India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia and the most populous democracy in the world. India is a secular federal republic governed in a democratic parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society. India has become a fast-growing major economy, a hub for information technology services. It has a space programme which includes several planned or completed extraterrestrial missions. India has substantially reduced its rate of poverty, though at the cost of increasing economic inequality. India is considered a great power and nuclear weapons state, which ranks high in military expenditure. It has disputes over Kashmir with its neighbours, Pakistan and China, unresolved since the mid-20th century. Its forest cover comprises 21.4% of its area. India’s wildlife, which has traditionally been viewed with tolerance in India’s culture is supported among these forests and elsewhere  in protected habitats.