NCERT Summary: India - Size and Location | Geography (Prelims) by Valor Academy - UPSC PDF Download

Extent of India

• From Kashmir in North to Kanniyakumari in the South and Arunachal Pradesh in the East to Gujarat in the West.
• Territorial limit- 12 nautical miles (21.9 km) from the coast, towards the sea.
• Southern Boundary- 6°45' N latitude in the Bay of Bengal.
• Latitudinal and Longitudinal Extent of India - roughly 30 degrees.
• Distance between North and South extremity- 3,214 km.
• Distance between East and West extremities - 2,933 km.
• The southern part of the country- lies within the tropics and the Northern part of the country - lies within the subtropical zone or warm temperate zone. This leads to large variations in landforms, climate, soil types, and natural vegetation.
• India has an area of 3.28 million sq km, which accounts for 2.4 percent of the world’s land surface area.
• India is the seventh-largest country in the world, in terms of area.

Standard Meridian

• From the values of longitude - there is a difference of 30 degrees - between the easternmost and the westernmost part of the country- hence a time difference of nearly two hours is caused.
• Countries generally select Standard Meridian as multiples of 7°30' of longitude.
• India selected 82°30' as the ‘Standard Meridian’, which passes through Mirzapur, UP.
• Indian Standard Time - 5hrs and 30 min, ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
• Some countries have more than one Standard Meridian because of the vast East-West extent.
• The USA has seven time zones and Russia has eleven time zones.

Indian Subcontinent

• The subcontinent includes countries - Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and India.
• Himalayas- with other ranges have acted as a formidable barrier in the past.
• Except for a few passes like Khyber, the Bolan, the Shipkila, the Nathula, the Bomdila, etc., it was difficult to cross the Himalayas.
• The Peninsula part of India extends towards the Indian Ocean.
• Provided the country with a coastline of 6,100 km in the mainland and 7,517 km in the entire geographical coast of the mainland plus the island groups.
• Andaman and Nicobar are located in the Bay of Bengal.
• The Lakshadweep islands are located in the Arabian Sea.

India and its neighbours

• India is located in the Southcentral part of Asia, bordering the Indian Ocean and its two arms extend in the form of Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.
• Maritime location of Peninsular India helps in linking it to the neighbouring regions through the sea and air routes.
• Indian neighbouring countries located in the Indian Ocean- Maldives and Sri Lanka (both are island countries)
• Sri Lanka is separated from India by - Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait.

Mind map