General Facts About India

8/10/2019 General Facts About India

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General Facts About India

A SUGGESTION: The Geography subject will be clearer to you, if you look at the map.Please read with a map beside you.

India is the 10th

industrialized country in the world. India is the 6 th nation in the world to have gone into outer space.

India is the 7th largest country in the World.

India lies entirely in the northern hemisphere. (Do you know what Northern Hemisphere is?).

India measures 3,214 km from North to South.

India measures 2,933 km from east to west.

The mainland extends between latitudes 8 4 0 and 37 6 0 North.

The mainland extends between 68 7 0 and 97 25 0 East longitudes.

Indias land frontier is about 15,200 km.

India has a common boarders with North-west: Afghanistan and Pakistan

North: China, Bhutan and Nepal

East: Myanmar

East of West Bengal : Bangladesh

India is separated from Sri Lanka by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and theGulf of Mannar.

The plains of the Ganga and the Indus are one of the worlds greatest stretches of flat alluviumand also one of the most densely populated areas on the earth.

Between Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea lies a narrow coastal strip.

Between Eastern Ghats and Bay of Bengal there is a broader costal area.

Niligiri Hills is the point where the eastern and Western Ghats meets.

Cardamom hills lying beyond may be regarded as a continuation of Western Ghats.

The Indus, which is one of the greatest rivers of the world rises near manasarovar in Tibet andflows through India and thereafter through Pakistan and falls in Arabian Sea near Kutch.

Tributaries of Indus: The Sutlej, the Beas, the Ravi, The Chenab and the Jhelum.

The Ganga-Brahmaputra_Meghana is another important system of which the principle sub basins are those of Bhagirathi and Alakanada join at Dev Prayag to form the Ganga.

The major east flowing rivers are Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Mahanadi, etc.

The west flowing rivers Narmada, Tapti and Mahi.

The climate of India is tropical monsoon type.

South-West monsoon is the summer monsoon and wind blows from sea to land after crossingIndian ocean, the Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal.

North-east monsoon is known as the winter monsoon and wind blows from land to sea.

Botanical survey of India (BSI) headquarters Kolkata.

Zoological survey of India (ZSI) headquarters Kolkata.

The tiger and lion belong to cat family.

The salt water crocodile is found along eastern coast and in the Andaman and Nicobar islands.


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The first census in India was conducted in the year 1872. It was conducted non-synchronouslyin different parts.

Since 1881 it was conducted synchronously.

The first census commissioner of India was W W Plowden (1881).

2001 census was undertaken during 9-28 February 2001. The census moment, the referral time at which the snapshot of the population is taken was

00.00 hours of March 1, 2001.

Until 1991 census, the sunrise of 1 March was taken as the census moment.

India a ccounts for a meager 2.4 percent of the worlds surface area.

India has 17.5 (2011) percent of World population.

The percent decadal growth of population in the inter-censual period 1991-2001 varies from alow of 9.43 in Kerala to a very high 64.53 in Nagaland.

The population density of India in 2001 was 324 per sq km.

West Bengal is the most thickly populated state with a population density of 903 in 2001. Delhi is the city with highest population density with 9340.

Lowest population density is in Arunachal Pradesh with 13.

Bihar second and Kerala third.

Sex ration in India 940:1000. (2011 census)

Highest sex ratio is Kerala. 1084:1000. (2011 census)

Who is a literate ? A person aged seven and above, who can both read and write any languagewith understanding is treated as a literate.

In the census prior to 1991 children below 5 years were necessarily treated as illiterates.

The literacy rate in the country is 74.04 percent (2011).

Kerala retained its position by being on top with a 93.91 percent literacy rate (2011).

Highest male and female literacy state Kerala.

Bihar with a literacy rate of 63.82 (2011) percent ranks last in the country.

Lowest male and female literacy state Bihar.

743 million people in India live in rural areas as per the 2001 census.

286 million people in India live in urban areas.

Highly populated state in India is UP with 199 million (2011) people.

Lowest population is in Sikkim with 540,851 people and constitutes 0.05 percent of the total.

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DO YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE FACTS ABOUT THE NATIONAL FLAG,NATIONAL ANTHEM.?

The ratio of width of the flag to its length is 2 to 3.

There are 3 colors in the National Flag. Saffron at the top, White in the middle followed byGreen at the bottom.

In the middle of the National Flag there is a wheel called Chakra.

The Chakra has 24 spokes .

The design of the National Flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on July 22,1947.


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The Flag code of India, 2002, has taken effect from January 26, 2002 and supersedes the Flagcode Indias as it existed.

There shall be no restriction on the display of the National Flag by the members of general public private organizations, educational institutions, etc.

The state emblem is an adoption from the saranath Lion capital of Asoka. In the sate emblem as adopted on January 26, 1950 only 3 lions are visible and the 4 th one is

hidden.

The wheel appears in the center of the abacus with a bull on the right and a horse on the leftand the outlines of other wheels on extreme right and left.

The words Satyameva Jayate were taken from the Mundaka Upanishad. It means TruthAlone Triumphs are i nscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script.

The National Anthem Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bengali by RabindranathTagore, was adopted in its Hindi version as National Anthem on January 24, 1950.

National Anthem was first sung on December 27, 1911 at the Calcutta session of the INC. The National song Vande Mataram, composed in Sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a

source of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It has an equal status with the National Anthem.

The first political occasion when National song, sung was the 1896 session of the INC.

The National calendar is based on Saka era, with Chaitra as its first month and a normal yearof 365 days was adopted from March 22, 1957 with Gregorian calendar.


