1.    India: General Introduction

Location of India:

• Located latitudinally in the Northern Hemisphere and longitudinally in the Eastern Hemisphere.
• Latitudinal expanse- from 6⁰ 4’ N to 37⁰ 6’ S latitude
• Longitudinal expanse- from 68⁰ 7’ E to 97⁰ 25’ E
• Northernmost point- The Indira Col in J&K; Altitude of 5,764 meters is a mountain pass located on the Indira Ridge in the Siachen Muztagh in the Karakoram Range. (Not in POK)
• Southernmost point- Indira point (latitude 6⁰ 4’ N/ in Great Nicobar island)
• Previously known as Pygmalion Point or the parson Point (876 km from equator)
• Southernmost part of Mainland India- Kanyakumari (6⁰ 4’ N)
• Westernmost Point of India- Ghuar Moti  (23.61° N, 68.7° E) Kutch district/ Gujarat
• Easternmost Point of India- Kibithu in Anjaw district/ Arunachal Pradesh/ Located on LAC (28°16′N 97°01′E)

Shape and Size of India:

• Almost quadrangular
• East to west- 2933 km  // North to South 3214 km (North to South distance is more)
• Total Land Area – 32,87,263 sq. km.
• Land Frontier- 15200 km
• Coastline- 7516.6 km (9 State+ 4  UT) Coastline of mainland- 6100 km
• Longest coast line- GUJ > Andhra> TN > MH

India’ ocean:

Tropic of Cancer:

8 states- Guj- Raj-MP- CHG- JhK- WB- Tripura- Mizo

Indian Standard Meridian: 82⁰ 30’ E longitude

• Passes through 5 states: UP, MP, CHG, Odisha, Andhra
• Cities present: Mirzapur (UP), Nearby Raipur(CHG), Yanam
• Indian Standard Time (IST) is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time

Administrative Composition:

·         28 States + 8 Union Territory

•       Jan 2020 – J&K + Ladakh separated and became two new UT
•      Dadara Nagar + Diu Daman merged and became single UT
•      Area wise largest : Rajasthan> Madhya Pradesh > Maharashtra > UP
•      Area wise smallest state: Goa
•      Population wise: UP > Maharashtra > Bihar > West Bengal
•      Population wise smallest- Sikkim < Mizoram   

Puducherry (Pondicherry) is only one UT which is spread in three states

1.      Puducherry (Main)- Tamil Nadu

2.      Karaikal – Tamil Nadu

3.      Yanam – Andhra Pradesh

4.      Mahe – Kerala

·         Andaman and Nicobar Islands

1.   

          Andaman –  North + Middle + South + Little

2.      Nicobar – Car + Little + Great

·         Port Blair- Capital situated in South Andaman

·         Highest peak- Saddle Peak (North Andaman)

·         Indira Point – the southernmost point of India is the southern point of Great Nicobar Island.

·         Barren Island which is India’s only volcano is in the middle Andaman.

·         Narcondam Island is also a volcanic island.

·         10^o Channel separates Andaman from Nicobar.

·         Duncan pass is between South Andaman and Little Andaman.

·         Coco Straight is between North Andaman and Coco island of Myanmar.

·         The Andaman & Nicobar Islands are also known as the Emerald islands.

·         A & N Island also known as Emerald islands

Lakshadweep:

·         Made up of coral reefs

·         8 Degree channel (Between Minicoy and Maldives )

·         9 Degree channel (Separates Minicoy from main archipelago of Lakshadweep)

The Palk Strait:

• ·         Situated between Tamil Nadu and Shri Lanka
•            The Ram Setu or Adam’s bridge is s a chain of natural limestone shoals
•          The extreme point from the side of India is Rameshwaram (Pamban Island) where as extreme point from Shri Lanka is Mannar Island.
•            The Ram setu divide the Palk strait into two parts
•             A. Palk Bay (North- East of Ram Setu); B. Gulf of Mannar (South-West of Ram setu)

Frontiers of India:

·         There are seven neighbouring countries on the frontiers of India

·         17 states of India have common land borders with neighbouring countries.

Indian States sharing common border with neighbouring countries