Question.2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.

(i) Does India need to have more than one standard time? If yes, why do you think so?
Answer. Yes, I believe India requires more than one standard time zone.

1. In between Easternmost and Westernmost sections of our country, there is a two-hour time difference. In Arunachal Pradesh, the sun rises two hours earlier than in Gujarat. This is due to the fact that the earth is tilted and it revolves in an east-west orientation.
2. As a result of the rotation, the sun’s rays reach the eastern regions of the planet sooner than the western parts.
3. India’s longitudinal extent is similarly around 30 degrees. As a result, it’s a good idea to utilise more than one standard time.

(ii) What are the implications of India having a long coastline?
Answer. The coastline of India spans a total distance of 7,516.6 km.

1. India is the Asian continent’s southernmost outpost. The trans-Indian Ocean routes, which connect western European nations with eastern Asian ones, provide India with a vital centre location.
2. The Deccan Peninsula juts into the Indian Ocean, allowing India to maintain strong ties with West Asia, Africa, and Europe on the western shore, and Southeast Asia and East Asia on the eastern.
3. India is the only nation with a lengthy coastline on the Indian Ocean, and it is India’s proeminent position in the Indian Ocean that warrants the Ocean’s name.

(iii) How is the latitudinal spread of India advantageous to her?
Answer. There are three key advantages of having a large latitudinal range:

1. The Tropic of Cancer (23½°N.) divides India into almost two equal halves. The southern section of the island is tropical, whereas the northern part is temperate. As a result, India’s biodiversity is extraordinary.
2. It also provides India with climate variability, which has several benefits.
3. The duration of day and night drops by more than 4½ hours when Kanyakumari travel from Kanyakumari to Jammu and Kashmir.

(iv) While the sun rises earlier in the east, say Nagaland and also sets earlier, how do the watches at Kohima and New Delhi show the same time?
Answer. While the sun rises and sets earlier in the east, say in Nagaland, the watches in Kohima and New Delhi show the same time since India has one standard time across the country. The time is displayed in India’s Standard Meridian. The Standard Meridian is chosen in multiples of 7° 30′ of longitude, as agreed upon by the governments of the world. As a result, the Standard Meridian of India is chosen at 82°30′ E, and the time along the Standard Meridian of India passing through Mirzapur is designated as the Standard Time for the whole country.