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NATIONAL SYMBOLS: National Animal: The magnificent tiger, (Panthera Tigris). National Bird: The Indian peacock (Peafowl), (Pavo Cristatus). National Flower: Lotus (Nelumbo Nucipera Gaertn). National Tree: The Banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis). National Fruit: Mango (Manigifera Indica). National River: Ganges National Aquatic Animal: Gangetic Dolphin National Reptile: King Cobra (Ophiophagus hanna) National Heritage Animal: Elephant (Elephas Maximus indicus) National Drink: Tea (this will be from April 17, 2013)


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NATIONAL PARKS andipur National Park - Karnataka

Chandraprabha sanctuary - UP Corbett National Park - Uttaranchal Ghana Bird Sanctuary - Rajasthan Gir National Park - Gujarat

azaribagh Sanctuary - Jharkhand anha National Park - MP aziranga National Park - Assam (Famous for one-horned rhinoceros). eriyar Sanctuary - Kerala ild Ass Sanctuary - Gujarat

anas Sanctuary - Assam

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SOME MORE FACTS about INDIA:

Area-wise Rajasthan is the largest state in India.

Area-wise Goa is the smallest state.

Area-wise Andaman & Nicobar Islands is the largest UT.

Area-wise Lakshadweep is the smallest UT.

Highest population is in UP.

Lowest population is in Sikkim.

Highest population Delhi (UT).

Lowest population Lakshadweep (UT).

Largest country is Russia (area wise).

India is the 7 th largest country (area wise).

Highest population China.

Population wise India is the second largest country in the world.

Andhra Pradesh is the first state in India that has been formed on a purely linguistic basis in1953 and enlarged in 1956. Andhra state 1953 and AP in 1956.

Highest number of Assembly seats UP 355.

Highest number of legislative Council seats UP 99.

Highest number of Rajya Sabha seats UP -31.


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Highest number of Lok Sabha seats UP 80.

Lowest number of Assembly seats Sikkim -32.

Lowest number of Legislative Council seats JK 36.

Lowest number of Lok Sabha seats Sikkim 1.

Lowest number of Rajya Sabha seats Sikkim, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura and Goa 1. The Legislative Councils are present only in seven states. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,

Maharashtra, Bihar, UP, J&K and Tamil Nadu.

The Tamil Nadu is the latest state to establish the Legislative Council. (Legislative Councilsare created / abolished by Parliament only).

In Union Territories Delhi has maximum number of seats in Assembly. (70).

Pondicherry has the lowest number of seats in Assembly. (30).

Highest number of districts present in UP. 70 in number

Goa has only 2 districts.

Kutch in Gujarat is the largest district in India. The area is 45,652 Sq.km. Mahe in the state of Kerala is the smallest district in India. The area is 9 Sq.km. Mahe is

geographically located in Kerala but administered by Pondicherry.

Drass in Western Ladakh is the coldest place in India. It is also the second coldest place in theWorld after Siberia.

The High Court was first established in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras in the year 1862.

In the year 2000 three new High Courts were set up in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand andUttaranchal.

At present there are 21 High Courts present in India.

N- E states are called Seven sisters. (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur,Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura).

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SUBMARINES :

INS SHALKI: First indigenously built submarine.

INS CHAKRA: Indias first nuclear submarine . (From USSR).

INS ARIHANT: Indias first indigenously built nuclear sub marine

INS Sindhushastra: Indias first missile firing submarine.

INS GHARIYAL: Indigenously built warship.

INS VIBHUTI: Indigenously built missile boat.*********

R&D (Research and Development)

Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) was set up in 1958. The DefenceResearch and Development Laboratory launched Integrated Missile developmentProgramme. Under this five missiles were successfully test fired.

PRITHV I: Indias first indigenously built Surface to Surface missile. In 1998, first test firedfrom Sriharikota. 250 KM. Inducted in 1993.

TRISHUL : Short range surface to Air missile. 5-9 KM. 1988.

AKASH : Surface to Air missile. 25 KM. 1990.


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NAG : Third generation anti-tank guided missile. 4 KM. 1988.

AGNI : Intermediate ballistic surface to surface missile. 2500 KM. 1989.

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MISCELLANEOUS :

Coast guards set up in 1977. Cantonment board is established through cantonment Act of 1924.

Home guards set up in 1946.

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ATOMIC ENERGY:

The Atomic Energy Commission was set up in 1948. The present Chairman is DRSirikumar Benarjee.

On May 18, 1974 India conducted its first underground nuclear explosion at POKHRAN(RAJASTAN ).

The Second test was conducted on May 11, 1998. OPERATION SHAKTI was the codename of the tests.

India became the sixth nuclear power in the world.

At present there are six Nuclear power stations in India. Tarapur (Maharashtra), Rawatbhatta(Rajasthan), Kalpak am (Tamil Nadu), Narora (UP), kakrapar (Gujarat), Kaiga (Karnataka).

Tarapur Atomic Power Station (T.AP.S.) was the first nuclear power plant in India. Theconstruction of the plant was started in 1962 and the plant went operational in 1969.

APSARA was India's First Nuclear Reactor. It was also the first nuclear reactor in Asia.Apsara went critical at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay on August 4,

1956. The first Heavy water plant was set up in Nangal (Punjab) in the year 1962. Heavy water is

used in Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR).

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) set up in 1957 at Trombay, near Bombay. It housesAPSARA, CIRUS and DHRUVA the three nuclear reactors.

ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) was set up in 1969.

CENTRE LOCATION Vikram Sarabhai Space centre - Thiruvananthapuram. ISRO Satellite Centre - Bangalore

Space Application Centre - Ahmadabad

SHAR Centre - Srihari Kota (AP) National Remote Sensing Agency - Hyderabad

The first Indian satellite Aryabhatta was launched from USSR on April 19, 1975.

Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma became Indias first man in space.

India set a record on April 28, 2008 by PSLV-C9 successfully launching 10 satellites fromSriharikota, AP.


