India at a Glance

Introduction

The civilization of India is one of the oldest civilizations in the World, spanning more than 4000 years and witnessing the rise and fall of several Empires, and projecting a unique assimilation of various cultures and heritage. The Country has always been portrayed as a land of spiritual integrity with professors of Philosophy, who have engineered the magnanimity of its nationalism. One of the oldest scriptures in the World, the four-volume Vedas that many regard as the repository of national thoughts, which have anticipated some of the modern scientific discoveries, has been created in the orb of this myth oriented Country. This strong affinity with religion and mythology has been reflected time and again through various art forms and performing arts, which are symbolical of the composite culture of India. Unity in diversity is another facet of the Country’s inherent nationalism, which had been fused by the feeling of national fervour incited by various foreign invasions that ever made its way to the Indian shores. Religious tolerance and cultural amalgamation have given shape to a uniquely secular Nation, which has created an impressive status of itself in the global arena.

Country Name

Republic of India; Bharat Ganrajya

Government Type

Sovereign Socialist Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of Government.

Capital

New Delhi

Administrative Divisions

28 States and 7 Union Territories.

Independence

15th August 1947 (From the 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.

Legislative Branch

The Indian Legislature comprises of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) forming both the Houses of the Parliament.

Legal System

The Constitution of India is the fountain source of the legal system in the Country.

Judicial Branch

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

Flag Description

The National Flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (kesaria) at the top, white in the middle, and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. At the centre of the white band is a navy blue wheel, which is a representation of the Ashoka Chakra at Sarnath.

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.

Geographic Coordinates

Lying entirely in the Northern Hemisphere, the Country extends between 8° 4′ and 37° 6′ latitudes north of the Equator, and 68°7′ and 97°25′ longitudes east of it.

Bordering 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.

Indian Standard Time

GMT + 05:30

Area

3.3 Million sq km

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, the entire country has a tropical climate marked by relatively high temperatures and dry winters. There are four seasons – winter (December-February), (ii) summer (March-June), (iii) south-west monsoon season (June-September), and (iv) post monsoon season (October- November).

Coastline

  7,516.6 km encompassing the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

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.

Environment – Current Issues

Air pollution control, energy conservation, solid waste management, oil and gas conservation, forest conservation, etc.

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.

Population

Current Population of India in 2011	1,210,193,422 (1.21 billion)
Total Male Population in India	623,700,000 (623.7 million)
Total Female Population in India	586,500,000 (586.5 million)
Sex Ratio	940 females per 1,000 males
Age structure
0 to 25 years	50% of India’s current population
Currently, there are about 51 births in India in a minute.
India’s Population in 2001	1.02 billion
Population of India in 1947	350 million

Current Population of India 2011
Rank	State or union territory	Population (2011 Census)	Density (per km²)	Sex ratio
01	Uttar Pradesh	199,581,477	828	908
02	Maharashtra	112,372,972	365	946
03	Bihar	103,804,637	1102	916
04	West Bengal	91,347,736	1029	947
05	Andhra Pradesh	84,665,533	308	992
06	Madhya Pradesh	72,597,565	236	930
07	Tamil Nadu	72,138,958	555	995
08	Rajasthan	68,621,012	201	926
09	Karnataka	61,130,704	319	968
10	Gujarat	60,383,628	308	918
11	Odisha	41,947,358	269	978
12	Kerala	33,387,677	859	1,084
13	Jharkhand	32,966,238	414	947
14	Assam	31,169,272	397	954
15	Punjab	27,704,236	550	893
16	Haryana	25,353,081	573	877
17	Chhattisgarh	25,540,196	189	991
18	Jammu and Kashmir	12,548,926	56	883
19	Uttarakhand	10,116,752	189	963
20	Himachal Pradesh	6,856,509	123	974
21	Tripura	3,671,032	350	961
22	Meghalaya	2,964,007	132	986
23	Manipur	2,721,756	122	987
24	Nagaland	1,980,602	119	931
25	Goa	1,457,723	394	968
26	Arunachal Pradesh	1,382,611	17	920
27	Mizoram	1,091,014	52	975
28	Sikkim	607,688	86	889
UT1	Delhi	16,753,235	9,340	866
UT2	Puducherry	1,244,464	2,598	1,038
UT3	Chandigarh	1,054,686	9,252	818
UT4	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	379,944	46	878
UT5	Dadra and Nagar Haveli	342,853	698	775
UT6	Daman and Diu	242,911	2,169	618
UT7	Lakshadweep	64,429	2,013	946
Total	India	1,210,193,422	382	940

Population

1,189,172,906 (July 2011 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 29.7% (male 187,450,635/female 165,415,758)
15-64 years: 64.9% (male 398,757,331/female 372,719,379)
65 years and over: 5.5% (male 30,831,190/female 33,998,613) (2011 est.)

Median age

total: 26.2 years
male: 25.6 years
female: 26.9 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate

1.344% (2011 est.)

Birth rate

20.97 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

Death rate

7.48 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

Net migration rate

-0.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 30% of total population (2010)
rate of urbanization: 2.4% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 47.57 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 46.18 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 49.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 66.8 years
male: 65.77 years
female: 67.95 years (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.62 children born/woman (2011 est.)

HIV/AIDS – adult prevalence rate

0.3% (2009 est.)

HIV/AIDS – people living with HIV/AIDS

2.4 million (2009 est.)

HIV/AIDS – deaths

170,000 (2009 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Degree of risk: high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: chikungunya, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria
Animal contact disease: rabies
Water contact disease: leptospirosis
Note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)

Ethnic groups

Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)

Religions

Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)

Languages

Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9%
Note: English enjoys the status of subsidiary official language but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the most widely spoken language and primary tongue of 41% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu,Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language (2001 census)

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 61%
Male: 73.4%
Female: 47.8% (2001 census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

Total: 10 years
Male: 11 years
Female: 10 years (2007)

Education expenditures

3.1% of GDP (2006)

National Days

26th January (Republic Day)
15th August (Independence Day)
2nd October (Gandhi Jayanti; Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday)