India – a subcontinent which stretches from the Himalayas in the North to Sri Lanka in the
South. More than 100 languages are spoken in India. A lot of great religions, e.g. Hinduism,
Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam or Christianity can be found in India. Every attempt to
describe India will be insufficient in the light of the diversity of the world’s largest republic.
Keywords like Bollywood, IT, yoga, cricket, Indian Railways, Sanskrit or textile industry
describe only a few facets of this country.
| Name of country |
Republic of India Hindi: Bharatiya Ganarajya |
| Capital | New Delhi |
| Population | approx. 1.2 billion |
| Area | 3.287.000 km2 |
| Official languages | Hindi and English |
| Other recognised languages | Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Panjabi, Assamese, Maithili, Santali, Kashmiri; furthermore Konkani, Dogri, Nepali, Sindhi, Manipuri, Bodo, Sanskrit |
| Religions |
Hinduism approx. 80%, Islam approx. 13%, Christianity approx. 2%, Sikhism approx. 1,9%, furthermore Buddhism, Jainism, Parseeism and other religions |
| Climate |
North and Central India: subtropical continental climate South India and coastal areas: tropical climate Monsoon: June to September/October |
| Form of government |
Secular republic (in the Commonwealth)Parliament: House of the People (Lok Sabha): 545 members, elected every 5 years; Council of States (Rajya Sabha): 245 members, partial election every 2 years Election of the Head of State by the electoral college every 5 yearsRight to vote from the age of 18 |
| Administrative structure |
28 states, 6 union territories, National Capital Territory Delhi |
| Public holidays | 26 January: Republic Day (26 January 1950: commencement of the Constitution)15 August: Independence Day (India has been independent since 15 August 1947) |
| Embassy |
Tiergartenstr. 17, 10785 Berlin Telephone +49 (0)30 257950, Fax +49 (0)30 25795102 www.indianembassy.de |
| Currency | Indian Rupee (INR); 1 Rupee = 100 PaiseHere you find a currency converter |
| Gross domestic product per capita | Approx. 1,229 billion Euro |
| Income per capita | Approx. 1,022 Euro |
| Time shift | + 4.5 hours (to Germany) |
| International phone code | 0091 |
Here are a few helpful links for the preparation of an internship in India.
General information on India:
Foreign Office India
Federal Agency for Political Education
Deutsch-Indische Gesellschaft E.V. (German-Indian Association)
Indien Aktuell (news on India)
India on Wikipedia
TravelIndia
Current news on India in English:
THE HINDU
The Times of India
The Indian Express
Hindustan Times
Further links:
Goethe Institute Max Mueller Bhavan