• The first article of the Constitution of India states that “India, that is Bharat, shall be a union of states,” implicitly codifying “India” and “Bharata” as equally official short names for the Republic of India.

Bharat

• The name Bharat is a modernisation of the historical name Bharatavarsha, which traditionally referred to the Indian subcontinent.
  
  • According to Rig Veda
  • According to Mahabharata
  • According to Vishnu Purana
  • According to Sanskrit
  • According to Jain Dharma

India 

• The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindush, equivalent to the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local name for the Indus River.
• The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi , which translates as “The people of the Indus“.

Hindustan

• Hindustan is a Middle Persian name for India. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then.

1.2 Location 

Absolute Location

👉🏽India lies in the norther and eastern hemisphere.

Mainland

• Latitude between 8°4′ to 37°6′ North.
• Longitude between 68°7′ to 97°25′ East.

Including Islands

• The southernmost – 6°45’ N latitude (Nicobar island).
• The southern extreme is called Pygmalion Point or Indira Point.

Other Important Points

• Indira Kol – 35° 39′ N & 76° 47′ E
• NJ9842 – 35°N,77°E

Relative Location

• India is surrounded by water from three sides. Arabian Sea in west, Bay of Bengal in the east and Indian Ocean in the south.
• The Himalayas form the northern boundary.
• Towards its north west is Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• China, Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal lies to its north.
• Bangladesh and Myanmar are to the east of India.

1.3 Area, Length and Width

Area

• India occupies an area of about 3.28 million sq. km (Land 91%, Water 9%), which is 0.57% of the world and 2.4% of the land hemisphere.
• In terms of area ranked at 7th position.  
• Following is the area of the countries in million squire km.
  1. Russia:  17.13 million km²
  2. Canada:  9.98 million km²
  3. United States: 9.82 million km²
  4. China: 9.59 million km²
  5. Brazil: 8.51 million km²
  6. Australia: million km²
  7. India: 3.28 million km²
  8. Argentina: 2.78 million km²
• India is equal to the area of Europe (excluding Russia), one-third of Canada, one fifth of Russia, eight times of Japan and twelve times of United Kingdom.

Distance

• The north-south extent from Indra Col in Kashmir to Kanyakumari is about 3,214 km.
• The east-west extent from Rann of Kuchchh to Arunachal Pradesh is about 2,933 km.

Land Boundary

• India has a land boundary of about 15,200 km.

Cost Line

• Mainland: 5422.6 km
• Island Territories: 2094 km
• 👉🏽Total Cost line: 7516.6 km, including the two groups of islands that is the Andaman and Nicobar and the Lakshadweep.

🤔The north south extent is 281 km more than east west extent of the country, though the latitudinal and longitudinal extent is almost the same.

1.4 India: Administrative divisions

• India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories.

States

• • • Andhra Pradesh
    • Arunachal Pradesh
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Goa
    • Gujarat
    • Haryana
    • Himachal Pradesh
    • Jharkhand
    • Karnataka
    • Kerala
    • Madhya Pradesh
    • Maharashtra
    • Manipur
    • Meghalaya
    • Mizoram
    • Nagaland
    • Odisha
    • Punjab
    • Rajasthan
    • Sikkim
    • Tamil Nadu
    • Telangana
    • Tripura
    • Uttar Pradesh
    • Uttarakhand
    • West Bengal

Union Territories

• • • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Chandigarh
    • 👉🏽Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
    • Jammu and Kashmir
    • Ladakh
    • Lakshadweep
    • National Capital Territory of Delhi
    • Puducherry

1.5 Impact of the Extent of India 🤔

A. Climatic Diversity

• The country is divided into two parts by the Tropic of Cancer (23° 30’ N).
• The latitudinal extent of India is about one-third the angular distance between the Equator and the North pole and its longitudinal extent is about one-twelfth of the circumference of the equator.
• The tropic of cancer passes through the middle part of India and crosses the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, M Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram (8 states).
• Tropic of Cancer is the maximum latitudinal limit in the northern hemisphere up to which the Sun’s position shifts during summer solstice.
• Summer Solstice occurs on a day of the year when the Sun is above the horizon for the longest amount of time, around 21st June in the northern half of the Earth and 21st December in the southern half.
• The portion south of Tropic of Cancer referred to as southern half, has tropical climate  because –
  a. Sun’s rays strike the Earth’s surface nearly vertically at noon and
  b. The Oceans on both the sides of the peninsular landmass help keep the temperature warm
• Towards north of the Tropic of Cancer, the remaining half of India experiences subtropical climate and is home what continental in nature. This is because here the Sun’s rays strike relatively obliquely. Consequently, this part of the county receives lesser amount of insulation and has cold climate unlike the southern parts.

