1. INDIA 2010A REFERENCE ANNUAL Compiled byRESEARCH, REFERENCE ANDTRAINING DIVISION PUBLICATIONSDIVISION MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTINGGOVERNMENT OF INDIA

2. 2010 (Saka 1931)54th Edition Research, Reference and Training DivisionISBN : 978-81-230-1617-7REF-ENG-OP-069-2009-10Price : Rs. 345.00Published by the Additional Director General (Incharge),Publications Division,Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,Government of India, Soochna Bhawan, CGO ComplexLodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003Website : www.publicationsdivision.nic.inE-mail : dpd@mail.nic.inPublications Division Research, Reference and Training DivisionEditing : Compilation and CoordinationDayawanti SrivastavaS. M. KhanNitima Shiv CharanSurendra KumarS. ManjulaRomi SharmaR. Anuradha Simmi KumarCover Design : Asha SaxenaProduction : J. K. ChandraSales Centres : l Soochna Bhavan, C.G.O. Complex, Lodhi Road, NewDelhi-110003 l Hall No. 196, Old Secretariat, Delhi-110054 l 701, B-Wing,Kendriya Sadan, Belapur, Navi Mumbai-400614 l 8, Esplanade East, Kolkata-700069 l A Wing, Rajaji Bhawan, Besant Nagar, Chennai-600090 l PressRoad, Near Govt. Press, Thiruvananthapuram-695001 l Block 4, 1st Floor,Gruhakalpa Complex, M.G. Road, Nampally Hyderabad-500001 l 1st Floor,F Wing, Kendriya Sadan, Koramangala, Bangaluru-560034 l Bihar State Co-operative Bank Building, Ashoka Rajpath, Patna-800004 l Hall No. 1, 2ndFloor, Kendriya Bhawan, Sector H, Aliganj, Lucknow-226024 l AmbicaComplex, 1st Floor, Paldi, Ahmedabad-380007 l House No. 7, New Colony,Cheni Kuthi, KKB Road Guwahati-781003.Typesetter : Quick Prints, Naraina, New Delhi-110 028.Printed at : TAN Prints India Pvt. Ltd. (HR) 3. Contents 1.Land and the People 1 2.National Symbols22 3.The Polity26 4.Agriculture 61 5.Art and Culture114 6.Basic Economic Data128 7.Commerce 153 8.Communications 169 9.Defence20510.Education22711.Energy 26212.Environment30613.Finance34614.Corporate Affairs42515.Food and Civil Supplies43616.Health and Family Welfare47917.Housing54918.India and the World56719.Industry 60620.Justice and Law70721.Labour 73022.Mass Communication 75423.Planning 80824.Rural Development84225.Scientific and Technological Developments86226.Transport96127.Water Resources99828.Welfare 102929.Youth Affairs and Sports108630.States and Union Territories110731.Diary of National Events1223 32. General Information 1229 4. Land and the People 11 Land and the People"INDIA is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother ofhistory, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition. Our mostvaluable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up inIndia only."Mark TwainIndia has a unique culture and is one of the oldest and greatest civilizations of theworld. It stretches from the snow-capped Himalayas in the North to sun drenchedcoastal villages of the South, the humid tropical forests on the south-west coast, thefertile Brahamputra valley on its East to the Thar desert in the West. It covers an areaof 32,87,263 sq. km. It has achieved all-round socio-economic progress during thelast 62 years of its Independence. India has become self-sufficient in agriculturalproduction and is now the tenth industrialised country in the world and the sixthnation to have gone into outer space to conquer nature for the benefit of the people.As the 7th largest country in the world, India stands apart from the rest of Asia,marked off as it is by mountains and the sea, which give the country a distinctgeographical entity. Bounded by the Great Himalayas in the north, it stretchessouthwards and at the Tropic of Cancer, tapers off into the Indian Ocean between theBay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west.Lying entirely in the northern hemisphere, the mainland extends betweenlatitudes 84 and 376 north, longitudes 687 and 9725 east and measures about3,214 km from north to south between the extreme latitudes and about 2,933 km fromeast to west between the extreme longitudes. It has a land frontier of about 15,200 km.The total length of the coastline of the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands andAndaman & Nicobar Islands is 7,516.6 km.PHYSICALBACKGROUNDCountries having a common border with India are Afghanistan and Pakistan to thenorth-west, China, Bhutan and Nepal to the north, Myanmar to the east andBangladesh to the east of West Bengal. Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrowchannel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.PHYSICAL FEATURESThe mainland comprises four regions, namely, the great mountain zone, plains of theGanga and the Indus, the desert region and the southern peninsula.The Himalayas comprise three almost parallel ranges interspersed with largeplateaus and valleys, some of which, like the Kashmir and Kullu valleys, are fertile,extensive and of great scenic beauty. Some of the highest peaks in the world are foundin these ranges. The high altitudes admit travel only to a few passes, notably the JelepLa and Nathu La on the main Indo-Tibet trade route through the Chumbi Valley,north-east of Darjeeling and Shipki La in the Satluj valley, north-east of Kalpa(Kinnaur). The mountain wall extends over a distance of about 2,400 km with avarying depth of 240 to 320 km. In the east, between India and Myanmar and Indiaand Bangladesh, hill ranges are much lower. Garo, Khasi, Jaintia and Naga Hills,1Provisional as on 31 March 1982 5. 2India 2010running almost east-west, join the chain to Mizo and Rkhine Hills running north-south.The plains of the Ganga and the Indus, about 2,400 km long and 240 to 320 kmbroad, are formed by basins of three distinct river systems - the Indus, the Ganga andthe Brahmaputra. They are one of the worlds greatest stretches of flat alluvium andalso one of the most densely populated areas on the earth. Between the Yamuna atDelhi and the Bay of Bengal, nearly 1,600 km away, there is a drop of only 200 metresin elevation. The desert region can be divided into two parts - the great desert and the littledesert. The great desert extends from the edge of the Rann of Kuchch beyond the Luniriver northward. The whole of the Rajasthan-Sind frontier runs through this. Thelittle desert extends from the Luni between Jaisalmer and Jodhpur up to the northernwastes. Between the great and the little deserts lies a zone of absolutely sterile country,consisting of rocky land, cut up by limestone ridges.The Peninsular Plateau is marked off from the plains of the Ganga and theIndus by a mass of mountain and hill ranges varying from 460 to 1,220 metres inheight. Prominent among these are the Aravalli, Vindhya, Satpura, Maikala andAjanta. The Peninsula is flanked on the one side by the Eastern Ghats where averageelevation is about 610 metres and on the other by the Western Ghats where it isgenerally from 915 to 1,220 metres, rising in places to over 2,440 metres. Between theWestern Ghats and the Arabian Sea lies a narrow coastal strip, while between EasternGhats and the Bay of Bengal there is a broader coastal area. The southern point ofplateau is formed by the Nilgiri Hills where the Eastern and the Western Ghats meet.The Cardamom Hills lying beyond may be regarded as a continuation of the WesternGhats.GEOLOGICAL STRUCTUREThe geological regions broadly follow the physical features and may be grouped intothree regions: the Himalayas and their associated group of mountains, the Indo-Ganga Plain and the Peninsular Shield.The Himalayan mountain belt to the north and the Naga-Lushai mountain inthe east, are the regions of mountain-building movement. Most of this area, nowpresenting some of the most magnificent mountain scenery in the world, was undermarine conditions about 60 crore years ago. In a series of mountain-buildingmovements commencing about seven crore years ago, the sediments and the basementrocks rose to great heights. The weathering and erosive agencies worked on these toproduce the relief seen today. The Indo-Ganga plains are a great alluvial tract thatseparate the Himalayas in the north from the Peninsula in the south.The Peninsula is a region of relative stability and occasional seismicdisturbances. Highly metamorphosed rocks of the earliest periods, dating back as faras 380 crore years, occur in the area; the rest being covered by the coastal-bearingGondwana formations, lava flows belonging to the Deccan Trap formation andyounger sediments.RIVER SYSTEMSThe river systems of India can be classified into four groups viz., (i) Himalayan rivers,(ii) Deccan rivers, (iii) Coastal rivers, and (iv) Rivers of the inland drainage basin. TheHimalayan rivers are formed by melting snow and glaciers and therefore,continuously flow throughout the year. During the monsoon months, Himalayas 6. Land and the People 3receive very heavy rainfall and rivers swell, causing frequent floods. The Deccanrivers on the other hand are rainfed and therefore fluctuate in volume. Many of theseare non-perennial. The Coastal streams, especially on the west coast are short inlength and have limited catchment areas. Most of them are non-perennial. The streamsof inland drainage basin of western Rajasthan are few and far apart. Most of them areof an ephemeral character.The main Himalayan river systems are those of the Indus and the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna system. The Indus, which is one of the great rivers of theworld, rises near Mansarovar in Tibet and flows through India and thereafter throughPakistan and finally falls in the Arabian sea near Karachi. Its important tributariesflowing in Indian territory are the Sutlej (originating in Tibet), the Beas, the Ravi, theChenab and the Jhelum. The Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna is another importantsystem of which the principal sub-basins are those of Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda,which join at Dev Prayag to form the Ganga. It traverses through Uttarakhand, UttarPradesh, Bihar and West Bengal states. Below Rajmahal hills, the Bhagirathi, whichused to be the main course in the past, takes off, while the Padma continues eastwardand enters Bangladesh. The Yamuna, the Ramganga, the Ghaghra, the Gandak, theKosi, the Mahananda and the Sone are the important tributaries of the Ganga. RiversChambal and Betwa are the important sub-tributaries, which join Yamuna before itmeets the Ganga. The Padma and the Brahmaputra join at Bangladesh and continueto flow as the Padma or Ganga. The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet, where it is known asTsangpo and runs a long distance till it crosses over into India in Arunachal Pradeshunder the name of Dihang. Near Passighat, the Debang and Lohit join the riverBrahmaputra and the combined river runs all along the Assam in a narrow valley. Itcrosses into Bangladesh downstream of Dhubri. The principal tributaries of Brahmaputra in India are the Subansiri, Jia Bhareli,Dhansiri, Puthimari, Pagladiya and the Manas. The Brahmaputra in Bangladesh fedby Tista etc., finally falls into Ganga. The Barak river, the Head stream of Meghna,rises in the hills in Manipur. The important tributaries of the river are Makku, Trang,Tuivai, Jiri, Sonai, Rukni, Katakhal, Dhaleswari, Langachini, Maduva and Jatinga.Barak continues in Bangladesh till the combined GangaBrahmaputra join it nearBhairab Bazar.In the Deccan region, most of the major river systems flowing generally in eastdirection fall into Bay of Bengal. The major east flowing rivers are Godavari, Krishna,Cauvery, Mahanadi, etc. Narmada and Tapti are major West flowing rivers. The Godavari in the southern Peninsula has the second largest river basincovering 10 per cent of the area of India. Next to it is the Krishna basin in the region,while the Mahanadi has the third largest basin. The basin of the Narmada in theuplands of the Deccan, flowing to the Arabian Sea and of the Kaveri in the south,falling into the Bay of Bengal are about the same size, though with different characterand shape.There are numerous coastal rivers, which are comparatively small. While onlyhandful of such rivers drain into the sea near the delta of east coast, there are as manyas 600 such rivers on the west coast. A few rivers in Rajasthan do not drain into the sea. They drain into salt lakesand get lost in sand with no outlet to sea. Besides these, there are the desert riverswhich flow for some distance and are lost in the desert. These are Luni, Machhu,Rupen, Saraswati, Banas, Ghaggar and others. 