INDIA –SIZE AND LOCATION

1. Location

• The mainland extends between latitudes 8°4'N and37°6'N and longitudes 68°7'E and 97°25'E.
• The Tropic of Cancer (23° 30'N) divides the country into almost two equal parts.
• The southernmost latitude of the Indian mainland in Kanyakumari in Tamil
• [The Indira Point or Pygmalion Point or the Parson Point]
• The southernmost point of Great Nicobar Island of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago.

2. Size

• India is a vast country. Lying entirely in the Northern Hemisphere. The landmass of India has an area of 3.28 million square km. It accounts for about 2.4 per cent of the total geographical area of the world.
• North to South extremity is 3,214 km and East to West extremity is only 2933 kms.
• India is the seventh-largest country in the world. It has a land boundary of about 15,200 km and the total length of the coastline of the mainland, including Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep, is 7,516.6 km.
• India is bounded by the Himalayas in the northwest, north and northeast. South of about 22° north latitude, it begins to taper and extends towards the Indian Ocean, dividing it into two seas, the Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on the east.
• From Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, there is a time lag of two hours.
• The Standard Meridian of India (82°30'E) passes through Mirzapur (in Uttar Pradesh).

3. India and the World

• The Indian landmass has a central location between East and West Asia.
• The Trans Indian routes connect the countries of Europe and East Asia.
• Deccan peninsular protrudes into the Indian Ocean.
• No other country in the Indian Ocean has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean as India.
• Travellers entered India by crossing different mountain passes. The ideas of Upanishads, the Ramayana and stories of the Panchtantra, the Indian numerical and decimal system spread across the world. 

4. India's Neighbours 

• India shares its land boundary with Pakistan[Radcliffe line borderline between India and Pakistan ] Afghanistan[ Durand line borderline between India and Afghanistan ] in the North West, China[Tibet],  [MC Mohan line borderline between India and China] Nepal and Bhutan in the North, Myanmar and Bangladesh in the east .southern countries across the sea are Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
• Sri Lanka is separated by a narrow channel called the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar with the Maldives.