India

By Prof. Raju Vatsavayi

Name

Official name (English)	Republic of India
Official name (Hindi)	Bhārat Gaṇarājya (भारत गणराज्य)
Constitutional name (Article 1)	“India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”
Etymology — India	From the river Indus (Sanskrit Sindhu), via the Greek Indos
Etymology — Bharat	From the ancient Bharata clan of Vedic tradition

Quick facts

Capital	New Delhi
Largest city	Mumbai (Greater Mumbai)
National days	26 January (Republic Day) · 15 August (Independence Day) · 2 October (Gandhi Jayanti)
Currency	Indian Rupee (₹; code INR)
Time zone	Indian Standard Time, UTC +05:30 One zone for the whole country
Telephone code	+91
Internet domain	.in (and .भारत)
ISO 3166 code	IN / IND
Driving side	Left

Flag

National flag	The Tiranga — saffron, white and green with the Ashoka Chakra; adopted 22 July 1947; designed by Pingali Venkayya

Map

The extent sheet: dimensions, extremes and reference lines.

Total area	32,87,263 sq km
World rank by area	7th
Latitudinal extent	8°4′N to 37°6′N (mainland)
Longitudinal extent	68°7′E to 97°25′E
North–south extent	3,214 km
East–west extent	2,933 km
Standard meridian	82°30′E, passing near Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh
Tropic of Cancer — states crossed	8: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura, Mizoram
Southernmost point	Indira Point, Great Nicobar Island
Southern tip of the mainland	Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu
Northernmost point	Indira Col, Siachen Glacier
Westernmost point	Ghuar Mota, Gujarat
Easternmost point	Kibithu, Arunachal Pradesh
Lowest point	Kuttanad, Kerala — about 2.2 m below sea level
Physiographic divisions	6 Northern Mountains, Northern Plains, Peninsular Plateau, Indian Desert, Coastal Plains, Islands

History

History	From the Indus Valley Civilisation to the Republic — five millennia in six chapters (Full history)
Indus Valley Civilisation	Planned cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro flourished around 2500 BCE
The Vedic age	Shaped Sanskrit, the early scriptures and the roots of Indian society
The great empires	The Maurya under Ashoka, then the Gupta — a golden age of science and art
The medieval centuries	The Delhi Sultanate and the Mughals, whose monuments still crown the land
British rule and freedom	Two centuries of colonial rule ended on 15 August 1947, after a struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi and a generation of nation-builders
The Republic	The Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950

Borders

Land frontier	15,106.7 km

Country	Land border (km)
Bangladesh	4,096.7
China	3,488
Pakistan	3,323
Nepal	1,751
Myanmar	1,643
Bhutan	699
Afghanistan	106

Coastline

Coastline	11,098.8 km (earlier figure: 7,516.6 km)
Maritime neighbours	Sri Lanka and Maldives
Longest beach	Marina Beach, Chennai — about 13 km

Mountains

Major mountain ranges	Himalaya, Karakoram, Aravalli, Vindhya, Satpura, Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats (List)
Highest peak	K2 (Godwin-Austen) 8,611 m, in the Karakoram
Highest peak entirely within India	Kangchenjunga 8,586 m, Sikkim

Rivers

Rivers	400+ rivers in four groups — Himalayan, Deccan, Coastal and Inland drainage; 20 river units (14 major river systems and 99 smaller basins) (List)
Largest river basin	Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna — about 34 per cent of India’s land area and nearly 59 per cent of its water resources
Longest river within India	Ganga 2,525 km
Largest delta	The Sundarbans (Ganga–Brahmaputra) — the world’s largest
Largest river island	Majuli, in the Brahmaputra, Assam — the world’s largest river island and India’s first island district (2016)
Longest river bridge	Bhupen Hazarika Setu (Dhola–Sadiya), over the Lohit 9.15 km