7. 4India 2010CLIMATEThe climate of India may be broadly described as tropical monsoon type. There arefour seasons: (i) winter (Janu ary-February), (ii) hot weather summer (March-May);(iii) rainy south-western monsoon (June-September) and (iv) post-monsoon, alsoknown as north-east monsoon in the southern Peninsula (October-December). Indiasclimate is affected by two seasonal winds - the north-east monsoon and the south-west monsoon. The north-east monsoon commonly known as winter monsoon blowsfrom land to sea whereas south-west monsoon known as summer monsoon blowsfrom sea to land after crossing the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay ofBengal. The south-west monsoon brings most of the rainfall during the year in thecountry.FLORAWith a wide range of climatic conditions from the torrid to the arctic, India has a richand varied vegetation, which only a few countries of comparable size possess. Indiacan be divided into eight distinct-floristic-regions, namely, the western Himalayas,the eastern Himalayas, Assam, the Indus plain, the Ganga plain, the Deccan, Malabarand the Andamans. The Western Himalayan region extends from Kashmir to Kumaon. Its temperatezone is rich in forests of chir, pine, other conifers and broad-leaved temperate trees.Higher up, forests of deodar, blue pine, spruce and silver fir occur. The alpine zoneextends from the upper limit of the temperate zone of about 4,750 metres or evenhigher. The characteristic trees of this zone are high-level silver fir, silver birch andjunipers. The eastern Himalayan region extends from Sikkim eastwards and embracesDarjeeling, Kurseong and the adjacent tract. The temperate zone has forests of oaks,laurels, maples, rhododendrons, alder and birch. Many conifers, junipers and dwarfwillows also grow here. The Assam region comprises the Brahamaputra and theSurma valleys with evergreen forests, occasional thick clumps of bamboos and tallgrasses. The Indus plain region comprises the plains of Punjab, western Rajasthanand northern Gujarat. It is dry, hot and supports natural vegetation. The Ganga plainregion covers the area which is alluvial plain and is under cultivation for wheat,sugarcane and rice. Only small areas support forests of widely differing types. TheDeccan region comprises the entire table land of the Indian Peninsula and supportsvegetation of various kinds from scrub jungles to mixed deciduous forests. The Malabarregion covers the excessively humid belt of mountain country parallel to the westcoast of the Peninsula. Besides being rich in forest vegetation, this region producesimportant commercial corps, such as coconut, betelnut, pepper, coffee, tea, rubberand cashewnut. The Andaman region abounds in evergreen, mangrove, beach anddiluvial forests. The Himalayan region extending from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradeshthrough Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Meghalaya and Nagaland and the Deccan Peninsulais rich in endemic flora, with a large number of plants which are not found elsewhere.India is rich in flora. Available data place India in the tenth position in theworld and fourth in Asia in plant diversity. From about 70 per cent geographical areasurveyed so far, over 46,000 species of plants have been described by the BotanicalSurvey of India (BSI), Kolkata. The vascular flora, which forms the conspicuousvegetation cover, comprises 15,000 species. The flora of the country is being studiedby BSI and its nine circle/field offices located throughout the country along withcertain universities and research institutions. 8. Land and the People5Ethno-botanical study deals with the utilisation of plants and plant productsby ethnic races. A scientific study of such plants has been made by BSI. A number ofdetailed ethno-botanical explorations have been conducted in different tribal areasof the country. More than 800 plant species of ethno-botanical interest have beencollected and identified at different centres.Owing to destruction of forests for agricultural, industrial and urbandevelopment, several Indian plants are facing extinction. About 1,336 plant speciesare considered vulnerable and endangered. About 20 species of higher plants arecategorised as possibly extinct as these have not been sighted during the last 6-10decades. BSI brings out an inventory of endangered plants in the form of a publicationtitled Red Data Book.FAUNAThe Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), with its headquarters in Kolkata and 16 regionalstations is responsible for surveying the faunal resources of India. Possessing atremendous diversity of climate and physical conditions, India has great variety offauna numbering over 89,000 species. Of these, protista number 2,577, mollusca5,070, anthropoda 68,389, amphibia 209, mammalia 390, reptilia 456, members ofprotochordata 119, pisces 2,546, aves 1,232 and other invertebrates 8,329.The mammals include the majestic elephant, the gaur or Indian bisonthe largestof existing bovines, the great Indian rhinoceros, the gigantic wild sheep of theHimalayas, the swamp deer, the thamin spotted deer, nilgai, the four-horned antelope,the Indian antelope or black-buck the only representatives of these genera. Amongthe cats, the tiger and lion are the most magnificent of all; other splendid creaturessuch as the clouded leopard, the snow leopard, the marbled cat, etc., are also found.Many other species of mammals are remarkable for their beauty, colouring, grace anduniqueness. Several birds, like pheasants, geese, ducks, myanahs, parakeets, pigeons,cranes, hornbills and sunbirds inhabit forests and wetlands. Rivers and lakes harbour crocodiles and gharials, the latter being the onlyrepresentative of crocodilian order in the world. The salt water crocodile is foundalong the eastern coast and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A project forbreeding crocodiles which started in 1974, has been instrumental in saving thecrocodile from extinction. The great Himalayan range has a very interesting variety of fauna that includesthe wild sheep and goats, markhor, ibex, shrew and tapir. The panda and the snowleopard are found in the upper reaches of the mountains.Depletion of vegetative cover due to expansion of agriculture, habitatdestruction, over-exploitation, pollution, introduction of toxic imbalance in communitystructure, epidemics, floods, droughts and cyclones, contribute to the loss of floraand fauna. More than 39 species of mammals, 72 species of birds, 17 species ofreptiles, three species of amphibians, two species of fish and a large number ofbutterflies, moth and beetles are considered vulnerable and endangered.DEMOGRAPHICBACKGROUNDCENSUSThe Census of India 2001, is historic and epoch making, being the first census of thetwenty-first century and the third millennium. It reveals benchmark data on the stateof abundant human resources available in the country, their demography, culture 9. 6 India 2010and economic structure at a juncture, which marks a centennial and millenialtransition.The population enumeration of 2001 census was undertaken during 9-28February 2001 with a revisional round from 1-5 March 2001. The census moment, thereferral time at which the snapshot of the population is taken was 00.00 hours of1 March 2001. Until the 1991 Census, the sunrise of 1 March was taken to be thecensus moment. The houseless population, as has been the usual practice, wasenumerated on the night of 28 February 2001.POPULATIONIndias population as on 1 March 2001 stood at 1,028 million (532.1 million malesand 496.4 million females). India accounts for a meagre 2.4 per cent of the worldsurface area of 135.79 million sq km. Yet, it supports and sustains a whopping 16.7per cent of the world population.The population of India, which at the turn of the twentieth century was around238.4 million, increased to reach 1,028 million at the dawn of the twenty-first century.The population of India as recorded at each decennial census from 1901 has grownsteadily except for a decrease during 1911-21. Decadal growth of population from1901 is shown in table 1.1.Table 1.2 gives the selected indicators of population growth in different Statesand Union Territories. The per cent decadal growth of population in the inter-censalperiod 1991-2001 varies from a low of 9.43 in Kerala to a very high 64.53 in Nagaland.Delhi with 47.02 per cent, Chandigarh with 40.28 per cent and Sikkim with 33.06 percent registered very high growth rates. In addition to Kerala, Tamilnadu and AndhraPradesh registered low growth rates during 1991-2001.POPULATION DENSITYOne of the important indices of population concentration is the density of population.It is defined as the number of persons per sq km. The population density of India in2001 was 324 per sq km.The density of population was increased in all States and Union Territoriesbetween 1991 and 2001. Among major states, West Bengal is still the most thicklypopulated state with a population density of 903 in 2001. Bihar is now the secondhighest densely populated state pushing Kerala to the third place. Ranking of theStates and Union Territories by density is shown in table 1.3.SEX RATIOSex ratio, defined as the number of females per thousand males is an important socialindicator to measure the extent of prevailing equality between males and females ina society at a given point of time. The sex ratio in the country had always remainedunfavourable to females. It was 972 at the beginning of the 20th century and thereaftershowed continuous decline until 1941. The sex ratio from 1901-2001 is given intable 1.4.LITERACYFor the purpose of census 2001, a person aged seven and above, who can both readand write with understanding in any language, is treated as literate. A person, whocan only read but cannot write, is not literate. In the censuses prior to 1991, childrenbelow five years of age were necessarily treated as illiterates. 