Embajada de la India en España - Embassy of India in Spain

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ABOUT INDIA

The State Structure

The Internal Polity

Overview

INDIA, a Union of States, is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a parliamentary system of government. The Republic is governed in terms of the Constitution, which was adopted by Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950.
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ELECTION COMMISSION

Superintendence, direction and control of preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of elections, to Parliament and state legislatures and elections to the office of President and Vice-President of India are vested in the Election Commission of India. It is an independent constitutional authority set up in pursuance of Article 324(1) of the Constitution of India. Since its inception in 1950 and till October 1989, the Commission functioned as a single member body consisting of the Chief Election Commissioner.

THE UNION AND ITS TERRITORY

India comprises 28 States and seven Union Territories. They are: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kamataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Three new states-Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal - came into being recently. Union Territories are : Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Lakshadweep and Pondicherry.

CITIZENSHIP

The Constitution of India provides for a single and uniform citizenship for the whole of India. Every person who was at the commencement of the Constitution (26 January 1950) domiciled in the territory of India and: (a) who was born in the territory of India or (b) either of whose parents was born in the territory of India or (c) who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than five years immediately preceding such commencement, shall be a citizen of India. The Citizenship Act, 1955 provides for acquisition and termination of citizenship after the commencement of the Constitution.