The Economy of India is the ninth largest in the world by nominal GDP and the third largest by purchasing

power parity (PPP).[1] The country is one of the G-20 major economies and a member of BRICS. The country's per capita GDP (PPP) was $3,703 (IMF, 129th in the world) in 2011, making it a lower-middle income economy. The independence-era Indian economy (before and a little after 1947) was inspired by the economy of the Soviet Union with socialist practices, large public sectors, high import duties and lesser private participation characterizing it, leading to massive inefficiencies and widespread corruption. However, later on India adopted free market principles and liberalized its economy to international trade under the guidance of Manmohan Singh, who then was the Finance Minister of India under the leadership of P.V.Narasimha Rao the then Prime Minister. Following these strong economic reforms, the country's economic growth progressed at a rapid pace with very high rates of growth and large increases in the incomes of people.[11] India recorded the highest growth rates in the mid-2000s, and is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. The growth was led primarily due to a huge increase in the size of the middle class consumer, a large labor force and considerable foreign investments. India is the seventeenth largest exporter and eleventh largest importer in the world. Economic growth rates are projected at around 7.0%-7.5% for the financial year 2011-2012. Communist policies governed India for sometime after India's Independence from the British. The economy was then characterised by extensive regulation, protectionism, public ownership, pervasive corruption and slow growth.[12][13] Since 1991,continuing economic liberalisation has moved the country towards a market-based economy.[12][13] A revival of economic reforms and better economic policy in first decade of the 21st century accelerated India's economic growth rate. In recent years, Indian cities have continued to liberalise business regulations.[5] By 2008, India had established itself as one of the world's, fastest growing economy. Growth significantly slowed to 6.79% in 200809, but subsequently recovered to 7.4% in 200910, while the fiscal deficit rose from 5.9% to a high 6.5% during the same period. [14] Indias current account deficit surged to 4.1% of GDP during Q2 FY11 against 3.2% the previous quarter. The unemployment rate for 20092010, according to the state Labour Bureau, was 9.4% nationwide.[4] As of 2010, India's public debt stood at 71.84% of GDP which is highest among BRIC nations.By some resources the indian economy is far greater than official because of its billions of black money which are not indicated in official numbers.[6] India's large service industry accounts for 57.2% of the country's GDP while the industrial and agricultural sectors contribute 28.6% and 14.6% respectively.[15] Agriculture is the predominant occupation in Rural India, accounting for about 52% of employment. The service sector makes up a further 34%, and industrial sector around 14%.[16] However, statistics from a 200910 government survey, which used a smaller sample size than earlier surveys, suggested that the share of agriculture in employment had dropped to 45.5%.[4] Major industries include telecommunications, textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software and pharmaceuticals.[17] The labour force totals 500 million workers. Major agricultural products include rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes, cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry and fish.[17] In 20092010, India's top five trading partners are United Arab Emirates, China, United States, Saudi Arabia and Germany. Previously a closed economy, India's trade and business sector has grown fast.[12] India currently accounts for 1.5% of world trade as of 2007 according to the World Trade Statistics of the WTO in 2006, which valued India's total merchandise trade (counting exports and imports) at $294 billion and India's services trade at $143 billion. Thus, India's global economic engagement in 2006 covering both merchandise and services trade was of the order of $437 billion, up by a record 72% from a level of