10. TABLE 1.1 : POPULATION 1901-2001 Average Decadal Growth Change in decadal annual ProgressiveCensus growthexponentialgrowth rateyearsPopulation growth rate over 1901AbsolutePer cent AbsolutePer cent(per cent)(per cent) 1 2 34 5678 Land and the People1901 23, 8 3 , 9 6 , 3 2 7 1911 25,20,93,390 1,36,97,0635.75 0.56 5.751921 25,13,21,213 -7,72,177 -0.31 -1,44,69,240-6.05 -0.03 5.421931 27,89,77,238 2,76,56,025 11.00 2,84,28,202 11.311.0417.021941 31,86,60,580 3,96,83,342 14.22 1,20,27,3173.221.3333.671951 1 36,10,88,090 4,24,27,510 13.31 27,44,168 -0.911.2551.471961 1 43,92,34,771 7,81,46,681 21.64 3,57,19,1718.331.9684.251971 54,81,59,65210,89,24,881 24.80 3,07,78,2003.162.22 129.941981 2 68,33,29,09713,51,69,445 24.66 2,62,44,564 -0.142.20 186.641991 3 84,64,21,03916,30,91,942 23.87 2,79,22,497 -0.792.14 255.05 42001 1,02,87,37,43618,23,16,397 21.54 1,92,24,455 -2.331.95 331.47Notes : 1. In working out Decadal Growth and Percentage Decadal Growth for India 1941-51 and 1951-61 the population of Tuensang districtfor 1951 (7,025) and the population of Tuensang (83,501) and Mon (5,774) districts for 1961 Census of Nagaland state have not beentaken into account as the areas went in for census for the first time in 1951 and the same are not comparable. 2. The 1981 Census could not be held owing to disturbances in Assam. Hence the population figures for 1981 of Assam have been workedout by interpolation. 3. The 1991 Census could not be held owing to disturbances in Jammuand Kashmir. Hencethe populationfigures for 1991of Jammuand Kashmir have been worked out by interpolation. 4. The population figures of 2001 includes estimated figures for those of the three sub-divisions, viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Puralof Senapa ti district of Manipur as census result of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrativereasons. 7 11. 8TABLE1.2 : TOTAL POPULATION AND POPUATION GROWTH DURING 1991-2001,INDIA/STATE/UNION TERRITORYSl. No. India State/Union territory Total Population Population growth1991 2001 1991-2001Person MalesFemales PersonMalesFemales12 3 4 5 678 9India* * 846,421,039439,358,440 407,062,5991,028,737,436532,223,090 496,514,346 21.541.Jammu and Kashmir*7,837,051 4,142,082 3,694,96910,143,7005,360,9264,782,774 29.432.Himachal Pradesh5,170,877 2,617,467 2,553,410 6,077,9003,087,9402,989,960 17.543.Punjab20,281,969 10,778,034 9,503,93524,358,999 12,985,045 11,373,954 20.104.Chandigarh 642,015 358,614283,401900,635 506,938 393,69740.285.Uttarakhand 7,050,634 3,640,895 3,409,739 8,489,3494,325,9244,163,425 20.416.Haryana 16,463,6488,827,474 7,636,17421,144,564 11,363,9539,780,611 28.437.Delhi 9,420,644 5,155,512 4,265,13213,850,5077,607,2346,243,273 47.028.Rajasthan 44,005,990 23,042,78020,963,21056,507,188 29,420,011 27,087,177 28.419.Uttar Pradesh132,061,653 70,396,06261,665,591 166,197,921 87,565,369 78,632,552 25.8510. Bihar 64,530,554 33,838,23830,692,31682,998,509 43,243,795 39,754,714 28.6211. Sikkim 406,457 216,427190,030540,851 288,484 252,36733.0612. Arunachal Pradesh864,558 465,004399,554 1,097,968579,941 518,02727.0013. Nagaland1,209,546641,282568,264 1,990,0361,047,141 942,89564.5314. Manipur** 1,837,149938,359898,790 2,293,8961,161,9521,131,944 24.8615. Mizoram689,756 358,978330,778888,573 459,109 429,46428.8216. Tripura 2,757,205 1,417,930 1,339,275 3,199,2031,642,2251,556,978 16.0317. Meghalaya 1,774,778907,687867,091 2,318,8221,176,0871,142,735 30.6518. Assam 22,414,322 11,657,98910,756,33326,655,528 13,777,037 12,878,491 18.9219. West Bengal 68,077,965 35,510,63332,567,33280,176,197 41,465,985 38,710,212 17.77India 2010 12. 1 2 3 45678 920. Jharkhand21,843,91111,363,853 10,480,05826,945,82913,885,037 13,060,79223.3621. Orissa 31,659,73616,064,146 15,595,59036,804,66018,660,570 18,144,09016.2522. Chhattisgarh 17,614,9288,872,620 8,742,30820,833,80310,474,218 10,369,58518.2723. Madhya Pradesh 48,566,24225,394,673 23,171,56960,348,02331,443,652 28,904,37124.2624. Gujarat41,309,58221,355,209 19,954,37350,671,01726,385,577 24,285,44022.6625. Daman and Diu 101,58651,59549,991 158,204 92,512 65,69255.73Land and the People26. Dadra and Nagar Haveli138,47770,95367,524 220,490121,666 98,82459.2227. Maharashtra78,937,18740,825,618 38,111,56996,878,62750,400,596 46,478,03122.7328. Andhra Pradesh 66,508,00833,724,581 32,783,42776,210,00738,527,413 37,682,59414.5929. Karnataka44,977,20122,951,917 22,025,28452,850,56226,898,918 25,951,64417.5130. Goa 1,169,793 594,790575,003 1,347,668 687,248660,42015.2131. Lakshadweep51,70726,61825,08960,650 31,131 29,51917.3032. Kerala 29,098,51814,288,995 14,809,52331,841,37415,468,614 16,372,7609.4333. Tamilnadu55,858,94628,298,975 27,559,97162,405,67931,400,909 31,004,77011.7234. Puducherry807,785 408,081399,704974,345486,961487,38420.6235. Andaman and 280,661 154,369126,292356,152192,972163,18026.90Nicobar IslandsNote :*The 1991 census figures of Jammu & Kashmir are interpolated as no census was conducted there due to disturbances.** India and Manipur figures include estimated figures for those of the three sub-divisions viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Puru of Senapati district of Manipur as census results of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons.Source : Office of the Registrar General, India9 13. 10India 2010The results of 2001 census reveal that there has been an increase in literacy inthe country. The literacy rate in the country is 64.84 per cent, 75.26 for males and 53.67for females. The steady improvement in literacy is apparent from the table 1.5. Kerala retained its position by being on top with a 90.86 per cent literacy rate,closely followed by Mizoram (88.80 per cent) and Lakshadweep (86.66 per cent).Bihar with a literacy rate of 47.00 per cent ranks last in the country preceded byJharkhand (53.56 per cent) and Jammu and Kashmir (55.52 per cent). Kerala alsooccupies the top spot in the country both in male literacy with 94.24 per cent andfemale literacy with 87.72 per cent. On the contrary, Bihar has recorded the lowestliteracy rates both in case of males (59.68 per cent) and females (33.12 per cent). Table1.6 shows the literacy rate among persons, male and female in States and UTs, andtheir ranking.TABLE 1.3 : STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES BY DENSITY RankState/ Density Rankin 2001Unionterritories 20011991in 1991 12 3451. Delhi9,340 6,352 12. Chandigarh 7,900 5,632 23. Puducherry 2,034 1,683 54. Lakshadweep1,895 1,616 35. Daman and Diu1,41390746. West Bengal 903 76767. Bihar 881 68578. Kerala819 74999. UttarPradesh690 5488 10. Punjab484 403 10 11. Tamilnadu 480 429 11 12. Haryana 478 372 12 13. Dadra and Nagar Haveli449 282 14 14. Goa 364 316 13 15. Assam 340 286 15 16. Jharkhand 338 274 17 17. Maharashtra 315 257 16 18. Tripura 305 263 18 19. Andhra Pradesh277 242 19 20. Karnataka 276 235 20 21. Gujarat 258 211 21 22. Orissa236 203 22 23. MadhyaPradesh 196 158 23 24. Rajasthan 165 129 24 25. Uttarakhand 159 133 25 26. Chhattisgarh154 130 26 27. Nagaland12073 27 28. HimachalPradesh 10993 28 29. Manipur* 111 82 30 30. Meghalaya 10379 29 31. Jammu and Kashmir 10077 31 32. Sikkim 7657 32 33. Andaman and Nicobar Islands4334 33 14. Land and the People11 34 .Mizoram 42 333435.Arunacha lPrade s h 13 1035Notes :* Manipur figures include estimated figures for those of the three sub-divisions, viz., MaoMaram, Paomata and Purul of Senapti district of Manipur as census results of 2001 in thesethree sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons. TABLE 1.4 : SEX RATIO : 1901-2001Census YearSex Ratio (females per 1,000 males) 1901 972 1911 964 1921 955 1931 950 1941 945 1951 946 1961 941 1971 930 1981 934 1991 926 2001 933Notes :1. For 1981, interpolated figures for Assam have been used.2. For 1991, interpolated figures based on final population of 2001 census for Jammu and Kashmir have been used.3. India figures for 2001 census exclude those of the three sub-divisions, viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur as population Census results of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons.TABLE 1.5 : LITERACY RATE : 1951-2001 Census Year PersonsMales Females 1951 18.3327.168.86 196128.340.40 15.35 1971 34.4545.96 21.97 1981 43.5756.38 29.76 1991 52.2164.13 39.29 2001 64.8475.26 53.67Notes :1.Literacy rates for 1951, 1961 and 1971 Censuses relates to population aged five years andabove. The rates for the 1981, 1991 and 2001 Censuses relate to the population aged sevenyears and above.2.The 1981 Literacy rates exclude Assam where the 1981 Census could not be conducted.3.The 1991 Literacy rates exclude Jammu and Kashmir where the 1991 Census could not beconducted due to disturbed conditions. 15. TABLE 1.6 : RANKING OF STATES/UTs BY LITERACY RATE AMONG PERSONS, MALES AND FEMALES, 2001 CENSUS12 PersonsMalesFemalesRank State/Literacy State/LiteracyState/ Literacy Union Territories Rate Union Territories RateUnion TerritoriesRate12 345671. Ke r a l a90.86Kerala94.24 Kerala 87.722. Mizoram 88.80Lakshadweep 92.53 Mizoram86.753. Lakshadweep 86.66Mizoram 90.72 Lakshadweep80.474. Goa 82.01Puducherry88.62 Chandigarh 76.475. Chandigarh81.94Goa 88.42 Goa75.376. Delhi 81.67Delhi 87.33 Andaman& Nicobar Islands 75.247. AndamanandNicobar Islands 81.30Daman and Diu 86.76 Delhi74.718. Puducherry81.24AndamanandNicobar Islands 86.33 Puducherry 73.909. Daman and Diu 78.18Chandigarh86.14 Himachal Pradesh 67.4210.Maharashtra 76.88Maharashtra 85.97 Maharashtra67.0311.HimachalPradesh 76.48HimachalPradesh 85.35 Damanand Diu 65.6112.Tamilnadu 73.45Uttarakhand 83.28 Tripura64.9113.Tripura 73.19Tamilnadu 82.42 Tamilnadu64.3314.Uttarakhand 71.62Tripura 81.02 Punjab 63.3615.Manipur170.53Manipur180.33 Nagaland 61.46 116.Punjab69.65Gujarat 79.66 Manipur60.5317.Gujarat 69.14Haryana 78.49 Sikkim 60.4018.Sikkim68.81Chhattisgarh77.38 Uttarakhand59.6319.West Bengal 68.64West Bengal 77.02 WestBengal 59.6120.H a r y a na67.91Karnataka 76.10 Meghalaya59.61India 2010 16. 1 234 56 721. K a rn a t a k a66.64 MadhyaPradesh76.06 Gujarat57.8022. Nagaland66.59 Sikkim 76.04 Karnataka56.8723. Chhattisgarh64.66 Rajasthan75.70 Haryana55.7324. Madhya Pradesh63.74 Orissa 75.35 Assam54.61Land and the People25. Assam 63.25 Punjab 75.23 Chhattisgarh 51.8526. Orissa63.08 Assam71.28 Orissa 50.5127. Meghalaya 62.56 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 71.18 AndhraPradesh50.4328. Andhra Pradesh60.47 Nagaland 71.16 MadhyaPradesh50.2929. Rajasthan 60.41 AndhraPradesh70.32 Rajasthan43.8530. Dadraand Nagar Haveli 57.63 UttarPradesh 68.82 Arunachal Pradesh43.5331. UttarPradesh56.27 Jharkhand67.30 Jammu andKashmir 43.0032. JammuandKashmir 55.52 Jammuand Kashmir 66.60 UttarPradesh 42.2233. ArunachalPradesh54.34 Meghalaya65.43 DadraandNagar Haveli 40.2334. Jharkhand 53.56 Arunachal Pradesh63.83 Jharkhand38.8735. Bihar 47.00 Bihar59.68 Bihar33.12Notes:1Manipur figures exclude those of the three sub-divisions, viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur as census results of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons. Literacy ratesrelate to the population aged sevenyearsand above.13 17. 