River	Origin	Length in India (km)	Falls into
Ganga	Gangotri Glacier (as Bhagirathi), Uttarakhand	2,525	Bay of Bengal
Yamuna	Yamunotri Glacier, Uttarakhand	1,376	The Ganga at Prayagraj
Brahmaputra	Chemayungdung Glacier, Tibet (as the Tsangpo)	916	Bay of Bengal (via Bangladesh)
Indus	Near Lake Mansarovar, Tibet	1,114	Arabian Sea (via Pakistan)
Godavari	Trimbakeshwar, Maharashtra	1,465	Bay of Bengal
Krishna	Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra	1,400	Bay of Bengal
Narmada	Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh	1,312	Arabian Sea (Gulf of Khambhat)
Kaveri	Talakaveri, Karnataka	800	Bay of Bengal
Mahanadi	Sihawa, Chhattisgarh	851	Bay of Bengal
Tapti	Multai, Madhya Pradesh	724	Arabian Sea (Gulf of Khambhat)

Lakes

Largest freshwater lake	Wular Lake, Jammu & Kashmir (List)
Largest brackish-water lagoon	Chilika Lake, Odisha

Waterfalls

Highest waterfall	Kunchikal Falls, Karnataka 455 m (List)

Deserts

Major desert	Thar (the Great Indian Desert), Rajasthan (List)

Islands

Island groups	Andaman & Nicobar (Bay of Bengal) and Lakshadweep (Arabian Sea); 1,389 islands in all (List)

Forests

Forest cover	7,15,343 sq km 21.76 per cent of the geographical area (List)
Mangrove cover	4,992 sq km
Largest mangrove forest	The Sundarbans

Climate

Climate	Monsoon-made — the southwest monsoon of June to September delivers about three-quarters of the year’s rainfall (Full climate)
Seasons	4, on the Met calendar — winter, the pre-monsoon summer, the southwest monsoon and its retreat
Köppen groups	All five occur in India — a distinction shared with only China and the United States
The classical map	8 codes — the monsoon Malabar shore, the summer-dry Coromandel, peninsular savanna, northwestern steppe and the Thar desert, the humid subtropical Great Plains, continental and polar Himalaya
Northeast monsoon	The Coromandel coast draws its rain from the retreating monsoon, October to December
Wettest place	Mawsynram, Meghalaya — the wettest place on Earth
Cold desert	Ladakh

National parks

National parks	107 The newest: Similipal (Odisha, 2025) (List)

Wildlife sanctuaries

Wildlife sanctuaries	573 (List)

Tiger reserves

Tiger reserves	58 under Project Tiger (launched 1973) — the newest, Madhav (Madhya Pradesh, 2025); Madhya Pradesh leads with 9 (List)

Biosphere reserves

Biosphere reserves	18 13 in UNESCO’s World Network (Cold Desert added 2025) (List)

Ramsar sites

Ramsar wetland sites	101 The 101st: Glaw Lake (Arunachal Pradesh), designated 3 August 2026; the first were Chilika and Keoladeo (1981); Tamil Nadu leads with 20 (List)

Elephant reserves

Elephant reserves	33, under Project Elephant (launched 1992) (List)

Population

Population	121.09 crore 1,21,08,54,977
World rank by population	1st — the most populous country
Population density	382 persons per sq km
Sex ratio	943 females per 1,000 males
Urban population share	31.16 per cent
Decadal growth, 2001–11	17.7 per cent
Life expectancy at birth	72 years

Literacy

Literacy rate	74.04 per cent
Male literacy	82.14 per cent
Female literacy	65.46 per cent

Cities

Most populous city	Mumbai (Greater Mumbai) 1.24 crore
Million-plus cities	53 (List)

Religions

Major religions	Hindu 79.8% · Muslim 14.2% · Christian 2.3% · Sikh 1.7% · Buddhist 0.7% · Jain 0.4%

Languages

Official language of the Union	Hindi in Devanagari script (Article 343)
Additional official language for Union purposes	English (Official Languages Act, 1963)
Eighth Schedule languages	22 (List)
Classical languages	11
Most spoken mother tongue	Hindi 43.63 per cent of the population

