India-size nd location

• India's Location


  Lies entirely in Northern hemisphere between latitudes 8°4' N and 37°6' N and longitudes 68°7' E and 97°25' E<|>Divided by Tropic of cancer (23°30' N) in almost two equal parts<|>Andaman and Nicobar islands lie in Bay of Bengal<|>Lakshadweep islands lie in Arabian Sea
• India's Size


  Total Area of India is 3.28 million square km which is 2.4 percent of the total area of the world<|>Seventh largest country in the world in terms of landmass<|>Land boundary of about 15,200 km and the total length of the coast line of the mainland including Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands is 7,516.6 km<|>Young fold mountains bound it in the northwest, north and north east<|>Narrows towards the Indian Ocean in the south<|>Latitudinal and longitudinal extent of the mainland is about 30°<|>East-west extent appears smaller than the north-south extent<|>Indian Standard Time taken from the Standard Meridian (82°30' E)<|>Time gap between Arunachal Pradesh and Gujarat is about 2 hours<|>Latitudinal extent influences the duration of day and night

  
• India and the World

  Located in the centre of the World between East and the West Asia<|>Strategic central location due to routes across the Indian ocean<|>Deccan Peninsula helps establish close contact with West Asia, Africa, Europe, Southeast and East Asia<|>Indian Ocean named after India's long coastline<|>Land routes older than sea routes, provided passages to ancient travellers<|>Exchanged ideas and commodities since ancient times<|>Influenced by Greek sculpture, architectural styles from West Asia

  
• India's Neighbours


  Shares land boundary with Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives<|>Sri Lanka separated by Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar<|>Maldives Islands situated south of Lakshadweep Islands
• The southernmost point of the Indian Union– 'Indira Point' got submerged under the sea water in 2004 during the Tsunami
• Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, India's distance from Europe has been reduced by 7,000 km
• Before 1947, there were two types of states in India – the provinces and the Princely states
• Provinces


  Ruled directly by British officials appointed by the Viceroy
• Princely states


  Ruled by local, hereditary rulers, who acknowledged sovereignty in return for local autonomy
• Union Territories on the western coast of India are — Diu and Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Mahe (Pondicherry) and Lakshadweep
• Union Territories on the eastern coast of India are — Pondicherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• Largest State: Rajasthan Smallest State: Goa
• Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana are the states which do not have an international border or lie on the coast
• States having common frontiers with

  • Pakistan: Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat
  • China: Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh
  • Myanmar: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram
  • Bangladesh: Meghalaya, Assam. West Bengal, Tripura
• Lakshadweep is the group of islands lying in the Arabian Sea
• Countries larger than India

  • Russia, Canada, China, USA, Brazil, Australia
• Andaman and Nicobar group of islands lie to the south-east of India
• Maldives, Sri Lanka are the island countries that are India's southern neighbours
• Island groups of India lying in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal

  • Lakshadweep
  • Andaman and Nicobar
• Countries constituting the Indian Subcontinent


  • Pakistan
  • India
  • Nepal
  • Bhutan
  • Bangladesh
• States through which the Tropic of Cancer passes

  • Gujarat
  • Rajasthan
  • Madhya Pradesh
  • Chhattisgarh
  • Jharkhand
  • West Bengal
  • Tripura
  • Mizoram
• The northernmost latitude of India is 37°6' N
• The southernmost latitude of the Indian mainland is 8°4' N
• The western-most longitude of India is 68°7' E and the eastern-most longitude is 97°25' E
• Kanyakumari is situated on three seas
• The strait separating Sri Lanka and India is the Palk Strait
• Union Territories of India

  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • Chandigarh
  • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
  • Daman and Diu
  • Delhi
  • Lakshadweep
  • Puducherry (Pondicherry)