China
Nepal
INDIA AND HER
NEIGHBOURS
Our Neighbours
Name the South Asian regional grouping of
countries of India in which India is a member.
(a) ASEAN (b) SAARC (c) APEC (d) D-8
Ans: (b) SAARC
The 8 members of South Asian Association of
Regional Co-operation (SAARC) are India,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Maldives and Afghanistan. Its 8th member
Afganistan was admitted to SAARC in 2006.
India is the 7th largest Country and 2nd most
populous in the World.
Westernmost State of India is Gujarat,
Northernmost State of India is Jammu & Kashmir;
Eastern most State is Arunachal Pradesh and
Southernmost State is Tamil Nadu.
South easternmost State of India is Mizoram
South easternmost part of India is Nicobar Island.
India is the second largest Peninsula in the World.
The largest Peninsula is Arabia.
Rajasthan is one of the border States of India
sharing Indias frontier with Pakistan on the west
Bhutan
Bangladesh
Myanmar
Sri Lanka
and north west.
The Indian State that shares the maximum frontier
with China is Arunachal Pradesh.
The Indian States which touch Pak border are
Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and
Gujarat in the order from north to south.
PoK is Pak occupied Kashmir.
Muzaffarabad is the capital of Pok.
LAC : Line of Actual Control.
Area of Jammu and Kashmir 2,22236 Sq.km. This
includes 78,114 sq km under illegal occupation
of Pakistan, 5180 sq.km illegally handed over by
Pakistan to China and 37,555 sq.km under illegal
occupation of China.
The States which surround Bangladesh are West
Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and
Mizoram.
The States which share border with Myanmar
are Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and
Mizoram.
433
 Tripura is bounded on the North west and South
by Bangladesh.
Teen Begha Corridor has been leased to
Bangladesh by India for 999 years out of
humanitarian consideration. The corridor
belongs to West Bengal.
The Indian States which surrounded Nepal are
Uttarkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal,
Sikkim.
The States which share border with Bhutan are KING JIGME SINGYE WANGCHUCK
Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh.
Sir Creek is at Rann of Kuch in Gujarat. Talk The smallest neighbouring country of India is
Bhutan. Its capital is Thimpu.
between Indian and Pakistan is going on to
Bhutan is a Monarchy but its recent
resolve dispute of territory at Sir Creek. development points to its transformation to
New Moore Island situated in Bay of Bengal democracy. In 2005 march King Wangchuk
belongs to India. released a draft of a new constitution which
outlines plans for the country to shift from an
Nine Degree Channel is in Lakshadweep. absolute monarchy to a two party democracy. In
Nathula Pass is in Sikkim. This pass was opened 2006 the king stepped down from throne to pave
in 2006 for trade between India and China. way to appoint his son as the new king.
Earlier China removed Sikkim from its website Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh
Maldives lies south of Lakshadweep. and Myanmar.
Diego Garcia is the American naval base in the In December 2004 Bhutan became the first nation
Indian Ocean. in the world to ban the sales of tobacco and
The Indian Sub-continent includes India, smoking in public.
Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. A few months ago Bhutan Royal Army helped
McMahon Line separates India from China. India by driving out and destroying military
The Radcliffe Line separates India from Pakistan. campus run by some of the extremist group like
The Gulf of Mannar, Adams Bridge and the Palk ULFA, to work against India.
Strait separate India from Sri Lanka.
China
Bhutan India continue to view bilateral relations with
Bhutan and India share extensive and mutually China in a positive spirit, seeking friendly, Co-
beneficial relations. There is free movement of operative, good-neighbourly and mutually
people and goods between two countries, and beneficial relations on the basis of the Five
the Indian rupee is a legal tender in Bhutan.
Tara mega project of 1020 mw is a joint hydro
electric project between India and Bhutan which Mao -Tse- Tung
was commission in 2006.
Capital : Thimphu
Currency : Ngultrum. It is fixed at par with
Indian rupees which is also legal
tender in Bhutan.
Bhutan is known as land of Thunder Dragon.
India has common borders with Pakistan,

434

Chinese President Hu Jintao was in India in
November 2006 for a four days visit to strengthen
relationship between the countries.
China is the biggest neighbour of India
Capital : Beijing (Peking)
Currency : Yuan
Principles of peaceful Co-existence
(Panchasheel), mutually sensitive to each others
concerns and aspirations and equality.
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and
Chinese premier Chou-en Lai signed
Panchasheel in 1954.
Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Yaxis claim
that Arunachal Pradesh is a part of China in 2006
created resentment among India.
China overtook Japan in 2006 to become the
Country with Worlds largest foreign reserve.
Tiananmen Square is in china. It was the venue
of student uprising in 1989 for political reform,
liberalisation and democracy which was put
down by the government.
The highest railway in
the World, Qinghani-
Tibet Railway was
launched in Golmud city
in north west Chinas
Qinghai Province in
July 1, 2006.
It was on october 26, 1971 China was admitted a
member of UN, displacing Taiwan.
India and China has started serious negotiations
to solve their dispute through bilateral
negotiation. Recently China has dropped Sikkim
from their official map. Moreover a Chinese
delegation visited India in 2006 and they held
discussion to solve the dispute at Kumarakam
(Kottayam) in Kerala.
China is the most populous Country in the World
(1,306, 313, 812) and third largest in area.
The language spoken by largest number of
people in the World is Mandarin (Chinese)
The Peoples Republic of China was established
on October 1, 1949 under Mao -Tse- Tung. China
became a republic in 1911, under Sun Yat Sun.
Sun-Yat-Sen is known as father of Chinese
Republic.
Peoples Republic of China was proclaimed on
Oct 1, 1949 under Mao-Tse-Tung. Mao-Tse-Tung
died in 1976.
In Late 1978, the Chinese leadership began
moving the economy from a Soviet style centrally
planned economy to a more market oriented
economy. This result in the accelerated growth
of economy.
Chinese government follows one child norm and
it targets zero population growth by 2010.
Lhasa is the capital of Tibet which is an
autonomous region of China.
India has provided political assylum to Dalai
Lama, the Spiritual leader of Tibet.
Three Gorges at Yangtze (Chang) river
commissioned in 2006 is the largest Hydro
electric project in the World.
The highest railways in the World was
inaugurated at Lhasa in 2006. It is 5000 meteres
above sea level.
Natu La Pass in Sikkim was opened for trade
between India and China in 2006.
China became the third country in the world to
send a man in space after Russia and USA. First
Chinese in space is Yangliwi and the second
Chinese in space is Fei Julong & Niel Haisheng
on October 17, 2005.
Nepal
Capital : Kathmandu
Currency : Nepalese Rupee
Lumbini, the birth place of Buddha is in Nepal.
An open border of 1860 kilometers between India
and Nepal. Facilitates free movement of goods
Nepal adopted a new constitution in 2006. Now it
is a secular country. Formerly it was the only
Hindu country in the world. Moreover it has
drastically cut down the powers of King. Now
parliament has an upper hand over the king who
was reduced to a mere rubber stamp.
435
 Durand Line separates
Prachanda Pakistan from
Communist Party of Nepal Afghanistan while
(Maoist) chairman Radcliff Line separates
Pushpakumar Dahal also
known as Prachanda. His India from Pakistan.
main task will be to re- Major rivers are Indus,
constitute Royal Nepal Sutlej, Chenab, Ravi,
Army with a mix of both
maoists and the existing Jhelum all these rivers
soldiers furthermore, flows from India to
making the poverty stricken Pakistan.
Nepalese realise their Pervez Musharraf
dream of economic Major cities in Pakistan
development will be the
top most on Prachanda's are Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad,
agenda. Multan and Peshwar.
It become a muslim State from Partition of British
and people. Indian rupee is a legal tender in India in 14 August 1947 comprising Eastern half
Nepal. of Bengal Provinces & parts of Assam.
After years of turmoil and uncertainity the seven Pakistan became an Islamic republic on 23 march
party Alliance (SPA) and Maoist rebels signed a 1956.
landmark agreement in 2006 to herald a new era On May 28, 1998 Pakistan tested five nuclear
of peace in the Himalayan kingdom. devices and this was followed on a sixth one on
The Maoist who have been waging an armed May 30 at Chagai Hills.
struggle have decided to end their fight and share Mohammed Ali Ginnah is known as the Father
power. of Pakistan.
The former King Birendar the Queen and Six other Khan Abdul Ghafer Khan is known as frontier
members of the royal family were assasinated on Gandhi.
June 1, 2001 by the Prince. Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)
India and Nepal signed two agreements in 1996 is known as the Daughter of East.
for sharing of water and electricity from the The missiles the Pakistan feel proud of includges
Mahakali River. Ghori. These missile are modelled on South
Korean Nodong missile.
Pakistan
Agra Summit was help in July 2000 between
Capital : Islamabad
Musharraf and the then India PM Vajpayee to
Currency : Pakistan rupee
find a peaceful formula for the disputes between
Pakistan shares boundaries with India, China, the India and Pakistan.
Afghanisthan and Iran. South of Pakistan is Vajpayee made his historic visit to Lahore and
Arabian Sea.
signed Lahore declaration in 1999.
India and Pakistan fought two war (1) 1965
Samjotha Express and Thar Express are the two (2)1971.
trains which runs between India and Pakistan.
Tashkent agreement was signed by Lal Bahadur
The first Lahore-Amritsar bus service began on Shastri and Ayub Khan in 1966 January 10. Death
January 20, 2006 by the Pakistan Tourism of Lal Bahadur Shastri at Thashkant
Development Corporation. (January 11).

436
 Birth of Bangladesh and Simla Agreement were President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam recently (2006)
the outcome of 1971 war. visited Myanmar.
Simla agreement was signed in 1972 July by Mrs. Myanmar is a member of ASEAN from 1997.
Indira Gandhi and Sulfikur Ali Bhutto.
Sri Lanka
Official language of Pakistan is Urdu. Pakistan
became independent on 14th August 1947. Capital : Colomba
Siachen Glacier is the highest battlefield in the Currency : Rupee
World where Army of India and Pakistan guard Sirimavo Bandaranaike
their territories with high vigilance. is the first woman Prime
Pakistan is at present under military rule and its Minister of a Country
President is General Pervez Musharraf who is in the World.
also the Military Chief. Liberation Tigers of
Indian Air Force began air strikes to flush out Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
militants from Kargil on May26, 1999. aims to establish an
Pakistan forms the lengthiest continuous border independent country
of India. for ethnic Tamilians in
Sri Lanka. President of
India has live boundary dispute with two of our
main neighbours (1) Pakistan (2) China. On 29 July 1987, Indian Sri Lanka
Prime Minister Rajiv Mahinda Raj Pakse
Myanmar Gandhi and Sri Lankan
Capital : Pyinmana president Jayawardene signed an accord to end
Earliest the capital was Yangoon (Rangoon) the ethnic crisis in Sri lanka.
Currency : Kyat Point Pedro lies in the northern tip of Sri Lanka.
Jaffna is also situated in the northern part of Sri
Military Junta (Council) rules the country.
Lanka. Elephant Pass connect Jaffna to Sri Lanka.
Myanmar (Burma) was separated from British
India in 1935. Maldives
Capital : Male
Remember Myanmar is Currency : Rufiya ($1 = 12.8)
not a member of SAARC. The Republic of Maldives is a group
Capital of Myanmar - of 1200 small coral Islands in the Indian
Pyinmana Ocean.
Currency - Kyat
Date of Independence - Tourism is the Major income earner for
4th January 1948 the country.
Myanmar is known as the After tourism Bonito (Maldive fish) is
ricebowl of the fareast
Nobel Peace the main
prize winner 1991 leader of national league for democracy ex por t
Aung San Suukyi Myanmar (still in house arrest) commodity
& source
of foreign
Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League exchange.
for Democracy (NLD) is presently under house
President : Maumoon
arrest. She won Nobel Prize for peace in 1991.
Abdul Gayoom
Myanmar is known as the Rice Bowl of the Far
An attempted coup Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
East.

437
 took place in November 1988. India carried out
MohammadYunus
an army operation named Operation Coctus to the winner of
rescue the government. 2006 Nobel
Prize for Peace
Bangladesh and Founder of
Capital : Dhaka Bangladesh
Currency : Taka Grameen Bank.
Bangladesh became independent on 16 December
Yunus has launched
1971. new political
Bangladesh was formerly known as East party named
Pakistan. Nagorik
Sheik Mujibur Rahman is known as the Father Shakthi
of Bangladesh.
Begum Khaleda Zia is the leader of Bangladesh
Mother Language Day National Party (BNP). She was the Prime Minister
of the country in 2006.
February 21
Sheikh Hasina Waged is the leader of Awami
21st February every year is observed as
League. She is the opposition leader.
Mother Language Day. In order to secure
same status for Bengali with Urdu and Bangladesh is the second largest muslim country
English, the people of East Pakistan gave a in the world. The largest is Indonesia.
strike call on 21 February 1952. On that day Population wise the second largest muslim
police fired a student rally and several population is in India. But second largest muslim
students died. To remember the sacrifice country is Bangladesh since India is not a muslim
every year on 21 February is observed as country.
Mother Language Day. Dhaka is known as City of Mosques (There are
2000 mosques ).

438
INDIA : BASIC FACTS
Official Name : Republic of India (1000 km). Second largest maritime State is
Capital : New Delhi Andhra Pradesh.
Area : 32,87,263 sq. km Most populated state .............. Uttar Pradesh
Population : 1027 million (2001 census) Least populated state ........................ Sikkim
The design of the flag was orignally mooted by
Position : Latitudes : 80 4/ N and 370 6/ N
Madame Bhikaji Rustom Cama in 1907 and was
Longitudes : 68 0 7/ E and unfurled for the first time in stuttgart (Germany)
970 25/ E Foodgrain production (2004-05) - 210.44 million
Land Frontier : 15,200 km tonne.
Coastline : 7,516.6 km (it includes the Foodgrain production in 2003-04 213.46 million
coast line of Islands as well) tonnes.
Milk production 2003-04 88.1 million tonnes.
North-South distance : 3214 km latitude
Per capita availability of milk (2003-04) 231
East-West distance : 2933 km longitude
gram/day
India is the seventh largest and the second most India is the leading producer of milk in the World.
populated nation of the World. It lies entirely on Egg production (2003-04) : 40.4 billion currently
the northern hemisphere. India ranks fifth in egg production in the World.
India is the largest democracy in the World. Percentage of geographical area under forest
India has a land frontier of 15,200 km and a (2005) : 20.55%
coastline of 7516.6 kms. India : Social Indicators
India is a Union of 28 federal States and 6 Union
Population (million - 2001 Census) ................... 1028
Territories and one National Capital Territory (New
Growth Rate ........................................... 1980-2001
Delhi)
1.9%
The largest State in area .................. Rajasthan 2002-2015 (Projected) ............................ 1.2%
The smallest State .................................... Goa Density (per sq.km) .......................................... 324
The largest Union Territory: Andaman and Sex Ratio (Females per 1000 males) ................... 933
Nicobar Islands in Bay of Bengal. or Female population ........................... 48.1%
The smallest Union Territory : Lakshadweep in Literacy Rate .............................................. 64.84%
the Arabian Sea. (Male : 75.85%, Female: 52.1%, Rural : 59.40%,
Urban : 80.30%)
The southernmost State: Tamil Nadu.
Life Expectancy at birth
The southernmost tip of India: Indira Point Male ....................................................... 63.9
(Pygmalion Point) in Nicobar Islands. Female .................................................... 66.9
The north-eastern most State of India: Arunachal Infant-Mortality (per 1000 live births) ................. 69
Pradesh. Crude birth rate (per 1000 people) ....................... 25
The State known as the heart of India: Madhya Crude death rate (per 1000 people) ................. 8.1%
Pradesh. National Poverty Ratio (Projection for 2007) . 19.3%
The State with the longest coastline is Gujarat Rural ................................................... 21.1%

439
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440

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441
 Urban ................................................. 15.1% In order to get the help of overseas Indian for
Access to drinking water (of population) ......... 90% the development and welfare of the Country the
Access to Sanitation facilities ......................... 28% Government has decided to allow dual citizenship
Health Expenditure (of GDP) 2000 ................... 4.9% to NRIs in some countries.
Expenditure on Education (2003-04) .............. 3.74% Brain Drain : Migration of professional from
Total Labour Force (2001) ...................... 460 million developing countries like India to developed
Projected (2010) ............................ 543 million Countries like USA for better opportunities
and Professional growth is termed brain
Growth rate per annum ...................................... 2%
drain.
Labour Force Women ..................................... 32%
IPO Card : People of Indian Origin Card. This
Indians Abroad scheme was introduced from April 1, 1999.
January 9 : Pravsi Bharatiya Divas Those who possess IPO Card can visit India
without a VISA.
It was on January 9, 1915 Gandhiji ended his
Pravasi life in South Africa and left for India
permanently. India and Gulf
First Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was observed on Since the mid 1970s a large number of Indian
January 9, 2003. workers have migrated to the West Asian
Countries for employment.
UPA government has created ministry for
overseas Indian Affairs to serve the overseas The Report on high level committee has estimated
Indian in a better manner. the total Indian migrants in the Gulf Countries
viz Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi
Mr. Vayalar Ravi is the present Cabinet Minister
Arabia, UAE and other as 30 Lakh in 1999.
Overseas Indian Affairs.
Saudi Arabia had the largest number of Indian
Around 25 million Indian are living outside India.
migrants - 15 lakh among the Gulf region (2000)
Roughly two third of them are Non Resident
Indian (NRI) who opted for the passport of the The largest number of migrants to gulf countries
country they live, the rest one third still carry is from the State of Kerala. It is followed by Tamil
their Indian passports. Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan
and Punjab.
The Indian American Community is now the 3rd
The largest NRI migrants in Gulf is in Saudi Arabia
largest Asian American group in the US behind
15 lakh which is the 7% of the Country's
Chinese and Filipino Americans.
population. Percentage wise UAE has the largest
There are four well known diasphora in the World percentage of NRI migrants. UAE has 9 lakh NRIs
- the Jewish, the Irish, the Chinese and the Indian which is 32% of the countrys population.
The Indians are found in 136 countries. In forty
Countries Indian population exceeds 50,000.
People of Indian origin constitutes more than
30% population in Fiji (47.75%), Mauritius
(70.10%), Guyana (30.30%) and Suriname (35.90)
Trinidad & Tobago (35.25%).
Mauritius has the largest percentage Indians
living abround - 70.10% numbering 701.000
people.
But the largest number of Indian living on
overseas is in Nepal - 3900000 which constitutes
27.12% of Nepale population.

442
National Symbols National Emblem
The cloth of National Flag of India is The National
Emblem of India is an
(a) silk (b) pure silk adaptation from the
(c) cotton poplin (d) khadi Saranath Lion Capital of
Ans: (d) Khadi Ashoka as preserved in
the Saranath Museum.
The words Satyameva
Jayate (meaning `Truth
alone Triumphs') from
the Mundaka Upanishad are inscribed below
the emblem in Devanagari script.

governed by the provision of the Emblems &

Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1950
Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act
1971.
The design of the Flag was originally mooted by
Madame Bhikaji Rustom Cama in 1907 and was
National Flag unfurled for the First time in Stuttgart (Germany)
for the second International Socialist Congress
The National Flag of India is a horizontal tri- held on August 22, 1907. It was adopted by the
colour of deep saffron (kesari) at the top, white Constituent Assembly of India on July 22, 1947.
in the middle and dark green at the bottom in
equal proportions. The ratio of width of the flag Its use and display are regulated by a code. It
to its length is two to three. In the centre of the can now be flown by citizens atop their houses
white band is a wheel in navy blue, which on August 15 & January 26 and even during
represents the Charkha. Its design is that of the other days but only from the sunrise to the sun-
wheel (chakra) which appears on the abacus of set period.
the Saranath Lion Capital of Ashoka. It has 24 In the State emblem the animals Lion, Horse and
spokes. The design of the flag was adopted by Bull can be seen. The lion is a symbol of majesty
the Constituent Assembly and disciplined strength, the bull of
on July 22, 1947. steadfastness and hardwork, and the horse of
Saffron colour signifies energy, loyalty and speed.
courage and sacrifice. Before accepting Tiger as National Animal of India,
White signifies truth and which of the following was National Animal?
purity. (a) Panther (b) Cow (c) Bull (d) Lion
Green is the symbol of life, Ans: (d) Lion
abundance and prosperity. When was our National Anthem first sung and where?
Chakra is the symbol of
progress and movement. (a) January 24, 1950 in Calcutta
Pingali Venkayya
(August 2, 1876 - (b) January 20, 1950 in Delhi
The National flag of India July 4, 1963) was
was designed by Pingali the designer of the (c) January 24, 1950 in Calcutta
Venkiah. Indian national flag
(d) December 27, 1911 in Calcutta
The National Flag is Ans: (d) December 27, 1911 in Calcutta

