India is a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Repute

India is a country of south Asia. To the north of India are China Nepal and Bhutan. Sri Lanka and Indian Ocean are in the south East to India are Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bay of Bengal to the west and north-west are Arabian Ocean, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It lies completely in the Northern Hemisphere.

Tropic of Cancer runs about midway through the country.

Indian longitudinal stretches from west to east –

ADVERTISEMENTS:

68 7 E to 97°25′ E.

Indian latitudinal stretches from south to north

8 4 N to 37°6’N.

Area

ADVERTISEMENTS:

32,87,263 square kilometers.

Position in the world

Seventh position in area.

Percentage of India’s land-

ADVERTISEMENTS:

2.2% of the world.

Total states-28.

No. of Union Territories-7.

Physical Divisions-

ADVERTISEMENTS:

(i) The northern mountains (ii) The northern plains (iii) The Peninsular Plateau (iv) Coastal plains (v) That desert (vi) Islands.

Indian Standard Time (1ST)-

The local time of 82° 30′ E longitude at Allahabad is taken as the Indian Standard Time. The 1ST is five and a half hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

The distance between the equator and the southernmost tip of India

ADVERTISEMENTS:

876 kilometer.

India from north to south-

3214 kilometer.

India from east to west-

ADVERTISEMENTS:

2933 kilometer.

Coastline-

6100 kilometer.

-7516.5 kilometer (including islands).

Land frontier-

15,200 kilometer.

Shape of India-

Triangular.

Shapes of Peninsular India-

Triangular.

The Southernmost tip on the mainland-

Kanya Kumari.

Largest state (Area)-

Rajasthan.

Smallest state (Area)-

Goa.

Largest state (Population)-

Uttar Pradesh.

Smallest state (Population)-

Sikkim.

Largest Union Territory (Area)-

Andaman & Nicobar.

Smallest Union Territory (Area)-

Lakshadeep.

Largest Union Territory (Population)-

Delhi.

Smallest Union Territory (Population)-

Lakshadeep.

Largest Plateau state-

Madhya Pradesh.

Largest Desert state-

Rajasthan.

Largest Plain state-

Uttar Pradesh.

Largest Forest state-

Assam.

Indian Islands-

(i) Andaman & Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal (ii) Lakshadeep in the Arabian sea.

Total Indian Islands-247.

Islands in the Bay of Bengal-204.

Islands in the Arabian sea-43.

The m ost important island in the Arabian sea-Minicoy.

Newmoor island-Near Kolkata in the Bay of Bengal.

Ten degree channel-In Andaman & Nicobar islands.

Southernmost tip of India-Indira Point (Pygmalion Point). In Andaman & Nicobar islands.

Gulf of Mannar-Between India and Sri Lanka.

Elephanta Pass-It separates northern Sri Lanka from southern Sri Lanka.

Gulf of Khambat- At the coastal area of Gujarat in the Arabian sea.

Gulf of Kutch-At the coastal area of Gujarat in the Arabian sea.

Duncan Pass-It is between south Andaman and minor Andaman in the Bay of Bengal.

Asian Bowl of eggs-Andhra Pradesh.

Rice Bowl of India-Andhra Pradesh.

The Indian city of weavers-Panipat.

Soya Region of India-Madhya Pradesh.

That Desert-In the state of Rajasthan.

Eastern coast- remanded coast.

Western coast-Malaba Coast.

The highest waterfall-Gorsoppa on the Sharavati river in Karnataka.

Tropic of cancer passes through-Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.

Indian Capital-New Delhi.

State with highest population density-West Bengal (904 persons/ square kilometer).

State with least population density-Arunachal Pradesh (13 persons/square kilometer).

Union Territory with highest population density- Delhi’

Union Territory with lowest population density-Andaman & Nicobar.

Population-1,02,70,15,247 (According to 2001 census).

Position in the world-Second largest populated country in the world.

Percentage in the world’s population-16.7%

Population density of India-324 persons/square kilometer

National language-Hindi.

