INDIA covers an area of about 3.28 million sq. km. The mainland of India extends between 8°4' and 37°6' N latitude and 68°7' and 97°25' E longitude. The Tropic of Cancer 23°30' N divides India into almost two halves. The total length of the coastline is 7,517 kilo meters. The Indian peninsula tapers southwards resulting in the division of the Indian Ocean into two water bodies - the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
In India, there is a great diversity of landforms such as lofty mountains, deep valleys, extensive plains, Plateau and coastal ghats, the desert and a number of islands.
It is a federal constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system consisting of 29 states and 7 union territories. All states, as well as the union territories of Puducherry and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, have elected legislatures and governments, both patterned on the Westminster model.
India shares its international borders with Pakistan on its West, and Nepal, China and Bhutan on its Northeast. It is surrounded by Myanmar and Bangladesh on its East. Sri Lanka lies to the South of India and the union territory Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie close to Thailand and Indonesia. The political boundaries of Pakistan and Bangladesh with India are traced accordingly.
India has a variety of climates, varying from arid Desert in the West, Alpine climate in the Himalayan North to the humid tropical regions which support the island territories along with the rainforests in the southwest.
The climate is altered by the Thar Desert and the Himalayas. Some areas in the north have severe summers with extreme winters, with temperatures reaching to freezing points. The country encounters four different types of seasons - winter, summer, monsoon and post-monsoon. In some states, the temperature in summers rise up to 45°C and minimum temperature decreases to as low as 15°C only. In winters, the average temperature is about 10-15°C. The highest temperature recorded in India so far is 50.6°C in Alwar, Rajasthan. The lowest temperature was recorded in Kashmir at -45°C.