India is a sovereign country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east. It borders Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal and Bhutan to the north-east; Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia. The major cities of India are Agra, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad.

The climate of India comprises a wide range of weather conditions across a large geographic scale and varied topography. India hosts six major climatic subtypes, ranging from desert in the west, to alpine tundra and glaciers in the north, to humid tropical regions supporting rainforests in the southwest and the island territories. The nation has four seasons: winter (January and February), summer (March to May), a monsoon (rainy) season (June to September) and a post-monsoon period (October to December).

The culture of India has been shaped by the long history, its unique geography and the absorption of customs, traditions and ideas from both immigrants and invaders. India's great diversity of cultural practices, languages, customs, and traditions are examples of this unique co-mingling. Four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism arrived in the first millennium.