India
{{Infobox Country
|native_name=भारत गणराज्यno
Bhārat Gaṇarājya
|conventional_long_name=Republic of India
|common_name=India
|image_flag=Flag of India.svg
|alt_flag=Horizontal tricolour flag bearing, from top to bottom, deep saffron, white, and green horizontal bands. In the centre of the white band is a navy-blue wheel with 24 spokes.
|image_coat=Emblem of India.svg
|alt_coat=Three lions facing left, right, and toward viewer, atop a frieze containing a galloping horse, a 24-spoke wheel, and an elephant. Underneath is a motto: "सत्यमेव जयते".
|symbol_type=Emblem
|national_motto=
"Satyameva Jayate" (Sanskrit)
सत्यमेव जयते (Devanāgarī)
"Truth Alone Triumphs"[1]
|national_anthem=Jana Gana Mana
"Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People"[2]
|other_symbol_type=National song:
|other_symbol=Vande Mataram
"I Bow to Thee, Mother"[3][1]
|image_map=IndiaLocation.png
|alt_map=Image of a globe centred on India, with India highlighted.
|map_caption=
|map_width=220px
|capital=New Delhi
|latd=28|latm=36.8|latNS=N
|longd=77|longm=12.5|longEW=E
|largest_city=Mumbai
|official_languages=
|regional_languages=
|languages_type=National languages
|languages=None defined by the Constitution[4]
|demonym=Indian
|government_type=Federal parliamentary
democratic constitutional republic[1]
|leader_title1=President
|leader_name1=Pratibha Patil
|leader_title2=Prime Minister
|leader_name2=Manmohan Singh (INC)
|leader_title3=Speaker of the House
|leader_name3=Meira Kumar (INC)
|leader_title4=Chief Justice
|leader_name4=S. H. Kapadia
|legislature=Parliament of India
|upper_house=Rajya Sabha
|lower_house=Lok Sabha
|sovereignty_type=Independence
|sovereignty_note=from the United Kingdom
|established_event1=Declared
|established_date1=15 August 1947
|established_event2=Republic
|established_date2=26 January 1950
|area_rank=7th
|area_magnitude=1 E12
|area_km2=3,287,263
|area_sq_mi=1,269,219
|area_footnote=[upper-alpha 1]
|percent_water=9.56
|population_census_rank=2nd
|population_census=1,210,193,422[5]
|population_estimate_rank=2nd
|population_estimate_year=2011
|population_census_year=2011
|population_density_km2=366.7
|population_density_sq_mi=949.7
|population_density_rank=31st
|GDP_PPP=$4.469 trillionCite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag]]
Corruption has been one of the pervasive problems affecting India. It takes the form of bribes, evasion of tax and exchange controls, and embezzlement. The economic reforms of 1991 reduced red tape, bureaucracy and the Licence Raj that had strangled private enterprise and was blamed for the corruption and inefficiencies. Yet, a 2005 study by Transparency International found that more than half of those surveyed had first-hand experience of paying bribes or peddling influence to get a job done in a public office.
The chief economic consequences of corruption are the loss of tax revenue, an unhealthy climate for investment and a decrease in the cost of government-subsidized services. The Transparency International study estimates the monetary value of petty corruption in 11 basic services provided by the government, like education, healthcare, judiciary, and the police, to be around Rs.21,068 crores. India still ranks in the bottom quartile of developing nations in terms of the ease of doing business, and compared to China, the average time taken to secure the clearances for a start-up or to invoke bankruptcy is much greater.
The Right to Information Act (2005) and equivalent acts in the states, that require government officials to furnish information or face punitive action, computerisation of services and various central and state government acts that established vigilance commissions have considerably reduced corruption or at least have opened up avenues to redress grievances.
The latest report by Transparency International puts India at 70th place and states that significant improvements was made by India in reducing corruption.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Know India, National Symbols. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
- ↑ Stanley Wolpert, A New History of India (Oxford University Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0195166781), 1.
- ↑ "[...] Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations in the words as the Government may authorise as occasion arises; and the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it." Constituent Assembly of India - Volume XII, Statement Re: National Anthem 24th January 1950. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
- ↑ Saeed Khan, There's no national language in India: Gujarat High Court The Times of India (Jan 25, 2010). Retrieved December 17, 2011.
- ↑ Government of India, Census 2011 Ministry of Home Affairs. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
Sources and further reading
- Botanical Survey of India. 1983. Flora and vegetation of India: an outline. New Delhi: Botanical Survey of India. Department of Environment.
- Thapar, Valmik. 2003. Hu de wang guo Yindu shen mi zhi lü = Land of the tiger : a natural history of the Indian subcontinent. [Beijing]: Zhongguo shao nian er tong yin xiang chu ban she.
- Tritsch, Mark F. 2001. Wildlife of India. London: Collins. ISBN 0007110626
- Groombridge, Brian, and G. M. Mace. 1993. 1994 IUCN red list of threatened animals. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. ISBN 2831701945
- Mallory, J. P. 1989. In search of the Indo-Europeans: language, archaeology, and myth. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 050005052X
- The Malayala Manorama Company /Kottayam. 2006. Manorama year book. Kottayam, Kerala: Mammen Mathew for The Malayala Manorama Company /Kottayam. ISBN 8189004077
- Wolpert, Stanley. A New History of India. Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 978-0195166781
External links
- Government of India National Portal of India, accessed March 8, 2007.
- Official India directory India Image, accessed March 8, 2007.
- Census Census of India 2001, accessed March 8, 2007.
- India World Fact Book 2007, accessed March 8, 2007.
- India Countries and Their Cultures Ge-It, observed March 8, 2007.
- IndiaEncyclopædia Britannica, accessed March 8, 2007.
- Country Profile: India BBC News, accessed March 8, 2007.
- India Biodiversity profile for India, accessed March 8, 2007.
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