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It also included remote sensing satellite CARTOSAT-2A.

SLV- 3 was Indias first indigenous satellite launch vehicle. This was launched by ISRO in theyear 1980. Dr A P J Abdul Kalam was the Project Director for the same.

INSAT-2A was India's first indigenously built satellite. The satellite was launched on July 9,

1992 from Kourou, French Guyana. *********

NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS:

Central Institute for cotton research Nagpur.

Coffee Board Bangalore

Tea Board - Kottayam (Kerala)

Tobacco Board - Andhra Pradesh

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade New Delhi

Indian Institute of Mathematical Sciences - Chennai.

Indian Diamond Institute Surat Advanced Level Telecom Centre Ghaziabad

Bharat Ratna Bhim Rao Ambedkar Institute of Telecom Training Jabalpur.

National Academy for Telecom Finance and Management Hyderabad.

telecommunication Engineering Centre New Delhi

Indian Institute of Science Bangalore.

Indian School Business Hyderabad

Bureau of Indian Standards Delhi

Central Drug Research Institute Luck now

National Institute for Oceanography Panaji (Goa)

Centre For Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Hyderabad

National Institute for Nutrition Hyderabad

Central Rice Research Institute Cuttack

Centre for DNA finger printing and Diagnostics Hyderabad

Indian Institute for Sugar Technology Kanpur

National Institute for Immunology New Delhi

National Institute for Ocean technology Chennai.

Indian Institute for Spices Research (IISR) - Kozhikode, Kerala.

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HEALTH :

Indias National Anti- Malaria programme is the worlds biggest healthprogramme against a single communicable disease.

Dengue fever is a viral disease which is transmitted through the bites iffemale AEDES mosquitoes.

The National Leprosy control programme was launched in 1955.

The National Programme for control of Blindness was launched in 1976.

The control of sexually transmitted Diseases ( STD ) was introduced during fourth 5 yearplan.


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National AIDS control programme was launched in 1987.

Deficiency odf Iodine in the daily diet may cause goiter and other iodine deficiencydisorders.

The National Mental Health Programme was started in 1982.

The National Cancer control Programme was launched in 1975. India became the first country to launch GUINEAWORM eradication programme in

1983. India was declared as guinea worm disease free country.

The GOI was the first country in the world to initiate a comprehensive family planningprogramme in 1951 .

POLIO ---- Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV)

DIPHTHERIA PERTUSIS TETANUS -------DPT

DIPHTHERIA TETANUS -------- DT

TETANUS TOXOID ---------TT

Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994 -------- It banned any test to determine the sex of an unborn child has become illegal.

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LEGISLATIVE MEASURES TO SAFEGUARD THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN

Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 : A Hindu cannot get married for second time till the first marriageis dissolved by divorce or decree.

National Commission for Women : The National Commission for Women was set up asstatutory body in January 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990.Chairman and 5 members are nominated by the Central government. Ms. Jayanti patnaik was

the 1 st and present chair person is Dr. Girija Vyas (since 2008).

Prohibition of Child Marriage act, 2006: It replaced the child Marriage Restraint Act of1929.

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LANGUAGES IN INDIA:

The languages are mentioned in the 8 th schedule of the Constitution.

At present there are 22 languages mentioned in the Constitution.

Hindi is spoken by more people in India.

39.85% of the total population in India speaks Hindi.

Hindi in Devanagari script is the official language in India .

Bengali ranks at number two position with 8.22%.

Telugu ranks at number three with 7.80%.

Sanskrit ranks at the last position with 0.01%.

It is the classic language of India and also one of the oldest languages in the world. It startswith Rig Veda.

Telugu numerically the biggest of the Dravidian languages in India.

Urdu is the official language for Jammu and Kashmir.

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DANCE FORMS IN INDIA:

BHARATANATYAM : This is dance form in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The earliestexponents of Bharatanatyam were the Devadasis in South India. Devadasis means Templedancers. This dance form contains 64 principles. The dance syllables are popularly known

as BOLS . KATHAK: It is confined to North India.

KATHAKALI: KERALA . Its a most scientific and elaborately defined dance form ofKerala.

MANIPURI: MANIPUR

ODISSI : ORISSA

KUCHIPUDI: ANDHRA PRADESH

MOHINIATTAM : KERALA

TAMILNADU : Kollattam (Folk)

ASSAM: BIHU (folk) PUNJAB: GIDDHA (WOMEN FOLK)

PUNJAB: BHANGRA (MEN FOLK)

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BOOKS:

1. ARTHSHASTRA - KAUTILYA

2. MAHABHASYA - PATANJALI

3. SWAPNA VASAVADATTA - BHASA

4. NATYA SASTRA - BHARATA

5. ABIGYAN SHAKUNTALA - KALLIDASA

6. MRICHCHAKATIKA - SUDRA

7. RATNAVALI - HARSHA

8. MAHAVIRA CHARITRA - BHAVABHUTI

9. UTTARAMA CHARITA - BHAVABHUTI

10. MATTAVILASA - MAHENDRA VIKRAM PALLAVA

11. SANGEETA RATNAKAR - SARANGADEVA

The National School of Drama was founded in 1959.

INSTRUMENTALISTS : 1. VIOLIN - GAJANA RAO JOSHI. 2. FLUTE - HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA 3. TABLA - ZAKIR HUSSAIN 4. VEENA - DORAISWAMY IYENGAR 5. SAROD - BUDDADEV DASGUPTA 6. SITAR - PANDIT RAVI SHANKAR 7. SANTOOR - SHIV KUMAR SHARMA 8. SHEHNAI - BISMILLA KHAN 9. MRIDANGAM KARAIKUDI MANI 10. NADASWARAM NEERUSWAMY PILLAI


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PAINTING:

AJANTA paintings belong to 1 st century to 8 th Century AD. These are associated with the lifeHistory of the Buddha and the Jataka stories .

