1. An Introduction to India

2. India : Geography 7 th largest country (Area:3.28 m sqkm) 1.21 Billion (16.7% of world) population in 2.4 % world’s land area E-W: 2933 Km, N-S: 3214Km 7517 km coastline, 15200 km land frontiers

3. 28 states (Provinces) & 7 Union Territories Neighbours Pakistan China Bangladesh Nepal Bhutan Myanmar Sri Lanka Maldives Indonesia

4. Our landscape: You can see the mountains in the north- these are the Himalayas (Abode of Snow) are 2500 Km long Over 100 mountain peaks more than 7200 m (23,622 ft) 15,000 Glaciers

5. Landscape continued 1.Aravallis, Vindhya, Satpura, Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats 2.Alluvial Plains 3.Deccan Plateau 4.Thar Desert 5.14 major rivers- Ganga, Yamuna, Bhramaputa, Godaveri, Mahanadi etc 6.Islands – Lakshwadeep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands

6. Climate Tropical Monsoon  Four Seasons:  Winter (Jan-Feb)  Summer (March-May)  Rainy Season (SW Monsoon) –(June - September) (SW Monsoon) –(June - September)  Post Monsoon (NE Monsoon) – (Oct-Dec)

7. Languages Scheduled Languages: 22 Other spoken Languages – more than thousand. There are million plus speakers of 29 different languages. The top 6 languages spoken in India Sr No Language Percent Population 1Hindi41 2Bengali8 3Telugu7 4Marathi7 5Tamil6 6Urdu5  62,483 registered newspapers in 123 languages.

8. National Flag colours  The saffron color represents courage and sacrifice;  white - truth and purity;  green - peace and prosperity;  and the wheel at the centre or the ashok chakra as it is called represents the Laws of dharma (righteousness).

9. National Animal Tiger

10. National bird- Peacock

11. LotusMango Banyan Tree Other symbols

12. Our emblem- The Ashoka Pillar  It is a replica of the Lion of Sarnath, near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.  Belongs to third century BC  Reign of Emperor Ashoka  The four lions (one hidden from view) - symbolising power, courage and confidence - rest on a circular abacus.  The abacus is girded by four smaller animals - guardians of the four directions:  the lion of the north,  the elephant of the east,  the horse of the south and  the bull of the west.  The abacus rests on a lotus in full bloom, exemplifying the fountainhead of life and creative inspiration. ‘ Satyamev Jayate ’ ( ‘ Truth alone Triumphs ’ )

13. Government & Accountability  Parliamentary Democracy: Two Houses of parliament Upper House (Rajya Sabha -Indirectly elected 250 Members) Upper House (Rajya Sabha -Indirectly elected 250 Members) Lower House (Loksabha - 552 directly elected Members) Lower House (Loksabha - 552 directly elected Members)  Parliament works through Committees.  Executive: Cabinet headed by PM is directly responsible to the Parliament. Size of the cabinet is restricted to 15% of the strength of Lower House.  Ministries (about 50)

14. Parliamentary Committees  Two committees are part of financial accountability mechanism which discuss Audit Reports of SAI. Public Accounts Committee (PAC): Discuss Audit Reports on accounts of the Government. (22 Members = 15 Lower House + 7 Upper House) Public Accounts Committee (PAC): Discuss Audit Reports on accounts of the Government. (22 Members = 15 Lower House + 7 Upper House) Committee on Public Accounts (COPU) : Discuss the Audit Reports pertaining to functioning of the Public Sector Undertakings. (22 Members) Committee on Public Accounts (COPU) : Discuss the Audit Reports pertaining to functioning of the Public Sector Undertakings. (22 Members)

15. ECONOMY National Income National Income  GDP in 2012-2013 is more than $ 1.824 Trillion  GDP Growth of is 3.9%  Imports (2012): $ 488.6 Billion  Exports (2012): $ 309.1 Billion  Foreign Exchange Reserves: $ 295.29 Billion (October,2012)  Sectors: Agriculture : 17.2%, Industry : 26.4%, Services : 56.4% (2011)

16. Incredible India images

17. Thar Desert, Jaisalmer Coastline, Kerala Andaman Islands Godavari River

18. Kanchanjangha Peak in Himalaya Thar Desert of Rajasthan Backwaters of Kerala Tea Gardens of Assam

19. Konkan ValleySnowcapped Kashmir Emerald Islands AndamansRafting in Ganga

20. Religions in India: Four religions of the world have originated from India: Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism Hindu (80.5%) Sikhs (1.9%) Islam (13.4%) Christians (2.3%)

21. Other Religions in India Bahai Parsi Jew Buddhist (0.8%) Jain (0.4%)

22. Festivals - Diwali Diwali-the festival of lights-is the most popular festival in India. It is celebrated throughout the country in the month of October / November.

23. DASSERA  The festival of Dassera, also known as Vijayadashmi, is one of the fascinating festivals of India and is celebrated with joy and enthusiasm.  It is the tenth day of navaratri.  It is in honor of Godess Durga.

24. Festivals Ganesha Chaturthi is the most important festival of Mumbai. It is celebrated every year around September. The Durga Puja is celebrated every year around October in Bengal.

25. HOLI  Holi is the most colourful festival of the Hindus and falls on the Full moon day.  Holi heralds the arrival of Spring - the season of hope and new beginnings and marks the rekindling of the spirit of life. 25

26. Christmas & Good Friday

27. EID

28. Dances of India The cultural richness of India is reflected in her numerous classical and folk dances.

29. Kathakali Kathakali is one of the oldest theatre forms in the world. It originated in the area of southwestern India now known as the state of Kerala.

30. Bharatnatyam is one of the seven major classical dance forms, which originated in India (Tamilnadu). Bharatnatyam Mohiniyattam This classical style was born out of a clever fusion of Kathakali with Bharatnatyam

31. Kuchipudi Kuchipudi was born in a remote village of Andhra Pradesh from which it derives its name. The style portrays various religious themes in the form of a dance drama. Odissi Odissi may be the earliest classical dance style of India. It is nurtured in the famous shrines of Orissa situated at Puri, Konark and Bhubaneswar..

32. Manipuri Manipuri dance originated in Manipur. The love of Lord Krishna and Radha is the dominant theme in this dance form. Kathak The Kathak dance form originated in the north. The influence of the Mughal tradition is evident in this dance form.

33. Folk Dances Dandiya - A folk dance of Gujarat. Its popularity has spread all over India. Bhangra – This folk dance from Punjab is characterized by vigorous movements. Bhangra is a rage in India.

34. Dresses in India : Varied ways of wearing Saree

35. Ghagra Choli Churidar Salwar kurta

36. sherwani Dhoti-kurtaturban Jodhpuri coat

37. Sports Cricket is the most popular sport in India. Hockey is the national sport of India.

38. Wildlife

40. Wildlife Kaziranga in Assam is the home of the one-horned Rhino. The Red Panda is found in the hills of Darjeeling in West Bengal.

41. The Indian elephant is smaller than its African counterpart. Elephants were extensively used in warfare in ancient times. They are still used for various temple rituals. India is home to more than thousand varieties of birds

42. Namaskar and Dhanyavaad…..come again to India