General Introduction
India lies between 8 degree North to 36 degree North latitudes and 68 degree East to 97 degree East longitude. India is surrounded by Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. It shares land borders with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Burma. The capital of India is New Delhi. This cosmopolitan city is the main gateway for the travellers to India. The area of India is about 3,287,263 square km. As per the 1991 census the population of India was about 1,027,015,247 million and is increasing at a steady rate. Although the birth rate has fallen steadily but the death rate has fallen at a fast rate. The population density of India is about 324 square km. India became independent on 15th August 1947 and at that time Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru was the first Prime Minister. The constitution of India was framed on 26th January 1950 by Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar and on that day India gained republic.
Geography
Geography India shares borders in the northwest by Pakistan, in the north by China, Nepal and Bhutan, and in the east by Bangladesh and Burma. Sri Lanka lies off the southeast coast. India falls into three major natural regions namely, the Himalayas mountain range in the north, the Ganga plains and the Peninsula. The Himalaya mountains and the River Ganges form a physical barrier between India and the rest of Asia. The country can be divided into five major regions: Western, Central, Northern, Eastern and Southern.
Languages
According to the 1951 census there are about 720 languages of India. The official language is Hindi which is spoken by about 70 per cent of the total population. English is also used for official or commercial purposes. Other regional languages are Punjabi, Bengali, Urdu, Marathi, Gujarati, Assamese, Kashmiri and Oriya. The four main Dravidian languages which are spoken in the south are Tamil, Telegu, Kannada and Malayalam. Most of the languages have their own scripts like Devanagari script for Hindi.
Religion
India has been home to all the major religions. About 80 per cent of total population consists of Hindu. About 11 per cent consists of Muslims and Sikhs, Christians, Jains and Buddhists being other minorities.
Time
In India the Greenwich Meridian Time is followed which is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of standard time.
Press
In India the newspapers are published in various languages. India has a large English language press. Various newspapers are published in English in all the major cities. The most important papers include The Times of India, Indian Express, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, The National Herald, The Economic Times and The Statesman.
Telecommunication Services
BBC World Service and Voice of America can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and upto date can be found online.