443
 How many Lions are visible in the State Emblem
of India
(a) Four full (b) Three full
(c) Two full and one half (d) Four half only
Ans: (b) Three full
Which of the following statements is correct in
respect of National Emblem of India?
(a) It is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion
Capital of Ashoka
(b) Only three lions are visible, the fourth is
being hidden from the view
(c) Was adopted by the Government of India on
26-1-1950
(d) All the above
Ans: (d) All the above
What is common in Indian National Flag and
National Emblem of India?
(a) Both are important symbols of the country
(b) Both are symbols of freedom and democracy
(c) Dharma Chakra
(d) Two main colours
Ans: (c) Dharma Chakra
Which part of the Ashokas Pillar at Sarnath has
been taken for National Emblem of India?
(a) Central Portion (b) Bottom portion
(c) Capital (top part)
(d) Complete pillar
Ans: (c) Capital (top part)
In the State emblem the animals Lion, Horse (left)
and Bull (right) can be seen.
The State emblem was adopted by the
Government of India on 26 January, 1950.
National Anthem: The song Jana-gana-mana
composed by Rabindranath Tagore is the National
Anthem of India. The song was first sung at the
Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress
on December 27, 1911. It was adopted by the
Constituent Assembly of India on January 24, 1950.
It was earlier known as Bharat Vidhatha. The
complete song consists of five stanzas but only the
first stanza constitutes the full version of the National
Anthem. The playing time of the full version of the
National Anthem is about 52 seconds.
444
``Sare jaham se accha....''
is composed by
Mohammed Iqbal.
It was originally
composed in Urdu.
Playing time of the short version consisting of
the first and last lines of the stanza is
approximately 20 seconds. Usually, it is played
on ceremonial occasions.
The song Jana gana mana was first published
in1912, under the title Bharat Vidhata in the
Tatva Bodhini Patrika.
The National Anthem was translated into English
by Tagore in 1919, under the title Morning Song
of India.
Tagore composed National Anthem of
Bangladesh (Amar Sonar Bangla) also.
National Anthem was originally composed in
Bengali.
National Song
Vande Mataram, composed by Bankim Chandra
Chatterji, is the national song of India. It was
first sung at the 1896 at Calcutta Session of the
Indian National Congress. The song is taken from
the book Anand Math published in 1882.
The song Vande Mataram composed by Bankim
Chandra Chatterji in Sanskrit language.
The National Song of India was adopted by the
Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1950.
Its English translation was rendered by Sri.
Aurobindo.
National Calendar
The national calendar of India is based on the
Saka Era. Chaitra and Phalguna are the first and
the last months in the calendar. Saka Era began
in 78 AD at the time of King Kanishka.
The days of Saka Calendar permanently
correspond to the Gregorian Calendar and Chaitra
falls on March 22nd in a common year and March
21st in a leap year. It was introduced in the year
1957 from March 22nd, the day on which
 The National Anthem was first published by
National Animal: Royal Bengal Tiger Tagore in
(Panthera tigris) (a) Swaraj (b) Tattvabodhini Patrika
Since November 1972 tiger has been adopted (c) The Hindu (d) Anand Math
as the national animal.
Ans: (b) Tatvabodhini Patrika
National Bird: Peacock (Pavo cristatus)
Who gave the English Translation of our
The Government of India declared peacock National song?
as the national bird in 1964 and its hunting (a) Subhash Chandra Bose
has since been banned.
(b) Rabindra Nath Tagore
National Flower: Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)
(c) Aurobindo (d) Mahatma Gandhi
It symbolises the truth that a person can rise
Ans: (c) Aurobindo
above the worldly evils and keep himself
high above them. Which of the following rivers is mentioned in
the National Anthem of India?
National Fruit : Mango (Mangifera Indica)
is the National Fruit of India. (a) Narmada (b) Krishna
(c) Cauveri (d) Jamuna
National Tree: Pepal (Ficus bengalensis)
Ans: (d) Jamuna
The tree is considered to be immortal.
National Game: Hockey
Corresponding
National Fruit : Mango Saka Months No. of days
Gregorian Dates
Chaitra 30 March 22
Kanishka came to the throne. (31 in leap year) (21 in leap year)
Chakra is the symbol of progress.
White colour is the symbol of purity and peace. Vaishaka 31 April 21
Lotus is the symbol of culture and tradition. Jyaistha 31 May 22
Tiger stands for Power and gorgeousness. Asadha 31 June 22
National Language: Hindi in Devanagiri script Sravana 31 July 23
is the official language of the Govt. of India. Bhadra 31 August 23
The word Satyameva Jayate inscribed in our Asvina 30 September 23
State emblem is taken from --------- Upanishad Kartika 30 October 23
Ans: Mundaka Agrahayana 30 November 22
The word Satyameva Jayate inscribed below the Pausa 30 December 22
abacus of the State emblem is in ----------- script Maha 30 January 21
Ans: Devanagari Phalguna 30 February 20

National Animal National Bird National Flower National Fruit National Tree
TIGER PEACOCK LOTUS MANGO PEPAL

445
 POPULATION &
CENSUS
In terms of the number of population India is the
second largest Country in the World; only China
is the largest.
The population of the World as on August 1,
2001, was 6,163,890,100 (6163 million) and the
growth rate was 1.3%.
India's population constitutes nearly 16.89% of
the total world population in 2.4% of the world
area. China supports 20% of the world population.
The first regular all India census was conducted
in 1881 during the period of Lord Ripon and
thereafter every 10 years. The last census was
taken in 2001. Next census will be held in 2011.
First Census was held in 1872.
On May 11, 2000 Indian population crossed the
1 billion mark. World population crossed 6 billion
mark on October 12, 1999. World population in
2000 was 6080 million.
According to 2001 census Indian population is
1,02,87, 37, 436.
The other name of census - Kaneshumari
First Census held in USA in 1790.
World Population Day : July 11.
The 5 billion population mark was reached on
July 11, 1987 when the first World Population
Day was celebrated to build awareness of
population issues and to highlight the impact they
have on development and the environment.
446
2001 Census Highlights
The Most populous state - Uttar Pradesh (16
crores)
The least populous State - Sikkim (5.4 lakhs)
The most literate State - Kerala (90.92%)
The least literate State - Bihar (47.53%)
The most densely populated State - West Bengal
(904)
The least densely populated State - Arunachal
Pradesh (13)
The State with highest sex ratio - Kerala
(1,058)
The State with lowest sex ratio - Haryana (861)
The United States with 281.4 million and Indonesia
with 212.1 million are the third and fourth most
populous nations in the World.
The average daily increase in the World's
population has been estimated at about 210,327
or an average of approximately 247 per minute.
''A Passage to Hope: Women and International
Migratin'', is World Population report 2006 by
UNFPA.
Thomas Malthus is
credited with the
well known
Theory of
population.
 The state with the lowest sex ratio is Haryana
Religious break up of Indian 861/1000. In 1991 it was Arunachal Pradesh (859
Population females/1000 males).
Decadal growth
Religion Population Percentage
The decennial growth rate of population was
Hindus 82.7 crore 80.5% 21.54% during 1991-2001.
Muslims 13.8 croree 13.4%
It was 23.86 percent during 1981-91.
Christians 2.4 crore 2.2%
Sikhs 1.9 crore 1.7% The annual average during 1991-2001 is 1.93%
Buddhist 79 lakh .71% as against 2.14 during 1981-91.
Jains 42 lakh .38% The State with the lowest decadal population
Others 66 lakh .58% growth rate is Kerala 9.42%. In 1991 it was 14.32%.
The 2001 census report on religion released on The State with the highest decadal population
September 6, 2004 shows that while Hindu growth growth rate is Nagaland 64.41%. In 1991 it was
rate declined from 25.1% during 1981 - 91 to 20.3% 56.86%.
between 1991 - 2001, that of Muslims increased Literacy (2001)
from 34.5% to 36% during the same comparable Total Literacy rate in India- 65.38%
period. The growth rate of Christians increased Male Literacy .................................... 75.85%
from 21.5% to 22.6% during the period. Female Literacy.................................. 54.16%
The State with the highest literacy rate is Kerala
2001- Census Features
90.92 (2001)
The census moment, the referral time at which the
On April 18, 1991 Kerala was declared India's
snapshot of population is taken was 00.00 hours
first fully literate state. (94.20% men and 87.86%
of march 2001. women). Kerala is also the first state to have total
Total Population ....... 1,0287,37,436 (1.027 million) literacy among the tribals.
Males ......................................... 531,277,078
The second most literate State is Mizoram 88.80%.
Females ...................................... 495,738,169
The district with highest percentage of literacy
Rural Population .............. 742 million (72.2%)
is Aizwal (Mizoram) 96.64%.
Urban Population ............. 285 million (27.8%)
The State with the lowest literacy rate is Bihar
Sex Ratio (47.13%) in 2001.
Sex ratio at present (2001) in India is 933. Density of Population
The sex ratio according to the 1991 census was The average density of population in India is
927 females per 1000 males. 324. In 1991 it was 267 persons / sq. km.
The sex ratio is the number of females per 1000 males. The most densely populated state in India is West
The state with the highest female population rate Bengal 904 (in 1991 it was 767). It is followed by
Bihar 880 and Kerala 819.
is Kerala, 1058 females per 1000 males.
The least densely populated state is Arunachal
In 1991 it was 1036 females / 1000 males. Pradesh. 13 persons per sq.km. (In 1991 it was 10
Kerala is the only state in India in which females persons / sq. km).
out number males. The least densely populated Union Territory is
Puthucherry is the only union territory in India Andaman and Nicobar. 43 persons per sq. km. In
in which females out number males (1001 females 1991 it was 34 persons / sq. km.
per 1000 males)

447
 Birth Rate & Death Rate
Population-India 2001 During the period 1981-91 the
State Population Sex Ratio Density of Literacy average birth rate was 31.7
Population against the death rate of 11.
During 1991-2001 the crude birth
India 1,02,87,37,436 933 324 65.38 rate is projected at 24.8 as against
Uttar Pradesh 16,61,97,921 898 690 57.36 the crude death rate of 8.9 in 2001.
Maharashtra 9,68,78,627 922 315 77.27
Bihar 8,29,98,509 921 880 47.53 Life expectancy
West Bengal 8,02,21,171 934 904 69.22 Child mortality rate was 146 per
Andhra Pradesh 7,62,10,007 978 275 61.11 thousand birth in 1951. In 2001-
Tamil Nadu 6,24,05,679 986 478 73.47 2002 it is only 68. Life expectancy
Madhya Pradesh 6,03,85,118 920 196 64.11 has also risen from 37.2 (male)
Rajasthan 5,65,07,188 922 165 61.03 and 36.2 (female) to 63.87 (male)
Karnataka 5,28,50,562 964 275 67.04 and 66.9 (female) in 2001-02.
Gujarat 5,06,71,017 921 258 69.97 The most populated State in
Orissa 3,68,04,660 972 236 63.61 India is Uttar Pradesh, followed
Kerala 3,18,41,374 1,058 819 90.92 by Maharashtra and Bihar.
Jharkhand 2,69,45,829 941 338 54.13 The least populated State is
Assam 2,66,38,407 932 340 64.28 Sikkim. The least populated
Punjab 2,43,58,999 874 482 69.95 Union Territory is Lakshadweep.
Haryana 2,11,44,564 861 477 68.59 The year 1921 is known as the
Chattisgarh 2,08,33,803 990 154 65.18 `Year of Great Divide', with
Jammu & Kashmir 1,01,43,700 900 99 54.46 regard to population. After that
Uttaranchal 84,79,562 964 159 72.28 period there was a continuous
Himachal Pradesh 60,77,900 970 109 77.13 and rapid growth in India 's
Tripura 31,99,203 950 304 73.66 population.
Manipur 23,88,634 978 107 68.87 Demography is the study of
Meghalaya 23,06,069 975 103 63.31
population.
Nagaland 19,90,036 909 120 67.11
Goa 13,47,668 960 363 82.32
SC and ST Population
Arunachal Pradesh 10,97,968 901 13 54.74
Mizoram 8,91,058 938 42 88.49
(2001)
Sikkim 5,40,493 875 76 69.68 The Scheduled Castes
Delhi* 1,37,82,976 821 9,294 81.82 constitute 16.20% of Indian
Pondicherry 9,74,345 1,001 2,029 81.49 population.
Chandigarh 9,00,914 773 7,903 81.76 Punjab has the highest
Andaman & percentage of Scheduled Caste
Nicobar Islands 3,56,265 846 43 81.81 28.85% in its population. But
Dadra & Nagar Haveli 2,20,490 811 449 60.03 Uttar Pradesh has the highest
Daman & Diu 1,58,059 709 1,411 81.09 number of Scheduled Castes
Lakshwadeep 60,595 947 1,894 87.52 (35148000) which constitutes
21.15% of its population.
* National Capital Territory
Nagaland, Mizoram,
Number of Metropolitian cities in India : 35 Lakshadweep and Andaman
In Metropolitan cities population is above 10 lakh Nicobar Islands have no
Scheduled Castes in their

448
 populations.
Scheduled Tribes constitutes 8.20% of Indian
population.
Madhya Pradesh has the largest number of
Scheduled Tribes (12233000) which is 20.27% of
its population. But percentage wise the States
which has the largest percentage of population
is Mizoram 94.46% of its population is Scheduled
Tribes.
SC and ST together Constitute 24.40% of Indian
Population.
Rural and Urban Population
72.2% of Indian population is rural while 27.8%
is urban.
Town & City Population
There are 178,224 towns in India with more than
1 lakh population (2001). There are 35 million plus
cities in India. Among them Greater Mumbai has
the largest population. Kochi (135,5406) is the
only million plus city in Kerala.
Villages
There are 593,643 inhabited villages in India. Uttar
Pradesh has the largest number of villages 97,942.
The number of villages in Kerala is 1364.
The district with highest population in India is
Medinapur (West Bengal) - 9638,473 people.

Lalu Prasad Yadav

(Management Pandit !)
The politician and now
Union Minister for Rail-
ways presented his fourth
consecutive railway
budget (2007-08). He had
set a record of not rising
passenger fares.
MBA Students from
American Universities
trying to figure out the
secretes of Lalu's Success:

\jvS-n HmSn-sm-n-cp Cy sdbnthsb

2005-2006 20,000 tImSn cq] em`-n-tev \nfpw
Dbn-b-Xns Kpkv temI-nse amt\-Pvsa v emep-hns\ Iv
hnZ-Kv-msc hsc A-cn-n-n-cn-p-I-bm-Wv. ]Tn-p-sIm-pI
Hcp kZ-n ]{X-te-J-I Bth-i-tmsS emep-hn-
t\mSv Xncn. CXns cl-ky-sav? cmjv{So-b- Apply your common
mcpw _pn-Po-hn-Ifpw hnn Ipjvam--ambn IW- sense at the right time,
m-n-bn-cp emep samgnp in right degree and in
right direction and get a
Application of common Sense big Job

449

DEFENCE
Today, India has the 2nd largest army in the
world, the 4th largest Air Force and the 6th largest
Navy.
Recently government has set up Integrated De-
fence Staff, Defence Intelligence Agency, De-
fence, Acquisition Council, Defence Technology
Council, Andaman and Nicobar Command, Stra-
tegic Force Command etc to improve the inte-
gration of the Indian military set up.
Andaman Nicobar Command is the first tri serv-
ice command in the country.
The Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces
in India is the President of India.
The responsibility for national defence,
however, rests with the Cabinet.
All important questions related to defence are
decided by the Cabinet Committee on Political
Affairs which is presided over by the Prime Min-
ister. The Defence Minister is responsible to Par-
liament for all matters concerning the Defence
First Armed Forces
Commander in Chief of Independent India - Gen-
eral Sir Rob Lokhart.
Indian Commander-in-Chief of Independent In-
dia - Field Marshal K.M. Kariappa.
Chief of Army Staff - General Maharaj Rajendra
Singhji
Chief of Naval Staff - Vice Admiral R.D. Katari
Chief of Air Staff - Air Marshal C S. Mukherjee.
First Field Marshal - SHFJ Manekshaw
Second Field Marshal : K.M. Cariappa
450
Services.
A.K. Antony (former Chief Minister of Kerala) is
the Defence Minister of India.
On July 1, 2002, the Defence Ministry was given
the new name of Integrated Headquarters of the
Ministry of Defence.
The administrative and operational control of the
armed forces is exercised by the Department of
Defence and the three services Headquarters of
the Army, Navy and Air Force. The three serv-
ices - Army, Navy and Air Force - function
through their respective service Headquarters
headed by Chief of Staff.
Army has seven Commands -Navy has three
Commands and Air Force has seven Commands.
DRDO -Defence Research and Development Or-
ganization is in Hyderabad
Field Marshal is the highest Rank in Indian Army.
S.H.F.J. Manekshaw was the first Field Marshal of
India. K.M. Kariappa is the second Field Mar-
shal of India.
Naval Academy is being set up at Ezhimala in
Kannur district in Kerala
The headquarters of Army, Navy and Airforce
are located in New Delhi.
A separate post of Chief of Staff Committee was
set up in the light of Kargil infiltration.
The present Chief of Staff Committee is Admiral
Arun Prakash.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) -
formed Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) in
2003. The NCA renamed as Strategic Forces
First Marshall of the Air force : Arjun Singh
Saras
India's first Light Transport Aircraft has rolled out of
the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) Bangalore
on February 4, 2003 has been named as Saras
Seating capacity - 14
Tejas
India's Light Combat Aircraft has been named as
Tejas.
 Counter Insurgency & Jungle Warefare school
Commissioned Ranks ..................................... Vairengte (Mizoram)
Army Navy Air Force Army Airborne Training School ............. Agra
General Admiral Air Chief Marshal Army Sports Institute ........................... Pune
Lieutenant Army Cadet College ....................... Dehradun
General Vice Admiral Air Marshal Days of Defence
Major General Rear Admiral Air Vice-Marshal Navy Day ................................... December 4
Army Day .................................... January 15
Brigadier Commodore Air-Commodore National Security Day ...................... March 4
Colonel Captain Group Captain Vijay Divas ............................... December 16
Infantry Day ................................ October 27
Lieutenant NCC Day .................................. November 24
Colonel Commander Wing Commander Armed Forces Flag Day............... December 7
Major Lieutenant Kargil Victory Day.............................. July 26
Commander Squadron Leader Air Force Day ................................ October 8
Captain Lieutenant Flight Lieutenant Air force Training Centre
Lieutenant Sub- Airforce Adminitrative College .... Coimbatore
Lieutenant Flying Officer Airforce Academy ........................ Hyderabad
Air force Technical College ................ Jalahalli
Command (SFC) is responsible for managing Nu- Flying Instructors School ............. Tambaram
clear Weapons. Elementary Flying school ...................... Bidar
Air Marshal Avinash Devdutt Joshi the present Institute of Aviation Medicine ....... Bangalore
Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Forces Com- Paratroopers Training School ................ Agra
mand. Overseas military Base
Military Training Institutes for Indias first air military base is located at Farkhor,
Defence Service 10 miles outside Tajikistans capital Dushanbe.
National Defence Academy ....... Khadakvasla
Indian Military Academy ............... Dehradun Army
National Defence College .............. New Delhi The Chief of Army Staff is the head of the Army
Defence Services Staff College ...................... in India. The headquarters is in New Delhi.
............................... Wellington (Tamil Nadu) Army is organised into 7 commands.
Armed Forces Medical College ................. Pune The seventh command named south western
Rashtriya Indian Military College ..... Dehradun command was formed on 15April , 2005 with
Indian Naval Academy ....................... Cochin Jaipur as its headquarters. Out of this 7 com-
College of Military Engineering .... Kirkee (Pune) mands six of them are operational command and
College of Defence Management...Secundrabad one is a training command with its headquarters
in Shimla. Apart from this seven command, In-
Officers Training Academy ............... Chennai
dian army has a Nuclear and Strategic Force
Army War College ............................... Mhow
Command.
Infantry School ................................... Mhow Kerala comes under Southern command and its
High Altitude Warfare School ........... Gulmarg headquarters is in Pune.
School of Artillary ............................... Deolai Indias first indigenously made Main Battle Tank
Army Air DefenceCollege ................ Gopalpur (MBT) : Vijayanta.

