India is a country.
India , officially the Republic of India ( Bhārat Gaṇarājya '' ) , is a country in South Asia . It is the seventh-largest country by area , the second-most populous country ( with over 1.2 billion people ) , and the most populous democracy in the world . Following market-based economic reforms in 1991 , India became one of the fastest-growing major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country . India is a federal republic governed under a parliamentary system and consists of 29 states and 7 union territories .