Detailed description of the chapter

1. INDIA SIZE AND LOCATION
Learning geography
through maps and
diagrams

2. ANECDOTE
When asked by then Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi, “How does India look from the space?”
“Saare Jahaan se Accha (best in the world)” was
the reply of the first Indian cosmonaut Rakesh
Sharma. India does look beautiful from up there.
It has a crown like Kashmir, Bay of Bengal in
East, the Arabian Sea in West and Adam’s bridge
(Rama-Setu bridge) in South. Let’s understand in
details the size and location of India.

6. FACTS ON LOCATION OF INDIA WITH
RESPECT TO THE WORLD
• LATITUDINAL EXTENT: 8 ̊4’N- 37 ̊6’N
• LONGITUDINAL EXTENT: 68 ̊7’E- 97 ̊25’E
• AREA WISE: 7TH LRGEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD (3.28
MILLION SQ. KM) which is 2.4% of the total world area
• POPULATION WISE: 2ND Most populous country after
China
• Lies completely in the northern and eastern Hemisphere
• Subcontinent size( Having a distinct identity)
• Peninsula is surrounded by three sides by water

12. FACTS
• Latitudinal Distance(N-S): 3214 Km
• Longitudinal Distance (E-W) : 2933Km.
• Latitudinal Distance(N-S) in degrees: 30 ̊ Longitudinal
Distance(E-W): 30 ̊
• Northern most point- India Col
• Westernmost Point- West of Ghaur Mota in Gujarat
• Easternmost Point- Kibithu In Arunachal Pradesh
• Southernmost Point-Indira Point
• Southernmost Point of Indian Mainland- Kanyakumari
•

14. Latitudinal Implications
1) Lies completely in the Northern Hemisphere
2) 23 ̊30’E (Tropic of Cancer) divides India into two equal halves i.e.
tropical and subtropical part thus experiencing tropical and
subtropical climates respectively.
3) The difference in the duration of the day and night goes on
increasing from south to north from 45 minutes to 5 hours.
4) Places on and below the tropic of cancer experiences overhead
sun twice in a year but places above this don’t experience
overhead sun at any given point of time of the year. That’s why
Ahmedabad and Kolkata which lies on tropic of cancer
experiences overhead sun twice in a year but Delhi which is
located at 29 degrees never experience overhead sun.
5) Northern part has high annual range of temperature whereas
southern part don’t have high annual range of temperature

15. Longitudinal Implications
1) Lies completely in the eastern hemisphere
2) There is the time difference of two hours from
the easternmost state of Arunachal Pradesh to
the westernmost state of Gujarat. Thus
influences the difference in the local time of
the place. The sun rises two hours early and
sets early in Arunachal Pradesh than Gujarat.
When it is 6 a.m. the sun rises in Arunachal
Pradesh , it is still dark in Gujarat .

16. Long coastline implications
• Indian Ocean has been named after India .No other country has a long
coastline on the Indian ocean as India has and indeed it is India’s eminent
position in the India
• Provides Port and natural Harbour for Trade thus boosting India’s maritime
trade. Almost 90% of the international trade is done through sea.
• The Deccan peninsula protrudes towards the Indian Ocean, thus helping
India to establish close contact with west Asia, Africa and Europe from the
Western coast and with south-east Asia and East Asia from the eastern
coast.
• India’s central location at the head of the Indian ocean and its long
coastline have helped in its interaction with sea.
• The sea routes passing through the Indian ocean provide connectivity to
India with the east and the East . India has developed many ports on its
western and eastern coasts.
• It helps in carrying out fishing occupation
• The vast coastal waters provides rich marine resources
• It also helps in developing tourism activities

17. Standard Meridian Of India
• India has chosen 82 ̊30’E as the standard meridian which
passes through the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh.
• 82 ̊ 30’E has only been chosen because of following
reasons:
a) It passes through the middle of the country, hence
equidistant from the east and west.
b) As standard meridian is calculated from the central
meridian which is always chosen as a multiple of 7 ̊ 30’ as
per the international understanding and 82 ̊30’E is the
nearest to 7 ̊ 30’ condition
c) That is why 82 ̊30’E has been selected as it is the nearest
number divisible .
d) 82 ̊30’E ÷ 7 ̊ 30’ = 165/2× 2/15= 11

18. Why do we choose a standard meridian
for a large country like India?
• To avoid Chaos and confusion created due to
the local time difference
• To have uniformity of time all over the country
• That is why when the watch is showing say, 9
a.m. , it is the local time on the standard
meridian, which is applicable for the whole
country

21. Importance of Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Cancer passing through the Indian states:
Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram (8 states)
Importance/ Significance:
• Divides the country into two equal halves. The size of
India starts to taper towards the north and south from
22- 23 degrees.
• Divides into two climatic Zones: Tropical and sub-
tropical climate
• Experience of overhead sun twice in a year only on
and below the tropic of cancer

23. India’s Strategic Location in Asia
• Centrally located between East and West Asia
• Trans-Indian Ocean routes provide a strategic central
location to India because these routes connect Europe
in the west to the East Asian countries .
• The various passes across the mountains in the north
have provided passages to the ancient travellers.
• Contributes to the exchange of ideas and commodities
since ancient times.
• Major air routes also pass through the Indian airspace
• Geo-politically ,India is strategically located at the head
of Indian Ocean

24. Importance of Suez canal
• Opened up in 1869 joining Red Sea with the
Mediterranean Sea. (Man made canal)
• Reduced the distance by 7000 kms. between
India and Europe, thus saving on time and
fuel. Before the opening of the Suez canal, the
ships had to take the Cape of Good Hope via
South Africa.

