel, crushed
stone, or earth. Fifty-three highways, almost 20,000 kilometers in total
length, rated as national highways; carry about 40 percent of road traffic.
Around 60 percent of all passenger traffic travels by road. Urban transit
dominated by motor vehicles; increasing use of two- and three-wheel vehicles,
automobiles, minibuses, buses, trucks. Large cities have major urban bus
systems. Bullocks, camels, elephants, and other beasts of burden seen throughout
India.
Maritime Transport: Eleven major ports and 139 minor ports. In
1995 three government-owned and between fifty and sixty privately owned
shipping companies. Four major and three medium-sized shipyards, all government
run, thirty-five smaller
shipyards in private sector. Major coastal and ocean trade routes,
more than 16,000 kilometers of inland waterways, more than 3,600 kilometers
navigable by large vessels, although only about 2,000 kilometers used.
Airports: Two airlines (Air India and Indian Airlines) and one
helicopter service (Pawan Hans) owned by government and six
privately owned airlines; latter account for only 10 percent of domestic
air traffic. Of 288 airports, 208 permanent-surface
runways and two runways of more than 3,659 meters. Major international
airports at Bombay (Mumbai), Delhi, Calcutta,
Madras, and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum). International service
also from Mamargao (Goa), Bangalore, and Hyderabad. Major regional
airports at Ahmadabad, Allahabad, Pune, Srinagar, Chandigarh, Kochi (Cochin),
Nagpur, and
Thiruvananthapuram.
Telecommunications: National system controlled by government,
with public corporations running service in New Delhi and Bombay; some
basic telephone services opened to private-sector competition in 1994;
telephone line density only 0.7 per 100 persons in 1994, among lowest of
major nations of Asia. Submarine cables link India to Malaysia and United
Arab Emirates. Paging, cellular phone service, and electronic mail being
introduced. Government-owned radio (Akashvani) and television (Doordarshan)
networks with extensive national and local coverage; private-sector television
networks via cable and satellite becoming prolific.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Government: Federal republic based on separation of powers into
executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Central
government known as union government. Constitution of 1950 in force
but much amended; power concentrated in Parliament
with upper house--Rajya Sabha (Council of States)--appointed by president
and elected by state and territory assemblies and
lower house--Lok Sabha (House of the People)--popularly elected. Supreme
Court highest court of land; high courts in states.
Administrative Divisions: Twenty-five states with 476 districts,
one national capital territory, six union territories. State
governors appointed by president, chief minister member of popularly
elected state assembly; central-government agencies
prevalent at local levels. Constitution allows central control of state
government (President's Rule) during time of emergency on recommendation
of governor. Districts subdivided into taluqs or tehsils, townships that
contain from 200 to 600 villages. Small, centrally controlled union territories
with lieutenant governor or chief commissioner appointed by president.
Politics: With 354 million voters, some 14,700 candidates, more
than 500 parties, and nearly 595,000 polling stations in
April-May 1996 elections, India often called "world's largest democ-racy."
Since independence, dominated by Indian National Congress (Congress--see
Glossary) and its factions; occasional rule by minority-party and coalition
governments; Janata Party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), communist parties,
and several regional parties also important.
Foreign Relations: Member of United Nations (UN), South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC),
Nonaligned Movement, and numerous other international organizations.
Relations with all major nations based on principles of nonalignment.
The Army
In 1994 the army had approximately 940,000 men and women in its ranks
and more than 36,000 in reserve forces. The army is
headquartered in New Delhi and is under the direction of the chief
of the army staff, always a full general. The chief of the army staff is
assisted by a vice chief, two deputy chiefs, a military secretary, and
the heads of four main staff divisions: the adjutant general, the quartermaster
general, the master general of ordnance, and the engineer in chief.