451

The first woman who
reached the post of Lt: General and Vice
Admiral Punita Arora
T-55, T-72 are Russian made MBTs which are
also in use
Indias Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun . It was
designed and built by DRDO.
Apart from these India is inducting another tank
Karan and a self propelled gun Bheema.
The first indigenously built missile inducted to
Indian Army is Prithvi.
'Samyukta' - an indigenous, state of the art
Integrated Electronic Warfare (IEW) system.
'Bhishma' - the newly assebled inducted T-90
tank.
The first woman who reached the post of a Vice
Admiral - Punita Arora.
Navy
Indian Navy is headed by the Chief of Naval
February 28 & May 11
National Science Day is observed on February
28. It was on this day in 1928 the Raman Effect
was announced by Prof. C.V. Raman. He was
subsequently awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
(1930) for this discovery.
National Technology Day is observed on May
11. It was on this day in 1998 India carried out the
second set of nuclear explosions and proclaimed
to the world that we are a nuclear power.
452
Staff with headquarters at New Delhi.
The Navy is organised into 3 Naval Commands -
Western Command, Mumbai; Eastern Command,
Visakhapatanam; and Southern Command, Kochi.
The Navy has two fleets - the Western Fleet and
the Eastern Fleet.
Naval Training Centres
I.N.S Venduruthy ........................ Cochin
I.N.S Circars .................... Visakhapatnam
I.N.S. Garuda ............................... Cochin
I.N.S. Hamla ............................... Mumbai
I.N.S Shivaji ....... Lonavala (Maharashtra)
I.N.S Angre ................................ Mumbai
I.N.S Valsura ............................ Jamnagar
INS Chilka .................................... Orissa
INS Satavahana ............ Vishakhapatnam
INS Kunjali ................................ Mumbai
INS Hansa ....................................... Goa
INS Asvini ................................. Mumbai
Sea Bird : Indias biggest naval base being built
at Karwar in Karnataka.
I.N.S Jarwa : A naval organisation at Port Blair
in the Andaman Nicobar Islands.
Indias first submarine museum was established
at Visakhapatnam.
Indian Air Force
Air Force is headed by the Chief of the Air Staff
with headquarters in New Delhi.
Air Force is organised into seven commands.
Out of this 5 are opertional command and 2 are
functional command. Kerala comes under the
Southern Command with its headquarters at
Trivandrum.
Padma Bandopadhyay
has been appointed
India's first woman Vice Air
Marshal. She was the first
woman officer to complete
Defence Services Staff College
course.
 The Air Force combat fleet is made up of 45
squadrons.
Retired Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh has been
made the first-ever Marshal of Indian Air Force.
Air Force Training Centres
Air Force Academy ....................... Hyderabad
Air Force Administrative College .. Coimbatore
Helicopter Training School ................... Avadi
College of Air Warfare .............. Secunderabad
Air Force Technical College ............... Jalahalli
Aircraft Carriers
I.N.S Vikrant : Indias first aircraft-carrier, it was
the Flagship of the Navy. It was decommissioned
in 1997.
I.N.S Viraat : The second aircraft carrier of In-
dian Navy
Admiral Gorshkov : India's new aircraft carrier
from Russia.
Warships
INS Shivalik : India's first stealth warship was
launched in Mumbai on April 18, 2003.
INS Delhi : Indian Navy's largest and most so-
phisticated warship.
INS Ranvir : A frontline destroyer of
Indian Navy.
INS Mysore: The second of the most powerful
class of warship.
INS Kulish : Indias frontline warship commis-
sioned in August 2001.
INS Brahmaputra:Indian Navy commissioned
the 3600 tonne frigate on April 14, 2000.
Frigates : Small fast moving escorting ships.
INS Talwar : India's first hightech Stealth Frig-
ate. INS Talwar commissoned in St. Petersburg
(Russia) on June 18, 2003. Its main attack weapon
is the vertical launch club - N missile system.
INS Thrissul is the second stealth frigate com-
missioned on June 24, 2003.
INS Savitri : First warship fabricated at the Hindustan
Shipyard Ltd. entered the service in 1990.
INS Ghariyal : It is an indigeneously built
warship commissioned in 1997.
INS Tillanchang : Commissioned in 2001. It is
the second indigenous warship in the Trinkat
class fast attack craft series.
Submarines
I.N.S Shalki: First indigenously built
submarine commissioned in 1982.
I.N.S Chakra : First nuclear powered submarine
based in Visakhapatnam
I.N.S Shahkul : Second indigenously built sub-
marine of India commissioned in 1994.
INS Sindhuvir : Indian submarine, which was
reassembled from Russia.
INS Sindhushastra: Indias first missile firing
submarine. It is the first submarine to be armed
with the anti-ship Klub missile.
Missile Boats
I.N.S Vipul : Second missile boat of India
I.N.S Prabal : Indigenously built Indian missile
boat commissioned on April 11, 2002.
I.N.S Prahar : The fastest missile boat of India.
I.N.S Vibhuthi : Indias indigenously built first
missile boat.
INS Jalwa : The first high - tech stealth frigate,
built by Russia for the Indian Navy.
INS Nashak : India's third missile boat launched
in 1993.
INS Prahar : It packs a powerful punch in the
form of ship-to- surface KT 138 missile.
INS Prabhat : Launched in 2000. It belongs to
Nashak class of boats. Its weapon package in-
cludes surface-to-surface missiles with associ-
ated surveillance system.
INS Tarangini : The first Indianship which cir-
cumnavigated the world. The ship set out with
the theme of 'bridging friendship across the
oceans.'
453
Missiles
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is the Father of Indian Mis-
sile Programme. He is behind the development
of Prithvi, Agni etc.
Prithvi : Indias surface-to-surface missile-
range 250 km.
Agni : Long range surface-to-surface missile.
Indias first Intermediate Range Ballistic Mis-
sile (IRBM)-Range 2500 km. Now different ver-
sions of Agni I, Agni II etc. are being devel-
oped.
Trishul : Short range surface-to-air missile-
Range 9 km.
Akash : Medium range surface-to air missile -
Range 25km, designed to destroy 5 or more tar-
gets at a time.
Pinaka : Indias multi-barrel rocket launcher.
Which is used for saturation fire. Pinaka can
fire 12 solid missiles within seconds.
Nag : Anti-tank missile; Range 4 km.
Ghori and Shaheen are missiles developed by
Pakistan.
Arrow Missiles are missiles developed by Is-
rael.
Indian Research and Development Organisations
Name of Organisation Location
Central Building Research Institute .... Roorkee (UP)
Central Drug Research Institute ....... Lucknow (UP)
Central Food Technological Research Institute.........
Mysore (Karnataka)
Central Institute of Fisheries Technology .........
Ernakulam (Kerala)
Central Leather Research Institute ....... Chennai
Central Marine Fisheries Institute .....................
Mandapam Camp (South India)
Central Mining Research Station ........ Dhanbad
Central Road Research Institute ....... New Delhi
Central Rice Research Institute ............. Cuttack
Central Coconut Research Station ....................
Kayamkulam (Kerala)
Indian Institute of Petroleum ........... Dehra Dun
(Uttaranchal)
454
Dhanush :
Indias first
indigenously
developed
ship- to-ship
missile testfired
from off the
coast of Orissa
150 km range.
Patriot : Anti-missiles used by U.S.A. during
the Gulf war (1991) to destroy Iraqs scud mis-
siles.
Astra : India's air to air missile. Its range is from
10-25 km.
Others
Phalcon Radar : India has bought Phalcon radars
from Israel.
Vajra Squadron : The name given to the squad-
Name of Organisation Location
Indian Agricultural Research Institute ..... New Delhi
Indian Institute of Science .... Bangalore (Karnataka)
Indian Textile Institute .......................... Kanpur
Indian Dairy Research Institute ........ Bangalore
National Aeronautical Laboratory ..... Bangalore
National Dairy Research Institute .. Karnal (Haryana)
National Environment Engineering Research
Institute ............... Nagpur (Maharashtra)
National Institute of Oceanography...... Panaji (Goa)
All India Institute of Medical Sciences .............
New Delhi
National Institute of Communicable Diseases.. Delhi
Indian Cancer Research Centre ............ Mumbai
National Institute of Virology.................... Pune
National Institute of Mental Health ... Bangalore
Pasteur Institute ................................. Koonoor
 ron of Mirage 2000 fighter planes received from
France.
Gajraj : Name given to the long range heavy
transport aircraft acquired by the IAF from former
USSR.
Arjun : Indias Main Battle Tank (MBT)
Lakshya : Pilotless target aircraft developed by
India
Nishant : Indigenously built unmanned air ve-
hicle of India for surveillance.
INS Aditya : Indigenously built fleet replenish-
ment tanker of Indian Navy.
The highest galantry award in India is Param
Vir Chakra, while the highest civilian award is
Bharat Ratna.
India bought Mirage -2000 fighter planes from
France, Jaguar fighter planes from England and
MIG-29 from Russia. Sukhoi-30 was bought
from Russia. USA has offered to India its war
plane F-16.
F-16 is the fighter plane Pakistan bought from
USA.
India is manufacturing Sukhoi Engine at HAC
factory at Sunabeda (Orissa).
ISI -Inter Service Intelligence is the spy agency
of Pakistan. RAW (Research and Analysis Wing)
and Mossad are spy organizations of India and
Israel repectively. KGB was the Russian spy
agency and MI5 (Ministry of Information De-
partment No.5) is the British spy agency. CIA -
Central Intelligence Agency is the secret police
of USA. Gestapo was the secret police of Nazi
Germany.
AK-47 is the name of Soviet made machine gun
RDX (Research Department Explosive) is the
name of powerful explosive.
PETN (Penta Erythritol Tetra Nitrate) is more le-
thal and dangerous than the RDX.
Interpol is the International Criminal Police Or-
ganization. Its headquarters is in Lyons, France.
Formerly it was in Paris. CBI represents Interpol
in India. Established in 1923.
K. Subramanyam Committee probed the Kargil
intrusion by Pak-backed militants.
Mera Bharat Mahan
is the new theme song of the
Indian army.
PoW is Prisoner of War
Russian built surface-to-air missile OSA was suc-
cessfully testfired from the Interim Test Range at
Chandipur, Orissa.
Darshak, an indigenously built hydrographic sur-
vey ship, has been commissioned in Indian Navy.
The strength of the Indian Navy has increased
with the induction of two new ships namely, INS
Mumbai and INS Kirch.
The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is the smallest,
lightweight, supersonic fighter aircraft.
The Supersonic Cruise Missile which was jointly
test fired by India and Russia
Rani Padmavathi : The second ship which was
built by the ship building yard of Kochi. (First
ship was 'Rani Padmini.')
Hatf -V is the indigenously developed medium
range surface-to-surface ballistic missile testfired
by Pakistan.
Lt. General Pankaj Joshi is Indias first ever
Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff (CIDS).
AWACS - Airborne Warning and Control System.
The Worlds highest airfield is situated in Leh.
The indigenously built missile vessel, INS
Pralaya, was commissioned in the Indian Navy
on the eve of the Goa Liberation Day on
December 18, 2002.
Indias first naval academy being built at Ezhimala
in Kannur. It is said to be the biggest academy in
Asia.
HARAM - High Speed Anti - Radiation Missile.
The indigenously built multi-role light transport
vehicle has been named Saras.
ICBM : Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile.
IRBM : Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile.
Star war was the American defence programme
for destroying missiles of the enemy country in
the space when they are launched.
455
 NMD National Missile Defence is a new pro-
gramme to replace star war programme earlier
scrapped by the NASA.
Indias missile launching pad is at Chandipur -
on-sea (Orissa); rocket launching centre is at
Paramilitary Forces
Thumba and satellite launching centre is at
Sriharikotta.
Brahmos cruise missile is jointly developed by
India and Russia. Brahmos is the short form for
Brahmaputra and the Mosaka River in Moscow.
Its range is 300 km. Brahmos is the first and only
supersonic cruise missile that uses liquid ram jet
technology.
As part of Indo US defence co-operation Indian
vessels have started escorting US ships through
the Malacca Strait.
India has decided to buy the firefinder battery
radar from USA. Firefinder can locate artillery
guns at a maximum range of 50 km.
National Defence University
Worlds third Defence University only China and
USA have such universities.
Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) was passed
by the Parliament 2002 aims to suppress terrorist
activities in India.
TADA [Terrorist and Disruptive Activities
(Prevention Act] was passed in 1987.
Smerch is a longrange Russian rocket system
presently in trial in India.
LCA is Indias Light Combat Aircraft.
SU-30 MKI has been inducted to the Indian Air
Force on setember 27, 2002.
The Technology Demonstrator-version of the
Light Combat Aircraft, 'Tejas' , achieves milestone
by crossing Mach 1.4 at a speed of 950 kmph
approximately at 11 km altitude.
Hawk : The Government has decided to acquired
the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer from Britain.
INS KADAMBA : The Navys long awarted, fu-
turistic, state of the art operational base on the
western seaboard at Karwar (Karnataka) was
Coast Guard
commissioned on May 31, 2005. It is the 3rd op-
erational base after Mumbai and Vishakapatnam.
Nilgiri : India launched the first of its indigenuos
stealth warship Niligiri. It was built at the
Mazgaon Dock.
456
Sarojini Naidu : The coast Guard has inducted a
new fast vessel Sarojini Naidu for its operational.
Assam Rifles (1835) is the oldest paramilitary
force in India and the youngest is Rashtriya Ri-
fles (1994)
The only paramilitary force which has an exclu-
sive Mahila Battalion is CRPF (Central Reserve
Police Force) Batch -88.
Police is a state subject under the constitution.
CRPF is Central Reserve Police Force. It was raised
in 1939. Its headquarters is New Delhi and pri-
mary objective of the force is maintenance of law
and order.
CRPF was raised at Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh
and called Crown Representatives Police,
which after independence became the Central
Reserve Police.
The paramilitary force of India set up to provide
security to industrial undertakings owned by the
government was
(a) CRPF (b) CISF
(c) BSF (d) ITBP
Ans : (b) CISF
CISF is Central Industrial Security Force was
created in 1969
Protection of Taj Mahal VIPs, airports now rests
with CISF.
The objective of BSF (Border Security Force)
vigilance of international border in the northeast
and countering insurgency in Northeastern
States. BSF was established in 1965.
Indian coast Guard was set on 19 August1978.
Indo - Tibetan Border Police was formed in 1962
Protection of Indo-Tibetan Border as well as VIPs
now rests with ITBP.
Which of the following is a voluntary part-time
 force?
(a) Coast Guard (b) Home Guard
(c) Territorial Army (d) NCC
Ans : (c) Territorial Army
Territorial Army was formed in 1949.
NCC (National Cadet Corps) was established
in 1948.
The motto of NCC is 'Unity and Discipline.'
To protect the maritime and other national inter-
ests in the maritime zones of India for this pur-
pose the Coast Guard was constituted as an
armed force of the Union under the Coast Guard
Act 1978.
Home Guards was Formed in 1962 its main objec-
tive as to help Police Force when Natural Disas-
ter occurs and epidemic diseases spread out.
Civil Defence: It aims at saving life, minimising
damage to property, and maintaining continuity
of industrial production in the event of an attack.
Worlds highest warfare school was opened at
Tso Morriri by ITBP (Indo Tibetan Border
Police).
FPV - Fast Patrol Vessel.
Intelligence Bureau (IB) was established in 1920.
(IB was originally set up as Central Special
Branch (CSB) in 1887 and renamed Intelligence
Bureau in 1920).
The objectives of IB is to collect secret informa-
tion relating to countrys security.
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) was
established in 1986.
What is the number of the Mahila Battalian of
the Central Reserve Police?
(a) BN 81 (b) BN 85
(c) BN 88 (d) BN 28
Ans: (c) BN 88
457

Atomic Research
The Atomic Energy Commission was set up in
1948 with Dr.H.J.Bhabha as its first chairman. Its
present Chairman is Anil Kakodkar.
Indo - US nuclear Pact
India and USA signed a historic nuclear agree-
ment when the US president visited India in
March 2005.
Indias first underground nuclear explosion was
carried out on May18, 1974 at Pokhran in
Rajasthan (Thar) desert. With this India became
the sixth nuclear power in the world.
The code name used to convey the success of
the test to the then Prime Minister, Indira Gan-
dhi, was 'Buddha is Smiling'.
The second and third nuclear explosions were also
carried out at Pokhran on May 11 and 13 in 1998.
The tests conducted were with a fission device,
a low yield device and a thermonuclear device. the
code name of these tests was 'Operation Shakti'.
Pakistan carried out its nuclear explosions in May
1998 at Chagai Hills.
BARC - Bhabha Atomic Research Centre was
set up in 1957 at Trombay and it is Indias larg-
est atomic research centre. There are five research
reactors in operation.
Apsara is Indias first atomic reactor. Functioned
at 1956 Apsara was Asias First research reactor.
'Circus' is a 40 MW research reactor. 'Zerlina'
is a zero energy experimental thermal reactor
'Purnima-II' is a homogeneous reactor which
uses Uranium-233 fuel in the form of a solution.
Kamini is Indias first fast breeder neutron reac-
tor at Kalpakkom.
458
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research
(IGCAR) was set up in 1971 at Kalpakkam.
Dhruva, India's fifth Research Reactor, was com-
missioned in 1985.
FBTR is Fast Breeder Test Reactor. FBTR at
Kalpakkam was commissioned in 1985.
Today, India is the 7th Country in the World and
the first developing nation to have the distinc-
tion of mastering fast breeder technology. The
other six nations are the US, the CIS, France,
Britain, Germany and Japan.
India's first presurised Heavy Reactor (PHWR)
is Rajasthan Atomic Power Station -1 (RAPS-1).
Atomic Power Plants
Narora Atomic Power Station ... Uttar Pradesh
Kakrapara Atomic Power Station ........ Gujarat
Kaiga Atomic Power Station .......... Karnataka
Kota .............................................. Rajasthan
Rana Pratap Sagar Atomic Power Plant is in Kota
in Rajasthan.
Kalpakkam ................................... Tamil Nadu
Koodamkulam .............................. Tamil Nadu
Koodamkulam is being built with the help of Russia.
It is the second atomic power project in Tamil Nadu.
Indias first Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
plant (OTEC) is being set up at Tuticorin.
Atomic Power Production
Currently (2006 April 1) the total power gener-
ated from 15 operating atomic reactor in the coun-
try is 3300 MW.
With the commissioning of Tarapur Atomic Power
station - 3rd unity in May 2006 (Capacity - 540
MW) it will increase to 3840 MW.
The Russian aided 1000 MW light water reactor
at Koodamkulam (TN) will become operational
in 2007 and 2008.
Nuclear Research Institutions
Atomic Energy Commission .............. Mumbai
Indian Rare Earths Ltd. ...................... Alwaye
Radio Astronomy Centre ............. Ottacamund
Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics ..... Kolkatta
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research .. Mumbai

Space Programme
Indian Space Research started in 1961 under
Dr. Vikram Sarabhai. Indian Space Research
Organization (ISRO) was set in 1969 with
Bangalore as the headquarters. In 1972 Space
Commission was established.
India launched its first satellite Aryabhatta in
1975, April 19.
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) -
Trivandrum -established in 1963 for development
of satellite launch vehicles such as SLV, ASLV,
PSLV and GSLV. (A = Augmented ; P = Polar : G =
Geosynchronous)
Sriharikotta Rocket Range - A satellite
lauching station set up in Andhra Pradesh.
Space Application Centre - Ahmedabad.
Indias Space Missions
SLV 3 : Indias first Satellite Launch Vehicle,
launched Rohini Satellite, on July 18,
1980, from Sriharikotta. It was fabri-
cated at Vikram Sarabhai Space Cen-
tre., Trivandrum.
ASLV : Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle
- pay load capacity: 50-150kg
PSLV : Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
GSLV : Geosynchronous Space
Launch Vehicle
INSAT : Indian National Satellite
IRS : Indian Remote Sensing satellite
INSAT -2A : Indias first indigenously built
second generation communication
satellite
Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma was the first
Indian to go to space . He was launched abroad
Soyuz T-II space ship from Baikonour
Cosmodrome in Kazhakhstan (former USSR). In-
dia is the 14th nation in the world to have sent a
man into space on April 3, 1984.
Dr. Kalpana Chawla, an Indian or Indian Ameri-
can woman, became the first Indian woman to go
into the space on November 19, 1997 on a 16 day
mission on NASAs Columbia shuttle as a Mis-
sion Specialist to study the outer atmosphere of
Sun But on her second space mission in January
2003 abroad Columbia, she was killed along with
6 other astronauts on February 1, 2003 due to
breaking up of the space shuttle minutes before
landing. In the memory of Kalpana Chawla India
has renamed METSAT, its first meteorological
satellite as Kalpana - I.
Columbia Space Shuttle Commander - Eleen
Collins. She was the first woman commander of
a space shuttle.
The first sounding rocket was launched from
Thumba in 1963.
TERLS is Thumba Equitorial Rocket Launching
Station. TERLS dedicated to united nations in
1968.
Aryabhatta, India's first satellite was launched
in April 19, 1975 and Bhaskara I was launched on
June 7, 1979. Aryabhatta and Bhaskara - I were
launched from the Soviet Union.
With the launching of APPLE on June 19, 1981
India entered the domestic satellite communica-
tion era.
APPLE : Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment.
First and Second Generation INSAT series were
mainly aimed at improving Indian telecommunica-
tion and telecast services and remote sensing.
IRS -IB, the second remote sensing satellite,
launched by the Russian Mostok rocket from
Baiknour Cosmodrome in 1991.
First Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS-IA)
was launched on March 19, 1988.
IRS-P4 was put into orbit on May 26, 1999 by
PSLV-C2. Along with IRS-P4, PSLV-C2 carried one
Korean Satellite (KITSAT) and a German Satel-
459
 How do you
rate yourself?

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because I want to be useful to myself, my family and
my society. I must get it because I truely deserve it.
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461
 lite (TUBSAT) and this heralded the commer-
cialisation of Indian space programme.
INSAT-3B launched the first of Indias third gen-
eration satellite. INSAT-3B was successful.
The second third generation satellite INSAT-3C
was launched on January 16, 2002 on board an
Ariane -4 launch vehicle from the French
Guayanese Space Port Kouru.
INSAT-3E, the communication satellite of the
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was
launched from Kourou, by a European Ariane 5
launch vehicle on September 28.
ISRO is getting ready to launch its newest In-
dian Remote Sensing Satellite, the IRS-P6 or
Resourcesat.
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicles
(GSLV-D1). put GSAT-I into orbit on March 28,
2001.
Indian Scientific Satellite Project - Bangalore
The Indian Space Research Organisations
launching centre at Sriharikotta has been re-
named as Sathish Dhawan Space Centre.
On October 22, 2001, ISROs Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle (PSLV) successfully launched
three satellites - Technolgy Experiments Satel-
lite (TES) of India, Bispectral Experiments,De-
tection Satellite (BIRD) of Germany and Project
for on Board Autonomy (PROBA) of Belgium.
The high altitude space telescope of India has
been set up at Hanle in Ladak.
SITE - Satellite Instructional Television Experi-
ment.
STEP - Satellite Telecommunication Experiment
Project.
G. Madhavan Nair is the Chaiman of ISRO. The
ISRO successfully test fired an indigenously built
cryogenic integrated engine at its Liquid Pro-
pulsion System Centre (LPSC), Mahendragiri.
The Cryogenic engine is a very complex system
462
handling liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as
propellants.
METSAT now known as Kalpana I is Indias
first climate satellite.
Indias First Full - Fledged meterological satel-
lite METSAT was successfully launched on Sep-
tember 1, 2002 from the Satish Dhawan Space
Centre at Siharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
INSAT-3C launched on .......................... 2002
INSAT-3A launched on ................ April 2003
INSAT 3A is Indias biggestspace craft with a
12 year mission life.
ISROs second master control facility
ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair inagurated the
newly set up master control facility (MCF) of
ISRO at Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) on April
11,2005.
This is Indias second MCF after the First in
Hussan in Karnataka.
Edusat : Indias exclusive satallite for educa-
tional purpose was launched on September 20,
2004 by GSLV - FO1 from Sriharikota.
Carto Sat - 1 Indias first satellite for mapping
was launched on may 5, 2005 by PSLV -C6 from
Sriharikota. PSLV - C6 also carried HAMSAT
along with Catro Sat - 1
INSAT - 4A - India launched first of the fourth
generation satellite used for communication from
Kourou, French, Guyana on December 22, 2005.
It is the heaviest satellite, India has launched
so far (3080 kg)
Chandrayan -1
Chandrayan is Indias first unmanner
moon exploration. The project is being
unplemented by ISRO in association with
other countries space agency including
NASA.
 cal mile for each Country, where it has sovereign
Oceanographic Research right over natural resources both living and non
The first Antarctic expedition was launched in living.
December 1981 under the leadership of Dr. S.Z. Indias Arctic Expedition
Quasim. So far India has undertaken 24 expedi- After Antartica, India is now planning an Arctic
tions to Antarctica. expedition. The National Centre for Antartica &
The 25th expedition is on its way to Antartica in Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa has been fasted
January 2006. It leader is Dr. M. Sudhakar. to set up an observation facility and possibly a
Malayalee member of the team is Dr. N. Anil station in Arctic in collaboration with Norway.
Kumar.
The first permanent station of India at Antarc- Medical Research
tica, `Dakshin Gangotri', was established in 1984. An International panel in 2000 declared India a
India's second permanent station, `Maitri' was guineaworm free country.
constructed in 1989. Indias first successful liver transplant was car-
The 3rd permanent station is being set up at ried out at the Apollo Hospital, Chennai.
Larseman Hill by the Antartican expedition Indias first skin bank is proposed to set up at
which left India in January 2006. the government Medical College, Chennai.
Thrishna-the fibreglass yacht-sailed around the Indias first organ bank was set up at the All
world in 1985. This was the first expedition un- India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
dertaken by Indian sailors to circumnavigate
NACO is National AIDS Control Organisation.
Earth.
Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme aims at to-
National Institute of Oceanography is at Panaji tal eradication of polio from the country.
(Goa).
Elisa Test is done to detect AIDS.
Sirohi Point: Sirohi Point or the peak of
Shanvac -B is India's first genetically engineered
Beardmore glacier is named after Dr. G.S. Sirohi, vaccine for Hepatitis B.
former head of physiological division of IARI,
for the contribution to physiological science.
The expedition to Antartica is organised every Major Ports of India
year by National Centre for Antartica and Ocean
Research (NCAOR) which is situated at Goa. 1. Kandla
2. Mumbai
National Insitute of ocean Technology : Chennai 3. Nhava Sheva
Indian National centre for ocean and Informa- 4. Goa
tion services - Hyderabad 5. Mangalore
6. Kochi
Centre for marine living Resources and Ecology
7. Tutucorin
: Kochi 8. Chennai
The oceanographic Research Institute : Panaji, Goa 9. Ennore
10. Vishakapatnam
Every country has the complete sovereignity
11. Paradweep
over its territorial sea up to 12 nautical mile. 12. Kolkatta
Exclusive Economic Zone extends to 200 nauti-

