• Bharat ,India, the largest democracy, is the 7th largest Country in the world and one of the most ancient civilizations. The name ‘India’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers.
• India was one of the richest countries till the time of British rule in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus, attracted by India’s wealth, had come looking for a sea route to India when he discovered America by mistake.
• Chess (Shatranj) was invented in India in 6^th century CE. Yet earlier version was popular as Chaturanga. The game of Snakes & Ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called ‘Mokshapat’.
• Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus were originated in India. The ‘Place Value System’ and the ‘Decimal System’ were developed in India in 100 B.C.
• Brihadeswara Temple at Tanjavur is the World’s first Granite Temple, The top (shikhara) of the temple is made from a single 80-tonne piece of granite. This temple was built between 1004 AD and 1009 AD during the reign of King Rajaraja Chola of Chola Dynasty.
• The world’s first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,000 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
• Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The Father of Medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
• The Art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh over 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘NAVGATIH’. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nou’.
• Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the Sun hundreds years before the astronomer Smart did. According to his calculation, the time taken by the Earth to orbit the Sun was 365.258756484 days.
• The value of “pie” was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, long before the European mathematicians.
• Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus also originated in India. Quadratic Equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as with specific names as early as 5000 BCE , during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest named number is Terra: .
• Until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds in the world
• The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.
• Sushruta is regarded as the Father of Surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones, plastic surgery and brain surgeries.
• Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient Indian medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism,physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
• India exports software to 90 countries.
• The four religions born in India – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world’s population.
• Jainism and Buddhism were founded in India in 600 B.C. and 500 B.C. respectively.
• There are 300,000 active mosques in India, more than in any other country, including the Muslim world.
• The oldest European church and synagogue in India are in the city of Cochin. They were built in 1503 and 1568 respectively.
• Jews and Christians have lived continuously in India since 200 B.C. and 52 A.D. respectively.
• The largest religious building in the world is Angkor Wat, a Hindu Temple in Cambodia built at the end of the 11th century.
• The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world’s largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple everyday.
•  Holy city of Amritsar in Punjab, famous for housing the Golden Temple, the city was founded in 1577.
• Varanasi, also known as Benaras, was called “the Ancient City” when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C., and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
• India provides safety for more than 300,000 refugees originally from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who escaped to flee religious and political persecution.
• His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, runs his government in exile from Dharmashala, Himachal Pradesh.
• Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries.
• Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.
• The world’s highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh was built in 1893, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
• The largest employer in India is the Indian Railways.
• India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world.
• The floating post office in Dal Lake, Srinagar, was inaugurated in August 2011.
• The 2011 Kumbh Mela was the largest gathering of people with over 75 million pilgrims
• Mawsynram, a village on the Khasi Hills, Meghalaya, receives the highest recorded average rainfall in the world.
• At an altitude of 2,444 meters, the Chail Cricket Ground in Chail, Himachal Pradesh, is the highest in the world. It was built in 1893
• India has won  men’s Kabaddi World Cup 8 times out of nine held till now . The Indian women’s team has also won all Kabaddi World Cups held till date.
• Water on the moon was discovered by India Chandrayaan- 1 using its Moon Mineralogy Mapper detected water on the moon for the first time in September 2009
• Science day in Switzerland is dedicated to Ex-Indian President, APJ Abdul Kalam.The father of India’s missile programme had visited Switzerland back in 2006. Upon his arrival, Switzerland declared May 26th as Science Day.
• The world’s largest producer of milk India recently overtook the European Union with production reaching over 132.4 m tonnes in 2014.
• Freddie Mercury, the legendary singer of the rock band ‘Queen’ was born a Parsi with the name Farrokh Bulsara while the famous Oscar winning Hollywood star Ben Kingsley was born Krishna Pandit Bhanji.
• Diamonds were first mined in India. Initially, diamonds were only found in the alluvial deposits in Guntur and Krishna District of the Krishna River Delta.
• A special polling station is set up for a lone voter in the middle of Gir Forest – Mahant Bharatdas Darshandas