The army has five tactical area commands: the Northern Command headquartered
at Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir, the Western Command headquartered at
Chandimandir in Chandigarh, the Central Command headquartered at Lucknow
in Uttar Pradesh, the Eastern Command headquartered at Calcutta, and the
Southern Command headquartered at Pune in Maharashtra. Each command is
headed by a lieutenant general. The principal combat formations within
the scope of these
commands are armored divisions and independent armored brigades, infantry
divisions, mountain infantry divisions, independent infantry brigades,
airborne/commando brigades, and independent artillery brigades. These units
are
organized in twelve corps-level formations.
The army is equipped with some 3,400 main battle tanks. Of these, 1,200
are indigenously manufactured Vijayanta tanks.
Additionally, the army has some T-55, T-72, and PT-76 tanks. The Arjun
main battle tank has been under development by the
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) since 1983, and,
in 1995, limited production was expected to begin in 1996.
To complement indigenous production, however, it was reported in 1994
that Russia had agreed to help India modernize its T-72 tanks and to sell
and lease other types of weapons. It is generally understood that about
70 percent of India's military equipment is of Soviet origin. Some army
officials continue to favor Russian-made equipment, such as the T-72 tank,
over Indian adaptations of the same items, such as the T-72 MI tank developed
by the DRDO.
The army also has substantial artillery forces. The best estimate places
the army's towed artillery capabilities at more than 4,000
pieces. In addition to the towed artillery, the army has self-propelled
artillery. Finally, it has substantial numbers of surface-to-air missile
capabilities, the total number being more than 1,200. In 1986 air observation
post units were transferred from the air force to the army to form the
Army Aviation branch. Using nine helicopter squadrons, Army Aviation has
supported ground units in the Siachen Glacier in Jammu and Kashmir and
in Sri Lanka, as well as counterinsurgency operations in various parts
of the country. Army Aviation has also participated in disaster relief.
Apart from its nine squadrons of helicopters, the army has eight air
observation squadrons and six antitank/transport squadrons.
It relies on the air force for air support, lift capabilities, and
air supply .
An extensive body of schools and centers supports army operations. The
officer corps is largely drawn from the National
Defence Academy at Khadakvasla, Maharashtra, a joint services training
institution that provides educational equivalents to the bachelor of arts
or bachelor of science degrees to cadets for all three service arms. Cadets
spend their first three years at the National Defence Academy and then
are sent to their respective service academies for further training before
being
commissioned in the armed forces. A preparatory school, the Rashtriya
Indian Military College, at Dehra Dun, Uttar Pradesh,
provides education to candidates for the National Defence Academy.
After completing their studies at the National Defence Academy, army cadets
are sent to the Indian Military Academy at Dehra Dun. Other Indian Military
Academy cadets are graduates of the Army Cadet College or are direct-entry
students who have qualified by passing the Union Public Service
Commission Examination. They spend between twelve and twenty-four months
at the Indian Military Academy before being commissioned in the army as
second lieutenants. Still other officer training occurs at the Officers'
Training Academy in Madras, Tamil Nadu, where a forty-four-week session
is offered to university graduates seeking a short-service commission.
In addition to the Indian Military Academy, the army runs a number of
military education establishments. The more prominent ones include the
College of Combat at Mhow, Madhya Pradesh; the High Altitude Warfare School
at Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir; and the Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare
School at Vairengte, Mizoram. The army also operates the Defence Services
Staff College at Wellington in the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu, which provides
master of science-level joint-service training for mid-level staff appointments
and
promotes interservice cooperation.
In 1994 it was reported that there were 200 women in the armed forces.
In the army, which employs women as physicians and nurses, the participation
of women is small but growing. The Indian Military Nursing Service was
formed in 1926 and has eight nursing schools (five army, two navy, and
one air force) and one nursing college in Pune. Bachelor of science graduates
are commissioned as lieutenants in the Medical Nursing Service and attached
to the various components of the armed forces. Ranks as high as colonel
can be attained by career officers. In the mid-1990s, a small but increasing
number of women officers were being assigned to nonmedical services. In
1994, there were fifty women nonmedical army officers and another twenty-five
in training. They are university graduates who have been put through rigorous
training and are reported to be eager for combat unit assignments.
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