$253 billion in 2004. India's total trade in goods and services has reached a share of 43% of GDP in 200506, up from 16% in 199091.[18] India's total merchandisee trade (counting exports and imports) stands at $ 606.7 billion[19]and is currently the 9th largest in the world. In the late 1970s, the government led by Morarji Desai eased restrictions on capacity expansion for incumbent companies, removed price controls, reduced corporate taxes and promoted the creation of small scale industries in large numbers. He also raised the income tax levels at one point to a maximum of 97.5%, a record in the world for non-communist economies. However, the subsequent government policy of Fabian socialism hampered the benefits of the economy, leading to high fiscal deficits and a worsening current account. The collapse of the Soviet Union, which was India's major trading partner, and the Gulf War, which caused a spike in oil prices, resulted in a major balance-ofpayments crisis for India, which found itself facing the prospect of defaulting on its loans.[52] India asked for a $1.8 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which in return demanded reforms.[53] In response, Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, along with his finance minister Manmohan Singh, initiated the economic liberalisation of 1991. The reforms did away with the Licence Raj, reduced tariffs and interest rates and ended many public monopolies, allowing automatic approval of foreign direct investment in many sectors.[54] Since then, the overall thrust of liberalisation has remained the same, although no government has tried to take on powerful lobbies such as trade unions and farmers, on contentious issues such as reforming labour laws and reducing agricultural subsidies.[55] By the turn of the 20th century, India had progressed towards a free-market economy, with a substantial reduction in state control of the economy and increased financial liberalisation.[56] This has been accompanied by increases in life expectancy, literacy rates and food security, although the beneficiaries have largely been urban residents.[57] While the credit rating of India was hit by its nuclear weapons tests in 1998, it has since been raised to investment level in 2003 by S&P and Moody's.[58] In 2003, Goldman Sachs predicted that India's GDP in current prices would overtake France and Italy by 2020, Germany, UK and Russia by 2025 and Japan by 2035, making it the third largest economy of the world, behind the US and China. India is often seen by most economists as a rising economic superpower and is believed to play a major role in the global economy in the 21st century Industry accounts for 28% of the GDP and employ 14% of the total workforce.[16] In absolute terms, India is 12th in the world in terms of nominal factory output.[63] The Indian industrial sector underwent significant changes as a result of the economic reforms of 1991, which removed import restrictions, brought in foreign competition, led to privatisation of certain public sector industries, liberalised the FDI regime, improved infrastructure and led to an expansion in the production of fast moving consumer goods.[64] Post-liberalisation, the Indian private sector was faced with increasing domestic as well as foreign competition, including the threat of cheaper Chinese imports. It has since handled the change by squeezing costs, revamping management, and relying on cheap labour and new technology. However, this has also reduced employment generation even by smaller manufacturers who earlier relied on relatively labour-intensive processes.[65] Textile manufacturing is the second largest source of employment after agriculture and accounts for 20% of manufacturing output, providing employment to over 20 million people.[66] As stated in late January, by the then Minister of Textiles, India, Shri Shankersinh Vaghela, the transformation of the textile industry from a degrading to rapidly developing industry, has become the biggest achievement of the central government. After freeing the industry in 20042005 from a number of limitations, primarily financial, the government gave the green light to the flow of massive investment both domestic and foreign. During the period from 2004 to 2008, total investment amounted to 27 billion dollars. By 2012,

still convinced of the government, this figure will reach 38 billion as expected; these investments in 2012 will create an additional sector of more than 17 million jobs. But demand for Indian textiles in world markets continues to fall. According to Union Minister for Commerce and Industries Kamal Nath, only during 20082009 fiscal year (which ends 31 March) textile and clothing industry will be forced to cut about 800 thousand new jobs nearly half of the rate of two million, which will have to go all the exportoriented sectors of Indian economy to soften the impact of the global crisis.[67] Ludhiana produces 90% of woollens in India and is known as the Manchester of India. Tirupur has gained universal recognition as the leading source of hosiery, knitted garments, casual wear and sportswear.[68] India is 13th in services output. The services sector provides employment to 23% of the work force and is growing quickly, with a growth rate of 7.5% in 19912000, up from 4.5% in 195180. It has the largest share in the GDP, accounting for 55% in 2007, up from 15% in 1950.[16] Information technology and business process outsourcing are among the fastest growing sectors, having a cumulative growth rate of revenue 33.6% between 199798 and 200203 and contributing to 25% of the country's total exports in 200708.[69] The growth in the IT sector is attributed to increased specialisation, and an availability of a large pool of low cost, highly skilled, educated and fluent English-speaking workers, on the supply side, matched on the demand side by increased demand from foreign consumers interested in India's service exports, or those looking to outsource their operations. The share of the Indian IT industry in the country's GDP increased from 4.8 % in 200506 to 7% in 2008.[70] In 2009, seven Indian firms were listed among the top 15 technology outsourcing companies in the world.[71] Mining forms an important segment of the Indian economy, with the country producing 79 different minerals (excluding fuel and atomic resources) in 200910, including iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, chromite, limestone, asbestos, fluorite, gypsum, ochre, phosphorite and silica sand.[72]Organised retail supermarkets accounts for 24% of the market as of 2008.[73] Regulations prevent most foreign investment in retailing. Moreover, over thirty regulations such as "signboard licences" and "anti-hoarding measures" may have to be complied before a store can open doors. There are taxes for moving goods from state to state, and even within states.[73] Tourism in India is relatively undeveloped, but growing at double digits. Some hospitals woo medical tourism. India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry, logging and fishing accounted for 15.7% of the GDP in 200910, employed 52.1% of the total workforce, and despite a steady decline of its share in the GDP, is still the largest economic sector and a significant piece of the overall socio-economic development of India.[77] Yields per unit area of all crops have grown since 1950, due to the special emphasis placed on agriculture in the five-year plans and steady improvements in irrigation, technology, application of modern agricultural practices and provision of agricultural credit and subsidies since the Green Revolution in India. However, international comparisons reveal the average yield in India is generally 30% to 50% of the highest average yield in the world.[78] Indian states Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Maharashtra are key agricultural contributing states of India. India receives an average annual rainfall of 1,208 millimetres (47.6 in) and a total annual precipitation of 4000 billion cubic metres, with the total utilisable water resources, including surface and groundwater, amounting to 1123 billion cubic metres.[79]546,820 square kilometres (211,130 sq mi) of the land area, or about 39% of the total cultivated area, is irrigated.[80] India's inland water resources including rivers, canals, ponds and lakes and marine resources comprising the east and west coasts of the Indian ocean and other gulfs and bays provide employment to nearly six million people in the fisheries sector. In 2008, India had the world's third largest fishing industry.[81] India is the largest producer in the world of milk, jute and pulses, and also has the world's second largest cattle population with 175 million animals in 2008.[75] It is the second largest producer of rice,

