India extends from the north from 37°6′ to 8°4′ north latitude for 3214 km and from the west from 68°7′ to 97°25′ east longitude for 2933 km. The land border is 15,200 km long and the sea coast is 6,083 km long. The country is located in the central part of South Asia on the northern coast of the Indian Ocean, extending into it in the form of a wedge for 1600 km and dividing it into the Arabian Sea in the west and the Bay of Bengal in the east. India also includes the Laccadive Islands in the Arabian Sea, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. India has a common border with Afghanistan and Pakistan in the northwest, with China and Nepal in the north, with Myanmar and Bangladesh in the east, in the south from Sri Lanka it is separated by the Polk and Manar gulfs.
According to the relief in India, 4 regions are distinguished. 1. The mountain system of the Himalayas in the north and the adjacent Assam-Burman mountains in the northeast. 2. To the south of the Himalayas are the great Indo-Gangetic plains, to which the valley of the Brahmaputra river adjoins in the northeast. 3. Peninsular Hindustan, most of which is formed by the Deccan plateau (average heights 460-1200 m). 4. Coastal lowlands bordering the Deccan plateau in a narrow strip.
According to bridgat.com, the climate is typically monsoonal with a pronounced change twice a year of the prevailing air mass transfer. For most of the year, moisture is insufficient compared to evapotranspiration levels. The wettest areas are the coastal lowlands (1000-2000 mm of precipitation per year) and the Assam region with the Shillong Plateau, where the wettest place in the world is located (Chirrapunji, 12,000 mm). Most of the Hindustan peninsula receives only 500-1000 mm of precipitation per year and constitutes a zone of risky agriculture.
The soils are varied. The main wealth is the alluvial soils of the northern and coastal plains. Black soils, or regura, tend to retain moisture during the rainy season, which contributes to the development of non-irrigated agriculture in areas where they are distributed. Good for growing cotton. Laterites are almost devoid of humus and need large doses of fertilizers. Red soils are similar in chemical composition to laterites.
The rivers originating in the glaciers of the Himalayas concentrate 77% of the country’s total water resources. The rivers of peninsular India, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, have 14% of the potential, the rivers of the western direction – 5%. The total length of rivers is 42 thousand km, irrigation canals – approx. 30 thousand km. The share of India in the world potential of hydro resources is only 6%. The total river flow is estimated at 1869 km3, incl. suitable for development – 690 km3. The groundwater potential is 432 km3. In the 1990s 83% of the resources used were for irrigation, 4.5% for household consumption, and 1.8% for energy. In the beginning. 21st century The country was in a state of chronic water crisis.
The country has a unique biodiversity. The plant world has 45,000 species, of which 15,000 are endemic. The fauna includes 75,000 animal species. Forested areas make up only 19.4%. To preserve biodiversity, the network of protected areas is expanding; they occupy 4% of the country’s area.
Over the millennia that have passed since the emergence of one of the oldest agricultural civilizations in the world, the nature of the country has undergone the deepest anthropological processing and is now represented exclusively by natural and anthropogenic landscapes. Erosion processes are rapidly developing: they cover almost 60% of arable land and 95% of pasture land.
India is experiencing an acute shortage of oil and gas. The main source of energy is coal. The total reserves for 1996 to a depth of 1200 m – 2.2 billion tons (5.7% of the world), of which 44% fall into the category of prospective reserves, 21% into preliminary estimated reserves, and 35% into reliable ones (72.73 billion tons). ). The reserves of coking minerals are only 5.3 billion tons. The reserves of uranium ores are sufficient to ensure the development of nuclear energy at 19,000 MW. Significant reserves of monazite sands of Kerala will also be suitable for it in the future. India is well provided for and has export opportunities in terms of iron ore reserves – 12.8 billion tons of hematite ores with an iron content of 60% (1/4 of the world reserves, 1st place in the world), manganese ores – 233.3 million tons, bauxite – 2525 billion tons (5th place in the world), mica. It is poor in reserves of non-ferrous metals.
General information about India
The official name is the Republic of India (Republic of India). Located in the southern part of the Asian subcontinent. The area is 3287 thousand km2, the population is 1027 million people. (census 2001). The official language is Hindi. The capital is New Delhi (8.42 million people, 1991). Public holidays: Independence Day August 15 (since 1947), Republic Day January 26 (since 1950). The monetary unit is the rupee.
Member of the United Nations (since 1945), Non-Aligned Movement (since 1961), SAARC (since 1985).
