India

New Delhi serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of India, positioned in Southern Asia. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. New Delhi was built by the British as the imperial capital of India between 1911 and 1931 — Edwin Lutyens's grand Raisina Hill complex of ceremonial vistas and colonial pomp now housing the Parliament of the world's largest democracy, a democratic repurposing of imperial architecture that India manages with evident satisfaction.

With a population of approximately 1.43B, India is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The principal languages spoken are Hindi, English + 21 others, which reflect the country's cultural heritage and open doors to a wide international community. Internationally, India is reached via the dialling code +91. India contains more linguistic, religious, ethnic, and ecological diversity within its borders than any other country — 22 constitutionally recognised languages (and hundreds more spoken), six major religions with more adherents than most countries' total populations, and a caste system officially abolished but practically persistent that creates social hierarchies of extraordinary complexity.

India spans 3,287,263 km², in the Southern Asia subregion of Asia. Geographically centred around 20.0°N, 77.0°E, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the left-hand rule, in line with surrounding Asia convention.

The official currency is the Indian rupee (₹), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. India's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC+05:30, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.

The emblematic dish of India is Butter Chicken. Indian cuisine is not one tradition but dozens — the coconut milk curries of Kerala bear no resemblance to the dry tandoor cooking of Punjab, Gujarati vegetarian thalis share no ingredients with Bengali fish preparations, and the biryani of Lucknow uses techniques so different from Hyderabadi biryani that chefs of both traditions dispute whether they share even the same dish category.

Cricket holds a special place in the heart of India's national identity. Cricket in India is not merely a sport but a mass religious experience — the Indian Premier League is the world's wealthiest sporting competition, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is the world's richest sporting body, and Sachin Tendulkar's retirement in 2013 generated a level of national mourning more appropriate to a head of state than an athlete.

The highest point in India is Kangchenjunga, rising to 8,586 metres above sea level. The Himalayas contain 14 peaks above 8,000 metres — including K2 and Kangchenjunga on India's borders — and Gangotri glacier, which feeds the Ganges River, is retreating at an accelerating rate, threatening the water security of 500 million people who depend on glacial meltwater in the dry season while creating theological urgency around river purification rituals of a sacred river that is simultaneously one of the world's most polluted.