Language	Language family
Assamese	Indo-Aryan
Bengali	Indo-Aryan
Bodo	Sino-Tibetan
Dogri	Indo-Aryan
Gujarati	Indo-Aryan
Hindi	Indo-Aryan
Kannada	Dravidian
Kashmiri	Indo-Aryan (Dardic)
Konkani	Indo-Aryan
Maithili	Indo-Aryan
Malayalam	Dravidian
Manipuri (Meitei)	Sino-Tibetan
Marathi	Indo-Aryan
Nepali	Indo-Aryan
Odia	Indo-Aryan
Punjabi	Indo-Aryan
Sanskrit	Indo-Aryan
Santali	Austroasiatic
Sindhi	Indo-Aryan
Tamil	Dravidian
Telugu	Dravidian
Urdu	Indo-Aryan

Classical language	Year declared
Tamil	2004
Sanskrit	2005
Telugu	2008
Kannada	2008
Malayalam	2013
Odia	2014
Assamese	2024
Bengali	2024
Marathi	2024
Pali	2024
Prakrit	2024

States & Union Territories

States (number)	28 (List)
Union territories (number)	8
Newest state	Telangana, 2 June 2014
Latest reorganisation	Jammu & Kashmir into the UTs of J&K and Ladakh (31 October 2019); Dadra & Nagar Haveli merged with Daman & Diu (26 January 2020)
UTs with legislatures	3 Delhi, Puducherry, Jammu & Kashmir
Largest state by area	Rajasthan
Smallest state by area	Goa
Most populous state	Uttar Pradesh
Least populous state	Sikkim

State / UT	Capital	Formed
Andhra Pradesh	Amaravati	1956
Arunachal Pradesh	Itanagar	1987
Assam	Dispur	1950
Bihar	Patna	1950
Chhattisgarh	Raipur	2000
Goa	Panaji	1987
Gujarat	Gandhinagar	1960
Haryana	Chandigarh	1966
Himachal Pradesh	Shimla (winter: Dharamshala)	1971
Jharkhand	Ranchi	2000
Karnataka	Bengaluru	1956 (renamed 1973)
Kerala	Thiruvananthapuram	1956
Madhya Pradesh	Bhopal	1956
Maharashtra	Mumbai	1960
Manipur	Imphal	1972
Meghalaya	Shillong	1972
Mizoram	Aizawl	1987
Nagaland	Kohima	1963
Odisha	Bhubaneswar	1950
Punjab	Chandigarh	1966 (reorganised)
Rajasthan	Jaipur	1949
Sikkim	Gangtok	1975
Tamil Nadu	Chennai	1950 (renamed 1969)
Telangana	Hyderabad	2014
Tripura	Agartala	1972
Uttar Pradesh	Lucknow	1950
Uttarakhand	Dehradun (summer: Gairsain)	2000
West Bengal	Kolkata	1950
Andaman & Nicobar Islands (UT)	Sri Vijaya Puram (formerly Port Blair)	1956
Chandigarh (UT)	Chandigarh	1966
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (UT)	Daman	2020 (merged)
Delhi (National Capital Territory)	New Delhi	1956 (NCT 1991)
Jammu & Kashmir (UT)	Srinagar (summer) / Jammu (winter)	2019
Ladakh (UT)	Leh	2019
Lakshadweep (UT)	Kavaratti	1956
Puducherry (UT)	Puducherry	1963

Districts

Districts (total)	789 739 in the states, 50 in the union territories (List)

Constitution

Form of government	Sovereign socialist secular democratic republic with a parliamentary system
Constitution adopted	26 November 1949 (Constitution Day)
Constitution came into force	26 January 1950
Constitution at commencement	395 articles, 22 parts, 8 schedules
Constitution at present	About 470 articles, 25 parts, 12 schedules

Parliament

Parliament	The President and two Houses — the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha (Article 79)
Lok Sabha — sanctioned strength	543 elected members
Rajya Sabha — sanctioned strength	245 233 elected, 12 nominated
Speaker of the Lok Sabha	Om Birla
Vice-President	C. P. Radhakrishnan — the 15th Vice-President and ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (took office 12 September 2025)

President

President	Droupadi Murmu — the 15th President

Prime Minister

Prime Minister	Narendra Modi (since 26 May 2014)

Judiciary

Chief Justice of India	Surya Kant — the 53rd CJI (sworn in 24 November 2025)
Supreme Court established	26 January 1950 (first sitting 28 January 1950)
High Courts	25
Attorney General	The Union’s first law officer, under Article 76 (the first: M. C. Setalvad)

