India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It was a British colony until 1947, when it gained independence from Britain at the same time that Muslim-majority areas seceded to form Pakistan. The country’s capital is New Delhi and the official currency is the Indian rupee. It has two official languages, English and Hindi, but 22 other languages are also official at the local level.

The country has land borders with Nepal, Bhutan and China to the north, Pakistan to the west, and Myanmar and Bangladesh to the east. The total area of its territory is more than three million square kilometres and the total population is approximately 1336 million people, giving it a population density of 455 inhabitants per square kilometre. The highlight of the country’s geography is the Himalayan mountain range in the north of the country.

TERRITORIAL DIVISION

The republic consists of 29 states and 7 territories. When a territorial reorganisation took place in 1956 under the States Reorganisation Act, India was divided along linguistic lines. There are two distinct forms of government in the Indian territories, with some territories following the Westminster model for electing their governments and others being governed directly by the federal government through appointed administrators.

India is a parliamentary democratic republic. The president is the head of state (currently Ram Nath Kovind) and is indirectly elected; the head of government is the prime minister (currently Narendra Damodardas Modi), who exercises most of the functions of the executive branch; and the legislature consists of two houses: the Lok Sabha (the lower house) and Rajya Sabha (the upper house).

FOREIGN POLICY

Some important aspects of India ‘ s foreign policy are: the important role it plays in the  South AsianAssociation for Regional (SAARC); its high participation in UnitedNations peacekeeping operations, providing some 55,000 military personnel; and the refusal, despite criticism and military sanctions, to sign the  Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-BanTreaty and the  Nuclear Non-ProliferationTreaty.

ECONOMY

The economy is quite diversified; it is based on both traditional agricultural activities in small villages and small towns and crafts as a great diversity of modern industries and services. Just over half of the country’s workforce works in the agriculture, with the tertiary or service sector being the most important sector in the country. It is also the world’s largest exporter of highly skilled IT and financial services workers.

CULTURE AND TOURISM

In terms of culture, the country’s cuisine is known for its use of numerous spices and the tandoor oven; the arts include architecture with famous buildings such as the Taj Mahal; the national sport is hockey and the most popular sport is cricket; and the famous Indian festival called Holi, celebrated during the spring, known for its coloured powders used to wage a kind of war by throwing them at each other.

The country’s tourist attractions include the Taj Mahal, located in the city of Agra; the city of Jaipur, known as the Pink City, full of magnificent palaces, forts and temples; the temples of Khajuraho, decorated with countless sculptures; and the caves of Ellora and Ajanta, a group of temples and monasteries carved out of rock and surrounded by tropical landscapes. In short, it is a country full of historical monuments that are well worth a visit.