The Government of India
Overview
- Capital: New Delhi
- Administrative regions: 28 states and 8 union territories
- Government & legal system: Federal parliamentary republic; common law system with elements of religious personal law. (government site)
- Head of state / government: Droupadi Murmu, President (largely ceremonial); Narendra Modi, Prime Minister (head of government) (official page)
- Official language(s): Hindi and English (official languages of the Union); 22 languages recognized in the Eighth Schedule
- National Day: January 26 (Republic Day); August 15 (Independence Day) also widely treated as a national day
- Independence: August 15, 1947 (from Britain)
- Other official holidays: Gandhi Jayanti (Oct 2), Diwali, Holi, Eid al-Fitr
- Ministry of External Affairs (official site)
- Regional / international memberships: United Nations/ UN, G20, BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organization/ SCO, Commonwealth, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation/ SAARC, Non-Aligned Movement
- Visa / entry requirements: E-Visa system available for most nationalities. (visa info)
- Currency: Indian rupee (INR) — Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait appears on the obverse of every denomination, with national monuments (Red Fort, Sanchi Stupa, and others) on the reverse.
- Flag symbolism: Horizontal saffron-white-green tricolor with a navy-blue 24-spoke Ashoka Chakra centered on the white band — saffron represents courage, white represents truth and peace, green represents faith and fertility, and the chakra represents the eternal wheel of dharma (law).
