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General Information
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Population
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1.02 billion (2001 Census)
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Area
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3.3 million square kilometers
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Geographical location
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Lies between latitudes 8 ° 4' and 37 ° 6 ' north and longitudes 68 ° 7 ' and 97 ° 25' east
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Coastline length
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7,600 km
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Languages
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18 major languages, 844 dialects
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Major religions
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Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism
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National anthem
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Jan gana mana, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the national anthem of India on 24th January, 1950.
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National emblem
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The state emblem is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. In the original, there are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the capital is crowned by the Wheel of the Law (Dharma Chakra).
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National flag
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Horizontal tricolor in equal proportion of deep saffron on the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. The ratio of width of the flag to its length is two to three. In the center of the white band is a navy blue wheel which represents the chakra. Its design is that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Its diameter approximates to the width of the white band and its has 24 spokes. The design of the flag was adopted by the Constitutent Assembly of India on 22nd July, 1947.
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National animal
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Tiger, Panthera tigris
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National bird
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Peacock
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National flower
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Lotus
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National tree
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Banyan
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National fruit
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Mango
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National currency
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Rupees (One Rupees=100 paise)
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Political structure
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India
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Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic
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The Indian Union
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29 States and six centrally administered
Union Territories
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Form of government
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Parliamentary, based on universal adult franchise
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Legislature
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Parliament, consists of President and the two Houses, known as Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and Lok Sabha (House of the People)
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Executive
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Consists of President, Vice-President and Council of Ministers led by the Prime Minister
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Judiciary
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Independent of executive
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