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Etymology

The name India is derived from Indus, which is derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, the people of the Indus. The Constitution of India and common usage in various Indian languages also recognise Bharat as an official name of equal status. The name Bharat is derived from the name of the legendary king Bharata in Hindu Mythology. Hindustan, originally a Persian word for "Land of the Hindus" referring to Northern India, is also occasionally used as a synonym for all of India.

India is one of the oldest civilisations in the world with a kaleidoscopic variety and rich cultural heritage. India has become self-sufficient in agricultural production and is now the tenth industrialised country in the world and the sixth nation to have gone into outer space to conquer nature for the benefit of the people. It covers an area of 32,87,2631 sq. km to become the 7th largest country in the world.

The mainland extends between latitudes 8°4' and 37°6' north, longitudes 68°7' and 97°25' east and measures about 3,214 km from north to south between the extreme latitudes and about 2,933 km from east to west between the extreme longitudes. It has a land frontier of about 15,200 km. The total length of the coastline of the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands and Andaman & Nicobar Islands is 7,516.6 km.