463
 World Diabetes Day is on November 14.
Alzheimer's Day is on September 21.
Plague affected Surat in Gujarat and dengue Fe-
ver affected Delhi.
World Leprosy Day is on January 30.
Batistia Operation is a radical procedure that
could help heart patients avoid transplants. For
the first time it was done in India at the Institute
of Cardiovascular Diseases, Madras Medical
Mission.
Aspirin is a one hundred year old analgesic,
which was discovered on August 10, 1897 by
Felix Hoffman. The chemical name of aspirin is
acetyl salicylic acid.
Indias first heart transplantation was carried out
at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences,
New Delhi, by Dr. P. Venugopal in August 3, 1994.
The Former Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, has
declared August 3 every year as the Heart
Transplantation Day.
India's first test tube baby, Baby Harsha, was
464
born on April 6, 1986 in Mumbai.
International Nurses Day : May 12.
World Heart day -It Falls on last Sunday of Sep-
tember.
2006 World Heart Day - September 24
The infant motality rate in India has cosiderably
reduced from 134 in 1946 - 1950 to 63 in 2002.
Child death rate has declined from 25 per 1000
population in 1951 to 8.1 in the year 2002.
The National Rural Health Care Mission
(NRHM) was launched on 12 April 2005.
Crude birth rate was 40.8 in 1951 and in 2002 it is
only 25.
Avian Flu finally arrived in India. The virus was
first detected in Nandurbam in Maharashtra,and
later in Gujarat its virus is termed H5NI.
The national Institute of communicable diseases
: New Delhi.
The National Institute of virology : Pune
(Maharashtra).
50 amXrI
t NmZy-t ] - -dp-I
BRILLIANCE COLLEGE

Railways
Indian Railway is the biggest emoployer in the
World.
Indian Railways is Asias largest and the Worlds
second largest railway system under single man-
agement. It is the biggest public sector under-
taking and the largest single employer in India.
The first train in India steamed off from Bombay
to Thane, a stretch of 34 km in 1853, during the
reign of Lord Dalhousie. The first electric train
in India, Deccan Queen, was introduced in 1925
between Kalyan and Pune. Indian Railways is
the second biggest electrified railway system in
the World after Russia.
Indian Railways operate in three different gauges -
broad gauge (1.676 metre width) metre gauge (1.m)
narrow gauge (0.762 m and 0.610 m). On July 3,
1992, Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao dedicated
Project Unigauge to the Indian Railways .The
project envisaged to convert total gauge rail track
to broad gauge under the 8th Plan.
Indian Railways till 1996 was divided into 9 zones
in India. The Government later formed seven new
zones. With this total number of Railway zone is
16 and there are 67 railway divisions.
Headquarters of the newly formed south west-
ern railway is Bangalore.
Central Eastern zone was formed in 1998 Sep-
tember 9. Headquarter of the Central Eastern zone
is Bilaspur.
Vigyan Rail : This is a special train designed by
the Science and Technology ministry in collabo-
ration with the Railway ministry to create public
awareness on the progress made by India in
science and technology. 2004 is observed as
'Science Awareness Year by Indian Railway
'e-Rail' is the online railway reservation system
launched by the State Bank of India (SBI). The
facility allows internet banking customers to make
online booking of railway tickets.
Railway Production Units
Chittaranjan Locomotives Works ........ Chittaranjan
Integral Coach Factory ....... Perambur (Tamil Nadu)
Diesel Locomotive Works ........................ Varanasi
Wheel and Axle Plant ............................ Bangalore
Rail Coach Factory .............................. Kapurthala
Diesel Component Works ............. Patiala (Punjab)
Important Trains
Shatabdhi Express ........................... Bhopal - Delhi
Maveli Express ........... Mangalapuram - Trivandrum
Gurudev Express ...................... Nagercovil - Howra
Netravati Express ....... Trivandrum - Lokmanya Tilak
(Mumbai-Kurla)
Pink City Express ............................... Delhi - Jaipur
Kerala Express ............................ Delhi-Trivandrum
Marusagar Express ......................... Jaipur - Cochin
Amritha Express .................. Palakkad - Trivandrum
Taj Express ...................................... Delhi - Gwalior
Mangala Express ............... Nizamuddin - Ernakulam
Purushottam Express ............................ Delhi - Puri
Coromandal Express ................... Howrah - Chennai
Himasagar Express ........ Jammu Tawi - Kanyakumari
Sarvodaya Express ............. Ahmedabad-Jammu Tawi
Gitanjali Express .......................... Howrah-Mumbai
Railway Zones
Zone Headquarters
1. Southern .................................... Chennai
2. South-Central .................... Secunderabad
3. Central ............................... Mumbai CST
4. Western ................. Mumbai Church Gate
5. Northern ................................. New Delhi
6. Eastern ..................................... Kolkatta
7. North-Eastern ........................ Gorakhpur
8. North-East Frontier .... Maligaon (Guwahati)
9. South-Eastern ........................... Kolkatta
10. East Coast ........................ Bhubaneswar
11. East Central ................................ Hajipur
12. North Central .......................... Allahabad
13. North Western .............................. Jaipur
14. South Western ........................ Bangalore
15. West Central ............................. Jabalpur
16. Central Eastern ........................... Bilaspur
465
August Kranti Express .................... Mumbai-Delhi
G.T. Express .............................. New Delhi-Chennai
Charminar Express .................. Chennai-Hyderabad
Perl City Express ...................... Chennai to tuticorin
Ahilyan Agari Express .............. Indore-Trivandrum
Cannanore Express ........... Trivandrum - Cannanore
Kaveri Express ............................ Mysore - Chennai
Himagri Express ...................... Howra - Jammu Tawi
Nilgiri Express................... Chennai - Mettupalayam
Railway Staff College is at Baroda.
Shatabdi Express running between New Delhi
and Bhopal is the fastest train in India with a
speed of 140km/ hr.
A number of trains connecting different destina-
tions are running in India in the name of Shtabdi
Express Train, Janshatabdi Express Train,
Rajadhani Express Train, Samparak Kranti Ex-
press train are Super Fast Trains.
In 1991, Indian Railways introduced the worlds
first hospital on wheels called Life Line Ex-
press (Jeevan Rekha) to provide medical aid in
rural areas.
Palace on Wheel is the first private train in
India.
First metro rail in India was opened in 1984-85 in
Calcutta.
The second metro rail system was built in 2002 in
New Delhi.
Dr. Manmohan Singh laid the foundation for the
3rd Metro Rail Project at Mumbai on December
22nd 2006 it was commence function from 2011.
Mass Rapid Transit System was introduced in
Chennai in 1995.
The Konkan Railway, the 760 km rail system, was
dedicated to the nation in 1999. It links
Mangalore with Roha in Maharashtra.
The year 1999-2000 was declared by the Govern-
ment as Passengers Year.
Indias longest railway tunnel so far 6.5 kms long
falls on Kharbude in Konkan railway.
World longest railway platform Kharagpur Sta-
tion in West Bengal. 833 m (2,733ft)
Himasagar Express running between Jammu Tawi
and Kanyakumari is the longest distance travel-
ling train in India (3,730 Km).
Prayagraj Express running between New Delhi
and Allahabad is the longest train with 24 Com-
partment.
'Baaz' India's first indigenously air conditioned

Golden Quadrilateral
Jammu
Delhi
Golden Quadralateral
Golden Quadralateral is a
project under taken under Na-
tional Highway Development Silchar
Chennai Project to link the four metro (Assam)
cities of India with four to six
Jhansi
lane highway. The city get
l i nked by Golden N
ar

Quardralateral are Mumbai,

nd
rba

Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai.

Po

W E
The Red Fort was under the
control of the Indian Army for
56 years. Now its control has S
been taken over by the Tour- Cape Camorine
ism Department of India.

466
 low engine. It is going to be introduced in the
Konkan Railway. Its fastest speed is 150 kmph.
Meghalaya and Sikkim are the two States in
India which have no railway.
Computer Railway Reservation System was in-
troduced by the Indian Railways in 1988.
Indias first online rail reservation facility was
inaugurated in New Delhi.
Fairy Queen is the Worlds oldest working steam
locomotive engine. Fairy Queen runs in India for
tourism promotion.
The Mascot of Indian Railways, which celebrated
its 150th anniversary on April 16th 2002 is an
elephant called Bholu which represents the work
of a guard.
The first rail archives was inaugurated at the Na-
tional Rail Museum in New Delhi.
Northern Railway is the largest Railway zone.
Baroda House is the headquarters of Indian Rail-
ways in New Delhi.
Project Unigauge was launched on Ist April 1990
to develop backward regions and to connect
important places with broadgauge network.
Skybus Project
World's first commercial prototype skybus tech-
nology demonstration project was launched in
Margao (Goa), which is expected to revolution-
ize the mass rapid transport system. The eco-
friendly project was developed by the Konkan
Railway Corporation at a cost of Rs. 7 crores.
Deccan Odyssey
Maharashtra Tourism Department and Indian
railway jointly started Deccan Odyssey the luxu-
rious Train for Tourism purpose.
Indian Rail is the monthly magazine of Indian
Railways.
The Nehru Setu over the Zone river is the long-
est rail bridge in India.
The longest railway tunnel in India is on the
Konkan Railway runs to 6.5 km.
The name given to Railways drinking water
Project - Railneer.
Ocean Transport
Shipping play a vital role in India with a vast
coastline of about 7516km and over 2 million
sq.km of exclusive economic zone (EEz)
Approximately 90% of the countrys trade vol-
ume (77% in terms of value) is moved by sea.
There are 12 major ports in public sector and one
major port in private sector in the country. Ma-
jor ports on the West Coast - Kandla (Gujarat),
Marmugao (Goa)
Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru Port earlier called
Nhava Sheva Port (Maharashtra), Cochin
(Kerala), and Mangalore (Karnataka) on the East
Coast -Tuticorin, Chennai and Ennore (Tamil
Nadu), Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh),
Paradeep (Orissa), Kolkatta (West Bengal) are
the twelve major ports in public sector. Ennore
Port is the only major port in the country in pri-
vate sector. It is the 12th major port of India.
There are 4 major shippyards in India.
(1) Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers
Ltd., Kolkatta.
(2) Mazagaon Dock Ltd., Mumbai.
(3) Hindustan Shippyard Ltd., Vishakapattanam
(4) Cochin Shippyard, Cochin.
Mumbai is the biggest port, handling one fifth of
First to visit India
First US President to visit India ................ Dwight
Eisenhower
First Pope to visit India .............. Pope Paul VI
First Pope to visit India twice .... Pope John Paul-II
First Chairman of Peoples Republic of China
............................................... Mao Tse-tung
First European invader ................... Alexander
First Chinese Pilgrim to visit India ....... Fa-hien
First British Ruler to visit India ...... Queen Victoria
First Russian Prime Minister tovisit India ....... Bulganin
First British Prime Minister to visit India .........
Harold Macmillan
467
 Vishakhapattanam harbour is Institutes
protected by a rocky head land National Institute of Ayurveda .............. Jaipur
called Dolphins Nose National Institute of Homoeopathy ... Kolkatta
National Institute of Unani Medicine ..... Bangalore
the total traffic of all the ports. It is a natural National Institute of Siddha ............... Chennai
harbour.
National Institute of Naturopathy ........... Pune
Kandla is a tidal port and a free trade zone.
Marmugao is a natural port and an important Ans : (d) Vishakhapattanam
naval station. In 1906, one of the greatest freedom fighters of
India's most modern sea port is Nava Sheva. India, Mr. V.O. Chidambaram Pillai launched the
Calcutta is the largest terminal port in South Asia. first Swadeshi Ship 'S.S. Gaelia' in British India.
Visakhapatnam is the deepest port. It has a big The Hindustan Shipyard Limited,
ship building unit Vishakhapattanam was set up in 1941 and it be-
Chennai is one of the oldest ports in India. It is came the first ship building yard in the country
an artificial harbour and third largest in India. to get the ISO : 9001 certification.
Submarine building yard in India is at The total length of Indias coastline in 7,516.6 km.
Visakhapatnam. The Lal Bahadur Shastri College of Advanced
Kochi is a natural harbour built with financial Maritime Studies and Research is situated in
assistance from Japan. Mumbai.
Kandla (Gujarat) is the first port developed soon Marine Engineering and Research Centre
after independence. (MERI) is situated in Kolkatta.
In the year 1936, Cochin port declared as a
major port.
Name the only state in India having three major
ports - Tamil Nadu
Which of the following is the oldest ports on
the east coast?
(a) Vishakapattanam (b) Chennai
(c) Paradeep (d) Kolkatta
Ans : (b) Chennai
Which one of the following major port of India
handles maximum traffic?
(a) Kandla (b) Cochin
(c) Vishakapattanam (d) Mumbai
Ans : (d) Mumbai Sethumamudram Project
Which of the following part specially developed The Sethusamudram project aims to build
for expert of Kundermukhi iron ore? up a shipping channel between India and
(a) Mormugao (b) New Mangalore Sri Lanka so that big ships can travel from
(c) Cochin (d) Vishakapattanam western coast of India to Eastern coast
Ans: (b) New Mangalore without travelling around Sri Lanka. It can
National Ship Design and Research Centre save time and fuel.
(NSDRC) is situated in International Container Transhipment Termi-
(a) Kolkatta (b) Mumbai
nal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam
(c) Cochin (d) Vishakhapattanam
On February 16, 2005 the Prime Minister had

468
 laid the foundation stone for the construction
ICTT at Vallarpadam, in kochi.
The Dubai Port International will built up, the
project on (build, operate Transport) BOT Basis
National Waterways NH-3 aims to link kollam to
Kottapuram (168 km)
NW - 1 links Allahabad to Haldia (1620km)
Civil Aviation
JRD Tata was the first to make a solo flight from
Bombay to Karachi in 1931.
Indian Airline dropped the word Airlines and
now it is known as Indian from the 2005. The log
of the orange tail (IA) has been replaced by a
partly visible blue wheel inspired by the Sun
Temple at Konark. Blue wheat in orange surface.
There are 19 International airports, 88 domestic
aerodromes and 28 Civil enclaves in the Coun-
try. The International Airports are Ahmedabad,
Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai (Meenambakom)
Coimbatore, Delhi (Indira Gandhi) Gaya, Goa,
Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata (Dum Dum)
Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mumbai (Sahar),
Tiruchirapalli, Thiruvananthapuram and
Varanasi. Nagpur airports is also being upgraded
as International Airport.
Bangalore, Coimbatore, Gaya, Jaipur, Kozhikode,
Lucknow, Tirunchirapalli, Varanasi are the new
International Airports.
The operation, management, maintanance, plan-
ning and development of international Airports Au-
thority of India (IAAI). Which was set up in 1972.
The functions of domestic aerodromes are now
looked after by the National Airport Authority
of India (NAAI) which was set in 1986.
The Government has already gave sanctions for the
privatisation of Mumbai and New Delhi airport
Amritsar airport is called Raja Sansi.
Kandahar airport is in Afghanistan.
Thribhuvan airport is in Kathmandu in Nepal.
ImTva-WvUp-hnse Xr`p-h hnam-\-m-h-f-n
\nmWv ]mIn- m `oI-c 1999 Unkw-_ amk-
n Cy Fbssekns hnam\w Aar
Xvk hgn I- lm-dn- tev(A^vKm-\n-m) Xn-
sm-p-t]m-bXv.
Port Blair airport has been renamed Veer Savarkar
Airport.
Dum Dum Airport (Calcutta) is renamed Subhash
Chandra Bose Airport.
Mumbai domestic airport (Santa Cruz Airport) is
now known as Jawaharlal Nehru Air port.
Highest Airport - Leh Airport in Ladakh.
Busiest Airport - Mumbai Airport (Sahar [In-
ternational] and Santacruz [Domestic] )
IATA - International Air Transport Association.
Wings of Freedom is a new scheme intro-
duced by Indian Airlines.
For which year Air India was established - 1953
In which Pakistani city was the hijacked Indian
Airlines plane blown upon 30 January 1971?
Lahore
National Institute of Aviation Management and
Research (NIAMAR) is situated at Delhi.
Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited is the public sector
helicopter company of Government of India.
The Open Sky Policy came into operation in 1990.
The policy allowed air taxi operators to operate
flights from any airport, both on a charter and
non charter basis.
Road Transport
The Indian road network is one of the largest in
the world. The total length of roads in India was
33,19,644 km in 1996. Longest system of road is in
the state of Maharashtra. (3,59,262 kms)
G.T. Road (Grand Trunk Road) originally built by
Sher Sha Suri is Indias longest road. Now it runs
from Calcutta to Amritsar
NH-7 is the longest national highway (2369km).
It connects Varanasi and Kanyakumari.
The shortest national highway is NH 47 (A)
which links Wellington Island with Kochin By-
pass (6 km)
NH1 connects Delhi with Amritsar.
469
 The Central Road Research Institute is in New
Delhi. NATPAC - National Transportation Plan-
ning and Research Centre.
Government has planned to link major metropoli-
tan cities with super highways. The scheme is
known as Golden Quadralateral.
The new super high way linking India, North-
South and East - West will have the following
terminals.
North-south: Kanyakumari - Srinagar
East-West : Silchar (Assam) - Porbandar (Gujarat)
These two Super Highways meet at Jhansi in
Madhya Pradesh.
Pradhanmanthri Gram Sadak Yojana, a new rural
development scheme aims to connect all habita-
tion with 500 plus population through roads.
National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) set
up in 1989. It is an autonomous body entrusted
with the responsibility of development, mainte-
nance and operation of National Highway.
At present, India has 5 express highways. They
are Western, Eastern, between Kolktta and Dum-
dum, between Sukinda mines and Paradweep,
between Durgapur and Kolkatta.
PMBJP: Pradhan Mantri Bharat Jodo
Pariyojana.
It will cover the entire nation, particularly State
Capitals and trading centres, in a comprehen-
sive way with four-lane highways. It converts
10,000 km of high density roads into four lane
routes.
Border Roads Development Organisation (BRO)
was set up in may 1960.
Asian Highway Network
India signed a historic agreement for complet-
ing a 140,000km long Asian Highway Network
(AHN) which is projected to be completed by
2010 AD. Pakistan, China, Iran, Indonesia, Ja-
pan, Mongolia, Kazakhistan, South Korea, Tur-
key and Vietnam are other signatories.
The Amritsar - Nankana Sahib Bus was flag off
on March 24, 2006, in king the two holiest Shrines
of Sikhs the Golden Temple and Nankana Sahib.

Classical Dances Important Regional Dances

Manipur .............................................. Manipuri Bihu (Assam) A post harvest folk dance.
Tamil Nadu ................................... Bharatnatyam
Ottam Thullal (Kerala) Solo dance known as poor
Kerala ................................................. Kathakali
mans kathakali - Kunjan Nambiar evolved it.
Mohiniattam
Orissa ..................................................... Odissi Yakshagana : Well known dance form of Karnataka.
U.P ......................................................... Kathak Dr. Shivarama
Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal ..................... Chchau Karanth revived it
Karnataka ........................................ Yakshagana in modern times.
Bhangra: Folk
Folk Dances dance of harvest
season in Punjab. It
Gujarat ........................................... Garba / Rasa coincides with the
Maharashtra ........................................ Tamasha festival of Baisakhi
Rajasthan ............................ Thumar or Gangore Tamasha - (Maharashtra), Nautanki (U.P) Garba
Uttarpradesh ......................................... Notanki (Gujarath), Chow (Orissa, Bihar) are other well known
West Bengal ............................................. Kathi folk dances.
Assam ........................ Baisakhi Bihu/Khel Gopal Gidda - Punjab Kummi - Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu ................... Kolattam/Kummi/Kavadi
Kerala ............................ Kaikottikali/Tattam kali Khayal - Rajasthan Lota - Madhya Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh ........................ Ghanta Mardala Ruslila - Gujarat

470
Environment
UNEP : United Nations Environment Programme
UNEP was established in 1972 with H.Q. at Nai-
robi.
World Environment Day : June 5
UNEP provides machinery for International Co-
operation in Matters relating to Human Environ- Jala Sahodariyam
ment. Jala Sahodariyam a new project introduced by
The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) was estab- famous environmentalist Rajendra Singh for rob-
lished in 1890. Its headquarters is in Kolkatta. bing drinking water by multinational company.
The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) was estab- Biosphere Reserve Network Programme was
lished in 1916. Headquarters: Kolkatta. launched in 1971 by UNESCO under the aegis of
Botanical Survey of India (BSI) was established its Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme, to
on 1890. Head quarters at Kolkatta. provide a global network of protected areas for
conserving natural communities.
Mashelkar Committee This committee was formed
India posses 60 to 70% of worlds biodiversity.
under the chairmanship of R.A Mashelkar, Di-
Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972.
rector General, Council for Scientific and Indus-
trial Research (CSIR), New Delhi to recommend Chipko movement was started in 1973 in the
an auto fuel Policy for the Country together with Chamoli district of Uttaranchal. Sunderlal
a road map for its implementation. Bahuguna was the leader of the movement.
Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). A movement
against the construction of Dam over Narmada
HEALTH INDICATORS which will ultimately results in flood and water
1. Crude Birth Rate 25.0 (2002) logging.
(Per 1000 population)
2. Crude Death Rate 8.1 (2002)
(Per 1000 population) FINE FOR
3. Total Fertility Rate 3.2 (1999) HIMACHAL PRADESH
(Per women on average) Indias Supreme Court has imposed its highest
4. Maternal mortality Rate 407 (1998) ever fine for ecological damage on the State of
(Per 100,000 live birth) Himachal Pradesh for allowing advertisements
5. Infant mortality Rate 63 to damage spectacular Himalayan scenery. The
(Per 1000 live birth) court imposes penality on the State for permit-
ting rocks to be defaced by advertisement for
6. Life Expectancy at Birth (Years) Pepsi and Coco Cola and local firms. The ad-
Males 63.87 (2001 - 2006) vertisements are spread along more than 50
Females 66.91 (2001 - 06 kilometres of highway in the Manali - Rohtang
India is committed to become polio-free coun- Pass, destroying morass which support a sen-
try by 2007 sitive eco systems.

