Polity, Geography and Economy of India

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BMM 16

Module: Current Affairs


Chapter: 2
(For internal circulation of seamed only)

Indian- Sub-continent

Contents:
1) Indian Geography
2) Indian Polity
3) Indian Economy

Indian Geography:

Capital: New Delhi


Bordering Countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, China, Nepal and Pakistan
Coastline: 4,350 miles (7,000 km)
Highest Point: Kanchenjunga at 28,208 feet (8,598 m)
India: 29 states and 7 union territories
India, formally called the Republic of India, is the country that occupies most of
the Indian subcontinent in southern Asia. In terms of its population, India is one of
the most populous nations in the world and falls slightly behind China. India has a
long history and is considered the world's largest democracy and one of the most
successful in Asia. It is a developing nation and has only recently opened its
economy to outside trade and influences. As such, its economy is currently
growing and when combined with its population growth, India is one of the world's
most significant countries.
On the south, India projects into and is bounded by the Indian Ocean in
particular, by the Arabian Sea on the southwest and the Bay of Bengal on the
southeast. The Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar separate India from Sri Lanka to its
immediate southeast. India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share maritime
borders with Burma, Thailand and Indonesia.
India can be divided into five physiographic regions. They are
1. The Northern Mountains: India has eight major mountain ranges having
peaks of over 1,000 m (3,300 ft):
a) The Himalayan range is considered as the world's highest mountain
range, with its tallest peak Mt. Everest (29,029 ft) on the NepalChina
border. They are one of the world's youngest mountain ranges. The
Himalayas extend from Jammu and Kashmir in the north to Arunachal
Pradesh in the east. These states along with Himachal Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, and Sikkim lie mostly in the Himalayan region. Kanchenjunga
on the Sikkim- Nepal border is the highest point in the area administered
by India.
b) The Karakoram is situated in the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir.
c) The Patkai, or Purvanchal, are situated near India's eastern border with
Burma. There are three hill ranges that come under the Patkai: the Patkai
Bum, the GaroKhasiJaintia and the Lushai hills.
d) The Vindhya Range runs across most of central India. It separates
northern India from southern India.
e) The Satpura Range begins in eastern Gujarat near the Arabian Sea coast
and runs east across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
f) The Aravali Range is the oldest mountain range in India, running across
Rajasthan from northeast to southwest direction.
g) The Western Ghats or Sahyadri mountains run along the western edge
of India's Deccan Plateau and separate it from a narrow coastal plain along
the Arabian Sea.
h) The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains, which have
been eroded and vivisected by the four major rivers of southern India, the
Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, and Kaveri. These mountains extend from
West Bengal to Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, along the coast
and parallel to the Bay of Bengal.

2. Indo Gangetic Plains: They are large alluvial plains dominated by three
main rivers, the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra along with their main
tributariesYamuna, Chambal, Gomti, Ghaghara, Kosi, Sutlej, Ravi, Beas,
Chenab, and Tistaas well as the rivers of the Ganges Delta, such as the
Meghna.
3. The Peninsular Plateau: Peninsular Plateau is the oldest part of India
known as the Indian Plate. The peninsular plateau can be sub divided into
several physiographical parts in India like the Aravallis, Bundelkhand,
Malwa, Deccan Plateau, Chhota Nagpur Plateau, Shillong Plateau,
Karnataka Plateau, Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats.
4. Thar Desert: It is the world's seventh largest desert, by others the tenth.
It forms a significant portion of western India and covers an area of
200,000 to 238,700 km2 (77,200 to 92,200 sq mi). The desert continues
into Pakistan as the Cholistan Desert. Most of the Thar Desert is situated in
Rajasthan, covering 61% of its geographic area.
5. The Coastal Plains: Coastal Plains is the region between the coast and
mountain ranges of the peninsular plateau. This part of Indian
Physiography can be divided into western and eastern coast. With the
exception of Gujarat, the western coast is narrower than the eastern coast.

Indian Polity
Politics in India takes place within the framework of a constitution. India is a
federal parliamentary democratic republic in which the President of India is head
of state and the Prime Minister of India is the head of government. India follows
the dual polity, i.e. double government which consists of the union at the centre
and states at the periphery.
Constitution of India
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents
according to which a state or other organization is governed. The Constitution of
India is a written constitution. It is partly rigid and partly flexible. It was framed by
a Constituent Assembly which was established for the purpose in 1946. It has 395
Articles and in 22 parts 12 Schedules. A number of amendments, (about 96)
passed since its enforcement in 1950, have also become a part of the
Constitution. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is considered as the father of Indian
Constitution.
Democracy:
The term originates from the Greek (dmokrata) "rule of the people", which was
coined from (dmos) "people" and (kratos) "power" or "rule" in the 5th century
BCE. It is government by the people in which the supreme power is vested in the
people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free
electoral system. But the most widely accepted definition is, In the phrase of
Abraham Lincoln, democracy is a government "of the people, by the people, and
for the people. In democracy it is often said that there are 4 pillars of democracy
which are The Legislature, The Executive, The Judiciary and the Press.
Indian Flag:
3 colors of Indian flag and its significance:
Orange - Courage and Sacrifice
White - Peace and Truth
Green - Faith and Chivalry
Blue Buddhist Spinning Wheel or Chakra in center - signifies the spreading of
spiritual blessings and well being.
Indian Parliament:
The Parliament is the supreme legislative authority in India which comprises of
President, Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. Indias government is bi-cameral and the
separation of power is between centre and the state.
The President: He is the head of State as a component of Parliament. The
President of India is elected, from a group of nominees, by the elected members
of the Parliament of India (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) as well as of the state
legislatures, and serves for a term of five years. Historically, ruling party (majority
in the Lok Sabha) nominees have been elected and run largely uncontested. If no

