India
Local government information correct as of 2009
 Key facts
POPULATION (Census 2001): 1,028,610,328
AREA: 3,287,263 sq km
CAPITAL: New Delhi
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTION TO GDP: 0.75%
CURRENCY: rupee (INR)
HEAD OF STATE: President Pratibha Patil
HEAD OF GOVERNMENT: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: constitutional democratic republic
PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM: bicameral
STATE STRUCTURE: federal
LANGUAGES: Hindi and English (official), Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi,
Tamil, Telugu, Urdu (recognised).
NATIONAL ELECTIONS: last: 2009; turnout: 56.7%; next: 2014
LOCAL ELECTIONS vary from state to state.
Summary
India is a federal republic with three spheres of government: central (union) state and local. The 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments give recognition and protection to local government whilst each state has its own local government legislation. The Ministry for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Ministry for Urban Development and Ministry for Rural Development all have oversight responsibility for local government at the national level.
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Related links
Commonwealth Local Government Good Practice Scheme in India
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Additional information since publication:
Elections were held in Assam, Kerala, Pondicherry, Tami Nadu and West Bengal in April 2011, results can be obtained from the election commission website: www.indian-elections.com/resultsupdate
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