India Geological Regions

Geological Regions

The geological regions broadly grouped into three regions : the Himalayas and their associated group of mountains ,the Indo- Ganga Plain and the Peninsular  shield.

The Himalayan mountain belt to the north and the Naga- Lushai mountain in the east , are the regions of mountain- building  movement were under marine conditions about 60 crore years ago. The Indo- Ganga plains are a great alluvial tract that separates the Peninsula in the south.  The Peninsula is a region of relative stability and occasional seismic disturbances.

India River Systems

 River Systems

The river systems of India can be classified into four groups viz., 
(i) Himalayan rives , 
(ii) Deccan rivers, 
(iii)Coastal rivers, and 
(iv) Rivers of the inland drainage basin.

Himalayan rivers are formed by the melting snow and glaciers , therefore  continuously flow throughout the year . During the monsoon months, Himalayas receive  very heavy rainfall and rivers swell, causing frequent floods.  Deccan rivers are rainfed and many of these are  non-perennial.  The Coastal streams on the west coast are short in length, have limited catchment area and most of them are non-perennial. The streams of inland drainage basin of western Rajasthan are of an ephemeral character.

Indus rises near Mansarover in Tibet and flows through India & there after Pakistan and then falls into the Arabian Sea near Karachi.     

Bhagirathi and Alaknanda , joins at Dev Prayaga to form the Ganga . It traverses through Uttarakhand , U.P., Bihar and W.B. states Yamuna meets Ganga at Allahabad.

The Padma and the Brahmaputra join at Bangla- desh and continue to flow as the Padma or Ganga.

India Fauna

Fauna

The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) with its headquarters in Kolkata and various regional station is responsible for various regional stations is responsible for surveying the faunal  resources  of India.

The mammals include the majestic elephant ,the gaur or Indian  bison _the largest of existing bovines, the great Indian rhinoceros ,the gigantic wild sheep of the Himalayas, the swamp deer, the thamin spotted deer, nilgai, the four – horned antelope ,the Indian antelope ,the Indian antelope or black  buck _the only representatives of these genera.

Amongst the crocodiles and gharials , the salt water crocodile is found along the eastern coast and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands .A project for breeding crocodiles which started in 1974, has been instrumental in saving the crocodiles from extinction. 

India Climate /Seasons

 Climate /Seasons

The climate of India may be broadly described as tropical monsoon type. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) designates four official seasons: (i) Winter occurring from December to early April, (ii) Summer or pre-monsoon season , lasting from April to June , (iii) Monsoon or rainy season, lasting from July to September and (iv) Post- Monsoon season,  lasting from October to December.

The Himalayan states , being more temperate, experience an additional two seasons , autumn and spring. Traditionally , Indians note six seasons ,each about two months long. These are the spring (vasanta), Summer (grisma) , monsoon (varsa), early autumn (sarada), late autumn (hemanta) and winter (sisira).

Flora

Flora

India is divided into 8 distinct – florestic regions namely, the western Himalayas, the eastern Himalayas, Assam ,the Indus plain, the Ganga plain ,the Deccan , Malabar and the Andamans.

The Himalayan region extending from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh through Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Meghalaya &Nagaland and the Deccan Peninsula is rich in endemic flora, with a large number of plants which are not found elsewhere .

India is in 10^th position in the world and 4^th in Asia in Plaint diversity .  From about 70 per cent geographical area surveyed so far, over  46,000 species of plants have been described by the Botanical  Survey of India , Kolkata.

Demographic Background

 Demographic Background 

The earliest references of Census in India can be traced back to the Mauryan Period in Kautilya’s Arthashatra.

In India, first Census was held in 1872, done by W.C. Plowden. But ,it was not a synchronized census. First synchronized Census was held in 1881, since then Census is organized after every 10 years. Census 2011 is the  15^th Census of India since 1872. It was held in two phases : House Listing and Housing Census (April to Sept 2010) and Population Enumeration (9^th to 28^th February, 2011) Reference Data was 0.00 houses of 1^st  March 2011.

Censes is a Union Subject (Article 246)and it listed as entry 69 of the VIIth  Schedule of the Constitution .

General trends of Census 2011

Population : 1210.6 million; Males  : 623 million and Females : 587.4 million.

Island territories of India

  1,197 island territories of India are present in the Bay of Bengal and Arabean sea.

India has an exclusive economic zone of 2.01 million sq.km.  This EEZ provides 68% of its oil production and 2.82 million tonnes  of fish production.

India’s trade 90% by volume and 77% by value comes from sea.  Entire import of oil and gas comes from sea to India.

India’s Population Growth during the 20^th Century can be classified into4 distinct phases as follows:

1901-1921            _                                         Stagnant Population

1921-1951 _                                                        Steady Growth

1951-1981  _                                                    Repid High Growth

1981  -2001  _                                                     High Growth with Definite signs of Slowdown

India and its Boundaries

India shares its land boundaries with Afghanistan and Pakistan to the north – West , China, Bhutan and Nepal to the north , Myanmar to the far east and Bangladesh to the east of West Bengal.

Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow Channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar, while Maldives Islands are situated to the south of the Lakshweep Islands.

India can be divided into 6 zones mainly North ,South ,East , west Central and North –east zone . 

It has 29 states and 7UTs.

India and its Hill Regions

 In the Himalayan region , the Kashmir and Kullu valleys are fertile  regions. Jelep La  and Nathu La passes are the main trade routes in the Indo- Tibet region through  Chumbi valley.  North –east of Darjeeling and Shipki La in the Satluj valley and North east of Kalpa (kinnaur) are other high altitude passes. The mountain wall extends over a distance of about2,400 km. In the east, Between India and Myanmar and India and Banglades hill ranges are much lower .  Garo, Khasi, Jaintia and Naga Hills , running almost east- west , join the chain to Mizo and Rkhine Hills running north-south.

The plains of the Ganga and the Indus are about2,400 km long and 240-320 km broad.  They are one of the world’s greatest plains formed by basins of three distinct river systems- the Indus the Ganga and the Brahmaputra. They are one of the world’s greatest stretches of flat alluvium and one of the most densely populated areas or the earth.

In the desert region , the great  desert extends from the edge of the Rann of Kuchch beyond  Luni river northward, comprises Rajasthan- Sind frontiers.  The little desert extends from the Luni  between  Jaisalmer and Jodhpur up to the northern  wastes. Between the great and the little deserts lies a zone of adsolutely sterile country consisting of rocky land, cut up by limestone ridges.

The Peninsular region is flanked by Eastern Ghats with anaverage elevation of 610 m & Western Ghats with an average elevation of 915 to 1,220 m, rising in places to over 2,440 metres. Between  the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea lies a narrow coastal strip, while between Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal , there is a broader costal area.

The southern point of plateau is formed by the Nilgiri Hills  where the Eastern and the Western Ghats meet. The Cardamom Hills lying beyond may be regarded as a continuation of the Western Ghats.      

India - Land and people

 India stretches from the snow- capped Himalayas in the North to sun drenched  coastal villages of the South ,the humid tropical forests on the south – west coast , the fertile Brahmaputra  valley on its East to the Thar desert in the West.

India is the Seventh Largest Country in the World& ranks Second in Population.

India coverage an area of 32, 87, 263 sq. km. It lies entirely in the Northern Hemisphere. The main land extends between latitudes 8° 4’ and 37° 6’ N, longitudes 68° 7’ and 97° 35’ E 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.

Tropic of Cancer (23°30’ N) divides the country into almost two equal parts. To the southeast and southwest of the main land, lie Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep Islands in Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea respectively.