MUGHAL paintings reached climax during Jahangirs time. Jahangirs court was patronized

by Bishan Das, Murad, Mansur, Bahzad, and Aga Raza. EUROPEAN STYLE: Raja Ravi Verma of Kerala distinguished himself in this style of

paintings.

The modern paintings in India were pioneered by Gaganendranath Tagore, Jamini Roy, andRabindranath Tagore.

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CULTURAL INISTITUTIONS LALIT KALA ACADEMY : It is the National Academy of Fine Arts. It was Established in

1954 in New Delhi.

SANGEETH NATAK ACADEMY: It is the National Academy of Music, Dance andDrama. Established in the year 1952 in New Delhi.

NATIONAL SCHOOL OF DRAMA: set up in 1959 in New Delhi.

SAHITYA ACADEMY: Established in 1954 in New Delhi.

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OTHER INSTITUTIONS:

ACHAELOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA: ESTABLISHED in 1861 in NEW DELHI.

ASIATIC SOCIETY: It was established in 1784 at Calcutta by Sir William Jones.

Anthropological Survey of India: Set up in 1945 at Calcutta.

National Achieves of India: Set up in 1981 in New Delhi.

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PRECEDENCE IN ADMINISTRATION: 1. President 2. Vice President 3. Prime Minister 4. Governors of states within their respective states. 5. Former Presidents. 6. Chief Justice of India.

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INDIAs FIRST AND LAST:

First Governor-General of Bengal (1772-1785) - Warren Hastings

Last Governor-General of Bengal - Lord William Bentinck (1828-1833)

GOVERNOR-GENERAL of Bengal became the GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA.

First Governor-General of India (1833-35) -Lord William Bentinck.

Last Governor-General of India (1856-1858_ - Lord Canning


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GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA REDESIGNATED AS GOVERNOR-GENERALand VICEROY of INDIA .

First Viceroy - Lord Canning

Last Viceroy - Lord Mountbatten

GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIAN UNION

First G-G - Lord Mountbatten

Last G-G - C.Rajagopalachari

PRESIDENTS

First President (1950-1962) - Dr. Rajendra Prasad

He is the only president who got elected to the office for two times .

Present President (2007- till date ) - Smt. Pratibha Patil

VICE PRESIDENTS

First Vice President (1952-1962) - Dr. S. Radhakrishnan

He is the only Vice President who got elected to the office for two times

Present Vice President (2007- till date) - Md. Hamid Ansari

PRIME MINISTERS OF INDIA

First Prime Minister (1947-1964) - Jawaharlal Nehru

Present Prime Minister (2004 till date - Dr. Manmohan Singh

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTERS

First Deputy Prime Minister (1947-1950) - Sardar Patel

Last Deputy PM (2002-2004) - LK Advani

FINANCE MINISTERS:

First FM (1947-1949) - RK SHANMUKHAM SHETTY

Present FM (2009 till date) - Pranab Mukharjee

SPEAKERS:

First speaker (1947-1959) - GV Mavalankar

Present speaker (2009- till date) - Meira Kumar

(She is the first women speaker of Lok Sabha).

CHIEF JUSTICES OF INDIA:


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First CJI (1950-51) - Harilal Kania

Present CJI (2010- till date) - SH KAPADIA

CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS:

First CEC (1950-58) - Sukumar sen

Present CEC (2010 till date) - S Y Quereshi

CHAIRMEN OF UPSC:

Present Chairman - DP Agarwal

COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERALS

First CAG (1948-1954) - V. Narahari Rao

Present CAG (2008 till date) - Vinod Rai

ATTORNEY-GENERALS OF INDIA

First A-G (1950-63) - MC. Setalvad

Present A-G (Jun 2009 till date) - G E Vahanavati

GOVERNORS OF RESERVE BANK OF INDIA

Set up in the year 1935.

First Governor (1935-1937) - Sir Osborne Smith

(1943- 1949) - Sir C D Deshmuk

Present Governor (2008 till date) - Dr. Duvvuri Subba Rao

1. Press Trust of India (PTI) founded in 1947 in Bombay, to provide unbiasednews to all subscribers.

2. Do you know? Orissa has the distinction of publishing news papers in 18 outof 23 languages (22 languages plus English).

3. The largest number of news papers and periodicals registered in any Indianlanguage is Hindi.

4. UP has the distinction largest number of registered news papers in India.

NEWS PAPER COUNTRY

The SUN - Britain

The Mirror - Britain


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DAWN - Pakistan

The Times - Britain

New Statesman - Britain

The New York Times - USA

PRAVDA - Russia

Red Flag - China

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THE SOLAR SYSTEM and few more facts:

The rotation of the Sun as seen from the Earth. At the poles it is more than the equator. At theequator it is 25.38 days and at poles it is 33 days.

The Chemical composition of the Sun is 71% Hydrogen, 26.5% Helium and other elements2.5%.

The age is about 5 billion years.

The nearest planet to the Sun is Mercury 58 million kms.

The farthest planet to the Sun is Neptune 4497 million kms .

The distance of Earth from Sun is 150 million Km.

The planet with highest diameter is Jupiter with 1, 41,968 km. It is next to Sun with 13, 84,000km.

Mercury has the lowest diameter with 4850 km.

The Earth has only one satellite i.e. Moon. Jupiter has of 63 satellites. This is the highest for any planet.

The planets Mercury and Venus have no satellites .

On August 24, 2006 Pluto was declared as a dwarf planet. It lost its seven decade statusas the ninth and the outermost planet.

The Pluto was discovered in 1930 by the American Clyde Tom Baugh .

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EARTH

Escape Velocity is the speed necessary to break away from the Earth into outer space. It is 11

km per second.