14 India 2010TABLE 1.7 : TOTAL POPULATION AND PERCENTAGE OF SCHEDULED CASTES AND SCHEDULED TRIBES : 2001 CENSUSSl.India/State/Total ScheduledCaste Scheduled TribeNo.Union Territory PopulationPopulationPercentage PopulationPercentage (000)(000)of total (000) of total population population 123 45 67 IN D I A 11,028,610166,636 16.2084,3268.20 1.Jammu andKashmir10,1447707.59 1,106 10.90 2.Himachal Pradesh 6,0781,502 24.722454.02 3.Punjab24,3597,029 28.85 0 0.00 4.Chandigarh901 158 17.50 0 0.00 5.Uttarakhand8,4891,517 17.872563.02 6.Haryana 21,1454,091 19.35 0 0.00 7.Delhi 13,8512,343 16.92 0 0.00 8.Rajasthan 56,5079,694 17.16 7,098 12.56 9.UttarPradesh166,198 35,14821.151080.0610.Bihar 82,99913,04915.727580.9111.Sikkim541 2 75.0211120.6012.ArunachalPradesh 1,098 6 0.5670564.2213.Nagaland 1,990 0 0.00 1,774 89.1514.Manipur1 2,1676 02.7774134.2015.Mizoram 8890 0.0383994.4616.Tripura3,199556 17.3799331.0517.Meghalaya2,3191 10.48 1,993 85.9418.Assam 26,6561,8266.85 3,309 12.4119.West Bengal 80,17618,45323.02 4,407 5.5020.Jharkhand 26,9463,189 11.84 7,087 26.3021.Orissa36,8056,082 16.53 8,145 22.1322.Chhattisgarh20,8342,419 11.61 6,617 31.7623.Madhya Pradesh60,3489,155 15.1712,233 20.2724.Gujarat 50,6713,5937.09 7,481 14.7625.DamanandDiu 1585 3.061 48.8526.Dadraand Nagar Haveli 2204 1.8613762.2427.Maharashtra 96,8799,882 10.20 8,577 8.8528.Andhra Pradesh76,21012,33916.19 5,024 6.5929.Karnataka 52,8518,564 16.20 3,464 6.5530.Goa1,3482 41.77 1 0.0431.Lakshadweep 6 10 0.005 794.5132.Kerala31,8413,1249.813641.1433.Tamilnadu 62,40611,85819.006511.0434.Puducherry974 158 16.19 0 0.0035.Andaman& NicobarIslands 3560 0.002 98.27Note :1. India and Manipur figures exclude those of the three sub-divisions, viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur as census results of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons. 18. Land and the People15 TABLE 1.8 : RURAL AND URBAN POPULATIONCensus Year Population (Million)Percentage oftotal populationRuralUrbanRuralUrban1 23451901 213 2689.210.81911 226 2689.710.31921 223 2888.811.21931 246 3388.012.01941 275 4486.113.91951 299 6282.717.31961 360 7982.018.01971 439 109 80.119.91981 524 159 76.723.31991 629 218 74.325.72001 743 286 72.227.8Note : 1. India and Manipur figures are final and include estimated figures for those of the three sub-divisions, viz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur as censusresults of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrativereasons. 2. The 1991 Census could not be held owing to disturbed conditions prevailing in Jammu andKashmir. Hence the population figures for 1991 of Jammu and Kashmir have been workedout by interpolation on the basis of 2001 final population. 3. The 1981 census could not be held in Assam. The figures for 1981 for Assam have beenworked out by interpolation. TABLE 1.9 : POPULATION BY CLASS OF TOWN, INDIA-2001 CENSUS (in 000s)Class of Town2001 I1,00,000 and above178,224 II 50,000-99,99934,452 III20,000-49,99942,119 IV 10,000-19,99922,614 V5,000-9,9997,890 VI Less than 5,000821All Classes 286,120Urban population as percentage to total population 27.82 19. TABLE 1.10 : DISTRIBUTION OF VILLAGES ACCORDING TO POPULATION 2001 CENSUS AND TOTAL NUMBER 16OF INHABITED VILLAGESSl.States/UTs 100005,0002,000- 1,000- 500-999200-499Less thanTotal No.No. and above9,9994,9991,999 200of inhabitedvillages. 1 2345 6 78 9101. Jammuand Kashmir @ 10 135 886 1,546 1,664 1,499677 6,4172. Himachal Pradesh 18 1746602,094 5,6458,91317,4953. Punjab 26 2731,9873,405 3,378 2,1301,07912,2784. Chandigarh 267 2 21 3235. Uttarakhand1369 3507521,890 4,9127,77515,7616. Haryana97 5042,0152,091 1,205 582270 6,7647. Delhi2426 60 2994 6 1588. Rajasthan 100 6614,6608,77711,058 9,1515,34639,7539. Uttar Pradesh 2962,26616,573 27,21825,61416,8799,09697,94210.Bihar 6302,306 8,571 10,113 8,498 5,6623,23539,01511.Sikkim 09 40 120157 824245012.ArunachalPradesh 03 26 126266 6822,760 3,86313.Nagaland 5 50 171253372 323104 1,27814.M a n i p u r* 6 28 157202326 731749 2,19915.Mizoram11 31 76 198 25814270716.Tripura28 106 370188 99 551285817.Meghalaya04 60 185690 2,0902,753 5,78218.Assam19 1852,4955,439 6,233 6,0184,73525,12419.WestBengal3541,526 6,8198,490 8,930 7,5534,27337,94520.Jharkhand28 1741,6424,173 7,442 9,2346,66129,35421.Orissa 51802,4046,81411,42814,054 12,64447,529 India 2010 20. 1 2 3 4 5 67 8 91022. Chhattisgarh6 801,2644,1856,4655,4982,24619,74423. Madhya Pradesh19 3623,551 10,434 16,27714,330 7,14452,11724. Gujarat153 8074,1545,6154,2622,297 778 18,06625. Daman and Diu 2 5 5 4 520 2326. DadraandNagar Haveli0 728151271 70Land and the People27. Maharashtra2621,018 5,862 11,570 12,0747,3672,94241,09528. Andhra Pradesh 4981,788 6,9156,4754,4673,4023,06826,61329. Karnataka131 7034,0246,3787,3675,5633,31527,48130. Goa 3 23 967756 60 3234731. Lakshadweep 1 2 3 0 011832. Kerala1,072207 6910 042 1,36433. Tamilnadu1681,254 4,8704,4842,8011,344 479 15,40034. Puducherry2 20 4518 700 9235. Andaman and 0 2235262 90 272 501NicobarIslandsALLINDIA3,96214,79880,407 129,976 145,408127,510 91,555 593,616Note :@ IndiaandJammu& Kashmir Stateexcludesthe villages of the areasunder unlawful occupationofPakistan andChina whereCensus couldnot be taken.* India and Manipur excludes villages for those of the three sub-divisions viz. Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipuras census resultsof2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelledduetotechnicaland administrativereasons.Source : Office ofthe RegistrarGeneralIndia.17 21. TABLE 1.11 : POPULATION OF MILLION PLUS CITIES/TOWNS18 Population 0-6 PopulationLiteratesSl.No. City/TownPersonMaleFemale Person Male FemalePersonMale Female1234 5 67 8 9 10 111. Greater Mumbai (MCorp.) 11,978,450 6,619,9665,358,484 1,364,423 709,777 654,646 9,207,877 5,388,552 3,819,3252. DMC(U) (M Corp.)9,879,1725,412,4974,466,675 1,352,656 724,171 628,485 7,075,280 4,110,213 2,965,0673. Kolkata (M Corp.) 4,572,8762,500,0402,072,836390,282202,527 187,755 3,382,103 1,925,008 1,457,0954. Chennai(M Corp.)4,343,6452,219,5392,124,106433,340219,720 213,620 3,336,695 1,799,981 1,536,7145. Bangaluru(M Corp.)4,301,3262,242,8352,058,491484,982249,652 235,330 3,265,702 1,787,677 1,478,0256. Hyderabad (M Corp.) 3,637,4831,883,0641,754,419463,150238,386 224,764 2,498,234 1,374,955 1,123,2797. Ahmedabad(MCorp.) 3,520,0851,867,2491,652,836441,022240,797 200,225 2,552,731 1,447,380 1,105,3518. Kanpur(M Corp.) 2,551,3371,374,1211,177,216317,756171,263 146,493 1,758,807997,001 761,8069. Pune (M Corp.)2,538,4731,321,3381,217,135302,960158,672 144,288 1,930,063 1,064,508865,55510.Surat (MCorp.)2,433,8351,372,4151,061,420340,582186,746 153,836 1,736,939 1,043,703693,23611.Lucknow(MCorp.) 2,185,9271,156,1511,029,776273,401143,232 130,169 1,474,733827,793 646,94012.Nagpur(M Corp.) 2,052,0661,059,765 992,301 249,827129,283 120,544 1,609,126873,739 735,38713.Jaipur(MCorp.)2,322,5751,237,7651,084,810352,661187,351 165,310 1,537,850908,969 628,88114.Indore(MCorp.)1,474,968 774,540700,428 200,081105,47894,603 1,064,912598,339 466,57315.Bhopal (M Corp.)1,437,354 757,408679,946 208,587108,172 100,415979,770 555,051 424,71916.Ludhiana(M Corp.) 1,398,467 793,142605,325 169,273 93,05076,223981,383 573,886 407,497India 2010 22. Population 0-6 Population LiteratesSl.No. City/TownPersonMale Female PersonMaleFemalePerson Male Female1 23 45 6789 1 01 117.Patna(M Corp.) 1,366,444 746,344620,100 182,037 96,03486,003961,681564,625 397,056Land and the People18.Vadodara(MCorp.) 1,306,227 684,013622,214 148,034 80,61067,424 1,014,014 557,051 456,96319.Agra (M Corp.) 1,275,134 690,599584,535 179,411 96,85082,561766,860452,770 314,09020.Thane(MCorp.)1,262,551 675,147587,404 161,698 84,33477,364973,195551,086 422,10921.Kalyan-Dombivli (MCorp.) 1,193,512 633,508560,004 144,097 75,25668,841944,745525,907 418,83822.Varanasi(M Corp.)1,091,918 582,096509,822 161,172 84,25676,916670,367392,103 278,26423.Nashik (M Corp.) 1,077,236 575,737501,499 147,919 78,57969,340802,695458,005 344,69024.Meerut (M Corp.) 1,068,772 568,081500,691 163,570 87,89375,677610,636355,282 255,35425.Faridabad (M Corp.)1,055,938 581,069474,869 158,603 85,80572,798714,578430,274 284,30426.Pimpri Chinchwad (M Corp.) 1,012,472 547,050465,422 143,034 75,68867,346745,317431,785 313,53227.Howrah(M Corp.)1,007,532 547,068460,46494,330 48,67845,652768,655438,450 330,20519 23. 20 India 2010TABLE 1.12 : STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES BY POPULATION INDESCENDING ORDER AND RANK IN 1991 AND 2001 CENSUSPer cent to total RankState/ Population Population of India Rankin 2001 Union territories 2001 2001 1991 in 19911 2345 61.Uttar Pradesh166,197,921 16.16 15.59 12.Maharashtra 96,878,627 9.42 9.33 23.Bihar 82,998,509 8.07 7.62 54.West Bengal 80,176,197 7.79 8.04 35.Andhra Pradesh76,210,007 7.41 7.86 46.Tamilnadu 62,405,679 6.07 6.60 67.Madhya Pradesh60,348,023 5.87 5.74 78.Rajasthan 56,507,188 5.49 5.20 99.Karnataka 52,850,562 5.14 5.31 810. Gujarat 50,671,017 4.93 4.88 1011. Orissa36,804,660 3.58 3.74 1112. Kerala31,841,374 3.10 3.44 1213. Jharkhand 26,945,829 2.62 2.58 1414. Assam 26,655,528 2.59 2.65 1315. Punjab24,358,999 2.37 2.40 1516. Haryana 21,144,564 2.06 1.95 1717. Chhattisgarh20,833,803 2.03 2.08 1618. Delhi 13,850,507 1.35 1.11 1819. Jammuand Kashmir 210,143,700 0.99 0.93 1920. Uttarakhand8,489,349 0.83 0.84 2021. HimachalPradesh6,077,900 0.59 0.61 2122. Tripura3,199,203 0.31 0.33 2223. Meghalaya2,318,822 0.23 0.21 24 124. Manipur2,293,896 0.22 0.22 2325. Nagaland 1,990,036 0.19 0.14 2526. Goa1,347,668 0.13 0.14 2627. ArunachalPradesh 1,097,968 0.11 0.10 2728. Puducherry974,3450.09 0.10 2829. Chandigarh900,6350.09 0.08 29 24. Land and the People2130. Mizoram888,573 0.09 0.08 3031. Sikkim 540,851 0.05 0.05 3132. Andamanand Nicobar Islands 356,152 0.03 0.03 3233. DadraandNagar Haveli 220,490 0.02 0.02 3334. Damanand Diu 158,204 0.02 0.01 3435. Lakshadweep 60,650 0.01 0.01 35Notes :1.India and Manipur figures include estimated figures for those of the three sub-divisionsviz., Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senepati district of Manipur as census resultsof 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrativereasons.2.The 1991 Census could not be held owing to disturbed conditions prevailing in Jammuand Kashmir. Hence the population figures for 1991 of Jammu and Kashmir have beenworked out by interpolation. 25. 