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President:
Abdul Kalam
Prime Minister: Manmohan Singh
Area:
1,229,737 sq. mi. (3,287,590 sq. km)Approximately
Monetary unit: Rupee
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Climate
of India:- It varies from The Tropical monsoon in south India to temperate in
north India. India is such a vast country that the climate varies
considerably.
While the heat is unbearable in the Gangetic plain,
the people of Ladakh shiver in the snowy cold.The Indian year passes
through four seasons. Winter lasts from December to February,
and summer from March to May. The rainy season of Southwest monsoon
is from June to September.
The post monsoon season, which is North
East monsoon in South India, is in October and November. The most
pleasant weather in India lasts from June to November. |
There is a
heavy rainfall in Northeastern region, the western slopes of the
Western Ghats and parts of the Himalayas during the year. On the
other hands, there is hardly any rainfall in Rajasthan, Kutch, and
Laddakh. There is medium or average rainfall in other parts of the
country.
Indian
Terrain:-
Upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south India, flat to rolling plain
along the Ganges, deserts in western region of India, Himalayas in
northern region. India is a vast
country covering an area of 32,87,782 sq. km. The Himalayas,
stretching from east to west in the north, form the northern
boundary.
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The mighty mountain ranges separate India from China and
Nepal. Where the Himalayan ranges end, there begin the great
northern plains, are flat. They are drained by a number of rivers,
the Ganga being the most important of them all. The Brahmaputra is
another major north Indian river. The Indus (Sindh) flows in the
north-west direction.The Deccan plateaus, south of the plains, have
ranges of hills along the eastern and western coasts of the
peninsula.
The Krishna and the Godavari are the major rivers of the
south. There are ranges of hills even in the north-east. In the west
the plains of the Punjab merge into the Thar Desert. That is why
India has rich variety of landscapes and climates. |
Elevation
extremes:- The lowest point in India: Indian Ocean 0 m and highest
point is Mount Kanchenjunga 8,598 metres above sea level. |
Population of
India (2000
estimate.): 1,014,003,817 (average annual rate of natural increase: 1.6%);
birth rate: 24.8/1000; infant mortality rate: 64.9/1000; density per sq.
mi.: 825
Capital (2000 estimated.):New
Delhi, 11,500,000 (metro. area)
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divisions:- 25 states and 7 union territories; Andaman and Nicobar
Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh,
Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland,
Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura,
Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal |
Largest Indian cities:
Bombay (Mumbai) (2000 est.), 17,850,000 (metro. area); Calcutta (2000
est.), 12,900,000 (metro. area); Madras (Chennai) (2000 est.), 6,600,000
(metro. area); Hyderabad (2000 est.), 6,650,000 (metro. area); Bangalore
(2000 est.), 5,500,000 (metro. area); Ahmedabad, 4,150,000; Kanpur,
1,874,409
Literacy in India : rate: 52% (1991)
Principal
languages of India : Hindi (official), English (official), Bengali, Gujarati,
Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu,
Kannada, Assamese, Sanskrit, Sindhi (all recognized by the constitution).
Dialects, 1,652
Race/Ethnicity:- Indo-Aryan 72%,
Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3%
Religions: Hindu,
82.6%; Islam, 11.3%; Christian, 2.4%; Sikh, 2%; Buddhists, 0.71%; Jains,
0.48%
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Land
use in India
arable land: 56%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 4%
forests and woodland: 23%
other: 16% (Year 1993 estimate)
Irrigated
land: 480,000 sq km (Year 1993 estimate) |
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Economic summary
of India :
GDP/PPP (1998 est.): $1.689 trillion; $1,720 per capita. Real growth rate:
5.4%. Inflation: 14%. Unemployment: n.a. Arable land: 56%. Agriculture:
rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes, cattle,
water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry, fish. Labor force: n.a.:
agriculture, 67%; services, 18%; industry, 15% (1995 est.). Industries:
textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment,
cement, mining, petroleum, machinery. Natural resources: coal, iron ore,
manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chrommite, natural gas, diamonds,
petroleum, limestone. |
| Exports: $32.17 billion
(f.o.b., 1998): textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods,
chemicals, leather manufactures. Imports: $41.34 billion (c.i.f.,
1998): crude oil and petroleum products, machinery, gems,
fertilizer, chemicals. Major trading partners: U.S., Hong Kong,
U.K., Japan, Saudi Arabia,Germany, Belgium.
Environmental
India
issues:-India's rapidly growing population is overstraining
natural resources, water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of
agricultural pesticides, tap water is not potable throughout the
country,drinking water is scarce,growing deforestation & soil
erosion, overgrazing by cattle, desertification,air pollution from
industrial effluents and vehicle emissions in Indian cities. |
| Natural hazards
in India:-Annual droughts& famine, flash floods, severe
thunderstorms, earthquakes. |
| Natural
resources of India:- Coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, natural
gas, diamonds, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, petroleum, etc. |
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Legal
system: based on English common law; limited judicial review of
legislative acts; accepts compulsory I.C.J.
jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age (Considered Major); universal. |
India is a Member of The
Commonwealth of Nations
National Anthem of India
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