Full Name 
भारतवर्ष Bharatvarsh

The most ancient culture :          
Vedic Culture

Ancient Known Civilisation  :     
Harappan Civilisation

Ancient greater structure : 
Entire south & South East Asia (Greater India)

Current Area :       
 3287,263 Sq Kms (2.42% of the world & seventh largest country)

International Boundaries With:      
China, Nepal & Bhutan connects in the north with Himalayan Myanmar & Bangladesh connects to the East with Arakan Mountain Pakistan & Afghanistan at North west. Indian Ocean in the south (The only ocean to be named after a country in the world).  At South East there is the Bay of Bengal & Arabian Sea in the south west.

Latitudinal Extent:     
8° 4’ North to 37° 6’ North (Approximately between 29 latitudes).

Longitudinal Extent :  
68°7’ East to 97°25’ East (Approximately between 29 Longitudes)

Standard Meridian :   
82°30’ East longitude, Passes from near Prayagraj (Allahabad).
(5 Hour 30 mins ahead of Greenwich mean time)

Center Point of Bharat :  
Village Karondhi in Katni district of Madhya Pradesh ( 23°30’ 48” north & 80°19’53”  East        Longitude)

Major Physical divisions : Five

1. The Greater Himalayan mountains in the North
2. The North Indian Plains
3. The peninsular Plateau
4. The coastal Plains
5. The great Indian Deserts.

East to West distance (Width)        :        
2933 Kms

North to South distance (Length)  :    
3214 Kms

Southern-most point  :   
Indira point at Great Nicobar in Andaman & Nicobar, Cape Comorin ,Kanyakumari (mainland)

Length of Land boundaries  :   
15200 Kms

Length of coastal boundaries including Island   :  
7516.6 Kms

Total Number of Islands (including islets) :          
1382 as per NITI Ayog

Highest Mountain Peak :   
Godwin Austen (K-2), Height 8611 meters (Karakoram Range)

The 8 States through which Tropic of Cancer passes :     
Gujrat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura & Mizoram

Political Structure :          
Sovereign Republic, Union of States

Form of Government :   
Parliamentary Democracy.

Head of state  :          
President

Head of Government  :       
Prime Minister

Total Number of States:    
28                       

Total Union Territories :          
08  ( Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Ladakh and Puducherry.

Total Population :     
12101,93,422 as per census 2011 (current population size 1.37 billion)

Percentage of Population in the World :          
17.5%

Population Density    :   
382 people per Sq. Kms

Population growth rate  :       
17.64%

Sex Ratio  : 
940 : 1000 (Female : Male)

Literacy             :       
74.04%   (Males – 82.14%, Females  – 65.46%)

(Please Note : Population Data is based on 2011 Census)

Forest area ( As per forest Report 2019)  :          
21.67%

Number of major ports  :  
13         
On Eastern coast – Kolkata, Paradip (Odisha), Visakhapatnam Port (Andra Pradesh), Chennai, Ennore , Tutocorin (Tamil Nadu),  Port Blair port ( Andaman& Nicobar)
On Western Coast- Kandla (Gujrat), Mumbai, Nhava-Sheva / Jawahar lal Nehru Port (Maharashtra ), Mormugao (Goa), Panambur, New Manglore Port (Karnataka), Cochin ( Kerala).

Smallest State in terms of Area       :      
Goa – 3702 Sq. Kms    

Largest State in terms of Area         :       
Rajasthan (342,239 Sq. Kms)

Smallest State in terms of Population       :    
Sikkim (6,10,577 People as per census 2011)

Largest State in terms of Population         :     
Uttar Pradesh (19,98,12,341 Person)

Smallest Union Territory in terms of Area            : 
Lakshadweep (32 Sq. Kms)   

Largest UT in terms of Population                     :          
Delhi (16,787,941)

Smallest Union Territory in terms of Population  :
Lakshadweep (64,429 People)