Speed of the rockets is 8 km per second . This is the velocity required to counter the Earthsgravity to rise up to the atmosphere.

The highest component in the Earth is Iron (35%) and lowest is Aluminum (0.4%).

Period of rotation of earth on its own axis is 23 hours 56 m. 4.09 sec.

Period of revolution of Earth round the Sun is 365 days 5 hrs 48 m 45.51 sec.

Area of water surface on the Earth is 70.9%.

Asia is the biggest continent and it has 29.5% in the earths area.

Approximately 3879 million populations live in Asia.

Antarctica is an uninhabited area and it occupies 9.6% of the earths area.

Lowest population lives in Australia. 32 million people live in Australia.


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Area wise Australia is the lowest with only 5.2% of the earths area.

Highest point on the Earth is Everest with 8848 meters.

Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean.

Greatest depth location is Mariana trench in Pacific.

Russia is the biggest country in area wise. India is the 7 th biggest country area wise.

China is the biggest country population wise.

India is the second biggest country population wise.

Vatican City is the smallest country (0.44 sq km) with respect to area and population.

Highest volcano Ojos del salado 6885 meters. It is in Andes mountain range. It is inArgentina and Chile.

Largest desert is Sahara.

Deepest cave Reseau du Foillis, in France.

Greenland is the largest islands. South-china Sea is the largest sea. Largest ocean is pacific.

Longest river is Nile, Africa.

Deepest point is Challenger deep in Mariana Trench.

Highest waterfalls are ANGEL is in Venezuela.

The biggest deltas is Ganges-Brahmaputra in Bangladesh.

China has most land borders. It has borders with 14 countries.

India has borders with 7 countries.

The Tallest statue is USHIKU DAIBUTSU in Japan.

The Worlds longest mountains in the World Andes present in South America. This passesthrough the west coast of South America. The range is about 7000 km. This runs through 7countries. Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. (The highest

peak in Andes is Mt. Aconcagua of 6963 m. This is in Argentina).

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WITH REFERENCE TO INDIA :

The highest mountain peak K2 (Mount Godwin Austen) 8611 meters. It is in Pak-occupiedKashmir.

Kanchenjunga 8598 meters.

Kuttanadu in the district of Alappuzha in Kerala is the region with lowest region in India. (Thefarming is carried below the sea level).

Longest river is Ganga 2510 km.

Longest river in South India is Godavari 1465 km.

Highest population is in Mumbai.

Hindus constitute 80.44% in India.

India has longest border with Bangladesh. (4097 km).

India has lowest border with Afghanistan. (80 km).

Most literate district in India is AIZAWL in Mizoram.

The district with highest sex ratio is Mahe in Pondicherry.


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Highest hill station in India Gulbarga in Jammu and Kashmir. 2250 meters.

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Golden Quadrilateral project :

The Golden Quadrilateral is a highway network connecting India's four largest metropolitan

cities. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, thus forming a quadrilateral of sorts.

The largest highway project in India, initiated by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, it is the first phase ofthe National Highways Development Project (NHDP), and consists of building 5,846 km offour/six lane express highways at a cost of 60,000 crore.

As of 31 October 2010, 5,806 km of the entire work has been completed and work onremaining 40 km is under progress.

Only National Highways are used in the Golden Quadrilateral. The four legs use the following National Highways:

Delhi Kolkata: NH 2

Delhi Mumbai: NH 8 (Delhi Kishangarh) , NH 79A (Ajmer bypass), NH 79 (Nasirabad Chittaurgarh) , NH 76 (Chittaurgarh Udaipur), NH 8 (Udaipur Mumbai)

Mumbai Chennai: NH 4 (Mumbai Bangalore), NH 7 (Bangalore Krishnagiri) , NH46 (Krishnagiri Ranipet) , NH 4 (Ranipet Chennai)

Kolkata Chennai: NH 6 (Kolkata Kharagpur) , NH 60 (Kharagpur Balasore) , NH5 (Balasore Chennai)

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UNO (UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION): UNO officially came into existence on October 24, 1945.

The declaration was signed in 1942 in San Francisco.

Every year October 24 is celebrated as UN day.

193 countries are the members in UNO.

193 rd country is the South Sudan (2011).

UN has 6 official languages. Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish and Arabic.

Arabic was added in the year 1973 by the General Assembly.

New countries will be admitted by the General Assembly after the recommendation by the

Security Council. India became a member of UNO on October 30, 1945.

The UN has six important wings. The General Assembly, the Security Council, the Secretariat,the Trusteeship Council, the Economic and Social Council and the International Court ofJustice.

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY:

It is like a world Parliament.

The members of UN form General Assembly.

Meets once in a year . SECURITY COUNCIL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupeehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crorehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kishangarhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chittaurgarhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishnagirihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranipethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kharagpurhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balasorehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balasorehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kharagpurhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranipethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishnagirihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chittaurgarhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kishangarhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crorehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee


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Five Permanent members. USA, Britain, France, Russia and China.

10 Non permanent members elected every 2 years by the General Assembly.

Permanent 5 members have the veto power.

(For more details please read GKBASICS.COM / CURRENT AFFAIRS ).

********* SECRETARIATE:

Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of SecurityCouncil.

Secretary-General Tenure 5 years.

The Secretary-General is eligible for reelection.

First Secretary-general was Trygve Lie of Norway from 1946-53.

Present Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon of South Korea 2007 to till date.

*********

HEADQUARTERS: The General Assembly, Security Council, Secretariat, Trusteeship Council and Economic and

Social Council ------------- NEW YORK .

International Court of Justice Hague , Netherlands. ( 15 Judges)

United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) set up in 1946in Paris .

World Health Organization set up in 1948 in Geneva .

Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in 1945 in Rome .

World Trade organization set up in Geneva in 1995 .

International Maritime Organization set up in London in the year 1948.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) set up in the year 1957 in Vienna.

World Bank set up in the year 1945 in Washington .

10 International Labour Organization (ILO) was set up in the year 1946 in Geneva.

International Monetary Fund (IMF), 1945 at Washington .

International Telecommunications satellite Organization ( INTELSAT) 1964, Washington.

*********

UNO INTERNATIONAL DECADES:

2001 2010 International Decade for a Culture of peace and non-violence for the children of

the world.

2003-2012 UN literacy decade: Education for all.

2005-2015 International decade for Action: Water for life.

2008-2017 Second decade for eradication of poverty

2010-2020 UN decade for deserts and the fight against desertification

*********

UNO INTERNATIONAL YEARS:

World Population Year - 1974.

International womens year - 1975

International year of Children - 1979


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World communication year - 1983

International Literacy Year - 1990

International Space Year - 1992

International year of Languages and Planet Earth - 2008.

International Year of Reconciliation, National Fibers and Year of Astronomy -2009. ***************

IAU (INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION)

The IAU was founded in the year 1919.

Head Quarters Paris, France.

Its mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects throughinternational cooperation.

The long-term policy of the IAU is defined by the General Assembly.

The policies are implemented by the Executive Committee.

There are 70 National members in IAU. India is a member in IAU.

*********

NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT (NAM):

It is a group of 118 developing countries.

1955 a conference was held in Bandung in Indonesia. Founded in 1955 . NAM officially caneinto operations in the year 1961.

15th

summit was be held in 2009 in SHARM EI SHEIK (EGYPT) from July 11-16. ********

THE COMMENWEALTH:

Formed in the year 1926.

India hosted a meeting in the year 1983.

2009 meeting is in Trinidad and Tobago (Port of Spain).

2011 summit will be in Colombo (Sri Lanka )

************

EU (EUROPEAN UNION):

Established in the year 1993. Head Quarters Brussels (Belgium).

Bulgaria and Romania joined in the year 2007 .

Presently there are 27 countries.

**************

SAARC (SOUTH ASIAN ASSOCIATION FO RREGIONAL COOPERATION )

SAARC formed in the year 1985, at Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Headquarters KATHMANDU , Nepal.

Originally only 7 members and in the year 2007 Afghanistan has been admitted. At present

the number is 8 countries.


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2008 summit was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It declared 2008 as Year of GoodGovernance.

2009 summit is in Male, Maldives . 2009 is the year to Fight Terrorism .

2001 2010 declared as SAARC Decade of the Rights of the Child.

2006-20015 SAARC Decade of Poverty Alleviation. 2010 summit was held in Timphu, Bhutan. The 17 th SAARC Summit was held in Addu City (Maldives) in November 2011. The theme of the summit is Building Bridges. The summit was held for the 1 st time south of the equator in Addu City on one of the southern-

most islands in Maldives. The summit finalizes 4 agreements. 2 on regional standards, one to establish a rapid response

mechanism to deal with natural disasters and the other to establish a SAARC seed bank.

Mahindra Rajapaksa (The President of Sri Lanka) is the present chairman.

Sheel Kant Sharma is the present Secretary-General.

********* INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

Asian Development Bank (ADB) -1966 -Manila (Philippines)

Association of South East Nations (ASEAN) -1967 -Jakarta (Indonesia)

European Space Research Organization -1964 - Paris (France)

International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOLE) 1923- Lyons (France)

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - 1949 - Brussels (Belgium)

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)- Vienna, Australia.

G-8 (1985) initially it was G-7, Russia Joined in the year 1998. All are most industrialized

nations.

G-77 1964 - Developing Countries.

D-8, Developing 8. India is not a member.

***********

NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFIRATION TREATY (NPT)

First signed in the year 1968 came into force in the year 1970.

India has not signed the NPT protesting against discriminatory nature.

*********

COMPREHENSIVE TEST BAN TREATY (CTBT)

1996, UN General Assembly approved the CTBT.

India voted against it.

*********

PANCHASHEEL

Signed in the year 1954 in New Delhi.

Signed between India and China by the PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Chou-en-Lai.

*********

MONTREAL PROTOCOL

Signed in 1987 in Montreal (Canada).

To prevent further depletion of Ozone layer.


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*********

KYOTO PROTOCAL

1 Signed in Kyoto (Japan), 2005.

It requires industrialized countries to reduce their emission of Carbon dioxide and other green

house gases. NOTE: Green House gases water vapour, Methane, Nitrous oxide, ozone and Chloro florocarbons

India signed and ratified in the year 2002.

USA has not ratified.

***********

BOUNDARY LINES :

Radcliff line - India and Pakistan

McMahon - India and China

49 th parallel - USA and Canada 38 th parallel - South Korea and North Korea

Durand Line - India and Afghanistan

24 th parallel - India and Pakistan

**********

BHUDDISM

Founded in the year 525 BC by Gautama Buddha (Siddhartha).

Vihara means Temple.

Sacred books related to Buddhism are Tripitakas also called Sutras.

Tripitakas (Sutta Piatika, Vinaya Pitaka and Abhidamma pitaka).

Buddha was born in Lumbini in Nepal.

He received enlightnment in Bodh Gaya in Bihar.

Attained Nirvana in Kushinagara in UP.

CHRISTIANITY

Founded by Jesus Christ (Jesus of Nazareth)

Sacred book Bible.

Highest numbers of people in the World belong to this religion.

Christ lived and preached in Jerusalem.

*********

HINDUISM

Founded by Aryan Invaders.

Sacred books Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, and Ramayana.

*********

ISLAM

Founded by Prophet Mohammad.