471
 Bt. Cotton Approved
On March 26, 2002 the Genetic Engineering Ap-
proval Committee (GEAC) under Union Environ-
ment and Forest Ministry approved the use of
the genetically modified Bt. Cotton in India
Bt : Bacillus thuringiensis.
The first genetically modified. Cottonseed in In-
dia Bt. Cotton has been introduced to address
American bollworm infestation incotton plants.
Not only did the Bt. Seed not project the plant
from holloworm attack but the plant was subject
to attacks by non-target pests Bt. Plants also Fell
pery to Fungal disease, Apart from low yield the
Fibre harvested was very short and fetched poor
prices. This leads to heavy loss to poor Farmers.
Biosphere Reserves
The Biosphere Reserves are multi-purpose pro-
tected areas to preserve the genetic diversity in
representative eco-system.
So far 14 Biosphere Reserves have been set up
in India. They are Nilgiri, Nanda Devi, Nokrek,
Great Nicobar, Gulf of Mannar, Manas,
Sunderbans, Similipal, Dibru Daikhowa, Dehong
Deband, Pachmarhi, Kanchanjanga and
Agasthyamalai and Anchamukmar Amartakantak
(Madhya Pradesh). Out of this 14, four have been
recognised on world Network of Biosphere Re-
serves by UNESCO. They are Nilgiri,
Sunderbans, Gulf of Manar and Nanda Devi.
Out of this 14, there is only one Biosphere re-
serve in Kerala and it is Agasthyamalai.
Mangroves Plants are those that survive high
salinity, tidal extremes, strong wind and velocity
high temperature and muddy anaerobic soil.
National Botanical Garden - New Delhi
Indias first Biological Park will set up in Agastyar
Koodam.
Forest Area
The total estimated forest area in India is
678,333sqkm million hectares. This is only
20.64% of the Countrys geographical area
(2005).
The total Forest area in Kerala is 10,33 sqkm.
This is only 26.59% of the States geographical
area.
472
National Forest Policy envisages to increase
the forest cover upto 33% of the geographi-
cal area.
Project Tiger in 1973 was the biggest wild life
Project ever launched in the World.
Wild Life Institute of India - Dehradun
Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural His-
tory : Coimbatore
Forest Research Institute : Dehradun
The National Museum of Natural History :
New Delhi
Afforestation : turn into forest
Deforestation : to remove forests
Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy is lo-
cated at Dehra Dun.
Headquarters of World Wild Life Fund - Morges
(Switzerland).
Institute of Arid Zone Forestry Research in
Jodhpur (Rajasthan).
World Day for Save Animal: April -24.
The place of Garden Tourism Festival is at
Talkatara Gardens in Delhi.
The Supreme Court has directed all the State
Governments and educational agencies to in-
troduce environment as a compulsory subject
in schools up to the higher secondary level from
the academic year 2004-05.
Wild Life Conservation
Project Tiger launched in 1973, is the most suc-
cessful wild life conservation project ever un-
dertaken by the World.
Project Elephant - 1992
Gir Lion Project - 1972
Crocodile Breeding Project - 1974
Rhino Conservation - 1987
Sansar Chand, the notorious tiger part smug-
gler and trader was arrested in 2005.
Veerapan the notorious elephant poacher and
Sandalwood smuggler was gunned down in
late 2004.
Salmankhan is the Hindi Film star who was sen-
tenced to 4 years imprisonment for killing a deer
for hunting down a deer.
National Parks & Wild life Sanctuaries
There are 92 existing national parks in India
covering an area of 37,921.66 sq.km which is
1.15% of the geographical area of the country
(2004)
Madhya Pradesh (9) and Andaman Nicobar (9)
have the largest numbers of National parks.
There are 4 national parks in kerala
There are 492 existing wildlife sanctuaries in In-
dia covering an area of 117077.41 sq.km which is
3.5% of the geographical area of the country.
Andaman Nicobar (96) and Maharashtra (36)
have the largest numbers of wildlife sanctuaries
in India.
Health and Family Welfare
The National Anti-Malaria Programme is the
worlds biggest Health Programme against a
single communicable disease.
Japanese Encephalitis is caused by virus and is
spread by culex group of mosquitoes.
Dengue fever is caused by the bites of female
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
The National Tuberculosis Control Programme
(NTCP) was launched in 1962.
The National Filaria Control Programme is being
implemented in the country since 1955.
The National Leprosy Eradication Programme
(NLEP) was launched in 1988.
The following vaccines are included in the im-
munization programme:-
Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV)
Diphtheria Pertussis and Tetanus (DPT)
Some important Newspapers and places of publication
The Statesman ......................................... Kolkata
The Times of India ........... Mumbai, New Delhi etc.
The Hindustan Times .......................... New Delhi
The Pioneer ........................................... Lucknow
The Bombay Samachar ........................... Mumbai
Dawn ...................................................... Karachi
Izvestia ................................................. Moscow
Pravda ................................................... Moscow
Peoples Daily ........................................... Beijing
The Hindu .. Chennai, Coimbatore, Trivandrum etc.
World Alzheimer's Day - September 21.
Its slogan is ('In Perfect Partnership'.)
BC G
Measles
Diphtheria Tetanus (DT)
Tetanus Toxoid (TT)
Hepatitis B.
G hpw Ah- k m\w D s- S p - n- b - X m Wv
Hepatitis B.
World Yoga Day : September 2
World Health Day : April 7
Universal Health Insurance Scheme is a commu-
nity based scheme that would offer health pro-
tection and good medical services to be less privi-
leged, It provides medical cover for a premium of
Re. 1 a day.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
: New Delhi.
The National Population Policy of 2000 aims to
stabilise Indian population by 2045.
The Chairman of National Population Commis-
sion is the Prime Minister.
The largest number of AIDS cases in India is in
The Anand Bazar Patrika ......... Calcutta
The Patriot .......................... New Delhi
The Tribune ...................... Chandigarh
The Times .............................. London
Al Ahram ................................... Cairo
The Daily News .................... New York
Merdeka ................................... Jakarta
Le Monde ................................... Paris
The New Indian Express .. Mumbai, New Delhi, Kochi,
Kozhicode, Trivandrum etc.
473
 Tamil Nadu. India by Dr Mammen Chandy at CMC, Vellore.
NACO is National AIDS Control Organisation. Dr Chandy performed four such operations
World AIDS Day : December 1 in 1992.
November 14 : World Diabetes Day. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
an autonomous organization under the Minis-
Medical Research and Advancement try of Health and Family Welfare, is the apex
First Test Tube Baby: body for the formulation, co-ordination and pro-
Born on - August 6, 1990 motion of biomedical research in India.
Hospital - King Edward Memorial
Hospital, Mumbai The Medical Council of India (MCI) was estab-
Doctor - Indira Hinduja lished as a statutory body and the main func-
Name of the Baby - Baby Harsha tions of the council are maintenance of uniform
Parents - Ma ni (m ot h er ) a n d standard of medical education both at the un-
Shyamji Chawla der graduate and the post graduate level.

First Heart Transplant The Child Survival and Safe Motherhood

Date of operation - August 3, 1994 (CSSM) Programme introduced in 1992 has
Hospital - All India Institute of brought about great improvements in the field
Medica l Scien ce of immunization.
(AIIMS) New Delhi at
Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and druglles therapies
Cardio-Thoracic Vascu-
lar Surgery Department. like Yoga and Naturopathy are the Indian Sys-
Doctor - P. Venugopal tems of Medicines.
Janani Suraksha Yojana: Under this yojana,
First Kidney Transplant the mother gets Rs. 1000 on the birth of a girl
Date of Operation - December 1, 1971 and Rs. 500 on the birth of a boy for supporting
Hospital - Christian Medical Col- better nutrition for the mother and the child. The
l ege a n d Hospit a l , Scheme aims to reduce death rate and take care
Vellore of pregnant women it also give Free medical
Name of Patient - Shanmugham (35 years) check up for pregnant woman below poverty
line. April 11 is celebrated as 'Janani Suraksha
Open Heart Surgery: Divas'. It is the birthday of Kasturba Gandhi.
Date of Operation - July 6, 1959
Hospital - N. Gopinath and P.H. AIIMS- All India Institute of medical sciences
Betts is in New Delhi.
Name of Patient - Beulah (now Mrs Beulah The National Rural Health mission (NRHM) was
Samuel) launched on 12 April 2005.
The operation was performed when Beulah was a The Universal Immunisation programme (UIP)
12 year child. was launched in 1985 to reduce infant, child and
First Test Tube Calf - NDRI, Karnal created maternal mortality by protecting against six vac-
cine preventable diseases namely Tuberculo-
history in December 1990 with the birth of the
sis, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio and
Worlds first test tube calf name Pratham. Measles.
First Thalassemia Operation : The bone mar- Vande Mataram Scheme was launched on 9 Feb-
row transplant, the only medical treatment for ruary 2004. The scheme aims to reduce maternal
thalassemia was performed for the first time in mortality and improving health of women

474
 particualrly during pregnancy and child birth.
Iodine is an essential micronutrien with an aver-
age daily requirement of 10 - 150 micro grams for
normal human growth - and development.
Deficiency of Iodine may cause goitre. WHO has
certified India as guinea worm disease free coun-
try in February 2000.
In 1952, India was the first country to launch
Family Planning Programme in the World.
National Population Policy : 2000
National AIDS Control Programme 1999.
New Generation Diseases
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is
caused by HIV virus which destroys human im-
munity
Ebola virus : The disease only reported in Africa.
SARS : Severe Acute Respiration Syndrome. This
virus affect lungs.
Avian Flue or Bird flue : H5N1 virus cause dis-
eases in poultry.
The disease struck in the state of Maharashtra
and Gujarat in 2006.
Social Welfare
Day of the Elderly : October 1
International Year of the Elderly : 1999
2001 was observed in India as the Year of
Womens Empowerment.
International Day of Disabled Persons :
December 3
The Government has notified five communities
namely, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and
Zoroastrians as minorities at the national level.
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The National Commission for Women (NCW)
was set up in 1992 by an Act of Parliament.
Chairperson; National Commission for women is
Girija Vyas.
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
was launched in 1975. It is a centrally sponsored
scheme.
According to 2001 census 15.37% of population
is below 6 years (157.86 million) childrens.
Minorities Right Day (India) : December 18
Government has decided to set up a National
Commission for Children, a statutory body for
the protection of children's right.
The ministry of welfare was constituted on 25
September 1985 and was renamed as minis-
try of Social Justice and Empowerment on 25
may 1998.
Help-Age India: It is a centrally sponsored
programme instituted in 1978 and its head
quarters is in New Delhi.
Housing
VAMBAY is Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yogana. It
is a new centrally sponsored housing scheme
announced on 15 August 2001 to help urban slum
dwellers living below poverty line.
National Building Organisation (NBO) was es-
tablished in 1954.
HUDCO is Housing and Urban Development
Corporation Limited.
CPWD is Central Public Works Department.
World Habitat Day is observed on October 6,
2003.
2006 - October 2 falls on First monday of Octo-
ber.
On February 1, 2003, Prime Minister Vajpayee
launched the National Mission for Manuscripts.
Its objective is to locate, enumerate and preserve
manuscripts and to increase their access.
Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas
(PURA) Programme to be implemented in 5000
rural clusters across the country in the next 5
years.
Labour
May 1 : World Labourers Day (Workers Day)
Minimum Wages Act 1948
The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
Bachawat Award is related to wages of journalists.
475
 The first National Commission on Labour was
constituted in 1966.
The Second National Commission on Labour
wa s set up under the ch air man ship of
Ravindra Varma.
On January 14, 2004, India and International
Labour Organisation jointly launched 50 new
National Child Labour Projects. India had
13.6 million child labourers in 1981 and 11
million in 1991. According to the latest sur-
vey, the number had come down to 10 mil-
lion. By the end of Tenth Five Year Plan in
2007, India hopes to free all child labourers from
hazardous occupations and equip them with
vocational skills.
GOI enacted the law for the abolition of child
labour on 2006.
National Safty Day : March 4
According to NSSO survey 1999 - 2000, of the
total labours in India 8% are in organised sector
while 92% are in unorganised sectors.
Prime Ministers Shram Awards are given to best
worker of public sector units.
Per cent of female population as workers to to-
tal female population - 25.6% (2001).
Chief justice Rajkumar Manisan Singh was ap-
pointed to Chair the wage Boards for the work-
ing journalist.
Deemed University
Under the section 3 of the UGC Act, an institution
of higher education doing work of very high
standard in a specific area be declared Deemed
University. Such institution will enjoy the
academic status and previleges of a university and
be able to strengthen the activities in the area of
their specification instead of becoming a multi-
faculty university.
The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
- Mumbai
Symbiosis International Education Centre -
Pune
Rashtriya Sanskrit Samsthan - New Delhi
476
CulturalandLiteraryActivities
Akademies : Three Akademies -Sangeet Natak
Akademi (1953), Lalith Kala Akademi (1954),
Sahitya Akademi (1954) are located in New Delhi.
The National School of Drama was set up by
Sangeet Natak Akademi in1959.
Lalit Kala Akademi
Established : 1954 : Headquartered in New
Delhi. Since its inception, the Academi has
been a nerve centre of creative and cultural
discussions and there is hardly any artist or
artistic impulses, conflicts, contradictions and
limitations, the Akademi has been functioning
with a panoramic view to involve genres of crea-
tivity in its activities.
Regional Centres : Chennai, Lucknow, Kolkata
and Bhubaneshwar and Garhi Artist Studies,
Delhi.
Function : Promotion and development of lit-
erature in all the 22 languages of India. Also
gives Sahitya Akademi Awards for outstand-
ing literary work in Indian languages. The
Sahitya Akademi ceaselessly endeavours to
develop literary culture through the publica-
tion of journals, monographs, individual crea-
tive works of every genre, Anthologies, Ency-
clopaedias, Dictionaries, Bibliographies,
Whos who and Histories of literature.
Sangeet Natak Akademi
Established : It was established on January
28, 1953 by a resolution of the Ministry of Edu-
cation headed by Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad
signed on 31st May 1952. Headquarter New
Delhi; The Sangeet Natak Akademi - Indias
National Academy for Music, Drama is the
first Academy of the Arts, set up by the Re-
public of India. It encourages the forms of
Dance, Drama and Music, offers Scholarships
to Artists and Teachers of Traditional arts and
gives awards to outstanding Artists. The
Akademi Awards are the highest National rec-
ognition conferred on participating artists. The
 Akademi also confers Fellowships and Schol-
ars, their numbers being restricted to 30 liv-
ing recipients. The Fellowship and Awards
carries a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 a shawl and
Tamrapatra.
National School of Drama
It is one of the foremost theatre institutions
of the World and the only one of its kind in
India. It was set up by Sangeet Natak Acad-
emy in 1959, later in 1975 it became an au-
tonomous body, totally financed by Depart-
ment of Culture. The objective of NSD is to
train students in all aspects of theatre, includ-
ing Theatre History Production, Scene Design,
Costume Designs, Lighting, Makeup etc.
Museums
National Museum
Established : 15th August 1949,functioning
as a subordinate Office under Ministry of Cul-
ture since 1960, formally inaugurated on 18
December 1960.
Location : In the Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati
Bhawan, New Delhi.
Activities Acquisition of art objects, their exhi-
bition and conservation. Coordinates the Fes-
tival of India in various countries. It has now
26 galleries with new addition of Buddhist Art
gallery, Decorative Arts gallery, Jewellery Gal-
lery, Tanjore and Mysore School of Painting,
Evolution of Indian Scripts and Coins, Gallery
etc.
Indian Museum
Established : 2nd February 1814, Location:
Kolkata
It is the ninth oldest regular museum of the
world, a second oldest Institution its kind in
Asia Pacific Region and repository of the larg-
est museum objects in India. It has more than
1 million exhibits having the richest collec-
tion on Art, Archeology, Anthropology, Ge-
ology, Zoology and Botany.
Nehru Memorial Museum and Library
It maintains a Personalia museum on the life
and times of Jawaharlal Nehru. The library has
a pre-eminent position among Social science
libraries in the Country.
Allahabad Museum
Established : 1931 (declared as an institution
of national importance by Central Government
in 1985)
It preserves and displays Historical Art and
Archaeological objects like sculptures, paint-
ing, Rare coins of gold, Silver, Copper and
Lead. It also has paraphernalia and family heir-
looms of the Nehrus, including manuscripts
in Persian, Arabic and Urdu.
Literature
National Book Trust
Established in : 1957
Headquarters : New Delhi
Functions Its main function is to encourage
the production of good literature and make
books available at moderate prices to libraries
educational institutions and the public. The
Ministry of Information anal Broadcasting is
the principal publishers of the trust.
National Library The National Library is lo-
cated in Calcutta. It is Indias largest library
with a collection of over 190 million volumes
of reading and information material.
National Educational Resources Centre
(NERO) The centre was established in 1972
and is also known as Raja Rammohan Roy
National Educational Resource Centre. Its
main function is to promote Indian Author-
ship, Indigenous production of University
Level Books and to provide Documentation
477
 and Statistical analysis of printed material. It
ranks 3rd in the world after USA and UK in
the publishing of English books.
Asiatic Society Asiatic Society, Kolkata, was
founded in 1776 by Sir William Jones (1764 -
1794) an eminent indologist, with the objec-
tive of inquiring into the History, Science, Arts
and Literature of Asia. It has contributed to
the growth and development of most of the
major Antiquarian, Scientific and Literary in-
stitutions of India. Its historic importance was
recognized and the government declared it an
institution of National Importance in 1984.
The soceity maintains a museum which con-
tains approx. 47000 manuscripts in various lan-
guages. With its library of printed books, ar-
chives and the collection of manuscripts, it is
on e of the l eading cent res of study of
indology in the world.

Important Monuments : India

Name Location Featurers
Ajanta Caves Aurangabad, Maharashtra Originally Budhist monasteries having
unique architecture, sculpture and paint-
ing
Elephanta Caves Island near Mumbai Consisting of seven caves famous for the
Trimurti and other scultptures
Ellora Caves Aurangabad, Maharashtra Ancient cave temples especially famous for
Temple of Kailash
Jalianwala Bagh Amritsar, Punjab Fam ous for in discr imin ate firing by
Gen -O Dyer on April 13, 1919 on Congress
meeting demanding independence.
Lothal Gujarat Archaeological excavations revealed exist-
ence of Indus Valley civilisation
Nalanda Near Patna, Bihar Ruins of ancient Buddhist University
founded by Kumaragupta in 427 AD
Sanchi Near Bhopal Ancient Buddhist monastery famous for
Madhya Pradesh Great Stupa
Sarnath Varanasi Famous for Stupas where Buddha
Uttar Pradesh preached his first sermon

Nalanda Jalianwala Bagh

478
Name Location Featurers
Memorials and Monuments

Akbars Tomb Sikandra, Near Agra Famous for its carvings and architecture
Uttar Pradesh of Hindu and Mughal art.
Anand Bhawan Allahabad Ancestral house of the Nehru family which
Uttar Pradesh Mrs. Indira Gandhi gifted for conversion
into a national memorial.
Bibi-ka-Maqbara Aurangabad, Mausoleum built by Aurangzeb in 1660
Maharashtra AD in memory of his wife Rabia Durrani.
Gandi Sadan in 1948 New Delhi Birla House where Mahatma Gandhi was
assassinated
Jamia Milia Delhi Muslim University founded by Dr Zakir
Hussain
Kranti Maidan Mumbai Historical venue where Gandhiji gave Quit
India call in 1942.
Rajghat New Delhi Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi on the banks
of the Yamuna.
Shakti Sthal New Delhi Situated on the banks of Yamuna where
Mrs. Indira Gandhi was cremated
Shantivana New Delhi Near Rajghat where Pt Jawaharlal Nehru
was cremated.
Teenumurti House New Delhi Residence of the first Prime Minister of
India, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru now converted
into a national memorial.
Tomb of Ahmed Shah Ahmedabad, Gujarat Domed structure famous for paving of mul-
ticoloured marble.
Tomb of Sher Shah Suri Sasaram, Bihar Domed structure
Vijay Ghat New Delhi Samidhi of Lal Bahadur Shastri on the bank
of the Yamuna.
Important Temples and Mosques
Ahmed Shahs Mosque Ahmedabad Built in 1414 AD, its pillars have Hindu
emblems.
Bodh Gaya temple Bodh Gaya, Bihar 60 m high temple built by Ashoka the
Great, site where Buddha attained enlight-
enment.

Rajghat Ahmed Shahs Mosque

479
Name Location Featurers

Bhubaneswar Temples Bhubaneswar, Orissa Stone temples

Dilwara Temple Mt. Abu, Rajasthan Lavishly decorated with carvings, Jain
temples.
Golden Temple Amritsar,Punjab Sacred shrine of the Sikhs
Jagannath Temple Puri, Orissa Dedicated to Lord Jagannath, an incarna-
tion of Vishnu
Jama Masjid Delhi Biggest mosque in India built by Mughal
Emperor Shahjahan
Khajuraho Temples Khajuraho, Famous sculptures depicting art of love
built some time.
Madhya Pradesh in 950 AD 1050 AD
Mahabalipuram Temples Mahabalipuram Tamil Nadu Also called Seven Pagodas
Mahakali Temple Ujjain Shiva Mandir
Meenakshi Temple Madurai, Tamil Nadu Dedicated to the Goddess Meenakshi
Moti Masjid Agra, Uttar Pradesh Built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan
Sun Temple Konark, Orissa The mythological conception of the Sun
God riding a Konark Temple twenty - four
wheeled chariot drawn by seven horses,
carved in stone.
Omkar Temple Omkarji, Madhya Pradesh Shiva Temple on an island in the Narmada
river, also called Black Pagoda.

