India has made considerable achievements during its fifty years of independence. India ranks 128 th in the Human Development Index of 2000. However, despite the decline in poverty rates, more than 300 million people remain below the poverty line. India has grown and developed as the world s largest democracy.
Citizens enjoy considerable civil and political freedoms.
The President, Mr. K.R. Narayanan, is the constitutional head of the Union. Real executive power rests with the Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister. The NDA, consisting of 24 parties, formed a coalition government with Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee as Prime Minister. India has 26 states and six union territories. The Governor, as the representative of the President, is the head of Executive, but real executive power rests with the Chief Minister who heads the Council of Ministers.