INCREDIBLE INDIA

India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world with a kaleidoscopic variety and rich cultural heritage. It has achieved all-round socio-economic progress during the last 70 years of its Independence. As the 7th largest country in the world with1.252 billion (2013), India stands apart from the rest of Asia, marked off as it is by mountains and the sea, which give the country a distinct geographical entity. Bounded by the Great Himalayas in the north, it stretches southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer, tapers off into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west.

GEOGRAPHY

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• The country is situated north of the equator between 6°4' (8°4' for mainland) to 37°6' north latitude and 68°7' to 97°25' east longitude.[2] It is the seventh-largest country in the world, with a total area of 3,287,263 square kilometres (1,269,219 sq mi).[3] India measures 3,214 km (1,997 mi) from north to south and 2,933 km (1,822 mi) from east to west.
• India shares borders to the northwest with Pakistan, to the north with China, Nepal and Bhutan, and to the east with Bangladesh and Myanmar.
• To the west lies the Arabian Sea, to the east the Bay of Bengal and to the south the Indian Ocean. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are Indian territory but lie off the coast of Thailand in the Bay of Bengal. Sri Lanka lies off the southeast coast, and the Maldives off the southwest coast.

CLIMATE

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• Major factors that determine the climate of India are − Latitude, The Himalayan Mountains, Distribution of land and water, Distance from the sea, Altitude, Relief
• Southern India is always hot but again, it is at its best between November and February. The green strip of Kerala down the Malabar Coast is more temperate, with a much gentler climate.
• Northern Plains: Cities like New Delhi, Varanasi, Lucknow and Patna experience an extreme range of temperatures and are typically warm from April to mid-June, falling to almost freezing at night in winter between November and February. Summers are hot with monsoons between June and September.
• Central India: Madhya Pradesh state escapes the very worst of the hot season, but monsoons are heavy between July and September. Temperatures fall at night in winter.
• Western India: November to February is most comfortable, although evenings can be fairly cold. Summers can be extremely hot with monsoon rainfall between mid June and mid September.
• Northeast: March to June and September to November are the driest and most pleasant periods. The rest of the year has extremely heavy monsoon rainfall.
• Eastern India: Weather in states like Orissa (which is flood-prone) are defined by cooler weather from October to February, scorching heat from March to May and unavoidable drenching from the monsoons from June to October.

ECOLOGY

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• Ecology is the study of interaction between organisms and their respective environ­ments. It deals with the study of organisms in relation to the surroundings in which they live.
• The environment is of supreme importance to an organism. Ecology mostly studies the geographical factors, such as formation of land and surface, climate, natural wealth, population and regional imbalances.
• Social Ecology is the relationship between human beings and natural environ­ment in which they live. In short, social ecology studies both natural and social conditions. Sociologists view that the physical environment influences all institutions, social systems, economic conditions and way of living of people. Thus, geographical/physical and social factors are inter-dependent on each other and are inseparable.
• The geographical position and variation in habitat responsible for diversity in birdlife is also responsible for an amazingly wide variety of other fauna. India is one of the world’s 17 mega-diverse countries that together are home to 60-70% of the world’s mammal diversity. India itself accounts for 8% of the world’s mammals, among which are some of the most recognisable species on earth. Seeing mammals in Asia can be more challenging that in the plains of Africa, but with 60% of the world’s Tigers, the entire remaining population of Asiatic Lion, 80% of the world’s Indian One-horned Rhinoceros, 50% of all Asian Elephants and 15 species of primate, the prospect is alluring and the challenge only adds to the excitement.

NATURAL RESOURCES

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• Soil Resource: India has a large proportion of well watered fertile lands. In the alluvial soil of the Northern Great Plains of the Sutlej-Ganga plains and Brahmaputra Valley wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane, jute, cotton, rapeseed, mustard, sesumum, linseed, etc. are grown in abundance. In the black soil of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat cotton and sugarcane are grown
• Mineral Resource: India's major mineral resources include Coal (4th largest reserves in the world), Iron ore, Manganese ore (7th largest reserve in the world as in 2013), Mica, Bauxite (5th largest reserve in the world as in 2013), Chromite, Natural gas, Diamonds, Limestone and Thorium (world's largest along coast of Kerala shores). India is quite rich in other minerals also like copper, tungsten, gypsum etc.
• Livestock Resource: Hills, mountains and less fertile lands are put under pasture. Scientific methods are followed in rearing cattle. India maintains rich domestic animal diversity. India has good population of goat, sheep, poultry, cattle, buffalo, etc. Indian livestock plays a vital role in improving the socio-economic status of the rural masses.

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