22India 20102 National SymbolsNATIONAL FLAGTHE National flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (kesaria) at the top, white inthe middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. The ratio of width of theflag to its length is two to three. In the centre of the white band is a navy-blue wheelwhich represents the chakra. Its design is that of the wheel which appears on theabacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Its diameter approximates to the widthof the white band and it has 24 spokes. The design of the National Flag was adoptedby the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July 1947.Apart from non-statutory instructions issued by the Government from time totime, display of the National Flag is governed by the provisions of the Emblems andNames (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 (No. 12 of 1950) and the Prevention ofInsults to National Honour Act, 1971 (No. 69 of 1971). The Flag Code of India, 2002is an attempt to bring together all such laws, conventions, practices and instructionsfor the guidance and benefit of all concerned.The Flag Code of India, 2002, has taken effect from 26 January 2002 andsupercedes the Flag CodeIndias as it existed. As per the provisions of the FlagCode of India, 2002, there shall be no restriction on the display of the National Flagby members of general public, private organisations, educational institutions, etc.,except to the extent provided in the Emblems and Names (Prevention of ImproperUse) Act, 1950 and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 and anyother law enacted on the subject.STATE EMBLEMThe state emblem is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. In theoriginal, there are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with afrieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull anda lion separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. Carved out of asingle block of polished sandstone, the Capital is crowned by the Wheel of the Law(Dharma Chakra) . In the state emblem, adopted by the Government of India on 26 January 1950,only three lions are visible, the fourth being hidden from view. The wheel appears inrelief in the centre of the abacus with a bull on right and a horse on left and theoutlines of other wheels on extreme right and left. The bell-shaped lotus has beenomitted. The words Satyameva Jayate from Mundaka Upanishad, meaning TruthAlone Triumphs, are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script.NATIONAL ANTHEMThe song Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bengali by RabindranathTagore,was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthemof India on 24 January 1950. It was first sung on 27 December 1911 at theKolkataSession of the Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of fivestanzas.The first stanza contains the full version of the National Anthem : 26. National Symbols 23Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he Bharata-bhagya-vidhata. Punjab-Sindh-Gujarat-Maratha Dravida-Utkala-BangaVindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga.Tava shubha name jage, Tava shubha asisa mange,Gahe tava jaya gatha, Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya heBharata-bhagya-vidhata.Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he, Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he! Playing time of the full version of the national anthem is approximately 52seconds. A short version consisting of the first and last lines of the stanza (playingtime approximately 20 seconds) is also played on certain occasions. The following isTagores English rendering of the anthem : Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people, Dispenser of Indias destiny. Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujarat and Maratha, Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal; It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of Jamuna and Ganges and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea. They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise. The saving of all people waits in thy hand, Thou dispenser of Indias destiny. Victory, victory, victory to thee.NATIONAL SONGThe song Vande Mataram, composed in sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji, was asource of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It has an equal statuswith Jana-gana-mana. The first political occasion when it was sung was the 1896session of the Indian National Congress. The following is the text of its first stanza :Vande Mataram! Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja shitalam, Shasyashyamalam,Mataram! Shubhrajyotsnapulakitayaminim, Phullakusumita drumadalashobhinim, Suhasinim sumadhurabhashinim, Sukhadam varadam, Mataram!1 As published in Volume Eight of Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library, Popular Edition1972 27. 24India 2010 The English translation of the stanza rendered by Sri Aurobindo in prose 1 i s : I bow to thee, Mother, richly-watered, richly-fruited, cool with the winds of the south, dark with the crops of the harvests, The Mother! Her nights rejoicing in the glory of the moonlight, her lands clothed beautifully with her trees in flowering bloom, sweet of laughter, sweet of speech, The Mother, giver of boons, giver of bliss.NATIONAL CALENDARThe national calendar based on the Saka Era, with Chaitra as its first month and anormal year of 365 days was adopted from 22 March 1957 along with the Gregoriancalendar for the following official purposes: (i) Gazette of India, (ii) news broadcastby All India Radio, (iii) calendars issued by the Government of India and(iv) Government communications addressed to the members of the public. Dates of the national calendar have a permanent correspondence with dates ofthe Gregorian calendar, 1 Chaitra falling on 22 March normally and on 21 March inleap year.NATIONAL ANIMALThe magnificent tiger, Panthera tigris, a striped animal is the national animal of India,it has a thick yellow coat of fur with dark stripes. The combination of grace, strength,ability and enormous power has earned the tiger its pride of place as the nationalanimal of India. Out of eight races of the species known, the Indian race, the RoyalBengal Tiger, is found throughout the country except in the north-western region andalso in the neighbouring countries, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.NATIONAL BIRDThe Indian peacock, Pavo cristatus, the national bird of India, is a colourful, swan-sized bird, with a fan-shaped crest of feathers, a white patch under the eye and along, slender neck. The male of the species is more colourful than the female, with aglistening blue breast and neck and a spectacular bronze-green trail of around 200elongated feathers. The female is brownish, slightly smaller than the male and lacksthe trail. The elaborate courtship dance of the male, fanning out the tail and preeningits feathers is a gorgeous sight.NATIONAL FLOWERLotus (Nelumbo Nucipera Gaertn) is the National Flower of India. It is a sacred flowerand occupies a unique position in the art and mythology of ancient India and hasbeen an auspicious symbol of Indian culture since time immemorial.NATIONAL TREEThe Banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis) is the National Tree of India. This huge treetowers over its neighbours and has the widest reaching roots of all known trees,easily covering several acres. It sends off new shoots from its roots, so that one tree isreally a tangle of branches, roots, and trunks. 28. National Symbols 25NATIONAL FRUITMango (Manigifera indica) is the National fruit of India. Mango is one of the mostwidely grown fruits of the tropical countries. In India, mango is cultivated almost inall parts, with the exception of hilly areas. Mango is a rich source of Vitamins A, Cand D. In India, we have hundreds of varieties of mangoes. They are of differentsizes, shapes and colours. Mangoes have been cultivated in India since timeimmemorial. 29. 26 India 20103 The PolityINDIA, a Union of States, is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic witha parliamentary system of government. The Republic is governed in terms of theConstitution, which was adopted by Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949and came into force on 26 January 1950.The Constitution which envisages parliamentary form of government is federalin structure with unitary features. The President of India is constitutional head ofexecutive of the Union. Article 74(1) of the Constitution provides that there shall be aCouncil of Ministers with the Prime Minister as head to aid and advise Presidentwho shall in exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice. Realexecutive power thus vests in Council of Ministers with Prime Minister as head.Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the House of the People (Lok Sabha).Similarly, in states, Governor is head of executive, but it is the Council of Ministerswith Chief Minister as head in whom real executive power vests. Council of Ministersof a state is collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly.The Constitution distributes legislative power between Parliament and statelegislatures and provides for vesting of residual powers in Parliament. Power toamend the Constitution also vests in Parliament. The Constitution has provisionfor independence of judiciary, Comptroller and Auditor-General, Public ServiceCommissions and Chief Election Commissioner.THE UNION AND ITS TERRITORYIndia comprises 28 States and seven Union Territories. They are: Andhra Pradesh,Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, HimachalPradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan,Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. UnionTerritories are : Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and NagarHaveli, Daman and Diu, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Lakshadweep andPondicherry.CITIZENSHIPThe Constitution of India provides for a single citizenship for the whole of India.Every person who was at the commencement of the Constitution (26 January1950) domiciled in the territory of India and: (a) who was born in India; or (b)either of whose parents was born in India; or (c) who has been ordinarily residentin India for not less than five years became a citizen of India. The Citizenship Act,1955, deals with matters relating to acquisition, determination and termination ofIndian citizenship after the commencement of the Constitution.FUNDAMENTALRIGHTSThe Constitution offers all citizens, individually and collectively, some basicfreedoms. These are guaranteed in the Constitution in the form of six broadcategories of Fundamental Rights which are justiciable. Article 12 to 35 containedin Part III of the Constitution deal with Fundamental Rights. These are : (i) rightto equality including equality before law, prohibition of discrimination on grounds 30. The Polity 27of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth and equality of opportunity in matters ofemployment; (ii) right to freedom of speech and expression; assembly; association orunion; movement; residence; and right to practice any profession or occupation (someof these rights are subject to security of the State, friendly relations with foreigncountries, public order, decency or morality); (iii) right against exploitation, prohibitingall forms of forced labour, child labour and traffic in human beings;(iv) right tofreedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion; (v)right of any section of citizens to conserve their culture, language or script and rightof minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice; and(vi) right to constitutional remedies for enforcement of Fundamental Rights.FUNDAMENTAL DUTIESBy the 42nd Amendment of the Constitution, adopted in 1976, Fundamental Dutiesof the citizens have also been enumerated. Article 51 A contained in Part IV A of theConstitution deals with Fundamental Duties. These enjoin upon a citizen amongother things, to abide by the Constitution, to cherish and follow noble ideals, whichinspired Indias struggle for freedom, to defend the country and render nationalservice when called upon to do so and to promote harmony and spirit of commonbrotherhood transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities.DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICYThe Constitution lays down certain Directive Principles of State Policy, which thoughnot justiciable, are fundamental in governance of the country and it is the duty of theState to apply these principles in making laws. These lay down that the State shallstrive to promote the welfare of people by securing and protecting as effectively as itmay a social order in which justicesocial, economic