Changes

==Principal Government Officials==

==Principal Government Officials==

*President--Pratibha Patil

*President--Pranab Mukherjee

*Vice President--Mohammed Hamid Ansari

*Vice President--Mohammed Hamid Ansari

*Prime Minister--Manmohan Singh

*Prime Minister--Manmohan Singh

*Home Minister--Shivraj Patil

*Home Minister--Sushilkumar Shinde

*Minister of External Affairs--Pranab Mukherjee

*Minister of External Affairs--Salman Khurshid

*Ambassador to the U.S.--Ronen Sen

*Ambassador to the U.S.--Nirupama Rao

*Ambassador to the UN--Nirupam Sen

*Ambassador to the UN--Hardeep Singh Puri

===Politics ===

===Politics ===

The governing coalition led by the Indian National Congress sailed to a decisive victory in India’s parliamentary elections in May 2009, adding 57 seats. The election gave a second term to prime minister Manmohan Singh, age 77, a soft-spoken economic reformer, and ended the prospect of political instability in the world’s most populous democracy.  The election confirmed that Sonia Gandhi, age 62, dominates the Congress Party. She is the the Italian-born widow of the assassinated former prime minister [[Rajiv Gandhi]] and the daughter-in-law of the prime minister before him, [[Indira Gandhi]], who was also assasinated.  The Congress-led coalition built its near-majority with an appeal to the rural poor. During its first term, buoyed by robust economic growth, it used record government revenues to increase social spending, not just raising health and education budgets, but also starting an ambitious public works program in the countryside and a costly loan repayment waiver for farmers.  Mrs. Gandhi won support by casting herself as a leader who relinquished power, turning down her party’s appeals to become prime minister, first in 2004 and again this time. Instead, she chose the soft-spoken economist, Mr. Singh, and between them, they controlled the party and the government. She took care of the politics of keeping the coalition together, while he served as the chief executive who followed her advice.  

The governing coalition led by the Indian National Congress sailed to a decisive victory in India’s parliamentary elections in May 2009, adding 57 seats. The election gave a second term to prime minister Manmohan Singh, age 77, a soft-spoken economic reformer, and ended the prospect of political instability in the world’s most populous democracy.  The election confirmed that Sonia Gandhi, age 62, dominates the Congress Party. She is the the Italian-born widow of the assassinated former prime minister [[Rajiv Gandhi]] and the daughter-in-law of the prime minister before him, [[Indira Gandhi]], who was also assassinated.  The Congress-led coalition built its near-majority with an appeal to the rural poor. During its first term, buoyed by robust economic growth, it used record government revenues to increase social spending, not just raising health and education budgets, but also starting an ambitious public works program in the countryside and a costly loan repayment waiver for farmers.  Mrs. Gandhi won support by casting herself as a leader who relinquished power, turning down her party’s appeals to become prime minister, first in 2004 and again this time. Instead, she chose the soft-spoken economist, Mr. Singh, and between them, they controlled the party and the government. She took care of the politics of keeping the coalition together, while he served as the chief executive who followed her advice.  

[[File:India-14.jpg|thumb|390px]]

[[File:India-14.jpg|thumb|390px]]