The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) receives a large number of foreign delegations, student groups and individuals who do not have a great deal of familiarity with India but wish to know about the country, its history, geography, civilisation, culture, foreign policy, security challenges, etc. A need has been felt for an authentic and informative set of notes which can be used for briefings and be shared with visiting
delegations.

Accordingly, experts and scholars at the VIF have put together a handbook on Indian democracy and governance, covering topics ranging from democracy and governance, security challenges, foreign policy, soft power and new policy initiatives. Treatment has been kept deliberately concise so as not to overwhelm the reader with excessive details, yet achieve the objective of conveying the essence of the topic.Inevitably, a handbook of this nature will leave some topics and details out, and yet, hopefully convey essential features of democratic India’s governance system.