and politicalshall form in allinstitutions of national life. The State shall direct its policy in such a manner as tosecure the right of all men and women to an adequate means of livelihood, equal payfor equal work and within limits of its economic capacity and development, to makeeffective provision for securing the right to work, education and to public assistancein the event of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement or other cases ofundeserved want. The State shall also endeavour to secure to workers a living wage,humane conditions of work, a decent standard of life and full involvement of workersin management of industries.In the economic sphere, the State is to direct its policy in such a manner as tosecure distribution of ownership and control of material resources of community tosubserve the common good and to ensure that operation of economic system does notresult in concentration of wealth and means of production to common detriment. Some of the other important directives relate to provision of opportunities andfacilities for children to develop in a healthy manner, free and compulsory educationfor all children up to the age of 14; promotion of education and economic interests ofscheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other weaker sections; organisation of villagepanchayats; separation of judiciary from executive, promulgation of a uniform civilcode for whole country; protection of national monuments; promotion of justice on abasis of equal opportunity; provision of free legal aid; protection and improvement ofenvironment and safeguarding of forests and wildlife of the country and promotionof international peace and security, just and honourable relations between nations,respect for international law, treaty obligations and settlement of international disputesby arbitration. 31. 28India 2010THE UNIONEXECUTIVEThe Union executive consists of the President, the Vice-President and the Council ofMinisters with the Prime Minister as the head to aid and advise the President.PRESIDENTThe President is elected by members of an electoral college consisting of electedmembers of both Houses of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of the states inaccordance with the system of proportional representation by means of singletransferable vote. To secure uniformity among state inter se as well as parity betweenthe states, as a whole, and the Union, suitable weightage is given to each vote. ThePresident must be a citizen of India, not less than 35 years of age and qualified forelection as member of the Lok Sabha. His term of office is five years and he is eligiblefor re-election. His removal from office is to be in accordance with procedureprescribed in Article 61 of the Constitution. He may, by writing under his handaddressed to the Vice-President, resign his office.Executive power of the Union is vested in the President and is exercised by himeither directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with theConstitution. Supreme command of defence forces of the Union also vests in him. ThePresident summons, prorogues, addresses, sends messages to Parliament anddissolves the Lok Sabha; promulgates Ordinances at any time, except when bothHouses of Parliament are in session; makes recommendations for introducingfinancial and money bills and gives assent to bills; grants pardons, reprieves, respitesor remission of punishment or suspends, remits or commutes sentences in certaincases. When there is a failure of the constitutional machinery in a state, he can assumeto himself all or any of the functions of the government of that state. The President canproclaim emergency in the country if he is satisfied that a grave emergency existswhereby security of India or any part of its territory is threatened whether by war orexternal aggression or armed rebellion.VICE-PRESIDENTThe Vice-President is elected by members of an electoral college consisting of membersof both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of proportionalrepresentation by means of single transferable vote. He must be a citizen of India, notless than 35 years of age and eligible for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha. Histerm of office is five years and he is eligible for re-election. His removal from office isto be in accordance with procedure prescribed in Article 67 b.The Vice-President is ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and acts as Presidentwhen the latter is unable to discharge his functions due to absence, illness or anyother cause or till the election of a new President (to be held within six months whena vacancy is caused by death, resignation or removal or otherwise of President).While so acting, he ceases to perform the function of the Chairman of the RajyaSabha.COUNCIL OF MINISTERSThere is a Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister, to aid and advise thePresident in exercise of his functions. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Presidentwho also appoints other ministers on the advice of Prime Minister. The Council is 32. The Polity29collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. It is the duty of the Prime Minister tocommunicate to the President all decisions of Council of Ministers relating toadministration of affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation and informationrelating to them. The Council of Ministers comprises Ministers who are members of Cabinet,Ministers of State (independent charge), Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers.LEGISLATURELegislature of the Union which is called Parliament , consists of President and twoHouses, known as Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and House of the People (LokSabha). Each House has to meet within six months of its previous sitting. A jointsitting of two Houses can be held in certain cases.RAJYA SABHAThe Constitution provides that the Rajya Sabha shall consist of 12 members to benominated by the President from amongst persons having special knowledge orpractical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and socialservice; and not more than 238 representatives of the States and of the Union Territories. Elections to the Rajya Sabha are indirect; members representing States are electedby elected members of legislative assemblies of the States in accordance with thesystem of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, andthose representing Union Territories are chosen in such manner as Parliament mayby law prescribe. The Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution; one-third of its membersretire every second year.Rajya Sabha, at present, has 245 seats. Of these, 233 members represent theStates and the Union Territories and 12 members are nominated by the President. Thenames of members of Rajya Sabha and party affiliation are given in Appendices.LOK SABHAThe Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of people chosen by direct election onthe basis of adult suffrage. The maximum strength of the House envisaged by theConstitution is now 552 (530 members to represent the States, 20 members to representthe Union Territories and not more than two members of the Anglo-Indian communityto be nominated by the President, if, in his opinion, that community is not adequatelyrepresented in the House). The total elective membership of the Lok Sabha isdistributed among the States in such a way that the ratio between the number of seatsallotted to each State and the population of the State is, as far as practicable, the samefor all States. The Lok Sabha at present consists of 545 members. Of these, 530 membersare directly elected from the States and 13 from Union Territories while two arenominated by the President to represent the Anglo-Indian community. Following theConstitution 84th Amendment Act, 2001 the total number of existing seats as allocatedto various States in the Lok Sabha on the basis of the 1971 census shall remainunaltered till the first census to be taken after the year 2026.The term of the Lok Sabha, unless dissolved earlier is five years from the dateappointed for its first meeting. However, while a Proclamation of Emergency is inoperation, this period may be extended by Parliament by law for a period not exceedingone year at a time and not extending in any case, beyond a period of six months after 33. 30India 2010the Proclamation has ceased to operate. Fourteen Lok Sabhas have been co nstitutedso far. The term of each Lok Sabha and its Speaker(s) is given in table 3.1. The State-wise allocation of seats in the two Houses and the party position inthe Lok Sabha is given in table 3.2. The names of members of the Fourteenth LokSabha, their constituencies and party affiliations are given in Appendices.QUALIFICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP OF PARLIAMENTIn order to be chosen a member of Parliament, a person must be a citizen of India andnot less than 30 years of age in the case of Rajya Sabha and not less than 25 years ofage in the case of Lok Sabha. Additional qualifications may be prescribed byParliament by law.FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF PARLIAMENTAs in other parliamentary democracies, the Parliament in India has the cardinalfunctions of legislation, overseeing of administration, passing of the Budget,ventilation of public grievances and discussing various subjects like developmentplans, national policies and international relations. The distribution of powers betweenthe Union and the States, followed in the Constitution, emphasises in many ways thegeneral predominance of Parliament in the legislative field. Apart from a wide-rangeof subjects, even in normal times, the Parliament can, under certain circumstances,assume legislative power with respect to a subject falling within the sphere exclusivelyreserved for the States. The Parliament is also vested with powers to impeach thePresident and to remove the Judges of Supreme Court and High Courts, the ChiefElection Commissioner and the Comptroller and Auditor General in accordancewith the procedure laid down in the Constitution. All legislation require consent of both the Houses of Parliament. In the case ofmoney bills, however, the will of the Lok Sabha prevails. Delegated legislation is alsosubject to review and control by Parliament. Besides the power to legislate, theConstitution vests in Parliament the power to initiate amendment of the Constitution.PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEESThe functions of Parliament are not only varied in nature, but considerable in volume.The time at its disposal is limited. It cannot make very detailed scrutiny of all legislativeand other matters that come up before it. A good deal of Parliamentary business is,therefore, transacted in the committees. Both Houses of Parliament have a similar committee structure, with a fewexceptions. Their appointment, terms of office, functions and procedure of conductingbusiness are also more or less similar and are regulated as per rules made by the twoHouses under Article 118(1) of the Constitution.Broadly, Parliamentary Committees are of two kindsStanding Committeesand ad hoc Committees. The former are elected or appointed every year or periodicallyand their work goes on, more or less, on a continuous basis. The