Prophet was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Sacred book Quran. God deliver ed to the Prophet by the angle Gabriel.


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Judaism - Sacred book - Torah

Shintoism - No specific sacred book

Skims Guru Nanak Sacred Book - Guru Grant sahib

Taoism -Sacred book Tao-te-Ching

Zoroastrianism (Fire Temple) - Zend Avesta Majority of the people in the world speak Chinese, Mandarin followed by Spanish and

English.

*********

NATIONAL DAYS

1. National Science Day - February 28

2. International womens Day - March 8

3. World Meteorological Day - March 23

4. World Health Day - April 7

5. World Heritage Day - April 18 6. Earth Day - April 22

7. International Labour Day - May 1

8. World Red Cross Day - May 8

9. World Telecommunication Day - May 17

10. No (Anti) Tobacco Day - May 31

11. World Environment Day - June 512. World Population day - July 11

13. Teachers Day - September 5

14. World Literacy Day - September 8

15. World Ozone Day - September 16

16. World Tourism Day - September 27

17. World Post Office Day - October 9

18. National Post Day - October 10

19. World AIDS day - December 1

20. Human Rights Day - December 10

********

MISCELLANEOUS

The largest archipelago (group of islands) in the world is Indonesia.

The largest dam in the world Three Gorges dam in China.

The largest island is the Greenland.

The largest salt water lake is Caspian Sea.

The largest mountain range is Andes (South America).

The largest Railway platform is Kharagpur in West Bengal.

The largest temple is Angkor Vat in Kampuchea.

The country with largest electorate (number of voters) is India.

The largest bird Ostrich .

The largest creature Blue Whale .


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The largest delta Sunder bans.

Gulf of Mexico is the largest gulf.

Etosha Reserve (Africa) is the largest Zoo.

Jama Masjid is the largest Mosque in the world.

The tallest animal Giraffe. Highest rain fall is in Cherrapunji in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya.

The brightest star is Sirius (Dog Star).

Fastest bird Swift.

The largest Public sector bank in India is State Bank of India.

The highest waterfall in India is the jog falls in India.

*********

IMPORTANT PERSONS

Subash Chandra Bose - Netaji

Abdul Gaffar Khan - Frontier Gandhi, Badshah Khan Madan Mohan Malaviya - Mahamana

Mahatma Gandhi - Bapu, Father of the nation

Lala Lajapathi Rai - Punjab kesari

Rabindranath Tagore - Gurudev

Rajinder Singh - Sparrow

Sheik Mujibur Rahman - Bangabandhu

Jaya Prakash Narayana - Loknayak

Lal Bahadur Shastri - Man of peace

Dadabhai Narorji - Grand Old Man of India

Chittaranjan Das - Deshabandu

C F Andrews - Deenabandu

C Rajagopala Chari - Rajaji

Annadurai - Anna

Adolf Hitler - Fuehrer

*******

NEW 7 WONDERS IN THE WORLD

New Seven wonders foundation is a Swiss based non-profit organization conducted a

worldwide poll. This was conducted by Bernard Weber Swiss adventurer.

1. Taj Mahal - India

2. Roman Colosseum - Italy

3. Pyramid of Chichen Itza - Mexico

4. Machu pichu - Peru

5. Christ the redeemer - Brazil

6. Petra - Jordan

7. Great Wall of China - China

In the year 2007, Red Fort Delhi and in the year 2008 Kalka-Shimla railway inHimachal Pradesh were included i n the UNESCOs list of World Heritage sites .


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===========================================================

FIRSTs

First Chinese pilgrim to visit India - Fahein

First Governor-General of Pakistan -Mohammad Ali Jinnah

First to climb Everest - Tensing Norgay and Edmund Hillary First to step on the Moon- Neil Armstrong followed by Edwin Aldrin

First President of USA - George Washington

First lamb created using DNA from a sheep - Dolly

Worlds first cloned Human Baby - EVE

First women cosmonaut - Valentina Tereshkova

First woman Prime Minister of a Country -Mrs. Sirimavo Bandarnaike

First woman President of a country -Maria Estela Peron (Argentina)

First Indian to get Oscar award -Bhanu Athaiya

First Talkie Film -Alam Ara First test Tube Baby - Indira Baby Harsha

First Woman Central Minister - Rajkumari Amrut Kaur

First Woman CM of a state - Mrs. Sucheta Kripalani

First woman Governor - Mrs. Sarojini Naidu

First woman Minister of a state - Mrs. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit

First women to Climb Everest - Bachendri Pal

First Science city - Kolkata

First silent Movie - Raja Harish Chandra

First News paper -Bengal Gazette

First Telegraph line installed between Diamond Harbour and Kolkata

First Indian in the British Parliament - Dadabhai Narorji

First Indian woman to go to space - Kalpana Chawla

*********

OLYMPIC GAMES

First held in 776 BC by Greeks.

Revived and conducted in the modern times in the year 1896 for the first time in Athens,Greece.

Summer Olympics -2008 - Beijing, China

Summer Olympics- 2012 - London

First winter Olympics 1924 - Chamonix. France.

Winter Olympics -2006 - Turin, Italy.

Winter Olympics -2010 - Vancouver, Canada

Indias won the first gold medal in Hockey in the year 1928.

In the year 2008 Abhinav Bindra won gold medal in Mens shooting 10 m air rifle.

India officially participated in the sixth Olympic Games in the year 1920 in Antwerp,Belgium.

********* President of IOC Jacques Rogge, Belgium ***************


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COMMON WEALTH GAMES

First - 1930 Hamilton, Canada

18 th - 2006 Melbourne, Australia

19 th - 2010 New Delhi

20th

- 2014 Glasgow, Scotland ASIAN GAMES

First - 1951 - New Delhi

15 th - 2006 - Doha, Qatar

16 th - 2010 - Guangzhou, China

17 th - 2014 - Inch eon, South Korea

SOUTH ASIAN FEDERATION GAMES (SAF)

1st - 1984 - Kathmandu, Nepal

10 th - 2006- Colombo

11 th - 2008 Dhaka, Bangladesh 2010 games were held in Dhaka.

