Saturday, 8 June 2013
India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Republic of India. For other uses, see India (disambiguation).
| Republic of India
Bharat Ganrajya
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| Motto: "Satyameva Jayate" (Sanskrit) "Truth Alone Triumphs"[1] | ||||||
| Anthem: Jana Gana Mana "You are the Ruler of the Minds of All People"[2] | ||||||
| National song: Vande Mataram "I Bow to You, Mother"[a][1] | ||||||
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Area controlled by India shown in dark green;
claimed but uncontrolled regions shown in light green. | ||||||
| Capital | New Delhi 28°36.8′N 77°12.5′E | |||||
| Largest city | Mumbai (population/area) | |||||
| Official languages | ||||||
| Recognised regional languages | ||||||
| National language | None[3] | |||||
| Demonym | Indian | |||||
| Government | Federal parliamentary constitutional republic[1] | |||||
| - | President | Pranab Mukherjee | ||||
| - | Vice President | Mohammad Hamid Ansari | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh (INC) | ||||
| - | Speaker of the House | Meira Kumar (INC) | ||||
| - | Chief Justice | Altamas Kabir[4] | ||||
| Legislature | Parliament of India | |||||
| - | Upper house | Rajya Sabha | ||||
| - | Lower house | Lok Sabha | ||||
| Independence from the United Kingdom | ||||||
| - | Dominion | 15 August 1947 | ||||
| - | Republic | 26 January 1950 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 3,287,263 km2[b] (7th) 1,269,219 sq mi | ||||
| - | Water (%) | 9.6 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2011 census | 1,210,193,422[5] (2nd) | ||||
| - | Density | 373.6/km2 (31st) 967.6/sq mi | ||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2012 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $4.711 trillion[6] (3rd) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $3,851[6] (129th) | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2012 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $1.947 trillion[7] (10th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $1,592[6] (140th) | ||||
| Gini (2010) | 33.9[8] medium · 79th | |||||
| HDI (2012) |  0.554[9][10]medium · 136th (medium) | |||||
| Currency | Indian rupee ( ) (INR) | |||||
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC+05:30) | ||||
| Date format | dd-mm-yyyy (CE) | |||||
| Drives on the | left | |||||
| Calling code | +91 | |||||
| ISO 3166 code | IN | |||||
| Internet TLD | .in | |||||
India (
i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bharat Ganrajya)[c], is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, thesecond-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;[d] China,Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and theMaldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bharat Ganrajya)[c], is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, thesecond-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;[d] China,Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and theMaldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history.[11] Four world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
The Indian economy is the world's tenth-largest by nominal GDP and third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP).[12] Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastest-growing major economies; it is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, illiteracy, corruption, malnutrition, inadequate public healthcare, and terrorism. A nuclear weapons stateand a regional power, it has the third-largest standing army in the world and ranks seventh in military expenditure among nations. India is a federalconstitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system consisting of 28 states and 7 union territories. India is a pluralistic, multilingual, andmulti-ethnic society. It is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.