latter are appointedon an ad hoc basis as need arises and they cease to exist as soon as they complete thetask assigned to them. Standing Committees : Among the Standing Committees, the three FinancialCommitteesCommittees on Estimates, Public Accounts and Public Undertakingsconstitute a distinct group as they keep an unremitting vigil over Governmentexpenditure and performance. While members of the Rajya Sabha are associated 34. The Polity 31with Committees on Public Accounts and Public Undertakings, the members of theCommittee on Estimates are drawn entirely from the Lok Sabha.The Estimates Committee reports on what economies, improvements inorganisation, efficiency or administrative reform consistent with policy underlyingthe estimates may be effected. It also examines whether the money is well laid outwithin limits of the policy implied in the estimates and suggests the form in whichestimates shall be presented to Parliament. The Public Accounts Committee scrutinisesappropriation and finance accounts of Government and reports of the Comptrollerand Auditor-General. It ensures that public money is spent in accordance withParliaments decision and calls attention to cases of waste, extravagance, loss ornugatory expenditure. The Committee on Public Undertakings examines reports of theComptroller and Auditor-General, if any. It also examines whether publicundertakings are being run efficiently and managed in accordance with soundbusiness principles and prudent commercial practices.Besides these three Financial Committees, the Rules Committee of the Lok Sabharecommended setting-up of 17 Department Related Standing Committees (DRSCs).Accordingly, 17 Department Related Standing Committees were set up on 8 April1993. In July 2004, rules were amended to provide for the constitution of seven moresuch committees, thus raising the number of DRSCs from 17 to 24. The functions ofthese Committees are : (a) to consider the Demands for Grants of various Ministries/Departments of Government of India and make reports to the Houses; (b) to examinesuch Bills as are referred to the Committee by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha or theSpeaker, Lok Sabha, as the case may be, and make reports thereon; (c) to considerAnnual Reports of ministries/departments and make reports thereon; and (d) toconsider policy documents presented to the Houses, if referred to the Committee bythe Chairman, Rajya Sabha or the Speaker, Lok Sabha, as the case may be, and makereports thereon. Other Standing Committees in each House, divided in terms of their functions,are (i) Committees to Inquire: (a) Committee on Petitions examines petitions on billsand on matters of general public interest and also entertains representations onmatters concerning subjects in the Union List; and (b) Committee of Privileges examinesany question of privilege referred to it by the House or Speaker/Chairman; (ii)Committees to Scrutinise : (a) Committee on Government Assurances keeps track of allthe assurances, promises, undertakings, etc., given by Ministers in the House andpursues them till they are implemented; (b) Committee on Subordinate Legislationscrutinises and reports to the House whether the power to make regulations, rules,sub-rules, bye-laws, etc., conferred by the Constitution or Statutes is being properlyexercised by the delegated authorities; and (c) Committee on Papers Laid on the Tableexamines all papers laid on the table of the House by Ministers, other than statutorynotifications and orders which come within the purview of the Committee onSubordinate Legislation, to see whether there has been compliance with the provisionsof the Constitution, Act, rule or regulation under which the paper has been laid; (iii)Committees relating to the day-to-day business of the House: (a) Business AdvisoryCommittee recommends allocation of time for items of Government and other businessto be brought before the Houses; (b) Committee on Private Members Bills and Resolutionsof the Lok Sabha classifies an d allocates time to Bills introduced by private members,recommends allocation of time for discussion on private members resolutions andexamines Constitution amendment bills before their introduction by private members 35. 32India 2010in the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha does not have such a committee. It is the BusinessAdvisory Committee of that House which recommends allocation of time fordiscussion on stage or stages of private members bills and resolutions; (c) RulesCommittee considers matters of procedure and conduct of business in the House andrecommends amendments or additions to the Rules; and (d) Committee on Absence ofMembers from the Sittings of the House of the Lok Sabha considers all applications frommembers for leave or absence from sittings of the House. There is no such Committeein the Rajya Sabha. Applications from members for leave or absence are consideredby the House itself; (iv) Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and ScheduledTribes, on which members from both Houses serve, considers all matters relating tothe welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes which come within the purviewof the Union Government and keeps a watch whether constitutional safeguards inrespect of these classes are properly implemented; (v) Committees concerned with theprovision of facilities to members : (a) General Purposes Committee considers and advisesSpeaker/Chairman on matters concerning affairs of the House, which do notappropriately fall within the purview of any other Parliamentary Committee; and (b)House Committee deals with residential accommodation and other amenities formembers; (vi) Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament,constituted under the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act,1954, apart from framing rules for regulating payment of salary, allowances andpension to Members of Parliament, also frames rules in respect of amenities likemedical, housing, telephone, postal, constituency and secretarial facility; (vii) JointCommittee on Offices of Profit examines the composition and character of committeesand other bodies appointed by the Central and State governments and UnionTerritories Administrations and recommends what offices ought to or ought not todisqualify a person from being chosen as a member of either House of Parliament;(viii) The Library Committee consisting of members from both Houses, considers mattersconcerning the Library of Parliament; (ix) On 29 April 1997, a Committee onEmpowerment of Women with members from both the Houses was constituted with aview to securing, among other things, status, dignity and equality for women in allfields; (x) On 4 March 1997, the Ethics Committee of the Rajya Sabha was constituted.The Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha was constituted on 16 May 2000. Ad hoc Committees : Such Committees may be broadly classified under two heads :(a) committees which are constituted from time to time, either by the two Houses on amotion adopted in that behalf or by Speaker/Chairman to inquire into and report onspecific subjects, (e.g., Committees on the Conduct of certain Members during PresidentsAddress, Committees on Draft Five-Year Plans, Railway Convention Committee, Committeeon Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme, Joint Committee on BoforsContracts, Joint Committee on Fertilizer Pricing, Joint Committee to enquire into irregularitiesin securities and banking transactions, Joint Committee on Stock Market Scam, Joint Committeeson Security in Parliament Complex, Committee on Provision of Computers for Members ofParliament, Offices of Political Parties and Officers of the Lok Sabha Secretariat; Committeeon Food Management in Parliament House Complex; Committee on Installation of Portraits/Statues of National Leaders and Parliamentarians in Parliament House Complex, etc.), and(b) Select or Joint Committees on Bills which are appointed to consider and report on aparticular Bill. These Committees are distinguishable from the other ad hoc committeesinasmuch as they are concerned with Bills and the procedure to be followed by themas laid down in the Rules of Procedure and Directions by the Speaker/Chairman. 36. The Polity 33LEADERS OF OPPOSITION IN PARLIAMENTIn keeping with their important role, the Leaders of Opposition in the Rajya Sabhaand the Lok Sabha are accorded statutory recognition. Salary and other suitablefacilities are extended to them through a separate legislation brought into forceon 1 November 1977.GOVERNMENT BUSINESS IN PARLIAMENTThe Minister of Parliamentary Affairs is entrusted with the responsibility ofcoordinating, planning and arranging Government Business in both Houses ofParliament. In the discharge of this function, he is assisted by his Ministers ofState. The Minister also keeps close and constant contact with the presiding officers,the leaders as well as chief whips and whips of various parties and groups in boththe Houses of Parliament. During the period for 1 August 2008 to 30 June 2009,both Houses of Parliament passed 44 Bills.CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEESFunctioning of Consultative Committees of Members of Parliament for variousMinistries is one of the functions allocated to the Ministry of Parliamentary af-fairs under the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961. In dis-charge of this function, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs constitute thesecommittees and arranges their meetings. The main objective of these committeesis to provide a forum for informal discussion between Members of Parliament, onthe one hand, and Ministers and senior officers of the Government, on the otherhand, on the policies, principles and programmes of the Government and themanner of their implementation. The Minister/Minister of State in-charge of theMinistry concerned acts as the Chairman of the Consultative Committee attachedto that Ministry.The minimum membership of a Consultative Committee is 10 and the maxi-mum membership is 30. The Consultative Committee stand dissolved upon dis-solution of every Lok Sabha and re-constituted upon constitution of each LokSabha. Before dissolution of 14th Lok Sabha, there were 32 Consultative Commit-tees attached to various Ministries. Besides this, 16 Informal Consultative Com-mittees of the sixteen Railway Zones had also been constituted. Unlike the Con-sultative Committees attached to the Ministries, meetings of these Informal Con-sultative Committees are to be arranged during session periods only. 34 meetingsof the Consultative Committees were held during the period from 1st August2008 to 18th May 2009 (the date of dissolution of 14th Lok Sabha.)The action for constituting the Consultative Committees of the 15th LokSabha, which has recently been constituted has since been initiated. Total 41 Con-sultative Committees have been proposed to be constituted for which preferences ofthe Members of Parliament have been invited for their nomination on the Consulta-tive Committees. After receiving the preferences of the Members of Parliament, theConsultative Committees for various Ministries would be constituted and their meet-ings would be arranged.NOMINATION OF MEMBERS OFPARLIAMENTONGOVERNMENTCOMMITTEES/BODIESThe Minister of Parliamentary Affairs nominates Members of Parliament onCommittees, Councils, Boards and Commissions, etc., set-up by the Government of 37. 