INDIA

India, also known as Bharat, is a big country, officially the Republic of India (Bharat Ganarajya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second most populous country and the most populous liberal democracy in the world. India has a coastline of over seven thousand kilometers, bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on the east. India borders Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal and Bhutan to the north-east; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia. There are wide differences in her climate, temperature, rainfall, soil, agriculture, flora and fauna etc., yet the fact that Indian economy has been primarily agricultural led to the development of common characteristics and common outlook.  Four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, India provided refuge to other leading religions. People of many races have come to and settled here. With the world's fourth largest economy in purchasing power and the second fastest growing large economy, India has made rapid progress. Although India's standard of living is projected to rise sharply in the next half-century, it currently battles high levels of poverty, persistent malnutrition, and environmental degradation. India has a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic society, India is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. India became a modern nation-state in 1947 after a struggle for independence.