Other Structures - Gates / Towers / Pillars

Buland Darwaja Fatehpur Sikri, Agra 38 m high gate built by Akbar, is Indias
highest gate
Gateway of India Mumbai, Maharashtra Built in 1911 AD to commemorate the visit
of King George V of UK
Qutab Minar New Delhi 72.5m high stone tower, tallest minaret in
India built by Qutab-ud-din Aibak
as a Victory Tower
Gol Gumbaz Bijapur, Karnataka Indias largest dome built on the tomb of
Sultan Mohammed Adil Shah covering an
area of 1630 sq m

Gateway of India Qutab Minar

480
Name Location Featurers

Sanchi Stupa Sanchi, Bhopal One of the earliest stupas, 17 m high and
36.5 m in diameter, made of bricks and sand-
stone.
Samath Stupa Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 22m high and 28 m in diameter, stone struc-
ture built on the spot where Lord Buddha
delivered his firs sermon.
Forts, Gardens
Agra Fort Agra, Uttar Pradesh Originally built by Akbar and additions
made by Shahjahan containing famous
buildings like Royal Palace Shish Mahal,
Moti Masjid, Diwan-i-Aam and Diwan -i-
Khas
Gwalior Fort Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh One of the biggest forts containing famous
building like Man Mandir, Palace of Man
Singh, etc.
Hawa Mahal Jaipur, Rajasthan Multi-storeyed pink coloured building
Hindodla Mahal Mandu, Madhya Pradesh The walls sloping at an angle of over 77 0
create an illusion that the entire building
sways.
Jantar Mantar New Delhi Ancient observatory
Red Fort New Delhi Built by Shahjahan, made of red stone
Rashtrapati Bhawan New Delhi Indias biggest residential building
Moghul Gardens New Delhi Garden of Rashtrapati Bhawan
Shalimar Gardens Srinagar, J & K Pleasure resort in Kashmir
Vrindaban Gardens Mysore, Karnataka Un ique ga r dens a dja cent to the
Krishnarajasagar Dam
Ramanathaswamy Rameshwaram, Indias longest corridor - 1,220 m long
Corridor Tamil Nadu
Gomateswara Sravanabelagola Indias tallest stone statue of the Jain

Statue Karnatak Sage Gomateswara

Rashtrapati Bhawan Gwalior Fort

481
 Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library estab-
lished in 1891 in Patna has a rich collection of
Arabic and Persian manuscript and Rajput and
Mughal paintings.
The Asiatic Society was founded by Sir William
Jonas in 1776.
World Heritage Day is observed on April 18.
World Tourism Day is on September 27.
"Incredible India'' is the new slogan coined by
the Union Tourism Ministry to attract overseas
and domestic ministors.
Athithi Devo Bhava' is the logo of Tourism De-
partment.
Classical Dances
Bharatnatyam : (Tamil Nadu) follows the princi-
ple of Natya Shastra. Rukminidevi Arundale
gave it a new life and revived it by establishing
Kalakshetra at Adayar, Chennai.
Bharatnatyam is popularly called Poetry in
Motion.
Famous personalities of Bharatnatyam : Yamini
Krishnamurthy, Sonal Mansingh, Padma
Subramanyam, Mirnalini Sarabhai, Santa Rao.
Indrani Rehman, T. Bala Saraswathi, Leela
Samson
Mohiniyattom dancers : Bharati Sivaji, Rangini
Devi, Shanta Rao, Gita Nayak, Kala Devi, Hema
Malini
Manipuri dancers : Savitri Mehta, Uday Shankar,
Rita Devi.
Kathakali & Mohiniyattam : (Kerala) Poet
Vallathol revived Kathakali and Mohiniyattam by
establishing Kerala Kalamandalam at
Cheruthuruthi, Thrissur in 1930.
Kathak : North Indian classical dance form.
Birju Mahraj, Gopi Krishna and Shambu Maharaj
are the famous exponents of Kathak.
Odissi : Classical dance form of Orissa.
Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra is at the forefront of
the greatest of Odissi exponents. Sonal Mansingh,
Samyukta Panigrahi are other dancers.
Kuchipudi is the dance form of Andhra Pradesh.
Vendantham Sathyanarayan, Swapna Sundari
Rao are exponents of Kuchipudi.
482
Swati Puraskaram is given to musicians in
memory of Swati Tirunal, the King of Travancore.
April 29 : International Dance Day.
Musical Instrumentalists
Mridangam: Palakkad Mani Iyer, T.R. Murthy,
Guruvayoor Doraiswami, Karaikudi
R.Mani, Umayalpuram Shivaraman,
Velloor A. Ramabhadran, Mavelikara
Krishnan Kutty Nair.
Sitar : Ravi Shankar, Mushtaq Ali Khan, Vilayat
Khan, Uma Shankar Mishra, Nikhil
Banerjee, Raiz Khan, Harashankar
Bhattacharya, Budhaditya Mukherjee,
Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan.
Sarod : Amjad Ali Khan, Ali Akbar Khan, Rajiv
Taranath
Violin : V.G. Jog, Lalgudi Jayaraman, T.N.
Krishnan, Yehudi Mennuhin, M. S.
Gopalakrishnan, Kunnukkudi
Vaidyanathan, Kalyana Krishna
Bhagavatar, L. Subramaniam,
Chandayya, Kantha Devi, Gajannan Rao
Joshi (Hindustani), Zubin Mehta
(Western).
Santoor : Shiv Kumar Sharma, Tarun Bhattacharya,
Bhajan Sopperi.
Flute : N.Ramani, Hariprasad Chaurasia, T.R.
Mahalingam, Pannalal Ghosh, T. S.
Shankaran, Sikkil Sisters
Mandolin : U. Srinivas, S. Balamurali Krishna.
Piano : Surojeet Chatterji, Kaikhosh Shapurji,
Sorabjee.
Shehnai : Bismillah Khan, Bagheshwari Gamar,
Bade Gulam Ali.
Tabla : Alla Rakha, Zakir Hussian, Shankar
Ghosh, Abad Mistry, Rimba Shiva,
Santha Prasad, Sheikh Dawood,
Sharafat Ahmed Khan, Kishan Maharaj,
Ahmed, Tirkuva, Pt. Samta Prasad.
Veena : Chitti Babu, Mysore Doraiswami
Iyankar, Azad Ali Khan (Hindustani),
Badik Ali Khan, Kumara Swami Iyer
(Carnatic), Kalpakkom Swaminathan,
Kalyana Krishna Bhagavatar, S.
Balachander.
Sarangi : Pandit Ram Narayan, Sultan Khan, Sabri
Khan.
Clarnet : Sheikh Mohammed Arif.
Indian Vocalists
Carnatic : M.S. Subbulakshmi, Balamurali Krishna,
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar,
Semmangudi Sinivasa Iyer, M.L.
Vasantha Kumari, M.D. Ramanathan,
G.N. Balasubra-maniam, Ariyakudi
Ramaniya Iyyengar.
Hindustani : Bhimsen Joshy, Mallikarjun Mansur,
Pandit Jasraj, Parveen Sultana, Naina
Devi, Siddheswari, Girija Devi, Kumar
Gandharva.
Radio And Television
Radio Broadcasting started in India in 1920s.
The first programme was broadcasted in 1923 by
the Radio Club of Bombay.
Radio broadcasting started in India in 1927 with
privately owned transmitters at Mumbai and Cal-
cutta. In 1930 Government took over the trans-
mitters started operating them under the name
Indian Broadcasting Service.It was named All In-
dia Radio (AIR) in 1936 and it has become known
as Akashvani since 1957.
The experimental telecast of
Doordarshan started in Delhi
in September 15, 1959. The
national programme and
other transmissions started
in 1982. Doordarshan Com-
mercial Service started in
1986.
The Prasar Bharathi giving
autonomy to AIR and Brijeswar Singh
Doordarshan, came into
force on November 23, 1997. The well known jour-
nalist Nikhil Chakra-varthy was the first Chairman
of Prasar Bharathi.
Now Brijeswar Singh is the Chairman of Prasar
Bharathi.
Radiocity, Indias first private F.M. radio station,
promoted by Music Broadcast Private Ltd, is
launched in Bangalore.
International Children's Day of Broadcasting -
December 10
The first University in India to have a radio sta-
tion of its own is Sardar Patel University. It has
received permission from Prasar Bharati, and the
Gujarat Govt.
Doordarshan
Indias first television centre came into being on
September 15, 1959 as a pilot project. It was an
experimental service organised as a part of All
India Radio.
August 1965 that the first general service started
from Delhi on a regular basis. In 1976, television
set up delinked from the AIR and given a sepa-
rate status and name of Doordarshan. The Asian
Games in 1982 saw another landmark in the his-
tory of Doordarshan when colour television was
introduced in India. Now Doordarshan has gorwn
into one of the biggest television networks in
the world. Doordarshan - India the International
Channel is in operation from 1995 and reaching
about 50 Countries in Asia, Africa and Europe
and has plans to have a round - the clock trans-
mission reaching the entire World
ASC Enterprises has become India's first Direct-
to-Home (DTH) television service provider, with
the Information and Broadcasting (I & B) Minis-
try issuing it the necessary licence. The licence
is valid for 10 years.
Doordarshan (DD Direct Plus) has been launched
on December 16th 2004. It presently covers 33
TV changes & 12 Radio Channels.
New Satellite Channel like DD Lok Sabha & DD
Rajya Sabha has also started.
The I & B Ministry allowed uplinking rights for a
decade to Rupert Murdoch's 'Star News'. It is the
first wholly foreign owned News Channel to
uplinked from India.
Asianet is Indias first Private Channel.
483

Indian Newspapers
The first newspaper in India was James A. Hickey's
Bengal Gazette published in 1780 in Kolkata.
The largest number of newspapers are published
in the State of Uttar Pradesh and the language in
which the maximum number of newspapers are
published is Hindi.
The financial daily 'Business Standard' will be-
come the first Indian newspaper to secure For-
eign Direct Investemt (FDI).
The first Electronic News Paper Booth in India
was opened at Hotel International Park Royal.
The oldest existing newspaper in India is Bombay
Samachar published in 1822 in Gujarati. The oldest
existing English daily is the Times of India (1838).
'Dainik Bhaskar' published in Hindi (18 editions)
had the largest claimed circulation. For single
edition dailies 'Hindustan Times', claimed top
most position.
There are four main news agencies in India. They
are (1) Press Trust of India (PTI), (2) United News
of India (UNI), (3) Samachar Bharati and (4)
No newspapers are published from
Arunachal Pradesh and Lakshadweep.
484
Hindustan Samachar. PTI and UNI supply news
in English and the other two are operating through
the medium of Hindi and other Indian languages.
PT1 was founded on August 27, 1947. It began
functing from February 1, 1949.
It has bilaterial news exchange arrangement with
Several news agencies of Countries of Asia, Af-
rica, Europe & Latin America.
The Press Trust of India was the first news
agency in India.
R. Lakshmipathi is the Chairman of Press Trust
of India.
Fourth estate means the Press.
Tushar Kanthi Ghosh is known as the Grand
Old Man of Indian Journalism.
Father of Indian Journalism is Chalapathi Rao.
Justice G.N. Ray is the Chairman of the Press
Council of India.
PIB - Press Information Bureau.
ABC - Audit Bureau of Circulation.
Chairman ABC Ms. Shobhana Bhartia
Anand Bazar Patrika has the largest circulation
among single edition dailies.
Press Freedom Day : May 3
Indias first ever distance electronic journal has
been inaugurated by IGNOU.
Manisana Singh Wage Board recommendations
are related to press.
The 125th anniversary celebrations of 'The Hindu'
daily were held in Chennai. The editor-in-chief of
The Hindu is N. Ram.
United News of India started functing from March
21st 1961. It was incorporated under the Compa-
nies Act on December 19, 1959.
Mr. Ravindra kumar, Chairman United News of
India.
Postal System in India
Postal system was established by Robert Clive
in 1766, & it was further developed by Warren
Hastings by establishing G.P.O Calcutta in 1774.
PIN - Postal Index Number: The system was in-
troduced in 1972. The postal index number con-
sists of six digits. The extreme left first digit rep-
 resents the zone in the country, the second rep-
resents the sub-zone, the third the sorting dis-
trict. The first three digits together indicate the
precise sorting district. The last three digits indi-
cate the delivery post office. There are 8 postal
zones in India. Kerala, Tamil Nadu and
Lakshadweep are included in Zone No: 6.
EMS - Emergency Mail Service, SATMO is
Satellite Money Order and E-Mail is Electronic
Mail Service.
The first telegraph line in India was between
Calcutta and Diamond Harbour during the ten-
ure of Lord Dalhousie in 1851.
TELEX is Teleprinter Exchange, STD is
Subscriber Trunk Dialling and ISD is
International Subscriber Dialling.
EPABX is Electronic Private Automatic Branch
Exchange.
World Post Office Day is observed on October
9. But National Postal Day is on October 10. It
was on October 9, 1875, the UPU (Universal
Postal Union) was set up become a specialised
agency of UN since 1947. The headquarters of
UPU is in Berne, Switzerland. APPU is Asia
Pacific Postal Union.
India become the member of UPU since 1870 &
the APPU in 1964.
TRAI - Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
was established in 1997 under Telecom Regula-
tory of India Act 1997.
The first telephone exchange in India was set up in
Mumbai.
The first automatic telephone exchange in India
was set up in Shimla in 1914.
First State to issue a stamp was Kathiawar in
Saurashtra (now Gujarat State)
First Post Office outside the country set up by
India was at Dakshin Gangotri in Antarctica.
First stamp designer was Captain H.L. Thuillier,
Deputy Surveyor General, Calcutta.
First stamp honouring a national leader, Ma-
hatma Gandhi, was issued on August 15, 1948.
First airmail service from Allahabad to Nainital
on February 18, 1911.
Meghdoot is the Mobile Postmen Scheme which
was introduced by BSNL recently.
The Extra Departmental Agents (EDAs) work-
ing in the Department of posts is to be known as
Gramin Dak Sewaks.
Bombay & Madras Presidencies started the
GPOs is the year 1786 & 1793.
The Act of 1837 first regulated the Post Office
on an uniform basis & united the 3 presidencies
into one all- India Service.
The Post Office Act of 1854 reformed the entire Postal
system, & Post Office of India on the present form
came into existence from October 1, 1854.
Money Order Service was introduced in 1880.
Upto Rs. 5000 can be made through each money
order.
Satellite Based Money Order Service was intro-
duced in 1994 for speedy transmissions of Money
Order.
VSAT - Very Small Apeture Terminals were es-
tablished for Satellite MOS.
ESMOs - Extended Satellite Money Order sta-
tions.
TMOs - Transit Mail Offices.
The Postal Department introduced two Internet
based value added service named e-Post, e-Bill
Post.
e-Post electronic message are booked at any Post
office in the Country and are downloaded at an
identified Post Office & delivered to the recipi-
ents as hard copies.
e-Bill Post allows the customer to pay their util-
ity bills like Telephone, Mobile phone. Electric-
ity, Water Supply etc at one window through
Post Office Counters.
Speed Post system was introduced on 1 August
1986.
International EMS was started in 1986.
Postal Life Insurance (PLI) was introduced in
1884.
Electronic Fund Trnasfer (EFT) was launched in
2001.
World's first Postage Stamp was issued in 1840
by great Britain.
In USA the first stamp appeared in 1847, July 1.
In India it was in 1852.
Rowland Hill of England is considered as the
Father of Philately.
Philately - Collection of stamps.
1850, stamp collection began as a hobby.
485
Indian Languages
The Eighth Schedule of our Constitution con-
tain 22 language of India. In 2004 besides 18 lan-
guages 4 languages was added by the 92nd
amendment Act 2003. These are Bodo, Dogri,
Maithili & Santhali
India has 22 Officially recognised languages.
Which are included in the 8th Schedule of the
Indian Constitution.
India is the Country where largest number of lan-
guages are spoken. The Fact that as many as Azim Premji
1,652 languages and dialicts including 63 non- is the chairman of WIPRO. He has been
Indian languages are Spoken in India. identified as the richest man in India.
The languages of India have two major linguis-
tic divisions which are Aryan and Dravidian.
The original silicon valleyis in California, the USA.
The outstanding languages of the Dravidian
group are Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Indias first technopark was inaugurated in
Trivandrum.
Malayalam.
Computer Networks are LAN, MAN, WAN.
Tamil, the State language of Tamil Nadu, is the
oldest among the Dravidian languages and the LAN - Local Area Network gained performance
youngest among them is Malayalam. in 1980.
Telugu, the State language of Andhra Pradesh, MAN - Metropolitan Area Network.
is the most spoken Dravidian language. WAN - Wide Area Network
The most spoken Indian language is Hindi, fol- C-DAC is Centre for the Development of
lowed by Bengali and Telugu. Advanced Computing. It is a Central Government
Hindi in Devanagari script is the Official lan- organisation based at Pune. India developed its
guage of India. own super computer technology. They are
Urdu is the State language of Jammu and Kashmir PARAM (for CDAC) ANUPAM (BARC) MTPPS
(BARC) PACE (Anurag) CHIPPS (CDOT) and
and the mother tongue of Nagaland is English.
FLOSOLVER MK 5 (NAC) Indias only cray
Sanskrit is the Classical language of India and
XMP is used for Climatic research.
also the oldest in the World.
ISP is the Internet Service Provider.
Malayalam language was derived from Tamil.
VSNL is the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited. It
Mani Pravalam is a mixture of Malayalam and
was the first ISP in India.
Tamil Languages.
Satyam was the first private ISP in India.
Mandarin (Chinese) language is spoken by the
largest number of people in the World. STPI is Software Technology Park of India.
The Centre of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
ComputerTechnology inIndia is in Bangalore.
Computer technology has opened new avenues The Biggest robot in India - Natraj
for the hard working Indian youth. Indias first Cyber Crime Police Station was set
Hi-tec city of India is Hyderabad. up in Bangalore.
Silicon valley of India is Bangalore. Computer literacy programme started by Madhya

486
 Pradesh Government is named Headstart.
Global Internet firm, Yahoo is to set up its first R
& D Centre outside USA in Bangalore in Aug.
2003 with focus on production innovation and
cutting edge technology for the Company's cus-
tomers World wide.
Madhya Pradesh plans to open the country's
maiden University on Information Technology,
in collaboration with NIIT.
The Krishi television channel was launched on
the platform of the satellite cable television chan-
nel on IGNOU.
Pol Net - Polnet is a satellite based communica-
tion channel, exclusively for the use of Police
related organisations. Messages/Fax are sent to
various State/ District Police Headquarters.
Extenson of Polnet phones has been provided
to all the divisional heads and most of the branch
heads of NCRB. They can talk to various States/
districts over the Polnet.
The 64 bit power Mac G5, Apple's latest per-
sonal computer the most powerful and arguably
the World's fastest desktop `machine, was
launched in India on Aug. 20, 2003.

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487

Education in India
Education is included in the Concurrent list by
the Constiutional Amendment of 1976. Before
1976 Education was a State List.
Lord Macaulays Minute (1835): This Made English
the medium of instruction in government schools
and colleges.
Which of the following educational initiatives
is called the Magna Carta of English Education
in India?
a) Macaulays Minute
b) Woods Despatch
c) Hunter Commission
d) Kothari Commission
Ans : b) Woods Despatch
Woods Despatch of 1854 was the first
comprehensive plan for the spread of education
in India. It made medium of instruction English
for Higher studies and vernacular at school
levels.
The Universities of Calcutta, Bombay, Madras
were set up in 1857.
Punjab University was set up in 1882.
Allahabad University was set up in 1887.
Hunter Commission (1882-83) was appointed
488
to study about Primary and Secondary
education.
Radhakrishnan Commission (1948-49) was
appointed to reform the University Education in
the Country. It recommended 12 years of Pre-
University Education.
Which Commission was responsible for the
introduction of 10 + 2+ 3 education scheme?
Ans : Radhakrishnan Commission
Which Commission was responsible for three
languages formula for education?
Ans : Kothari Commission
Kothari Commission (1964-66) was set up to
advices on the national pattern of education. It
recommended free, universal and compulsory
education upto age of 14; three language formula
- Mother tongue, Hindi and English and
development of Regional languages.
In 1976 Education was placed on concurrent list.
New policy of Education was announced in 1986.
University Grants Commission was set up in 1953
as recommended by
a) Kothari Commission
b) Radhakrishnan Commission
c) Hunter Commission d) None of these
Ans : (b) Radha Krishnan Commission
DPEP - District Primary Education Programme
was launched in 1994. Sarva Shiksha Abliyam
(SSA) launched in 2001 replaced DPEP.
NEEM is National Elementary Education Mission.
Formed in 1995 aims at Universalisation of
Elementary Education.
IGNOU is Indira Gandhi National Open
University. It was set up under an Act of
Parliament in 1985.
UGC will soon be renamed as Higher Education
Development Council.
NCERT is National Council for Educational
 Where they rest
Place .................................................... Person
Rajghat ................................. Mahatma Gandhi
Santhivan ............................. Jawaharlal Nehru
Chaithrabhoomi ........................ B.R. Ambedkar
Shakthisthal ............................... Indira Gandhi
Ekthasthal ........................................ Zail Singh
Kisanghat .................................. Charan Singh
Place .................................................... Person
Veerbhoomi .................................. Rajiv Gandhi
Abhyaghat ................................. Morarji Desai
Narayanghat .......................... Gulzarilal Nanda
Samathasthal ............................... Jagjivan Ram
Vijayghat ............................... Lal Bahadur Shastri
Nigam Bodhghat .......................... Kishan Kant
Udayabhumi ............................ K.R. Narayanan

