India
Step into the world of resplendent colors, wide-open
spaces and exotic cultural treasures.Prepare to be
enthralled when you see magnificent monuments, heritage
temples and the vibrant celebrations of Indian festivals.
Be mesmerized by the sight of the ethereal Taj Mahal
in Agra, India. Enjoy India full of monuments, history,
culture, festivity and color. Travel to snow-clad
mountains, breathtaking beaches, sandy desert, dense green
forests and calm and quiet backwaters in India. Bask
in the sunshine on beautiful beaches, watch the
elephants and tigers in the jungle, witness a peacock dance
in the rain on your Indian Holiday. Taste delicious
cuisine, shop for exquisite textiles and handicrafts and
gather unforgettable memories of India.
India, in general has a hot tropical climate with a
wide range of climatic factors that it's impossible to
pin down the best time to visit weather wise with any
certainty. Broadly speaking October to March tend to be
the most pleasant months over much of the country. In
the far south, the monsoonal weather pattern tends to
make Jan to Sept more pleasant, while Sikkim and the
areas of north eastern India tend to be more palatable
between March and August, and Kashmir and the
mountainous regions of Himachal Pradesh are at their most
accessible between May and September. The deserts of
Rajasthan and the north western Indian Himalayan region are
at their best during the monsoon.
The trekking season in the Indian Himalaya runs
roughly from April to November, though this varies widely
depending on the trek, altitude and region. The ski
season is between January and March.
If you're going to India during the spring or summer,
you'll want to stick with the hill stations (60-70 F).
During the winter, avoid Kashmir (30-45 F), unless
you're going skiing (and don't even think about Ladakh as
it's one of the coldest inhabited regions on Earth).
Economy
Though agriculture has been the main preoccupation of
the bulk of the Indian population, the founding
fathers saw India becoming a prosperous and modern State
with a good industrial base. Programmes were formulated
to build an adequate infrastructure for rapid
industrialisation.
Since independence, India has achieved a good measure
of self-sufficiency in manufacturing a variety of
basic and capital goods. The output of the major
industries includes aircraft, ships, cars, locomotives, heavy
electrical machinery, construction equipment, power
generation and transmission equipment, chemicals,
precision instruments, communication equipment and computers.
Early planners in free India had to keep in mind two
aims: all-round development and generation of large-
scale job opportunities. Economic development strategies
were evolved with an eye on these twin objectives.
India's economy is on the path of an increasing growth
curve. With key indicators such as increasing foreign
exchange reserves of close to US$ 140 billion, a
annual growth rate of 8 percent, the increased focus on
infrastructure is leading to a boom in real estate
market, a booming capital market with the "Sensex" index
crossing the 12,000 mark, FDI getting close to US$ 8
billion, and a more than 20 per cent increase in exports
are all leading indicators that India is becoming a
economic superpower.Major industries include
insurance,real estate,hotel,travel steel,petroleum and mortgage.
Language
India is a land of a variety of linguistic
communities, each of which share a common language and culture.
Though there could be fifteen principal languages there
are hundreds of thousands dialects that add to the
vividness of the country.
18 languages are officially recognized in India of
which Sanskrit and Tamil share a long history of more
than 5,000 and 3,000 years respectively. The population
of people speaking each language varies drastically.
For example Hindi has 250 million speakers, while
Andamanese is spoken by relatively fewer people.
Tribal or Aboriginal language speaking population in
India may be more than some of the European languages.
For instance Bhili and Santali both tribal languages
have more than 4 million speakers. The vividness can be
ascertained by the fact that schools in India teach
more than 50 different languages; there are Films in 15
languages, Newspapers in 90 or more languages and
radio programmes in 71 languages!
Indian languages come from four distinct families,
which are: Indo-European, Dravidian, Mon-Khmer, and
Sino-Tibetan. Majority of Indian population uses
Indo-European and Dravidian languages. The language families
divide India geographically too.
Indo-European languages dominate the northern and
central India while in south India; mainly languages of
Dravidian origin are spoken. In eastern India languages
of Mon-Khmer group is popular. Sino Tibetan languages
are spoken in the northern Himalayas and close to
Burmese border. In terms of percentage, 75% of Indian
population speaks languages of Indo-European family, 23%
speak languages of Dravidian origin and about 2% of the
population speaks Mon-Khmer languages and Sino-Tibetan
languages.
