Indian Social Republic

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		+	==Economy==
		+	India has a complex economic system that defies easy categorization. The Indian government itself adds further confusion by the government's ambiguous description of its economy as "neither capitalist, nor socialist, nor in between." Various political analysts abroad, depending on their own personal political leanings, describe India as "socialist," or "state capitalist," depending on who one asks, however, there is near-unanimity in their description of India as ''corporatist'' and ''dirigiste''.
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		+	State intervention in the economy, whether on behalf of politically-connected corporations (many of which are granted legal monopolies in recognition of their services to the regime) or on behalf of the workers whom it claims to represent, is pervasive. Price and wage controls are strictly enforced. Workers' wages are artifically set to a low level, while prices are set to a high level. The purposes of this are two-fold: To ensure that workers are required to work as many hours as possible, to ensure that they have neither the time nor the energy to dissent; and to maximize the profits of politically-connected corporations. Strikes and collective bargaining are illegal and, when they do occur, are ruthlessly suppressed. The government maintains at least nominal support of the workers by providing generous pensions, subsidized healthcare and housing, paid vacations, and other benefits.
		+
		+	The government's adherence to "self-reliance," and "economic independence," i.e. autarky, means that the country's trade with the outside world is kept to a bare minimum, as is foreign investment. Tariffs are among the highest in the world, and Indian businesses are massively subsidized. Farmers, too, enjoy generous subsidies, which serves to both protect Indian agriculture from foreign competition and win the support of farmers for the government.
		+
		+	Several public sector corporations exist, all of which enjoy monopolies in their respective areas. Examples include the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, National Thermal Power Corporation, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Indian Railways, Steel Authority of India Limited, National Fertilisers Limited, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Air India Air Transport Services Limited, Coal India Limited, National Aluminium Company Limited, National Mineral Development Corporation, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Goa Shipyard Limited, and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited are just a few examples. All are 100% government-owned and publicly funded.
		+
		+	There are very few small or medium sized businesses in India, due to the extremely cumbersome, costly, time-consuming process of setting up a business, coupled with the myriad regulations and bureaucratic red tape to wade through. This is a deliberate action by the government which serves to preclude the emergence of a strong middle class that would threaten the many powerful corporations that survive through their symbiotic relationship with the state.
		+
		+	While on paper India has a progressive tax rate, ''in practice'' its tax rate is regressive, meaning that the higher one's income is, the less he pays in taxes.
		+
		+	Often the question is asked (outside India): "Do the corporations run the government, or does the government run the corporations?" While both hold true to a certain degree, the latter does more so; more than one corporation has been nationalized, and its board of directors thrown in prison, for wavering in their support of the government.
		+
		+	On a more positive note, unemployment in India is almost non-existent. Conscription and extensive public works projects (most related to construction) ensure that jobs, both skilled and unskilled, are plentiful.
	[[Category:Nations]]		[[Category:Nations]]

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Revision as of 02:48, 16 April 2008

Indian Social Republic
Flag	Emblem
Motto "Ittefaq, Itmad aur Qurbani" (Hindustani) "Unity, Faith, and Sacrifice"
Anthem Vande Mataram (I bow to thee, Mother)
Capital Largest city	New Delhi 28°34'N, 77°07'E Mumbai
Official languages	Hindi (de jure) English (de facto)
Demonym	Indian
Government  - President  - Prime Minister	Dictatorship Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya Keshav Upadhyaya
Independence  - De facto  - De jure	from England January 26, 1944 August 15, 1947
Area  - Total  - Water (%)	3,166,414 km² 1,222,559 sq mi 9.56
Population  - 2007 estimate  - Density	616,209,148 194.6/km² 504/sq mi
GDP (PPP)  - Total  - Per capita	2007 estimate $4.034 trillion $6,548
GDP (nominal)  - Total  - Per capita	2007 estimate $6.087 trillion $9,879
Gini (2004)	57.7 (high)
HDI (2006)	0.773 (medium)
Currency	Indian rupee (₨) (INR)
Time zone - Summer (DST)	IST (UTC +5:30) not observed (UTC +5:30)
Internet TLD	.in
Calling code	+91

Economy

India has a complex economic system that defies easy categorization. The Indian government itself adds further confusion by the government's ambiguous description of its economy as "neither capitalist, nor socialist, nor in between." Various political analysts abroad, depending on their own personal political leanings, describe India as "socialist," or "state capitalist," depending on who one asks, however, there is near-unanimity in their description of India as corporatist and dirigiste.

State intervention in the economy, whether on behalf of politically-connected corporations (many of which are granted legal monopolies in recognition of their services to the regime) or on behalf of the workers whom it claims to represent, is pervasive. Price and wage controls are strictly enforced. Workers' wages are artifically set to a low level, while prices are set to a high level. The purposes of this are two-fold: To ensure that workers are required to work as many hours as possible, to ensure that they have neither the time nor the energy to dissent; and to maximize the profits of politically-connected corporations. Strikes and collective bargaining are illegal and, when they do occur, are ruthlessly suppressed. The government maintains at least nominal support of the workers by providing generous pensions, subsidized healthcare and housing, paid vacations, and other benefits.

The government's adherence to "self-reliance," and "economic independence," i.e. autarky, means that the country's trade with the outside world is kept to a bare minimum, as is foreign investment. Tariffs are among the highest in the world, and Indian businesses are massively subsidized. Farmers, too, enjoy generous subsidies, which serves to both protect Indian agriculture from foreign competition and win the support of farmers for the government.

Several public sector corporations exist, all of which enjoy monopolies in their respective areas. Examples include the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, National Thermal Power Corporation, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Indian Railways, Steel Authority of India Limited, National Fertilisers Limited, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Air India Air Transport Services Limited, Coal India Limited, National Aluminium Company Limited, National Mineral Development Corporation, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Goa Shipyard Limited, and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited are just a few examples. All are 100% government-owned and publicly funded.

There are very few small or medium sized businesses in India, due to the extremely cumbersome, costly, time-consuming process of setting up a business, coupled with the myriad regulations and bureaucratic red tape to wade through. This is a deliberate action by the government which serves to preclude the emergence of a strong middle class that would threaten the many powerful corporations that survive through their symbiotic relationship with the state.

While on paper India has a progressive tax rate, in practice its tax rate is regressive, meaning that the higher one's income is, the less he pays in taxes.

Often the question is asked (outside India): "Do the corporations run the government, or does the government run the corporations?" While both hold true to a certain degree, the latter does more so; more than one corporation has been nationalized, and its board of directors thrown in prison, for wavering in their support of the government.

On a more positive note, unemployment in India is almost non-existent. Conscription and extensive public works projects (most related to construction) ensure that jobs, both skilled and unskilled, are plentiful.