India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the Republic of India. For other uses, see India
(disambiguation).
Republic of India
Bhrat Gaarjya
Horizontal tricolor flag bearing, from top to bottom, deep saffron,
white, and green horizontal bands. In the center of the white band is a
navy-blue wheel with 24 spokes. Three lions facing left, right, and
toward viewer, atop a frieze containing a galloping horse, a 24-spoke
wheel, and an elephant. Underneath is a motto: " ".
Flag Emblem
Motto: "Satyameva Jayate" (Sanskrit)
"Truth Alone Triumphs"[1]
Anthem: Jana Gana Mana
"Thou art the rulers of the minds of all people"[2][3]
MENU0:00
National song:
Vande Mataram
"I Bow to Thee, Mother"[a][1][3]
Image of a globe centred on India, with India highlighted.
Area controlled by India shown in dark green;
claimed but uncontrolled regions shown in light green.
Capital
New Delhi
2836.8N 7712.5E
Largest cityMumbai
Official languages
Hindi English
[show]
Recognised regional languages
8th Schedule[show]
National language
None
Demonym Indian
Government
Federal parliamentary
constitutional republic[1]
President Pranab Mukherjee
Vice President
Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Chief Justice
H. L. Dattu[6]
Speaker of the House Sumitra Mahajan
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 3,287,590[7] km2[b] (7th)
1,269,346 sq mi
Water (%) 9.6
Population
2011 census
1,210,193,422[8] (2nd)
Density
382.4/km2 (31st)
990.3/sq mi

GDP (PPP) April 2015 estimate

Total $7.996 trillion[9] (3rd)
Per capita $6,265[9] (121th)
GDP (nominal)
April 2015 estimate
Total $2.308 trillion[9] (7th)
Per capita $1,808[9] (131st)
Gini (2010) 33.9[10]
medium 79th
HDI (2013) Steady 0.586[11]
medium 135th
Currency Indian rupee (INR) () (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
other TLDs[show]
India (Listeni/ndi/), officially the Republic of India (Bhrat Gaarjya),
[12][c] is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by
area, the second-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
(Myanmar) and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in
the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman
and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and
Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation 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.[13]
Four religionsHinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhismoriginated
here, whereas Zoroastrianism and the abrahamic religions of Judaism,
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
after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, India became an independent nation
in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by nonviolent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
The Indian economy is the world's Seventh-largest by nominal GDP and
third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP).[9] Following marketbased economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastestgrowing major economies; it is considered a newly industrialised
country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty,
corruption, malnutrition, inadequate public healthcare, and terrorism. A
nuclear weapons state and a regional power, it has the third-largest
standing army in the world and ranks ninth in military expenditure
among nations. India is a federal constitutional republic governed
under a parliamentary system consisting of 29 states and 7 union

territories. India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and a multi-ethnic society.

It is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected
habitats.