The Republic of India is a large South Asian country rich in ethnic diversity,with over one billion people speaking hundreds of languages. Politically it is the world's largest liberal democracy. The Indian economy is the fourth largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, and is the world's second-fastest growing economy. India is also the second most populated country in the world. India has grown significantly, in terms of both population and strategic importance, in the last twenty years attributed to economic reforms.

Strategically located in Asia,constituting most of the Indian subcontinent,India straddles many busy trade routes. It shares its borders with Pakistan,the People's Republic of China,Myanmar,Bangladesh,Nepal,Bhutan and Afghanistan.Sri Lanka,the Maldives and Indonesia are the nearby island nations in the Indian Ocean. Home to some of the most ancient civilisations in the world, India was formally ruled by the British for almost ninety years before gaining independence in 1947.