India

भारत गणराज्य Bhārata Gaṇarājya Other languages Republic of India
Flag Emblem
Motto: Satyameva Jayate  (Sanskrit) सत्यमेव जयते  (Devanāgarī) "Truth Alone Triumphs"
Anthem: "Jana Gaṇa Mana" listen (help·info)
Capital	New Delhi 28°34′N 77°12′E
Largest city	Mumbai (Bombay)
Official languages	Hindi, English + 21 other official languages
Government	Federal republic
- President	A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
- Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh
Independence	from the UK
- Declared	15 August 1947
- Republic	26 January 1950
Area
- Total	3,166,414† km² (7th) 1,222,559 sq mi
- Water (%)	9.56
Population
- 2005 estimate	1,103,371,000 (2nd)
- 2001 census	1,027,015,248
- Density	329 /km² (31st) 852 /sq mi
GDP (PPP)	2006 estimate
- Total	$4.042 trillion (4th)
- Per capita	$3,700 (117th)
GDP (nominal)	2005 estimate
- Total	$796.1 billion (12th)
- Per capita	$705 (135th)
HDI (2006)	0.611 (medium) (126th)
Currency	Rupee (₨) (INR)
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
- Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+5:30)
Internet TLD	.in
Calling code	+91
† Includes only Indian-administered territory.

The Republic of India (Hindi: भारत गणराज्य Bhārat Gaṇarājya), commonly known as India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second most populous country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world. India has a coastline of over seven thousand kilometres, bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east. India borders Pakistan to the west; the People's Republic of China, Nepal and Bhutan to the north-east; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia.

Home to the Indus Valley Civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped India's variegated culture. Gradually annexed by the British East India Company from the early eighteenth century and colonised by Great Britain from the mid-nineteenth century, India became a modern nation-state in 1947 after a struggle for independence marked by widespread use of nonviolent resistance as a means of social protest.

With the world's fourth largest economy in purchasing power and the second fastest growing large economy, India has made rapid progress in the last decade, especially in information technology. Although India's standard of living is projected to rise sharply in the next half-century, it currently battles high levels of poverty, illiteracy, persistent malnutrition, and environmental degradation. A pluralistic, multi-lingual, multi-ethnic country, India is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.