India is the seventh-largest country in the world by area and with a population of more than one billion, it is the second-most populous nation as well as the most populous democracy in the world.
The total area of India is 3.28 million square km. India also accounts for 2.4% of the area on the globe, with a land boundary of 15,200 km and the coastal boundary that includes the islands is 7,516 km.
When we see the outline of India on the map, we can easily identify the natural features like young fold mountains bordering the country in the northern, northwestern and northeastern borders of India.
The east-west stretch of India and the north-south stretch of India approximately measure the same i.e 3000km. But east-west stretch is smaller than the north-south stretch. It is this huge distance between the eastern and western ends of the country that cause a lag in the local time of the country.
The difference of time between Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh is 2 hours. But both their clocks show the same timing. Because India follows a standard time. Indian Standard Time is along longitude 82.30° E. It passes through the city of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh.
