The Republic of India is a country in South Asia which comprises most of the Indian subcontinent. India has a coastline which stretches over 7000 kms , and shares its borders with Pakistan, the People's Republic of China, Nepal, and Bhutan on the north, and Bangladesh and Myanmar on the east. On the Indian Ocean, it is adjacent to the island nations of the Maldives on the southwest, Sri Lanka on the south, and Indonesia on the southeast.

India is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of over one trillion, and is the seventh largest country by geographical area. It is home to some of the most ancient civilisations (and a centre of important historic trade routes), including four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Formerly a major part of the British Empire before gaining independence in 1947, during the past two decades the country has grown significantly, in its economic and military roles, regionally as well as globally.

The official name of the country, India, is derived from the Old Persian version of Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the river Indus

Data Sheet

The economy

India has an economy ranked as the tenth largest in the world in terms of currency conversion and fourth largest in terms of purchasing power parity. It recorded one of the fastest annual growth rates of around eight percent in 2003 and 2004.

Mumbai serves as the nation's financial capital The Indian economy has shed much of its historical dependence on agriculture, which now contributes to less than 25% of the GDP. Other important industries are mining, petroleum, diamond polishing, films, textiles, information technology services, and handicrafts. Most of India's industrial regions are centred around major cities. In recent years, India has emerged as one of the largest players in software and business process outsourcing services, with revenues of US$ 17.2 billion in 2004-2005. There are also a lot of small-scale industries that provide steady employment to many of its citizens in small towns and villages.

India's main exports items include agricultural products, textile goods, gems and jewellery, software services and technology, engineering goods, chemicals and leather products while its main import commodities are crude oil, machinery, gems, fertiliser, chemicals. For the year 2004, India's total exports stood at US $69.18 billion while the imports were worth at US $89.33 billion

Culture

The Taj Mahal in Agra is India's most popular tourist destination.India has a rich and unique cultural heritage, and has actively preserved its established traditions throughout history.Many of the features of the present Indian culture are the legacy of the Indo-Aryans which include Hinduism, Sanskrit, and the caste system.It has also absorbed customs from both invaders and immigrants. Many cultural practices and monuments, such as the Taj Mahal and other Islamic architecture, have been inherited from the rule of Mughal emperors.

Indian society is largely pluralist, multilingual and multicultural. Religious practices of various faiths are an integral part of everyday life in society. Education is highly regarded by members of every socio-economic stratum. The traditional Indian family values are highly respected and considered sacred, although urban families have grown into a nuclear family system, owing to the socio-economic constraints imposed by the traditional joint family system.

Religion in India is very public, with many practices imbued with pomp and vitality accompanying their underlying spiritual qualities. A melting pot of many religions, India has rich festivals celebrated by one and all. The most widely known and popular celebrations include the Hindu festivals of Diwali, Holi, and Dussehra. Pongal in Tamil Nadu and Onam in Kerala are harvest festivals celebrated by people belonging to all religions.

Diwali, the festival of lights, is celebrated by lighting small oil lamps everywhere in the house.The earliest literary traditions were mostly oral and were later transcribed. Most of these spring from Hindu tradition and are represented by sacred works like the Vedas and the epics of the Mahabharatha and Ramayana. Sangam literature from Tamil Nadu represents some of India's oldest secular traditions. There have been many notable Indian writers in modern times, both in Indian languages and in English . Salman Rushdie,Arundhati Roy are some of the noted Indian English writers. India's only Nobel laureate in literature was the Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore.

India produces the world's highest number of films annually. The most recognisable face is that of Bollywood, based in Mumbai, which produces mainly commercial Hindi films. Cinema in other language bases is particularly strong, with movies regularly produced in well-established Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu industries. India's gift to world cinema was the internationally renowned Bengali language director Satyajit Ray.

Rice and wheat (in bread forms) are the staple foods in the country. The cuisine of India is extremely diverse, as ingredients, spices and cooking methods all vary from region to region. The country is notable for its wide variety of vegetarian cuisine. Spicy food and sweets are popular in India.

Holidays

India has three National Holidays. Other holidays ( about a dozen )pertaining to festivals, religious holidays and births of leaders are legislated by the individual states.