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ABOUT INDIA 1.1 Geographical Profile
India ’ s mainland has an area of 3.29 million square kilometres ( 1.3 million square miles ) and a coastline of 7,516 km ( 4,670 miles ). It comprises four broad geographical areas ( 1 ) the Himalaya Range , ( 2 ) the Gangetic Plain , ( 3 ) the Deccan Peninsula and ( 4 ) the Coastal Strip .
India Snapshot
Time zone : GMT + 5 ½ hours . Government offices are open from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm , Monday to Friday . Banks are open from 10 am to 2 pm Monday to Friday and 10 am to 12 noon on Saturday .
Languages : The Constitution of India recognises 22 different languages that are prevalent in the country , of which Hindi is the official language . It is spoken in most urban cities . Besides , there are hundreds of dialects .
Religions : The religions prevalent in the country are Hinduism , Islam , Christianity , Sikhism , Buddhism and Jainism . Citizens are free to practice any religion . Around 83 per cent of the population is Hindu , 11 per cent Muslims , 2.5 per cent Christians , 2 per cent Sikhs , 1.5 per cent Buddhists , Jains and others .
India ’ s climate is mainly tropical . However , due to altitudinal variations , almost all climatic conditions exist . There are four seasons : ( i ) winter ( December-February ), ( ii ) summer ( March-June ), ( iii ) southwest monsoon season ( June-September ) and ( iv ) post monsoon season ( October-November ). Temperatures during December and January average around 10-15 ° C ( 50-59 ° F ) in the north and west , while they are around 20 – 25 ° C ( 68-77 ° F ) in south and east . During summer or pre-monsoon season , lasting from March to June , temperatures average around 32-40 ° C ( 90-104 ° F ) in most parts of the plains .
1.2 General Life
1.2.1 Standard of Living
The standard of living in India is modest but constantly improving . The single most common indicator used to quantify standard of living is the per capita PPP adjusted GDP . According to IMF figures for 2012 , ( estimated ) the per capita PPP adjusted GDP for India is US $ 3,900 . Comparable figures for other countries are Japan - US $ 36,200 , China - US $ 9,100 and USA- US $ 49,800 . A booming economy and the expanding middle class are primary drivers to growth .
1.2.2 Education system
The education system in India is divided into schools ( primary , secondary and higher education ), colleges ( higher secondary and undergraduate in technical and non technical fields ), and post graduate ( technical and professional education institutes ).
Higher education in India has evolved in distinct and divergent streams with each stream monitored by an apex body , indirectly controlled by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and funded by the state governments . Besides numerous autonomous universities , there are 25 key universities called central universities , which are maintained by the Union Government , offering various courses in science , engineering , medicine and liberal arts . Vocational training is offered through public Industrial Training Institutes .
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