Country Flag of India Map of India, Courtesy of WorldAtlas.com

Local time in New Delhi:


Facts and Figures

arrow Official Name Republic of India.

arrow Capital City New Delhi.

arrow Languages English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindu is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language.

arrow Official Currency Indian rupee (INR).

arrow Ethnic Groups Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000).

arrow Religions Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000).

arrow Population 1,045,845,226 (July 2002 est.).

arrow Land Area 2,973,190 sq km (1,147,949 sq miles).

History

The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, goes back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in 12th were followed by European traders beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism under Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU led to independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Fundamental concerns in India include the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife, all this despite impressive gains in economic investment and output.

UNAIDS Epidemiological
Fact Sheets

[English] [French]

Global Surveillance of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is a joint effort of WHO and UNAIDS. The UNAIDS/WHO Working Group on Global HIV/AIDS and STI Surveillance, initiated in November 1996, guides respective activities. The primary objective of the working group is to strengthen national, regional and global structures and networks for improved monitoring and surveillance of HIV/AIDS and STIs. For this purpose, the working group collaborates closely with national AIDS programmes and a number of national and international experts and institutions. The goal of this collaboration is to compile the best information available and to improve the quality of data needed for informed decision-making and planning at national, regional and global levels. The Epidemiological Fact Sheets are one of the products of this close and fruitful collaboration across the globe.

India Contacts

Country Name Title Office Telephone Fax
India Dora Warren, PhD Epidemiologist 91 11 419 8491 91 11 419 8000
  Nancy Nay, PHA PHA, Chennai 91 44 811 4000  

Websites:

U.S. Government Agencies

CDC India Fact Sheet
India extends nearly 2000 km from the Limpopo River in the north to Cape Agulhas in the south and nearly 1500 km form Port Nolloth in the west to the eastern port city of Durban. All the former homelands have been absorbed into the country's nine provinces, but regional and historical distinctions remain. There are 11 official languages in India, but most people speak English.

U.S. Census: HIV/AIDS Profile - India
The HIV/AIDS epidemic in India varies from state to state, concentrated among prostitutes and IV drug users. Prevalence has risen among prostitutes and truck drivers. In Manipur State, prevalence among IV drug users reached 80 percent in the early 1990s. The west and south of the country have experienced a worrying increase in prevalence among STD patients and pregnant women.

USAID: India Fact Sheet
With a 20 percent HIV infection rate among adults and an estimated 4.2 million adults and children living with HIV/AIDS, India is among the worst-affected countries in the world. The nation is home to half of all HIV-positive people in the nine southern African countries hardest hit by the pandemic, and it recently surpassed India as the nation with the greatest number of people living with HIV/AIDS.

World Fact Book India Fact Sheet
The Factbook was created as an annual summary and update to the encyclopedic NIS studies. The first classified Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first unclassified version was published in June 1971. The 1975 Factbook was the first to be made available to the public with sales through the US Government Printing Office (GPO).

Forums

AIDS-India
An electronic forum to foster communication and collaboration among those of who are involved or interested in AIDS related issues in India. All messages are moderated and may be edited for clarity. You may receive 3-4 messages daily. Active discussion is encouraged by the moderator. The views presented are of the contributors. They may not represent the views of the moderator or his affiliates.

India:

The Daybreak
Non-governmental Organization -- 214-D(DDA)Motia Khan New Delhi Delhi 110055 India -- Phone +911123552640 -- Fax +911123555397 -- Objectives: A)To improve the health and quality of life of women and children; improvements in maternal health, B) To fight AIDS, Malaria, Asthma, Polio and Tuberculosis. Email: aansingkar@rediffmail.com

Embassy of India: National AIDS Policy
The attributable factors for such rapid spread of the epidemic across the country today is labour migration and mobility in search of employment from economically backward to more advanced regions, low literacy levels leading to low awareness among the potential high risk groups, gender disparity, Sexually Transmitted Infections and Reproductive Tract Infections both among men and women.

Family Health International: India
The first HIV case was reported in 1986 in Chennai, capital of the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India, and in 1993, the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) was established. NACO estimates that as of 2000, 3.86 million people in the country were living with HIV, with an estimated total adult HIV infection rate of 0.7 percent. But the epidemic in India is heterogeneous as each state is at a different stage.

