interesting facts about india
Interesting Facts About India
Situated in the continent of Asia, India is one of the oldest civilizations known to man. We'll check out some important, interesting, as well as fun facts about this diverse country.
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| Quick Facts | |
| Topic | Fact/Statistic |
| Country Flag | |
| Independence Day | August 15, 1947 |
| Republic Day | January 26, 1950 |
| States | 29 |
| Union Territories | 7 |
| Area | 2.06 million sq. miles or 3.3 million sq. kms. |
| Population | 1.24 billion |
| Official Language | Hindi, English |
| Main Religions | Hinduism (81%), Islam (13%), Christianity (2%), Sikhism (2%), Others (2%) |
| Literacy Rate | 74% |
| National Emblem | Representation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka |
| National Anthem | Jana Gana Mana |
| National Song | Vande Mataram |
| National Animal | Tiger |
| National Aquatic Animal | River Dolphin |
| National Bird | Peacock |
| National Flower | Lotus |
| National Tree | Banyan Tree |
| National Fruit | Mango |
| National Currency | Rupee (₹) (INR) |
Amazing Facts About India
- India has derived its name from the River Indus, and the early settlers here lived in the valleys around.
- Area wise, India is the 7th largest country in the world.
- This country has the largest, oldest, and continuous civilization in the world.
- India has the largest democracy in the world.
- Even though it is such a vast country, it follows a single time zone - Indian Standard Time (IST).
- India invented the number system. The scientist Aryabhatta invented the number 'zero'.
- The study of Algebra, Trigonometry, and Calculus originated in India.
- In the 6th century, Indian mathematician Budhayana was the first to calculate the value of "pi", and also to explain the concept of the Pythagorean Theorem.
- Even before Jesus Christ, the 'place value system' and the decimal system was used in India.
- The maximum number of post offices in the world are in India.
- The first ever fingerprint bureau in the world was started in Calcutta in the year 1897.
- One of the world's highest motorable road is Khardung La, in Ladakh. It is at an altitude of 5,682 meters.
- The most rainfall in the world ever in a month's time, fell at Cherrapunji, Meghalaya. It was in July 1861, and 9,300 mm of rainfall fell in this month.
- The most number of movies are made in India, over 1,000 each year.
- Sivappu Mazhai is the fastest film ever produced, from script to screen showing, which took less than 12 days.
- The highest cricket ground in the world is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. It is 2,444 meters above sea level.
- The first ever university in the world was established in Takshashila in 700 BC. Students numbering around 10,500 from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects here.
- Ayurveda, the earliest school of medicine known to mankind, was started in India in 2,500 BC.
- India was the richest country in the world until it was invaded by the British in the 17th century.
- The art of navigation was developed in India nearly 6,000 years ago. The word 'navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word navgatih. The word 'navy' is derived from the Sanskrit word nou.
- The world's largest pilgrimage destination is in India. It is called the Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupati. Around 30,000 people visit this temple daily, donating about $6 million US dollars everyday. It is also the richest temple in the world.
- One of the wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal, is in Agra, India.
- India is one of the very few countries in the world that gained its independence non-violently.
- Yoga originated in India some 5,000 years ago.
- Martial arts originated in India, and later spread to Asia and other parts of the world through Buddhist missionaries.
- Anesthesia was used in Indian medicine long before it was adopted into modern medicine.
- The Hindus of India created the largest measure of time, known as 'kalpa'. This is the time starting from the birth and ending at the annihilation of the universe, which is around 25 billion years.
- Sushruta is someone who is regarded as the father of surgery. More than 2,600 years ago, he along with his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, cesareans, fractures, artificial limbs, urinary stones, plastic surgeries, and brain surgeries.
- India was the only source of diamonds in the world up to 1896.
- The world's highest battlefield, Siachen Glacier, is here.
- In terms of rainfall, Mawsynram, which is in north-east India, is the wettest place on earth.
- India is one of the largest exporter of computer software products, exporting software to more than 90 countries around the globe.
- Around 100 out of the Fortune 500 companies in the world have their research and development facilities in India.
- In the 5th century, Bhaskaracharya was the first to correctly calculate the time that the Earth takes to orbit the Sun (365.258756484 days). He managed this hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart actually did it.
- The Mahabharata is the longest epic poem in the world.
- Snakes & Ladders, one of the most widely played board games, was created by the 13th century poet Saint Gyandev. Originally, it was known as 'Mokshapat'. The ladders in the game represented virtues and vices were represented by the snakes.
- The first ever dam and reservoir for irrigation purposes was built in Saurashtra. The world's longest man-made dam is Hirakud Dam.
- Chess was invented in India.
- The most expensive home in the world, 'Antilia', worth a billion dollars, and owned by Mukesh Ambani, is in Mumbai.
