Official name

Republic of India

Form of state

Federal republic, with 28 states and seven union territories

Head of state

The president, Pratibha Patil, was elected in July 2007 for a five-year term by the members of the central and state legislatures

The executive

The prime minister presides over a Council of Ministers chosen from the elected members of parliament

National legislature

Bicameral. The Rajya Sabha (the upper house) has 245 members-233 elected by weighted votes of the elected members of parliament and the legislative assemblies of states and union territories, and 12 appointed by the president. The Lok Sabha (the lower house) has 545 members-543 elected from single-member constituencies (79 seats are reserved for "scheduled castes" and 40 for "scheduled tribes"), and two representatives of Anglo-Indians appointed by the president

State legislatures

Unicameral or bicameral, with elected members; state governors are appointed by the president

Legal system

Based on the 1950 constitution and English common law

National government

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA), a coalition led by the Indian National Congress, won the largest number of seats in the April-May 2009 general election and formed a government

National election

The most recent Lok Sabha election was held in April-May 2009; the next is due by May 2014

Main political organisations

Indian National Congress; Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); All India Trinamool Congress (TMC); Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK); Samajwadi Party (SP); Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD); Janata Dal (United); Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP); All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK); Bijou Janata Dal (BJD); Nationalist Congress Party (NCP); Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI (M)

Prime minister: Manmohan Singh (Congress)

Key ministers

Agriculture, consumer affairs, food & public distribution: Sharad Pawar (NCP)

Commerce & industry: Anand Sharma (Congress)

Communications & information technology: Kapil Sibal (Congress)

Defence: A K Antony (Congress)

External affairs: S M Krishna (Congress)

Finance: Pranab Mukherjee (Congress)

Heavy industries & public enterprises: Vilasrao Deshmukh (Congress)

Home affairs: P Chidambaram (Congress)

Information & broadcasting: Ambika Soni (Congress)

Law & justice: M Veerappa Moily (Congress)

Petroleum & natural gas: Murli Deora (Congress)

Power: Sushilkumar Shinde (Congress)

Railways: Mamata Banerjee (TMC)

Road transport & highways: Kamal Nath (Congress)

Steel: Virbhadra Singh (Congress)

Central bank governor

Duvvuri Subbarao