B. Length of day and night 

• The difference between day and night goes on increasing from Equator towards the poles.
• The day and night in southern-most part of India are almost of equal duration with the difference being only about 45 minutes.
• This difference between day and night in the northern parts of India steadily goes on increasing till it becomes as much as 5 hours in Ladakh.

C. Timelines

• The Earth takes 24 hours to rotate around itself.
• The ‘Earth’s longitudinal expanse of 360° is thus covered in 24 hours, thereby covering 15 degrees of longitudes in one hour.
• As the longitudinal extent of India is nearly 30°, it takes nearly 2 hours to cover India from its east to west extremities.
• 👉🏽Now as the Earth rotates from west to east, the Sun appears to ‘emerge’ first on the eastern horizon since Arunachal Pradesh is towards the east, it will have the earliest or the first sunrise in India wide Saurashtra in Gujarat will have sunrise 2 hours later.

Indian Standard Meridian

• The Standard Meridian of India (82°30’E) passes through Mirzapur (in Uttar Pradesh), it is taken as the standard time for the whole country.
• It means that when it is noon in Allahabad, the time for the whole of India is taken as noon. As far as International Standard Time i.e. Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT) is concerned, the difference between it and Indian Standard Time around 5.30 hrs.
• 👉🏽Standard Meridian passes through 5 states as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

👉🏽There is MCQ at Shillong on 92° E Longitude. Explain Time at Jodhpur on 73° E Longitude.

👉🏽Direction based MCQs. (Jabalpur & Lucknow)

👉🏽Latitude based MCQs. (Sikkim)

1.6 Border with Neighbors

• 👉🏽Bangladesh : 4,096.70 km
   West B. Meghalaya, Assam. Tripura, Mizorarn (5 states)
  
• China (PRC): 3,488 km
  J&K, HP, Uttarakhand, Sikkim Ar P (5 states)
• Pakistan: 3,323 km
  J&K (UT), Laddakh(UT), Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat (5 states)
• Nepal: 1,751 km 
  Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar. West Bengal, Sikkirn (5 states)
• 👉🏽Myanmar: 1,643 km 
  Arunachal Pradesh. Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram (4 states)
• Bhutan: 699 km 
  Sikkirn, West Bengal, Assarn. Arunachal Pradesh (4 states)
• Afghanistan: 106 km.
  Jammu and Kashmir (1 state)
• Important Land Boundaries of India
  • Durand Line: India-Afghanistan and Pakistan-Afghanistan International boundary is called Durand Line.
  • McMahon Line: The India-China boundary  is a natural boundary running along the Himalayan ranges and is based on various treaties. Its eastern part (1140km) is called McMahon Line.
  • 👉🏽RedCliffe Award: The Boundary with Pakistan and Bangladesh (East Pakistan) was finalized at the time of partition in 1947 through the RadCliffe Award.
  • The Tin Bigha Corridor: It is a strip of land belonging to India. It is a part of West Bengal and lies adjacent to the Bangladesh border.
  • Sir Creek: It forms the boundary between Gujarat State of India and Sindh province of Pakistan.

1.7 India’s border disputes: 

• India faces number of border issues with its neighbors as most of these borders are a colonial Legacy.
• These are political boundaries which generally do not conform to natural frontiers between be countries.
• Besides, the borders were set In hurry without seeking consensus of the affected parties.

Sri Lanka

• Katchatheevu Island was given to Sri lanka by a 1974 agreement.

Bangladesh 

• By Land Boundary Agreement of 1974 and its 2011 Protocol. The Maritime boundary dispute with Bangladesh was recently resolved by the Boundary Tribunal under International Court of Justice. The Arbitration Tribunal for Delimitation of Maritime Boundary between India and Bangladesh established under UN Convention of Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) rendered its award on July 7, 2014, keeping in mind the competing claims of the two countries. U.N. tribunal awarded Dhaka 19467 sq. km of 25602 sq. km sea area of Bay of Bengal.
• The award puts an end to a long standing issue between India and Bangladesh which has impeded the ability of both countries to fully exploit the resources in the part of the Bay of Bengal. The Award is final and binding on both the Parties.

