India At a Glance

India has a distinct and renowned place in the world whether it is in terms of history, culture, geographical location or the modern developments and progress in the field of science and technology. Historically, India is a cradle of one among the oldest cultures in the world which in turn has contributed in its present splendid culture. The level to which India has shown its resilience after its independence from Britishers is phenomenal. In the last 65 years post independence, it has achieved all-round politico-administrative developments, socio-economic growth and technological-scientific progress to the envy of the world. In terms of area the country encloses, it stands as the seventh (7th) largest country in the world. The geographical boundaries are marked by vast Himalayan ranges in the north to the ocean-washing coasts on the three side viz.Bay of Bengal in the east, Indian Ocean in the South and Arabia Sea in the west. India lies between 8° 4' and 37° 6' north latitudes and 68° 7' and 97° 25' east longitudes thus placing it entirely in the northern hemisphere. The aerial distance from north to south is about 3,214 km and between east to west is nearly 2,933 km. It has a land periphery of about 15,200 km and covers an area of 3,287,590 sq. km (1,269,346 sq mi). The vast coastline of the country including mainland and Islands of Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar is 7,516.6 km Due to this strategic geographical situation in the Asian Continent, India had a unique position in the history of the world and was known as the “pearl of the orient” in the history.

India’s “tryst with destiny” after independence has been phenomenal. It pulled from the state of backwardness and despair and placed itself to the present position where it is self reliant in terms of agricultural production, milk production, industrial output, nuclear power and scientific progress. It has even reached out to outer space to imprint it’s name in the field of satellites, remote-sensing and space exploration.

Geography

Headings	Specification
Location	Himalayas acts as the great wall which separates Indian peninsula from Asia. India is flanked by three seas from three different directions viz. Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean in the east, west and south respectively.
On the World Atlas	The Country lies between north latitudes 8° 4' and 37° 6', and between the east longitudes 68° 7' and 97° 25', thus placing completely in the Northern Hemisphere.
IST	+ 05:30 ahead of Greenwich Mean Time
Total Area	3.3 Mlln sq. km
Telephonic Country Code	+91
Bordering Countries	The country is surrounded by eight (8) countries. These are Afghanistan and Pakistan in north-west direction; China, Bhutan and Nepal in the north; Myanmar and Bangladesh in the east. Sri Lanka is separated from India by Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.
Coast-length	7,517 km including mainland and Islands of Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar.
Climatic Condition	The climate of India can basically be described as a tropical monsoon one. The summers are hot and dry and most of the north India comes under the effect of local hot wind called “Loo”. Summers are followed by the monsoon season marked by heavy rainfall due to onset of south-west monsoon winds. The winters are dry and temperature goes to less than 10 degrees in many parts of the country. The climate of the country could be broadly divided into four seasons: Winter Season (December-February) Summer Season (March-June) Monsoon Season (June-September) Post- Monsoon Season (October-November)
Topography	The main landmass comprises of four geographical regions with typical climatic conditions resulting into respective fauna and flora. These regions are: the great mountain range predominantly in the north, the Ganga basin and the Indus basin and the plains formed thereof, the arid region in the western part, and the southern plateau region formed by decomposition of lava in the past.
Natural Resources	Coal, petroleum, natural gas, mica, iron ore, manganese ore, bauxite, mica, limestone, gypsum, kaolin, titanium ore, chromite, , magnesite, dolomite, barytes, apatite, phosphorite, steatite, fluorite, etc.
Natural Hazards	Earthquakes and landslides, monsoon floods, droughts, flash floods.
Environment - Current Issues	Air pollution, depleting energy resources, management of solid waste, conservation of oil and gas, conservation of fauna and flora etc.
Environment - International Agreements	Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on climatic change ( UNFCCC), Rio Declaration on environment and development, World Trade Agreement, Cartagena Protocol on bio-safety, Helsinki Protocol on the reduction of sulphur and emissions of nitrogen oxides or their trans-boundary fluxes (Nox Protocol), and Geneva Protocol to LRTAP concerning the control of emissions of volatile organic compounds or their trans-boundary fluxes (VOCs Protocol).
Geography	India occupies a major part of the South Asia.

People

Headings	Specifications
Population	Population of India, as on 1st March 2011 was 1,210,193,422 out of which 623.7 million were males and 586.4 million were females
Growth Rateof the Population	The average exponential growth rate annually is 1.64 % during the period 2001-2011.
Birth Rate	The Crude Birth Rate (CBR) was 18.3 in 2009.
Death Rate	The Crude Death Rate (CDR) was 7.3 in 2009.
Life Expectancy	65.8 years for Males and 68.1 years for Females during the period 2006-2011.
Sex Ratio	940 ( i.e. on every 1000 males, the number of females are 940) according to 2011 census
Nationality	Indian
Racial Groups	All the five major types of human races i.e. Australoid, Mongoloid, Europoid, Caucasian, and Negroid find representation among the Indian Population.
Faith/Religions	Hindu constituted the majority with 80.5%, Muslims came second at 13.4%, followed by other faiths like Christians, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists.
Languages	The Indian Constitution recognizes 22 languages spoken in the country. Hindi is recognized as an Official Language of the country. Parliament was empowered by Article 343(3) to make laws for continued use of English for official purposes.
Literacy	The average literacy rate in the Country is figured to be 74.04 per cent according to the provisional results of the 2011 census. The males and females literacy rates are respectively 82.14% and 65.46%.

Government

Headings	Specification
Name of the country	Republic of India; Bharat Ganrajya
Type of Government	Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of Government.
Capital	New Delhi
Administrative Divisions	28 States and 7 Union Territories.
Independence	15th August 1947 (From the British Rule)
Constitution	The Constitution of India came into effect on 26th January 1950.
Legal System	The Constitution of India is the fundamental basis for the present legal system in the Country.
Executive Branch	The President of India is the Titular Head of the State, the Prime Minister of India is the Head of the Government, who runs the government with the help and support of the Council of Ministers or Cabinet.
Legislature	The Indian Parliament or Legislature comprises of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and Lok Sabha (House of the People) forming both the Houses of the Parliament.
Judiciary	The Supreme Court of India is the highest body in the Indian Judicial system, followed by High Courts in the states and subordinate Courts.
Flag Description	The National Flag is a tri-color having three colors viz.deep saffron (kesaria) at the top, white in the middle, and dark green at the bottom placed horizontally one over the other in equal proportion. There is a blue wheel at the centre which is taken from the Ashoka Chakra at Sarnath.
National Days	January 26th (Republic Day) August 15th (Independence Day) October 2nd ( Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi)