India – Location

India Location on Earth

• India is part of South Asia, located in the Northern Hemisphere
• Extends from 8°4’N to 37°6’N latitude and from 68° 7’E to 97° 25’E Longitude, roughly about 30° location of India in latitude and Longitude
• The Tropic of Cancer at 23° 30’N cuts the country in almost two halves
• The Indian location extends from Arunachal Pradesh in the east to Gujarat in the west and Kashmir in the north to Kanyakumari in the South
• The northernmost point is Indira Col in Siachen Glacier in the eastern part of Karakoram ranges, and the Southernmost point is Indira Point in the Nicobar Islands in the Andaman Sea
• The easternmost point of India is a tiny town in Arunachal Pradesh
• Distance from South to North is 3214 km. and that from west to east is 2933 km
• Latitudes are equidistant. The distance between the two latitudes is 111 km
• Longitudes are basically not equidistant from each other at all places. They bulge at the equator and converge at the poles. The average distance between two longitudes is 100 km
• With the 30° difference or variation between the longitudes, there is almost a difference of two hours between the easternmost and westernmost part of the country
• To avoid any complications, the 82° 30’E longitude is selected as the Indian Standard Meridian as per the India location. The Indian Standard time is 5 hours and 30 minutes in advance of Greenwich Mean Time

India Extent and Size

• India has 2.4% of the total geographical area of the world making it the 7th largest in the entire world
• It comprises a total area of 3.28 million sq. km
• India has 7516.6 km. coastline (including the coastlines of the islands of Andaman and Nicobar in Bay of Bengal and that of Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea)
• The coastline of India’s mainland is 6100km
• India has a land boundary of about 15,200 km
• India’s incredible size is blessed with biological diversity. In the North, India is guarded by the mighty Himalayas, the hills in the North East, Peninsular block in the South, and the Marusthali great sandy expanse
• Hindukush bounds the Himalayas and Suleiman ranges in the northwest, the northeast Purvanchal Hills, and the Indian Ocean in the South. This entire area, taken together, forms the geographic entity called “The Indian Subcontinent”
• The Indian subcontinent includes countries like Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India’s mainland
• The Tropic of Cancer passes through the eight states: Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, West Bengal, and Mizoram
• The Standard Meridian of India passes through 5 states of India, namely: Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh