India: Size and Location
- Location of India
- India and the world
- India's neighbours
Location of India
The main land of India extends between latitudes 8°4'N and 37°6'N and longitudes 68°7'E and 97°25'E. The Tropic of Cancer (23° 30'N) passes almost through the middle of the country. Apart from the mainland, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Indian Ocean) and the Lakshadweep (Arabian Sea) are also parts of India.
India: Size
Area
The land mass of India has an area of 3.28 million (3.28 lakh) square km which comprises about 2.4% of the total geographical area of the world. India is the seventh largest country in the world.
Boundary and coastline
The land boundary of India is 15,200 km. The coastline of the country is 7,516.6 km which includes the Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep.
Indian Standard Time
The latitudinal and longitudinal extent of India is about 30°. The time along the Standard Meridian is taken as the Indian Standard Time. The Standard Meridian of India passes through Mirzapur in UP which is located at 82°30’ east. The time lag between Arunachal Pradesh (in the east) and Gujarat (in the west) is about 2 hours. When one moves from south to north, the latitudinal extent influences the duration of day and night.
India and the World
India is centrally located between the East and the West Asia. India is strategically located at the centre of the trans-Indian Ocean routes which connect the European countries in the west and the countries of East Asia. Thus, India could establish close contact with West Asia, Africa and Europe from the western coast. Moreover, it could establish close contact with Southeast and East Asia from the eastern coast.
India’s Neighbours
In the northwest, India shares its boundaries with Pakistan and Afghanistan. China and Nepal are its northern neighbours. Its eastern neighbours are Bangladesh and Myanmar. Maldives and Sri Lanka are its southern neighbours.