Literacy rate-65.38%.

Male literacy rate-75.85%.

Female literacy rate-54.16%.

State with highest literacy rate-Kerala (90.92%).

State with lowest literacy rate-Bihar (47.53%).

Union Territory with highest literacy rate-Lakshadeep (87.52%).

Union Territory with lowest literacy rate-Dadar and Nagar Havel (60.03%).

Percentage increase in population (1991-2001)-21.34%. Sex Ratio-933/1000.

State with highest sex ratio-Kerala (1058/1000).

State with lowest sex ratio-Haryana.

Union Territory with highest sex ratio-Pondicherry (1001/ 1000).

Union Territory with lowest sex ratio-Daman and Diu.

Population increase annually-1.95%.

Currency-Rupee.

Nationalised Banks-20.

Important industries

Iron and steel, Textile, Sugar, Rail engines, Rail coaches, Paper industries, Cement, Leather, Chemical industries, Rubber industries, Ship building, Automobile industries.

Important Seaports-

Mumbai, Kolkata, Haldia, Goa, Cochin, Kandla, Chennai, Tuticorin, Vishakhapatnam, Manglore, Bhatkal, Bhavanagar, Calicut, Kakinada, Paradeep.

Important Hill stations

Nainital, Darjeeling, Srinagar, Gulmarg, Kullu valley, Dalhousie, Shimla, Ranchi, Shilong, Ooty, Mussoorie, Almora, Mahabaleshwar, Panchmarhi, Mount Abu.

Major Cities

Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hydrabad, Kanpur, Ahmadabad, Jaipur, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Patna, Agra.

Major mountains

Himalayas, Karakoram, Western Ghat, Eastern Ghat, Vindhyachal, Satpura, Aravali, Khasi, Maikal.

Major rivers

Ganga, Brahmaputra, Yamuna, Satluj, Godavari, Narmada, Tapti, Mahanadi, Kaveri, Krishna, Gomti, Ramganga Chambal.

Important mountain peaks

Gaudvin Austin (K2), Kanchanjanga, Nanga Parvat, Nandadevi, Annapurnadevi, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Anaimudi.

Important lakes

Dal, Wular, Nainital, Chilka, Sambhar, Husain Sagar.

Climate- Monsoon.

Forest area– 750 lacs hectare (22.7%). I

Important soils- Alluvial soil, Black soil, Red soil, Laterite soil, Mountain soil, Desert soil.

Sources of irrigation-Canals (40%), Wells (37.8%), Tanks (14.5%).

Major food crops-Rice, wheat, millets, maize, ragi.

Important cash crops-Cotton, jute, tobacco, tea, coffee, rubber, coconut.

Chief minerals-Iron ores, coal, manganese, mica, bauxite, uranium etc.

Major exporters of-Engineering goods, spices, tobacco, leather products, tea, iron ores, jewellery etc.

Major importers of-Chemicals, Machineries, Fertilisers, Petroleum etc.

Total number of towns- 3,696.

The most urbanised state-Maharashtra (40%).

State with maximum towns-Uttar Pradesh.

State with minimum towns-Meghalaya.

Important marine fishes-Mackerel, Sardine, Salmon, Tuna, Herring Percentage in world fishing-2.7%.

Most important fishing areas-Western Ghat 75%, Eastern Ghat 25o/o.

The largest district-Laddakh.

The smallest district-Thadbal (Manipur).

Number of national parks-70.

Number of animal Sanctuaries-35.

Total lengths of roads-33,19644 kilometers.

Number of national highways-98.

The longest national highway-NH-7 which goes from Banaras to Kanya Kumari covering a distance of 2369 kilometers.

The shortest national highway-47A.

Total railway route length-62,367 kilometers.

Total number of railway stations-7,000.

Number of Railway zones-15.

Largest Railway zone-Northern (11,023 kilometers).

Smallest Railway zone-North east frontier.

First Monsoon shower-Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin (Kerala).