- India is the largest exporter of spices.
- India has the largest irrigated area in the world.
- The largest oil refinery in the world is the Jamnagar Refinery in Gujarat, with a daily capacity of 668,000 barrels.
- India is also the largest producer of mangoes, milk products, bananas, millets, cashew, and turmeric.
- India is the largest manufacturer of cycles worldwide.
- India is the largest producer of tea in the world. It is also the most popular beverage in the country.
- Traditionally, in India, white is worn to funerals, not black.
- The 2nd largest number of scientists and engineers in the world, are in India.
- The largest English speaking nation in the world - India.
- Besides the US and Japan, India is only other country in the world to have indigenously built a supercomputer.
- India has the 2nd largest road network in the world after the US.
- The highest post office in the world is in Spiti Valley in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
- The world's highest radio station, All India Radio, is situated in Leh.
- The oldest living language in the world is Tamil.
| Past and Present World Records | |
| Category | Record |
| Fastest Calculation | Shakuntala Devi (Human Computer), Calculations made by her were faster than a computer. |
| Most International Cricket Centuries | Sachin Tendulkar |
| Longest Fingernails | Shridhar Chillal, Pune - Maharashtra |
| Most Recorded Artist | Asha Bhosle |
| Youngest Director | Kishan Shrikanth, Directed 'Care of Footpath' in 2006 at the age of 9 |
| Oldest Prime Minister | Morarji Desai (81 yrs.), 1977 - 1979 |
| Longest Beard | Shamsher Singh (1.83m), Punjab - 1997 |
| Longest Hair | Hoo Sateow (5.15m), 1997 |
| Most Worms Eaten | C. Manoharan, ate 200 earthworms in 30 seconds |
| Most People Donating Hair | 6.5 million people, Tirupati - 1999 |
| Largest Employer | Indian Railways - 1 million employees |
| Highest Bridge (location above sea level) | Bailey Bridge (5,602 meters above sea level), Ladakh |
| Biggest Wedding Banquet | V.N. Sudhakaran weds N. Sathyalakshmi, 150,000 guests (1995) |
| Most Eye Operations | Dr. Murugappa Channaveerappa Modi, 6,00,000 |
| Highest Cricket ODI Partnership | 331, by Sachin Tendulkar (186 not out) and Rahul Dravid (153) - 1999 |
| Largest Group Relay Song | 210 people sang a word of a song turn by turn and finished the complete song |
| Largest Film Studio | Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad |
| Longest Running Movie | Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) |
| Most Forward-Thinking Rail Traveler | Fakhruddin Takulla traveled from Mumbai to New Delhi in 2000, using a ticket purchased in 1973 |
| Business and IT Facts | |
| Satya Nadella | President, Microsoft |
| Thomas Kurian | Executive VP, Oracle |
| Vikram Pandit | Chief Executive Officer, Citigroup |
| Francisco D'Souza | Chief Executive Officer, Cognizant Technology Solutions |
| Abhijit Talwalkar | Chief Executive Officer, LSI |
| Arun Netravali | President, AT&T Bell Laboratories; Chief Scientist, Lucent Technologies |
| Rajiv Gupta | General Manager, Hewlett Packard |
| Shantanu Narayen | Chief Executive Officer, Adobe Systems |
| Sabeer Bhatia | Founder and Creator of Hotmail |
| Vinod Dham | Creator of Pentium Chip |
| Victor Menezes | Chief Executive Officer, CitiBank |
| Rana Talwar | Chief Executive Officer, Stanchart |
| Vinod Khosla | Co-founder, Sun Microsystems |
| Nikesh Arora | Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer, Google |
| Anshu Jain | Co Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Bank |
| Indra Nooyi | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo |
| Ajit Jain | Chief Executive Officer, Berkshire Hathaway |
| NASA | 36% of NASA employees are Indians |
| Microsoft | 34% of Microsoft employees are Indians |
| Medicine | 38% of doctors in America are Indians |
| IBM | 28% of IBM employees are Indians |
| Science | 12% of scientists in America are Indians |
| Intel | 17% of Intel employees are Indians |
| Xerox | 13% of Xerox employees are Indians |
| Millionaires | More than a million Indians are millionaires |
| Famous Quotes About India | |
| Albert Einstein | We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made. |
| Mark Twain | India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive material in the history of man are treasured up only in India. |
| Romain Rolland | If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India. |
| Hu Shih | India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border. |
| Max Mueller | If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India. |
| Will Durant | India was the mother of our race and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages. She was the mother of our philosophy, mother through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics, mother through Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity, mother through village communities of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all. |
| Queen Mary | When I die, India will be found engraved on my heart. |
| Gordon Brown | Each year India and China produce four million graduates compared with just over 250,000 in Britain. |