Nepal

• Nepalese political parties have a general consensus over the fact that Kalapani in Uttarakhand is part of Nepal’s sovereign territory, said former Nepalese Foreign Minister. However, India rejected this claim. The Kalapani region derives its name from the river Kali. Nepal’s claims to the region is based on this river as it became the marker of the boundary of the kingdom of Nepal following the Treaty of Sugauli signed between the Gurkha rulers of Kathmandu and the East India Company after the Gurkha War/Anglo-Nepal War (1814-16). The treaty was ratified in 1816.
• According to the treaty, Nepal lost the regions of Kumaon-Garhwal in the west and Sikkim in the east.
• According to Article 5, the King of Nepal gave up his claims over the region west of the river Kali which originates in the High Himalayas and flows into the great plains of the Indian subcontinent.
• According to the treaty, the British rulers recognised Nepal’s right to the region that fell to the east of the river Kali.
• According to Nepal’s experts, the east of the Kali river should begin at the source of the river. The source according to them is in the mountains near Limpiyadhura, which is higher in altitude than the rest of the river’s flow. India on the other hand says the border begins at Kalapani which India says is where the river begins.

Bhutan

• There is no boundary disputes with Bhutan. 

Pakistan 

• The boundary line between India and Pakistan is based on the recommendations of Cyril Radcliffe Commission set up by the British government before their withdrawal from the subcontinent.
• Pakistan has laid claims over whole of Kashmir, Siachen Glacier and Sir Creek. The dispute over Rann of Kachchh was resolved by decision of Boundary Tribunal of International Court of Justice in 1969.
• The Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) divides current positions of Indian and Pakistani military posts and troops across the entire 110 kilometres (68 mi) long front line in the disputed region of Siachen Glacier.

China

• The boundary between India and China is called McMahon Line. After the war of 1962, the boundary between India and China is known as Line of Actual Control (LAC) China has boundary dispute with India in following sectors:
  1. Western sector — Portion of Pakistan occupied Kashmir in Hunza-Gitgit area, Aksai Chin and eastern Ladakh with area of around 54000 km2.
  2. Middle sector — Not a significant dispute though China claims around 2000 km2 of area.
  3. Eastern sector — The whole of Arunachal Pradesh with an area of around 88000 km2 is claimed by China.

1.8 Indian Ocean 

The Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean of the world and covers nearly 20% of water surface.

Extent

• Its western border is continental Africa to a longitude of 20° E, where it stretches south from Cape Agulhas.
• Its northern border is continental Asia from Suez to the Malay Peninsula.
• In the east it incorporates Singapore, the Indonesian archipelago, Australia to longitude 147° E and Tasmania.
• While in the south it stretches to latitude 60° S as determined per the Antarctic Treaty of 1959.

Significance of Indian Ocean

• Indian occupies a central and strategic location in the Indian Ocean area. Its national and economic interests are inseparably linked up with Indian Ocean. Hence to keep the Indian Ocean as a zone of Peace free from superpower rivalry and increasing cooperation among littoral countries in the region has always been India’s foreign Policy’s goal for example Look East policy, Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation.
• Apart from this Indian Ocean has an important role to play in keeping the moderate climate of the Southern India. Along with strategic importance. Indian Ocean is the only fishing ground for coastal fisherman is India. Due to huge marine recourses it spreads prosperity in coastal plains of India.

Maritime choke points

• Indian Ocean has some of the world’s most important choke points, notably the Straits of Hormuz, Malacca, and the Bab-el Mandeb.
• These choke points are strategically important for global trade and energy flow, the security of them become strategically important.

Important Straits

• Great Channel: Indira Point and Indonesia
• 👉🏽Duncan Passage is situated between South Andaman and Little Andaman.
• 👉🏽10-degree channel: Little Andaman and Nicobar
• 👉🏽9-degree channel: Minicoy and Lakshadweep
• 8-degree Channel: Maldives and Minicoy
• Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait: Indian and Sri lanka

States Coast line

Following is the list of States and UTs with coastline in decreasing order of the length of coastline:

• 👉🏽Gujarat: 1214.7 km

• Andhra Pradesh: 973.7km

• Tamil Nadu: 906.9km

• Maharashtra: 652.6km

• Kerala: 569.7km

• Odisha: 476.4km

• Karnataka: 280km

• Goa (with Daman and Diu) 160.5km

• West Bengal: 157.5km

• Puducherry: 30.6km

• Andaman and Nicobar Islands: 1962km (Islands UT)

