Indira Point [The Southernmost Point of India]

The southernmost point of the country is Indira Point (Nicobar Islands) which lies on 6°4′ N latitudes and Kanyakumari is the southernmost point of the Indian mainland which lies at 8°4′ N latitudes.

This article will provide information regarding the southernmost point of India – Indira Point in the context of the IAS Exam.

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Indira Point – Interesting Facts

• Indira Point, situated in Campbell bay on Great Nicobar Island, is the southernmost point of India and is only about 150 km from Sumatra, Indonesia.
• It is located in the Great Nicobar tehsil.
• Latitude and Longitude Coordinates of Indira Point – 6°45’38” N, 93°48’85” E.
• This place got the name Indira Point after Indira Gandhi visited the place during her tenure as the Prime Minister of India.
• The southernmost point of the Indian union is Indira Point, which was previously known as Pygmalion Point and Parsons Point.
• This point is located only 163 km away from Rondo Island in Indonesia’s northernmost province of Banda Aceh.

Source – Wikipedia

• Great Nicobar Island is a part of the Andaman & Nicobar group of islands, which have important nesting and feeding populations of leatherbacks, green turtles and hawksbills.
• Great Nicobar Island also has a significant nesting population of leatherback turtles. Hawksbill sea turtles have been reported to nest at a few beaches on this island. It is reported that nesting of hawksbills happens at Indira point (or Pygmalion point, as it was then known).
• The beach at Indira point is less than half a kilometre in length, and the offshore approach is very rocky.
• The southernmost point of the Indian Union– ‘Indira Point’ got submerged under the seawater in 2004 during the Tsunami.
• The lighthouse at Indira Point, the southernmost tip of the Great Nicobar Island, which was on high ground before the earthquake, is now underwater, indicating a land subsidence of about 3-4 m.
• Also, 16 to 20 families living near the Indira Point lighthouse and four scientists studying leatherback sea turtles were lost in the 2004 Tsunami.
• The Andaman and Nicobar Administration is presently planning to connect the Campbell Bay Area of Great Nicobar with Indira Point, the Southernmost tip of Indian Territory.
• The construction of approximately 56 kms long road from the zero point Campbell Bay to Indira point has been planned and when this road will start functioning it will cater to all the tourists to this most sought after place, the southernmost tip of India, The Indira point.

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