facts and information on India

Name India, also known as Bharat or Hindustan. Area 3,287,263 sq. km Population 1,028 million (as per 1 March 2001) Capital New Delhi Religion India is a secular country where many religions co-exist. Coastline length 7,600 km Languages There are 22 different languages that have been recognised by the Constitution of India, of which Hindi is an Official Language. Article 343(3) empowered Parliament to provide by law for continued use of English for official purposes. Climate India experiences three major seasons - winters, summers and Monsoon. States and Union Territories India has 28 states and 7 Union Territories Government Democratic form of Government Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh President Mrs Pratibha Devisingh Patil Currency Rupees National Anthem Jan Gana Mana National Emblem Replica of the Lion Capital of Sarnath National Flag Horizontal tricolour in equal proportion of deep saffron on the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom. In the centre of the white band is a wheel in navy blue colour. National Animal Tiger National Bird Peacock National Flower Lotus National Tree Banyan National Fruit Mango National River The Ganga or Ganges National Aquatic Animal River Dolphin National Calendar The national calendar is based on the Saka Era, with Chaitra as its first month and a normal year of 365 days. National Song Vande Mataram National Game Hockey National Currency Rupees, denoted by symbol Rs. Time Zone The Indian time zone, Indian Standard Time (IST) is 5.5 hours (5 hours and 30 minutes) ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).