Research and Training. Formed in 1961. World Book Day : April 23.
SCERT- State Council for Educational Research World Literacy Day is observed on
and Training. (a) September 5 (b) September 8
National Book Trust (NBT) was set up in 1957. (c) February 28 (d) June 5
There are 7 Indian Institute of Technologies Answer: (b) September 8
(IITs) in India. They are at Mumbai, Chennai,
September 5 - Teachers Day
Kanpur, Delhi, Kharagpur, Roorkee and
February 28 - National Science Day
Guwahati.
NLM was launched in the year
There are 6 Indian Institute of Managements
(IIMs). They are at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, (a) 1988 (b) 1980 (c) 1995 (d) 1992
Calcutta, Lucknow and Kozhikode. Answer: (a) 1988
Operation Blackboard was launched in 1987-88 NLM - National Literacy Mission was launched
to bring about substantial improvement in on May 5, 1988.
Primary Schools by providing all basic amenities. First town to achieve full literacy was Kottayam
Three Rs in education are Reading, Writing and (1989) and the first District to achieve full literacy
Arithmetics. was Ernakulam (1990) and the first State to
The 86rd Constitutional Amendment Bill has been become fully literate was Kerala (1991)
introduced in Parliament to make the right to Literacy rate in India 52.21% (1991)
elementary education a fundamental right and a Literate in India is 65.38% (2001)
fundamental duty.
DPEP was launched in
The Central Institute of English and other
(a) 1990 (b) 1994
Foreign Languages is in Hyderabad.
(c) 1993 (d) 1995
University Grants Commission (UGC) was
Answer: (b)
established on December 28. It became a
Statutory Organ by an Act of Parliament in 1956. District Primary Education Programme (DPEP)
1953. The present Chairman is Mr. Sukhadeo was launched in 1994 as a major intiative to
Thorat. achieve the objective of the Universalisation of
Primary Education.
ISBN is International Standard Book Numbering.
It was started in 1985 in India. Operation Black Board aims to improve
International Mother Language Day is on February (a) the primary education
21.
489
 (b) pre-primary education
(c) upper primary education
(d) informal eduaction
Answer: (a)
Swami Vivekananda founded the Rama-krishna
Mission.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded Brahma Samaj
in 1828.
Swami Dayananda Saraswathi founded Arya
Samaj.
Kesab Chandra Sen founded Prarthana Samaj.
Madan Mohan Malaviya founded Banares
Hindu University.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan started Aligarh
Movement in 1875.
Jaya Prakash Narayan started Sarvodaya
Movement.
Vinobha Bhave started Bhoodan Movement.
The Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) is a
Programme launched by the State of Madhya
Pradesh.
Netaji Subhash Saksharata Mission was
launched to eradicate illiteracy in the Country.
The controversial District Primary Education
Programme (DPEP) was replaced by the Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). SSA was launched on
October 10, 2001. The SSA is a World Bank aided
project aimed at the Universalisation of Elemen-
tary Education and improving the quality of ba-
sic education.
The first step taken by the Government in the
spread of Modern Education was in
(a) 1757 (b) 1813 (c) 1854 (d) 1857
Ans : (b) 1813
In 1813, through the Charter Act, the British gov-
ernment sanctioned to the Company a lakh of
rupees for educational development.
65.38% is the literacy rate of 2001 census.
Kerala is the highest literate State in India
490
(90.92%). Second place goes to Mizoram.
The National Green Crops Programme which aims
to set up echo clubs in schools to strengthen envi-
ronmental education was launched in the State of
Kerala.
President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam gave his as-
sent to the Constitutions 86th Constitutional
Amendment on December 14, 2002 which man-
dates Free and Compulsory Education. For all
Children in the age group of 6-14 as a Funda-
mental Right.
EDUSAT - The Educational Satellite designed to
beam down programmes in different languages
to students at all levels in all Fields, the concept
of Education to Home (ETH) became a possibil-
ity on September 20, 2004. It would open up a
new age in which a learner whether aspiring for a
technology degree or basic literacy could just
switch on the television and learn at home itself.
IGNOU launched a Technology Education TV
Channel for disseminating IIT Programme to dis-
tant learners.
Gyan Darshan is the educational TV Channel of
IGNOU telecasting two 24 hours Channel.
The Central Advisory Board of Education
(CABE) the highest Advisory Body established
in 1920.
CABE advice the Central & State Govt. in the
field of Education.
The Resolution on National Policy on Educa-
tion was adopted in 1986, which was revised in
1992 aims at Universlisation of Elementary Edu-
cation populary known as Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan.
There are 7 IITs and 6 IIM in India.
Worlds first Petroleum & Energy studies Uni-
versity is at Uttaranchal. Set up by the Hydro-
carbons Education & Research Society New
Delhi.
 National Council for Teacher Education was es-
tablished in 1995 to achieve planned & Co-
ordinated development of teacher Education
system.
National Bal Bhavan was founded by Pt.
Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956, it is under Ministry of
Human Resource Development for Children in
the age group 5 - 16 years.
The National Programme of Nutritional support
of Primary Education (NPSPE) popularly known
as Mid-Day Meal Scheme was launched in Au-
gust 15, 1995 to give a boost to Universalisation
of Primary Education.
Lok Jumbish in a Swedish International Devel-
opment Agency project launched in Rajasthan
to achieve education for all through peoples
mobilisation & their participation.
Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Introduction
of Yoga in Schools was launched in 1989 -90.
Co-educational residential schools called
Jawaharlal Navodya Vidyalaya was established
by the National Policy on Education in 1986.
Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangham was approved by
Govt. in 1962 in the reccommendation of II Pay
Commission.
In 1962, of antonomous body called kendriya
Vidyalaya Sangatham was established with the
object to cater the educational needs of the chil-
dren of transferable Central Govt. employees
NCERT an apex institution which provides tech-
nical resources support for school education.
Central Institute of English & Foreign Lan-
guage (CIEFL) is at Hyderabad.
Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Ved Vidya
Prathisthan, Ujjain.
Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, New Delhi estab-
lished by Government in 1970.
Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Thirupathi.
Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit
Vidyapeetha , New Delhi.
Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR)
New Delhi set up in 1972.
The Indian Council of Philosophical Research
(ICPR), New Delhi functioned from 1977.
The Indian Institute of Advanced studies (IIAS)
Shimla, Set up in 1965.
The Indian Council of Social Science Research
(ICSSR) New Delhi.
The National Council of Rural Institute (NCRI)
Set up in 1995.
IGNOU was established in 1985 for the pro-
motion of Open University & Distance Edu-
cation. Present Vice Chancellor of IGNOU
V.N. Rajesekharan Pillai
491
Indian Presidents PRESIDENTSOFINDIA
Longest serving President: Ist 2nd 3rd
Dr. Rajendra Prasad (12 years 2
months, 18 days)
First Elected President :
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan became the
President of India in 1962.
President for shortest term :
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Dr. S.Radhakrishnan Dr. Zakir Hussain
Dr. Zakir Hussain. (May 13, 1967 to 26.1.1950 - 13.5.1962 13.5.1962 - 13.5.1967 13.5.1967 - 3.5.1969
May 3, 1969)
First President to die in harness: Dr. 4th 5th 6th
Zakir Hussain (on May 3, 1969)
First Vice President to die in harnes:
Krishan Kant (on July 28, 2002)
Oldest President of India:
R. Venkataraman (at the age of 76
years, 7 months, 21 days)
V. Venkatagiri Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
Youngest President of India: 24.8.1969 - 24.8.1974 24.8.1974 - 11.2.1977 25.7.1977 - 25.7.1982
N. Sanjeeva Reddy (at the age of 64
years) 7th 8th 9th
Philosopher President : Dr. S.
Radhakrishnan
First M alayalee to become Indian
President :
K.R. Narayanan
The Kerala Governor who later be- Giani Zail Singh R. Venkataraman Dr. S.D. Sharma
came the President of India: V.V. Giri 25.7.1982 - 25.7.1987 25.7.1987 - 25.7.1992 25.7.1992 - 25.7.1997

First President to vote in the Legis- 10th 11th

lative Assembly is A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam.
First President to travel in fighter
jet and in a submarine Dr. APJ.
Abdul Kalam
Lok Sabha Speaker who became the
President Neelan Sanjeeva Reddy. K.R. Narayanan A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
25.7.1997 - 24.7.2002 25.7.2002 - ...........
The First Acting President - V.V. Giri
Books Written by Indian Presidents ern thought : Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
India Divided , Satyagraha at Champa Indian Philosophy : Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
ran,Atmakatha, Bapu ke Kadmoncin: Rajendra A Million Jobs : V.V. Giri
Prasad My Presidential Years, A million years
A Hindu View of Life, The Ethics of Vedanta, : R. Venkataraman
Essentials of Psychology, East and West Reli- The Wings of Fire, Guidng Souls, India 2020, A
gion, Freedom and Culture, Contemporary In- vision for the new Millennium, Ignited minds,
dian Philosophy, Eastern Religious and West- India - My dreams.: Dr. APJ. Abdul Kalam.

492
 A.B. Vajpayee
Indian Prime Ministers Who was the Prime Minister of India at the time
Prime Minister for the longest period : Jawaharlal of Kargil War?
Nehru (17 years) A.B. Vajpayee
The first woman Prime Minister:Indira Gandhi First Indian Prime Minister to speak in Hindi in
Prime Minister for shortest term : Charan Singh UN General Assembly
(5 months, 16 days) A.B. Vajpayee
The oldest Prime Minister to assume office : Who is the 14th Prime Minister of India
Morarji Desai (at the age of 81) Dr. Manmohan Singh
The youngest Prime Minister to assume office : The RBI Governor who become the Prime Min-
Rajiv Gandhi (at the age of 40) ister of India
The first Prime Minister to lose election : Indira Dr. Manmohan Singh
Gandhi (in 1977) The first Prime Minister from Sikh Community
The first Prime Minister to resign : Morarji Desai Dr. Manmohan Singh
The first Prime Minister to die in harness : Books written by Indian Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru : The Discovery of
The first Prime Minister to die in harness abroad: India, Glimpses of world History, An Autobi-
Lal Bahadur Shastri (at Tashkent in 1966) ography, A bunch of old letters.
The first Prime Minister to get assassinated : Indira Gandhi : My Truth, The Eternal India.
Indira Gandhi (1984) Chandra Sekhar : Dynamics of Social Change
The first acting Prime Minister of India : Gulzarilal P.V. Narasimha Rao : The Insider, Ayodhya 6th
Nanda December 1992.
The Prime Minister who never faced the Parlia- Atal Bihari Vajpayee : New Dimension of In-
ment : Charan Singh dias Foreign Policy.
The first Prime Minister to lose a vote of confi-
dence: V.P. Singh
The Prime Minister of the second shortest term
S. Chandrasekhar
The Prime Minister of the shortest term in one
spell
A. B. Vajpayee (16 May 1996 - 01 June 1996)
First Indian Prime Minister from Karnataka
Deva Gowda
Who became the Prime Minister of India after
the resignation of Deva Gowda who lost the con-
fidence Motion in Parliament
I.K. Gujral
First Prime Minister from BJP
A.B. Vajpayee
How many times Vajpayee became the Prime
Minister of India
Three Times (1996, 1998, 1999)
The Prime Minister who made Lahore bus journey
A.B. Vajpayee
The Indian Prime Minister to attend Agra sum-
mit

493
Important Projects
Chipko Movement - Launched by Sunderlal
Bahuguna, a save-the- tree movement.
Telugu Ganga Project: Brings drinking water
to Chennai from Krishna River in Andhra
Pradesh.
Project Unigauge - Launched by Indian Rail-
ways to convert all metergauge rail tracks to
broadgauge.
Operation Flood - Development of dairy farm-
ing for the supply of milk to metropolitan
cities.
Antyodaya Programme - Started by Jaya
Prakash Narayan and aimed at the upliftment
of the rural poor. It aims to help the poorest of
the poor.
White Revolution - Increased production of
milk; initiated by Varghese Kurian, the father
of White Revolution in India.
Garland Canal Project - It was launched to
connect North-South rivers in India. Its tar-
get year is 2016.
Operation Blackboard - Gives essential mini-
mum education to children up to the age of 14
and improvement of primary education, incor-
porated in the New Education Policy.
Project Elephant - A wild life protection pro-
gramme under the Eighth Plan period.
Project Tiger - The most successful wildlife
protection programme ever undertaken. It was
launched in 1973.
Enron Project - 740 MW gas based Dabhol
Power project located in Maharashtra.
Bhoodan - Acharya Vinobha Bhave launched the
Movement to provide land to the landless labourers.
Sreeniketan Project - Started byRabindranath
Tagore.
Sevagram Project-Started by Mahatma Gandhi.
Nirmithi Kendra : Provides low cost construc-
tion technology.
IREDA : Indian Renewable Energy Develop-
ment Agency.
494
ANERT : Agency for Non Conventional En-
ergy and Rural Technology.
VAMBE : Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana. Hous-
ing project for the poor in the Urban area.
Sagar Mala Project for expansion and up-
grading of maritime infrastructure. This will
supplement the on-going Prime Minister's
Rural Roads Programme and the National Rail
Vikas Yojana.
National Horticultural Mission launched with
the objective of encouraging cultivation of
fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices etc. The
missions target would be to double horticul-
ture production by 2010.
Chandrayan -1
Chandrayan is Indias first unmanner moon
exploration. The project is being implemented
by ISRO in association with other countries
space agencies including NASA.
Sethusamudram Project
The Sethusamudram project aims to build up
a shipping channel between India and Sri
Lanka so that big ships can travel from west-
ern coast of India to east coast with out trav-
elling around Sri Lanka. It can save time and
fuel.
Golden Quadrilateral
Golden Quadralateral is a project under taken
under National Highway Development Project
to link the four metro cities of India with four
to six lane highway. The city get linked by
Golden Quardralateral are Mumbai, Delhi,
Kolkata and Chennai.
Operation Oliver was launched by the coast
Guard for protecting the Oliver Ridley Turtles
which came to three different sites in Orissa.
Gahirmatha, Debi river coast in Kendrapara
district and the Ruskilya coast for mass
nesting.
 COMMITTEES
AND COMMISSIONS
Atomic Energy Commission
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was set up
in August 1948 to look after atomic energy ac-
tivities in the country.
The government of India has set up a separate
depa r t m en t - Depa r tm en t of At om i c
Energy (DAE) for promotion of atomic
research. It has five research centres
1. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC),
Mumbai
2. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research,
(IGCAR) Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu
3. Centre for advanced Technology (CAT) Indore
4. Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC)
Kolkata
5. Atomic Minerals Directorate for Explora-
tion and Research (AMD) Hyderabad.
Commissions for Agricultural Costs
and Prices (CACP)
CACP was earlier known as Agricultural prices
Commission
CACP advices the government about the minimum
support prices for the agricultural produce.
Census Commission
Census Commission functioned on temporary
basis till 1964. It was in that year the office of
the Registrar General and census commis-
sioner of India was established.
The first All India census was taken in 1872.
Regular census began from 1881 onwards
Centre Water Commission (CWC)
CWC is responsible for initiating and co-
ordinating in consultation with state govern-
ments, schemes for control, conservation and
utilisation of water resources for purposes
of irrigation, navigation flood control the
throughout the country.
Election Commission
Election Commission is a statutory body es-
tablished under article 324 of the constitu-
tion. The functions of the Election Commis-
sion include Preparation of electrol rolls, the
conduct of election to Parliament, State leg-
islatures and election to the offices of presi-
dent and Vice President of India. The EC has
also (i) to lay down generals rules of election
(ii) to determine constituencies (iii) to give
recognation to political parties (iv) to allote
election symbols etc.
EC consist of 3 member including Chief Elec-
tion Commissioner.
The present Chief Election Commissioner -
N.Gopalaswami.
Election Commissioner's Navin B Chawla &
S.Y. Quaraishi
Finance Commission
Under Article 280 of the Constitution, a Fi-
nance Commission is to be constituted every
fifth year to make recommendation to Presi-
dent as to distribution between the Union and
the States of the net proceeds of taxes and
sharing of other revenues so far 12 Finance
Commissions have been constituted.
The Chairman of the XII FC is Dr. C.
Rangarajan.
Indo - Bangladesh joint Rivers Commission
495
 was established in 1972 for sharing of water
between two countries.
Khadi and Village Industries Commission
(KVIC) , was established in 1957. It plan or-
ganise and implement programme for the de-
velopment of Khadi and village industries.
Law Commission : The Law Commission was
fist constituted in 1955.
17th Law Commission was constituted in Sep-
tember 2003 with Justice Jagannadha Rao as
its Chairman. Vice Chairman Dr. N.M. Ghatate.
Mandal Commission was appointed to look
into the grievances of the backward classes.
It has recommended 27% of seats in academic
institutions and job in government organisa-
tions for these classes.
The recommended reservation is in addition
to the existing 22.5% per cent job reservation
for the Scheduled Casts and Scheduled Tribes.
National Commission on Farmers
University Grants Commission (UGC)
M.S. Swaminathan heads the National Com-
mission on Farmers.
National Knowledge Commission
National Knowledge Commission has been
constituted with Sam Pitroda as its head. The
Commission will advice the Prime Minister on
issues concerning institutions of knowledge
production and the use and dissemination of
knowledge.
Vice Chairman - P.M. Bhargava
National Statistical Commission
As per the recommendations of the Rangarajan
committee the union cabinet approved on may
19, 2005. The setting up of National statistical
Commission.
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission at the centre is the
apex body in the planning machinery of the
country. The Planning Commission was set
up in March 1950 by a Resolution of Govern-
ment of India.
Information Commission
496
The Union Government has constituted The
Central Information Commission (CIC) under
the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which came
into force on October 13, 2005 Wajahat
Habibullah is its Chairman.
State Chief Information Commissioner is Palat
Mohandas.
Volcker Committee : was appointed by UN
Secretary General on April 21, 2004 to look
into the irregularities found in Food for Oil
Programme for Iraq ( 1996 - 2003) Indian For-
eign Minister Natwar Singh resigned from the
post due to adverse reference in Volcker Com-
mittee Report.
Basal Committee : was set up to look into the
matter of taking bribe to ask question in Par-
liament by MPs. Based on the Basal Commit-
tee Report MPs were expelled from the Parlia-
ment (10 MPs from Lok Sabha and one MP
from Rajya Sabha)
The UGC was set up in 1953 to promote and
co-ordinate University Education and to de-
termine and maintain standard of teaching ex-
amination and research in the Universities.
Subramanyan Committee : To probe in to
events leading to the Kargil War.
Justice Jain : into the conspiracy aspects of
Rajiv Gandhi assassination.
J.S. Verma : in to the security lapses that led
to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
Dr. D.R. Karthikeyan : led the special inves-
tigation team of the Central Bureau of Investi-
gation (CBI) which enquired into the assassi-
nation of Rajiv Gandhi.
Vohra Committee : Studied about the nexus
between criminals and politicians in India.
Murari Committee : Reviewed Deep Sea Fish-
ing Policy.
Leila Seth Commission : Probed into the
death of Rajan Pillai in Tihar Jail.
Nanavati Shah Commission: Godhra riot.
Justice S.N. Phukan: Tehelka probe. Justice
 Venkataswami first enquired about Tehelka.
Kelkar Committee : Direct and Indirect Tax
Nanawati Commission : Enquires into anti
Sikh riot of 1984 in Delhi. BJP lead NDA govern-
ment appointed the enquiry Committee in 2000.
Justice Venkitachallaih Panel was appointed
to review the Constitution of India.
Indrajit Gupta Committee: State Funding of
election.
Balwant Rai Mehta Committee - Panchayati
Raj was introduced in the country on the ba-
sis of this report.
Raja Chellaiah Committee - Tax Reforms sug-
gested various means for eradicating black
money.
Kudal Commission - It was set up to look into
the affairs of Gandhi Peace Foundation.
Justice Ram Nandan Prasad Committee - To
identify the creamy layer among the socially
and economically weaker sections of the back-
ward classes to be excluded from Mandal ben-
eficiaries.
Narasimham Committee-Banking sector re-
forms.
Malhotra Committee - Prepared report about
the insurance sector reforms.
Yaspal Committee - Suggested the abolition
of admission tests and interviews for the ad-
mission to pre-primary classes.
Goswami Committee-It is related to sick indus-
tries.
Sri Krishna Commission - It enquired into
the communal riots in Mumbai.
Railway Safety Committee - Headed by
M.L.C.L. Kaw, it recommended expeditious
grant of relief to victims of railway accidents.
Commission on Labour Standards - Headed
by Dr. Subramaniam Swamy. It recommended
a National Policy on child labour and sug-
gested a comprehensive labour law.
R.S.Sarkaria Committee-Centre-State Relations.
Dinesh Goswami Committee-Electoral Reforms.
Udayabhanu Commission-Jail reforms in Kerala.
Swaminathan Committee - Population policy.
Dhebar Committee-To enquire into the tribal ar-
eas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
Sen Committee - Decentralisation of power
to Panchayati Raj Institutions in Kerala.
Banu Pratap Singh Committee - Policies and
Programmes of Agriculture.
C.V.K Rao Committee - Strengthening Block
Level Administration.
Asoka Mehta Committee - Suggested reforms
in Panchayati Raj.
K.J. Joseph Committee - was appointed to
find the creamy layer in Kerala.
K.K. Narendran Commission is also ap-
pointed to identify creamy layer in Kerala.
Liberhan Commission - Enquiring into
Ayodhya issue.
Y.K. Alagh Committee - Redesign the recruit-
ment to the elite All India Services.
Nanavati Commission - Anti Sikh riot of 1984
in New Delhi.
Parikh Commission - To enquire into clinical
trails on cancer patients at the Regional Can-
cer Centre at Thiruvananthapuram.
Mashelkar Committee - Recommendation on
auto fuel policy to control pollution.
N.K. Singh Committee - Foreign Direct
Investment.
Justice K. Venkataswami first probed Tehelka rev-
elations. Later when he resigned the post S.N.
Phukan was appointed to head Tehelka panel.
Chandra Sekhara Das Commission : has
been appointed to investigate the liquor trag-
edy in Kollam district.
L.C. Gupta Committee has been appointed
to probe into the trading of shares.
Naresh Chandra Committee has been ap-
pointed to suggest further amendments to the
Companies Act and the creation of a new cat-
egory of companies.
Rakesh Mohan Committee has been ap-
pointed to review the disparity of payment
among sailors of ships.
A.N. Mukherjee Committee : To enquire into
Netaji's mysterious disappearance.
Lakdawala Commission studied about the
497
 percentage of people living Below Poverty
Line (BPL) in India.
K. Sukumaran Commission probed into the
Idamalayar corruption case in Kerala.
Saikia Committee consider the proposal
to make free and compulsory education a
fundamental right.
Wancho Committee : (Direct taxes Enquiry
Committee ). set up in 1971.
Chakravarthy Committee : (1982) : RBI ap-
pointed a committee under the Chairmanship
of Prof. Sukhamoy Chakravarthy to review the
working of Indian Monetary system. The Com-
mittee submitted its report in 1985.
The Chairman of the first Finance Commis-
sion : 1952 K.C. Neogy (1952-57)
Chair of Ninth Finance Commission : 1987
N.K.P. Salve (1990 - 95)
Chairman of Tenth Finance Commission -
1994 : K.C. Pant (1995 - 2000)
Chairman of Eleventh Finance Commission :
1998 - A.M. Khusro (2000 - 2005)
Chairman of Twelth Finance Commission :
2002 : C. Rangarajan.
Dr. Radhakrishnan Commission (1948) : It
is also known as University Education Com-
mission.
Kothari Commission (1964 ) : Education re-
forms it is headed by Dr. D. S. Kothari.
Various Military Operations
Operation Cactus : In November 1988, the
timely action of Indian Army in Maldives
saved the democratic government which was
dismissed by the military coup.
Operation Red Dawn : It was launched by US
army to capture Saddam Hussain.
Operation All clear : It was launched by the
Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) on December 15,
2003 to clear terrist. camp of ULFA, NDFB and
KLD operated in the territory of Bhutan.
Operation Vijay : Launched (1999) to flush
out Pakistani infiltrators from Kargil and Dras
498
Sectors of Jammu and Kashmir.
Operation Blue Star : Launched in Punjab. It
was the military action in Amristar at the Golden
Temple.
Operation Riviresa (Sunshine) : Sri Lankan
Government took control of Jaffna, the LTTE
base after this massive military campaign.
Operation Desert Storm : Military action of
America and allied countries against Iraq dur-
ing Iraq-Kuwait war.
Operation Desert Fox : Military action against
Iraq by USA and it allies for not allowing arms
inspection.
Operation Enduring Freedom: Military Opera-
tion launched by America, UK and its allies to
dislodge Taliban from power in Afghanistan.
Operation Anaconda: The extension of Op-
eration Enduring Freedom.
Operation Sarpvinash: The code name given
to the operation carried out in the Surankote
hills of Jammu to flush out militants.
Operation Pawan: This was started to wipe
out LTTE establishment in Sri Lanka in the
year 1987, by Indian Army.
Operation Black Thunder: On May 18, 1988,
it was started to free 'The Golden Temple' from
the anti-national forces and terrorists.
Operation Vajrashakthi: The code name
given to the commando operation by National
Security Guards in the Akshardham temple
complex.
Operation Black Sea: The code name given
by the Intelligence Bureau to gather evidence
of corruption against former Chattisgarh Chief
Minister Ajit Jogi.
Operation Duryodhan : Operation carried out
by Aaj Tak : Cobra Post. Com to expose MPs
receiving bribe to ask question in the Parlia-
ment.
 World Records Held by India
Industry andTrade
Indian Railways is the Worlds largest em-
ployer
Largest exporter of Tea
Largest manufacturer of cycles (Hero cycle)
Largest exporter of cut Diamonds (Worlds
68% cut diamonds come from India)
Largest producer of Sugar by achieving a
production of 85 lakhs tonnes.
India tops the World in film production
Reliance Group of companies in India has more
number of shareholders than any other com-
pany in the world.
Agricultural/ natural resoruces
1. Largest producer of millet in the World.
2. Largest producer of Tea
3. Leads in the world in irrigated area (56 million
hectares)
4. Leads in the World in Cattle population.
5. Largest producer of Cardamom: Kerala pro-
duces 60% of the total World production.
6. Largest exporter of Spices
7. Largest Turmeric production, 76%
8. Highest yield of Potato 46, 797 kg/ha
9. Largest Ginger production 64%
10. Largest Sugarcane production
11. Largest grower of Pulses, 23%
12. Productivity of Grapes 22 tonnes/ha
13. Highest Rice yield 17,862 kg/ha
Buildings / roads/ bridges
First hospital on wheels in the World - Jeevan
Rekha (Life Line) express.
Khardungla Road at Leh Manali sector is the
Worlds highest road (5,602 m above sea level)
All India Radio, Leh, is the Worlds highest
radio station.
Qutab Minar is the worlds tallest minaret.
Mahatma Gandhi Setu (over the Ganga at
Patna) is the Worlds longest river bridge.
Kharagpur Railway Platform is the Worlds
longest railway platform (833 m)
Farakka River Barrage (Kolkatta) is the Worlds
largest river barrage.
Miscellaneous
1. T h e Ga n ges a nd Br a hm a putr a Del t a
(Sunderbans) form the Worlds (7,500sq km)
largest Delta.
2. Indira Gandhi National Open University
(IGNOU) has emerged as the worlds largest
Open University.
3. India has the Worlds largest reserve (approxi-
mately one-fourth of the Worlds known re-
serves) of iron.
4. India has the largest deposits of mica in the
World and contributes about two-third of
Worlds production.
5. South Point High School, Kolkata is the
Worlds largest school.
6. Worlds highest Post Office at Spiti Valley in
HP (15000 ft height)
Individual achievements
Lata Mangeshkar holds the World record for
maximum number of song recordings.
Mrs Shakuntala Devi holds the World record
of fastest computing - faster than a Computer.
Dr. Rajinder Singh of Himachal Pradesh holds
the World record of accurate and fastest typ-
ing (96.8 words per minute, 1988)
Dr. M.C. Modi holds the Worlds record for
performing maximum eye operation @ 40 op-
erations per hour.
Mihir Sen of Kolkata holds the World record
for long distance swimming.
Capt Durba Bannerjee is the Worlds first
woman air pilot holdings the record of maxi-
mum flying hours.
Dicky Dolma from Manali holds the World
record as the youngest Mount Everest climber
at the age of 19.
Ms Santhosh Yadav holds the record to climb
Mount Everest twice (among women)
Indian Superlatives
Structures
Highest Tower (Minaret) ................... Qutab Minar
Highest Gateway ....... Buland Darwaja(Fatehpur Sikri)
499
Highest Dam ....................................... Bhakra Dam State with maximum Forest Area ...... Madhya Pradesh
Highest Bridge ............................. Chambal Bridge State with Highest Cattle Population .... Uttar Pradesh
Largest City.............................................. Kolkata State having Maximum Paper Mills ...... Uttar Pradesh
Largest Lake ........................................ Wular Lake State producing Maximum Sugar .... Uttar Pradesh
Largest Residence ................ Rashtrapati Bhawan State with Highest Mineral Output ...... Jharkhand
Largest Cinema Hall .............................................. State having Highest Literacy Rate ........... Kerala
Thangam (Madurai) - capacity over 2500 seats
Union Territory having Highest Literary Rate ......
Largest Museum ........... Indian Museum, Kolkata ............................................. Lakshadeep 87.52%
Largest Tunnel ............................. Jawahar Tunnel Most Populous State ...................... Uttar Pradesh
Largest River Barrage ................. Farakka Barrage
Longest Dam .................................... Hirakud Dam Important Tribes and Their Habitat
Largest Zoo .... Zoological Garden, Alipur (Kolkata) Name of Tribe Found in
Largest Cave Temple .................................... Ellora Abors Assam, Arunachal Pradesh
Angami Nagaland, Assam
Largest Gurudwara ........... Golden Temple, Amritsar Ao Nagaland, Assam
Largest Auditorium ................................................. Apatamis Arunachal Pradesh
Badagas Tamil Nadu (Nilgiri Hill)
Sri Shanmukhanada, Mumbai (3012 seats) Baiga Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh
Largest Church ..................... The St Cathedral, Goa Bhils Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Largest Mosque ........................ Jama Masjid, Delhi Gujarat
Bhotias Ut ta r a nch a l (Ga r hwa l a n d
Largest Dome ........... Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur (Mysore) Kumaun)
Largest Cantilever Bridge ................ Howrah Bridge Birhor Hazaribagh, Jharkhand
Chenchus Andhra Pradesh, Orissa
Longest River Bridge........ Mahatma Gandhi Setu, Patna Gaddis Himachal Pradesh
Longest Corridor .... Rameshwaram Temple Corridor Gallong North - East Himalayan Tract
Garos Meghalaya
Longest Platform (Rly) ...... Kharagpur (Worlds longest) Gonds Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand,
Longest Road Bridge .............. Sone Bridge, Bihar Chhatisgarh, Orissa, Andhra
Pradesh
Longest Road .......................................... GT Road Khas Uttar Pradesh
Largest Desert ............................ Thar (Rajasthan) Khasis Assam, Meghalaya
Biggest Fort .................................. Red fort, Delhi Khonds Orissa
Kol Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh
Tallest Light House ............ Prongs Reef, Mumbai Kolam Andhra Pradesh
Tallest Statue.......... Gomateshwar Statue, Mysore Kotas Tamil Nadu (Nilgiri)
Kuki Manipur
Tallest ChimneyThermal Power Station of Tata Elec- Lahora Nagaland, Assam
tric Co.Mumbai (275m high) Lepchas Sikkim
Largest man- made Lake .... Govind Sagar (Bhakra) Lushais Tripura
Mina Rajasthan
Largest Delta .............. Sunderbans (West Bengal) Mikirs Assam
Monpa Arunachal Pradesh
States Mundas Jharkhand
Largest State ......................................... Rajasthan Murias Madhya Pradesh
Smallest State ................................................. Goa Oaraons of
Kurukh Jharkhand, Orissa
Largest Union Territory .......................................... Onges Andaman and Nicobar
................................. Andaman and Nicobar Islands Santhals West Bengal, Jharkhand and
Smallest Union Territory ................. Lakshadweep Orissa
Sema Nagaland and Assam
State having Maximum Cities .......... Uttar Pradesh Sentinelese Andaman and Nicobar
Most densely populated State ......... West Bengal Shoemens Andaman and Nicobar
Tangkhul Nagaland, Assam