Elections

Election Commission established	25 January 1950 (observed as National Voters’ Day)
First general election	1951–52

National symbols

Symbol	Holder
State emblem	Adapted from the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath; adopted 26 January 1950
National motto	Satyameva Jayate — “Truth alone triumphs” (Mundaka Upanishad)
National anthem	Jana Gana Mana — Rabindranath Tagore; adopted 24 January 1950; playing time 52 seconds
National song	Vande Mataram — Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay; adopted 24 January 1950
National pledge	Composed by Pydimarri Venkata Subba Rao (1962)
National calendar	The Saka calendar, first month Chaitra; adopted 22 March 1957
National animal	Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris)
National bird	Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus)
National aquatic animal	Ganges river dolphin (declared 2009)
National heritage animal	Indian elephant (declared 2010)
National flower	Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)
National fruit	Mango
National tree	Banyan (Ficus benghalensis)
National river	Ganga (declared 2008)
Currency symbol	₹ — designed by D. Udaya Kumar; adopted 2010
National sport	None officially declared

Economy

Nominal GDP	About US$4.15 trillion
World rank — nominal GDP	6th — the 4th-to-6th places are tightly clustered, and India ranked 4th in 2025
World rank — GDP (PPP)	3rd, after China and the United States
Per capita net national income	₹2,05,324 at current prices (2024-25)
Currency & ISO code	Indian Rupee — INR
Financial year	1 April to 31 March
GST introduced	1 July 2017 (the 101st Constitutional Amendment)
Income classification	Lower-middle-income economy

RBI

Central bank	Reserve Bank of India
RBI established	1 April 1935, under the RBI Act, 1934
RBI nationalised	1 January 1949

Stock exchanges

Major stock exchanges	BSE (established 1875, Asia’s oldest) and NSE (1992), both in Mumbai

Airports

Airports — operational	About 163, up from 74 in 2014 (List)
International airports	33

Ports

Major ports	12 operational; Vadhavan (Maharashtra, the 13th) and Galathea Bay (Great Nicobar, the 14th) under development (List)

Railways

Railway zones	19 The newest: South Coast Railway (Visakhapatnam), operational from 1 June 2026 (List)
Longest railway platform	Shri Siddharoodha Swamiji station, Hubballi, Karnataka 1,507 m, a world record
Highest railway bridge	Chenab Bridge, Jammu & Kashmir 359 m above the riverbed, the world’s highest railway arch bridge (inaugurated June 2025)

National highways

National highways — total length	1,46,204 km — the longest is NH-44, Srinagar to Kanyakumari (List)
Longest road tunnel	Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel (Chenani–Nashri), Jammu & Kashmir 9.28 km, on NH-44

Metro rail

Metro rail	Operational in over 20 cities — the world’s third-largest network by length; the first was the Kolkata Metro, 1984 (List)

Dams

Large dams	6,281 (List)
Longest dam	Hirakud Dam, on the Mahanadi, Odisha — about 25.8 km with dykes
Highest dam	Tehri Dam, on the Bhagirathi, Uttarakhand 260.5 m

Armed forces

Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces	The President of India
Armed forces — three services	Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force
Chief of Defence Staff — office created	December 2019; the first CDS, Gen Bipin Rawat, took charge in January 2020
Chief of Defence Staff — incumbent	Gen Anil Chauhan (since 30 September 2022)
Army Day	15 January
Navy Day	4 December
Air Force Day	8 October

Nuclear tests

Pokhran-I	18 May 1974 Smiling Buddha, India’s first nuclear test
Pokhran-II	11 and 13 May 1998 Operation Shakti

Space

Space agency	Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), headquartered in Bengaluru
ISRO founded	15 August 1969 (founder: Vikram Sarabhai)
First satellite	Aryabhata, 19 April 1975
First Indian in space	Rakesh Sharma 1984, aboard Soyuz T-11
Chandrayaan-3 landing	23 August 2023 The first landing near the lunar south pole (observed as National Space Day)
Mars Orbiter Mission	Launched 5 November 2013; entered Mars orbit 24 September 2014 Success on the maiden attempt