Few words in hindi that can be used while in india
namaste= hello
dhanyevadh= thank you
do you speak english?= kya aap angreezi bolte hai?
how much does this cost?= yeh kitne ki hai
bye= alvida.
Cities
Following are the cities of india along with their
respective population :
Capital (2003 est.): New Delhi, 15,334,000 (metro.
area), 9,817,439 (city proper)
Largest cities: Bombay (Mumbai), 18,336,000 (metro.
area), 11,914,398 (city proper); Calcutta (Kolkata),
14,299,000 (metro. area), 4,760,800 (city proper);
Bangalore, 4,461,100; Madras (Chennai), 4,382,100;
Ahmedabad, 3,653,700; Hyderabad, 3,585,600; Kanpur, 2,631,800
Population
population of India is 1,095,351,995 people, excluding
Azad Kashmir and Aksai Chin, disputed territories.
Including these disputed territories, the total Indian
population is 1,192,225,812 people. This makes India the
second most populous country which counted
approximately 1.027 billion people (531.3 million males and 495.7
million females). India's population rose by 21.34%
between 1991 and 2001. The total literacy rate was
estimated to be 65.38%.
India accounts for approximately 3.4% of the world's
landmass but is home to about 16% of the global
population.
It is estimated that the total annual increase in
population of India is approximately equal to the
Population of Australia.
The growth in India's population has been above 20%
every decade since the 1950s.
India's population is expected to reach 1.4 billion by
2025 and 1.6 billion by 2050 overtaking China as the
world's most populous country in 2015
Education system in india
A. The Primary Stage consists of Classes I-V, i.e., of
five years duration, in 20 States/UTs namely Andhra
Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal
Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur,
Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura,
Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands,
Chandigarh, Delhi and Karaikal and Yanam regions of
Pondicherry. The primary stage consists of classes I-IV in
Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Dadra & Nagar Haveli,
Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep and Mahe region of Pondicherry
B. The Middle Stage of education comprises Classes
VI-VIII in as many as 18 States.Uts viz., Arunachal
Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir,
Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim,
Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman
& Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Delhi and Karaikal
region of Pondicherry; Classes V-VII in Assam, Goa,
Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep and
Mahe region of Pondicherry and Classes VI-VII in Andhra
Pradesh, Orissa and Yanam region of Pondicherry. In
Nagaland Classes V - VIII constitute the upper primary
stage.
C. The Secondary Stage consists of Classes IX-X in 19
States/UTs. Viz., Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh,
Manipur, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan , Sikkim, Tamil Nadu,
Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar
Islands, Chandigarh, Delhi and Karaikal region of
Pondicherry. The High School stage comprises classes VIII
to X in 13 States/UTs viz., Andhra Pradesh, Assam,
Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Orissa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu,
Lakshadweep and Mahe & Yanam regions of Pondicherry.
However, the Higher Secondary / Senior Secondary stage
of school comprising classes XI-XII (10+2 pattern) is
available in all the States/UTs though in some
States/UTs these classes are attached to
Universities/Colleges.
Age Restriction For Admission
The minimum age for admission to class I of the
Primary School stage is generally 5+ or 6+ years. In 22
States/UTs the minimum age for admission to Class I is 5+
years and in 7 States/UTs the minimum age for
admission is 6+ years. There is no age restriction in the case
of Mizoram. In Gujarat, the minimum age for admission
is 5+ years (voluntary) and 6+ years (compulsory). In
Lakshadweep, the minimum age for admission is 5 ½
years.
Medium Of Instruction
Mother tongue or regional language is the medium of
instruction at the primary stage of education in most of
the States/UTs. Facilities for studying in a medium
other than regional language vary considerable in
different States and Union Territories
Compulsory Education
Compulsory education has been enforced in four States
and Union Territories at the primary stage of
education while in eight States/UTs there is compulsory
education covering the entire elementary stage of education.
As many as 20 States/UTs have not introduced any
measure of compulsion upto the year 1997-98.
Free Education
A majority of States and Union Territories have
introduced free education in Classes I-XII of their schools.
Currency
The currency of india is Indian rupee. Its is futher
divided in to paise
100 paise = 1 rupee. Notes are in the denomination of
1,5,10,20,50,100,1000 .
Through recognised money changing agents or Banks or
at the hotel counters. Money changing facilities are
also available at the international airports. Please
keep certificate of changing money from foreign currency
to Indian Rupees safely. You are allowed to rechange
your money back in your currency on final departure at
the Bank Counter at the airports.
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