A myriad expressions of India’s heritage and traditions
| Location | The Indian peninsula is separated from mainland Asia by the Himalayas. The country is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south. | |
| Geographic Coordinates | Lying entirely in the Northern Hemisphere, the country extends between 8° 4' and 37° 6' latitudes north of the Equator, and 68° 7' and 97° 25' longitudes east of it. | |
| Indian Standard Time | GMT + 05:30 | |
| Area | 3.3 million sq km | |
| Telephone Country Code | +91 | |
| Border Countries |
Afghanistan and Pakistan to the north-west; China, Bhutan and Nepal to the north; Myanmar to the east; and Bangladesh to the east of West Bengal. Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea, formed by Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar. |
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| Coastline | 7,516.6 km encompassing the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. | |
| Climate | The climate of India can broadly be classified as a tropical monsoon one. But, in spite of much of the northern part of India lying beyond the tropical zone, the entire country has a tropical climate marked by relatively high temperatures and dry winters. There are four seasons: | |
| i. | winter (December-February) | |
| ii. | summer (March-June) | |
| iii. | south-west monsoon season (June-September) | |
| iv. | post monsoon season (October-November) | |
| Terrain | The mainland comprises of four regions, namely the great mountain zone, plains of the Ganga and the Indus, the desert region, and the southern peninsula. | |
| Natural Resources | Coal, iron ore, manganese ore, mica, bauxite, petroleum, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, magnesite, limestone, arable land, dolomite, barytes, kaolin, gypsum, apatite, phosphorite, steatite, fluorite, etc. | |
| Population | India's population, as on 1 March 2011 stood at 1,210 million | |
| Languages | There are 22 different languages that have been recognised by the Constitution of India, of which Hindi is an Official Language. Article 343(3) empowered Parliament to provide by law for continued use of English for official purposes. | |
| Country Name | Republic of India; Bharat Ganrajya | |
| Government Type | Sovereign Socialist Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of Government. The President of India (Rashtrapati) is the Head of State while the Prime Minister is the Head of Government. | |
| Capital | New Delhi | |
| Administrative Divisions | 28 States and 7 Union Territories. | |
| Independence | 15 August 1947 (From the British Colonial Rule) | |
| Legislature | The Indian Legislature comprises of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) forming both the Houses of the Parliament. The states have their own legislatures. | |
| Judicial Branch |
The Supreme Court of India is the apex body of the Indian legal system, followed by other High Courts and subordinate Courts. | |
| Flag Description | The National Flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (kesaria) at the top, white in the middle, and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. At the centre of the white band is a navy blue wheel, which is a representation of the Ashoka Chakra at Sarnath. | |
| National Days | 26 January (Republic Day) 15 August (Independence Day) 2 October (Gandhi Jayanti; Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday) |
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