Delhi

Sometimes referred to as Dilli, this is the second largest city in India and the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population. New Delhi is the capital of India and houses important offices of the federal government including the Parliament of India. Delhi lies in northern India and borders the states of Uttar Pradesh on the east and Haryana on the west, north and south. Yamuna is a major Indian river that flows through Delhi. Most of Delhi lies in the Gangetic plains. The part of Delhi that lies in the Yamuna flood plains is fertile land suitable for agriculture. But this region is also prone to recurrent floods. Delhi is located on the seismic zone-IV making it vulnerable to major earthquakes.

Delhi's climate is continental and extreme variations in summer and winter temperature exist. Summers are long; from April to mid October. Winter starts in late October and peaks in January. Temperatures vary from 0.6 °C (30.9 °F) to 47 °C (117 °F). Most of the rainfall is received in the monsoon months of July and August.

India

India, officially known as the Republic of India is the seventh biggest country in the world and is located in South Asia. The name India is derived from the word, 'Indus' whch is derived from the ancient Persian word 'Hindu', from Sanskrit 'Sindhu' and is associated with the historic name for the River Indus. Other names that India is known by include Hindustan which is the Persian word for 'Land of the Hindus' and Bharat. It is the world's second most populous country and its largest democracy. India shares its borders with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Burma and is bounded by the Indian Ocean in the South, Arabian Sea in the north and Bay of Bengal in the East. India is a multilingual and multiethnic society. Four of the world's major religions including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here. It is also home to Muslims, Christians and Zorastrians.

India boasts of diverse natural terrain. From the Himalayas in the north to the Deccan plateau in the south, the country is home to mountains, plateaus, coastal ranges, desert, rivers and lakes. India's coast is 7,517 kilometers (4,671 mi) long. The major rivers include the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, Kaveri, Narmada and Tapti. India has two archipelagoes, the Lakshadweep Islands in India's south western coast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a volcanic chain of islands in the Andaman Sea. The four major climatic conditions that the country experiences are tropical wet, tropical dry, sub-tropical humid and montane.