26. Importance of Land Routes
• The various passes across the Himalayas have provided gateways to
many ancient travellers
• Due to India’s unique position in Asia, the ancient land routes
including the famous ‘silk route’ passed through the Indian
subcontinent.
• The ideas of Panchtantra, The Upanishads, The Ramayana and
other Indian Scriptures were known to the world in earlier times.
• Indian numerals as well as decimal system also crossed the borders.
The Arabs took these ideas to the west.
• India’s silk, spices, handicrafts, muslin and other merchandise were
taken from India to different countries.
• Greeks enriched the Indian culture with their contributions in the
field of architecture, science etc. Islamic influence (from West Asia)
is clearly visible in architectural styles of domes, arch, minarets etc.
in India.

28. Land and Water Neighbours
• North-West Border:
1) Pakistan Border: J&K, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat
2) Afghanistan Border: J&K
• Northern Borders:
1) Nepal Border: U.P, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim
2) China Border: J&K, H.P, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh
3) Bhutan Border: Assam, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim
• Eastern Border:
1) Myanmar Border: Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland
2) Bangladesh Border: West Bengal, Mizoram, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya
• Southern Borders:
1) Sri Lankan Borders: Separated by Palk Strait from the mainland

29. Reasoning Based Explanations
Have you ever wondered what could
be explanations to the earlier stated
facts on India’s size and Location?

35. Although the difference in the latitudes and
longitudes is almost 30 ̊, but Why is the N-S extent
bigger than the E-W extent?
• Though longitudinal and latitudinal extent of
India is 30 ̊, yet N-S extent is greater than E-W
extent because the distance between any two
lines of longitude is maximum at the equator (114
kms. approx.) and it goes on decreasing as we
move north or south of equator as they converge
at the poles (0 kms). But the distance between
the two lines of latitudes always remain the same
if we go towards poles from the equator. That is
why N-S extent is 3214 Kms. whereas E-W extent
is 2933 kms.

37. Why there is a difference of two hours in local time between
the easternmost part of Arunachal Pradesh and westernmost
part of Gujarat?
• India extends from 68 ̊ 7’E to 97 ̊25’E longitudes. There is
a difference of 29 ̊’ 18’ between eastern and western
extremes of India. According to rule: Between every 1
degree of longitude, there is a difference of 4 minutes as
the sunrays takes 4 minutes to reach from one longitude to
the another one. So for every 15 degrees of longitudinal
difference, there is a corresponding difference of one hour.
• Calculations: 1 ̊ = 4 minutes
30 ̊= 30× 4= 120 minutes= 2 hours
Therefore Arunachal Pradesh is 2 hours ahead of Gujarat in local
time. When sun rises at 6 a.m. in Arunachal Pradesh, it is 4 a.m. in
Gujarat and it is slight dark.

40. How do the latitudinal locations influence the
duration of the length of day and night?
• The sunrays are always vertical at the equator and during the equinox
positions and therefore duration of the day and night is always of 12 hours
each. As one goes towards the poles from the equator , the sun rays take
much longer time to reach because of the slanting to oblique rays. That’s
why southern India which lies close to the equator or the tropics doesn’t
experience much difference in the duration of day and night whereas the
northern parts lying in the sub-tropical zone get the slanting rays of the
sun and experience large difference between the day and night
temperatures.
• The circle of illumination of the earth varies from summer to winter
because the axis rotation of the earth is tilted at 23.5 ̊ to the
perpendicular. At the equator, it doesn’t cause any time difference
between the day and night throughout the year, but North or Suth of it,
the durations vary.
• Kannyakumari is close to the equator, while Kashmir is far away .So, this
difference is felt in Kashmir in winter or summer , but not at
Kannyakumari.

41. Why does northern India experience high annual
range of temperature than southern India?
• It is because of the difference in the duration of day
and night from south to north India
• As northern India is not surrounded by the water
bodies and the presence of ocean in the three sides of
the southern India, makes the temperature remain
almost the same throughout the year because of the
moderating influence of the sea. So the Peninsular
India experience mild climate with least range of
temperature while northern India experiences
continental type of climate or extreme climate
conditions with maximum temperature range.

44. Why places on and below the tropic
of cancer experience overhead sun?
• Because of the apparent movement of the sun
towards north and south of equator from
summer solstice to the winter solstice
position up to 23 ̊30 ’N- 23 ̊30’S respectively
or within the tropics. This results in
experiencing of overhead sun twice in a year
at all the places located on and between
them.

46. Facts on states of India
• State having largest area- Rajasthan
• State having smallest area- Goa
• U.T having largest area- J&K
• U.T having smallest area- Lakshadweep Is.
• State having largest tribal population- Nagaland
• State having longest international boundary- Rajasthan
• State having longest coastline- Gujarat
• State in the eastern region of India bordering 3 countries but not China- West Bengal
• State borders both Bangladesh and Myanmar- Mizoram
• State surrounded by three sides from Bangladesh- Tripura
• Sparsely populated state- Arunachal Pradesh
• Most populous state- Uttar Pradesh
• State neither having a coastline nor international border-Haryana, Jharkhand, M.P, Telengana,
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand
• Countries that are land neighbours of India but not considered to be a part of Indian Subcontinent-
Myanmar, Afghanistan, China
• Union Territories on the eastern coast- Daman &diu, Mahe,Lakshwadweep, Dadar&Ngar Haveli
• States that border three countries- Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh
• Indian states have common frontiers with Bhutan- West Bengal, Assam, ArunachalPradesh, Sikkim

47. THANK YOU
BY
HEMA GUPTA