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Chapter 5 oUr beaUtifUl CoUntry

Our country – India is very beautiful. The varied land features on its surface like hills,
mountains, valleys, plains, etc add to its beauty. India has an area of about 3.28 million sq
km which is about 2.4 % of the total surface area of the world.

India is also called a sub-continent because it is a big geographical unit which stands out
distinctly from the rest of the continent.
loCation anD Size

India is located in the northern hemisphere. It is
situated in the southern part of the Asia and located
at the head of the Indian ocean.

The mainland of India extends between 8°4’N
and 37°6’N latitudes and between 68°7’E and
97°25’E longitudes. There is a difference of about
Location of India in Asia 30° between its longitudinal extent. So, the time
difference between two extreme places of India, i.e., Arunachal Pradesh in the east and
Gujarat in the west is about 2 hours. The Tropic of Cancer (23½°N) passes almost half-way
through the country.
The north-south extent from Kashmir to Kanya Kumari is about 3,200 km while the east-
west extent from Arunachal Pradesh to Kuchchh is about 2,900 km.

Standard Meridian for the whole country is located at Allahabad at longitude of 82½°E.
The local time of the standard meridian is used as the standard time for the whole country.

inDia’S neighBourS

You will notice that we share our boundaries with seven
countries. These are Pakistan, Afghanistan, China,
Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. The Island
country of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives are
located towards the south in the Indian Ocean.

Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow stretch of
water, namely, the Palk Strait.

PolitiCal DiviSionS

India is a vast country. For administrative purposes, it is divide into 28 states and 7 Union
Territories.
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