wheat, sugarcane, cotton and groundnuts, as well as the second largest fruit and vegetable producer, accounting for 10.9% and 8.6% of the world fruit and vegetable production respectively.[75] India is also the second largest producer and the largest consumer of silk in the world, producing 77,000 million tons in 2005. The Indian money market is classified into the organised sector, comprising private, public and foreign owned commercial banks and cooperative banks, together known as scheduled banks, and the unorganised sector, which includes individual or family owned indigenous bankers or money lenders and non-banking financial companies.[83] The unorganised sector and microcredit are still preferred over traditional banks in rural and sub-urban areas, especially for non-productive purposes, like ceremonies and short duration loans.[84] Prime Minister Indira Gandhi nationalised 14 banks in 1969, followed by six others in 1980, and made it mandatory for banks to provide 40% of their net credit to priority sectors like agriculture, small-scale industry, retail trade, small businesses, etc. to ensure that the banks fulfill their social and developmental goals. Since then, the number of bank branches has increased from 8,260 in 1969 to 72,170 in 2007 and the population covered by a branch decreased from 63,800 to 15,000 during the same period. The total bank deposits increased from 5,910 crore (US$1.12 billion) in 197071 to 3,830,922 crore (US$727.88 billion) in 200809. Despite an increase of rural branches, from 1,860 or 22% of the total number of branches in 1969 to 30,590 or 42% in 2007, only 32,270 out of 500,000 villages are covered by a scheduled bank.[85][86] India's gross domestic saving in 200607 as a percentage of GDP stood at a high 32.7%.[87] More than half of personal savings are invested in physical assets such as land, houses, cattle, and gold.[88] The public sector banks hold over 75% of total assets of the banking industry, with the private and foreign banks holding 18.2% and 6.5% respectively.[89] Since liberalisation, the government has approved significant banking reforms. While some of these relate to nationalised banks, like encouraging mergers, reducing government interference and increasing profitability and competitiveness, other reforms have opened up the banking and insurance sectors to private and foreign players. India's oil reserves meet 25% of the country's domestic oil demand.[16][92] As of 2009, India's total proven oil reserves stood at 775 million metric tonnes while gas reserves stood at 1074 billion cubic metres. [93] Oil and natural gas fields are located offshore at Mumbai High, Krishna Godavari Basin and the Cauvery Delta, and onshore mainly in the states of Assam, Gujarat and Rajasthan.[93] India is the fourth largest consumer of oil in the world and imported $82.1 billion worth of oil in the first three quarters of 2010, which had an adverse effect on its current account deficit.[91] The petroleum industry in India mostly consists of public sector companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited(HPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). There are some major private Indian companies in the oil sector such as Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) which operates the world's largest oil refining complex.[94] As of 2010, India had an installed power generation capacity of 164,835 megawatts (MW), of which thermal power contributed 64.6%, hydroelectricity 24.7%, other sources of renewable energy 7.7%, and nuclear power 2.9%.[95] India meets most of its domestic energy demand through its 106 billion tonnes of coal reserves.[96] India is also rich in certain renewable sources of energy with significant future potential such as solar, wind and biofuels (jatropha, sugarcane). India's huge thorium reserves about 25% of world's reserves are expected to fuel the country's ambitious nuclear energy program in the long-run. India's dwindling uranium reserves stagnated the growth of nuclear energy in the country for many years.[97] However, the Indo-US nuclear deal has paved the way for India to import uranium from other countries.