2012 and 2014 will be in New Delhi and Kathmandu respectively

********

BANKS AND NATIONALIZATION

SBI (State Bank of India):

SBI is the largest state-owned banking in India.

The government of India nationalized the Imperial Bank of India in 1955, with the ReserveBank of India taking a 60% stake, and renamed it the State Bank of India.

In 2008, the government took over the stake held by the Reserve Bank of India.

The Bank of Calcutta, later renamed the Bank of Bengal, was established on 2 June.

The Bank of Bombay established on April 15, 1840.

The Bank of Madras established on July 1, 1843.

These banks amalgamated on 27 January 1921, and formed into Imperial Bank of India.

Imperial Bank of India renamed to SBI.

SBI has five associate banks :

State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur

State Bank of Hyderabad

State Bank of Mysore

State Bank of Patiala

State Bank of Travancore

State Bank of Saurashtra - merged with SBI in 2008.

State Bank of Indore- merged with SBI in 2010.

14 banks were nationalized in the year 1969.


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6 more banks were nationalized in the year 1980.

In the year 1993, the government merged New Bank of India with Punjab National Bank.

In early 1990s the Narasimham committee recommended the entry of private banks into the banking sector.

Global Trust Bank (GTB) was the first private bank to set up. Later GTB amalgamated with the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC).

********

FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) :

FICCI was established in the year 1927.

The headquarters located in New Delhi.

This is an association of business organizations in India.

FICCI was established On the advice of Mahatma Gandhi FICCI was founded by GDBirla and Purushottam Takkur.

FICCI is also the permanent Indian host of the Global India Business Meeting.

The current President is Harsh C. Mariwala ( Chairman and Managing Director of FICCI).

**********

PARAM-800 (Parallel Machine) is the first Super Computer in India. This is developed by C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) in the year 1991.

(KASEZ) KANDLA SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE is the first SEZ in India. This was set up

in the year 1965. It is also the first SEZ in ASIA. This is the largest multi-product in India.

The BSE (Bombay Stock exchange) is the oldest stock exchange in India. This was set up inthe year 1875 as The Native Share and Stock Brokers Association. BSE is also the oldeststock exchange in the country. BSE obtained permanent recognition in the year 1956. This islocated in Mumbai.

Suman Sharma is the first woman in the World to fly Russian MIG-35 fight Jet.

**********

CBFC (Central Board For Film certification):

CBFC was established in the year 1952.

Head Quarters located in Mumbai.

CBFC is popularly known as Censor Board.

This functions under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

This is a regulatory body.

The films can be publicly exhibited in India only after the certification by CBFC.

The term of the chairman is 2 years. Same person can be reappointed.

The current chairperson is Leela Samson (April 1, 2001 - ...).

Leela Samson is a noted Bharatanatyam Dancer.

Prior to her appointment as the Chairperson of CBFC she Chairperson of Sangeet Natak

Academy (Indias National Academy for Music Dance and Drama). Leela Samson replaced Sharmila Tagore.


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*********

CABE (CENTRAL ADVISORY BOARD OF EDUCATION):

This is the highest decision making body on education in the country.

Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal is the Chairman of the Central

Advisory Board of Education. (As on June 8, 2011). *********

NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

The Nuclear power is produced by controlled nuclear reactions.The plants use nuclear fission reactions to heat water to

produce steam which is then utilizes to generate electricity.

Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant of USSR is the first nuclear power plant in the World. It was set up on January 27, 1954.

TAPS (Tarapur Atomoc Power Plant), Maharasthra is the firstnuclear power plant in India. This went operational in 1969.

The Nuclear Accident of Chernobyl occurred on April 26,1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.

It is the worst nuclear power plant accident in the World.

This is considered to be the level 7 on the INES (International Nuclear and radiological Event Scale).

The INES was introduced in the year 1990 by IAEA(International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna).

There are 0 to 7 levels. Each level is considered to be 10 timesmore severe than the previous level.

The level 7 is considered to be the major accident(Chernobyl).

AERB (Atomic Energy Regulatory Board) was constituted bythe President of India in the year 1983. Head QuartersMumbai. Current Chairman is S S Bajaj.

NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd) works underDepartment of Atomic Energy. This is set up in the year 1987.The current Chairman is S K Jain.

NPCIL objective is to implement the atomic power projects forgeneration of electricity.

The first AHWR (Advanced Heavy Water Reactor) isdeveloped by NPCIL in the year 2011. This is under theconsideration of AERB. This reactor is meant for Thoriumutilization.

Thorium was discovered by Jakob Berzelius in the year 1928.

In nature Thorium occurs as Thorium-232. This is estimated to be 3 to 4 times more abundant than Uranium in the earth


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crust.

India has about 25% of the World Thorium reserves.

Indias Kakrapar -1 reactor is the Worlds first reactor whichuses Thorium rather than depleted Uranium.

The KAPS (Kakrapar Atomic Power Station is located inGujarat).

At present KAPS using PHWR (Pressurized Heavy WaterReactors).

Fastest Trains in the World: (Source: The Hindu)

TGV (France). This travels at a speed of 300 km/h.

ICE 3 (Germany). 320 km/h.

Shinkansen (Japan). 330 km/h.

Siemens Velaro (Germany) 350 km/h.

CRH380 (China). 380 km/h.

The latest one is Chinas CRH380. This travels betweenBeijing and Shanghai. The time is 4 hours 48 minutes.Previously it used to take 10 hrs.

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