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About IndiaPage 4
Indian Currency: Rupees
 India's currency is the Rupee, abbreviated as Rs. One Rupee is equal to hundred paise. Notes are in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500. Coins start at 10, 20, (not used so much these days) 25, 50, paise and 1, 2, and 5 rupees.
Notes can get disfigured, so do not accept torn or disfigured notes. In case you do get torn notes you can change them at the Reserve Bank of India or large branches of other big banks. Traveller's cheques and credit cards
It is advisable to carry a mixture of cash and traveller's cheques to guard against any situation. US dollars are the easiest currency to change with pounds sterling coming a close second. Other hard currencies such as Yen, French Francs, Canadian Dollars, Deutsche Mark can also be changed in tourist areas and big cities. A currency declaration form has to be filled out by the tourists if they enter the country with US$10,000 or its equivalent in any other currency.
Tourists can get a relatively better exchange rate for traveller's cheques and they are safer to carry though not as liquid as cash. American Express, Visa or Thomas Cook Traveller Cheques are readily accepted.
A growing number of hotels, restaurants and shops are beginning to accept credit cards, the well known and more accepted ones being American Express, Access or Mastercards, Diners Club and Visa.
Legislature: Parliament system
The Legislative Arm of the Union, called Parliament, consists
of the President, Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. All legislation requires consent
of both houses of parliament. However, in case of money bills, the will
of the Lok Sabha always prevails.p
The Rajya Sabha consists of 245 members. Of these, 233
represent states and union territories and 12 members are nominated by
the President. Elections to the Rajya Sabha are indirect; members are elected
by the elected members of Legislative Assemblies of the concerned states.
The Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution, one third of its members
retire every second year.
The Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of the people chosen by direct
election on the basis of universal adult suffrage. As of today, the Lok
Sabha consists of 545 members with two members nominated by the President
to represent the Anglo-Indian Community. Unless dissolved under unusual
circumstances, the term of the Lok Sabha is five years.
President is the constitutional head of the government. He appoints the ministers. President invites the legislative leader of the majority party in the lower house(Loksabha) to form the government. The leader become Prime Minister and chooses his cabinet. The Council of Ministers comprises Cabinet Ministers, Minister of States (independent charge or otherwise) and Deputy Ministers. Prime Minister communicates all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to administration of affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation to the President. Generally, each department has an officer designated as secretary to the Government of India to advise Ministers on policy matters
and general administration. The Cabinet Secretariat has an important coordinating role in decision making at highest level and operates under direction of Prime Minister.
Indian President
The President is elected by members of an Electoral College consisting of elected
members of both Houses of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of the
states, with suitable weightage given to each vote. His term of office
is five years.
Among other powers, the President can proclaim an emergency
in the country if he is satisfied that the security of the country or of
any part of its territory is threatened whether by war or external agression
or armed rebellion. When there is a failure of the constitutional
machinery in a state, he can assume to himself all or any of the functions
of the government of that state
The Vice-President is elected by the members of an electoral
college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament in accordance
with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable
vote. He holds office for five years. The Vice-President is Ex-officio
Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Presidents of India
| NAME | FROM | TO |
| Dr. Rajendra Prasad | Jan 26, 1950 | May 13, 1962 |
| Dr. S. Radhakrishnan | May 13, 1962 | May 13, 1967 |
| Dr. Zakir Hussain | May 13, 1967 | Aug 24, 1969 |
| Varahagiri Venkata Giri | Aug 24, 1969 | Aug 24, 1974 |
| Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed | Aug 24, 1974 | Feb 11, 1977 |
| Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | Jul 25, 1977 | Jul 25, 1982 |
| Giani Zail Singh | Jul 25, 1982 | Jul 25, 1987 |
| R. Venkataraman | Jul 25, 1987 | Jul 25, 1992 |
| Dr.S.D. Sharma | Jul 25, 1992 | Jul 25, 1997 |
| K R Narayanan | Jul 25, 1997 | Jul 24, 2002 |
| Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam | Jul 25, 2002 | July 24, 2007 |
| Pratibha Patil | Jul 25, 2007 | Present |
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