Until the liberalisation of 1991, India was largely and intentionally isolated from the world markets, to protect its economy and to achieve self-reliance. Foreign trade was subject to import tariffs, export taxes and quantitative restrictions, while foreign direct investment (FDI) was restricted by upper-limit equity participation, restrictions on technology transfer, export obligations and government approvals; these approvals were needed for nearly 60% of new FDI in the industrial sector. The restrictions ensured that FDI averaged only around $200 million annually between 1985 and 1991; a large percentage of the capital flows consisted of foreign aid, commercial borrowing and deposits ofnon-resident Indians. [99] India's exports were stagnant for the first 15 years after independence, due to general neglect of trade policy by the government of that period. Imports in the same period, due to industrialisation being nascent, consisted predominantly of machinery, raw materials and consumer goods.[100] Since liberalisation, the value of India's international trade has increased sharply,[101] with the contribution of total trade in goods and services to the GDP rising from 16% in 199091 to 43% in 200506.[18] India's major trading partners are the European Union, China, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.[102] In 200607, major export commodities included engineering goods, petroleum products, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, textiles and garments, agricultural products, iron ore and other minerals. Major import commodities included crude oil and related products, machinery, electronic goods, gold and silver.[103] In November 2010, exports increased 22.3% year-on-year to 85,063 crore (US$16.16 billion), while imports were up 7.5% at 125,133 crore (US$23.78 billion). Trade deficit for the same month dropped from 46,865 crore (US$8.9 billion) in 2009 to 40,070 crore (US$7.61 billion) in 2010.[104] India is a founding-member of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) since 1947 and its successor, the WTO. While participating actively in its general council meetings, India has been crucial in voicing the concerns of thedeveloping world. For instance, India has continued its opposition to the inclusion of such matters as labour and environment issues and other non-tariff barriers to trade into the WTO policies. Since independence, India's balance of payments on its current account has been negative. Since economic liberalisation in the 1990s, precipitated by a balance of payment crisis, India's exports rose consistently, covering 80.3% of its imports in 200203, up from 66.2% in 199091.[106] However, the global economic slump followed by a general deceleration in world trade saw the exports as a percentage of imports drop to 61.4% in 200809.[107] India's growing oil import bill is seen as the main driver behind the large current account deficit,[91] which rose to $118.7 billion, or 9.7% of GDP, in 2008 09.[108] Between January and October 2010, India imported $82.1 billion worth of crude oil.[91] Due to the global late-2000s recession, both Indian exports and imports declined by 29.2% and 39.2% respectively in June 2009.[109] The steep decline was because countries hit hardest by the global recession, such as United States and members of the European Union, account for more than 60% of Indian exports.[110] However, since the decline in imports was much sharper compared to the decline in exports, India's trade deficit reduced to 25,250 crore (US$4.8 billion).[109] As of June 2011, exports and imports have both registered impressive growth with monthly exports reaching $25.9 billion for the month of May 2011 and monthly imports reaching $40.9 billion for the same month. This represents a year on year growth of 56.9% for exports and 54.1% for imports.[19] India's reliance on external assistance and concessional debt has decreased since liberalisation of the economy, and the debt service ratio decreased from 35.3% in 199091 to 4.4% in 200809.[111] In India, External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs), or commercial loans from non-resident lenders, are being permitted by the Government for providing an additional source of funds to Indian corporates. The Ministry of Finance monitors and regulates them through ECB policy guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India under the Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999.[112] India's foreign

