QUICK FACTS ABOUT INDIA
"India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most astrictive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only!"
- By Mark Twain                                                                              Posted By:- Deepak Kumar
The above quote about India truly describes what India is all about. 
India, the country where you find a unique blend of cultures, castes and races with generous doses of tradition thrown in. what you get, is a pleasantly appalling, fascinating, mystifying land that almost everyone falls in love with.
Just for your assistance, given below are certain quick facts of India that will help you analyze India at a glance?
Full Name - Republic of India 
Capital City - New Delhi 
Total Area - 3.3 million square kilometers (approximately), 1.2 Square Miles. 
Population - 1,200,000,000 (2011 Census) 
Coastline - 7,516 kilometers (inclusive of Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep islands).
North to South - 3214 kilometers. 
East to West - 2,933 kilometers 
Latitude - 8°4' and 37°6' North 
Longitude - 68°7 ' and 97°25' East 
Climate - Is very varied, from tropical monsoon climate in the south to temperate in the north. India experiences three major seasons - winters, summers and Monsoon.
Summers - (April - October) 
winters - (November - March)
Monsoons - (July - September) 
Terrain - Himalayas in north, Deccan Plateau (upland plains) in the south, flat to rolling plains along the Ganges River, deserts in west. 
Form of Government - Democracy (Federal form of Government) 
President - Mr. Pranav Mukherjee 
Prime Minister - Mr. Narendera Modi.
States and Union Territories - India has 29 states and 7 Union Territories 
Languages - Hindi is the official language. English is widely spoken and written. 17 major languages recognized by the Constitution and 844 Dialects. 
Religions - Hindu - 80%, Muslim - 14%, Christian - 2.4%, Sikh - 2%, Buddhist - 0.7% Jain - 0.5%, Zoroastrian and others - 0.4% 
Currency - Indian Rupee
Time Zone - The Indian time zone, Indian Standard Time (IST) is 5.5 hours (5 hours and 30 minutes) ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). 
Business Hours - 10 A.M. - 5 P.M. (Monday to Friday)
Electricity - 230-240V 50Hz 
Country Dialing Code - +91
National anthem - Jan Gana Mana, written by Rabindranath Tagore
National flag - Horizontal tricolor in equal proportion of deep saffron on the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom. In the center of the white band is a wheel in navy blue color. 
National animal - Tiger 
National bird - Peacock 
National flower - Lotus 
National tree - Banyan 
National fruit - Mango
Passports and Visas - Valid passport and visa is required to enter in India. Visas cannot be issued on arrival. It is also essential that the passport should be valid for at least six months from date of entry. 
India's fast-growing microfinance sector has attracted regulatory scrutiny following allegations of aggressive collection practices and borrower suicides, with the finance minister calling for a code of conduct on interest rates and recovery norms.
The new developments promise to bring about an era of change to a sector that has seen surging growth. Here are some facts about the microfinance sector.
  • The gross loan portfolio of India's microfinance sector accounts for more than 7 percent of the sector's worldwide loan portfolio size. As much as 30 percent of the world's microfinance borrowers are in India.
  • While the average size of a microfinance loan is $522.8 globally, according to MIX Market data, the average loan size in India is only about a fourth of that at $144.
  • India is the largest microfinance market in the world, with some 120 million homes with no access to financial services, estimates CRISIL Research. MFIs are mostly concentrated in India's southern states, serving about 70 million people.
  • The microfinance market has grown at an average annual rate of nearly 80 percent over the last three years, Sa-Dhan said.
  • There are more than 3,000 MFIs and NGO-MFIs, of which about 400 have active lending programmes, according to CRISIL Research. The top 10 MFIs account for nearly three-fourths of loans outstanding.