India has two main island groups: the Lakshadweep Islands and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The Lakshadweep Islands are located in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Kerala, consisting of 36 coral islands of which 10 are inhabited. The Andaman & Nicobar Islands are located in the Bay of Bengal near Myanmar, comprising 572 islands of which 38 are permanently inhabited, with the Andamans containing 550 islands and Nicobars 22 islands. These island groups provide economic and strategic importance for India in areas like tourism, security, trade and control of the Indian Ocean.

1. THE ISLAND GROUPS
OF INDIA

2. THE ISLANDS
An island is any piece of
sub-continental land that is
surrounded by water.

3. THE ISLANDS

Very small islands such as emergent land features
on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another
name for a small island or islet.

4. THE ISLANDS

Very small islands such as emergent land features
on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another
name for a small island or islet.

An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot.

5. THE ISLANDS

Very small islands such as emergent land features
on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another
name for a small island or islet.

An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot.

A grouping of geographically or geologically related
islands is called an archipelago.

6. THE ISLANDS

There are two main types of islands:
1) Continental islands
2) Oceanic islands.
There are also
artificial islands.

There is no standard of size which distinguishes

7. THE ISLAND GROUPS OF INDIA

India has a vast main land. Besides this, the
country has also two groups of islands.
1) The Lakshadweep Islands.
2) The Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

8. THE ISLAND GROUPS OF INDIA
Location of
the Island
Groups of
India

9. Lakshadweep Islands

Lakshadweep islands,
the smallest union
territory of India, is a
group of islands 200 to
300 km off of the coast
of Kerala in the
Arabian Sea. It's
located in 8º and 12º
North latitude and 71º
and 74º East longitude.

10. Lakshadweep Islands

There are 36 coral islands that constitute
Lakshadweep islands, only 10 are inhabited
and only six have been opened for tourism.

Their total land area is 32 km².

These islands, formed of coral deposits, are
called atolls. Atolls are circular or horse
shoe shaped coral reefs.

11. Lakshadweep Islands

Karavatti is the administrative headquarters of
Lakshadweep Islands.

This island group has great diversity of flora
and fauna.

12. Andaman & Nicobar Islands

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands
are located between 6o
and 14o
North latitude and 92o
and 94o
East
longitude in the Bay of Bengal near the
Myanmar coast. It is located 1255 km
from Kolkata and 193 km from Cape
Negrais in Myanmar.

13. Andaman & Nicobar Islands

They are bigger in size and are
more numerous and scattered.

The entire group of islands is
divided into two broad
categories – The Andaman in
the north and the Nicobar in
the south. The Andamans and
Nicobars are separated by a
channel (the Ten Degree
Channel) some 150 km wide.

14. Andaman & Nicobar Islands

There are 572 islands in the
territory, of which only
approximately 38 are
permanently inhabited. Most
of the islands (about 550) are
in the Andamans group, 26
of which are inhabited. The
smaller Nicobars comprise
some 22 main islands (10
inhabited). These islands
spread over a length of
350 km.

15. Andaman & Nicobar Islands

They are submerged hill
ranges, some of them are of
volcanic origin.

16. Andaman & Nicobar Islands

India's only active volcano is
found on Barren island in
Andaman & Nicobar group of
Islands.

17. Andaman & Nicobar Islands

The total area of the Andaman
& Nicobar islands territory is
approximately 8337 km² in
which the total area of the
Andaman Islands is about
6,496 sq.km and the total area
of the Nicobar Islands is
approximately 1,841 sq.km.

The highest point is located in
North Andaman Island
(Saddle Peak at 732 metres
(2,402 ft)).

18. Andaman & Nicobar Islands

There is diversity of flora and
fauna in this group of islands.
These islands lie close to
equator and experience
equatorial climate and has
thick forest cover.

19. Andaman & Nicobar Islands

These island groups are of
great economic and strategic
importance for the country.
– Tourism potential.
– Security.
– Trade.
– Migration.
– Arms smuggling.
– Smuggling of all natural
resources
– Control on Indian Ocean.