exchange reserves have steadily risen from $5.8 billion in March 1991 to $283.5 billion in December 2009. As the fourth-largest economy in the world in PPP terms, India is a preferred destination for FDI; [115] India has strengths in telecommunication, information technology and other significant areas such as auto components, chemicals, apparels, pharmaceuticals, and jewellery. Despite a surge in foreign investments, rigid FDI policies were a significant hindrance. However, due to positive economic reforms aimed at deregulating the economy and stimulating foreign investment, India has positioned itself as one of the front-runners of the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific region.[115] India has a large pool of skilled managerial and technical expertise. The size of the middle-class population stands at 300 million and represents a growing consumer market.[116] During 200010, the country attracted $178 billion as FDI.[117] The inordinately high investment from Mauritius is due to routing of international funds through the country given significant tax advantages; double taxation is avoided due to a tax treatybetween India and Mauritius, and Mauritius is a capital gains tax haven, effectively creating a zero-taxation FDI channel.[118] India's recently liberalised FDI policy (2005) allows up to a 100% FDI stake in ventures. Industrial policy reforms have substantially reduced industrial licensing requirements, removed restrictions on expansion and facilitated easy access to foreign technology and foreign direct investment FDI. The upward moving growth curve of the real-estate sector owes some credit to a booming economy and liberalised FDI regime. In March 2005, the government amended the rules to allow 100% FDI in the construction sector, including built-up infrastructure and construction development projects comprising housing, commercial premises, hospitals, educational institutions, recreational facilities, and city- and regionallevel infrastructure.[119] Despite a number of changes in the FDI policy to remove caps in most sectors, there still remains an unfinished agenda of permitting greater FDI in politically sensitive areas such as insurance and retailing. The total FDI equity inflow into India in 200809 stood at 122,919 crore (US$23.35 billion), a growth of 25% in rupee terms over the previous period. India's gross national income per capita had experienced astonishing growth rates since 2002.India's Per Capita Income has tripled from $ 423 in 200203 to $ 1219 in 201011, averaging 14.4% growth over these eight years.[129] It will further go up to $ 1440 during 201112 fiscal. Indian official estimates of the extent of poverty have been subject to debate, with concerns being raised about the methodology for the determination of the poverty line.[130][131] As of 2005, according to World Bank statistics, 75.6% of the population lived on less than $2 a day (PPP), while 41.6% of the population was living below the new international poverty line of $1.25 (PPP) per day.[132][133][134] However, data released in 2009 by the Government of India estimated that 37% of the population lived below the poverty line.[3] Housing is modest. According to The Times of India, a majority of Indians had a per capita space equivalent to or less than a 100 square feet (9.3 m2) room for their basic living needs, and one-third of urban Indians lived in "homes too cramped to exceed even the minimum requirements of a prison cell in the US."[135] The average is 103 sq ft (9.6 m2) per person in rural areas and 117 sq ft (10.9 m2) per person in urban areas.

Politics of India From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Politics in India)

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The politics of India (Hindi: ) takes place within the framework of a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of India is head of state and the Prime Minister of India is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President and is independent of the legislature. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament of India, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Federal and state elections generally take place within a multi-party system, although this is not enshrined in law. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, the highest national court being the Supreme Court of India. India is a nation that is characterized as a "sovereign socialist secular democratic republic". Like the United States, India has had a federal form of government since it adopted its constitution. However, the central government in India has greater power in relation to its states, and its central government is patterned after the British parliamentary system. The national government has the power to dismiss state governments under specific constitutional clauses or if no majority party or coalition is able to form a government. The central government can also impose direct federal rule known as president's rule (or central rule). Locally, the Panchayati Raj system has several administrative functions. For most of the years since independence, the federal government has been guided by the Indian National Congress (INC).[1] The two largest political parties have been the INC and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Although the two parties have dominated Indian politics, regional parties also exist. From 1950 to 1990, barring two brief periods, the INC enjoyed a parliamentary majority. The INC was out of power between 1977 and 1980, when the Janata Party won the election due to public discontent with the corruption of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In 1989, a Janata Dal-led National Front coalition, in alliance with the Left Front coalition, won the elections but managed to stay in power for only two years.[2] As the 1991 elections gave no political party a majority, the INC formed a minority government under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and was able to complete its five-year term.[3] The years 19961998 were a period of turmoil in the federal government with several short-lived alliances holding sway. The BJP formed a government briefly in 1996, followed by the United Front coalition that excluded both the BJP and the INC. In 1998, the BJP formed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with several other parties and became the first non-Congress government to complete a full five-year term.[4] In the 2004 elections, the INC won