• • Lakshadweep Island: 132 km (Islands UT)

1.9 States Ranking

Indian States Formation

New States and Union Territories after 1956:

• 1960 – Maharashtra and Gujarat – State of Bombay divided into two separate States. Gujarat – 15th State of Indian Union.
• 1961 – Dadra & Nagar Haveli – This Portuguese territory was converted into a union territory.
• 1962 – Goa, Daman and Diu – These Portuguese territories were converted into a union territory.
• 1962 – Pondicherry – This French territory was made a union territory.
• 1963 Nagaland – This State was formed out of the territories of Assam. Nagaland – 16th State of Indian Union.
• 1966 – Haryana and Chandigarh – State of Punjab was bifurcated to create Haryana state and Chandigarh as union territory. Haryana – 17th State of Indian Union.
• 1971 – Himachal Pradesh – The Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh was elevated to the status of a State. Himachal Pradesh – 18th State of Indian Union.
• 1972 – Manipur Tripura, Meghalaya – The Union Territories of Manipur and Tripura.
• were elevated to the status of a State, Manipur – 19th State of Indian Union. Tripura – 20th State of Indian Union. Meghalaya – 2lth State of Indian Union.
• 1972 UT – Mizoram and Arunachal – These union territories were formed out of the territories of Assam.
• 1974 – Sikkim state became an integral part of India after a Referendum. Sikkim – 22th State of Indian Union.
• 1987 – Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa – Mizoram 23th State of Indian Union. Arunachal Pradesh – 24th State of Indian Union. Goa 25th State of Indian Union.
• 2000 – Chhattisgarh, Uttrakhand and Jharkhand – Chhattisgarh – 26th State of Indian Union created out of Madhya Pradesh. Uttarakhand – 27th State at Indian Union created out of Uttar Pradesh. Jharkhand – 28th State of Indian Union created out of Bihar.
• 2014- TeIangana – Telangana takes birth as 29th State of Indian Union. It is created out of Andhra Pradesh

