India lies in
the Northern Hemisphere i.e. whole of the territory lies above the Equator. It
lies between 804'
N to 37°6' N latitude and from 68°7' E to 97°25' E longitude. The country is
divided horizontally into almost two equal parts by the Tropic of Cancer. The Indira
Point (6°45' N latitude in Great Nicobar Island) is the southernmost point of
Indian Territory, while Kanyakumari, also known as Cape Comorin, is the
southernmost point of Indian mainland. The 82°30' E longitude is taken as the
Standard Time Meridian of India, as it passes through the middle of India (through
Naini, near Allahabad). India stretches 3,214 km from North to South &
2,933 km from East to West.
India has an
area of 32,87,263 sq. kms & accounts for 2.4% of the total world area and roughly
16% of the world population. Out of the
total land mass plains constitute
about 43.3%, plateaus account for 27.7 %, hills 18.4 %
and rest is mountainous. Mainland
India has a coastline of 6,100 km. Including the Lakshadweep and Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, the coastline measures about 7516.6 km. The Northern and the North-Eastern
parts are covered by the Himalayas, in the South, on the eastern side, the Gulf
of Mannar & the Palk Strait separate India from Sri Lanka. Land frontiers
of the country are shared with 7 neighbours (Pakistan, Afghanistan, China,
Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar). India's Islands include the Andaman
& Nicobar Islands in Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep, Minicoy & Amindivi Islands
in the Arabian Sea.