the largest number of Lok Sabha seats and formed a government with a coalition called the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), supported by various parties.[5] In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the INC more than 200 seats, a majority. Indian democracy has been suspended once.[6] Nevertheless, Indian politics is often described as chaotic. More than a fifth of parliament members face criminal charges.[6]
o

[edit]Central and State Governments The central government exercises its broad administrative powers in the name of the President, whose duties are largely ceremonial. The president and vice president are elected indirectly for 5-year terms by a special electoral college. The vice president assumes the office of president in case of the death or resignation of the incumbent president. The constitution designates the governance of India under two branches, namely: the executive branch and the legislative branch. Real national executive power is centered in the Council of Ministers, led by the Prime Minister of India. The President appoints the Prime Minister, who is designated by legislators of the political party or coalition commanding a parliamentary majority. The President then appoints subordinate ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister. In reality, the President has no discretion on the question of whom to appoint as Prime Minister except when no political party or coalition of parties gains a majority in the Lok Sabha. Once the Prime Minister has been appointed, the President has no discretion on any other matter whatsoever, including the appointment of ministers. But all Central Government decisions are nominally taken in his/her name. [edit]Legislative branch The constitution designates the Parliament of India as the legislative branch to oversee the operation of the government. India's bicameral parliament consists of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People or Council of Ministers). [edit]State Government States in India have their own elected governments, whereas Union Territories are governed by an administrator appointed by the president. Some of the state legislatures are bicameral, patterned after the two houses of the national parliament. The states' chief ministers are responsible to the legislatures in the same way the prime minister is responsible to parliament. Each state also has a presidentially appointed governor who may assume certain broad powers when directed by the central government. The central government exerts greater control over the union territories than over the States, although some territories have gained more power to administer their own affairs. Local

state governments in India have less autonomy compared to their counterparts in the United States, Africa and Australia., [edit]Judicial branch India's independent judicial system began under the British, and its concepts and procedures resemble those of Common Law countries. The constitution designates the Supreme Court, the High Courts and the lower courts as the authority to resolve disputes among the people as well as the disputes related to the people and the government. The constitution through its articles relating to the judicial system provides a way to question the laws of the government, if the common man finds the laws as unsuitable for any community in India. [edit]Political parties and elections For other political parties see List of political parties in India. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in India. Main article: Indian general election, 2009 e d Summary of the 2009 April/May Lok Sabha election results of India Sources: [1][2] [3] [4] [5] Alliances Party Seat s won 206 Chan Popular ge Vote Vote Swin % g

United Progressive Alliance Seats: 262 Seat Change: +80 Popular Vote: 153,482,356 Popular Vote %: 37.22% Swing: +3.96%

Indian National Congress All India Trinamool Congress Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Nationalist Congress Party National Conference Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Indian Union Muslim League

+61

119,110,7 28.55 +2.02 76 % % 13,355,98 3.20 6 % 7,625,397 1.83 % 2.04 % 0.55 % 0.40 % 0.21 % +1.13 % +0.02 % +0.24 % +0.42 % 0.07% +0.01 %

19

+17

18

+2

8,521,349

+1

498,374

2 2

3 +1

1,665,173 877,503

Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi Kerala Congress (Mani) All India Majlis-eIttehadul Muslimeen Republican Party of India (Athvale) National Democratic Alliance Seats: 159 Seat Change: 17 Popular Vote: 102,689,312 Popular Vote %: 24.63% Swing: -4.88% Bharatiya Janata Party Janata Dal (United)