Education

Universities	1,100+ Central, state, deemed and private (List)
IITs	23 Indian Institutes of Technology (List)
NITs	31 National Institutes of Technology (plus IIEST Shibpur) (List)
IIMs	21 Indian Institutes of Management (List)
AIIMS	23 approved 19 established (7 before 2014, 12 since) and 4 under establishment (List)

Research institutions

CSIR	Council of Scientific & Industrial Research — founded 1942; the largest civilian research network, with over 35 national laboratories (List)
DRDO	Defence Research and Development Organisation — founded 1958; the defence research network of about 50 laboratories
ICMR	Indian Council of Medical Research — founded 1911; the apex body for medical research, among the world’s oldest
ICAR	Indian Council of Agricultural Research — founded 1929; the apex body for agricultural research and education

UNESCO sites

UNESCO World Heritage Sites	45 37 cultural, 7 natural, 1 mixed (List)
Latest World Heritage inscription	The Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath — July 2026, at the 48th session in Busan

Intangible heritage

Intangible cultural heritage elements	16 on UNESCO’s Representative List — the latest, Deepavali, inscribed December 2025 at the 20th session, hosted by India at the Red Fort, New Delhi (List)

Classical dances

Classical dance forms	8, recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi (List)

Classical dance	Home state
Bharatanatyam	Tamil Nadu
Kathak	Uttar Pradesh and north India
Kathakali	Kerala
Kuchipudi	Andhra Pradesh
Odissi	Odisha
Manipuri	Manipur
Mohiniyattam	Kerala
Sattriya	Assam

Festivals

Festivals	A calendar kept by every faith, crowned by three national festivals (Full festivals)
National festivals	Republic Day (26 January) · Independence Day (15 August) · Gandhi Jayanti (2 October)
Festivals of faith	Diwali and Holi · Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha · Christmas · Guru Nanak Jayanti · Buddha Purnima · Mahavir Jayanti
Harvest festivals	Pongal · Makar Sankranti · Lohri · Baisakhi · Onam · Bihu
UNESCO-recognised	Kolkata’s Durga Puja and Deepavali — both on the intangible-heritage list

GI tags

GI-tagged items	822 entries on the official Geographical Indications register (List)

Monuments

Monuments of National Importance (ASI)	Over 3,600 centrally protected monuments (List)

Museums

Museums	400+ across the country (List)
Oldest museum	Indian Museum, Kolkata — founded 1814 by the Asiatic Society of Bengal; the oldest and largest in India

Firsts

First President	Dr Rajendra Prasad
First Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
First woman Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi (1966)
First woman President	Pratibha Patil (2007)
First Chief Justice of India	H. J. Kania
First Indian Nobel laureate	Rabindranath Tagore — Literature, 1913

Rankings & memberships

United Nations	Founding member — since 30 October 1945
UN Security Council	Non-permanent member eight times, most recently 2021–22; a declared candidate for a permanent seat
G20	Founding member (1999)
G20 presidency hosted	2023 The New Delhi Summit
BRICS	Founding member
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation	Full member since 2017
Quad	Member, with Australia, Japan and the United States
Commonwealth of Nations	Member
SAARC	Founding member (1985); headquarters in Kathmandu
BIMSTEC	Founding member (1997); headquarters in Dhaka
World Trade Organization	Founding member 1 January 1995 (in GATT since 1948)
Human Development Index	130th of 193, with an HDI of 0.685

Frequently asked questions

What is the official name of India?

The Republic of India — Bhārat Gaṇarājya in Hindi. Article 1 of the Constitution opens “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”, making India and Bharat equally official short names.

How many states and union territories does India have?

India has 28 states and 8 union territories. Telangana, formed on 2 June 2014, is the newest state; Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh became union territories on 31 October 2019.

What are the national symbols of India?

The Tiranga flag, the Lion Capital emblem with the motto Satyameva Jayate, the anthem Jana Gana Mana, the song Vande Mataram, the Bengal tiger, the Indian peafowl, the lotus, the banyan and the river Ganga, among others. No national sport has officially been declared.

Which languages are in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution?

Twenty-two: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

What is India’s rank in the world by area and by population?

Seventh by area, at 32,87,263 sq km, and first by population — the United Nations has counted India the most populous country since 2023. The Census 2011 figure is 121.09 crore.

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