500
 First In India
Architect: Maha Govinda (5th B.C)
Aryabhatta Medal Winner K.R. Ramanathan (1977)
Bharat Ratna Award winner : C. Rajagopalachari
(1954); Dr. S. Radhakrishnan (1954) ; Dr.C. V. Raman
(1954)
Actress of the talkies : Zubeida, Alam Ara (1931).
Actress to win Padma Shri Award : Nargis Dutt
(1958)
British Governor - General of Free India : Lord Louis
Mountbatten (Aug. 15, 1947 - June 20,1948)
Captain of Test cricket : C.K.Nayudu (1932)
Century in Test cricket : Lala Amarnath (1933 - 1934)
Chairman of Rajya Sabha : Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
(1952- 1962)
Chevalier Award winner : Sivaji Ganesan (1995)
Chief Election Commissioner : Sukumar Sen (1950-
1958)
Chief Justice of India : Hiralal J. Kania (1950 - 1951)
Chief of Air Staff : Sir Thomas Elmhrist (1947 - 1950)
Chief of Army staff to die in harness : B.C. Joshi
(1994)
Chief of Air Staff to die in harness : S.Mukherjee
(1960 in Japan)
Chief of Coast Guard : V.A. Kamath (1978 -1980)
Chief of Naval Staff : R. D. Katari (1958-1962)
Commander-in-chief. K.M. Cariappa (1949 - 1953)
Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner : Devika Rani
Roerich (1969)
Deputy Prime Minister : Vallabhbhai Patel (1947-
1950)
Deputy Prime Minister to die in harness :
Vallabhbhai Patel (1950)
Elected President: Dr. Rajendra Prasad (1950 - 1962)
English Song : My Heart is Beating ... from Julie
(1974)
Field Marshal : S.H. F.J Manekshaw (1973)
Film Star Chief Minister : M.G. Ramachandran (Tamil
Nadu, 1977)
Finance Minister of Free India : R.K. Shanmugham
Chetty (1947)
Finance Minister to present the Budget three times
in a row : Manmohan Singh (1993, 1994, 1995).
Finix Award winner : Sr. P.C. Sorcar ( )
Geometer : Baudhayana, Sulva Sutras (800 BC)
Governor - General of British India : Warren
Hastings (1773 - 1785)
Grammarian : Panini, Ashtadhyaayi (6th C. B.C)
Helms Award winner : Kunwar Digvijay Singh Babu
(1952)
Home Minister : Vallbhbhai Patel (1946)
ICS Officer : Satyendranath Tagore (1864)
Indian Chief of Air Staff : S. Mukherjee (1954 - 1960)
Indian Chief of Army Staff : M. Rajendra Sinhji
(April 1, 1955 - May 14, 1955)
Indian Governor - General of Free India : C.
Rajagopalachari (june 1948 - Jan. 1950)
Indian Woman President of Indian National Con-
gress : Sarojini Naidu (1925)
J.C. Bose Medal winner : V. Ramalingaswami (1977)
Jain Trithankara : Rishabha Dev (300 B.C)
Jnanpith Award winner : Govind Sankara Kurup,
Odakkuzhal (1965 ; Malayalam)
Lady of the Indian film : Devika Rani Reoerich
Lata Mangeshkar Award winner : Naushad (1984)
Lawgiver : Manu, Manu Smriti (3100 BC)
Managing Director of World Bank : Gautam Kaji
(1995)
501
 Marshal of the Air Force : Air Chief Marshal Arjan Choudhary Charan Singh (July 28, 1979 - Jan. 1980)
Singh) Prime Minister to resign from office : Morarji Desai
Member of British Parliament : Dadabhai Naoroji (1979)
(1862) Prime Minister who did not face Parliament :
Member of Viceroys Executive Council : Sir Chaudhary Charan Singh (July 28, 1979, Jan. 14,
S.P.Sinha (1909) 1980)
Miss Universe Sushmita Sen (1994) Ramon Magsaysay Award winner : Vinoba Bhave
Miss World : Reita Faria (1966) (1958)
Musician to get Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan Recipient of Stalin Peace Prize : Dr. Saifuddin
and Bharat Ratna : M.S. Subbulakshmi (1954, 1975 Kitchelew (1954)
&1998) Recipient of World Food Prize : M.S. Swaminathan
Musician to get Ramon Magsaysay Award : M.S. (1987)
Subbulakshmi (1974)
Speaker in Hindi at the UN : Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Missile - firing Submarine : INS Sindhushastra (july (1977)
19, 2000)
Speaker of Lok Sabha : Ganesh Vasudev
Nishan -i-Pakistan Award winner : Morarji Desai Mavalankar (1952-1957)
(1991)
Test-Tube baby: Baby Harsha or Indian (1986)
Nobel Prize winner : Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali
Vice President : S.Radhakrishnan (1952 - 1962)
(1913)
Woman (Muslim) Ruler of India : Razi Sultana (1236
Olympic Medal winner : Norman Pritchard, Silver
- 1240)
(1900)
Pilot : J.R. D. Tata, Tata Airlines (1929)
Presentation of Budget : R.K. Shanmugham Chetty,
Finance Minister (1947)
President of International Court of Justice :
Nagendra Singh (1970)
Presentation of General Budget : C.D. Deshmukh,
Finance Minister (1952)
President : Rajendra Prasad (1950 - 1962)
President of Indian National Congress : W.C.
Bannerjee (1885)
President to die in harness : Zakir Hussain (1967 -
1969)
Prime Minister : Jawaharlal Nehru (1947 - 1964)
Prime Minister assassinated : Indira Gandhi (1984)
Prime Minister to die in harness : Jawaharlal Nehru
(1964)
Prime Minister to head a minority government :

502
 First men in India
First Indian to swim across the English Channel ................................................................ Mihir Sen (1966)
First to climb Mount Everest ..................................................................................... Tenzing Norgay(1953)
First to climb Mount Everest without oxygen .................................................................... Phu Dorjee(1984)
First India to join I.C.S. (ICS now is IAS) ....................................................... Satyendra Nath Tagore (1864)
First Indian to get Nobel Prize ........................................................................... Rabindra Nath Tagore(1913)
First Indian in Space (first Indian cosmonaut) ............................................... Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma (1984)
First British Governor General .................................................................................. William Bentinck (1828)
First Governor General of Free India ...................................................................... Lord Mountbatten (1947)
First Viceroy of India ................................................................................................... Lord Canning (1956)
First and the last Governor General of free India .......................................... C. Rajagopalachari (1948 - 1950)
First President of India ....................................................................................... Dr. Rajendra Prasad (1950)
First Vice-President of India .............................................................................. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan (1952)
First Muslim President of India ............................................................................... Dr. Zakir Hussain (1967)
First Sikh President of India ...................................................................................... Giani Zail Singh (1982)
First Speaker of Lok Sabha ......................................................................................... G.V. Mavlankar (1952)
First Dalit Speaker of Lok Sabha ............................................................................... G.M.C. Balayogi (1998)
First Chief Justice of India ..................................................................................... Justice H.L. Kania (1950)
First President of Indian National Congress ............................................................... W.C. Bannerjee (1885)
First Indian to become member of Viceroys Executive Council ..................................... Lord S.P. Sinha (1909)
First Emperor of Moghul Dynasty: .......................................................................................... Babur (1526)
First Field Marshal ............................................................................................. S.H.F.J. Manekshaw(1973)
First Indian Commander in chief of India ............................................................ Gen. K.M. Kariappa (1949)
First Chief of the Army Staff (Indian) ................................................. Gen. Maharaja Rajendra Singhji(1955)
First Chief of the Naval Staff (Indian) .......................................................... Vice-Admiral R.D. Katari (1958)
First Chief of the Air Force Staff (India) ................................................................ Subroto Mukherjee(1954)
First Indian in British Parliament ............................................................................. Dadabhai Naoroji (1862)
First Indian to circumnavigate the globe ................................................................ Lt. Col. K.S. Rao ( )
First Indian to reach the South Pole ............................................................................. Col. J.K. Bajaj (1989)
First Indian High Court Judge (1878) ............................................................. Justice Syed Mehamood (1878)
First Indian to make a solo air flight ...................................................................................... JRD Tata (1931)
First Indian to visit England .................................................................................. Raja Ram Mohan Roy(1832)
First Indian Member of Houseof Lords (British) .......................................................... Lord S.P. Sinha (1909)
First Chairman of Rajya Sabha (1952-62) ...................................................... Dr. S. Radhakrishnan (1952 - 62)
First Indian Test Cricketer ................................................................................... K.S. Ranjit Singhji ( )
First Air Chief Marshal ................................................................................................... Arjan Singh (1964)
First Judge to face impeachment in the Lok Sabha (1993) ...................................... Justice V. Ramaswami (1993)
First Governor General of Indian Union ................................................................ C. Raja Gopalachari (1948)
First Indian to get an Oscar ....................................................................................... Bhanu Athaiya (1982)
First Magsaysay Award winner ................................................................... Acharya Vinobha Bhave (1958)
First Nobel Prize winner .................................................................................... Rabindra Nath Tagore(1913)
Man to reach south pole ..................................................................................................... J.K. Bajaj (1989)
Man to climb Mount Everest without oxygen .................................................................... Phu Dorjee (1984)
Man to climb Mount Everest ..................................................... Tenzing Norgay (with Edmund Hillary, 1953)
First Man to make solo flight (from US to India) ............................................................ Satish Soman (1994)
First Man to reach South Pole .............................................................................................. J.K. Bajaj (1989)
First Man to swim across English Channel ......................................................................... Mihir Sen (1966)
First Man to swim several Straits in one calendar year ........................................................ Mihir Sen (1966)
Man to win individual Olympic Medal ............... K.D. Jadhav (Bronze in Wrestling - Helsinki Olympics, 1952)

503
 First women in India
First woman Prime Minister .............................................................................................. Mrs. Indira Gandhi
First woman Chief Minister of a State .................................... Mrs. Sucheta Kripalani (Utter Pradesh 1963 - 67)
First woman Minister of a state...................................................... Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Pandit (Uttarpradesh 1937)
First woman Central Minister ........................................................................................ Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
First woman Governor of a State........................................................... Mrs. Sarojini Naidu (Uttar Pradesh) (1947)
First Indian woman president of Indian National Congress ............................................. Annie Besant (1917)
First women Ambassador .................................................................... Vijayalekshmi Pandit (USSR - 1947-49)
First woman President of UN General Assembly........................................... Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Pandit (1953)
First Muslim woman to sit on the throne of Delhi ................................................... Razia Sultana (1236 - 1240)
First woman to swim across the English Channel .......................................................... Miss Arti Saha (1959)
Woman to swim across the strait of Gibraltar ............................................................................... Arti Pradhan
First woman to climb Mount Everest ............................................................................. Bachhendri Pal (1984)
First woman to circumnavigate (sail round the world) .................................................................... Ujwala Rai
First woman IAS officer .................................................................................... Anna George Malhotra (1950)
First woman IPS officer ........................................................................................................ Kiran Bedi (1974)
First woman Advocate .......................................................................................................... Cornelia Sorabji
First woman Judge .................................................................................................................... Anna Chandi
First woman Judge of High Court .................................................................................................... Anna Chandi
First woman Judge of Supreme Court ........................................................................ M. Fathima Beevi (1989)
First woman Chief Justice of High Court .................................................. Leila Seth (Himachal Pradesh -1991)
First woman Doctor .......................................................................................................... Kadambini Ganguli
First woman Chief Engineer ................................................................................................. Mrs. P.K. Thresia
First woman to receive a Sena Medal .......................................... Constable Bimla Devi (88 BN of CRPF)-1990
Youngest woman to Climb Mount Everest ..................................................... Dicky Dolma from Manali - 1993
Youngest woman to Climb Mount Everest two times ................................... Santosh Yadav (ITBP Officer)-1993
First Lady Magistrate ................................................................................................. Mrs. Omana Kunjamma
First woman to win Nobel Prize ......................................................................................... Mother Teresa (1979)
First to be crowned Miss India ...................................................................................................... Reita Faria
First to be crowned Miss Universe .......................................................................................... Sushmita Sen (1994)

504
First to be crowned Miss World .............................................................................................. Reita Faria (1966)
First woman mayor in India ......................................................................................................... Tara Cherian
First woman pilot ........................................................................................................................ Prem Mathur
First woman Judge of Supreme Court ........................................................................................ Fathima Beevi
First woman won Bharat Ratna ................................................................................................. Indira Gandhi
First woman won the Magsaysay Award ................................................................................. Mother Teresa
First woman to win the Booker Prize ............................................................................... Arundhati Roy (1997)
First Actress of the talkies ............................................................................. Zubeida (Film : Alam Ara - 1931)
First Actress to win Padma Shri Award ............................................................................... Nargis Dutt (1958)
First woman to receive the Sahithya academy Award ....................................... Amrita Pritam - (Sunebre 1956)
First woman speaker of Lok Sabha ......................................................................................... Susgula Nayyar
First woman to win an Asia Gold ................................................................................. Kamaljit Sandhu (1970)
First woman to go into space ....................................................................................... Kalpana Chawla (1994)
First woman to win Jnanpith Award ............................................................................ Asha Purna Devi (1976)
First woman to win Urvasi Award ................................................................................................. Nargis Datt
First woman Election Commissioner ......................................................................................... V.S. Rama Devi
First woman to win an olympic gold medal ................... Karnam Malleswari (Bronze weight lifting sidney 2000)
First woman olympic finalist ............................................................................................................ P.T. Usha
First woman Speaker of State Assembly...................................................................................... Shanno Devi
Indian Women President of Indian National Congress .................................................... Sarojini Naidu (1925)
Woman (muslim) Ruler of India .............................................................................. Razia Sultana (1236 - 1240)
Woman advocate ......................................................................................................... Cornelia Sorabji (1894)
Woman at Antartica ......................................................................................................... Meher Moos (1976)
Woman (Deputy) Foreign Minister ................................................................ Lekshmi N. Menon (1957 - 1966)
Women DGP........................................................................ Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattachariya (Uttaranchal)
Woman Lt. General ..................................................................................................................... Punita Arora
Woman Secretary General of Rajya Sabha ...................................................................... V.S. Rama Devi (1993)
Woman Jet Commander ................................................................................................. Saudamini Deshmukh
Woman Missionary ............................................... Sanghamitra, daughter of King Ashoka (Sri Lanka 3rd BC)
Woman pilot (commercial) ..................................................................... Prem Mathur (Deccan Airways 1951)
Woman Pilot (Indian Airlines) ............................................................................. Durba Banerjee (1966 - 1988)
First Woman Mayor of Delhi ................................................................................................... Aruna Asif Ali

505
 HmnmXn-cn-n-. Hcp tX-embn Fnepw Cu Hma
\n-fpsS kvarXn ]Y-n Fhn-sS-sb-nepw ImWpw.
Fns\ ad-m-\m-Ipw. kml-kn-I-X-bpsS s\dp-I-bn
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epw, Imb-en-epw, \Zn-bnepw, kap-{Z-ns ASn--nepw
Aiz-ta[w \bnv arK-kp-lr-p-sf temI-n\v ]cn-
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kvInUv Hcn-epw At-ls B{I-an-n-m-bn-cp-p.
Hcp hn-P-bn-p-m-bn-cn-t Ghpw {it-b-amb Hcp
KpWw sImv A\p-{K-lo-X-\m-b-ncpp ohv.

Perfect loyalty to his work, spontaneous enthusiasm

in his actions and dynamic spirit in doing his duty.

508
 \nfpw ohns\ Iv ]Tn--Ww. Gs-Sp-p
{]h-\-nse Bm-X, Fp sNp-
tmgpw a\-pw, Nn-bpw, {]hnbpw ]q-
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-fn \n CXv \S-n-em--Ww. Hv Cu ]co-
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\s ab-s-Sp-n, kml-kn-I-am- sbmcp apt--
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]ns km DtZymKw kz-amn tkh-\-n-
\mbn kzbw kan-p-tmgpw ohns work
spirit \n Hcp role model Bbn Dsm- p- I.

Steve Irwin
in action

Low ambition
is a crime
- Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Remember the great adage - fortune favours the bold. Be bold and agressive to grab
knowledge, empower yourself and get the badly needed job.
Fm {]Xn-_---sfbpw kml- kn- I-X-tbmsS t\cnv hnPbw km[y- am- p- I.

509