Largest UT in terms of Area :       
Jammu and Kashmiri (125,535 km²)

Most Densely Populated state  :             
Bihar (1,106 People per Sq. Km)

Least densely Populated state :     
Arunachal Pradesh (17 People per Sq. Km)            

Highest Urban Population in a State  :
Maharashtra (In terms of Numbers – 5,08,15,259)
Goa (In terms of percentage – 62.2%)

Lowest Urban Population in a State  :
Himachal Pradesh (In terms of Numbers -10.03%)

Highest Literacy in a State   :     
Kerala – 94%, (First state to be considered fully literate)

Lowest Literacy in a State    :          
Bihar – 61.8%

Highest Gender Ratio in a state       :       
Kerala (1084:1000) (First state to have more women than men)

Lowest Gender ratio in a state      :                     
Haryana (877:1000)

Highest Gender ratio in a Union Territory  :     
Puducherry (1037 : 1000)

Lowest Gender Ratio in a Union Territory :          
Daman & Diu (618:1000)

Largest District in terms of Area  :       

Kutch District (45,652 sq km) – Gujarat

Largest District in terms of Population     :         
Thane, Maharashtra (1.11 Crore)

Smallest District in terms of Area   : 
Mahe, Puducherry (9 Sq. Kms)

Smallest District in terms of Population   :
Dibang Valley, Arunachal Pradesh (8004 People)

The most Populated Populated city of Bharat  :          
Mumbai, Maharashtra (1,24,42,373 People)

State with longest Coastal boundaries      :          
Gujrat 

Largest Sea Beach  :          
Marina Beach, Chennai

State which shares boundaries with maximum No. of States:  
Uttar Pradesh – 9 States (Himanchal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar & Delhi)

Highest Waterfall in Bharat  :    
Kunchikal Falls, Shimoga District, Karnataka (455 Mts)

Highest Battle field  :          
Siachen Glacier, Ladakh

Biggest fresh water lake  :          
Wular Lake, J&K

Longest river Bridge  :          
Bhupen Hazarika Setu at Lohit River in Tinsukia, Assam (9.15 Kms)

Longest Rail Tunnel :    
Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel, 11.215 Kms, J&K

Longest Electrified Rail Tunnel:   
6.6 Km   Between Cherlopalli and Rapuru in Andhra Pradesh

Longest Road Tunnel  :          
Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel (9.28 Km), also known as the Chenani-Nashri Tunnel, is at union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Largest Residential building  :     
Rashtrapati Bhavan,New Delhi

Largest Theater :    
Raj Mandir Cinema , Jaipur

Longest Distance train  :    
Vivek Express 19505/19506 (Dibrugarh to Kanyakumari)

Highest National Civilian Award  :      
Bharat Ratna

Highest Gallantry Award  :          
Paramveer Chakra

National Flag   :         
Tricolour
(Rectangular three colour flag, in which all three colour strips are equal in length & width. It has a blue colour wheel in the middle with 24 spokes in it. Flag has a dimentionof 2:3 ratio to its length & width.

National Amblem :
The National emblem is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. In the  original, there are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. The Capital is crowned by the Wheel of the Law (Dharma Chakra) where the words Satyameva Jayate from Mundaka Upanishad, meaning ‘Truth Alone Triumphs‘, are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script.

National Bird  :          
The Indian Peacock, (Pavocristatus )

National Animal  :     
The Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigristigris)

National Aquatic Animal :  
River Dolphin (Platanista Gangetica)

National Flower  :         
Lotus (Nelumbo Nucifera Gaertn)

National Tree  :      
Banyan tree, (Ficusbenghalensis)

National Calender :     
Shaka Samvat which started in 78 BC by King Kanishka

National River :    
Ganga River

National Song  :      
Vandematram (Written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee /Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay)

National Anthem :         
Jana-gana-mana, composed by Rabindranath Tagore.

National Currency/ Symbol :   
Rupee/ ₹  ( Designed by D. Uday Kumar)

National Motto  :        
Satyameva Jayate