candidate receives a majority of votes there is a system by which losing


candidates are eliminated from the contest and votes for them transferred to
other candidates, until one gains a majority.
The Rajya Sabha: It is also known as "Council of States" or the upper house.
Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and is not subject to dissolution. However, one
third of the members retires every second year, and is replaced by newly elected
members. Each member is elected for a term of six years. Its members are
indirectly elected by members of legislative bodies of the States.
The Rajya Sabha can have a maximum of 250 members in all. Elections to it are
scheduled and the chamber cannot be dissolved. Each member has a term of 6
years and elections are held for one-third of the seats after every 2 years. 238
members are to be elected from States and Union Territories and 12 are to be
nominated by President of India and shall consist of persons having special
knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as the following,
namely literature, science, art and social service. The minimum age for a person
to become a member of Rajya Sabha is 30 years.
Lok Sabha: It is also known as the "House of the People" or the lower house. All
of its members are directly elected by citizens of India on the basis of universal
adult franchise, except 2 who are appointed by the President of India. Every
citizen of India who is over 18 years of age, irrespective of gender, caste, religion
or race, who is otherwise not disqualified, is eligible to vote for the lok sabha.
The Constitution provides that the maximum strength of the House be 552
members. It has a term of five years. To be eligible for membership in the Lok
Sabha, a person must be a citizen of India and must be 25 years of age or older,
mentally sound, should not be bankrupt and should not be criminally convicted. At
present, the strength of the house is 545 members. Up to 530 members represent
of the territorial constituencies in States, up to 20 members represent the Union
Territories and no more than two members from Anglo-Indian community can be
nominated by the President of India if he or she feels that the community is not
adequately represented. House seats are apportioned among the states by
population.
Several seats are reserved for representatives of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes, in a practice known as reservation. The Women's Reservation Bill proposes
reserving 33% of the seats in Lok Sabha for women.
The Constitution grants the House of People some unique powers. Revenueraising or "Money" bills must originate in the Lok Sabha. The Council of States can
only make recommendations suggestions over these bills to the House, within a
period of fourteen days lapse of which the bill is assumed to have been passed
by both the Chambers.
The parliament conducts three sessions each year:

Budget session: In the months of February to May.

Monsoon session: In the months of July to September.

Winter session: In the months of November to December

Standing committees

There are standing committees in the Indian Parliament. Each house of Parliament
has standing committees like the Business Advisory Committee, the Committee
on Petitions, the Committee of Privileges and the Rules Committee, etc.
Ad hoc committees
Ad hoc committees are appointed for a specific purpose and they cease to exist
when they finish the task assigned to them and submit a report. The principal ad
hoc committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills.
The Executive: Indian executive consists of the President, the Prime Minister and
the Vice President, cabinet and executive departments and agencies.
The Indian judiciary: The Indian justice system consists of a unitary system at both
state and federal level. The judiciary consists of the Supreme Court of India, High
Courts of India at the state level, and District Courts and Sessions Courts at the
district level.
Public Finance:
1) Consolidated fund of India: All payments of the government are done from this
fund but not without the approval of the Parliament
2) Contingency fund of India: In case of emergency, government is required to
incur expenses immediately without the approval of Parliament. It is utilized under
the jurisdiction of President of India.

Indian Economy:
The economy of India is the 10th largest in the world. Mumbai is the financial
capital of India. The independence-era Indian economy (from 1947 to 1991) was
based on a mixed economy combining features of capitalism and socialism. This
model contributed to widespread inefficiencies and corruption, and the failings of
this system were due largely to its poor implementation. In 1991, India adopted
liberal and free-market principles and liberalized its economy to international
trade under the guidance of Former Finance minister Manmohan Singh.

GDP:
It is the market value of all officially recognized final goods and services produced
within a country in a year, or other given period of time. GDP per capita is often
considered an indicator of a country's standard of living. The south western state
of Maharashtra contributes the highest towards India's GDP among all states.
RBI:
It is India's central banking institution, which controls the monetary policy of the
Indian rupee. It was established on 1 April 1935 during the British Raj in
accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. RBI was
nationalised in the year 1949. The current governor of RBI is Raghuram Rajan and
the headquarters are located in Mumbai. The main functions are:

Monetary Authority

Regulator and supervisor of the financial system


Manager of Foreign Exchange
Issuer of currency
Developmental role
Related Functions

Tax System in India:


Adam Smith is considered as the father of tax system. Taxes in India are levied by
the Central Government and the state governments. Some minor taxes are also
levied by the local authorities such as the Municipality. There are three types of
tax systems that exists:
a) Progressive taxation: A progressive tax is a tax where the tax rate increases
as the taxable base amount increases. India follows this type of tax policy.
b) Regressive taxation: a tax imposed in such a manner that the tax rate
decreases as the amount subject to taxation increases.
c) Proportionate taxation: It is a tax imposed so that the tax rate is fixed, with
no change as the taxable base amount increases or decreases.
Direct and Indirect taxes:
Direct Taxes are the taxes that are levied on the income of individuals or
organizations. Income tax, corporate tax, inheritance tax are some instances of
direct taxation. Income tax is the tax levied on individual income from various
sources like salaries, investments, interest etc. Corporate tax is the tax paid by
companies or firms on the incomes they earn.
Indirect taxes are those paid by consumers when they buy goods and services.
These include excise and customs duties. Customs duty is the charge levied when
goods are imported into the country, and is paid by the importer or exporter.
Excise duty is a levy paid by the manufacturer on items manufactured within the
country. Usually, these charges are passed on to the consumer.

References:
1) Economy module by Chanakya Mandal
2) N Chandra: Constitution of India
3) Polity and Geography modules: UPSC, Chanakya Mandal

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