FHI: HIV/AIDS
Since 1986, Family Health International has pioneered ways to curtail the spread of HIV/AIDS. Many of the HIV prevention "best practices" in use today have emerged from FHI’s work in more than 60 countries. FHI’s efforts range from clinical trials of promising HIV/AIDS prevention methods to managing and supporting prevention and care programs worldwide.

HIV Atlas
HIV ATLAS-INDIA aims to serve the Positively Proud People irrespective of their HIV Status by providing a platform for information dissemination of WANTS and HAVES related to HIV/AIDS in INDIA.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest medical research bodies in the world. The ICMR is funded by the Government of India through the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

National AIDS Control Organization
National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), is the nodal organization for formulation of policy and implementation of programs for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in India. In a scenario with no vaccine or drug for cure in sight, information, awareness and education are the best ways to prevent the disease from spreading.

The NAZ Foundation (India) Trust
Naz India has designed a services delivery network that caters to prevention, awareness, and education on the one hand, and to care, support and therapy on the other. The issues of social injustice that HIV/AIDS draws attention to in the context of gender, sexual orientation, poverty, stigmatization and discrimination are being confronted by all of Naz India's programs.

Satyam Foundation
Satyam Foundation is a California based nonprofit organization. It is dedicated to serving the world as a community by strengthening global communication among individuals. We are building bridges via the Internet and the collaboration of our partners. Our focus is on development projects of universal importance in India and the United States.

www.indianova.org
A nonprofit initiative of Satyam Foundation. India has had a sharp increase in the estimated number of HIV infections, from a few thousand in the early 1990s to a working estimate of about 4 million adults and children living with HIV/AIDS in 2001. With a population of one billion, the HIV epidemics in India will have a major impact on the overall spread of HIV in Asia and the Pacific and indeed worldwide.

Solidarity and Action Against The HIV Infection In India (SAATHII)
SAATHII is a non-profit organization established to provide a neutral platform for multi-sectoral dialogue among health care providers, policy makers, and people living with HIV/AIDS, educators and volunteers leading to formation of a collective voice in the fight against the HIV infection in India. SAATHII's key activities include information dissemination, networking, capacity building, training, advocacy, and program and policy development.

Travel Advisory/Visa Information

CDC Traveler's Health: General information Regarding Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Travel
International travelers should be advised that some countries serologically screen incoming travelers (primarily those with extended visits, such as for work or study) and deny entry to people with AIDS and those whose test results indicate infection with HIV. Moreover, travelers carrying antiretroviral medication might be denied entry to some countries. People who intend to visit a country for a substantial period or to work or study abroad should be informed of the policies and requirements of the particular country. This information is usually available from the consular officials of the individual nations.

US Department of State - Travel Advisory
Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department decides, based on all relevant information, to recommend that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Countries where avoidance of travel is recommended will have Travel Warnings as well as Consular Information Sheets.

United Nations:

United Nations Development Programme: India
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and its predecessor organisations have been actively involved in supporting the national development priorities of India for the last five decades. Historically, UNDP has supported India in strengthening its national institutions and in the dissemination of advanced know-how in diverse areas.

UNDP: HIV/AIDS in India
"The most serious public health challenge that the country is facing today is of HIV/AIDS that is just a decade old in the country. AIDS is a global problem - sadly, with a strong Indian dimension."

UNDP: YouandAIDS.org
YouandAIDS.org is an HIV/AIDS portal for South and North East Asia that seeks to address the strongly-felt information and services needs of the region, particularly in the overall development context, and act as a regional platform to synergise multisectoral responses against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

World Bank:

The World Bank Group: India's National AIDS Control Program
India faces a major HIV/AIDS epidemic that threatens the country's achievements in health and development. Global experience suggests that a mature AIDS epidemic reduces life expectancy, increases the demand for medical care, worsens other illnesses such as tuberculosis, and exacerbates poverty and inequality. Since the first HIV and AIDS cases were reported in 1986, there has been a rapid increase in HIV prevalence and AIDS cases. In 1998, India's National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) estimated that there were more than 4 million HIV-infected Indians (about 1 percent of the adult population).

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India

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