UPSC_Pre_MCQ 1995 to 2018

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] If it is 10.00 am. I.S.T., then what would be the local time at Shillong on 92° E longitude?[1999] (a)9.38 a.m. (b)10.38 a.m. (c)10.22 a.m. (d)9.22 a.m.
Ans. (b) [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] Consider the following statements:[2003] 1.Longitude of Jabalpur’s location is between those of Indore and Bhopal. 2.Latitude of Aurangabad’s location is between those of Vadodara and Pune. 3.Bangalore is situated more southward than Chennai Which of these statements is/are correct? (a)1 and 3 (b)Only 2 (c)2 and 3 (d)1, 2 and 3
Ans. (c)The longitude of Jabalpur’s location is to the east of Bhopal, Bangalore is north of Channai.za [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”]
Which one among the following states is smallest in area?[2003]
(a)Andhra Pradesh (b)Gujarat (c)Karnataka (d)Tamil Nadu
Ans. (d)The area of Andhra Pradesh is 160,205 sq km, area of Gujarat is 196,024 sq km, the area of Karnataka is 191, 791 sq km and Tamil Nadu is 130, 058 sq km. [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”]
Among the following cities, which one is nearest to the Tropic of Cancer? [2003]
(a)Delhi (b)Kolkata (c)Jodhpur (d)Nagpur
Ans. (b)The Tropic of Cancer located at 23.5° north. Location of Kolkata is 22°33′ N. So, Kolkata is nearer to Tropic of Cancer. Delhi is 28.38°N. [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] Lake Sambhar is nearest to which one of the following cities of Rajasthan ?[2004]
(a)Bharatpur (b)Jaipur (c)Jodhpur (d)Udaipur
Ans.(b)Sambhar is India’s largest salt lake which is located 96 km south west of city of Jaipur. [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] 93.Which one of the following statements is not correct?[2004]
(a) Gulf with narrow fronts and wider rears experience high tides.
(b)Tidal currents take place when a gulf is connected with the open sea by a narrow channel.
(c)Tidal bore occurs when a tide enters the narrow and shallow estuary of a river.
(d)The tidal nature of the mouth of the river Hooghly is of crucial importance to Kolkata as port.
Ans. (a) [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”]
Consider the following statements :[2005]
1.Area-wise, Chhattisgarh is larger than West Bengal.
2.According to the population Census 2001, population of West Bengal is larger than that of Chhattisgarh.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a)1 only (b)2 only (c)Both 1 and 2 (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Ans. (c)Area of Chhattisgarh is 1,36,03489 km and Area of West Bengal is 88,572 sq km but the population density in Chhattigarh is 154, whereas the population density in West Bengal is 904. [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”]
Which of the following states border Uttar Pradesh?
1.Punjab 2.Rajasthan [2005] 3.Chhattisgarh 4.Jharkhand
Select the correct answer using the codes given below: (a)1, 2, 3 and 4 (b)2, 3 and 4 (c) 1 and 4(d)1 and 3
Ans..(b)Uttar Pradesh is bounded by Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan in west; Madhya Pradesh in the south and Bihar in the east. The northern boundary is with Nepal. [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”]
Consider the following statements:[2006]
1.Sikkim has the minimum area among the 28 Indian States (Delhi and Pondicherry not included).
2.Chandigarh has the highest literacy rate among Pondicherry, National Capital Territory of Delhi and other Union Territories.
3.Maharashtra has the highest population after Uttar Pradesh among the 28 Indian States (Delhi and Pondicherry not included).
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct? (a)1 and 2 (b)2 and 3 (c)1 only (d)3 only
Ans. (d)Maharashtra is ranked 2nd after Uttar Pradesh among 28 Indian states. So, option ‘3’ is correct. But option ‘1’ and ‘2’ are incorrect, because Goa is the smallest state based on area (i.e., 3702 sq km), not the Sikkim. Highest literacy rate is of Union territory is Lakshadweep i.e. 86.7%. [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] 135.Which one among the following major Indian cities is most eastward located? [2007] (a)Hyderabad (b)Bhopal (c)Lucknow (d)Bengaluru (Bangalore)
Ans. (c)Lucknow is the city most east in the list. [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”]
Out of the four southern States: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which shares boundaries with the maximum number of Indian States?[2007]
(a)Andhra Pradesh only (b)Karnataka only (c)Each of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka (d)Each of Tamil Nadu and Kerala
Ans.(c)Both Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka shares boundaries with maximum number of Indian states. [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”]
In India, how many states share the coastline?[2008] (a)7 (b)8 (c)9 (d)10
Ans. (c)9 states of India have a coastline. Gujrat, Maharastra, Karnataka, Kerla, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal. [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] 185.The latitudes that pass through Sikkim also pass through :[2010] (a)Rajasthan (b)Punjab (c)Himachal Pradesh (d)Jammu and Kashmir
Ans. (a)The latitude that passes through Sikkim also pass through Rajasthan. [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”]
The approximate representation of land use classification in India is :[2010]
(a)Net area sown 25%, forests 33%, other areas 42% (b)Net area sown 58%, forests 17%, other areas 25% (c)Net area sown 43%; forests 29%, other areas 28% (d)Net area sown 47%, forests 23%, other areas 30%
Ans. (d)The approximate representation of land use is classified as net area sown 46%, forests 23%, other areas 30%. [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”]
Which one of the following pairs of islands is separated from each other by the ‘Ten Degree Channel’?[2014 – I]
(a)Andaman and Nicobar (b)Nicobar and Sumatra (c)Maldives and Lakshadweep (d)Sumatra and Java
Ans. (a)The Ten Degree Channel is a channel that separates the Andaman Islands from the Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”]
In a particular region in India, the local people train the roots of living trees into robust bridges across the streams. As the time passes, these bridges become stronger. These unique ‘living root bridges’ are found in[2015-I]
(a)Meghalaya (b)Himachal Pradesh (c)Jharkhand (d)Tamil Nadu
Ans. (a)In the present-day Meghalaya state of northeast India is a form of tree shaping, which creates these suspension bridges, they are handmade from the aerial roots of living banyan fig trees. [/tippy]

[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”]
Which of the following has/have been accorded ‘Geographical Indication’ status?[2015-I]
1. Banaras Brocades and Sarees 2.Rajasthani Daal-Bati-Churma 3.Tirupathi Laddu Select the correct answer using the code given below. (a) 1 only (b)2 and 3 only (c)1 only 3 only (d)1, 2 and 3
Ans. (c)Banaras Brocades and Sarees (Logo) has been accorded ‘Geographical Indication’ status. Rajasthani Daal-Bati-Churma is not in the list of Geographical Indications in Indus – Therefore option ‘C’ is correct. [/tippy]

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