INDIA – Size and Location

TOPICS TO BE COVERED:
• India’s Location
• Its Size
• India and the World
• Its Neighbours
INTRODUCTION:
• India is one of the oldest civilizations of the world.
• Achieved a fast growth in the last five decades.
• Displayed a remarkable progress in the field of
agriculture, industry, technology, and overall economic
development.
• Contributed significantly to the making of world history.
How?
LOCATION:
• Lies entirely in the north-eastern hemisphere between
latitudes 8°4’N and 37°6’N and longitudes 68°7’E and
97°25’E.
• Divided by Tropic of Cancer (23°30’N) in almost two
equal halves.
• To its southeast, lies Andaman and Nicobar islands in
the Bay of Bengal.
• To its southwest, lies Lakshadweep islands in the
Arabian Sea. EXTREME POINTS
VIDEO
Fig: Seven Largest Countries of the World
Fig: India – Extent and Standard Meridian
ITS SIZE:
• Total area of India is 32,87,263 sq km, accounts for 2.4%
of the world’s total area (510 m sq km).
• Seventh largest country in the world. Other 6??
• Has a land boundary of about 15,200 km and a coastline
about 7,516 km.
• Bounded by young folded mountains in the northwest,
north and the northeast. Which mountains??
• Starts to taper south of 22°N latitude making it a
peninsula hence dividing the Indian Ocean into two
seas. Which two??
STANDARD MERIDIAN:
• From Gujarat in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the
east, there is a time lag of about 2 hours.
• In order to have a uniform time, we follow the time
along the SMI (82°30’E) passing through Mirzapur.

Q. Why only 82°30’E has been selected as the Standard Meridian of India?
Q. Why is there the difference in duration of the day and night between Kashmir
and Kaniyakumari?
 INDIA AND THE WORLD:
• The Indian landmass is centrally located between West and East
Asia.
• The Trans-Indian Ocean routes connect countries in the west
and countries in the east.
• India’s protruding Deccan peninsula helped India to establish
close contacts with West Asia, Africa and Europe, South-East and
East Asia.
• India’s contacts with the world via land routes are much more
than her maritime contacts.
 INDIA AND THE WORLD:
• India is the only nation, which has an ocean named after it
‘Indian Ocean’.
• It has contributed a lot to the world in forms of ideas,
philosophies (Upanishads, Ramayana, Panchatantra) and
mathematics (Indian numerals and decimal system).
• In exchange, India’s architecture was influenced by Greek
sculpture and architectural styles from West Asia.
 INDIA’S NEIGHBOURS:
• India has an important position in South Asia and has 28 states
and 8 union territories.
• India shares its boundaries with –
• Pakistan and Afghanistan in the northwest
China (Tibet), Nepal and Bhutan in the north
Myanmar and Bangladesh in the east
• The southern neighbours across the sea consist of the two
island countries, Maldives and Sri Lanka.
• India has a strong geographical and historical connections with
her neighbours.
 Kabul Beijing

Thimphu
Islamabad Kathmandu
INTERNATIONAL Dhaka
BORDERS VIDEO
Nay-pyi-daw

Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte

Male

Fig: India – India and its neighbours

 INTERESTING FACTS:
• Kanchenjunga (8586m) is the highest mountain peak of India.
• Deccan Plateau is the largest plateau of India.
• Ladakh Plateau is the highest plateau of India.
• Majuli is the largest riverine island of the world, located in River
Brahmaputra, Assam.
• The floating post office in Dal Lake, Srinagar, was inaugurated in
August 2011.
• Mawsynram, a village in Khasi on the Khasi hills, Meghalaya, receives
the highest recorded average rainfall in the world.
• The oldest continuously inhabited city in the world is Varanasi.
 DO YOU KNOW?
• The southernmost point of the Indian Union ‘Indira Point’ (6º45’N) got
submerged under the sea water in 2004 during the Tsunami.
• Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, India’s distance from
Europe has been reduced by 7,000 km.
• Before 1947, there were two types of states in India – the Provinces
and the Princely States.
 Provinces were ruled directly by British officials who were
appointed by Viceroy.
 Princely states were ruled by local, hereditary rulers, who
acknowledged sovereignty in return for local autonomy.
SUEZ CANAL