+1

735,847

0.18 % 0.10 % 0.07 % 0.09 %

+0.18 % +0.05 % 0.04%

+1

404,962

308,061

378,928

116

22

78,435,53 18.80 8 % 3.36% 6,331,079 1.52 % 1.55 % 0.44 % 0.96 % 0.62 % 0.43 % 0.31 % 0.83% 0.26% 0.19% +0.06 % 0.01% 0.10% 0.19% 0.33% +0.02 % 0.06%

20

+12

Shiv Sena

11

6,454,850

Rashtriya Lok Dal

+2

1,821,054

Shiromani Akali Dal Telangana Rashtra Samithi Asom Gana Parishad Indian National Lok Dal Third Front Seats: 79 Seat Change: 30 Popular Vote: 88,174,229 Popular Vote %: 21.15% Communist Party of India (Marxist) Communist Party of India Revolutionary Socialist Party

4,004,789

2,582,326

1,773,103

1,286,573

16

27

22,219,11 5.33 1 % 5,951,888 1.43 %

4 2

6 -1

1,573,650 0.37 %

All India Forward Bloc 2

-1

1,345,803

0.32 %

0.03% +0.84 % +0.29 % 0.52% 0.53% 0.65% 0.16% +0.20 % 0.09%

Bahujan Samaj Party 21

+2

25,728,88 6.17 9 % 6,612,552 1.59 % 1.67 %

Biju Janata Dal All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Telugu Desam Party Swing: -1.06% Janata Dal (Secular) Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Haryana Janhit Congress

14

+3

+9

6,953,591

+1

10,481,34 2.51 8 % 3,434,082 0.82 % 0.27 % 0.20 % 0.47 %

1,112,908

+1

816,395

Pattali Makkal Katchi Fourth Front Seats: 27 Seat Change: -37 Popular Vote: 21,456,117 Popular Vote %: 5.14% Swing: -2.30%

1,944,619

Samajwadi Party

23

13

14,284,63 3.42 8 % 5,279,059 1.27 % 0.45 % 0.52 % 0.23

0.90% 1.14% 0.26% +0.52 % +0.23

Rashtriya Janata Dal

20

Lok Janshakti Party Other Parties and Independents Seats: 16 Seat Change: +9 Assam United Democratic Front Jharkhand Vikas

1,892,420

1 1

+1 +1

2,184,556 963,274

Morcha (Prajatantrik) Nagaland People's Front Bodoland People's Front Swabhimani Paksha Popular Vote: 27,146,939 Popular Vote %: 6.51% Swing: +2.04% Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi Sikkim Democratic Front Independents Total 364 Political Parties 1 832,224

% 0.20 % 0.16 % 0.12 % 0.05 % 0.04 %

% +0.02 % +0.16 % +0.12 % +0.05 % +0.94 %

+1

656,430

+1

481,025

+1

223,234

159,351

+4

21,646,84 5.19 5 % 417,156, 494

543

Notes * Gave unconditional external support to the UPA-led government after the election

Note: Seat change for an alliance and popular vote swing is calculated as the sum of the individual seat changes and vote % respectively for its constituent parties as given here. Note: Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) joined the NDA after voting took place in Andhra Pradesh, but before the votes were counted and results were in. Due to this change, some list TRS under their former alliance, the Third Front, rather than NDA, under pre-poll alliances.

[edit]Local governance Main article: Panchayati Raj On April 24, 1993, the Constitutional (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 came into force to provide constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj institutions. This Act was extended to Panchayats in the tribal areas of eight States, namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan from 24 December 1996.

The Act aims to provide 3-tier system of Panchayati Raj for all States having population of over 2 million, to hold Panchayat elections regularly every 5 years, to provide reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Women, to appoint State Finance Commission to make recommendations as regards the financial powers of the Panchayats and to constitute District Planning Committee to prepare draft development plan for the district. [edit]Role of political parties For other political parties see List of political parties in India. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in India. As any other democracy, political parties represent different sections among the Indian society and regions, and their core values play a major role in the politics of India. Both the executive branch and the legislative branch of the government are run by the representatives of the political parties who have been elected through the elections. Through the electoral process, the people of India choose which majority in the lower house, a government can be formed by that party or the coalition.

