Location and Extent of India

Location and Extent

India extends from 8°4 'N to 37°6 'N latitudes and 68°7 'E to 97°25 'E longitudes. Hence India is located in the north Eastern hemisphere

The southern most point of the country is Pygmalion Point or Indira Point (6°45'N latitude) located in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The southern most point of main land of India is Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari). The northern point is Indira Col.

The north-south extent of India is 3,214 km and it extends from Indira Col in Jammu and Kashmir in the north to Kanyakumari in the south. The east-west extension is 2933 km and it stretches from Rann of Kutch (Gujarat) in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east. The Tropic of Cancer (23°30’ N) passes through the middle of the country dividing it into two halves as northern temperate and southern tropical lands.

Indian Standard Time (IST)

The longitudinal difference between Gujarat in the west and Arunachal Pradesh in the east is about 30°.

Since Arunachal Pradesh is towards east, it will have sunrise about two hours earlier than the sunrise at Gujarat which is in the west. In order to avoid these differences, Indian standard time is calculated. The local time of the central meridian of India is the standard time of India. India’s central meridian is 82°30’ E longitude. It passes through Mirzapur and roughly bisects the country in terms of longitude. The IST is 5.30 hrs ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). 

India has been politically divided into 28 states and 9 union territories for administrative convenience.

Find out the following

• West - East and North - South extened of India.

• Area wise which is the smallest and the largest state?

• The states which do not have an international border.

Amaravati is the new capital of Andhra Pradesh. According to Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, Hyderabad will be the capital for both the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana till 2024 (For 10 years from the act passed).