34 India 2010India in various Ministries (except in case of statutory or other bodies where thestatute or the bye-laws framed thereunder provides that the Member of Parliament tobe appointed thereon will be nominated by the Presiding Officers of the respectiveHouses or will be elected by the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, as the case may be).The Members are nominated on such Bodies keeping in view their aptitude andspecial interest in the subject.YOUTH PARLIAMENT COMPETITIONIn order to develop democratic ethos in the younger generation the Ministryconducts Youth Parliament Competition in various categories of schools andcolleges/universities. The Youth Parliament Scheme was first introduced in theSchools in Delhi in 1966-67. Kendriya Vidyalayas located in and around Delhiwere incorporated into the ongoing Scheme for Delhi Schools in 1978.Subsequently, as separate scheme of Youth Parliament for Kendriya Vidyalayasat the National Level was launched in 1988. Similarly, in 1997-98, two new YouthParliament Schemes at the national level, one for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayasand the other for Universities/Colleges were launched.During 2008-09, the 43rd Youth Parliament Competition for Delhi Schoolswas completed and 33 schools had participated. The 21st National YouthParliament Competition for Kendriya Vidyalayas was held and 90 KendriyaVidyalayas participated. The 12th National Youth Parliament Competition forJawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas was completed. The Ninth National YouthParliament Competition for Universities/Colleges is in progress.OTHERPARLIAMENTARY MATTERSALL INDIA WHIPS CONFERENCEThe Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India has been organisingAll India Whips Conference from time to time, with the purpose of establishingsuitable links among the whips of various political parties at the Centre and theStates who are concerned with the practical working of the legislatures to discussmatters of common interest and to evolve high standards to strengthen theinstitution of Parliamentary Democracy. Fourteen All India Whips Conferenceshave been organized so far since 1952. The Fourteenth All India Whips Conferencewas held on 4-5 February, 2008 in Mumbai. The inaugural function of the 14th AllIndia Whips Conference was presided over by Honble Vice President of Indiaand the Valedictory function by the Honble Speaker of Lok Sabha.MATTERS UNDER RULE 377 AND SPECIAL MENTIONSThe Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs takes follow-up action on matters raisedunder Rule 377 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha andby way of Special Mentions in Rajya Sabha. Also after Question Hour in both theHouses of Parliament, Members raise matters of urgent public importance. Though itis not mandatory, Ministers sometimes react to the points made by the Members. Inthe absence of concerned Minister the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs assures theHouse or the individual Members that their sentiments would be conveyed to theconcerned Ministers.IMPLEMENTATION OF ASSURANCESThe Ministry culls out assurances, promises, undertakings, etc., given by Ministers 38. The Polity 35in both the Houses of Parliament, from the daily proceedings and forwards them tothe concerned Ministries/Departments for implementation, Statements showingaction taken by the Government in implementation of the assurances, after due scrutinyof the implementation of the assurances, after due scrutiny of the implementationreports received from the various Ministries/Departments concerned, are laidperiodically on the table of the Houses by Minister/Minister of State for ParliamentaryAffairs.ADMINISTRATIVESET-UPThe Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 are made by thePresident of India under Article 77 of the Constitution for the allocation of business ofthe Government of India. The Ministries/Departments of the Government are createdby the President on the advice of the Prime Minister under these Rules. The businessof the Government are transacted in the Ministries/Departments, Secretariats andoffices (referred to as Department) as per the distribution of subjects specified inthese Rules. Each of the Ministry(ies) is assigned to a Minister by the President on theadvice of the Prime Minister. Each department is generally under the charge of aSecretary to assist the Minister on policy matters and general administration.CABINET SECRETARIATThe Cabinet Secretariat in terms of provisions of the Government of India (Allocationof Business) Rules, 1961 functions directly under the Prime Minister. Theadministrative head of the Secretariat is the Cabinet Secretary who is also the ex-officio Chairman of the Civil Services Board. The business alloted to cabinet secretariat is (i) Secretarial assistance to Cabinetand Cabinet Committees; and (ii) Rules of Business.The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Governmentof India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961 and the Government of India (Allocationof Business) Rules 1961, facilitating smooth transaction of business in Ministries/Departments of the Government by ensuring adherence to these rules. The Secretariatassists in decision-making in Government by ensuring Inter-Ministerial coordination,ironing out differences amongst Ministries/Departments and evolving consensusthrough the instrumentality of the standing and ad hoc Committees of Secretaries.The Cabinet Secretariat ensures that the President, the Vice-President andMinisters are kept informed of the major activities of all Ministries/Departments bymeans of monthly summary of their activities. Management of major crisis situationsin the country and coordinating activities of various Ministries in such a situation isalso one of the functions of the Cabinet Secretariat.The Cabinet Secretariat is seen as a useful mechanism by the departments forpromoting inter-Ministerial coordination since the Cabinet Secretary is also the headof the civil services. The Secretaries felt it necessary to keep the Cabinet Secretaryinformed of developments from time to time. The Transaction of Business Rules alsorequire them to keep the Cabinet Secretary informed specially if there are anydepartures from these rules.NATIONAL AUTHORITY, CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTIONNational Authority, Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) was set up by a resolutionof Cabinet Secretariat dated 5 May 1997 to fulfil the obligations enunciated in the 39. 36India 2010Chemical Weapons Convention initially signed by 130 countries in a conferencewhich concluded on 14 January 1993 for the purpose prohibiting of the development,production, execution, transfer, use and stockpiling of all chemical weapons byMember-States is a non-discriminatory process. To fulfil its obligations, each StateParty has to designate or establish a National Authority to serve as the national focalpoint for effective liaison with Organisation for Prohibition of the Chemical Weapons(OPCW) and other State Parties and hence the NA, CWC under the administrativecontrol of the Cabinet Secretariat was set-up.A high-level steering committee under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretarywith Secretary (Chemical and Petrochemicals), Foreign Secretary, Secretary, DefenceResearch and Development, Defence Secretary and Chairman, National Authority asits other members would oversee the functions of the National Authority. The NA,CWC is responsible for implementation of CWC Act, liaison with CWC and otherState Parties, Collection of data fulfilling of declaration obligations, negotiating facilityagreements, coordinating OPCW inspections, providing appropriate facilities fortraining national inspectors and industry personnel, ensuring protection ofconfidential business information, checking declarations for consistency, accuracyand completeness, registration of entitles engaged in activities related to CWC, etc.MINISTRIES/DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENTThe Government consists of a number of Ministries/Departments, number andcharacter varying from time to time on factors such as volume of work importanceattached to certain items, changes of orientation, political expediency, etc.LIST OF THEMINISTRIES/DEPARTMENTS1. Ministry of Agriculture (Krishi Mantralaya)(i) Department of Agriculture and Co-operation(Krishi aur Sahkarita Vibhag) (ii) Department of Agricultural Research and Education(Krishi Anusandhan aur Shiksha Vibhag) (iii)Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying(Pashupalan aur Dairy Vibhag)2. Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (Rasayan aur Urvarak Mantralaya)(i) Department of Chemicals and Petro-Chemicals(Rasayan aur Petro-Rasayan Vibhag) (ii) Department of Fertilizers (Urvarak Vibhag) (iii)Department of Pharmaceutical.3. Ministry of Civil Aviation (Nagar Vimanan Mantralaya)4. Ministry of Coal (Koyala Mantralaya)5. Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Vanijya aur Udyog Mantralaya)(i) Department of Commerce (Vanijya Vibhag) (ii) Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion(Audyogik Niti aur Samvardhan Vibhag)6. Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (Sancharaur Soochana Praudyogiki Mantralaya) (i)Department of Telecommunications (Doorsanchar Vibhag) (ii) Department of Post (Dak Vibhag) 40. The Polity 37 (iii) Department of Information Technology (Soochana Praudyogiki Vibhag)7. Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (Upbhokta Mamle, Khadya aur Sarvajanik Vitaran Mantralaya) (i)Department of Consumer Affairs(Upbhokta Mamle Vibhag) (ii)Department of Food and Public Distribution (Khadya aur Sarvajanik Vitaran Vibhag)8. Ministry of Corporate Affairs (Korp orate Karya Mantralya)9. Ministry of Culture (Sanskriti Mantralya)1 0 . Ministry of Defence (Raksha Mantralaya)(i)Department of Defence (Raksha Vibhag) (ii)Department of Defence Production (Raksha Utpadan aur Aapoorti Vibhag) (iii) Department of Defence Research and Development (Raksha Anusandhan aur Vikas Vibhag) (iv)Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare1 1 . Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (Uttar Poorvi KshetraVikas Mantralaya)1 2 . Ministry of Earth Sciences (Bhoo Vigyan Mantralaya)1 3 . Ministry of Environment and Forests (Paryavaran aur Van Mantralaya)1 4 . Ministry of External Affairs (Videsh Mantralaya)1 5 . Ministry of Finance (Vitta Mantralaya)(i) Department of Economic Affairs (Arthik Karya Vibhag) (ii)Department of Expenditure (Vyaya Vibhag) (iii) Department of Revenue (Rajaswa Vibhag) (iv)Department of Financial Services (Vittiya Sewayen Vibhag)16. Ministry of Food Processing Industries(Khadya Prasanskaran Udyog Mantralaya)17. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(Swasthya aur Parivar Kalyan Mantralaya)(i)Department of Health and family welfare (Swasthya aur Parivar Kalyan Mantralaya) (ii)Department of Ayurveda, Yoga-Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) (Ayurveda, Yoga-Prakritik Chikitsa Paddhati, Unani, Siddha aur Homoeopathy Vibhag) (iii) Department of AIDS Control (iv)Department of Health Rese