Indian state governments led by various political parties as of March 2009. India has a multi-party system, where there are a number of national as well as regional parties. A regional party may gain a majority and rule a particular state. If a party represents more than 4 states then such parties are considered as national parties. In the 63 years since India's independence, India has been ruled by the Indian National Congress (INC) for 51 of those years. The party enjoyed a parliamentary majority barring two brief periods during the 1970s and late 1980s. This rule was interrupted between 1977 to 1980, when the Janata Party coalition won the election owing to public discontent with the controversial state of emergency declared by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The Janata Dal won elections in 1989, but its government managed to hold on to power for only two years.

Between 1996 and 1998, there was a period of political flux with the government being formed first by the right-wing nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) followed by a left-leaning United Front coalition. In 1998, the BJP formed the National Democratic Alliance with smaller regional parties, and became the first non-INC and coalition government to complete a full five-year term. The 2004 Indian elections saw the INC winning the largest number of seats to form a government leading the United Progressive Alliance, and supported by left-parties and those opposed to the BJP. On 22 May 2004, Manmohan Singh was appointed the Prime Minister of India following the victory of the INC & the left front in the 2004 Lok Sabha election. The UPA now rules India without the support of the left front. Previously, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had taken office in October 1999 after a general election in which a BJP-led coalition of 13 parties called the National Democratic Alliance emerged with a majority. Formation of coalition governments reflects the transition in Indian politics away from the national parties toward smaller, more narrowly-based regional parties. Some regional parties, especially in South India, are deeply aligned to the ideologies of the region unlike the national parties and thus the relationship between the central government and the state government in various states has not always been free of rancor. Disparity between the ideologies of the political parties ruling the centre and the state leads to severely skewed allocation of resources between the states. [edit]Political issues Main article: Socio-economic issues in India See also: Corruption in India [edit]Social issues The lack of homogeneity in the Indian population causes division between different sections of the people based on religion, region, language, caste and race. This has led to the rise of political parties with agendas catering to one or a mix of these groups. Some parties openly profess their focus on a particular group; for example, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's focus on the Dravidian population, and the Shiv Sena's proMarathi agenda. Some other parties claim to be universal in nature, but tend to draw support from particular sections of the population. For example, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (translated as National People's Party) has a vote bank among the Yadav and Muslim population of Bihar and the All India Trinamool Congress does not have any significant support outside West Bengal. The Bharatiya Janata Party, the party with the second largest number of MPs in the 15th Lok Sabha, has an image of being pro-Hindu. Such support from particular sections of the population affects the agenda and policies of such parties, and call

into question their claims of being universal representatives. The Congress may be viewed as the most secular party with a national agenda; however, it also practices votebank politics to gain the support of minorities, especially Muslims, through appeasement and pseudo-secularist strategies. Many political parties are involved in caste-, religion- or language-based politics, which effects India's growth and progress. The narrow focus and votebank politics of most parties, even in the central government and central legislature, sidelines national issues such as economic welfare and national security. Moreover, internal security is also threatened as incidences of political parties instigating and leading violence between two opposing groups of people is a frequent occurrence. [edit]Economic issues Economic issues like poverty, unemployment, development are main issues that influence politics. Garibi hatao (eradicate poverty) has been a slogan of the Indian National Congress for long. The well known Bharatiya Janata Party is looked upon with grace as a political party that is indeed encouraging to free market economy, businesses and others. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) vehemently supports left-wing politics like land-for-all, right to work and has strongly opposed to neo-liberal policies such as globalization, capitalism and privatization. The economic policies of most other parties do not go much further than providing populist subsidies and reservations. As a noteworthy case, the manifesto of the Samajwadi Party, the third largest party in the 15th Lok Sabha, for the 2009 general elections promised to reduce the use of computers upon being elected. [edit]Law and order Just to name a few, terrorism, Naxalism, religious violence and caste-related violence are important issues that affect the political environment of the Indian nation. Stringent anti-terror legislation such as TADA, POTA and MCOCA have received much political attention, both in favour and opposed. Law and order issues such as action against organized crime are not issues that affect the outcomes of elections. On the other hand, there is a criminalpolitician nexus. Many elected legislators have criminal cases against them. In July 2008, the Washington Times reported that nearly a fourth of the 540 Indian Parliament members faced criminal charges, "including human trafficking, immigration rackets, embezzlement, rape and even murder".