Government and power in India

Who leads India, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Federal parliamentary republic (union of states and union territories).

Who leads India?

• Head of state: Droupadi Murmu (President of the Republic of India)
• Head of government: Narendra Modi (Prime Minister of the Republic of India)
• Foreign minister: Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (Minister for External Affairs of the Republic of India)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in India

Government

• Prime Minister's Office
  Speeches, press releases and announcements from the Prime Minister of India.
• Press Information Bureau
  Official press releases and factsheets from ministries of the Government of India.
• National Portal of India
  The government's gateway to ministries, schemes, services and official documents.

Parliament

• Lok Sabha (House of the People)
  Debates, questions, bills and member information for the lower house of Parliament.
• Rajya Sabha (Council of States)
  Debates, questions, bills and member information for the upper house of Parliament.

Elections

• Election Commission of India
  Election schedules, results, electoral roll statistics and candidate affidavits for national and state elections.

Courts

• Supreme Court of India
  Judgments, daily orders, cause lists and case status for the country's highest court.

Public audit

• Comptroller and Auditor General of India
  Audit reports on the accounts of the union and state governments and public-sector bodies, laid before Parliament.

Access to information

• Central Information Commission
  Second-appeal and complaint decisions under the Right to Information Act, annual reports and cause lists.

Public contracts

• Central Public Procurement Portal
  Tenders and contract award details of central government ministries and public sector bodies.

Laws and the official gazette

• India Code
  Central and state Acts with their subordinate legislation, maintained by the Legislative Department.
• eGazette of India
  The Gazette of India, publishing Acts, notifications, rules and orders of the central government.

Government below the national level

• States (28) and union territories (8): Elected state assembly and chief minister; governor appointed by the President. Most union territories are run by an administrator or lieutenant governor appointed by the President.
• Districts (about 780): District collector/magistrate: a civil servant (usually Indian Administrative Service) posted by the state; alongside an elected district panchayat (zila parishad)
• Blocks (intermediate panchayats: panchayat samiti / mandal parishad): Members directly elected; chairperson elected indirectly by members
• Village councils (gram panchayats, about 255,000) and urban local bodies (about 4,700: municipal corporations, municipalities, nagar panchayats): Directly elected every five years; village head (sarpanch/pradhan) elected directly or by members depending on state law; mayors mostly chosen by councillors, directly elected in some states

How local power works in India

Places in India

• All 36 states
• The 505 largest cities
• Official statistics for India

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.