Country Name :

Republic of India; Bharat Ganrajya

Government Type :

Sovereign Socialist Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of Government.

Administrative Divisions :

28 States and 7 Union Territories.

Independence :

15th August 1947 (from British colonial rule)

Constitution :

The Constitution of India came into force on 26th January 1950.

Executive Branch :

The President of India is the Head of the State, while the Prime Minister is the Head of the Government, and runs office with the support of the Council of Ministers who form the Cabinet Ministry.

Judicial Branch :

The Supreme Court of India is the apex body of the Indian legal system, followed by other High Courts and subordinate Courts.

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.

Geographical Coordinates :

Lying entirely in the Northern Hemisphere, India extends between 8° 4' and 37° 6' latitudes north of the Equator, and 68° 7' and 97° 25' longitudes east of it. The country measures about 3,214 km from north to south and about 2,933 km from east to west.

Indian Standard Time :

GMT + 05:30

Area :

3.3 Million sq. km

Telephone Country Code :

+91

National Capital :

New Delhi (12.9 mn.)

Other Major Cities :

Mumbai (16.3 mn.)
Kolkatta (13.2 mn.)
Chennai (6.4 mn.)
Bengaluru (5.6 mn.)
Hyderabad (5.3 mn.)
Ahmedabad (4.5 mn.)

35 cities with a population over 1 million.

Coastline :

The total length of the coastline is 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, virtually the entire country has a tropical climate marked by relatively high temperatures and dry winters. There are four seasons:

1. winter (December-February)
2. summer (March-June)
3. south-west monsoon season (June-September)
4. 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.

Neighbouring 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.